Business / Economic / Financial

[ This link to a somewhat more cumulative blog posts page will precede current days news since most all topics remain current in terms of impact and longer-term effect and can be searched by topical index term more easily. The same is provided since the blog site http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com has just been censored as to size by google which is typical for google as nsa / cia / gov’t shill as more are becoming aware of. The same is true for microsoft, another co. that’s seen their best days and relies on the government to maintain their monopoly. Up to now the better page http://www.scribd.com/alpeia is provided for ease of formatting and clarity thereby while the Washington Post page is the real deal but without formatting http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/community/mypost/index.html?plckPersonaPage=PersonaComments&plckUserId=alpeia&newspaperUserId=alpeia ]

(12-23-10) MY INTERNET CONNECTION IS DOWN AGAIN AND OF COURSE, I WILL HAVE MORE TO SAY ABOUT THE PERVASIVELY CORRUPT, DEFACTO BANKRUPT AMERICAN SCUMBAGS SHORTLY! They will be sorry they did this … I won’t forget it!

(12-22-10) MY INTERNET CONNECTION IS DOWN SO I’M USING A LOCAL WORKSTATION COMPUTER AND WILL HAVE MORE TO SAY ABOUT THE PERVASIVELY CORRUPT, DEFACTO BANKRUPT AMERICAN SCUMBAGS SHORTLY! They will be sorry they did this … I won’t forget!

3 Investment Traps for 2011 Simon Maierhofer, On Thursday December 23, 2010, ‘It's the end of the year and Wall Street is busy selling their New Year forecasts. According to 10 strategists and investment managers polled by Barron's, there's no cloud in the sky. The future's looking bright.If you've followed Wall Street forecasts for a few years, you must have discerned a pattern: Forecasts are always rosy. If Wall Street analysts were meteorologists, their outlook would always be 'sunny' unless it is actually raining.Therein lies the problem; Wall Street never sees hard rain coming and only offers an umbrella after investors have gotten trenched. The purpose of this article is to provide an out of the box forecast with analysis you won't hear on the Street.
Insiders vs. Analysts
Analysts have their optimistic disposition implanted by the companies they cover. Corporate managers have every incentive to stay positive for as long as they can. Ironically, as CEOs project record high earnings, insider selling has picked up as Investors Intelligence reports that: 'there was a sharp acceleration in the pace of insider selling over the last week, as if they suddenly all received word that the index highs would end.' Who would you rather believe - analysts (and their sources) with an agenda or the action of insiders with skin in the game? Something doesn't seem right if insiders want you to do as they say but not as they do.
Unbridled Enthusiasm
Mark Twain said that: 'When I find myself on the side of the majority, I know it's time to find a new place to side.' The majority of investors (and analysts) now believe in rising stock prices. Sentiment gauges have recorded readings not registered since the 2007 all-time highs, or before the May 'Flash Crash.' This is usually a sign of a market that's getting ready to roll over.
Trap #1
This brings us to the first investment trap for 2011 - equities. After rallying more than 85%, the major indexes a la Dow (DJI: ^DJI), S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) are simply overbought, over loved and overvalued. This doesn't mean that they have to crumble tomorrow, but NOW is the time to think about protection. In each of the past three years, January trading has delivered a surprise shot of reality. Don't be surprised if it happens again in 2011. Sectors with the biggest gains include retail (NYSEArca: XRT - News), consumer discretionary (NYSEArca: XLY - News), materials (NYSEArca: XLB - News), and technology and these are also the most vulnerable to correction. Even though it defies Wall Street's approach of linear extrapolation, sectors that do well one year, rarely top the list the following year. It would make sense to either buy put protection - which is historically cheap due to a low VIX - or set mental stop-loss safety levels to avoid suffering through a painful correction. In an effort to keep this article brief, we won't delve into the Europe crisis. One of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter's predictions for 2010 was an increase in sovereign debt defaults. The Europe crisis will be with us for a while and will turn into a big drag for developed markets (NYSEArca: EFA - News) eventually.
Trap #2
A rush for tax-free yield drove investors into municipal bonds. Chasing yields can be a pricey mistake. If you plot dividend yields against stock prices over the past 100 years, you'll quickly notice that periods of low yields are generally a good time to sell, not buy stocks. The muni bond market has been an obvious, but ignored, house of cards. California is nearly bankrupt and every other state or municipality has seen their tax revenue dwindle. Loaning money to municipalities is like giving a car loan to someone who just lost their job. The default risk is high. On August 26, the very day Treasuries and muni bonds topped - the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter told its subscribers to get out of muni bonds, corporate bonds and Treasuries. Prices for bonds have tumbled since and the danger isn't over. The three trillion muni bond market is in serious danger. Now is the time to worry about return of your money, not return on your money.
Trap #3
Not all is as it seems and if you put your trust in the Fed, you may soon be disappointed.  Quantitative easing in general, and QE2 in particular, was supposed to stimulate the economy, increase inflation and the money supply.[chart] As the chart above shows, it didn't do any of the above. QE2 also was intended to lower interest rates to increase lending and make mortgages more affordable. The chart below shows what the interest of the 10-Yr Treasury has done since QE2 was launched.[chart]The Fed is treating the previous indulgence in debt by taking on even more debt. This is like taking more heroin to kick a drug addiction. It will keep you functioning for a while, but eventually your system will shut down. The only chance of success is to detox.
The Minefield Looks Pretty
To sum up, we are looking at a minefield covered by a beautiful blanket of flowers. The Fed - although it's failed to jolt the economy - has succeeded in inflating stocks (NYSEArca: TMW - News) and commodities. It has served as fertilizer for fake growth.But sentiment is indicative of a market ready to roll over. Similar sentiment readings and warnings by the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter in December 2008, January 2010, and April 2010 led to declines from 9 - 29%. Aside from Fed induced liquidity, there's not been much reason to believe this time will be different.In terms of breadth, we note that fewer than 80% of S&P 500 (NYSEArca: IVV - News) stocks are above their 50-day moving averages, as the index itself is moving from one marginal new high to the next. There were also fewer new 52-week highs in December than there were during the April highs.
Enjoy the Sight, Mind the Feel
Creeping up trends like the current one can go on for weeks. But take a look at the price action leading to the April highs and it becomes clear that such stair stepping up trends tend to end very abruptly and without warning.That doesn't mean the market has to crumble tomorrow, but if you choose to maneuver through trap-infested territory, it pays to be careful and protect yourself.The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter provides important support/resistance levels that serve as an early warning signal twice a week. The break of certain resistance levels could break the bull's spirit and cause an April/May like air-pocket decline.

[video] Trader Cautious for 2011at TheStreet.com (Thu 11:33AM EST)
[video] Money Pouring Out of Equity Fundsat TheStreet.com (Thu 11:31AM EST)
[video] Claims Missing Seasonal Hiringat TheStreet.com (Thu 11:20AM EST)

YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: ‘… There was plenty of data out ahead of the open, but none of it produced any real reaction among premarket participants. Among the items, personal income increased 0.3% while consumption increased 0.4%. The Briefing.com consensus called for respective increases of 0.2% and 0.5%. Personal income in the prior month had increased 0.4% while spending had increased 0.7% in the same time. Durable goods orders for November fell 1.3%, which is worse than the 1.1% decline that had been generally expected, but not as bad as the prior month's 3.1% drop. Excluding transportation, durable goods orders increased 2.4% in November. They were widely expected to increase by just 0.8% after they fell 1.9% in the prior month. Initial jobless claims for the week ended December 18 were also out ahead of the open. They totaled 420,000, which is in step with the 424,000 initial claims that had been expected and down slightly from the tally of 423,000 that was recorded for the previous week. Continuing claims came in 4.06 million, down about 100,000 from the prior week. Its steady downtrend since summer is largely the result of fewer initial claims and the expiration of unemployment benefits, rather than actual hiring. Even after trade opened participants were largely unresponsive to the University of Michigan's final December Consumer Sentiment Survey, which improved slightly to a five-month best of 74.5, up from 74.2. New home sales were a bit disappointing. They increase 5.5% in November to an annualized rate of 290,000, but that was still a bit less than the rate of 300,000 that had been expected. Many remain concerned that recent increases in the 10-year Treasury yield, which is now near 3.40%, has put added pressure on housing demand…’

Yes … it’s still official … lingering full moon … and the effects on the lunatic frauds on wall street, among others, are clearly evident. This is an especially great time to Sell / Take Profits since there is much, much worse to come! ( They’re just suckin’ you in, locking in inflated manipulated air-bubble gains for year to keep you suckered and to rationalize their churn-and-earn scam on the way down as in preceding crashes (with that familiarly, ie., greenspan, bernake, etc., sought ephemeral, feel-good ‘wealth effect’, with debased dollar, inflated earnings and depressed P/E multiples thereby, insurmountable debt and stock bubble therefrom, diverting attention from their huge fraud accomplis with trillions of the worthless paper / toxic asset results of same now marked to anything as per legislated FASB rule change! ) ( These lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks, and insurmountable debt will end quite badly as in last crash and worse! The analogy, though not perfect, is the bonuses, main street and wall street, billions for shipping jobs overseas and pocketing the difference … similarly, there is a real cost for the paper inflation and the money has to come from some real place … ie., the new sucking sound! )

Tipping Point: 25 Signs That The Coming Financial Collapse Is Now Closer Then Ever The financial collapse that so many of us have been anticipating is seemingly closer then ever. Over the past several weeks, there have been a host of ominous signs for the U.S. economy.

The Economic Collapse
Dec 17, 2010

The financial collapse that so many of us have been anticipating is seemingly closer then ever.  Over the past several weeks, there have been a host of ominous signs for the U.S. economy.  Yields on U.S. Treasuries have moved up rapidly and Moody’s is publicly warning that it may have to cut the rating on U.S. government debt soon.  Mortgage rates are also moving up aggressively.  The euro and the U.S. dollar both look incredibly shaky.  Jobs continue to be shipped out of the United States at a blistering pace as our politicians stand by and do nothing.  Confidence in U.S. government debt around the globe continues to decline.  State and local governments that are drowning in debt across the United States are savagely cutting back on even essential social services and are coming up with increasingly “creative” ways of getting more money out of all of us.  Meanwhile, tremor after tremor continues to strike the world financial system.  So does this mean that we have almost reached a tipping point?  Is the world on the verge of a major financial collapse?

Let’s hope not, but with each passing week the financial news just seems to get eve worse.  Not only is U.S. government debt spinning wildly toward a breaking point, but many U.S. states (such as California) are in such horrific financial condition that they are beginning to resemble banana republics.

But it is not just the United States that is in trouble.  Nightmarish debt problems in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Belgium and several other European nations threaten to crash the euro at any time.  In fact, many economists are now openly debating which will collapse first – the euro or the U.S. dollar.

Sadly, this is the inevitable result of constructing a global financial system on debt.  All debt bubbles eventually collapse.  Currently we are living in the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world, and when this one bursts it is going to be a disaster of truly historic proportions.

So will we reach a tipping point soon?  Well, the following are 25 signs that the financial collapse is rapidly getting closer….

#1 The official U.S. unemployment rate has not been beneath 9 percent since April 2009.

#2 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are currently 6.3 million vacant homes in the United States that are either for sale or for rent.

#3 It is being projected that the U.S. trade deficit with China could hit 270 billion dollars for the entire year of 2010.

#4 Back in 2000, 7.2 percent of blue collar workers were either unemployed or underemployed.  Today that figure is up to 19.5 percent.

#5 The Chinese government has accumulated approximately $2.65 trillion in total foreign exchange reserves.  They have drained this wealth from the economies of other nations (such as the United States) and instead of reinvesting all of it they are just sitting on much of it.  This is creating tremendous imbalances in the global economy.

#6 Since the year 2000, we have lost 10% of our middle class jobs.  In the year 2000 there were approximately 72 million middle class jobs in the United States but today there are only about 65 million middle class jobs.

#7 The United States now employs about the same number of people in manufacturing as it did back in 1940.  Considering the fact that we had 132 million people living in this country in 1940 and that we have well over 300 million people living in this country today, that is a very sobering statistic.

#8 According to CoreLogic, U.S. housing prices have now declined for three months in a row.

#9 The average rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage soared 11 basis points just this past week.  As mortgage rates continue to push higher it is going to make it even more difficult for American families to afford homes.

#10 22.5 percent of all residential mortgages in the United States were in negative equity as of the end of the third quarter of 2010.

#11 The U.S. monetary base has more than doubled since the beginning of the most recent recession.

#12 U.S. Treasury yields have been rising steadily during the 4th quarter of 2010 and recently hit a six-month high.

#13 Incoming governor Jerry Brown is scrambling to find $29 billion more to cut from the California state budget.  The following quote from Brown about the desperate condition of California state finances is not going to do much to inspire confidence in California’s financial situation around the globe….

“We’ve been living in fantasy land. It is much worse than I thought. I’m shocked.”

#14 24.3 percent of the residents of El Centro, California are currently unemployed.

#15 The average home in Merced, California has declined in value by 63 percent over the past four years.

#16 Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has come up with a new way to save money.  He wants to cut 20 percent of Detroit off from essential social services such as road repairs, police patrols, functioning street lights and garbage collection.

#17 The second most dangerous city in the United States – Camden, New Jersey – is about to lay off about half its police in a desperate attempt to save money.

#18 In 2010, 55 percent of Americans between the ages of 60 and 64 were in the labor market.  Ten years ago, that number was just 47 percent.  More older Americans than ever find that they have to keep working just to survive.

#19 Back in 1998, the United States had 25 percent of the world’s high-tech export market and China had just 10 percent. Ten years later, the United States had less than 15 percent and China’s share had soared to 20 percent.

#20 The U.S. government budget deficit increased to a whopping $150.4 billion last month, which represented the biggest November budget deficit on record.

#21 The U.S. government is somehow going to have to roll over existing debt and finance new debt that is equivalent to 27.8 percent of GDP in 2011.

#22 The United States had been the leading consumer of energy on the globe for about 100 years, but this past summer China took over the number one spot.

#23 According to an absolutely stunning new poll, 40 percent of all U.S. doctors plan to bail out of the profession over the next three years.

#24 As 2007 began, there were just over 1 million Americans that had been unemployed for half a year or longer.  Today, there are over 6 million Americans that have been unemployed for half a year or longer.

#25 All over the United States, local governments have begun instituting “police response fees”.  For example, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has come up with a plan under which a fee of $365 would be charged if police are called to respond to an automobile accident where no injuries are involved.  If there are injuries as a result of the crash that is going to cost extra.

16 Nightmarish Economic Trends To Watch Carefully In 2011 The American Dream Dec 15, 2010 ‘If you only watch the “economic pundits” on television, it can be very confusing to figure out exactly what is happening with the U.S. economy.  One pundit will pull out a couple statistics that got a little bit better over the past month and claim that we have entered a time of solid recovery.  Another pundit will pull out a couple statistics that got a little worse over the past month and claim that we are headed for trouble.  So what is the truth?  Well, if you really want to get a clear idea of what is really going on you have to look at the long-term trends.  There are some economic trends which just keep getting worse year after year after year, and it is those trends that tell the real story of the decline of our economic system.

As you examine the long-term trends, you quickly come to realize that the U.S. is trapped in an endless spiral of debt, the middle class is being wiped out, the U.S. dollar is being destroyed and America is rapidly becoming a post-industrial wasteland.

Posted below are 16 nightmarish economic trends to watch carefully in 2011.  It is becoming exceedingly apparent that unless something is done rapidly we are heading for an economic collapse of unprecedented magnitude….

#1 Do you want to see something scary?  Just check out the chart below.  Since the beginning of the economic downturn, the U.S. monetary base has more than doubled.  But don’t worry – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has promised us that this could never cause inflation.  In fact, Bernanke says that we need to inject even more dollars into the economy.  So if you are alarmed by the chart below, you are just being irrational according to Bernanke….

[chart]

#2 Thousands of our factories, millions of our jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars of our national wealth continue to be shipped overseas.  In 1985, the U.S. trade deficit with China was 6 million dollars for the entire year.  In the month of August alone, the U.S. trade deficit with China was over 28 billion dollars.  Nobel economist Robert W. Fogel of the University of Chicago is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040 if current trends continue.

#3 The United States is rapidly becoming a post-industrial wasteland.  Back in 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of all U.S. economic output.  In 2008, it represented only 11.5 percent and it continues to fall.  Sadly, the truth is that America is being deindustrialized.  As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing.  The last time that less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.

#4 The number of Americans that have been out of work for an extended period of time has absolutely exploded over the last few years.  As 2007 began, there were just over 1 million Americans that had been unemployed for half a year or longer.  Today, there are over 6 million Americans that have been unemployed for half a year or longer.

#5 The middle class continues to be squeezed out of existence.  According to a poll taken in 2009, 61 percent of Americans ”always or usually” live paycheck to paycheck.  That was up substantially from 49 percent in 2008 and 43 percent in 2007.

#6 The number of Americans living in poverty is absolutely skyrocketing.  42.9 million Americans are now on food stamps, and one out of every six Americans is now enrolled in at least one anti-poverty program run by the federal government.  Unfortunately, many of those that have been hardest hit by this economic downturn have been children.  According to one new study, approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010 - the highest rate in 20 years.

#7 Many American families have been pushed beyond the breaking point during this economic downturn.  Over 1.4 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, which represented a 32 percent increase over 2008.  The final number for 2010 is expected to be even higher.

#8 The U.S. real estate market continues to stagnate.  During the third quarter of 2010, 67 percent of mortgages in Nevada were “underwater”, 49 percent of mortgages in Arizona were “underwater” and 46 percent of mortgages in Florida were “underwater”.  So what happens if home prices go down even more?

#9 More elderly Americans than ever are being forced to put off retirement and continue working.  In 2010, 55 percent of Americans between the ages of 60 and 64 were in the labor market.  Ten years ago, that number was just 47 percent.  Unfortunately, it looks like this problem will only get worse in the years ahead.  In America today, approximately half of all workers have less than $2000 saved up for retirement.

#10 In the United States today, there are simply far too many retirees and not nearly enough workers to support them.  Back in 1950 each retiree’s Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 workers.  Today, each retiree’s Social Security benefit is paid for by approximately 3.3 workers.  By 2025 it is projected that there will be approximately two workers for each retiree.

#11 Financial assets continue to become concentrated in fewer and fewer hands.  For example, the “big four” U.S. banks (Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo) had approximately 22 percent of all deposits in FDIC-insured institutions back in 2000.  As of the middle of 2009 that figure was up to 39 percent.

#12 The Federal Reserve has been destroying the value of the U.S. dollar for decades.  Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the U.S. dollar has lost over 95 percent of its purchasing power.  An item that cost $20.00 in 1970 would cost you $112.35 today.  An item that cost $20.00 in 1913 would cost you $440.33 today.

#13 Commodity prices continue to soar into the stratosphere.  Ten years ago, the price of a barrel of oil hovered around 20 to 30 dollars most of the time.  Today, the price of oil is rapidly closing in on 100 dollars a barrel and there are now fears that it could soon go much higher than that.

#14 Federal government spending is completely and totally out of control.  The U.S. government budget deficit increased to a whopping $150.4 billion last month, which represented the biggest November deficit on record.  But our politicians can’t seem to break their addiction to debt.  In fact, Democrats are trying to ram through a 1,924 page, 1.1 trillion dollar spending bill in the final days of the lame-duck session of Congress before the Republicans take control of the House of Representatives next year.

#15 The U.S. national debt is rapidly closing in on 14 trillion dollars.  It is more than 13 times larger than it was just 30 short years ago.  According to an official U.S. Treasury Department report to Congress, the U.S. national debt is projected to climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015.

#16 Unfortunately, the official government numbers grossly understate the horrific nature of the crisis we are facing.  John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics has calculated that if the federal government would have used GAAP accounting standards to measure the federal budget deficit for 2009, it would have been approximately 8.8 trillion dollars.  Not only that, but John Williams now says that U.S. government debt is so wildly out of control that it is mathematically impossible for us to “grow” our way out of it….

The government’s finances not only are out of control, but the actual deficit is not containable.  Put into perspective, if the government were to raise taxes so as to seize 100% of all wages, salaries and corporate profits, it still would be showing an annual deficit using GAAP accounting on a consistent basis.  In like manner, given current revenues, if it stopped spending every penny (including defense and homeland security) other than for Social Security and Medicare obligations, the government still would be showing an annual deficit. Further, the U.S. has no potential way to grow out of this shortfall.

The more one examines the U.S. economic situation, the more depressing it becomes.  The U.S. financial system is trapped inside a horrific debt spiral  and we are headed straight for economic oblivion.

If our leaders attempt to interrupt the debt spiral it will plunge our economy into a depression.  If our leaders attempt to keep the debt spiral going for several more years it will just make the eventual crash even worse.  Either way, we are headed for a financial implosion that will be truly historic.

The debt-fueled good times that we have been enjoying for the last several decades are rapidly coming to an end.  Unfortunately for the tens of millions of Americans that are already suffering, our economic problems are only going to get worse in the years ahead.’

Jobless Recovery?: 25 Unemployment Statistics That Are Almost Too Depressing To Read ‘… Unemployment is up again! That’s right – even though Wall Street is swimming in cash and the Obama administration is declaring that “the recession is over”, the U.S. unemployment rate has gone even higher. So are you enjoying the jobless recovery? Economic Collapse Blog Dec 4, 2010 ‘Guess what?  Unemployment is up again!  That’s right – even though Wall Street is swimming in cash and the Obama administration is declaring that “the recession is over”, the U.S. unemployment rate has gone even higher ... Times are really, really tough and unfortunately the long-term outlook is very bleak.  We should have compassion on those who are out of work right now, because soon many of us may join them.

The following are 25 unemployment statistics that are almost too depressing to read….

#1 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. unemployment rate for November was 9.8 percent.  This was up from 9.6 percent in October, and it continues a trend of depressingly high unemployment rates.  The official unemployment number has been at 9.5 percent or higher for well over a year at this point.

#2 In November 2006, the “official” U.S. unemployment rate was just 4.5 percent.

#3 Most economists had been expecting the U.S. economy to add about 150,000 jobs in November.  Instead, it only added 39,000.

#4 In the United States today, there are over 15 million people who are “officially” considered to be unemployed for statistical purposes.  But everyone knows that the “real” number is even much larger than that.

#5 As 2007 began, there were just over 1 million Americans that had been unemployed for half a year or longer.  Today, there are over 6 million Americans that have been unemployed for half a year or longer.

#6 The number of “persons not in the labor force” in the United States recently set another new all-time record.

#7 It now takes the average unemployed American over 33 weeks to find a job.

#8 When you throw in “discouraged workers” and “underemployed workers”, the “real” unemployment rate in the state of California is actually about 22 percent.

#9 In America today there are not nearly enough jobs for everyone.  In fact, there are now approximately 5 unemployed Americans for every single job opening.

#10 According to The New York Times, Americans that have been unemployed for five weeks or less are three times more likely to find a new job in the coming month than Americans that have been unemployed for over a year.

#11 The U.S. economy would need to create 235,120 new jobs a month to get the unemployment rate down to pre-recession levels by 2016.  Does anyone think that there is even a prayer that is going to happen?

#12 There are 9 million Americans that are working part-time for “economic reasons”.  In other words, those Americans would gladly take full-time jobs if they could get them, but all they have been able to find is part-time work.

#13 In 2009, total wages, median wages, and average wages all declined in the United States.

#14 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing.  The last time that less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.

#15 The United States has lost at least 7.5 million jobs since the recession began.

#16 Today, only about 40 percent of Ford Motor Company’s 178,000 workers are employed in North America, and a big percentage of those jobs are in Canada and Mexico.

#17 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output.  In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.

#18 Earlier this year, one poll found that 28% of all American households had at least one member that was looking for a full-time job.

#19 In the United States today, over 18,000 parking lot attendants have college degrees.

#20 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.

#21 As the employment situation continues to stagnate, millions of American families have decided to cut back on things such as insurance coverage.  For example, the percentage of American households that have life insurance coverage is at its lowest level in 50 years.

#22 Unless Congress acts, and there is no indication that is going to happen, approximately 2 million Americans will stop receiving unemployment checks over the next couple of months.

#23 A poll that was released by the Pew Research Center back in June discovered that an astounding 55 percent of the U.S. labor force has experienced either unemployment, a pay decrease, a reduction in hours or an involuntary move to part-time work since the economic downturn began.

#24 According to Richard McCormack, the United States has lost over 42,000 factories (and counting) since 2001.

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

But this is what we get for creating the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world.  For decades we have been digging a deeper hole for ourselves by going into increasingly larger amounts of debt.  In America today, our entire economy is based on debt.  Even our money is debt.  We were fools if we ever thought this could go on forever. Just think about it.  Have you ever gone out and run up a bunch of debt?  It can be a lot of fun sitting behind the wheel of a new car, running your credit cards up to the limit and buying a beautiful big house that you cannot afford. But in the end what happens? It always catches up with you. Well, our collective debt is starting to catch up with us.  There is a sea of red ink on every level of American society.  It is only a matter of time before it destroys our economy. IF YOU THINK THAT THINGS ARE BAD NOW, JUST WAIT.  THINGS ARE GOING TO GET A WHOLE LOT WORSE.  A HORRIFIC ECONOMIC COLLAPSE IS COMING, AND IT IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY PAINFUL.’

Howard Davidowitz on the Economy: "Here Are the Numbers ... WE'RE BROKE!" 11-25-10 ‘The U.S. economy "is a complete disaster," Howard Davidowitz declared here in July, the most recent in a string of dire predictions from Tech Ticker's most entertaining guest.On the eve of Thanksgiving, I asked Davidowitz if he had any regrets, or was ready to throw in the towel given recent signs of economic revival. Are you kidding me? "Here are the numbers...we're broke," Davidowitz declares, noting the U.S. government goes $5 billion deeper into debt every day and is facing $1 trillion-plus annual deficits for the next decade. "In other words, we're bankrupt."As with the economy, Davidowitz is unwaveringly consistent in his views on President Obama, calling him "deranged, dysfunctional and discredited."Results of the midterm election show "the people of this country think we are in a catastrophe," he says. "I'm with them."Check the accompanying video for more of Howard's unfettered opinions and stay tuned for additional clips from this interview. And...Happy Thanksgiving! Aaron Task is the host of Tech Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at [email protected]’

Timid Tuesday: Is it Safe? Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘

17 Things Worrying Investors Lloyd's Wall of Worry

Worry Count: 17


CHINA: 1,330,044,605 people can’t be wrong.

The PIIGS: Fasten your seatbelts. It’s gonna be a long, bumpy, expensive, weird, (insert your own adjective here) freak show of a ride.

CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Not yet as dire as “The PIIGS”. Might I suggest the classier moniker of “The Prosciuttos” for the American basket-case states?

QE II: Gobble?

U.S. ECONOMY: The “Punky Brewster” of the global economic landscape.

UNEMPLOYMENT: Only thing worse than losing your job, losing your unemployment check. At least there’s the holiday season to cheer everyone up (read: heavy sarcasm).

TAXES: Praying to the Financial Market Gods that we don’t have another TARP-like vote fiasco.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PART II: Still two years before the Pres. election and the peanut gallery is already pleading for a Hail Mary Pass to get them back in the game.

HFT: Instead of beating up these liquidity supplying traders, let’s honor them with their very own stock exchange. But wait -- with no retail saps to pick-off they will never get that Day 1 opening bell tick. Perfect.

XMAS 2010: As my professor friend Nick says, “Nowadays Americans are dining off of two menus – The Million Dollar and the $0.99 Cent.” And both are pissed about it.

CURRENCIES: Poor Mr. Greenback. Does someone need a hug?

HOUSING CRISIS: Price Stabilization – Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more….

INFLATION/DEFLATION: Fed Chief Ben B. comes out swinging from his heels in defense of inflation promotion. Don’t punch yourself out as this one is likely to go the distance.

COMMODITIES: Corrected but still sky high; fortunately these prices are only affecting core, basic, life-sustaining necessities and sparing our electronic gadgets and plus-sized SUVs. Whew!

INSIDER TRADING: Another black eye for Hedge Funds. I estimate that makes black eye number 6,597.

INTEREST RATES: South Korea and China slowly turning up the dial to “11”. On the other hand the U.S. has removed the dial altogether. This never ends well….

NORTH KOREA: Here we go again.

'Huge' stock decline — but not yet MarketWatch  - Brimelow ‘Commentary: Adens … ‘mega trend’ looks grim … The Adens expect a hyperinflationary collapse … ‘
Oh come on! Manipulated dollar decline with inflated earnings, stock prices thereby, etc., … we’ve seen this all before … the last few crashes … Jobless rate jumps to 9.8% as hiring slows (Washington Post) [ The reality is not a mystery! The nation’s been thrown under the bus for the greater good (wealth) of the very few (frauds on wall street, etc.); wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION: Come on! This is gettin’ even more downright ridiculous (if that’s even possible)! Pending home foreclosure / distress sales up, oil prices (and oil stocks) up, debased dollar down, plus a little familiar ‘better than expected’ thrown in along with prospects of a ‘no-recession bernanke’ market-frothing bull session on 60 minutes and, voila, suckers’ rally into the close to keep the suckers suckered! What’s good for the frauds on wall street is bad for just about everyone else which includes the vast majority of people and businesses, domestically and globally, as current dollar manipulation / debasement ultimately results in higher costs and loss of purchasing power (ie., oil, etc.). Clearly, this is one of those fraudulent wealth transfers to the frauds on wall street et als which will ultimately be paid for by those who least are in a position to afford it, courtesy of the ever more worthless Weimar dollar, etc., inflating earnings, eps, lowering p/e multiples, etc., see infra. This is an especially great time to sell / take profits while you can since there's much worse to come! Previous: Rosy numbers on consumer sentiment, unemployment (far better than private forecasts) from the government prior to the holiday so-called ‘shop till you drop’? How can anyone believe anything they say? Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz adds that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! And, with insiders and wall street frauds selling into the bubble as preceded last crash, this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally on light volume, full moon, and government complicity (false data / reports) to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam/fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

(12-23-10) Dow  11,573 +14 Nasdaq  2,665 -6 S&P 500  1,256 -2 [CLOSE- OIL $90.51 (-54% for year 2008) (RECORD TRADING HIGH $147.27) GAS $3.00 (reg. gas in LAND OF FRUITS AND NUTS  $3.20 REG./ $3.29 MID-GRADE/ $3.39 PREM./ $3.79  DIESEL) / GOLD $1,379 (+24% for year 2009) / SILVER $29.29(+47% for year 2009) PLATINUM $1,722 (+56% for year 2009)  / DOLLAR= .76 EURO, 83 YEN, .64 POUND STERLING, ETC. (How low can you go - LOWER)/ http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/update 10 YR NOTE YIELD 3.39% …..…   AP Business Highlights  ...Yahoo Market Update...   T. Rowe Price Weekly Recap – Stocks / Bonds / Currencies -  Domestic / International      This Is a Secular Bear Market and The End of Buy and Hold … and Hope   MARKET MANIPULATION AND HOW THE LATEST BUBBLE-FRAUD PRE-COMING CRASH IS BEING ACCOMPLISHED 3-11-10      6 Theories On Why the Stock Market Has Rallied  3-9-10 [archived website file]     Risks Lurk for ETF Investors The bull market that never was/were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold Property Values Projected to Fall 12% in 2010 Jan 31, 2010 The Week Ahead: Risk Is Off the Cliff; Unwind Has Begun Jan 31, 2010 01-13-10 Forecast for 2010 from Seeking Alpha Contributor THE COMING MARKET CRASH / CORRECTION   1-28-10 Maierhofer   (01-15-10) 11 Clear Signs Economy Sinking Economic Black Hole 1-22-10: 20 Reasons Why The U.S. Economy Is Dying And Is Simply Not Going To Recover Current Economic / Fiscal Charts Trendsresearch.com forecast for 2009 1-7-10 Crash is coming!          ‘WORST ECONOMIC COLLAPSE EVER’ Must Read Economic / Financial Data                     This Depression is just beginning The coming depression…  thecomingdepression.net MUST READ: JEREMY GRANTHAM’S QUARTERLY UPDATE 25 January 2010 (850 on the S&P) by TPC The Next Wave of Collapse is Coming Sooner than you think Sliding Back Into the Great Depression ABSOLUTELY, ABSURDLY, RIDICULOUS! SELL / TAKE PROFITS WHILE YOU CAN SINCE MUCH, MUCH WORSE TO COME!

National / World

Fannie, Freddie fed paperwork problems (Washington Post) [ If it was only paperwork problems. No mystery here and I’m surprised they haven’t moved Fanny and Freddie to wall street where the nation can have a concentrated fraudulent sinkhole. I personally still can’t get over those compensation packages including bonuses which ultimately … were allowed … for jobs poorly and fraudulently done … yes, they were made for each other … ] Not only did the mortgage giants urge swift foreclosures, but in at least one case Fannie executives also greenlighted working with a firm that they knew firsthand had engaged in legally questionable practices, according to documents and interviews with lawyers and industry officials.

Russia is last in series of major powers to seal valuable deals with India (Washington Post) [ Bravo for India … a deal with Russia is a deal with a future! ]

Arms treaty's approval is another win for Obama (Washington Post) [ This was a major victory for Putin who wanted this … that’s why I was for it! ] The White House strategy to secure Senate passage of New START proves successful, but GOP critics could hamper similar measures in the future.

Housing market perks up (Washington Post) [ Come on! Wake up! Foreclosure sales up … when they can get them. Oil up, metals up, commodities up, I can attest to the fact that a loaf of bread is priced now 50.9% more than just a month ago … the new debased dollar manipulated stock market bubble is more of the same … don’t play their game of pretend which has been played before the last few crashes. Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ John Hussman's Index: Stocks Are 13% Overvalued John Hussman, manager of Hussman Strategy Growth Fund (HSGFX), proposed price to peak 10 year average earnings as a long term stock market valuation metric. Compared with the normal one year price to earning ratio, Price to Peak Earnings would eliminate short term noise. This is similar to Shiller's ‘Cyclically Adjusted Price Earning’ ratio (CAPE10) and Warren Buffett’s stock market GNP/GDP metric.In his weekly commentary on Dec 5, 2005, titled as 'Earnings Revert to the Mean, Stocks Will Struggle', he proposed a simplistic method: "buy when Price to Peak Earnings is lower than 15 and sell when it exceeds 19.5". John Hussman has been using this as the valuation yardstick to manage the Hussman Strategic Growth Fund HSGFX.A model portfolio called P Hussman Peak PE Market Timing Strategy Buy 15 Sell 19.5 Weekly is also maintained to live monitor the strategy suggested in 'Earnings Revert to the Mean, Stocks Will Struggle'. click [chart] On Nov 19, 2010, the ratio of Real Price to the average of last 10 year Peak Real Earnings (13.44) to its long term average (11.93) is 1.13. The US stock market is 13% overvalued. We will be tracking this number biweekly.] The market has been clobbered by a stubbornly high unemployment rate and a glut of aggressively priced foreclosures that are dragging down home prices.

Obama the great (Washington Post) [ How totally pathetic! How totally preposterous! One would have only hoped that Milbank had a sense of humor and that this was just a sarcastic manifestation of same; but alas, Milbank lacks both humor and credibility as he sings paeans of praise for and brown-noses his new-found master with hopes of reinvigorating a flagging ‘less than journalistic’ career in Washington, that font of incompetence, corruption, and most of all destruction. Pyrrhic victories are the best that this failed presidency can do, and to call them victories is more than a stretch. Wobama’s done. He’s toast … done as burnt toast and all the toadying by the milbanks of the world can’t change that. Reality is what it is! Drudgereport: DEFICIT HITS RECORD...
MINORITY REPORT: Spielberg advising on rebranding Dems... [ Come on! You can’t unring the bell on the damage they’ve done by particularly doing the opposite of what they said, from perpetual war, to no prosecutions of the wall street frauds now marked to anything as per criminal courtesy via FASB rule change, etc.. They are b*** s*** like their mascot, ‘wobama the b’ (for b*** s***); not that the republicans are substantially different … they’re incompetent, corrupt, etc... They’ve embraced the ‘history of decline and fall of nation-states’. ]
TODAY: Obama pledges 'singular focus' on economy...
ONE YEAR AGO: 'Obama to focus hard on economy'...
TWO YEARS AGO: Obama to put 'renewed focus' on economy... Fortunately, the Post has in Mr. Sloan a relevant journalistic who’s not afraid to call a spade a spade: New tax law reveals the mirage of the Social Security trust fund (Washington Post) [ This really is kind of amazing and testament to the reality that in defacto bankrupt america, the truth is stranger than fiction. ] With last week's passage of the much-ballyhooed tax deal between President Obama and Republican lawmakers, an accounting fiction of no economic value has become public policy. ] Milbank: The comeback president shouldn't forget about humility. Obama-friendly Business Roundtable may become less so (Washington Post) [ No mystery there … that wobama is done is clear as crystal … and, it’s obvious to everyone that he’s full of s*** and doesn’t have the slightest idea what he’s doin’ nor even one core belief (keep dem nation-bankrupting wars rollin’, etc.) … just muddlin’ along to get through this thing called a failed presidency and take to the b*** s*** talk circuits … teleprompter and all. Robinson: On track to nowhere in Afghanistan (Washington Post) [ I agree with Mr. Robinson and we should be thankful that he’s watching closely and, unlike so many others, he has courage enough to say so :

Obama's glaring ego (Washington Post) [ Come on! Now known for what he really is; viz., an insecure, dysfunctional, jive-talking b*** s*** artist, he’s just once again, but typically wrong, and is nothing to have an ego about. Robinson: White House is eerily silent on taxes (Washington Post) [ Eerily? I think not! Expectantly? I think so! That is, once you get beyond the wobama b*** s*** ! And, truth be told party distinctions are merely distinctions without significant differences (no prosecution of the wall street frauds, wars raging in Afghanistan / Middle East, etc.. But alas, as to the ‘wobama whitehouse’ this was predictable early on as by David Icke : Barack Obama: The Naked Emperor Shocking but true revelations from David Icke (a must read) | ‘Vast numbers of people across the world, including many who should know better, have been duped by the mind-game called Operation Obama... (excerpts) Obama has been the chosen one for a long time, a fact known only to a few in the deep inner circle, and his relationship with Brzezinski almost certainly goes back to the start of the 1980s when he attended the Ivy League, and big-time Illuminati, Columbia University where Brzezinski was head of the Institute for Communist Affairs. Obama simply will not talk in any detail about this period. He has been covertly funded and supported ever since by the Trilateral Commission and its network of foundations connecting into the Ford Foundation, for whom Obama's mother worked. And a question: Does anyone really believe that someone, a 'man of the people', would simply appear from apparently nowhere to run the slickest and best-funded presidential campaign in American history? He was chosen long ago by those who wish to enslave the very people that Obama says he wants to 'set free'. The sources of Obama funding read like a Wall Street Who's Who - Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and so on. No wonder he went back on his pledge to accept the limitations of public funding for his campaign and instead took the no-limit option of 'private funding. Then there is the Jewish financier, George Soros, the multi-billionaire associate of Brzezinski and closely involved with the funding and marketing of Obama. Soros is a former board member of the Illuminati's Council on Foreign Relations and funds the European Council on Foreign Relations. In short, he is a major insider' You can certainly see the Soros/Brzezinski techniques in the Obama 'revolution' in the United States. It was the complex and secretive network of Soros foundations and organisations, connected to the intelligence agencies of the US and Israel, that trained and funded students in the Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere in the art of mass protest and overthrowing governments. These manufactured protests were sold to the world as peoples' revolutions, but it just so happened that when they were over and the old regime was removed the new leaders were those waiting in the wings all along - the puppets of Soros, Brzezinski and their associated networks. Obama is just more of the same, a big smile with strings attached, and controlled completely by the Illuminati networks that chose him, trained him, sold him and provided his record funding. It was they who kept his many skeletons under wraps, like the gay sex and crack cocaine allegations of Larry Sinclair (from affidavit: 1. Who is Ron Allen that claims to be with your Presidential camp, who is alleged to claim that someone claiming to represent me called asking for $100,000, to keep me from coming forward about our (Obama and I) November 1999 encounter of sex and cocaine use?), and they will continue to do so as long as he jumps to their bidding. Obama is just another Banksters' moll prostituting himself for fame and power, and that's why he supported the grotesque bail-out of the banking system and why he will always put their interests before the people. His financial advisors are straight from the Wall Street 'A' list, including Paul Adolph Volker (Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg Group), the head of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987 and Illuminati to his fingertips. Obama has made him head of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which is dominated by insiders, including its staff director and chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, a close Obama associate from the University of Chicago. Goolsbee is an initiate of the infamous Illuminati Skull and Bones Society at Yale University, which also includes Boy and Father Bush. It was Goolsbee who told the Canadian government not to worry about Obama's attacks on the economic effects of free trade agreements because his words were just to win votes in the election campaign. Another Wall Street insider, the Zionist Timothy Geithner (Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations), was appointed by Obama to be his Treasury Secretary. Geithner was the President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, the most powerful in the private Federal Reserve cartel that masquerades as America's central bank, and he is a former employee of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the appalling Kissinger Associates. Obama's Treasury team locks into the inner circle around the Zionist Robert Rubin, the Director and Senior Counselor of Citigroup, co-chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, and economic advisor to Obama. Rubin, a member of the Illuminati Bilderberg Group, was the man behind Citigroup's strategy of expanding its risk in debt markets which forced it to be rescued by taxpayers' money. The very people who caused the financial crisis are being appointed by Obama to decide how to respond to it (more taxpayers' money for them and their friends) ‘
The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ‘In emotional and personal testimony, an ex-Justice official who quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims ...’  US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Washington Post | Obama has promised to hold Wall Street accountable for the meltdown. ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 – well worth a look. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

While boner and barton are indeed jokes / vegetables that bespeak the single-digit approval rate for congress, obama’s failure to deliver on promises with as well, endless war spending despite defacto bankruptcy of the nation and a watered down nothing financial regulation bill for talking points but little substance, make him as big a joker. This well researched / produced video tells the real story : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 ‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ – well worth the view. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored A viral You Tube upload of one of Alex Jones’ most popular feature films ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored following a spur of the moment campaign to elevate the movie’s title to the top of the major internet search engines. In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257# [ youtube is often down – website archived version is available as follows: http://www.albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv http://www.albertpeia.com/esotericagendalinktoarchive.htm

Wikimania and the First Amendment Ralph Nader | Jefferson said that “information is the currency of democracy” and that, given a choice between government and a free press, he’ll take the latter.

The Oil BP Tried To Hide Has Been Discovered Washington’s Blog | BP and the government famously declared that most of the oil had disappeared.

Wikileaks cable reveals U.S. conspired to retaliate against European nations if they resisted GMOs Mike Adams | The United States government is joined at the hip with Monsanto and pushing GMOs as part of Monsanto’s agenda.

Florida Fusion Center Surveilled Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty Public Intelligence, an international consortium of independent researchers, reports that a fusion center in Florida snooped on Ron Paul supporters and other political groups.

FCC internet takeover faces potential roadblock Just days after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided to essentially take over the internet, FOX News is reporting that a procedural delay could bring any new FCC rules to a grinding halt.

Tyranny Response Team Exposes Mobile Guard Tower With tinted windows hiding the “authorities” from the public, a hydraulic lift system and cameras on each side, the tower was an intimidating structure. This is a small town with low crime and the tower was placed next to a clean and well maintained city park.

The Greatest Gift For All This empowerment of the individual is unique to Western civilization. It has made the individual a citizen equal in rights to all other citizens, protected from tyrannical government by the rule of law and free speech.

‘US, South will pulverize Pyongyang if North takes bait’ North Korea says it’s ready to use its nuclear deterrent in what it calls a ‘sacred war’ against the South. The North’s defence minister’s statement was reported by state media there. The minister accused Seoul of deliberately stoking tension by staging successive joint military drills with the U.S. next to the North’s territory.

The Oil BP Tried To Hide Has Been Discovered, In Thick Layers On the Sea Floor Over An Area of Several Thousand Square Miles The massive application of dispersants to hide the amount of oil spilled has caused major problems to the Gulf.

Lindsay's Alleged Victim Will Refuse to Cooperate TMZ.com - The ex-Betty Ford staffer who claims Lindsay Lohan assaulted her earlier this month will not only drop her criminal complaint, she'll refuse to cooperate with authorities ... TMZ has learned. Dawn Holland, who told TMZ earlier this week how Lindsay ... Video: TMZ Update: Dina Lohan speaks out against rehab worker Fox Providence Video:  TMZ Update: Dina Lohan speaks out against rehab worker Fox Providence Lindsay Lohan Accuser Pulls a Complete 180 The Hollywood Gossip

Drudgereport: DEFICIT HITS RECORD...
MINORITY REPORT: Spielberg advising on rebranding Dems... [ Come on! You can’t unring the bell on the damage they’ve done by particularly doing the opposite of what they said, from perpetual war, to no prosecutions of the wall street frauds now marked to anything as per criminal courtesy via FASB rule change, etc.. They b*** s*** like their mascot, ‘wobama the b’ (for b*** s***); not that the republicans are substantially different … they’re incompetent, corrupt, etc... They’ve embraced the ‘history of decline and fall of nation-states’. ]
TODAY: Obama pledges 'singular focus' on economy...
ONE YEAR AGO: 'Obama to focus hard on economy'...
TWO YEARS AGO: Obama to put 'renewed focus' on economy...
US press should fear being targeted: Assange...
BLOWOUT: Government liabilities rose $2 trillion for year...
PEOPLE: 308,745,538
DEBT: $13,868,461,000,000
STATE OF THE NATION: Census shows slowing US growth...
GOP-leaning states pick up seats in Congress...
NY, OH, IL, MA, NJ and PA lose seats...
FCC Gives Government Power to Regulate Web...
Agency splits along party lines...
DeMint vows to reverse 'Internet takeover'...
AP: TOP 10 STORIES OF 2010...
MOODY'S May Cut US Rating on Tax Package...
New spending bill totals $1.1 TRILLION!
Congress Job Approval Rating Worst in GALLUP History...
FLASHBACK: Obama Promised 5-Day, Public Review of Bills Before Signing; Signs Tax Bill Within Hours of House Vote...
13 million get unexpected tax bill from 'tax credit'?
Pelosi skips vote on tax bill, then shuns signing ceremony...
House votes to extend gov't funding -- through Tuesday...
OBAMA FALLS TO 40% APPROVE IN FOXNEWS POLL...
The FCC's Threat to Internet Freedom...
Dems play politics with 'net neutrality' vote...
'Sweeping new rules'...
REGULATE...
SHUT: Music Web Sites Dispute Legality of Their Closing...
UK ministers threaten: Censor web, or we will legislate 'to protect children'...
Plan to block all online porn...
Hugo Chavez defends plan for web regulations...
Venezuela tightens Internet regulation...

THEY'RE COMING FOR THE INTERNET!
JULIUS SEIZURE

$2 trillion debt crisis threatens to bring down 100 US cities...
States face $140 billion in budget shortfalls...
32 states borrow billions from feds to cover unemployment benefits...
Friedman: America the Stupid...

French AAA Grade at Risk as Downgrades Sweep Europe...

Oil Heads Toward $100...
Chavez defends plan for Internet regulations...
UK ministers threaten: Censor web, or we will legislate 'to protect children'...
The FCC's Threat to Internet Freedom...
Dems play politics with 'net neutrality' vote...
'Sweeping new rules for the Internet'...
SKorea detains Chinese fishermen...
Security Council meets on tensions...
North Threatens More Attacks...
... says war would go nuclear
China warns of escalating arms race...

'Don't ask' repeal moves toward law...
DREAM OVER: Senate Blocks Bill for Illegal Immigrants...
Budget Brawl Looms in Congress...

Michelle wears $2,500 purchased dress to Christmas concert...
Senate Plans Weekend Votes on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' Amnesty Bill...
Senator: Gay ban tied to Russia treaty...
UN PLANS INTERNET REGULATION [ Those who can’t do … work at the u.n., in the u.s.; after all, for the first time in human history, the internet has for the most part enabled an unfettered look at the truth and truthful reasons for the unequivocally sad state of the world. That a supposed world body should support and potentially facilitate the encroachment upon such global communication is reason enough to dismantle such an already discredited body which arbitrarily seeks enforcement of some ‘resolutions’ as to some but not others ( ie., israel, u.n. resolutions 242, 338, etc., israeli and american war crimes, etc..) Raison d’tre … I don’t think so! Quite the contrary! ]
Regulators close banks in GA, FL, AR, MN... [ Regulators shutter 3 small banks in Ga., 1 each in Fla., Ark., Minn.; 157 banks closed in 2010 ]
Payrolls Drop in 28 States, Joblessness Rises in 21...
Nevada rate to 14.3%...
Rhode Island City Nears Bankruptcy...
Ireland Debt Downgrade...
IMF chief worried about Europe domino effect...
Senate clerks preparing to read 1,924-page spending bill on floor -- for 50 hours!...
Senator: 'There's No Way' To Read Entire Bill Before Vote...
KERRY: 'Why Would We Have To Read Something?'
McConnell offers 1-page resolution in place of 1,924-page spending bill...
SHOWDOWN: Gingrich Urges Fillibuster...
Biden To GOP Opposition: 'Get Out Of The Way'...
Reid: Earmarks are 'what we're supposed to do'...
Ban on Gitmo transfers vanishes...
Omnibus bill loaded with goodies for abortion industry...
PRIORITIES: House approves bill to make hybrids louder...
23% Say USA Heading in Right Direction, Lowest Since Obama Took Office...
POLL: Just 29% think Obama will be re-elected...
Is America the sick man of the globe?
BUCHANAN: Is this our America anymore?
UK Red Cross Bans Christmas to Avoid Offending Muslims...
SALVATION ARMY bell ringer caught stealing from kettle...
Deputies suspended after getting into brawl at party...
2 women charged with robbing 74-year-old...
Hundreds of gifts for kids stolen from 'Toys for Tots'...
Thousands of dollars in donated toys ruined after skunk attack...
Grocery prices grow by 1.5 times inflation rate...

Socialist president plays host to capitalism...
REPORT: Obama told lawmakers not passing tax deal could end presidency...
A $48 billion earmark...
PAPER: Year of bullying, bluff and bailouts leaves euro fighting for its life...
Reeling from riots, Italy faces uncertainty...
Greek anti-austerity strike turns violent...
VIDEO...
MORE UNREST: 2011...
$575 million PER PAGE...
6,488 earmarks...
McConnell fumes: 'No one has seen it'...
Reid threatens to keep Congress into next year...
Intelligence Reports Offer Dim Views of Afghan War...
HOLBROOKE LAST WORDS: STOP THIS WAR!

UPDATE: RUSSIA TO USE CHINA CURRENCY IN TRADES...

UK GRANTS ASSANGE BAIL; SWEDEN APPEALS...
Release delayed...
Lawyer: Secret Grand Jury Meeting Outside Washington on Leak...
CHRISTMAS CRIMES: Drive-By Purse Snatcher Terrorizing Women In NJ...
2 women charged with robbing 74-year-old...
Hundreds of gifts for kids stolen from 'Toys for Tots'...
Thousands of dollars in donated toys ruined after skunk attack...
Copper thieves burn down city's Christmas tree...
Burglar steals family's gifts -- and its dog!
Grave robbers steal 400 urns from cemetery...
'Grinch' Steals Packages Off Doorsteps, Signs For Deliveries...
Home Invaders Tie Up 12-Year-Old Boy, Take Video Games...
90-Year-Old Man Put In Choke-Hold, Robbed Of $370...
'Tea Party' anger simmers over backroom deal; Ramps up efforts...
2 Bank Failures Bring Year's Tally To 151...
COPS: Madoff's son hangs himself with dog collar in SoHo apartment...
...gave mechanic $400 tip day before suicide
Madoff Trustee Launches $19.6 Billion Lawsuit; 60 accused of participating in 'illegal scheme'...
Pump prices close in on average $3 a gallon...
FLASHBACK: $1.81 when Obama took office...
BLOW TO O: JUDGE RULES GOV'T CAN'T MANDATE CITIZENS BUY HEALTH CARE...
Cantor: Direct Appeal to Supremes...
POLL: Support For Obamacare Hits New Low...
Pelosi: 'Are You Serious?'
Obama: 'I'm itching for a fight'...
U N C O N S T I T U T I O N A L
Barbara Walters: 'This Guy (wobama) Has an Emotional Problem' [ Yes, it’s true, babawawa … wobama has substantial mental problems which along with inherent criminality are pervasive in america which also includes boner, and where were you in discussing such, babawawa regarding psychopaths bush, clinton, etc., or even former beau, senile greenspun ]...
DEFICIT HITS RECORD...
Putin Slams West for Assange Arrest...
US cable: Cuba to be insolvent within 2-3 years...
Assange Lawyers Prepare for U.S. Spying Indictment...
Teen Arrested in Hack Attacks...
Donations to WIKILEAKS are Tax Deductible -- in Germany...
Anonymous cyberwarriors stun experts...
Media outlets may be probed over WikiLeaks stories, joe ‘zelig zionist incompetent and corrupt‘ lieberman in Campaign To Trample The First Amendment claims Can the US government prosecute media outlets that reported on the WikiLeaks cables? According to joe ‘zelig zionist incompetent and corrupt‘ lieberman in his Campaign To Trample The First Amendment, the answer is maybe.
Home Values May Drop by $1.7 Trillion This Year...
UNEMPLOYMENT WEEK: DOWN TO 421,000; REVISED UP LAST WEEK 438,000...
POLL: Most Americans Say They’re Worse Off Under Obama...
F O [Related: Olbermann:  Obama Is ‘God Damned Wrong’ ]
REVENGE OF THE WIKIS!
Army of hackers targets the Swedish government...
Take down MASTERCARD site...
...VISA
PAYPAL...
AMAZON braces for hactivist attack...
Palin under cyber attack...
Assange's 'poison pill' file impossible to stop...
MOSCOW: Give Assange Nobel Peace Prize...
SENATE REJECTS REPEAL OF DON'T ASK DON'T TELL...
House Dems push through massive budget bill...
Final House Race Decided; GOP Net Gain: 63 Seats...
Ron Paul, Author of 'End the Fed,' to Lead Fed Oversight Panel...
Student protesters in London turn violent over tuition hikes...
Thousands try to break through police barricades at Houses of Parliament...
...attack car containing Prince Charles, Camilla...
Rolls Royce hit with paint; rear window smashed...
US Treasuries hit by biggest sell-off since LEHMAN...
Prices Plunge for 2nd Day on Deficit Fears...
Rattles investors...
Oil tipped to bubble over $100 barrel...
Food Stamp Rolls Continue to Rise...
SHOCK POLL: Americans Believe China Has Surpassed USA in Economic Strength...
'U.S. fiscal health worse than Europe's'...
Sorkin: Palin TV show is 'snuff movie'... [ Yeah … ‘she’s really all that’ and worse … I have great difficulty getting past the fact that she’s so incredibly dumb … not just ‘nonintellectual’ … butt really dumb! ] ‘… Sorkin, writer of the recent Facebook movie The Social Network, also accused the Fox News contributor of making a "snuff film" after the latest episode of Sarah's Palin's Alaska featured the politician going hunting with her father and shooting a caribou. He described Palin as "deranged", a "witless bully" and a "phony pioneer girl". He also said The Learning Channel, the US cable network, "should be ashamed of itself" for broadcasting her "truly awful reality show"…’
Senate convicts Clinton-appointed judge... [ Come on! One way or another they’re almost all getting bribed; including the initial lifetime appointment as alito, trump-barry, etc.. Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts (see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) End those lifetime licenses to steel. ] In earlier hearings, two attorneys who once worked with Porteous had testified that they gave him thousands of dollars in cash, including about $2,000 stuffed in an envelope in 1999, just before Porteous decided a major civil case in their client's favor.
Assange could face espionage trial in USA...
Palin under cyber attack...
1st Amendment issues...
Assange's 'poison pill' file impossible to stop...
WIKILEAKS: Stop Us? You'll Have to Shut Down Web...
Berkeley 'resolution' honoring leaker...
Scientologists outraged over spoof Christmas play... [ Hubbard was such a total fraud! Scientologists are delusional! ]St. Petersburg, Florida – ‘A controversial holiday musical production is set to open at American Stage Theatre in St. Petersburg. Photos: Pictures of A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant" is a musical play designed for the holiday season, but this play will not focus on Jesus Christ, but instead the story is about L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the church Of Scientology…’ 
NO BAIL...
Assange 'sabotaged condom' during one night stand...
Refused to wear one during another...
Stockholm police: Both women are victims...
INTERPOL WARRANT FOR NOT WEARING PROTECTION?
ASSANGE UNDER ARREST:
'HE DIDN'T WEAR A CONDOM'
Under arrest, will Assange dump the Doomsday Files?
Assange: Don't shoot messenger for revealing uncomfortable truths...
FLASHBACK: HILLARY COMPLAINS GOVERNMENTS BLOCK FREE FLOW OF INFO ON INTERNET...
WIKILEAKS: LIVE UPDATES...
FCC push to regulate news draws fire...
Lieberman: NYT may have committed crime by printing WIKILEAKS docs...
US to Host World Press Freedom Day in 2011 … [ What a total travesty! The u.s. as host … What a cruel joke! ] ...
OBAMA RACES TO CUT TAXES BEFORE REPUBLICANS: 6.2% Social Security tax would drop to 4.2% for workers for one year... MORE
THE NEW OBAMA!
SURPRISE TAX CUT MOVE [ As with defacto bankrupt america generally, more defacto bankrupt social security system, etc., are distinctions without significant differences. ]
OIL HITS $89...
Pump prices hit 2-year high...
Schwarzenegger Declares Fiscal Emergency, Proposes $9.9 Billion In Cuts...
Top Democrats defect, join unified GOP...
WIKILEAKS' Assange Will Release Encrypted Files If Arrested...
Cables Reveal How US Manipulated Climate Accord...
Cable: China Leaders Ordered Hacking on GOOGLE...
Meddling by Neighbors Adds to Iraq's Woes...
Government Workers Ordered Not to Read Cables...
Gingrich: Leaks Show Admin 'Shallow,' 'Amateurish'...
McConnell: Assange a 'High-Tech Terrorist'...
List of facilities 'vital to US security' leaked...
Mirror Sites Appear by the Hundreds...
Assange Speaks...
Hillary Jokes...
US forced to shake up embassies around world...
THE DOOMSDAY FILES
PAPER: Wave goodbye to Internet freedom...
[ I’m absolutely astounded that the world is not profoundly grateful to Assange et als for providing insight into the machinations and insanity of pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america, et als who wreaked havoc on the world as they pillage, plunder, and destroy (lives, nations, etc.). ]
+39,000 JOBS IN NOVEMBER...
BOEHNER: Dem Leaders Should Stop Wasting Time on Tax Hike Votes...
HALPERIN: Dems 'In Midst of Nervous Breakdown'...
Obama Makes Surprise Trip to Afghanistan...
Flies 7,000 miles -- talks to Karzai for 15 minutes on phone!
Forgets the Coast Guard...
Leaves Biden behind to handle 'disappointing' jobs report...
Reid, funded by casinos, pushes online gambling...
ABCNEWS accused of breaking embargo...
2010 death toll of US troops nears that of 2001-2008 combined...
OBAMA SPEECHWRITER JOKES ABOUT TSA GROPING: Allows 'defrocked priests to give back to society'...
US Deficit-Cutting Plan Falls Short of Needed Votes...
UNEMPLOYMENT UP TO 9.8%
HILLARY: Secretary of State will be 'my last public position'... ... PITCHE$ $IGNED DVD ON HOME $HOPPING NETWORK..
US TO BAILOUT EU [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! After all, in defacto bankrupt america money does grow on trees … derivatively (pun intended) that is … you know … that ever more worthless fiat paper currency … and ultimately, existentially, philosophically, doesn’t paper come from trees … sure it does …so, no problemo since money grows on trees. ]
BOMBSHELL: European banks took big slice of Fed aid...
Hundreds of billions of dollars...
Fed reveals global extent of its backing... ]Funds went to stalwarts of American industry including GE and Caterpillar and household-name companies such as Verizon, new data show.
GEORGIA: HUNDREDS LINE UP IN COLD FOR HEAT HELP...
Assistance Funds Quickly Depleted...
'Almost like being in soup line during great depression'...
VIDEO...
DELAYING TAX VOTE COULD 'CRASH STOCK MARKET' STARTING 12/15 [ Come on! There’s no way to justify the tax cut to the top 1% including the frauds on wall street … their threats don’t hunt no more … the nation’s defacto bankrupt … see Davis, supra! ]
Chase Bank orders branch to remove Christmas tree...
Cyber attack forces WIKILEAKS to change web address...
Respected media outlets collaborate with organization... [ Said outlets and other disseminators and of course Wikileaks deserve accolades for the advancement of first amendment liberties in the name of an informed global body politick for all.]
UPDATE: Latest developments...
Foreign contractors hired Afghan 'dancing boys'...
Embassy cables portray Karzai as corrupt, erratic...
CIA drew up UN spying wishlist...
Assange speaks...
UPDATE: Latest WIKILEAKS developments...
Foreign contractors hired Afghan 'dancing boys'...
Embassy cables portray Karzai as corrupt, erratic...
CIA drew up UN spying wishlist...
SANTA CLAUSE: FED AID WENT TO COMPANIES, BANKS, OFFSHORE...
SECRETLY BAILED OUT GE -- GE NEWS OUTLETS FAILED TO REVEAL IN FED COVERAGE...
SANTA CLAUSE: FORD, BMW, TOYOTA Took Secret Government Money......
Fed Created Conflicts in Improvising Financial System Rescue...
Tax Breaks for Bailout Recipients Spark Debate...
MORE SECRETS: Fed Withholds Data for $885 Billion in Loans...
RUSSIA TO HOST '18 WORLD CUP FINALS...
Qatar selected '22 host over USA, others...
'AMERICAN PSYCHO' musical in works... [ I recommend the derivative films, American Psycho and American Psycho 2, for insight! ]
National Board of Review: SOCIAL NETWORK named best film... [ National board of what? ‘Inception’ is by far and away the ‘Best Film’ across the board, in all categories, and on the list! ] LIST...
BANK OF AMERICA Becoming 'Bank of Asia' as Revenue Increases 30% ...
RESET: PUTIN CRITICIZES USA OVER WIKILEAKS … [ Putin deserves the greatest deference in matters of global concern in light of his greater rationality; america’s self-serving accusations are merely envy and projection / displacement (in psychoanalytic terms) of america’s pervasively corrupt, criminal, broken system which is a far cry in reality from defacto bankrupt america’s propaganda.]...
REWARD: [ The payoff. Bribe complete! Next bribe scenario … ] CITI to Hire Obama's Ex-Budget Chief Orszag...
FLASHBACK: Rubin and friends ride NY-DC shuttle...
ZUCKERMAN: Watching America's Decline and Fall [the moral authority of the West has dramatically declined in the face of the financial crisis. It has revealed deep fault lines within Western economies that have spread to the global economy. The majority of Western governments are running fiscal deficits of 10 percent or more relative to GDP, but it is increasingly clear that there will be no quick fixes, that big government and fiscal deficits will not bring us back to the status quo ante. Indeed, the tidal wave of red ink has meant that the leverage-led or debt-led growth model is dead. Developed countries will be forced to deal with their debt on every level, from the personal to the corporate to the sovereign. Being able to borrow may have made people feel richer, but having to repay the debt is certainly making them feel poorer, particularly since the unfunded liabilities that many governments face from aging populations will have to be paid for by a shrinking band of workers. (Ecoutez, mes amis!) Demography is destiny. As a result, there is a burgeoning consensus that we are witnessing an inevitable rise of the East and a decline of the West…( Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ) ]...
Interpol issues wanted notice for Julian Assange [ They just can’t take the truth! ] ...
US cuts access to files [ Think about it. Really think about it. Their policies are in the tank, along with the nation and the rest of this world as a consequence. Don’t those so detrimentally affected (everyone) have a right to know? I think in light of the global frauds, contrived perpetual wars though defacto bankruptcy of this and other nations, pervasive corruption and crime, failed policies domestically and geo-politically while serving the very parochial interests of the self-interested few, the answer is an unequivocal, YES! I believe that world history will write Mr. Assange as a hero in the truest sense. He should be given a medal; and, certainly, since mr. b*** s*** wobama undeservingly got a ‘nobel peace prize’ (what he does, not what he says, ie., Afghanistan, etc.), who more than Julian Assange is deserving of that and more? Cover-up / propaganda … thy name is fallen america.]...
WIKILECTURE: 'HILLARY SHOULD RESIGN' ‘…Hillary Clinton, Julian Assange said, "should resign." Speaking over Skype from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, the WikiLeaks founder was replying to a question by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel over the diplomatic-cable dump that Assange's organization loosed on the world this past weekend. Stengel had said the U.S. Secretary of State was looking like "the fall guy" in the ensuing controversy, and had asked whether her firing or resignation was an outcome that Assange wanted. "I don't think it would make much of a difference either way," Assange said. "But she should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up. Yes, she should resign over that."…’
CITY ON EDGE: Cash-Strapped Newark, new jersey Forced To Lay Off 14% Of Police Force... [ From decades old (1978-1985) direct personal experience with newark, n.j., the police are the absolute last cuts that can be afforded to be made. Indeed, while walking through Military Park (a sliver of a “park” - more a pedestrian thoroughfare/cement walks) in newark, new jersey on the way to the bank during lunch hour, I heard the clearly audible screams/cries of what turned out to be an old lady on the ground with blood streaming from her mouth. I ran toward the sound of the cries, the source of which I could not see because there were so many people in and about this thoroughfare so as to block any vision of the source of the cries. When I came to the woman, on the ground, blood streaming from her mouth, I asked what happened, to which she responded she had been hit in the mouth and knocked to the ground, her purse stolen/put inside her shopping bag, and she pointed out the criminal casually now walking across the main street. Nobody stopped to help her, many having passed her by. I slammed the thug to the ground so hard that, in light of all the blood and confusion (limbic system / adrenalin flow) I thought I had been stabbed (the blood was from his elbows hitting the pavement so hard - no one helped / a crowd gathered / an undercover cop happened along). When I testified at the Grand Jury Proceeding I made sure his threat on my life was set forth in prima facie fashion so as to maximize the DA’s position with both felonies ( he went to prison – pled out ). The other case I wrote about here ( This was included on my website in the Psychology forum discussion of ‘bystander effect’ / diffusion of responsibility. ) - Having had occasion to have run down a mugger in newark, n.j. who apparently had followed a girl from the bank on her way to the bursar to pay tuition, though in pretty good shape, I was astounded by how totally exhausting such a pursuit was, how much like rubber my arms were when I traded punches with the perpetrator, and truth be told, if I had a flashlight on my belt, I have little doubt that I would have probably used it to subdue the perp. The girl was not that seriously injured, did get her pocketbook and tuition back, and the criminal went to jail. The other thing about such a pursuit that amazed me was that no one else assisted the girl or me despite being in a position to do so). (Other newark / new jersey and new york, n.y. metro, viz., ie., connecticut, and of course, d.c., d.c. metro, viz., ie., virginia experience … corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz (california), hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken (AP) Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ]
Nation's '2nd Most Dangerous City' (camden, new jersey) To Lay Off Nearly Half Of Police Force...
Chicagoland: Vandals torch Christmas charity van...

Fed Achieves Higher Price Goals: Dave's Daily ‘Do higher prices for "stuff" make you feel better about things? Only Chavez or Ahmadinejad would be happy since PC NIMBY American's keep being self-destructive. And, if you're an American you've probably forgotten we have an entire Department of Energy which has only produced more bureaucrats and patronage then more energy. You see folks, whenever there's a problem with something important (energy, education, banking and etc) we just create a new agency or department and assume it will get fixed. What a bunch of suckers we are! There is only one thing innocent citizens/investors can do--get long whatever it is they say they're "fixing". In this case that would be commodities and oil. Not much happened Wednesday beyond higher prices for stocks and commodities overall. There were two light POMO actions just to keep things well-lubed for the few traders remaining. Volume was half-day like while headlines scream "markets post Lehman highs" and etc. Breadth per the WSJ was positive once again.’

MY INTERNET CONNECTION IS DOWN SO I’M USING A LOCAL WORKSTATION COMPUTER AND WILL HAVE MORE TO SAY ABOUT THE PERVASIVELY CORRUPT, DEFACTO BANKRUPT AMERICAN SCUMBAGS SHORTLY! They will be sorry they did this … I won’t forget!

Yes … it’s official … a blazing full moon … and the effects on the lunatic frauds on wall street, among others, are clearly evident. This is an especially great time to Sell / Take Profits since there is much, much worse to come! ( They’re just suckin’ you in, locking in inflated manipulated air-bubble gains for year to keep you suckered and to rationalize their churn-and-earn scam on the way down as in preceding crashes (with that familiarly, ie., greenspan, bernake, etc., sought ephemeral, feel-good ‘wealth effect’, with debased dollar, inflated earnings and depressed P/E multiples thereby, insurmountable debt and stock bubble therefrom, diverting attention from their huge fraud accomplis with trillions of the worthless paper / toxic asset results of same now marked to anything as per legislated FASB rule change! ) ( These lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks, and insurmountable debt will end quite badly as in last crash and worse! The analogy, though not perfect, is the bonuses, main street and wall street, billions for shipping jobs overseas and pocketing the difference … similarly, there is a real cost for the paper inflation and the money has to come from some real place … ie., the new sucking sound! )

Can Stocks Hold on to Their Gains? Simon Maierhofer, On Wednesday December 22, 2010, 7:02 pm EST Are Stocks Cheap? [ Reality’s short anwer: NO! NO! NO! ] Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday November 30, 2010 Are Stocks Over Loved and Over Valued? [ Is the Pope Catholic? Do bears s*** in the woods? … Reality’s short answer: YES! YES! YES! ] Simon Maierhofer, On Monday November 22, 2010 ‘Momentum and perception are the big intangibles of the investing universe.  Nobody knows exactly when the investing masses' mojo will turn on or off, overheat or over correct.Valuations, similar to gravity, are the big equalizer. In a world of uncertainty, valuations are the one thing you can rely on.  Getting valuations right is one thing, figuring out when valuations will exercise their gravitational pull on stocks (NYSEArca: VTI - News) is another.
Using Valuations as a Guide
When planning a trip from point A to B, you need to know where A and B are. If you don't know your destination, you will most likely end up some place you don't want to be.  Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.Fair valuations are the final investment destination. If you invest in an undervalued market or stock and have the patience to let the market do its magic, your investment will be profitable 9 out of 10 times.If you invest in an overvalued market and don't get out in time, odds are that your journey will end in tears.
Asking the 'Valuation Guru'
Charles Dow, the founder of the Wall Street Journal and inventor of the Dow Jones Averages was an astute student of valuations. According to Mr. Dow, a correct understanding of valuations is the single most important ingredient to investment success. If Mr. Dow was still alive, what would he say about today's market? Would he tell you to buy or sell?Let's examine the most basic and probably purest measure of value: Dividend yields.Unlike P/E ratios, dividend yields can't be fudged and massaged. Companies with a healthy cash flow use their financial prowess to attract and retain buy-and hold type investors with juicy dividend checks.The dividend yield is expressed as a percentage of the stock price and can rise for two reasons: 1) stock price drops or 2) dividend payment increases. As a rule of thumb, the higher dividend yields, the healthier valuations.
Dividend Yield - Buy High, Sell Low
It's human nature to want what you can't get. Current yields are low, but everybody wants income, so investors are willing to risk the return of their money for return on their money.  Current yields are close to an all-time low, so it's fair to assume that stocks are overvalued.The opposite was true in the first quarter of 2009. A variety of ETFs yielded close to or even more than 10%. The Financial Select Sector SPDRs (NYSEArca: XLF - News) and Vanguard Financial ETF (NYSEArca: VFH - News) paid more than 7%.Dividend ETFs like the iShares DJ Select Dividend (NYSEArca: DVY - News) and SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: SDY - News) had yields north of 6%, and even plain value ETFs like Vanguard Value (NYSEArca: VTV - News) and iShares Russell 1000 Value (NYSEArca: IWD - News) paid more than 4%.The problem at that time was that nobody was interested in yield. Investors shunned stocks and yields like cats shun water. Within a week of prices bottoming and stocks beginning to rally, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter recommended to load up on dividend-rich ETFs.Here's the newsletter's March 2, 2009 recommendation: 'This counter trend rally will have to be broad and powerful in order to relieve investor's pent-up urge to buy. Dividend ETFs with a higher allocation to financials are likely to rise higher than the broad market. Some of the dividend yields are quite juicy and can help to offset timing mistakes.'

Beware of the Yields Trap

Since then, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) has risen as much as 84%, the performance for the Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) has been similar. What about dividend yields?If the March 2009 lows marked a true market bottom, dividend payments should have increased somewhat proportionally to stock prices. They didn't. In fact, yields today are lower than they were at the March 2009 bottom.In March 2009 the dividend yield for S&P 500 constituents was 3.6%. By multiplying 3.6% with the March 2009 low of 666 we arrive at a dividend yield of 23.98 points. In October 2010, the S&P yielded 1.97%. Based on an S&P at 1,200 points, this represented 23.64 points, 0.34 points less than at the March 2009 bottom.Hunting after yield without considering the risk at current prices is similar to maxing out your credit cards just to rack up frequent flier miles. The return comes at a (long-term) cost.
Beware of the Earnings TrapIn my humble opinion, earnings are more than just a trap, they are a minefield. According to the numbers we are fed, earnings have already surpassed the threshold reached at the peak of the dot-com bubble and are projected to eclipse even the 2007 all-time record high in 2011.If this doesn't strike you as odd, take a moment to examine the chart below. Leading up to the 2007 stock market and earnings high, we had consistent GDP growth (not historically great but steady). The real unemployment rate (U-6, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) was 8.4%.[chart]Today, GDP is sputtering (and inflated by government subsidies) and U-6 unemployment has more than doubled to 17%. For those who prefer to go by the media's more palatable U-3 jobless number, it has soared from below 4.7% to 9.6%. Does that look like the kind of environment that would produce record high earnings?I don't think it would be presumptuous to wonder if financial engineering and massaging the books has something to do with high earnings. Remember the 157 rule change which allows banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) to hide real estate losses (see June 2010 ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter for a detailed analysis).Even when assuming that current earnings are for real, the P/E ratio (high earnings translate into a lower P/E ratio) is still historically elevated. Admittedly not as much out of line as a year ago, but still high.

Don't Bet Against Valuations

Buying into an overvalued market and expecting a long-term gain, is like sowing seed in the winter and expecting to reap in the summer - it doesn't work that way.Of course, over the short-term, markets can defy valuations and make disciplined investors look like temporary fools. But, as the 2000 and 2008 declines have shown, there are no shortcuts to long-term success.The most intriguing facet of dividend yields and P/E ratios is that they tend to pinpoint major market bottoms. All historic market bottoms had one thing in common: super high dividend yields and ridiculously low P/E ratios.Based on this historic clue, the March 2009 bottom looks more like a fake than a major bottom. Just as ice doesn't thaw unless the temperature rises above 32 degrees, the market doesn't bottom until P/E ratios and dividend yields signal that a valuation reset has occurred.The December issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed analysis of P/E ratios, dividend yields, and two other benchmarks of value-based forecasting plotted against historic charts of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones.A picture paints more than a thousand words, and the featured chart shows how overvalued stocks are and how far they have to drop before a sustainable new bull market can begin.’

John Hussman's Index: Stocks Are 13% Overvalued John Hussman, manager of Hussman Strategy Growth Fund (HSGFX), proposed price to peak 10 year average earnings as a long term stock market valuation metric. Compared with the normal one year price to earning ratio, Price to Peak Earnings would eliminate short term noise. This is similar to Shiller's ‘Cyclically Adjusted Price Earning’ ratio (CAPE10) and Warren Buffett’s stock market GNP/GDP metric.In his weekly commentary on Dec 5, 2005, titled as 'Earnings Revert to the Mean, Stocks Will Struggle', he proposed a simplistic method: "buy when Price to Peak Earnings is lower than 15 and sell when it exceeds 19.5". John Hussman has been using this as the valuation yardstick to manage the Hussman Strategic Growth Fund HSGFX.A model portfolio called P Hussman Peak PE Market Timing Strategy Buy 15 Sell 19.5 Weekly is also maintained to live monitor the strategy suggested in 'Earnings Revert to the Mean, Stocks Will Struggle'. click [chart] On Nov 19, 2010, the ratio of Real Price to the average of last 10 year Peak Real Earnings (13.44) to its long term average (11.93) is 1.13. The US stock market is 13% overvalued. We will be tracking this number biweekly.

Banks accused of illegally looting homes NY Times | When Mimi Ash arrived at her mountain chalet here for a weekend ski trip, she discovered that someone had broken into the home and changed the locks.

Down Argentine Way Ron Holland | The economic lesson to be learned from the Argentina experience is wealth and resources can be destroyed by big government and financial mismanagement.

WikiLeaks Founder: We Have Enough Information To Make An Exec At A Major Bank Resign Huffington Post | An upcoming data dump by WikiLeaks will be damaging enough that an executive at a major American bank will resign, the organization’s founder Julian Assange said in a recent interview.

In a Sign of Foreclosure Flaws, Suits Claim Break-Ins by Banks When Mimi Ash arrived at her mountain chalet here for a weekend ski trip, she discovered that someone had broken into the home and changed the locks.

Municipal Bond Market Crash 2011: Are Dozens Of State And Local Governments About To Default On Their Debts? In the United States, it is not just the federal government that has a horrific debt problem. Today, state and local governments across America are collectively deeper in debt than they ever have been before.

$2 trillion municipal bond debt crisis could bring down 100 US cities, analyst warns Meredith Whitney, a financial analyst who runs her own consulting firm and correctly predicted the major debt fallout of Citigroup, warned in a little-reported on interview Sunday that as many as 100 US cities face default on their municipal bonds.

Julian Assange Says He Has Enough Material To Make The Bosses Of A Major Bank Resign Julian Assange has enough material to make the bosses of a major bank resign, he told a Times of London reporter.

National / World

New tax law reveals the mirage of the Social Security trust fund (Washington Post) [ This really is kind of amazing and testament to the reality that in defacto bankrupt america, the truth is stranger than fiction. ] With last week's passage of the much-ballyhooed tax deal between President Obama and Republican lawmakers, an accounting fiction of no economic value has become public policy.

Obama-friendly Business Roundtable may become less so (Washington Post) [ No mystery there … that wobama is done is clear as crystal … and, it’s obvious to everyone that he’s full of s*** and doesn’t have the slightest idea what he’s doin’ nor even one core belief (keep dem nation-bankrupting wars rollin’, etc.) … just muddlin’ along to get through this thing called a failed presidency and take to the b*** s*** talk circuits … teleprompter and all. ]

Low-wage families on the rise(Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! ] Recession sharply increased the percentage of working people who earn wages so paltry they struggle to survive, according to a new report. Cuts (in Social Security) or investments at the State of the Union? (Washington Post) [ Yes, really sounds like a plan … to make up for the tax cuts to the top 1%, etc.. Senate overwhelmingly approves tax-cut deal (Washington Post) [ Yeah … you just have to shake your head and wonder with Davis … Timid Tuesday: Is it Safe? Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘]A far-reaching $858 billion tax plan negotiated by the White House and Republican leaders sails through the Senate and is heading for a vote Thursday in the House, as lawmakers rush to prevent a New Year's tax hike from striking virtually every American household. ] There's talk that the White House is planning to propose Social Security cuts in the State of the Union.

Cuomo sues Ernst & Young (Washington Post) [ … but not the mafia (in the new york / new jersey / metropolitan region) ‘cause they don’t deceive, they’re right out in the open ‘doin’’ their thing … and not the perpetrators of a still extant massive securities (now marked to anything) fraud, ie., goldman sachs, morgan chase, etc., ‘cause they don’t deceive in forking over huge political contributions, etc.. ]

CIA launches task force (Washington Post) [ Oh yeah! There should be a task force all right; but an independent one ‘to assess the impact of … thousands of U.S.’ missteps as a consequence of failed, flawed cia ‘strategies’, ‘intelligence-related’ blunders (ie., nation bankrupting perpetual wars, Iraq, Afghanistan, now Pakistan, Iran, and of course, as cia man poppy bush put it, that ‘engagement thing’ with China including technology transfers and giving away the store, etc.. Then there’s their illegal drug ops, securities fraud, etc., ( see http://albertpeia.com/CIAAgentAffidavit1.jpg , http://albertpeia.com/FBIAgentAffidavit11.jpg , see also, RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) . I mean, can anybody really be sorry we learned that the Iraq war / debacle was based on a lie? ]

WTF? CIA Sets Up Wikileaks Task Force Kurt Nimmo | The CIA has established a Wikileaks Task Force and it’s acronym is WTF.

Obama Executive Order Targets Fourth Amendment Kurt Nimmo | The Fourth Amendment will not be allowed to stand in the way of the forever war against manufactured enemies.

Fluoride in Water Linked to Lower IQ in Children Fluoride Action Network | Fluoride is added to 70% of U.S. public drinking water supplies.

Espionage Act Rears Its Ugly Head And Threatens American Tradition Of Freedom Before It’s News | Keep your eye firmly fixed on what happens with SHIELD, Julian Assange and The New York Times.

Thanks to “Dirty Harry” Reid: An Overt Act of Betrayal by Both Houses of Congress Marti Oakley | How much more do we have to forfeit, how many more of our rights will be taken away before we stand up and say “enough”?

Obama Executive Order Targets Fourth Amendment Remember when Barry Obama said he would close Gitmo because it wasn’t right to hold people without formal charges and trials? He made the pledge soon after assuming the ceremonial throne. He said he would get it done within 12 months.

Congress sticks it to U.S. farmers with passage of food safety bill that will actually cause fresh produce to be more dangerous The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2751 yesterday with a 216 to 144 vote (yes, many members of the House did not even vote). The so-called Food Safety Modernization Act now heads to the President to be signed into law.

Obama Prepares Executive Order For Indefinite Detention First president Obama becomes Bush in all but name with respect to his predecessor’s economic policies, and now he follows by espousing Bush’s interpretation of “civil rights” as well.

No Congress Since 1960s Makes Most Laws for Americans as 111th However history judges the 535 men and women in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate the past two years, one thing is certain: The 111th Congress made more law affecting more Americans since the “Great Society” legislation of the 1960s.

Fluoride in Water Linked to Lower IQ in Children Exposure to fluoride may lower children’s intelligence says a study pre-published in Environmental Health Perspectives, a publication of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Plan to Turn Post Office Trucks Into Stasi Data Collection Nodes Forget the StreetView data vacuum scandal. If an idea proposed for the money hole known as the U.S. Post Office is adopted, your friendly neighborhood postal person may be soon driving a high-tech data collection vehicle that would rival anything Google put to use for the government.

Jeffrey Saut: 'Do You Sincerely Want to Be Rich?'Excerpt from Raymond James strategist Jeffrey Saut's latest essay (published Monday, December 20th):

“Do you have the mental fortitude to accept huge gains?”“This comment usually gets a hearty laugh, which merely goes to show how little most people have determined it actually to be a problem. But consider how many times has the following sequence of events occurred? For a full year, you trade futures contracts, making $1000 here, losing $1500 there, making $3000 here and losing $2000 there. Once again, you enter a trade because your (trading) method told you to do so. Within a week, you’re up $4000. Your friend/partner/acquaintance/broker/advisor calls you and, looking out only for your welfare, tells you to take your profit. You have guts, though, and you wait. The following week, your position is up $8000, the best gain you have ever experienced. ‘Get out!’ says your friend. You sweat, still hoping for further gains. The next Monday, your contract opens limit (down) against you. Your friend calls and says, ‘I told you so. You got greedy. But hey, you’re still way up on the trade. Get out tomorrow.’ The next day, on the opening, you exit the trade, taking a $5000 profit. It’s your biggest profit of the year, and you click your heels, smiling gratefully, proud of yourself. Then, day after day for the next six months, you watch the market continue to go in the direction of your original trade. You try to find another entry point and continue to miss. At the end of six months, your method finally, quietly, calmly says, ‘Get out.’ You check the figures and realize that your initial entry, if held, would have netted $450,000.”“So what was your problem? Simply that you had allowed yourself, unconsciously, to define your ‘normal’ range of profit and loss. When the big trade finally came along, you lacked the self esteem to take all it promised . . . who were you to shoot for such huge gains? Why should you deserve more than your best trade of the year? Then you abandoned both (trading) method and discipline. To win the game, make sure that you understand why you’re in it. The big moves in markets only come once or twice a year. Those are the ones which will pay you for all the work, fear, sweat, and aggravation of the previous years. Don’t miss them for reasons other than those required by your objectively defined method. The IRS categorizes capital gains as ‘unearned income,’ that’s baloney. It’s hard to make money in the market. Every time you make, you richly deserve. Don’t ever forget that.”

... Robert Prechter – the Elliott Wave Theorist (1992) [ Dow 1000? Robert Prechter Thinks So Prechter Reiterrates Call For Dow 1,000, Even As Surging Gold And Plunging Dollar Leave Much Credibility To Be Desired Bulls Go to Extremes: Don't Buy the "Breakout", Sell It, Prechter Says Russell: This Is One Of The Largest Tops In Stock Market History My old friend, Bob Prechter, is talking about Dow 400. I used to think this was an absurd joke. I no longer think it’s a joke. The ultimate result will be a primary bear market shocking in duration and extent. …’ Robert R. Prechter Jr. is author of a number of newsletters and books including “Elliott Wave Principle” (1978) in which he predicted the super bull market of the 1980s; “At the Crest of the Tidal Wave – A Forecast of the Great Bear Market” (1995) in which he predicted a slow motion economic earthquake, brought about by a great asset mania, that would register 11 on the financial Richter scale causing a collapse of historic proportions; and “Conquer the Crash: You can Survive and Prosper in a Deflationary Depression” (2002) in which he described the economic cataclysm that we are just beginning to experience and advised how to position one’s self financially during that period of time.
Depression is Imminent
The Dow Jones Industrial Average will go down to at least 1000, most likely to below 777 which was the starting point of its mania back in August 1982, and quite likely drop below 400 at one or more times during the bear market. ]

“Do you sincerely want to be rich?!”What a great question! It’s a question I ponder this time of year as I reflect on the year gone by. This year that question leaped out while studying the history of buying stampedes. Recall, the current stampede is now 77 sessions in length, which eclipses the longest such skein recorded in my notes of some 45 years. While reviewing the 1987 upside stampede, into the August 1987 peak, I rediscovered the aforementioned quote from Robert Prechter. It’s an excellent quip. Virtually everybody can identify with it.On the surface the question seems laughable; who can’t accept huge gains? But in order to set yourself up for such gains you have to possess the courage to take an oversize position and maybe even leverage it. That kind of risk takes stomach and fortitude. Many times I have waited for the right moment, the big move, and decided against it. Maybe it was because I chickened out. While I often rationalized the hesitation away, the real reason I did not act was the emotional strain.Yet, I know myself and have learned that emotional actions are failures most of the time. What one has to do is be able to step outside of themselves in an objective fashion. When you do that, it’s kind of like seeing things in slow motion. You are calm, objective, and can see ahead, perceiving the proper sequence of events. You just know you’re right and you act......I bring these thoughts up today because it’s very human to look back after this September 1st to December 18th “buying stampede” and say, “If I hadda . . . !” If I hadda bought that stock, that option, that index, in size, etc. . . . ! It’s painful. But, post mortems help you learn in this business. I’ve learned that history repeats itself in the financial markets, despite changing players and changing events. You have to identify the patterns, and then you have to possess the courage to act, to believe in your own discipline …That said, there are signs that the current rally is long of tooth, suggesting the potential for a January “air pocket.” Furthermore, there is precedent for that. In 1981 the SPX suffered a 5% downside “air pocket.” Again in 1990 there was a 7% “hit.” In fact, January 2010 saw a 4% hiccup. Accordingly, while I still believe the upside should be favored into year-end, I am starting to consider some downside hedge “bets” to reduce the risk in portfolios.’

Elvis, Nixon And The New Normal McSherry ‘It was 40 years ago today On this date forty years ago, December 21, 1970, in a bizarre meeting of pop culture icons, Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon after ‘The King’ appeared unannounced at the gates of the Executive Mansion and handed the guard on duty a 5-page handwritten letter requesting a meeting with the president.Elvis presented the president with a commemorative Colt .45 pistol during the meeting for some reason, and according to notes of the meeting taken by Nixon aide Egil Krogh, Presley told the president that he thought the Beatles were a “real force for anti-American spirit” (not to mention having put a serious dent in the King’s record sales. He was probably resentful of their role in his banishment to Vegas).Elvis also disclosed that he had been studying “Communist brainwashing and the drug culture for over ten years.” At least the second claim was not hyperbole!  After the meeting, Elvis got what he was after: a ceremonial appointment as a “Federal Agent at Large” in the war against drugs. I wonder if the badge helped him fill all of the prescriptions he obtained while under the care of the acquiescent Dr. Nick.Elvis was such an important cultural figure in American history that two versions of him co-exist in the pantheon of Pop Culture Gods. The one we all prefer to remember is the cool, leather-clad rockabilly version that dramatically burst upon the world stage in the 1950s, but the overweight, caped Vegas version still has a hold on the popular imagination. Together they symbolize a peculiarly American version of a Shakespearian tragedy.While it will be sometime before we know if the upcoming year is filled with scintillating versions of “Hound Dog” or turgid versions of “In The Ghetto,” we can at least run with the metaphor for the rest of this blog entry. After a decade in which a debt-fueled spree caused the American economy to become as bloated as the late-period Vegas Elvis after a night spent bingeing on amphetamines and fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, it should have come to little surprise to any of us that the post-housing bubble crash was so painful to endure. But now American corporations have become as lean as the leather-clad Elvis seen during his famous televised “comeback” special in 1968 and investors can’t help falling in love with the thought that the so-called “new normal” may not be quite as depressing as some of the popularizers of that phrase have been predicting.Reluctant buyers appear to have decided that it’s now or never and have been jumping into the market in the anticipation that improving economic conditions will result in an earnings bonanza for said corporations.Many suspicious minds, scarred by the experiences of the past two years are having a hard time buying into the notion of a “melt-up” in the market, but the indexes are currently pressing up against a number of resistance levels and an upside breakout could cause the shorts to check into Heartbreak Hotel. The recovery of the service sector, currently said to make up nearly two-thirds of the American economy, will be the key to improved GDP growth and investors would be wise to key an eye on related metrics.Services (think Elvis’coterie of assorted “hangers-on”) tend to recover later in the cycle than durable goods and if the pattern plays out as it has in past recoveries, we could be on a verge of another leg up. Anecdotal evidence supports the thesis that he wealth effect caused by a rising market is encouraging consumers to spend during this holiday season. Can it be long before businesses large and small begin to reap the benefits of increased consumer spending? Judging by the increasing number of prognosticators who are predicting a strong rally, we all could be headed for Graceland in 2011. Thank you very much.’

California City Threatens to Shut Off Street Lights Due to Budget Crunch

WikiLeaks Founder: We Have Enough Information To Make An Exec At A Major Bank Resign Huffington Post | An upcoming data dump by WikiLeaks will be damaging enough that an executive at a major American bank will resign, the organization’s founder Julian Assange said in a recent interview.

60 million American people’s jobs, pensions and property are moving into the hands of the already rich Before It’s News | And that’s just the beginning: Paul Krugman’s Trashing of Ron Paul is “All in a day’s work for the man whose name disgraces the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics.”

$2 trillion municipal bond debt crisis could bring down 100 US cities, analyst warns Meredith Whitney, a financial analyst who runs her own consulting firm and correctly predicted the major debt fallout of Citigroup, warned in a little-reported on interview Sunday that as many as 100 US cities face default on their municipal bonds.Raw Story | A new disaster is looming, according to a prominent market research analyst.

Julian Assange Says He Has Enough Material To Make The Bosses Of A Major Bank Resign Julian Assange has enough material to make the bosses of a major bank resign, he told a Times of London reporter.

Government Waste: 20 Of The Craziest Things That The U.S. Government Is Spending Money On You are not going to believe some of the things that the U.S. government is spending money on. According to a shocking new report, U.S. taxpayer money is being spent to study World of Warcraft, to study how Americans find love on the Internet, and to study the behavior of male prostitutes in Vietnam.

Is JP Morgan Shifting Its Silver And Gold Shorts To Non-US Domiciled, And Thus Unregulatable, Banks? Going through recent bullion bank shorting information, Adrian Douglas has stumbled across a nugget that may explain the sudden willingness of JPM to admit to the FT, via proxies as obviously the bank would never expose itself to even remote market manipulation claims, that it has collapsed its silver short.

16 Shocking Facts About The Student Loan Debt Bubble And The Great College Education Scam As you read this, there are over 18 million students enrolled at the nearly 5,000 colleges and universities currently in operation across the United States. Many of these institutions of higher learning are now charging $20,000, $30,000 or even $40,000 a year for tuition and fees.

State of Disaster In July, WealthCycles.com published a blog piece called The Risk of Your State that highlighted little pieces of the slow-moving train wreck that is the fiscal situation of the U.S. states. At that point, Illinois was in a deep mess.

Tipping Point: 25 Signs That The Coming Financial Collapse Is Now Closer Then Ever The financial collapse that so many of us have been anticipating is seemingly closer then ever. Over the past several weeks, there have been a host of ominous signs for the U.S. economy.

The Economic Collapse
Dec 17, 2010

The financial collapse that so many of us have been anticipating is seemingly closer then ever.  Over the past several weeks, there have been a host of ominous signs for the U.S. economy.  Yields on U.S. Treasuries have moved up rapidly and Moody’s is publicly warning that it may have to cut the rating on U.S. government debt soon.  Mortgage rates are also moving up aggressively.  The euro and the U.S. dollar both look incredibly shaky.  Jobs continue to be shipped out of the United States at a blistering pace as our politicians stand by and do nothing.  Confidence in U.S. government debt around the globe continues to decline.  State and local governments that are drowning in debt across the United States are savagely cutting back on even essential social services and are coming up with increasingly “creative” ways of getting more money out of all of us.  Meanwhile, tremor after tremor continues to strike the world financial system.  So does this mean that we have almost reached a tipping point?  Is the world on the verge of a major financial collapse?

Let’s hope not, but with each passing week the financial news just seems to get eve worse.  Not only is U.S. government debt spinning wildly toward a breaking point, but many U.S. states (such as California) are in such horrific financial condition that they are beginning to resemble banana republics.

But it is not just the United States that is in trouble.  Nightmarish debt problems in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Belgium and several other European nations threaten to crash the euro at any time.  In fact, many economists are now openly debating which will collapse first – the euro or the U.S. dollar.

Sadly, this is the inevitable result of constructing a global financial system on debt.  All debt bubbles eventually collapse.  Currently we are living in the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world, and when this one bursts it is going to be a disaster of truly historic proportions.

So will we reach a tipping point soon?  Well, the following are 25 signs that the financial collapse is rapidly getting closer….

#1 The official U.S. unemployment rate has not been beneath 9 percent since April 2009.

#2 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are currently 6.3 million vacant homes in the United States that are either for sale or for rent.

#3 It is being projected that the U.S. trade deficit with China could hit 270 billion dollars for the entire year of 2010.

#4 Back in 2000, 7.2 percent of blue collar workers were either unemployed or underemployed.  Today that figure is up to 19.5 percent.

#5 The Chinese government has accumulated approximately $2.65 trillion in total foreign exchange reserves.  They have drained this wealth from the economies of other nations (such as the United States) and instead of reinvesting all of it they are just sitting on much of it.  This is creating tremendous imbalances in the global economy.

#6 Since the year 2000, we have lost 10% of our middle class jobs.  In the year 2000 there were approximately 72 million middle class jobs in the United States but today there are only about 65 million middle class jobs.

#7 The United States now employs about the same number of people in manufacturing as it did back in 1940.  Considering the fact that we had 132 million people living in this country in 1940 and that we have well over 300 million people living in this country today, that is a very sobering statistic.

#8 According to CoreLogic, U.S. housing prices have now declined for three months in a row.

#9 The average rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage soared 11 basis points just this past week.  As mortgage rates continue to push higher it is going to make it even more difficult for American families to afford homes.

#10 22.5 percent of all residential mortgages in the United States were in negative equity as of the end of the third quarter of 2010.

#11 The U.S. monetary base has more than doubled since the beginning of the most recent recession.

#12 U.S. Treasury yields have been rising steadily during the 4th quarter of 2010 and recently hit a six-month high.

#13 Incoming governor Jerry Brown is scrambling to find $29 billion more to cut from the California state budget.  The following quote from Brown about the desperate condition of California state finances is not going to do much to inspire confidence in California’s financial situation around the globe….

“We’ve been living in fantasy land. It is much worse than I thought. I’m shocked.”

#14 24.3 percent of the residents of El Centro, California are currently unemployed.

#15 The average home in Merced, California has declined in value by 63 percent over the past four years.

#16 Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has come up with a new way to save money.  He wants to cut 20 percent of Detroit off from essential social services such as road repairs, police patrols, functioning street lights and garbage collection.

#17 The second most dangerous city in the United States – Camden, New Jersey – is about to lay off about half its police in a desperate attempt to save money.

#18 In 2010, 55 percent of Americans between the ages of 60 and 64 were in the labor market.  Ten years ago, that number was just 47 percent.  More older Americans than ever find that they have to keep working just to survive.

#19 Back in 1998, the United States had 25 percent of the world’s high-tech export market and China had just 10 percent. Ten years later, the United States had less than 15 percent and China’s share had soared to 20 percent.

#20 The U.S. government budget deficit increased to a whopping $150.4 billion last month, which represented the biggest November budget deficit on record.

#21 The U.S. government is somehow going to have to roll over existing debt and finance new debt that is equivalent to 27.8 percent of GDP in 2011.

#22 The United States had been the leading consumer of energy on the globe for about 100 years, but this past summer China took over the number one spot.

#23 According to an absolutely stunning new poll, 40 percent of all U.S. doctors plan to bail out of the profession over the next three years.

#24 As 2007 began, there were just over 1 million Americans that had been unemployed for half a year or longer.  Today, there are over 6 million Americans that have been unemployed for half a year or longer.

#25 All over the United States, local governments have begun instituting “police response fees”.  For example, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has come up with a plan under which a fee of $365 would be charged if police are called to respond to an automobile accident where no injuries are involved.  If there are injuries as a result of the crash that is going to cost extra.

16 Nightmarish Economic Trends To Watch Carefully In 2011 The American Dream Dec 15, 2010 ‘If you only watch the “economic pundits” on television, it can be very confusing to figure out exactly what is happening with the U.S. economy.  One pundit will pull out a couple statistics that got a little bit better over the past month and claim that we have entered a time of solid recovery.  Another pundit will pull out a couple statistics that got a little worse over the past month and claim that we are headed for trouble.  So what is the truth?  Well, if you really want to get a clear idea of what is really going on you have to look at the long-term trends.  There are some economic trends which just keep getting worse year after year after year, and it is those trends that tell the real story of the decline of our economic system.

As you examine the long-term trends, you quickly come to realize that the U.S. is trapped in an endless spiral of debt, the middle class is being wiped out, the U.S. dollar is being destroyed and America is rapidly becoming a post-industrial wasteland.

Posted below are 16 nightmarish economic trends to watch carefully in 2011.  It is becoming exceedingly apparent that unless something is done rapidly we are heading for an economic collapse of unprecedented magnitude….

#1 Do you want to see something scary?  Just check out the chart below.  Since the beginning of the economic downturn, the U.S. monetary base has more than doubled.  But don’t worry – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has promised us that this could never cause inflation.  In fact, Bernanke says that we need to inject even more dollars into the economy.  So if you are alarmed by the chart below, you are just being irrational according to Bernanke….

[chart]

#2 Thousands of our factories, millions of our jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars of our national wealth continue to be shipped overseas.  In 1985, the U.S. trade deficit with China was 6 million dollars for the entire year.  In the month of August alone, the U.S. trade deficit with China was over 28 billion dollars.  Nobel economist Robert W. Fogel of the University of Chicago is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040 if current trends continue.

#3 The United States is rapidly becoming a post-industrial wasteland.  Back in 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of all U.S. economic output.  In 2008, it represented only 11.5 percent and it continues to fall.  Sadly, the truth is that America is being deindustrialized.  As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing.  The last time that less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.

#4 The number of Americans that have been out of work for an extended period of time has absolutely exploded over the last few years.  As 2007 began, there were just over 1 million Americans that had been unemployed for half a year or longer.  Today, there are over 6 million Americans that have been unemployed for half a year or longer.

#5 The middle class continues to be squeezed out of existence.  According to a poll taken in 2009, 61 percent of Americans ”always or usually” live paycheck to paycheck.  That was up substantially from 49 percent in 2008 and 43 percent in 2007.

#6 The number of Americans living in poverty is absolutely skyrocketing.  42.9 million Americans are now on food stamps, and one out of every six Americans is now enrolled in at least one anti-poverty program run by the federal government.  Unfortunately, many of those that have been hardest hit by this economic downturn have been children.  According to one new study, approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010 - the highest rate in 20 years.

#7 Many American families have been pushed beyond the breaking point during this economic downturn.  Over 1.4 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, which represented a 32 percent increase over 2008.  The final number for 2010 is expected to be even higher.

#8 The U.S. real estate market continues to stagnate.  During the third quarter of 2010, 67 percent of mortgages in Nevada were “underwater”, 49 percent of mortgages in Arizona were “underwater” and 46 percent of mortgages in Florida were “underwater”.  So what happens if home prices go down even more?

#9 More elderly Americans than ever are being forced to put off retirement and continue working.  In 2010, 55 percent of Americans between the ages of 60 and 64 were in the labor market.  Ten years ago, that number was just 47 percent.  Unfortunately, it looks like this problem will only get worse in the years ahead.  In America today, approximately half of all workers have less than $2000 saved up for retirement.

#10 In the United States today, there are simply far too many retirees and not nearly enough workers to support them.  Back in 1950 each retiree’s Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 workers.  Today, each retiree’s Social Security benefit is paid for by approximately 3.3 workers.  By 2025 it is projected that there will be approximately two workers for each retiree.

#11 Financial assets continue to become concentrated in fewer and fewer hands.  For example, the “big four” U.S. banks (Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo) had approximately 22 percent of all deposits in FDIC-insured institutions back in 2000.  As of the middle of 2009 that figure was up to 39 percent.

#12 The Federal Reserve has been destroying the value of the U.S. dollar for decades.  Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the U.S. dollar has lost over 95 percent of its purchasing power.  An item that cost $20.00 in 1970 would cost you $112.35 today.  An item that cost $20.00 in 1913 would cost you $440.33 today.

#13 Commodity prices continue to soar into the stratosphere.  Ten years ago, the price of a barrel of oil hovered around 20 to 30 dollars most of the time.  Today, the price of oil is rapidly closing in on 100 dollars a barrel and there are now fears that it could soon go much higher than that.

#14 Federal government spending is completely and totally out of control.  The U.S. government budget deficit increased to a whopping $150.4 billion last month, which represented the biggest November deficit on record.  But our politicians can’t seem to break their addiction to debt.  In fact, Democrats are trying to ram through a 1,924 page, 1.1 trillion dollar spending bill in the final days of the lame-duck session of Congress before the Republicans take control of the House of Representatives next year.

#15 The U.S. national debt is rapidly closing in on 14 trillion dollars.  It is more than 13 times larger than it was just 30 short years ago.  According to an official U.S. Treasury Department report to Congress, the U.S. national debt is projected to climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015.

#16 Unfortunately, the official government numbers grossly understate the horrific nature of the crisis we are facing.  John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics has calculated that if the federal government would have used GAAP accounting standards to measure the federal budget deficit for 2009, it would have been approximately 8.8 trillion dollars.  Not only that, but John Williams now says that U.S. government debt is so wildly out of control that it is mathematically impossible for us to “grow” our way out of it….

The government’s finances not only are out of control, but the actual deficit is not containable.  Put into perspective, if the government were to raise taxes so as to seize 100% of all wages, salaries and corporate profits, it still would be showing an annual deficit using GAAP accounting on a consistent basis.  In like manner, given current revenues, if it stopped spending every penny (including defense and homeland security) other than for Social Security and Medicare obligations, the government still would be showing an annual deficit. Further, the U.S. has no potential way to grow out of this shortfall.

The more one examines the U.S. economic situation, the more depressing it becomes.  The U.S. financial system is trapped inside a horrific debt spiral  and we are headed straight for economic oblivion.

If our leaders attempt to interrupt the debt spiral it will plunge our economy into a depression.  If our leaders attempt to keep the debt spiral going for several more years it will just make the eventual crash even worse.  Either way, we are headed for a financial implosion that will be truly historic.

The debt-fueled good times that we have been enjoying for the last several decades are rapidly coming to an end.  Unfortunately for the tens of millions of Americans that are already suffering, our economic problems are only going to get worse in the years ahead.’

Jobless Recovery?: 25 Unemployment Statistics That Are Almost Too Depressing To Read ‘… Unemployment is up again! That’s right – even though Wall Street is swimming in cash and the Obama administration is declaring that “the recession is over”, the U.S. unemployment rate has gone even higher. So are you enjoying the jobless recovery? Economic Collapse Blog Dec 4, 2010 ‘Guess what?  Unemployment is up again!  That’s right – even though Wall Street is swimming in cash and the Obama administration is declaring that “the recession is over”, the U.S. unemployment rate has gone even higher ... Times are really, really tough and unfortunately the long-term outlook is very bleak.  We should have compassion on those who are out of work right now, because soon many of us may join them.

The following are 25 unemployment statistics that are almost too depressing to read….

#1 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. unemployment rate for November was 9.8 percent.  This was up from 9.6 percent in October, and it continues a trend of depressingly high unemployment rates.  The official unemployment number has been at 9.5 percent or higher for well over a year at this point.

#2 In November 2006, the “official” U.S. unemployment rate was just 4.5 percent.

#3 Most economists had been expecting the U.S. economy to add about 150,000 jobs in November.  Instead, it only added 39,000.

#4 In the United States today, there are over 15 million people who are “officially” considered to be unemployed for statistical purposes.  But everyone knows that the “real” number is even much larger than that.

#5 As 2007 began, there were just over 1 million Americans that had been unemployed for half a year or longer.  Today, there are over 6 million Americans that have been unemployed for half a year or longer.

#6 The number of “persons not in the labor force” in the United States recently set another new all-time record.

#7 It now takes the average unemployed American over 33 weeks to find a job.

#8 When you throw in “discouraged workers” and “underemployed workers”, the “real” unemployment rate in the state of California is actually about 22 percent.

#9 In America today there are not nearly enough jobs for everyone.  In fact, there are now approximately 5 unemployed Americans for every single job opening.

#10 According to The New York Times, Americans that have been unemployed for five weeks or less are three times more likely to find a new job in the coming month than Americans that have been unemployed for over a year.

#11 The U.S. economy would need to create 235,120 new jobs a month to get the unemployment rate down to pre-recession levels by 2016.  Does anyone think that there is even a prayer that is going to happen?

#12 There are 9 million Americans that are working part-time for “economic reasons”.  In other words, those Americans would gladly take full-time jobs if they could get them, but all they have been able to find is part-time work.

#13 In 2009, total wages, median wages, and average wages all declined in the United States.

#14 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing.  The last time that less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.

#15 The United States has lost at least 7.5 million jobs since the recession began.

#16 Today, only about 40 percent of Ford Motor Company’s 178,000 workers are employed in North America, and a big percentage of those jobs are in Canada and Mexico.

#17 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output.  In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.

#18 Earlier this year, one poll found that 28% of all American households had at least one member that was looking for a full-time job.

#19 In the United States today, over 18,000 parking lot attendants have college degrees.

#20 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.

#21 As the employment situation continues to stagnate, millions of American families have decided to cut back on things such as insurance coverage.  For example, the percentage of American households that have life insurance coverage is at its lowest level in 50 years.

#22 Unless Congress acts, and there is no indication that is going to happen, approximately 2 million Americans will stop receiving unemployment checks over the next couple of months.

#23 A poll that was released by the Pew Research Center back in June discovered that an astounding 55 percent of the U.S. labor force has experienced either unemployment, a pay decrease, a reduction in hours or an involuntary move to part-time work since the economic downturn began.

#24 According to Richard McCormack, the United States has lost over 42,000 factories (and counting) since 2001.

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

But this is what we get for creating the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world.  For decades we have been digging a deeper hole for ourselves by going into increasingly larger amounts of debt.  In America today, our entire economy is based on debt.  Even our money is debt.  We were fools if we ever thought this could go on forever. Just think about it.  Have you ever gone out and run up a bunch of debt?  It can be a lot of fun sitting behind the wheel of a new car, running your credit cards up to the limit and buying a beautiful big house that you cannot afford. But in the end what happens? It always catches up with you. Well, our collective debt is starting to catch up with us.  There is a sea of red ink on every level of American society.  It is only a matter of time before it destroys our economy. IF YOU THINK THAT THINGS ARE BAD NOW, JUST WAIT.  THINGS ARE GOING TO GET A WHOLE LOT WORSE.  A HORRIFIC ECONOMIC COLLAPSE IS COMING, AND IT IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY PAINFUL.’

Howard Davidowitz on the Economy: "Here Are the Numbers ... WE'RE BROKE!" 11-25-10 ‘The U.S. economy "is a complete disaster," Howard Davidowitz declared here in July, the most recent in a string of dire predictions from Tech Ticker's most entertaining guest.On the eve of Thanksgiving, I asked Davidowitz if he had any regrets, or was ready to throw in the towel given recent signs of economic revival. Are you kidding me? "Here are the numbers...we're broke," Davidowitz declares, noting the U.S. government goes $5 billion deeper into debt every day and is facing $1 trillion-plus annual deficits for the next decade. "In other words, we're bankrupt."As with the economy, Davidowitz is unwaveringly consistent in his views on President Obama, calling him "deranged, dysfunctional and discredited."Results of the midterm election show "the people of this country think we are in a catastrophe," he says. "I'm with them."Check the accompanying video for more of Howard's unfettered opinions and stay tuned for additional clips from this interview. And...Happy Thanksgiving! Aaron Task is the host of Tech Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at [email protected]’

Timid Tuesday: Is it Safe? Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘

17 Things Worrying Investors Lloyd's Wall of Worry

Worry Count: 17


CHINA: 1,330,044,605 people can’t be wrong.

The PIIGS: Fasten your seatbelts. It’s gonna be a long, bumpy, expensive, weird, (insert your own adjective here) freak show of a ride.

CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Not yet as dire as “The PIIGS”. Might I suggest the classier moniker of “The Prosciuttos” for the American basket-case states?

QE II: Gobble?

U.S. ECONOMY: The “Punky Brewster” of the global economic landscape.

UNEMPLOYMENT: Only thing worse than losing your job, losing your unemployment check. At least there’s the holiday season to cheer everyone up (read: heavy sarcasm).

TAXES: Praying to the Financial Market Gods that we don’t have another TARP-like vote fiasco.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PART II: Still two years before the Pres. election and the peanut gallery is already pleading for a Hail Mary Pass to get them back in the game.

HFT: Instead of beating up these liquidity supplying traders, let’s honor them with their very own stock exchange. But wait -- with no retail saps to pick-off they will never get that Day 1 opening bell tick. Perfect.

XMAS 2010: As my professor friend Nick says, “Nowadays Americans are dining off of two menus – The Million Dollar and the $0.99 Cent.” And both are pissed about it.

CURRENCIES: Poor Mr. Greenback. Does someone need a hug?

HOUSING CRISIS: Price Stabilization – Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more….

INFLATION/DEFLATION: Fed Chief Ben B. comes out swinging from his heels in defense of inflation promotion. Don’t punch yourself out as this one is likely to go the distance.

COMMODITIES: Corrected but still sky high; fortunately these prices are only affecting core, basic, life-sustaining necessities and sparing our electronic gadgets and plus-sized SUVs. Whew!

INSIDER TRADING: Another black eye for Hedge Funds. I estimate that makes black eye number 6,597.

INTEREST RATES: South Korea and China slowly turning up the dial to “11”. On the other hand the U.S. has removed the dial altogether. This never ends well….

NORTH KOREA: Here we go again.

'Huge' stock decline — but not yet MarketWatch  - Brimelow ‘Commentary: Adens … ‘mega trend’ looks grim … The Adens expect a hyperinflationary collapse … ‘
Oh come on! Manipulated dollar decline with inflated earnings, stock prices thereby, etc., … we’ve seen this all before … the last few crashes … Jobless rate jumps to 9.8% as hiring slows (Washington Post) [ The reality is not a mystery! The nation’s been thrown under the bus for the greater good (wealth) of the very few (frauds on wall street, etc.); wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION: Come on! This is gettin’ even more downright ridiculous (if that’s even possible)! Pending home foreclosure / distress sales up, oil prices (and oil stocks) up, debased dollar down, plus a little familiar ‘better than expected’ thrown in along with prospects of a ‘no-recession bernanke’ market-frothing bull session on 60 minutes and, voila, suckers’ rally into the close to keep the suckers suckered! What’s good for the frauds on wall street is bad for just about everyone else which includes the vast majority of people and businesses, domestically and globally, as current dollar manipulation / debasement ultimately results in higher costs and loss of purchasing power (ie., oil, etc.). Clearly, this is one of those fraudulent wealth transfers to the frauds on wall street et als which will ultimately be paid for by those who least are in a position to afford it, courtesy of the ever more worthless Weimar dollar, etc., inflating earnings, eps, lowering p/e multiples, etc., see infra. This is an especially great time to sell / take profits while you can since there's much worse to come! Previous: Rosy numbers on consumer sentiment, unemployment (far better than private forecasts) from the government prior to the holiday so-called ‘shop till you drop’? How can anyone believe anything they say? Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz adds that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! And, with insiders and wall street frauds selling into the bubble as preceded last crash, this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally on light volume, full moon, and government complicity (false data / reports) to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam/fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

National / World

FCC approves controversial ‘Net Neutrality’ regulations Eric W. Dolan | By a 3-2 vote Tuesday, the FCC passed so-called “Net Neutrality” rules aimed at prohibiting ISPs from discriminating between Internet traffic.

Plan to Turn Post Office Trucks Into Stasi Data Collection Nodes Kurt Nimmo | Your friendly neighborhood postal person may be soon driving a high-tech data collection vehicle.

Wikileaks: A Big Dangerous US Government Con Job F. William Engdahl | It is almost too perfectly-scripted to be true.

Homeland Security’s Coming War Against 9/11 Truth Activists Kurt Nimmo | The term “white al-Qaeda” was created for a specific reason.

Plan to Turn Post Office Trucks Into Stasi Data Collection Nodes Forget the StreetView data vacuum scandal. If an idea proposed for the money hole known as the U.S. Post Office is adopted, your friendly neighborhood postal person may be soon driving a high-tech data collection vehicle that would rival anything Google put to use for the government.

FCC Approves Controversial ‘Net Neutrality’ Regulations By a 3-2 vote Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed so-called “Net Neutrality” rules aimed at prohibiting internet service providers (ISPs) from discriminating between Internet traffic.

Metro Randomly Inspects Passengers’ Bags Metro Police started randomly inspecting bags at the Braddock Road and College Park Metro stations Tuesday. Another woman, who did not object to the bag screening, was stopped for 45 seconds. She missed her train as her bag of Christmas presents was searched.

Holder Warns Of Threat Within: ‘Radical’ Citizens “The threat has changed from simply worrying about foreigners coming here, to worrying about people in the United States, American citizens — raised here, born here, and who for whatever reason, have decided that they are going to become radicalized and take up arms against the nation in which they were born,” he said.

You Are A Terrorist While the establishment constantly invokes the contrived terror threat as justification for the announcement that your every activity is being sent to federal fusion centers, those same fusion centers have been busy defining peaceful assembly, non-violent protest and criticism of the government as domestic terrorism. According to the government’s own definition of what constitutes terrorist activity – you are a terrorist.

Rev. Sharpton Calls for FCC Hearings On Talk Radio [ Truth be told, I don’t even listen to talk radio anymore (it’s already filtered and certainly not eye-opening); but, especially coming from ape sharpton, this is preposterous and dangerous! ]Democrat talk radio host and Baptist minister Al Sharpton called for Rush Limbaugh and other radio talk show hosts to be dragged before the FCC to answer questions. Sharpton told the Ed Show last Thursday he supports McCarthy-like hearings. He wants the agency to squelch the First Amendment of political opponent. Rev. Sharpton Calls for FCC Hearings On Talk Radio [ Come on … who takes ape sharpton seriously? Remember the Tawana, Bwana! Tawana Brawley In 1987, black teenager Tawana Brawley claimed that six white ... of the attackers by Miss Brawley's advisers: Maddox, the Rev ... Vernon Mason. While Miss Brawley refused to speak with… www.albertpeia.com/tawana.htm The Man With the Plan of Surge Surging www.albertpeia.com/42007newsposts.htm ] Kurt Nimmo | Federal agency encouraged to go after Obama’s enemies.

You Are A Terrorist Paul Joseph Watson | Being a “nice guy,” supporting Ron Paul and talking about the Constitution all signs of terror.

Assange claims “people affiliated with our organization have already been assassinated” BBC | Says accuser was “bamboozled into this by police and others.”

Pimco says ‘untenable’ policies will lead to eurozone break-up London Telegraph | Pimco, the world’s largest bond fund, has called on Greece, Ireland and Portugal to step outside the eurozone temporarily and restructure their debts unless the currency bloc agrees to a radical change of course.

AP: TOP 10 STORIES OF 2010... Crary, Ap National Writer – NEW YORK – The massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, triggered by a deadly blast at a rig used by BP, was the top news story of 2010, followed by the divisive health care overhaul, according to The Associated Press' annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors.The oil spill received 54 first-place votes out of 180 ballots cast for the top 10 stories. The health care bill was next, with 30 first-place votes. The U.S. election was third.In fourth place was the U.S. economy, which had been voted the top story of 2009.
Here are 2010's top 10 stories, in order:

1. _GULF OIL DISASTER: The April 20 explosion at a BP-leased rig killed 11 workers and unleashed a deep-sea spill that ultimately spewed at least 170 million gallons of crude into the Gulf. Consequences included devastation for fishing and tourism industries, a huge and costly cleanup effort, a management change at BP, and creation of a $20 billion fund to pay for damages.

2. _HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL: After bitter political wrangling, President Barack Obama was able to sign into law one of his major campaign promises — a $1 trillion health care overhaul intended to expand coverage to more Americans. But Republicans used public misgivings about parts of the plan as a springboard for election gains, and the overhaul faced a welter of lawsuits challenging its constitutionality.

3. _US ELECTIONS: President Obama called it a "shellacking" — an election in which the Republicans surged to a majority in the House of Representatives, and gained more governor's offices and legislative majorities. The Democrats were able to hang on to their edge in the Senate, leaving the U.S. with at least two years of divided government.

4. _US ECONOMY: Economists said the deepest recession since the Great Depression was over, and consumers began to spend more as the year neared a close. But the unemployment rate stayed well above 9 percent, and home prices were weighed down by foreclosures and sluggish demand.

5. _HAITI EARTHQUAKE: Already the Western Hemisphere's most destitute nation, Haiti was shattered by an earthquake on Jan. 12 that killed at least 230,000 and left millions homeless. Crucial reconstruction projects were slow to get started; disease and political instability added to the woes.

6. _TEA PARTY MOVEMENT: Though it lacked the trappings of traditional political organizations, the tea party movement had a profound impact on the 2010 election, influencing the stances of Republican leaders and enabling some maverick challengers to oust GOP establishment candidates in the primaries.

7. _CHILE MINE RESCUE: In a year of disasters and squabbles, this was a miraculous feel-good story. Trapped nearly a half-mile underground for 69 days after an Aug. 5 mine collapse, 33 Chilean miners were freed one-by-one while an entranced global audience watched on television.

8. _IRAQ: U.S. forces formally ended their combat role and looked ahead to planned withdrawal, while Iraqis endured months of bitter political haggling after an election that failed to heal Sunni-Shiite divisions.

9. _WIKILEAKS: First came the online postings of a huge batch of U.S. military documents from Iraq and Afghanistan, Then WikiLeaks started releasing a cache of classified State Department diplomatic cables, creating embarrassment for Washington in its dealings with other nations.

10. _AFGHANISTAN: After months of deliberation, President Obama ordered a troop surge in a major bid to turn the tide of the nearly 10-year-old war. Intense fighting pushed the Taliban out of some longtime strongholds, but the militants remained resilient, and Afghanistan remained beset by corruption and ineffectual government.

It was a year of dramatic and diverse news events. Among the stories which didn't make the top 10 were Arizona's enactment of a tough law against illegal immigration, the European fiscal crisis, a Supreme Court ruling freeing corporations and unions to fund election ads targeting candidates, floods in Pakistan that affected 20 million people, and the volcanic eruption in Iceland that caused trans-Atlantic air travel chaos."We wish we could have voted for a top 15 or 20, there were so many compelling stories this year," wrote news editor Larry Lockhart of the Casa Grande Dispatch in Arizona.Jessica Runnels Rourk, an editor at The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C., said the health care overhaul was a catalyst for other major political events."Conservative anger over the law gave rise to the tea party movement, and the law itself became a symbol of the lack of bipartisanship in Congress that cost incumbents from both parties in November's elections," she noted on her ballot.’

N.J. orders court appearances (Washington Post) [ Well, the one thing you know for certain, the money’s flying in this notoriously corrupt, multi-ethnic mob infested state, jersey and law will have very little to do with the decision … Corrupt sinkhole states of connecticut, new york, virginia, and california are from direct experience, not that much different and not that much better … (see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ] Judicial order requires six banks -- Ally Financial, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase among them -- to explain why court shouldn't suspend foreclosures.

Afghanistan delivers a belated, muted criticism of Obama's war strategy review (Washington Post) [ war strategy review … Don’t make me laugh! What strategy? To what end? National bankruptcy? Accomplished! Costly blowback (now and future)? Accomplished! Heroin trade up? Accomplished! Increase global anti-american sentiment? Accomplished! Incresed corporate welfare to special war profiteering interests? Accomplished! Killing innocent men, women, and children? Accomplished! … ‘should have focused more on other issues, such as Afghan civilian casualties’… duh! Remember, these wobamanoids/bushies are desperate criminals in a failed administratin / nation ]

FCC set to enact strong rules affecting Internet access (Washington Post) [ So predictable … that ‘beacon of liberty’ … you know, that they know, the truth works against them … Drudgereport: The FCC's Threat to Internet Freedom...
Dems play politics with 'net neutrality' vote...
'Sweeping new rules'...
REGULATE...

WikiLeaks: Julian Assange says police feared he would be assassinated outside High Court The founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange has claimed he is being bombarded with death threats from american soldiers (who have got to be considered propagandized fools since he actually was helping them inasmuch as they are viewed by the so-called powers that be as nothing more than nation-distracting cannon fodder, despite any political rhetoric to the contrary). ]Cecilia Kang Enactment of the controversial rules would mark the government's strongest move yet to ensure Web data reach consumers' homes unimpeded.

Low-wage families on the rise (Washington Post) [ Yeah! Poverty and the size of the (still unprosecuted from last fraud) fraudulent wall street sinkhole bonuses … rising. ] Recession sharply increased the percentage of working people who earn wages so paltry they struggle to survive, according to a new report.

Applebaum: The 'decline of the West' (Washington Post) [ It really is true … and, no leftist sympathizer with his book of the same name, none other than Buchanan says as much. The reason of course is based on reality. From Orwellian Britain, to failed nation-state the pervasively corrupt and defacto bankrupt wobama-bushland america, to perpetual war ‘me-toos’ (ie., nato allies, war crimes nations israel, u.s., etc.), their frauds (wall street, etc.) protected, laws meaningless(see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) , their ruthless suppression subtle, hidden, but odious as never before in their respective histories, the west at best has become that ‘distinction without significant difference’ and heading to worse than can be imagined. Of course they’ll lay blame to something other than the huge frauds / wealth transfers that have plundered the nation. Indeed, one could even cogently argue that said plundering gave rise to the flawed, failed communism lie in the first instance. Yet, Russia, a great nation with a rich history is not a communist nation, did not violently suppress the people as they shirked that communist yoke / albatross, is not as defacto bankrupt, meaningfully lawless, pervasively corrupt america engaging in perpetual wars of destruction to persons and property, and with a great leader of historical dimension in Putin is a far more rational choice than the bankrupt west on all levels. As for communist china, it has truly been a self-defeating, self-destructive creation of the west out of greed which is in no short supply in the west. PREVIOUS:

Wikileaks founder freed on bail (Washington Post) [ ‘… Moore (correctly) asserts that Assange is under attack solely because he had the courage to expose American war crimes. Moore writes:

We were taken to war in Iraq on a lie. Hundreds of thousands are now dead. Just imagine if the men who planned this war crime back in 2002 had had a WikiLeaks to deal with. They might not have been able to pull it off. The only reason they thought they could get away with it was because they had a guaranteed cloak of secrecy....

So why is WikiLeaks, after performing such an important public service, under such vicious attack? Because they have outed and embarrassed those who have covered up the truth…’

Though Assange’s arrest was on far more tenuous grounds owing to a CIA-linked girl, Roman Polanski was similarly targeted:

BBC News - Roman Polanski triumphs at European Film Awards Dec 5, 2010 ... Roman Polanski's thriller The Ghost Writer wins six prizes at the European ... Polanski was working on the film at the time of his arrest in ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11921048 {I strongly recommend this, of course, masterfully done film which deals with exactly that topic and the sordid, unscrupulous machinations of the cia / u.s. (no wonder the u.s. opted out of coverage by world treaty / The Hague thereby) to avoid detection of, and to further such activities as the war crimes referenced.}

Don’t forget: america has their own untouchables in the illegal sense, ie., wall street, etc., and In interview, Bush defends Iraq war and waterboarding (Washington Post) [ Defending the indefensible … what choice does he have … then there’s the lies … ] Bush breaks silence, writes next chapter (Washington Post) [ As a failed president and war criminal himself, moron dumbya bush is among the few in the world that makes failed president wobama look plausibly good in comparison … wobama merely continued the failed policies of dumbya (perpetual war, no pros the frauds on wallstreet, etc.) that got pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america to this point of decline and failure. ] Anne E. Kornblut Your take: His most memorable moment? [ Like regrets in that old song (his way) he’s had a few – http://albertpeia.com/evilonthetarmac.htm here’s a few: bushisms from bush the brain-damaged moron http://albertpeia.com/bushisms.htm :

Clinton Speaks: He Did It Because He Could - There Are Serial Killers On Death Row Who Have Killed Fewer People Than Unconflicted, Pathological Liar/Perjurer, Rapist, and Murderer, Psychopath criminal american clinton

· clinton Flashed ("Dropped his Drawers") Paula Jones and Implored Her To "Kiss It" (his p***s, which owing to distinctive "marking/disfigurement" she was able to describe)

· clinton "Cops a Cheap Feel/Grope" From Kathleen Willey In Attempting Prey Upon Her Perceived Vulnerability

· clintonites Threaten Dolly Kyle Browning In Attempting To Intimidate Her Into Giving False Testimony

· clinton Brutally Rapes Juanita Broaddrick

· clinton Was Asked To Leave Oxford Owing To Sexual Assault Of A Fellow Student

He Does It Because He Can

On March 11, 1999, Investor’s Business Daily reported that at least nine (9) women have now charged that Clinton "personally assaulted them or, through his ‘agents’ or ‘people,’ threatened to do them or their families physical harm." The list includes Dolly Kyle Browning, Gennifer Flowers, Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Corbin Jones, Kathleen Willey, Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, Sally Perdue, and Elizabeth Ward Gracen. "And all of them say they’re afraid for their safety so long as he remains in power."

CLINTON BODY COUNT

By: Ether Zone Staff

Here is the latest body count that we have. All of these people have been connected with the Clintons in some form or another. We have not included any deaths that could not be verified or connected to the Clinton scandals. All deaths are listed chronologically by date. This list is current and accurate to the best of our knowledge as of January 13, 1999 August 1, 2000. (see complete list http://albertpeia.com/bodycount.htm ) …’ ]

Robinson: On track to nowhere in Afghanistan (Washington Post) [ I agree with Mr. Robinson and we should be thankful that he’s watching closely and, unlike so many others, he has courage enough to say so :

Obama's glaring ego (Washington Post) [ Come on! Now known for what he really is; viz., an insecure, dysfunctional, jive-talking b*** s*** artist, he’s just once again, but typically wrong, and is nothing to have an ego about. Robinson: White House is eerily silent on taxes (Washington Post) [ Eerily? I think not! Expectantly? I think so! That is, once you get beyond the wobama b*** s*** ! And, truth be told party distinctions are merely distinctions without significant differences (no prosecution of the wall street frauds, wars raging in Afghanistan / Middle East, etc.. But alas, as to the ‘wobama whitehouse’ this was predictable early on as by David Icke : Barack Obama: The Naked Emperor Shocking but true revelations from David Icke (a must read) | ‘Vast numbers of people across the world, including many who should know better, have been duped by the mind-game called Operation Obama... (excerpts) Obama has been the chosen one for a long time, a fact known only to a few in the deep inner circle, and his relationship with Brzezinski almost certainly goes back to the start of the 1980s when he attended the Ivy League, and big-time Illuminati, Columbia University where Brzezinski was head of the Institute for Communist Affairs. Obama simply will not talk in any detail about this period. He has been covertly funded and supported ever since by the Trilateral Commission and its network of foundations connecting into the Ford Foundation, for whom Obama's mother worked. And a question: Does anyone really believe that someone, a 'man of the people', would simply appear from apparently nowhere to run the slickest and best-funded presidential campaign in American history? He was chosen long ago by those who wish to enslave the very people that Obama says he wants to 'set free'. The sources of Obama funding read like a Wall Street Who's Who - Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and so on. No wonder he went back on his pledge to accept the limitations of public funding for his campaign and instead took the no-limit option of 'private funding. Then there is the Jewish financier, George Soros, the multi-billionaire associate of Brzezinski and closely involved with the funding and marketing of Obama. Soros is a former board member of the Illuminati's Council on Foreign Relations and funds the European Council on Foreign Relations. In short, he is a major insider' You can certainly see the Soros/Brzezinski techniques in the Obama 'revolution' in the United States. It was the complex and secretive network of Soros foundations and organisations, connected to the intelligence agencies of the US and Israel, that trained and funded students in the Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere in the art of mass protest and overthrowing governments. These manufactured protests were sold to the world as peoples' revolutions, but it just so happened that when they were over and the old regime was removed the new leaders were those waiting in the wings all along - the puppets of Soros, Brzezinski and their associated networks. Obama is just more of the same, a big smile with strings attached, and controlled completely by the Illuminati networks that chose him, trained him, sold him and provided his record funding. It was they who kept his many skeletons under wraps, like the gay sex and crack cocaine allegations of Larry Sinclair (from affidavit: 1. Who is Ron Allen that claims to be with your Presidential camp, who is alleged to claim that someone claiming to represent me called asking for $100,000, to keep me from coming forward about our (Obama and I) November 1999 encounter of sex and cocaine use?), and they will continue to do so as long as he jumps to their bidding. Obama is just another Banksters' moll prostituting himself for fame and power, and that's why he supported the grotesque bail-out of the banking system and why he will always put their interests before the people. His financial advisors are straight from the Wall Street 'A' list, including Paul Adolph Volker (Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg Group), the head of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987 and Illuminati to his fingertips. Obama has made him head of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which is dominated by insiders, including its staff director and chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, a close Obama associate from the University of Chicago. Goolsbee is an initiate of the infamous Illuminati Skull and Bones Society at Yale University, which also includes Boy and Father Bush. It was Goolsbee who told the Canadian government not to worry about Obama's attacks on the economic effects of free trade agreements because his words were just to win votes in the election campaign. Another Wall Street insider, the Zionist Timothy Geithner (Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations), was appointed by Obama to be his Treasury Secretary. Geithner was the President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, the most powerful in the private Federal Reserve cartel that masquerades as America's central bank, and he is a former employee of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the appalling Kissinger Associates. Obama's Treasury team locks into the inner circle around the Zionist Robert Rubin, the Director and Senior Counselor of Citigroup, co-chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, and economic advisor to Obama. Rubin, a member of the Illuminati Bilderberg Group, was the man behind Citigroup's strategy of expanding its risk in debt markets which forced it to be rescued by taxpayers' money. The very people who caused the financial crisis are being appointed by Obama to decide how to respond to it (more taxpayers' money for them and their friends) ‘
The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ‘In emotional and personal testimony, an ex-Justice official who quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims ...’  US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Washington Post | Obama has promised to hold Wall Street accountable for the meltdown. ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 – well worth a look. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

While boner and barton are indeed jokes / vegetables that bespeak the single-digit approval rate for congress, obama’s failure to deliver on promises with as well, endless war spending despite defacto bankruptcy of the nation and a watered down nothing financial regulation bill for talking points but little substance, make him as big a joker. This well researched / produced video tells the real story : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 ‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ – well worth the view. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored A viral You Tube upload of one of Alex Jones’ most popular feature films ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored following a spur of the moment campaign to elevate the movie’s title to the top of the major internet search engines. In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257# [ youtube is often down – website archived version is available as follows: http://www.albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv http://www.albertpeia.com/esotericagendalinktoarchive.htm ]

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In interview, Bush defends Iraq war and waterboarding (Washington Post) [ Defending the indefensible … what choice does he have … then there’s the lies … ] Bush breaks silence, writes next chapter (Washington Post) [ As a failed president and war criminal himself, moron dumbya bush is among the few in the world that makes failed president wobama look plausibly good in comparison … wobama merely continued the failed policies of dumbya (perpetual war, no pros the frauds on wallstreet, etc.) that got pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america to this point of decline and failure. ] Anne E. Kornblut Your take: His most memorable moment? [ Like regrets in that old song (his way) he’s had a few – http://albertpeia.com/evilonthetarmac.htm here’s a few: bushisms from bush the brain-damaged moron http://albertpeia.com/bushisms.htm :

Clinton Speaks: He Did It Because He Could - There Are Serial Killers On Death Row Who Have Killed Fewer People Than Unconflicted, Pathological Liar/Perjurer, Rapist, and Murderer, Psychopath criminal american clinton

· clinton Flashed ("Dropped his Drawers") Paula Jones and Implored Her To "Kiss It" (his p***s, which owing to distinctive "marking/disfigurement" she was able to describe)

· clinton "Cops a Cheap Feel/Grope" From Kathleen Willey In Attempting Prey Upon Her Perceived Vulnerability

· clintonites Threaten Dolly Kyle Browning In Attempting To Intimidate Her Into Giving False Testimony

· clinton Brutally Rapes Juanita Broaddrick

· clinton Was Asked To Leave Oxford Owing To Sexual Assault Of A Fellow Student

He Does It Because He Can

On March 11, 1999, Investor’s Business Daily reported that at least nine (9) women have now charged that Clinton "personally assaulted them or, through his ‘agents’ or ‘people,’ threatened to do them or their families physical harm." The list includes Dolly Kyle Browning, Gennifer Flowers, Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Corbin Jones, Kathleen Willey, Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, Sally Perdue, and Elizabeth Ward Gracen. "And all of them say they’re afraid for their safety so long as he remains in power."

CLINTON BODY COUNT

By: Ether Zone Staff

Here is the latest body count that we have. All of these people have been connected with the Clintons in some form or another. We have not included any deaths that could not be verified or connected to the Clinton scandals. All deaths are listed chronologically by date. This list is current and accurate to the best of our knowledge as of January 13, 1999 August 1, 2000. (see complete list http://albertpeia.com/bodycount.htm )

Susan Coleman: Rumors were circulating in Arkansas of an affair with Bill Clinton. She was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head at 7 1/2 months pregnant. Death was an apparent suicide.


Kevin Ives & Don Henry: Initial cause of death was reported to be the result of falling asleep on a railroad track in Arkansas on August 23, 1987. This ruling was reported by the State medical examiner Fahmy Malak. Later it was determined that Kevin died from a crushed skull prior to being placed on the tracks. Don had been stabbed in the back. Rumors indicate that they might have stumbled upon a Mena drug operation.


Paul Olson: A Federal witness in investigations to drug money corruption in Chicago politics, Paul had just finished 2 days of FBI interviews when his plane ride home crashed, killing Paul and 130 others on Sept 8 1994. The Sept. 15, 1994 Tempe Tribune newspaper reported that the FBI suspected that a bomb had brought down the airplane.

Calvin Walraven: 24 year on Walraven was a key witness against Jocelyn Elder's son's drug case. Walraven was found dead in his apartment with a gunshot wound to the head. Tim Hover, a Little Rock police spokesman says no foul play is suspected.

Alan G. Whicher: Oversaw Clinton's Secret Service detail. In October 1994 Whicher was transferred to the Secret Service field office in the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. Whatever warning was given to the BATF agents in that building did not reach Alan Whicher, who died in the bomb blast of April 19th 1995.


Ron Brown:. The Commerce Secretary died on  April 3, 1996, in an Air Force jet carrying Brown and 34 others, including 14 business executives on a trade mission to Croatia, crashed into a mountainside. The Air Force, in a 22-volume report issued in June of 1996, confirmed its initial judgment that the crash resulted from pilot errors and faulty navigation equipment At the time of Brown's death, Independent Counsel Daniel Pearson was seeking to determine whether Brown had engaged in several sham financial transactions with longtime business partner Nolanda Hill shortly before he became secretary of commerce.

Charles Meissner: died: UNK - Following Ron Brown's death, John Huang was placed on a Commerce Department contract that allowed him to retain his security clearance by Charles Meissner. Shortly thereafter, Meissner died in the crash of a small plane.   He was an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Economic Policy.




Barbara Wise: Wise a 14-year Commerce Department employee found dead and partially naked in her office following a long weekend. She worked in the same section as John Huang. Officially, she is said to have died of natural causes.


Mary C. Mahoney: 25, murdered at the Georgetown Starbuck's coffee bar over the 4th of July '97 weekend. She was a former White House intern who worked with John Huang. Apparently she knew Monica Lewinsky and her sexual encounters with Bill Clinton. Although not verified, it has been said that Lewinsky told Linda Tripp that she did not want to end up like Mahoney.

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Background http://albertpeia.com/CIAAgentAffidavit1.jpg

For Those Who Wonder About the bush-clinton-bush Stranglehold on the Nation, Realize That Their Criminal Cooperation Began With Their Lucrative Relationship Vis-a-vis What Was Known as the Mena, Arkansas Drug (cocaine from Central/South America) Run As Set Forth In This CIA Agent's Affidavit/Declaration Under Penalty of Perjury.

The Vietnam war was a painful time for America. Many young Americans were drafted and died thousands of miles from their loved ones. Young men of priviledge had a clear advantage - few of them went to Vietnam, securing positions in the National Guards of their respective states. George W. Bush was one of these men, securing a place in the Texas Air National Guard in spite of a waiting list of several hundred. However, he claims that he did not receive special consideration, which is clearly a lie.

Most of the young men lucky enough to get into the Guard fulfilled their obligations. George W. Bush did not. He was absent without leave, AWOL, for over a year. Not surprisingly, this got little attention from the corporate media...

… After the hostages' release, the arms shipments to Iran continued. Profits were funneled to another pet cause of the right wing - the Nicuaraguan terrorists known as "freedom fighters" or "Contras". Another Contra source of income was trafficking in narcotics, running cocaine into the United States, with the full knowledge and cooperation of Administration officials. In the 80's there was a huge increase in the flow of cheap crack cocaine into the inner cities of America and countless lives were destroyed.

A series of investigations led to the convictions of Oliver North and Vice Admiral John C. Poindexter, head of the National Security Council, on charges of obstructing Congress and unlawfully destroying documents, but both their convictions were later reversed. In 1992 President George H.W. Bush pardoned many of the top government officials who had been charged or convicted in the scheme. The main perpetrators of Iran/Contra and associated events remain free today, and many of them work in George W. Bush's Administration.

…

Of the three generations of Bush men mentioned on this site, the most evil and most dangerous by far is George Bush, Sr.

The Bush family came by their wealth on the backs of 11 million dead. Prescott Bush, along with partner E. Ronald Harriman, supplied financial aid and raw materials to Hitler's Third Reich.

In 1942, Bush/Harriman companies were seized under the Trading with the Enemy Act: the Union Banking Corporation, the Holland-American Trading Corporation, the Seamless Steel Equipment Corporation and Silesian-American Corporation.

After the war, the CIA recruited many former Nazis to work for them, escaping prosecution for war crimes. Klaus Barbie, infamous for ordering the murder of French children, was among them. He was, however, eventually caught and returned to France to stand trial.

… Shortly before the 9/11 attacks, John Ashcroft stopped flying commercial and started flying on government-chartered planes. Why?

In fact, the George W. Bush received many warnings that he disregarded. Bush knew, and he did nothing. Why?

Oil, that's why. And a free rein to rape the Constitution.

…- David Blomstrom ]

] Gerson: He could have taken quiet credit for the bipartisan tax deal; he chose otherwise. ]

Low-wage families on the rise (Washington Post) [ Yeah! Poverty and the size of the (still unprosecuted from last fraud) fraudulent wall street sinkhole bonuses … rising. ] Recession sharply increased the percentage of working people who earn wages so paltry they struggle to survive, according to a new report.

This is an especially great time to Sell / Take Profits since there is much, much worse to come! ( They’re just suckin’ you in with debased dollar, inflated earnings and depressed P/E multiples thereby, insurmountable debt and stock bubble therefrom, diverting attention from their huge fraud accomplis with trillions of the worthless paper / toxic asset results of same now marked to anything as per legislated FASB rule change! ) ( These lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks, and insurmountable debt will end quite badly as in last crash and worse! )

Sweet Stock Market Lullaby - Followed by Rude Awakening? Simon Maierhofer, On Monday December 20, 2010, 6:33 pm EST

Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop ... are you asleep yet?The stock market is lulling investors to sleep. Since early September stocks have gone nowhere but up. Four weeks of steady gains have rekindled optimism and created a state of euphoria not seen in years ... since late 2007 to be exact.The irony of this article is that few investors will feel compelled to read anything that resembles a warning or contains a bearish message. The few that read this piece will probably scoff at it. That's how bear market rallies work and that's why they are effective.The soothing rhythm of the VIX has lulled investors into a state of complacency. If you had to describe investor's alertness in sleep lingo, a state of REM sleep would probably be the closest comparison.History tells us that the (bear) market only strikes when least expected.Based on a variety of sentiment measures, a stock market decline is viewed to be less likely to happen now than in 2000 or 2007.

No Hedging Required - 2011 Will Be Gangbusters

Investors and traders are content to hold on to massive long positions without hedge. One of the easiest ways to hedge your stock portfolio is via put options. The CBOE Equity Put/Call Ratio has tumbled to the second lowest reading in years. The only time investors hedged less was in April 2010.Back then, the put/call ratio dropped to 0.45. The lack of hedging is dangerous for prices because the market is without a safety net. The only option for spooked investors without hedge is to sell. Selling causes prices to drop.On April 16, 2010, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned of the consequences of a low put/call ratio: 'Selling results in more selling. This negative feedback loop usually results in rapidly falling prices. The pieces are in place for a major decline. We are simply waiting for the proverbial first domino to fall over and set off a chain reaction.'The first domino dropped just a few days later, setting off the May 6 'Flash Crash' and ultimately resulted in a swift 15% correction for the Dow (DJI: ^DJI), 17% correction for the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), 19% for the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC), and 21% for the Russell 2000 (Chicago Options: ^RUT).

This Time is Different

The spirit of 'this time is different' is one of the most fascinating phenomenons known to Wall Street. Investors' sentiment precisely follows the ebb and flow of stock prices. When prices are up, the future is expected to be bright. When prices are down, the future is supposedly bleak (just think of the 2007 peak and 2009 bottom).This approach of linear extrapolations feeds the herding mentality, which contrarians use as contrarian indicators. This approach is not foolproof but, nevertheless, is one of the most accurate, if not the most accurate timing tool known to underground Wall Street aficionados.The chart below illustrates the four most prominent occurrences of extreme optimism, or the 'this time is different' effect. The green line connects the price of the S&P with the timeline and various sentiment gauges. [chart] Investors thought this time is different at the 2007 peak, in May 2008, in January 2010, and again in April 2010. The only thing different at all four times was the velocity of the descent, but each period of euphoria was greeted by despair.

Optimism and Bad News

If you have watched CNBC's 60 Minutes over the past two weeks, you are aware of some serious 'Black Swans.'Scott Pelley's introduction to Ben Bernanke's interview couldn't have been more sobering: 'That is the worst recovery we've ever seen. Ben Bernanke is concerned. Chairmen of the Fed rarely do interviews, but this week Bernanke feels he has to speak out because he believes his critics may not understand how much trouble the economy is in.'The financial media, however, ignored Ben Bernanke's outright scary assessment of the economy and focused on the silver lining: A bad economy may lead to QE3 and its cousins QE4 and QE5. What's better, an improving economy or more QE? Apparently QE is just as good as more jobs.Yesterday's 60 Minutes focused the next big thing; Municipal and state defaults. In the two years since the 'Great Recession,' states have collectively spent nearly half a trillion dollars more than they collected. There's a trillion dollar hole in their public pension fund and according to New Jersey's Governor, the day of reckoning is near.Meredith Whitney, one of the few analysts who foresaw the bubble building in banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) and financials (NYSEArca: XLF - News) believes at least part of the three trillion municipal bond market will unravel within the next year.For much of 2010 municipal bonds were brewing their own little bubble. As it is common with bubbles, they are rarely foreseen by the public eye. In the case of muni bonds, yield hungry investors ignored the red flags.On August 26, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned that it is time to get out of muni bonds (NYSEArca: MUB - News), corporate bonds (NYSEArca: LQD - News) and Treasuries (NYSEArca: TLT - News). The chart below shows what has happened to muni bonds. [chart]

History Rhymes

Yes, history doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes. In 2007, Merrill Lynch's Global Economics Report foresaw a bright future: 'The Merrill Lynch global economics team believes that the economy will continue to grow in 2007 - with no sign of a significant cyclical slowdown.'According to J.P. Morgan, Barclays Capital and Goldman Sachs (Merrill Lynch failed to foresee its own demise in 2007 and is no more), the S&P will gain between 15 - 20% in 2011 and the 'economy will continue to grow in 2011.' No, this time is different, really!According to history, now is the time to at least be cautious and protect your investments. An ounce of protection is worth more than a pound of cure. Based on long-term valuation metrics the stock market is priced to deliver pain, not gain (see November 2011 ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter for a detailed analysis).Based on sentiment, the market is overheated and due for a correction at the very least. Timing a top is tricky, but based and support and resistance levels and seasonal patterns it is possible to narrow down when the market is ready to roll over.The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a semi-weekly update along with the most recent technical analysis and important support/resistance levels. A break below major support is likely to break the bulls' spirit and the market's streak ... while most are still sleeping.Oh, here are the missing lyrics for Rock-a-Bye Baby: 'When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. And down will come baby, cradle and all.' It doesn't sound like a good night's sleep.

John Hussman: 12 Reasons for Market Caution ‘Excerpt from the Hussman Funds' Weekly Market Comment (12/20/10):

1) Investors dangerously underestimate the risk of an abrupt and possibly severe equity market plunge Look back over history at points in time where stocks were trading at a rich multiple to normalized earnings (the Shiller multiple is a useful gauge here, as forward operating and price/peak earnings are both corrupted by profit margins that are about 50% above their historic norms). Combine that with overbought, overbullish conditions and rising interest rates. What you will get is a list of most historical pre-crash peaks. Depending on precisely how you define your classifier, you may pick up one or two benign outcomes, such as April 1999 (which I noted in the Hazardous Ovoboby piece in early 2007), but ask whether, on average, you would have knowingly chosen to take market risk at those points...

5) The U.S. economy is recovering, but that recovery is vulnerable to even modest shocks.

As I noted a couple of weeks ago, in the ideal case where the economy grows continuously without further credit strains, the "mean-reversion benchmark" scenario would be for GDP growth to approach an average rate of 3.8% annually for about 4 years, followed by about 2.3% annual growth thereafter. The corresponding mean-reversion benchmark for employment growth would be an average of about 200,000 new jobs per month on a sustained basis.There has certainly been some improvement in various indicators of economic activity. As strange as this may sound, given my criticism of the Fed, I would attribute much of this improvement to a sentiment effect in response Fed's policy of quantitative easing. While long-term Treasury yields are significantly higher than before QE2 was announced, and though I continue to believe that the main effect of QE2 has been to encourage ultimately short-sighted speculation, the Emperor's-clothes enthusiasm about QE2 has had at least the short-term effect of buoying short-term spending and hiring plans. Unfortunately, this sort of sentiment-dependent bounce in activity is not very robust to shocks.So while the surface activity of the U.S. economy has observably improved, it is in the context of an overvalued, overbought, overbullish, rising-yields market that is vulnerable to abrupt losses, a global financial system that remains subject to strains from sovereign default, a housing market where one-in-seven mortgages is delinquent or in foreclosure, and nearly one-in-four is already underwater with a huge overhang of unliquidated foreclosure inventory still in the pipeline, and a domestic financial system that lacks transparency and may still be slouching toward insolvency. The U.S. economy is progressing on the surface, but it remains a house built on a ledge of ice.’

Pre-Holiday Market Outlook: Mixed Bag of Signals, More Risk Than Reward Nyaradi ‘Rudolph was well into bringing the “Santa Rally” to town when this week he suddenly ran into the ominous sounding “Hindenburg Omen.” Beyond that, economic news was mostly positive while markets remain overbought, breadth is dwindling and upward momentum has stalled heading into the lightly traded Christmas week.

Looking at My Screens

As I mentioned, momentum is dwindling as the indexes stall near highs for the year. Bullish sentiment remains at high extremes typically associated with market tops and preceding significant declines.

Also, last week markets generated a confirmed “Hindenburg Omen” that is a fairly reliable forecaster for impending markets declines.

There are lots of good articles about the Hindenburg Omen but the salient facts from wikipedia.org are these:

• There is a more than 75% probability of a decline of 5% or more after a confirmed Hindenburg Omen.
• Larger selloffs have occured roughly 40% of the time after an omen while the probability of a major crash is approximately 25%.
• A Hindenburg Omen has been generated before every major stock market decline since 1985.
• Over the past 25 years, it has a greater than 90% accuracy rate.

While I’m not a follower of the Hindenburg Omen and don’t base trading decisions upon its occurences, I believe its statistical performance merits attention, particularly when combined with other technical indicators currently flashing caution.

Interestingly, the last Hindenburg Omen occured in August and received wide attention in both the blogosphere and mainstream media. In contrast, the current signal has gone largely unnoticed which is fascinating from a contrarian point of view. As we all know, when everyone in the market expects one thing to happen (prices to rise) usually the opposite occurs.

The View from 35,000 Feet

This was a largely bullish week for economic reports as Housing Starts, Retail Sales, Empire State Manufacturing, Industrial Production, Initial Unemployment Claims, Housing Starts and Leading Economic Indicators all came in on the positive side of the ledger.

In the minus column, rising interest rates continued troubling markets along with the ongoing problems in Europe, particularly Moody’s downgrade of Ireland by five steps.

But propping markets up, the Fed continued its bond buying program and Congress passed the tax cut extension/stimulus bill that President Obama promptly signed. That is a classic case of kicking the can down the road but that is a subject for another day.

What It All Means

Technically, the markets are showing substantial deterioration while economic reports continue to show improvement so we have a mixed bag of signals.

Investor bullishness is reaching nearly manic highs while seasonal factors favor higher prices. All along the way, the Fed continues its asset buying program to prop up asset prices while Europe continues to bubble in the background.

Rudolph has run into the Hindenburg and it will be interesting to see if Rudolph and Santa can complete their appointed rounds this Christmas season.

It seems a logical conclusion that at the current juncture there is more risk than reward in the market over the next few weeks and into the early days of 2011…’

Highlights of Tax Law Stimulus Lounsbury ’A summary of the new tax law provisions was posted at the GEI News Blog as the law was being signed by the president Friday. The outline was presented courtesy of the FPA (Financial Planning Association). The economic impact of the new tax law will be subject to careful scrutiny and analysis in the coming days. GEI offers here some first pass estimates on the stimulative effects of the law.

The excerpts in each section are from the previously posted FPA highlights.

Two-year extension of all current tax rates through 2012

• Rates remain 10, 25, 28, 33, and 35 percent
• 2-year extension o f reduced 0 or 15 percent rate for capital gains & dividends
• 2-year continued repeal of Personal Exemption Phase-out (PEP) & itemized deduction limitation (Peas e)
• Capital gains and dividend rates remain at 0 or 15 percent

This is basically no change from the tax law in place in 2010 so the stimulative value is largely positive only by not being negative, as it would have been to return to pre-2001 levels. CBO (Congressional Budget Office) Director Douglas Elmendorf has estimated (see Menzie Chinn) that the cumulative impact on GDP of these provisions in 2010-2015 would be between $20 billion and $80 billion. An estimate from Moody’s puts the GDP benefit at $60 billion.

As a first pass, using the Moody’s number, the impact on GDP in 2011 is $30 billion. This is not additional GDP, it is preserving GDP that would have been lost had the Bush tax cuts expired.

The cost of the tax cut extension totals $207.5 billion, or just under $104 billion for each 2011 and 2012.

Temporary modification of Estate, Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax for 2010, 2011, 2012

• Higher exemption, lower rate. The legislation sets the exemption at $5 million per person and $10 million per couple and a top tax rate of 35 percent for the estate, gift, and generation skipping transfer taxes for two years, through 2012. The exemption amount is indexed beginning in 2012. The proposal is effective January 1, 2010, but allows an election to choose no estate tax and modified carryover basis for estates arising on or after January 1, 2010 and before January 1, 2011. The proposal sets a $5 million generation-skipping transfer tax exemption and zero percent rate for the 2010 year.
• Portability of unused exemption. Under current law, couples have to do complicated estate planning to claim their entire exemption. The proposal allows the executor of a deceased spouse’s estate to transfer any unused exemption to the surviving spouse without such planning. The proposal is effective for estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2010.
• Reunification of estate and gift taxes. Prior to the 2001 tax cuts, the estate and gift taxes were unified, creating a single graduated rate schedule for both. That single lifetime exemption could be used for gifts and/or bequests. The proposal reunifies the estate and gift taxes. The proposal is effective for gifts made after December 31, 2010.
• As noted above. the look-through of RIC stock held by non-resident decedents is extended through 2011.
• Exemption amount indexed for inflation in 2012.

The cost of the new estate tax totals $68 billion, $34 billion for each 2011 and 2012 compared to the pre-2001 exemption of $1 million with a 55% top tax rate. If we compare to 2010 when there was no estate tax (but there was also no step up in basis for heirs), the law might actually yield more tax revenue than in 2010. In addition, the author has not found any multiplier or stimulus estimate. For estimating purposes the multiplier will be assumed to be the same as for income taxes (0.29). Thus the estimate is that a reduction in GDP of $10 billion will be realized in each 2011 and 2012.

Because the dollars are small and the direction and magnitude of the revenue change from 2010 to 2011 so uncertain, this first pass estimate will ignore this as a source or removal of stimulus.

AMT Patch for 2010 and 2011

• Increases the exemption amounts for 2010 to $47,450 ($72,450 married filing jointly) and for 2011 to $48,450 ($74,450 married filing jointly). It also allows the nonrefundable personal credits against the AMT.

The cost of the new estate tax totals $137 billion, approximately $68 billion for each 2011 and 2012. Since this is an extension of the tax law from 2010, it provides no additive to GDP. Without this provision using the multiplier estimate from Moody’s indicates that GDP would have decreased by about $32 billion for each 2011 and 2012.

Extension of “tax extenders” for 2010 and 2011, including:

• Tax-free distributions of up to $100,000 from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes
• Above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses
• Expanded Coverdell Accounts and definition of education expenses
• American Opportunity Tax Credit for tuition expenses of up to $2,500
• Deduction of state and local general sales taxes
• 30-percent credit for energy-efficiency improvements to the home (IRC section 25C)
• Exclusion of qualified small business capital gains (IRC§1202)

Costs and multiplier factors for these items have not been located.

Temporary Employee Payroll Tax Cut

• Provides a payroll tax holiday during 2011 of two percentage points. Employees will pay only 4.2 percent on wages and self-employed individuals will pay only 10.4 percent on self-employment income up to $106,800.

This is a biggie. The total cost in 2011 is $112 and the Moody’s estimate for the multiplier is 1.29, giving a GDP adder for 2011 of $144 billion.

Expanded Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Credit and Marriage Penalty Relief

• Marriage penalty relief ($27 billion)
• Expanded dependent care credit
• Child tax credit ($90 billion)
• Earned income tax credit

Some of these factors are actually overlapping, in the author’s opinion. For example, the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit are probably the same thing, if not completely then in large part.

These tax provisions have different multiplier estimates. The marriage penalty relief should have the same multiplier as the tax rate extension in the first section. The GDP impact would therefore be about $4 billion for each 2011 and 2012.

The child tax credit would have multiplier about 1.02 according to Moody’s, so the impact on GDP would be about $48 billion per year (2011 and 2012).

Both of these would not be adders to 2010 GDP. The absence of these provisions would have provided a reduction in GDP for each 2011 and 2012 of $52 billion.

Education Incentives Extended Through 2012

• Expanded Coverdell accounts and definition of education expenses
• Expanded exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance of up to $5,250
• Expanded student loan interest deduction
• Exclusion from income of amounts received under certain scholarship programs
• American Opportunity Tax Credit of up to $2,500 for tuition expenses

Costs for these total $18 billion; multipliers for these items have not been located. These are extension of 2010 programs and should not have any significant impact on changing GDP, although the passage may have avoided a GDP subtraction. If we assume the same multiplier as for income taxes, the GDP reduction avoided is about $3 billion each year (2011 and 2012).

Extension of Certain Expiring Provision for Individuals through 2011

• Above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses
• Tax-free distributions of up to $100,000 from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes. Donors may treat donations made in January 2011 as if made in 2010.
• 30-percent credit for energy-efficiency improvements to the home (IRC section 25C)
• Deduction of state and local general sales taxes
• Parity for employer-provided mass transit benefits
• Contributions of capital gain real property for conservation purposes
• Deductibility of mortgage insurance premiums for qualified residence
• Estate tax look-through of certain Regulated Investment Company (RIC) stock held by nonresidents for decedents dying before January 1, 2012
• Above-the-line deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers

Costs are estimated to about $7 billion. No multiplier estimate has been found. The change from 2010 is probably not significant and the GDP loss if not extended would probably be small in the grand scheme of things ($1 billion per year?).

Temporary Extension of Investment Incentives

• Extension of bonus depreciation for taxable years 2011 and 2012
• Small Business Expensing: increase in the maximum amount and phase-out threshold under section 179. Sets the maximum amount and phase-out threshold for taxable years 2012 at $125,000 and $500,000 respectively, indexed for inflation. (Previously-passed legislation raised the 2010 and 2011 max amount and phase-out at $500,000 and $2,000,000 respectively.)

Costs are estimated to about $53 billion. The Moody’s estimated multiplier is only 0.27, so the GDP benefit is about $7 billion for each 2011 and 2012. This is not an adder to 2010 GDP but what would have been subtracted if the tax law had not been enacted.

Extension of Certain Expiring Provisions for Businesses through 2011

• Enhanced charitable deduction for corporate contributions of computer equipment for educational purposes
• Enhanced charitable deduction for contributions of food inventory
• Enhanced charitable deduction for contributions of book inventories to public schools
• Special rule for S corporations making charitable contributions of property
• 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements
• Employer wage credit for activated military reservists
• Tax benefits for certain real estate developments
• Extension of expensing of environmental remediation costs
• Treatment of interest-related dividends and short term capital gain dividends of Regulated Investment Companies (RICs)
• Work opportunity tax credit (WOTC)
• 100% Exclusion of qualified small business capital gains held for more than 5 years (IRC§1202)
• Research credit
• Qualified Zone Academy bonds

Costs and multiplier estimates have not been located.

Extension of Unemployment Insurance

• The unemployment insurance proposal provides a one-year reauthorization of federal UI benefits.

The cost of this is $53 billion, all in 2011. The estimated multiplier is 1.64 so the GDP adder is $87 billion. As in many other cases this is not an adder to 2010 GDP, but what would have been subtracted had the benefits not been extended.

Other/Unidentified

There remains about $30 billion in lost 2010 tax revenue that has not been accounted for in the above analysis. See table next section. If we assign the income tax multiplier to that, each of the nest two years will see a GDP effect of about $4 billion. We will assume that is loss of GDP prevented, and not added GDP.

GEI First Pass Estimate of Effects of 2010 Tax Law

Click on table for larger image.

[chart]

At the end of 2011 it is the very preliminary estimate from GEI that tax revenues of approximately $554 billion will have been foregone and GDP growth will have benefited by $368 billion. Of course the tax revenues may in fact be reduced by less than $554 billion if the economy grows. And of course GDP may not grow as projected.

However, the above caveats aside, an oversimplification of the preliminary estimates states that we might be increasing the national debt by $554 billion and gaining only $368 billion in additional economic activity. Based on these preliminary estimates GDP should be about 1.6% higher than in 2010. That could mean GDP growth for 2011 around 4%.

If there had no been tax law the GDP hit for 2011 could have been about 0.9% and GDP for 2011 could have been around 1.5%.

The above projections are based on the current GDP growth rate about 2.5% as a base line.

In return for the GDP boost the national debt will be increased by about 4% in 2011 over what it would have been with no tax law. That projection assumes, of course, that the GDP growth rate did not take a bigger hit with the reduced and withdrawn stimulus. If there turned out to be a return to recession, tax revenues would take a hit and the deficit would almost certainly increase at a faster rate in that eventuality.

Considering the possibility that another dip into recession could be the alternative, the loss of nearly $190 billion in the path pursued might be a cheap cost compared to another recession which could well trigger a deep depression.

There are those who will debate my proposition above, but I will stand with it until I see better data.’

U.S. Bank Collapses Reach 157 This Year as Six More Lenders Are Shuttered Bloomberg | Regulators shuttered six banks holding a total of $1.23 billion in assets, including three in Georgia and one each in Arkansas, Minnesota and Florida, as real-estate losses drive this year’s bank failures to 157.

Oil prices rise to nearly 92 dollars AFP | World oil prices rose on Friday as the dollar fell against the euro amid improving demand for crude, analysts said.

US empire could collapse at any time, Pulitzer winner tells Raw Story The Raw Story | Pulitzer winner warns U.S. empire could collapse at any moment.

Extreme Inequality Helped Cause Both the Great Depression and the Current Economic Crisis It is clear that when banks become too big, it harms the economy. Economist Steve Keen says that “a sustainable level of bank profits appears to be about 1% of GDP”, and higher bank profits lead to a Ponzi economy and a depression.

IMF chief worried about Europe domino effect The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday he was worried that EU leaders’ piecemeal approach to Europe’s debt crisis was encouraging markets to pick off weak countries one by one.

John Williams Discusses The Reasons For The Upcoming Dollar Dump Lately, anywhere we look, there seems to be a pattern emerging: those economic thinkers who actually construct and run their own macro models (not the glorified powerpoint presenter variety) and actually do independent analysis and tracing of the money flow, instead of relying on Wall Street forecasts that have as much credibility as a Moody’s home price hockey stick from 2006, almost inevitably end up having a very dire outlook on the economy.

US To End 2010 With $13.9 Trillion In Debt, Total Debt Incurred Since Great Financial Crash: $4.4 Trillion Now that all recent bond auctions have settled, and with no further bond auctions scheduled until the rest of the year, we can look at the final tally of US total debt: the number – $13,879,785,000,000.

Buying Gold: Why Are The Chinese Gobbling Up Gold Like There Is No Tomorrow? Why are the Chinese buying so much gold? In 2010 it has been demand out of China that has been one of the primary factors for the dramatic rise in the price of gold.

Arizona, Nevada Sue Bank of America over mortgage fraud Pheonix Business Journal | Arizona and Nevada are suing Bank of America Corp., claiming one of the nations largest banks engaged in mortgage fraud.

First gold vending machine in U.S. opens in Boca Raton, FL Chicago Sun Sentinel | What’s being billed as the first gold-dispensing ATM in the nation opened for business at the Town Center in Boca Raton.

Why Are The Chinese Gobbling Up Gold Like There Is No Tomorrow? American Dream | In 2010 it has been demand out of China that has been one of the primary factors for the dramatic rise in the price of gold.

After BofA Escalates, Refuses To Process Wikileaks’ Payments, Wiki Retaliates, Advises Americans To Put Their Money “Somewhere Safer” If people suddenly personify Bank of America with a First Amendment threat, arguably the one freedom most cherished in America, which is precisely what Assange is trying to do, all bets for the Countrywide acquirer may soon be off.

Ron Paul: Why I Voted For Tax Cut Legislation If no action had been taken by this Congress, all Americans would have had to pay higher income, dividend, estate, and capital gains taxes beginning on January 1, 2011. I will always vote to lower taxes at all levels, and I will never vote for tax increases.

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman Threatens To Personally Fire Anyone Caught Leaking Bonus Information

The End of America Infowars.com | Stansberry Research: Viewer discretion is advised.

Stick With Gold in Troubled Times Gold is the ultimate hedge against market uncertainty and inflation and the precious metal should continue to do well next year, Anne Gudefin, executive vice president and equity portfolio manager at Pimco, told CNBC Monday.

Euro falls amid continuing debt crisis fears The euro declined as fears about the region’s sovereign debt crisis continued to weigh on the single currency.

Riots Erupt In Bangladesh After Stock Market Plunges 6.7% For what may be the best look at the future of the world’s most recent Banana republic entrant (the U.S.S. of A. for the confused) has to look forward to, we need to merely shift our attention at another one, which has had the privilege of experimenting with its Banana status for far longer: Bangladesh.

IMF Director says IMF “forces coordination” and there’s “no other solution” to Greek-style austerity Speaking to Triple Crown Charlie (CFR and Trilateral Commission member and Bilderberg attendee) Rose on December 16, 2010, IMF Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn ran cover for failed Euro and IMF interventionist policies.

National / World

WikiLeaks: Julian Assange says police feared he would be assassinated outside High Court The founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange has claimed he is being bombarded with death threats from american soldiers (who have got to be considered propagandized fools since he actually was helping them inasmuch as they are viewed by the so-called powers that be as nothing more than nation-distracting cannon fodder, despite any political rhetoric to the contrary).

The Federal Reserve Bans A Local Oklahoma Bank From Displaying Crosses, Bible Verses And Christmas Buttons What in the world are they thinking over at the Federal Reserve? The privately-owned central bank that runs the U.S. economy is now forcing local banks to remove every shred of Christian faith from their establishments.

ATF To Require Dealers To Report Bulk Semiautomatic Rifle Sales The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) requested emergency permission to require that gun dealers report to them bulk sales of the high-powered semiautomatic rifles favored by drug cartels — all part of the Administration’s effort to combat the flow of guns to Mexico.

Monitoring America: The Government’s Development Of A Vast Panopticon Spy Network The Washington Post today reports on the vast growing domestic spying apparatus that the federal government is using, in conjunction with the Pentagon, to target millions of law-abiding American citizens who have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Distorting the Tax Policy Debate George Orwell warned us about the use of “meaningless words” in politics, words that are endlessly repeated by sloganeering politicians until they have no meaning at all. Meaningless words certainly were on display during last week’s congressional debate over the latest tax bill.

Coming Soon to Britain: Protest and Porno Bans First the British government floated the idea of banning protests. Now they are talking about censoring the internet.

TSA Admits Lying About Naked Boy Controversy The TSA has been caught in yet another act of public deception after the agency was forced to admit that it lied when it initially claimed a 5-year-old boy was strip-searched at Salt Lake City International Airport last month because he had set off a metal detector.

Biden-White House Agrees with GOP: Assange is “High Tech Terrorist” Vice President Joe Biden confirmed on Meet the Press this Sunday that he and the White House agree with Mitch McConnell’s assessment that Julian Assange is a “high tech terrorist” claiming that the leaks have “done damage” to diplomatic relations.

Monitoring America: The Government’s Development Of A Vast Panopticon Spy Network Steve Watson | Washington Post reports on feds targeting all Americans as possible domestic extremists.

Eerie Chinese Ghost Cities Jason Douglass | New images portray the stark reality of China’s ‘ghost cities’.

Rev. Sharpton Calls for FCC Hearings On Talk Radio [ Come on … who takes ape sharpton seriously? Remember the Tawana, Bwana! Tawana Brawley In 1987, black teenager Tawana Brawley claimed that six white ... of the attackers by Miss Brawley's advisers: Maddox, the Rev ... Vernon Mason. While Miss Brawley refused to speak with… www.albertpeia.com/tawana.htm The Man With the Plan of Surge Surging when these guys were really hurt, as was so with ape-sharpton’s/tawana brawley’s victims. The whole new jersey, fight that well deserved sopranos/corrupt/garbage/sewer state www.albertpeia.com/42007newsposts.htm ] Kurt Nimmo | Federal agency encouraged to go after Obama’s enemies.

Reaganomics Paul Craig Roberts | Supply-side economics did not originate with Reagan.

Word of the Year: Austerity Infowars.com | Is it possible the word next year will be “revolution”?

Julian Assange Calls ABC News Reporter ‘Tabloid Schmuck’ And Walks Off When Asked About Rape Charges When Sciutto followed him to apologize, saying “I meant no insult by it,” Assagne turned away calling him a “tabloid schmuck.”

Snow and mansion arrest fail to silence WikiLeaks chief (AFP) - AFP - Deep in the snowy English countryside, Julian Assange spends his time at a friend's mansion defending the WikiLeaks website following his release on bail from a London prison.

Assange cites McCarthyism as BoA tightens WikiLeaks vice (AFP)

WikiLeaks chief says US preparing to indict him (AP)

Bank of America cuts off WikiLeaks payments Reuters | Bank of America was quoted as saying late on Friday that it was joining other financial institutions in declining to process payments to WikiLeaks, which has angered U.S. authorities with the mass release of U.S. diplomatic cables.

Wikileaks Mirror Accused In DoS Attack Kurt Nimmo | Site wikileaks.info hosted by Russian service that also hosts phishing scams, fake IDs, and credit card info.

North Korea threatens to launch two retaliatory strikes over further planned artillery drills on disputed island Daily Mail | South Korea has said it plans to carry out a 24-hour live-fire drill on Yeonpyeong Island sometime between Saturday and Tuesday.

Insider Reveals Diabolical Secrets Of The Rand Corporation Cuban-born journalist and author Alex Abella was allowed exclusive access inside the RAND Corporation to view their archives. What he discovered was a plot driven by mad scientists, behaviorists, and generals who were intent on starting world war three and fleecing the American people in the process. Once he was a skeptic on the subject of conspiracy theories and the new world order, but after his work with the RAND Corporation he is now convinced that this top secret think tank has been pulling the strings of American government for at least 60 years.

TSA Too Busy Groping, Perving, Playing God To Notice Guns And Bombs Steve Watson | TSA agents at a Houston airport failed to stop an Iranian-American with a loaded handgun, yet did stop a woman behind him carrying liquids.

Ventura’s Groundbreaking Interview on 9/11 and the Threat to Our Liberties Aaron Dykes | Ventura appeared on the Alex Jones Show today to discuss revelations about the Pentagon attack that Conspiracy Theory tracked down by talking to the real sources– survivors and eye witnesses.

START Treaty is Really the United Nations Global Military Regime Treaty Mark Matheny | The Senate is expected as early as Wednesday to discuss the ratification of the treaty with the Russian government, as soon as the Tax package is taken care of stated Harry Reid on Tuesday.

Senate Blocks Bill for Illegal Immigrant Students New York Times | The Senate on Saturday blocked a bill that would create a path to citizenship for certain illegal immigrant students who came to the United States as children.

2010: Another record breaking winter. So what happened to global warming? Patrick Henningsen | Britain and Europe have been hit hard for the third straight record-breaking winter season.

9/11 - joe ‘the incompetent zelig zionist’ lieberman – WTC 7 Did Not Occur …. i Do Not Support A New Investigation Joe Lieberman claims that there is no evidence the collapse of Building 7 occurred and that he would not support a new investigation of 9/11.

Ventura: Cheney Involved In Pentagon Police State Show Being Deep-Sixed Jesse Ventura talks about Dick Cheney’s involvement in deep-sixing his Conspiracy Theory Pentagon/Police State special.

Wake-Up Call: Top 11 Trends of 2011 After the tumultuous years of the Great Recession, a battered people may wish that 2011 will bring a return to kinder, gentler times. But that is not what we are predicting. Instead, the fruits of government and institutional action – and inaction – on many fronts will ripen in unplanned-for fashions. Trends we have previously identified, and that have been brewing for some time, will reach maturity in 2011, impacting just about everyone in the world.

Pentagon bars own journalists from reading Wikileaks The Pentagon has banned journalists with the popular defense daily Stars and Stripes from consulting leaked diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks, prompting charges of censorship.

35 die in U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal region U.S. drone aircraft launched series of strikes in a Pakistani tribal region on Friday and killed 35 people, local TV channels reported.

Russia calls on South Korea to halt military drill Russia on Friday called on South Korea to halt plans for a military exercise in the Yellow Sea that it said could escalate tensions with North Korea.

Der Spiegel 1974 – New Ice Age Approaching. Odds Of A Warm Future “At Best 1 in 10,000″ An increased frequency in extreme weather events, a cooling North Atlantic, and growing Arctic sea ice were viewed as signs of climate change. The odds of a warmer climate in the future, according to one scientist, were “at best 1 in 10,000″ (see below). That’s what Der Spiegel wrote about in a 3700-word article back in 1974, warning the world of a coming ice age.

‘I hear US mulling spy charges’: Full video of Julian Assange 1st presser after jail The founder of whistleblowing website Wikileaks released on bail by a British court says he will continue his work. An appeal by prosecutors to keep Julian Assange behind bars was rejected. But he’ll have to stay in Britain under house arrest until a decision is made on whether he should be extradited to Sweden over sexual assault allegations. That case was dropped in August, but later reopened, in a move widely seen as politically motivated.

Heathrow Responds To Big Freeze By Freezing Passengers Heathrow responded to Britain’s big freeze by freezing the passengers who were left stranded at the airport after all flights were cancelled, according to eyewitnesses.

“Hottest Year On Record” Myth Based On Fabricated Temperature Data We have lately heard much of the claim that 2010 will turn out to have been “the hottest year on record”. No one has done more to promote this belief than Dr James Hansen, head of Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), responsible for one of the four main official global temperature records.

israeli air strike kills five Gaza freedom fighters (Reuters)

GOP's Brown to back US-Russia treaty (AP)

S. American mountains hold key to electric car's future: lithium for batteries (Washington Post) [ Well, I don’t know about electric car batteries, but it’s reassuring to know that such american leaders in no short supply, ie., Ted Turner, et als, will have no short supply of lithium to keep them on an even keel (from the ups and downs from, ie., bipolar among other mental conditions). Truth be told, I’ve not followed the ‘adventures of the electric cars’ too closely, but concede that pollution from gas engine cars is lessened. I know enough about electricity and energy to know that there’s really no net gain in terms of conservation, weening off oil, hydro, nuclear since the same are required to produce the electricity; hence, increases in hydro / nuclear, ie., are necessary to change the reliance on oil (imports). ]

Mullen: Eliminating Pakistani safe havens is key (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That new, new, new, new, new key, which, if you’re keeping track of past new keys, means that the destructive, civilian-killing, treasury depleting no-win war in Afghanistan was won 3 to 5 years ago! What total b*** s*** . Even the Afghan citizens aren’t buying the typical Washington b*** s*** … ‘"The enemy is being pushed out of population centers, is being denied sanctuary, is losing leaders by the score," said Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a visit to Kabul. "His scare tactics are being rejected by citizens.(WP)" ‘ ]

Carpentry work comes crashing down (Washington Post) [ Truly a sad but real scenario in light of the pre-occupation with pleasing the fraudulent paper-pushing frauds on wall street and the irrevocable structural shift precipitated by those geniuses in Washington, including among other helmsmen of this now titanic of a nation, those ‘strategists’ in those hallowed halls of, ie., the cia, nsa, think tanks, sink tanks, etc., and of course, those vaunted trade deals which include essentially all branches of the corrupt u.s. government with complicit titans / ceos of american industry with a time horizon defined by their latest compensation package / stock option expirations as cheered by the wall street frauds who sold off / transferred the technological capacity to do so; and, of course, the coup de grace, viz., that thing called NAFTA that Ross Perot was vilified for opposing and warning against. ] In past recessions, it has been an article of faith that as the economy revives, the work will return. But after the profound recession that began in December 2007, jobs in some industries aren't coming back.

Tax deal marks comeback for president (Washington Post) [ Come on! What parallel universe are you living in? Drudgereport: OBAMA FALLS TO 40% APPROVE IN FOXNEWS POLL...
DEFICIT HITS RECORD...
MOODY'S May Cut US Rating on Tax Package...
New spending bill totals $1.1 TRILLION!
Congress Job Approval Rating Worst in GALLUP History...
FLASHBACK: Obama Promised 5-Day, Public Review of Bills Before Signing; Signs Tax Bill Within Hours of House Vote...
13 million get unexpected tax bill from 'tax credit'?
Pelosi skips vote on tax bill, then shuns signing ceremony...
House votes to extend gov't funding -- through Tuesday...

Fiscally Irresponsible Friday: Trading for Magic Beans Davis ‘Good job Congress! Way to take it from your new Republican Masters! Not since Jack sold his cow for some magic beans has a deal like this been made by our "leadership" where families earning between $35,000 and $64,000 go $7,800 further into debt to get a $613 tax break while families earning between $5M and $10M get $38,590 and families earning $50M to $100M get $380,590 and families (or Corporations, of course) earning $500M to $1Bn get $3,859,000 or about 12,590 times more than the average middle class family but, then again, they deserve it because – they are that much better than you are! Face it, unless you are in an income category where your tax benefit has 5 digits, you are what George Orwell (who worked in England’s Ministry of Propaganda) called a "Prole." In 1984 the Proles (proletariat) were the vast majority of the populace, the working class of Oceana. Though the proles are the majority, they are unimportant. The Party explicitly teaches that the Proles are "natural inferiors who must be kept in subjection, like animals". As one of the Party Leaders observes: "the relative freedom of working-class people is merely a symptom of the contempt in which they are held". It is not only the Party which regards the Proles as unimportant: the arch-enemy, Goldstein, dismisses them too, referring to the divisions of High, Middle and Low people, in which the Low are essentially destined to remain powerless. This attitude has much in common with the one Huxley shows in Brave New World—the lower castes are mindless enough to be satisfied with little, and can be relied on not to be troublesome. [picture] You’re not going to be any trouble are you? Enjoy your $613, little people. That’s what, about a month’s worth of gasoline and cable TV? Congratulations on your voting acumen – you certainly have gotten the Government that you deserve! I apologize because I had mischaracterized the tax cuts as being fairer to the Middle Class last week, when I said it was only an outrage. I thought that families earning $50,000 would be getting $900, not $613, but it turns out that 12,590 times $287 is another $3,613,330 that could be given to a Billionaire and they NEED that money to buy stuff that might create a job while you would only go waste it on food or clothing. Thank goodness we have elected people who see this clearly! Congressman Ryan Paul is one of those people and he points out: "Whose money is this after all?" It’s not your money that your family is going $7,800 further into debt to protect – it’s THEIR money. THEY earned it and THEY are darned well going to keep it. "Hey," you might say, "I work for THEM – didn’t I make that money and isn’t this OUR country that’s in debt and needs responsible fiscal policy?" Well, that’s just Commie talk and you’d better watch yourself – we’ve already sent your name of to HomeSec so consider yourself on notice… The Proles in this country are dumb enough but what amazes me is the people who support the tax cuts thinking you are "one of THEM" when "they" look at you the same way you step over a homeless man in the streets. $858Bn is the NATIONAL Debt that we are taking on to fund these cuts. The cuts work out to about 0.75% of your income and your family share of the additional debt burden is $7,800 so, unless you are making AT LEAST $1M PER YEAR as a corporation or individual, this tax cut is a net loss for you. Once you clear that $1M hurdle, it’s all gravy flowing uphill to your plate! Even better if you are a "Corporate Citizen" – you have no real debt obligation to this nation because, like Haliburton and many, many others – you can simply move whenever you want – to avoid taxation AND prosecution! [picture] As Bloomberg proclaims today "It’s a Great Time to Be Rich," saying:

Savvy wealthy Americans would be able to capitalize on an environment in which their tax rates on income and investments remain at historic lows. Also, new rules would make it possible to pass on fortunes to heirs with less fuss and lower taxes than all but a brief period of the past 80 years.

"The climate we’ll have after this legislation is extremely favorable for wealthy families," says Jeffrey Cooper, a professor at Quinnipiac University School of Law and a former estate planner who has studied the history of U.S. tax law.

The tax compromise extends a 15 percent top tax rate on long-term capital gains and dividends enacted in 2003, which is the lowest rate since 1933. The top capital-gains rate was 77 percent in 1918 and, since 1921, its highest point was 39.9 percent in 1976 and 1977—though certain gains could be excluded from taxation. Estate planning experts say their wealthy clients could be entering an unprecedented period when tax rules—along with low interest rates and previously existing loopholes—make it easier than ever to transfer large sums to children and grandchildren. Obama and other Democrats had sought to limit the use of GRATs, but failed. "That’s a wonderful technique for parents looking to pass assets on to children at nearly zero [tax rates]," says Jennifer Immel, senior wealth planner at PNC Wealth Management. [chart] As Robert Reich points out: "The only practical effect of adding $858 billion to the deficit will be to put more pressure on Democrats to reduce non-defense spending of all sorts, including Social Security and Medicare, as well as education and infrastructure. It is nothing short of Ronald Reagan’s (and David Stockman’s) notorious 'starve the beast' strategy." As Bob reminds us, the richest 1 percent of Americans is now taking home a larger percentage of the nation’s income than at any time since 1928. And we recall what happened in 1929. He warns: "Unless the vast majority of Americans has enough purchasing power to keep the economy going without going ever more deeply into debt, the economy will eventually go over a cliff." Yeah, I know, just another Liberal worried about the stupid Proles… So let’s forget feeling sorry for the losers at the bottom of the economic pyramid and start studying them to come up with an investment premise. After all, last year, in my 2010 outlook, I predicted this year would be "A Tale of Two Economies" as the rich would continue to do very, very well while the poor would fall further behind. What I didn’t expect was that the poor would vote for more of the same in the elections but, as PT Barnum once said, "Never underestimate the stupidity of the American public." As I said, they now have exactly the Government they deserve so screw those guys and let’s make some money!We need to examine the family budget and find the places where money can actually be made selling to people who have none. Back in last December’s article, I had said: "Let’s not kid ourselves that anything in this country is being done for the benefit of the 90% who serve us. We provide the basics and there are even many fine companies who can make money selling those basics like KO, MCD, JNJ, WMT… that we can invest in." McDonald's (MCD) has flown up 25% this year with Coca-Cola (KO) up 15% with Walmart (WMT) up just 5% and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) actually down about 3%. Medical equipment (IHI) has been a mixed bag with Health Care legislation still in question but GE (GE) has been a great performer (up 20%) and both Universal Health Services (UHS) and Tenet Healthcare (THC) were the right way to go (only THC only started working recently). Big Pharma and Biotech still have room to run. TBT has NOT had a good year but it’s finally starting to improve as our country sinks further and further into debt – we just didn’t account for QE1 or QE2, for that matter back in December.

Intercontinental Hotels (IHG) was a good pick and Continental Airlines (CAL) got bought out but what was I thinking, liking Orbitz (OWW) better than Priceline (PCLN)? – never bet against Shatner! Solars like SunPower (SPWRA) and Suntech (STP) have dropped 50% this year while MEMC (WFR) (our favorite) is getting cheap again and Corning (GLW) is my bargain pick of the tech group along with Cisco (CSCO) (which wasn’t on last year’s list). All in all, not much has changed but I will be doing my 2011 outlook over the holidays so let’s keep that household budget in mind. But as this family with the $100K income now has another $750 to spend, maybe more if they refinanced their home – I’ll try to do an updated budget, taking into account higher fuel prices (as we’ve noted, it’s a great way to FORCE middle class people to spend money) and higher food prices. Remember, as Mr. Davies said:
Gas bills, rent bills, tax bills, phone bills
I’m such a wreck but I’m staying alive
I’d really like to change the world
And save it from the mess it’s in
I’m too weak, I’m so thin
I’d like to fly but I can’t even swim
Gotta be a Superman just to survive

We’re still skeptical and bearish until the Dow actually holds 11,500 for a day, so far, we haven’t even closed there – missing it yesterday by just 0.75! Oil fell all the way to 87.75 pre market, giving us yet another (yawn) victory off the $89 line in the futures. This trade will keep working until we’re over $90 and we can expect another test into the open on tax cut fever, but it’s copper we’ll be watching today as well as the Dollar at the 80.50 mark to give us a clue as to intra-day direction. While we may look irresponsible in our spending – that’s only because you are not sitting us next to Europe, who are still spiraling out of control (Ireland just got a FIVE (5!) notch downgrade from Moody’s. Generally you have to be hit with a nuclear missile for that to happen) – even as they pass bigger and bigger bailout deals.’

Make WikiLeaks irrelevant (Washington Post) [ When it comes to getting the truth out, clearly it’s Mr. Milbank who’s already irrelevant. In the tradition of a great newspaper as The Washington Post, one would have hoped that Mr. Woodward had given you a talking to before he ‘semi-retired’. Insufferable? The only thing that’s ‘insufferable’, Mr. Milbank, is that you purport to pass yourself off as a columnist / journalist / reporter of sorts. While there’s a paucity of important, decision-dependent information which would militate against many of the treasury-depleting follies while benefiting the few special interests, there’s also a plethora of disinformation. Unfortunately, Mr. Milbank, you would never know, nor care to know the difference. Irrelevant … thy name is Dana Milbank. But I do agree that all such information should be released and Julian Assange should be given a medal, and not prosecuted / persecuted for disclosing such truth. Prosecuting war crimes, the missing $12 Billion in hundred dollar bills flown into Iraq, the frauds on wall street, et als, for the still extant consequences of their last crisis precipitating fraud (worthless paper / toxic assets now marked to anything as per legislated FASB rule change, etc.); now that’s relevant, particularly in light of the precarious state of this pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt nation. U.S. Plans Manning Plea Bargain to Get Assange Kurt Nimmo | Assange has denied any knowledge of Army Specialist Bradley Manning before the media published his name. ] Milbank: It's a sensation only because of the absurd secrecy of the Obama administration.

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks, and insurmountable debt will end quite badly as in last crash and worse)!

Fiscally Irresponsible Friday: Trading for Magic Beans Davis ‘Good job Congress! Way to take it from your new Republican Masters! Not since Jack sold his cow for some magic beans has a deal like this been made by our "leadership" where families earning between $35,000 and $64,000 go $7,800 further into debt to get a $613 tax break while families earning between $5M and $10M get $38,590 and families earning $50M to $100M get $380,590 and families (or Corporations, of course) earning $500M to $1Bn get $3,859,000 or about 12,590 times more than the average middle class family but, then again, they deserve it because – they are that much better than you are! Face it, unless you are in an income category where your tax benefit has 5 digits, you are what George Orwell (who worked in England’s Ministry of Propaganda) called a "Prole." In 1984 the Proles (proletariat) were the vast majority of the populace, the working class of Oceana. Though the proles are the majority, they are unimportant. The Party explicitly teaches that the Proles are "natural inferiors who must be kept in subjection, like animals". As one of the Party Leaders observes: "the relative freedom of working-class people is merely a symptom of the contempt in which they are held". It is not only the Party which regards the Proles as unimportant: the arch-enemy, Goldstein, dismisses them too, referring to the divisions of High, Middle and Low people, in which the Low are essentially destined to remain powerless. This attitude has much in common with the one Huxley shows in Brave New World—the lower castes are mindless enough to be satisfied with little, and can be relied on not to be troublesome. [picture] You’re not going to be any trouble are you? Enjoy your $613, little people. That’s what, about a month’s worth of gasoline and cable TV? Congratulations on your voting acumen – you certainly have gotten the Government that you deserve! I apologize because I had mischaracterized the tax cuts as being fairer to the Middle Class last week, when I said it was only an outrage. I thought that families earning $50,000 would be getting $900, not $613, but it turns out that 12,590 times $287 is another $3,613,330 that could be given to a Billionaire and they NEED that money to buy stuff that might create a job while you would only go waste it on food or clothing. Thank goodness we have elected people who see this clearly! Congressman Ryan Paul is one of those people and he points out: "Whose money is this after all?" It’s not your money that your family is going $7,800 further into debt to protect – it’s THEIR money. THEY earned it and THEY are darned well going to keep it. "Hey," you might say, "I work for THEM – didn’t I make that money and isn’t this OUR country that’s in debt and needs responsible fiscal policy?" Well, that’s just Commie talk and you’d better watch yourself – we’ve already sent your name of to HomeSec so consider yourself on notice… The Proles in this country are dumb enough but what amazes me is the people who support the tax cuts thinking you are "one of THEM" when "they" look at you the same way you step over a homeless man in the streets. $858Bn is the NATIONAL Debt that we are taking on to fund these cuts. The cuts work out to about 0.75% of your income and your family share of the additional debt burden is $7,800 so, unless you are making AT LEAST $1M PER YEAR as a corporation or individual, this tax cut is a net loss for you. Once you clear that $1M hurdle, it’s all gravy flowing uphill to your plate! Even better if you are a "Corporate Citizen" – you have no real debt obligation to this nation because, like Haliburton and many, many others – you can simply move whenever you want – to avoid taxation AND prosecution! [picture] As Bloomberg proclaims today "It’s a Great Time to Be Rich," saying:

Savvy wealthy Americans would be able to capitalize on an environment in which their tax rates on income and investments remain at historic lows. Also, new rules would make it possible to pass on fortunes to heirs with less fuss and lower taxes than all but a brief period of the past 80 years.

"The climate we’ll have after this legislation is extremely favorable for wealthy families," says Jeffrey Cooper, a professor at Quinnipiac University School of Law and a former estate planner who has studied the history of U.S. tax law.

The tax compromise extends a 15 percent top tax rate on long-term capital gains and dividends enacted in 2003, which is the lowest rate since 1933. The top capital-gains rate was 77 percent in 1918 and, since 1921, its highest point was 39.9 percent in 1976 and 1977—though certain gains could be excluded from taxation. Estate planning experts say their wealthy clients could be entering an unprecedented period when tax rules—along with low interest rates and previously existing loopholes—make it easier than ever to transfer large sums to children and grandchildren. Obama and other Democrats had sought to limit the use of GRATs, but failed. "That’s a wonderful technique for parents looking to pass assets on to children at nearly zero [tax rates]," says Jennifer Immel, senior wealth planner at PNC Wealth Management. [chart] As Robert Reich points out: "The only practical effect of adding $858 billion to the deficit will be to put more pressure on Democrats to reduce non-defense spending of all sorts, including Social Security and Medicare, as well as education and infrastructure. It is nothing short of Ronald Reagan’s (and David Stockman’s) notorious 'starve the beast' strategy." As Bob reminds us, the richest 1 percent of Americans is now taking home a larger percentage of the nation’s income than at any time since 1928. And we recall what happened in 1929. He warns: "Unless the vast majority of Americans has enough purchasing power to keep the economy going without going ever more deeply into debt, the economy will eventually go over a cliff." Yeah, I know, just another Liberal worried about the stupid Proles… So let’s forget feeling sorry for the losers at the bottom of the economic pyramid and start studying them to come up with an investment premise. After all, last year, in my 2010 outlook, I predicted this year would be "A Tale of Two Economies" as the rich would continue to do very, very well while the poor would fall further behind. What I didn’t expect was that the poor would vote for more of the same in the elections but, as PT Barnum once said, "Never underestimate the stupidity of the American public." As I said, they now have exactly the Government they deserve so screw those guys and let’s make some money!We need to examine the family budget and find the places where money can actually be made selling to people who have none. Back in last December’s article, I had said: "Let’s not kid ourselves that anything in this country is being done for the benefit of the 90% who serve us. We provide the basics and there are even many fine companies who can make money selling those basics like KO, MCD, JNJ, WMT… that we can invest in." McDonald's (MCD) has flown up 25% this year with Coca-Cola (KO) up 15% with Walmart (WMT) up just 5% and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) actually down about 3%. Medical equipment (IHI) has been a mixed bag with Health Care legislation still in question but GE (GE) has been a great performer (up 20%) and both Universal Health Services (UHS) and Tenet Healthcare (THC) were the right way to go (only THC only started working recently). Big Pharma and Biotech still have room to run. TBT has NOT had a good year but it’s finally starting to improve as our country sinks further and further into debt – we just didn’t account for QE1 or QE2, for that matter back in December.

Intercontinental Hotels (IHG) was a good pick and Continental Airlines (CAL) got bought out but what was I thinking, liking Orbitz (OWW) better than Priceline (PCLN)? – never bet against Shatner! Solars like SunPower (SPWRA) and Suntech (STP) have dropped 50% this year while MEMC (WFR) (our favorite) is getting cheap again and Corning (GLW) is my bargain pick of the tech group along with Cisco (CSCO) (which wasn’t on last year’s list). All in all, not much has changed but I will be doing my 2011 outlook over the holidays so let’s keep that household budget in mind. But as this family with the $100K income now has another $750 to spend, maybe more if they refinanced their home – I’ll try to do an updated budget, taking into account higher fuel prices (as we’ve noted, it’s a great way to FORCE middle class people to spend money) and higher food prices. Remember, as Mr. Davies said:
Gas bills, rent bills, tax bills, phone bills
I’m such a wreck but I’m staying alive
I’d really like to change the world
And save it from the mess it’s in
I’m too weak, I’m so thin
I’d like to fly but I can’t even swim
Gotta be a Superman just to survive

We’re still skeptical and bearish until the Dow actually holds 11,500 for a day, so far, we haven’t even closed there – missing it yesterday by just 0.75! Oil fell all the way to 87.75 pre market, giving us yet another (yawn) victory off the $89 line in the futures. This trade will keep working until we’re over $90 and we can expect another test into the open on tax cut fever, but it’s copper we’ll be watching today as well as the Dollar at the 80.50 mark to give us a clue as to intra-day direction. While we may look irresponsible in our spending – that’s only because you are not sitting us next to Europe, who are still spiraling out of control (Ireland just got a FIVE (5!) notch downgrade from Moody’s. Generally you have to be hit with a nuclear missile for that to happen) – even as they pass bigger and bigger bailout deals.

The Cummulative National Debt.htm

Tough Environment for Housing Should Persist in 2011Suttmeier ‘The rise in the 10-Year yield is overdone and my semiannual pivot at 3.479 has become a magnet. Comex Gold closed above its 50-day simple moving average at $1369.10, and closes have been above this support since August 12th. Nymex Crude oil remains influenced by my weekly pivot at $88.76. The euro has been influenced by my quarterly pivot at 1.3318. The Dow Industrial Average remains overbought on both daily and weekly charts and gains above 11,500 have not been sustained so far. Stocks are overvalued according to ValuEngine with fifteen of sixteen sectors overvalued. The major averages straddle this week’s risky levels / pivots at 11,467 Dow, 1242.9 SPX, 2643 NASDAQ, 5141 Transports, 770.13 Russell 2000, and 428.02 Sox. Foreclosure freezes have put a temporary hold on home repossessions. 10-Year Note – (3.471) My daily value level is 3.753 with a semiannual pivot at 3.479, and weekly pivot at 3.176, annual pivots at 2.999 and 2.813, and quarterly, semiannual and monthly risky levels at 2.265, 2.249 and 1.949. [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters Comex Gold – ($1370.7) Daily, quarterly, semiannual and annual value levels are $1347.9, $1306.4, $1260.8, $1218.7 and $1115.2 with a weekly pivot at $1377.4, and monthly risky level at $1443.5. click on charts to enlarge [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters Nymex Crude Oil – ($87.86) Semiannual, annual and monthly value levels are $83.94, $77.05 and $75.50 with daily and weekly pivots at $87.56 and $88.76, and semiannual and annual risky levels at $96.53 and $97.29. [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters The Euro – (1.3237) My monthly value level is 1.2500 with daily, weekly and quarterly pivots at 1.3246, 1.3227 and 1.3318, and semiannual risky level at 1.4733. [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters Daily Dow: (11,499) Semiannual, annual, monthly and quarterly value levels are 10,558, 10,379, 10,325 and 8,523 with annual and semiannual pivots at 11,235 and 11,296, and daily and weekly pivots at 11,499 and 11,467. [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters Foreclosure Freezes Causes Steep Drop in Home Repossessions Home repossessions dropped 28% in November sequentially and 12% year over year. Even so, the year to date total is around 980,000 according the RealtyTrac. Once we get into 2011, the pace of foreclosures should pick up again as the freezes end and as improved documentation practices are put into place by lenders. The tough environment for housing should persist in 2011; high unemployment, a continued weak housing market, and tighter lending standards. With 10.8 million households or 22.5% of all homes with a mortgage were underwater at the end of the third quarter. There are 5 million mortgages that are at least two month in arrears, yet many of them have not even entered the foreclosure process. According to Trulia Inc there is ten months of housing inventory up for sale and in many communities sellers are cutting prices across the country. The average price cut is 12% from a year ago. Until the housing market shows a sustainable recovery, job creation will lag and the economic recovery will remain weak as the FOMC stated on Tuesday.’

Ireland Rating Lowered Five Levels by Moody's With Threat of More to Come Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Daniel Gros, director of the Centre for European Policy Studies, talks about Moody's Investors Service's downgrade of Ireland and the outlook for the economy. Moody's Slashes Ireland's Rating as EU Wraps Up Summit New York Times Moody's Slashes Irish Debt to 3 Grades Above Junk ABC News BusinessWeek - BBC News - Reuters

Tough Environment for Housing Should Persist in 2011 Midnight Trader 4:15 PM, Dec 17, 2010 – ‘

• DJIA down 7.34 (-0.06%) to 11,491.91
• S&P 500 up 1.04 (+0.08%) to 1,243.91
• Nasdaq up 5.66 (+0.21%) to 2,642.97

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

• Hang Seng up 0.2%
• Nikkei down 0.07%
• FTSE down 0.16%

UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) ORCL continues evening gain after earnings, guidance beat.
(+) TTWO continues evening gain after Q4 beat.
(+) RIMM continues evening gain after beat.
(+) ICO reportedly gets interest from Massey Energy.
(+) YRCW court says ABF Freight can not sue company.
(+) MI sold to BMO Financial.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) AIB, IRE down as Moody's cuts Ireland debt rating.
(-) AZN says Brilanta study to be delayed.

MARKET DIRECTION
Better-than-expected earnings results from Oracle (ORCL) and Research in Motion (RIMM) buoyed U.S. markets but gains were tempered by a Moody's downgrade of Ireland's debt. European debt issues were an overhang for much of the day as traders worry that despite aid packages cobbled together for the likes of Ireland and Greece, those economies and others in Europe remain shaky. U.S. traders got some added good news from the Conference Board as the index of leading indicators gained 1.1% in November, up from a 0.4% rise in October and yet another sign the U.S. economy is on the mend.

Moody's downgraded Ireland's government-bond rating by five notches and said the country had a weak economic outlook.

U.S. November leading economic indicators rose 1.1%, the biggest gain since March, but only matching Street views. Nine of the 10 component indicators included in the index rose in November, with the largest positive contribution coming from the index of supplier deliveries. Building permits were the only negative contributor.

Also, lawmakers approved a two-year across-the-board extension of Bush-era tax cuts just before midnight Thursday by a vote of 277-148. The bill, already passed by the Senate, now goes to President Barack Obama for signature. The bill includes a 2% rollback of Social Security payroll taxes, extends unemployment insurance for 13 months, and brings back the estate tax at 35% for two years on estates of more than $5 million. Wall Street has given mixed reviews to the plan, believing it may help stimulate a weak economic recovery but at the cost of even deeper deficit burdens.

Looking forward to the a holiday-shortened trading week, there are several names on the earnings docket that should see strong trading interest. On Monday, Adobe (ADBE), Darden's Restaurants (DRI), Jabil (JBL) and Paychex (PAYX) report financials. Hovnanian (HOV), Nike (NKE) and Red Hat (RHT) are due with financials on Tuesday, followed by Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) and Micron Technology (MU) on Wednesday. No significant earnings reports are due on Thursday, and U.S. markets are closed Friday in observance of Christmas Day.

On the economic front, MBA mortgage applications; GDP; existing home sales; FHFA home price index; and crude inventories are slated for release on Wednesday. On Thursday, traders will get a look at personal income/spending; PCE prices; durable orders; initial claims; University of Michigan sentiment; and new home sales data.

In Friday's company news:

Shares of InterMune (ITMN) soared after the company said that the European Medicines Agency "adopted a positive opinion" to allow the marketing of its lung drug Esbriet. The drug is being developed for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This is a a rare, fatal condition where lungs suffer scarring due to unknown causes.

Shares of Google (GOOG) saw modest downside pressure as the the Internet search giant faces antitrust complaints in the European Union from publishers who say that the company discriminates against their sites, Bloomberg reported. The EU took over part of a complaint that was originally filed with Germany's antitrust agency in January. The EU is looking into whether Google discriminated against competing services in its search results.

Hewlett Packard Co. (HPQ) shares were near flat even after the computer maker said it faces a wider federal investigation into alleged payment of kickbacks to sell its products overseas. The joint U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission probe is now looking into bribery allegations in Austria, Serbia, the Netherlands and the Commonwealth of Independent States, according to a regulatory filing by the company. HP is already under investigation in Russia and Germany for alleged bribes dating back as far as 10 years ago.

ADRs of AstraZeneca (AZN) were down in the regular session after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked for additional analysis of data from a study of Brilinta. Analysts said the demand for extra analysis is likely to delay final approval of the drug by six to twelve months.

Oracle (ORCL) was a solid gainer in regular session trading after posting strong results and guidance late Thursday.

Allied Irish Banks (AIB) and Bank of Ireland (IRE) were lower after Moody's downgraded Ireland's credit rating by five notches. Moody's cut Ireland's rating to Baa1 with a negative outlook from Aa2 and warned further downgrades could follow if Dublin was unable to stabilize its debt situation.

Commodities finished mostly higher with both crude oil and gold futures ending in the gainers column.

Crude oil for January delivery finished up $0.32, or 0.34%, to $88.02 a barrel. In other energy futures, heating oil was down 0.07% to $2.47 a gallon while natural gas rose 0.47%, to $4.06 per million British thermal units.

Gold futures logged gains during the day amid fresh worries over the U.S. budget deficit, MarketWatch reported.

Gold for February delivery finished up 0.6% to $1,379.20 an ounce. In other metal futures, silver rose 1.47% to $29.20 a troy ounce while copper was up 1.29% to $4.16 a pound.’

Oil prices rise to nearly 92 dollars AFP | World oil prices rose on Friday as the dollar fell against the euro amid improving demand for crude, analysts said.

US empire could collapse at any time, Pulitzer winner tells Raw Story The Raw Story | Pulitzer winner warns U.S. empire could collapse at any moment.

In Marketing of a New Mortgage Fund, Pimco Lists Former Bush Officials New York Times | Washington’s revolving door where officials leave government to pursue lucrative opportunities working with industries they once dealt with while in public office.

Should Hank Paulson Be In Jail? [ Short answer: YES! … among others. ] Leading bank analyst Chris Whalen has raised the question of whether criminal charges should be brought against former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson.

US To End 2010 With $13.9 Trillion In Debt, Total Debt Incurred Since Great Financial Crash: $4.4 Trillion Now that all recent bond auctions have settled, and with no further bond auctions scheduled until the rest of the year, we can look at the final tally of US total debt: the number – $13,879,785,000,000.

Buying Gold: Why Are The Chinese Gobbling Up Gold Like There Is No Tomorrow? Why are the Chinese buying so much gold? In 2010 it has been demand out of China that has been one of the primary factors for the dramatic rise in the price of gold.

Financial Analyst: This Is The First Recession Since the End of the FIRST World War Where Government Help Isn’t Trickling Down to the American People Banking expert Christopher Whalen (hailed by Nouriel Roubini as one of the leading independent analysts of the U.S. banking system) told the American Enterprise Institute that this is the first recession going back at least to the end of the first World War where government assistance has not trickled down to Main Street and ordinary Americans.

The Fed’s Money Printing Lie The U.S. Federal Reserve is not printing money, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke said in a 60 Minutes interview that aired December 5.

National / World

U.S. Plans Manning Plea Bargain to Get Assange Kurt Nimmo | Assange has denied any knowledge of Army Specialist Bradley Manning before the media published his name.

FBI Agents Train Garbage Collectors To Report Suspicious Activity Former FBI agents are helping local authorities train thousands of garbage collectors across the country as a nationwide internal spy force to report “suspicious activity” to police in yet another example of how America is turning into an East German-style informant society as the country decays from within.

TSA Too Busy Groping, Perving, Playing God To Notice Guns And Bombs TSA agents at a Houston airport failed to stop an Iranian-American with a loaded handgun passing through security and boarding a plane, yet they did stop a woman directly behind him who was carrying liquids in her hand luggage.

Critics Slam Metro Bag Searches As More Useless “Security Theater David Alpert, who serves on the agency’s Riders’ Advisory Council and writes the Greater Greater Washington blog, called it “security theater” that wastes money without stopping terrorists. He said such resources could be better spent having more officers and dogs patrol the system.

UN Mulls Plan To Police The Internet At a meeting in New York on Wednesday, representatives from Brazil called for an international body made up of Government representatives that would to attempt to create global standards for policing the internet – specifically in reaction to challenges such as WikiLeaks.

10,000 Child Porn Images Found On Ex-TSA Worker’s Computer Yet another TSA worker has been exposed as a pedophile to add the the epidemic of cases that prove those who are inclined to work in jobs that allow them to sexually molest children via invasive groping measures at airports are the most unprofessional, perverted and criminally-minded individuals imaginable.

Food prices rise sharply – and there’s more to come For the first time since 2008, inflation is hitting consumers in the stomach.

North Korea threatens to launch two retaliatory strikes over further planned artillery drills on disputed island Daily Mail | South Korea has said it plans to carry out a 24-hour live-fire drill on Yeonpyeong Island sometime between Saturday and Tuesday.

Who is Julian Assange? A Glimpse at his early childhood. In Defense of Anne Hamilton-Byrne Eileen Dannemann | Christine Assange married a musician and devotee of Anne Hamilton-Byrne.

Assange fears ‘US indictment’ Aljazeera | WikiLeaks founder says he believes a secret grand jury is investigating him a day after being released on bail.

FBI Agents Train Garbage Collectors To Report Suspicious Activity Paul Joseph Watson | Nationwide “Waste Watch” spy program another alarming reminder of a society in terminal decay.

Gov. Ventura probes Pentagon attack, unreleased 9/11 video and missing trillions Aaron Dykes | Ventura appeared on the Alex Jones Show today to discuss revelations about the Pentagon attack that Conspiracy Theory tracked down by talking to the real sources– survivors and eye witnesses.

UN mulls internet regulation options John Hilvert | The United Nations is considering whether to set up an inter-governmental working group to harmonize global efforts by policy makers to regulate the internet.

10,000 Child Porn Images Found On Ex-TSA Worker’s Computer Paul Joseph Watson | Epidemic of TSA screeners connected with rape, pedophilia and sexual perversion explodes.

Der Spiegel 1974 – New Ice Age Approaching. Odds Of A Warm Future “At Best 1 in 10,000″ An increased frequency in extreme weather events, a cooling North Atlantic, and growing Arctic sea ice were viewed as signs of climate change. The odds of a warmer climate in the future, according to one scientist, were “at best 1 in 10,000″ (see below). That’s what Der Spiegel wrote about in a 3700-word article back in 1974, warning the world of a coming ice age.

‘I hear US mulling spy charges’: Full video of Julian Assange 1st presser after jail The founder of whistleblowing website Wikileaks released on bail by a British court says he will continue his work. An appeal by prosecutors to keep Julian Assange behind bars was rejected. But he’ll have to stay in Britain under house arrest until a decision is made on whether he should be extradited to Sweden over sexual assault allegations. That case was dropped in August, but later reopened, in a move widely seen as politically motivated.

No ‘substantive’ damage from Wikileaks, Biden admits US Vice President Joe Biden says there has been no “substantive” damage to US foreign policy from the WikiLeaks drama, despite embarrassment caused by thousands of leaked diplomatic cables.

South Korea Gets Ready To Hold Drills That Pyongyang Says Will Force Immediate Retaliation The Korean conflict just escalated into a global crisis again.

Pulitzer-winner, ex-CIA analyst, FBI whistleblower among those arrested outside White House As President Barack Obama was unveiling a new report on progress of the war in Afghanistan, a lineup of high-profile dissenters joined in an act of civil disobedience that ended with about 135 demonstrators being arrested outside the White House Thursday afternoon.

N.Korea says war with South would go nuclear North Korea warned that another war with South Korea would involve nuclear weapons, as diplomatic efforts continued to ease high tensions over its deadly artillery attack and atomic ambitions.

Wikileaks founder freed on bail (Washington Post) [ ‘… Moore (correctly) asserts that Assange is under attack solely because he had the courage to expose American war crimes. Moore writes:

We were taken to war in Iraq on a lie. Hundreds of thousands are now dead. Just imagine if the men who planned this war crime back in 2002 had had a WikiLeaks to deal with. They might not have been able to pull it off. The only reason they thought they could get away with it was because they had a guaranteed cloak of secrecy....

So why is WikiLeaks, after performing such an important public service, under such vicious attack? Because they have outed and embarrassed those who have covered up the truth…’

Though Assange’s arrest was on far more tenuous grounds owing to a CIA-linked girl, Roman Polanski was similarly targeted:

BBC News - Roman Polanski triumphs at European Film Awards Dec 5, 2010 ... Roman Polanski's thriller The Ghost Writer wins six prizes at the European ... Polanski was working on the film at the time of his arrest in ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11921048 {I strongly recommend this, of course, masterfully done film which deals with exactly that topic and the sordid, unscrupulous machinations of the cia / u.s. (no wonder the u.s. opted out of coverage by world treaty / The Hague thereby) to avoid detection of, and to further such activities as the war crimes referenced.}

Don’t forget: america has their own untouchables in the illegal sense, ie., wall street, etc., and In interview, Bush defends Iraq war and waterboarding (Washington Post) [ Defending the indefensible … what choice does he have … then there’s the lies … ] Bush breaks silence, writes next chapter (Washington Post) [ As a failed president and war criminal himself, moron dumbya bush is among the few in the world that makes failed president wobama look plausibly good in comparison … wobama merely continued the failed policies of dumbya (perpetual war, no pros the frauds on wallstreet, etc.) that got pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america to this point of decline and failure. ] Anne E. Kornblut Your take: His most memorable moment? [ Like regrets in that old song (his way) he’s had a few – http://albertpeia.com/evilonthetarmac.htm here’s a few: bushisms from bush the brain-damaged moron http://albertpeia.com/bushisms.htm :

Clinton Speaks: He Did It Because He Could - There Are Serial Killers On Death Row Who Have Killed Fewer People Than Unconflicted, Pathological Liar/Perjurer, Rapist, and Murderer, Psychopath criminal american clinton

· clinton Flashed ("Dropped his Drawers") Paula Jones and Implored Her To "Kiss It" (his p***s, which owing to distinctive "marking/disfigurement" she was able to describe)

· clinton "Cops a Cheap Feel/Grope" From Kathleen Willey In Attempting Prey Upon Her Perceived Vulnerability

· clintonites Threaten Dolly Kyle Browning In Attempting To Intimidate Her Into Giving False Testimony

· clinton Brutally Rapes Juanita Broaddrick

· clinton Was Asked To Leave Oxford Owing To Sexual Assault Of A Fellow Student

He Does It Because He Can

On March 11, 1999, Investor’s Business Daily reported that at least nine (9) women have now charged that Clinton "personally assaulted them or, through his ‘agents’ or ‘people,’ threatened to do them or their families physical harm." The list includes Dolly Kyle Browning, Gennifer Flowers, Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Corbin Jones, Kathleen Willey, Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, Sally Perdue, and Elizabeth Ward Gracen. "And all of them say they’re afraid for their safety so long as he remains in power."

CLINTON BODY COUNT

By: Ether Zone Staff

Here is the latest body count that we have. All of these people have been connected with the Clintons in some form or another. We have not included any deaths that could not be verified or connected to the Clinton scandals. All deaths are listed chronologically by date. This list is current and accurate to the best of our knowledge as of January 13, 1999 August 1, 2000. (see complete list http://albertpeia.com/bodycount.htm ) …’ ]

Robinson: On track to nowhere in Afghanistan (Washington Post) [ I agree with Mr. Robinson and we should be thankful that he’s watching closely and, unlike so many others, he has courage enough to say so :

Obama's glaring ego (Washington Post) [ Come on! Now known for what he really is; viz., an insecure, dysfunctional, jive-talking b*** s*** artist, he’s just once again, but typically wrong, and is nothing to have an ego about. Robinson: White House is eerily silent on taxes (Washington Post) [ Eerily? I think not! Expectantly? I think so! That is, once you get beyond the wobama b*** s*** ! And, truth be told party distinctions are merely distinctions without significant differences (no prosecution of the wall street frauds, wars raging in Afghanistan / Middle East, etc.. But alas, as to the ‘wobama whitehouse’ this was predictable early on as by David Icke : Barack Obama: The Naked Emperor Shocking but true revelations from David Icke (a must read) | ‘Vast numbers of people across the world, including many who should know better, have been duped by the mind-game called Operation Obama... (excerpts) Obama has been the chosen one for a long time, a fact known only to a few in the deep inner circle, and his relationship with Brzezinski almost certainly goes back to the start of the 1980s when he attended the Ivy League, and big-time Illuminati, Columbia University where Brzezinski was head of the Institute for Communist Affairs. Obama simply will not talk in any detail about this period. He has been covertly funded and supported ever since by the Trilateral Commission and its network of foundations connecting into the Ford Foundation, for whom Obama's mother worked. And a question: Does anyone really believe that someone, a 'man of the people', would simply appear from apparently nowhere to run the slickest and best-funded presidential campaign in American history? He was chosen long ago by those who wish to enslave the very people that Obama says he wants to 'set free'. The sources of Obama funding read like a Wall Street Who's Who - Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and so on. No wonder he went back on his pledge to accept the limitations of public funding for his campaign and instead took the no-limit option of 'private funding. Then there is the Jewish financier, George Soros, the multi-billionaire associate of Brzezinski and closely involved with the funding and marketing of Obama. Soros is a former board member of the Illuminati's Council on Foreign Relations and funds the European Council on Foreign Relations. In short, he is a major insider' You can certainly see the Soros/Brzezinski techniques in the Obama 'revolution' in the United States. It was the complex and secretive network of Soros foundations and organisations, connected to the intelligence agencies of the US and Israel, that trained and funded students in the Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere in the art of mass protest and overthrowing governments. These manufactured protests were sold to the world as peoples' revolutions, but it just so happened that when they were over and the old regime was removed the new leaders were those waiting in the wings all along - the puppets of Soros, Brzezinski and their associated networks. Obama is just more of the same, a big smile with strings attached, and controlled completely by the Illuminati networks that chose him, trained him, sold him and provided his record funding. It was they who kept his many skeletons under wraps, like the gay sex and crack cocaine allegations of Larry Sinclair (from affidavit: 1. Who is Ron Allen that claims to be with your Presidential camp, who is alleged to claim that someone claiming to represent me called asking for $100,000, to keep me from coming forward about our (Obama and I) November 1999 encounter of sex and cocaine use?), and they will continue to do so as long as he jumps to their bidding. Obama is just another Banksters' moll prostituting himself for fame and power, and that's why he supported the grotesque bail-out of the banking system and why he will always put their interests before the people. His financial advisors are straight from the Wall Street 'A' list, including Paul Adolph Volker (Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg Group), the head of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987 and Illuminati to his fingertips. Obama has made him head of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which is dominated by insiders, including its staff director and chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, a close Obama associate from the University of Chicago. Goolsbee is an initiate of the infamous Illuminati Skull and Bones Society at Yale University, which also includes Boy and Father Bush. It was Goolsbee who told the Canadian government not to worry about Obama's attacks on the economic effects of free trade agreements because his words were just to win votes in the election campaign. Another Wall Street insider, the Zionist Timothy Geithner (Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations), was appointed by Obama to be his Treasury Secretary. Geithner was the President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, the most powerful in the private Federal Reserve cartel that masquerades as America's central bank, and he is a former employee of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the appalling Kissinger Associates. Obama's Treasury team locks into the inner circle around the Zionist Robert Rubin, the Director and Senior Counselor of Citigroup, co-chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, and economic advisor to Obama. Rubin, a member of the Illuminati Bilderberg Group, was the man behind Citigroup's strategy of expanding its risk in debt markets which forced it to be rescued by taxpayers' money. The very people who caused the financial crisis are being appointed by Obama to decide how to respond to it (more taxpayers' money for them and their friends) ‘
The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ‘In emotional and personal testimony, an ex-Justice official who quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims ...’  US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Washington Post | Obama has promised to hold Wall Street accountable for the meltdown. ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 – well worth a look. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

While boner and barton are indeed jokes / vegetables that bespeak the single-digit approval rate for congress, obama’s failure to deliver on promises with as well, endless war spending despite defacto bankruptcy of the nation and a watered down nothing financial regulation bill for talking points but little substance, make him as big a joker. This well researched / produced video tells the real story : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 ‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ – well worth the view. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored A viral You Tube upload of one of Alex Jones’ most popular feature films ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored following a spur of the moment campaign to elevate the movie’s title to the top of the major internet search engines. In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257# [ youtube is often down – website archived version is available as follows: http://www.albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv http://www.albertpeia.com/esotericagendalinktoarchive.htm ]

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In interview, Bush defends Iraq war and waterboarding (Washington Post) [ Defending the indefensible … what choice does he have … then there’s the lies … ] Bush breaks silence, writes next chapter (Washington Post) [ As a failed president and war criminal himself, moron dumbya bush is among the few in the world that makes failed president wobama look plausibly good in comparison … wobama merely continued the failed policies of dumbya (perpetual war, no pros the frauds on wallstreet, etc.) that got pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america to this point of decline and failure. ] Anne E. Kornblut Your take: His most memorable moment? [ Like regrets in that old song (his way) he’s had a few – http://albertpeia.com/evilonthetarmac.htm here’s a few: bushisms from bush the brain-damaged moron http://albertpeia.com/bushisms.htm :

Clinton Speaks: He Did It Because He Could - There Are Serial Killers On Death Row Who Have Killed Fewer People Than Unconflicted, Pathological Liar/Perjurer, Rapist, and Murderer, Psychopath criminal american clinton

· clinton Flashed ("Dropped his Drawers") Paula Jones and Implored Her To "Kiss It" (his p***s, which owing to distinctive "marking/disfigurement" she was able to describe)

· clinton "Cops a Cheap Feel/Grope" From Kathleen Willey In Attempting Prey Upon Her Perceived Vulnerability

· clintonites Threaten Dolly Kyle Browning In Attempting To Intimidate Her Into Giving False Testimony

· clinton Brutally Rapes Juanita Broaddrick

· clinton Was Asked To Leave Oxford Owing To Sexual Assault Of A Fellow Student

He Does It Because He Can

On March 11, 1999, Investor’s Business Daily reported that at least nine (9) women have now charged that Clinton "personally assaulted them or, through his ‘agents’ or ‘people,’ threatened to do them or their families physical harm." The list includes Dolly Kyle Browning, Gennifer Flowers, Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Corbin Jones, Kathleen Willey, Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, Sally Perdue, and Elizabeth Ward Gracen. "And all of them say they’re afraid for their safety so long as he remains in power."

CLINTON BODY COUNT

By: Ether Zone Staff

Here is the latest body count that we have. All of these people have been connected with the Clintons in some form or another. We have not included any deaths that could not be verified or connected to the Clinton scandals. All deaths are listed chronologically by date. This list is current and accurate to the best of our knowledge as of January 13, 1999 August 1, 2000. (see complete list http://albertpeia.com/bodycount.htm )

Susan Coleman: Rumors were circulating in Arkansas of an affair with Bill Clinton. She was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head at 7 1/2 months pregnant. Death was an apparent suicide.


Kevin Ives & Don Henry: Initial cause of death was reported to be the result of falling asleep on a railroad track in Arkansas on August 23, 1987. This ruling was reported by the State medical examiner Fahmy Malak. Later it was determined that Kevin died from a crushed skull prior to being placed on the tracks. Don had been stabbed in the back. Rumors indicate that they might have stumbled upon a Mena drug operation.


Paul Olson: A Federal witness in investigations to drug money corruption in Chicago politics, Paul had just finished 2 days of FBI interviews when his plane ride home crashed, killing Paul and 130 others on Sept 8 1994. The Sept. 15, 1994 Tempe Tribune newspaper reported that the FBI suspected that a bomb had brought down the airplane.

Calvin Walraven: 24 year on Walraven was a key witness against Jocelyn Elder's son's drug case. Walraven was found dead in his apartment with a gunshot wound to the head. Tim Hover, a Little Rock police spokesman says no foul play is suspected.

Alan G. Whicher: Oversaw Clinton's Secret Service detail. In October 1994 Whicher was transferred to the Secret Service field office in the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. Whatever warning was given to the BATF agents in that building did not reach Alan Whicher, who died in the bomb blast of April 19th 1995.


Ron Brown:. The Commerce Secretary died on  April 3, 1996, in an Air Force jet carrying Brown and 34 others, including 14 business executives on a trade mission to Croatia, crashed into a mountainside. The Air Force, in a 22-volume report issued in June of 1996, confirmed its initial judgment that the crash resulted from pilot errors and faulty navigation equipment At the time of Brown's death, Independent Counsel Daniel Pearson was seeking to determine whether Brown had engaged in several sham financial transactions with longtime business partner Nolanda Hill shortly before he became secretary of commerce.

Charles Meissner: died: UNK - Following Ron Brown's death, John Huang was placed on a Commerce Department contract that allowed him to retain his security clearance by Charles Meissner. Shortly thereafter, Meissner died in the crash of a small plane.   He was an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Economic Policy.




Barbara Wise: Wise a 14-year Commerce Department employee found dead and partially naked in her office following a long weekend. She worked in the same section as John Huang. Officially, she is said to have died of natural causes.


Mary C. Mahoney: 25, murdered at the Georgetown Starbuck's coffee bar over the 4th of July '97 weekend. She was a former White House intern who worked with John Huang. Apparently she knew Monica Lewinsky and her sexual encounters with Bill Clinton. Although not verified, it has been said that Lewinsky told Linda Tripp that she did not want to end up like Mahoney.

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Background http://albertpeia.com/CIAAgentAffidavit1.jpg

For Those Who Wonder About the bush-clinton-bush Stranglehold on the Nation, Realize That Their Criminal Cooperation Began With Their Lucrative Relationship Vis-a-vis What Was Known as the Mena, Arkansas Drug (cocaine from Central/South America) Run As Set Forth In This CIA Agent's Affidavit/Declaration Under Penalty of Perjury.

The Vietnam war was a painful time for America. Many young Americans were drafted and died thousands of miles from their loved ones. Young men of priviledge had a clear advantage - few of them went to Vietnam, securing positions in the National Guards of their respective states. George W. Bush was one of these men, securing a place in the Texas Air National Guard in spite of a waiting list of several hundred. However, he claims that he did not receive special consideration, which is clearly a lie.

Most of the young men lucky enough to get into the Guard fulfilled their obligations. George W. Bush did not. He was absent without leave, AWOL, for over a year. Not surprisingly, this got little attention from the corporate media...

… After the hostages' release, the arms shipments to Iran continued. Profits were funneled to another pet cause of the right wing - the Nicuaraguan terrorists known as "freedom fighters" or "Contras". Another Contra source of income was trafficking in narcotics, running cocaine into the United States, with the full knowledge and cooperation of Administration officials. In the 80's there was a huge increase in the flow of cheap crack cocaine into the inner cities of America and countless lives were destroyed.

A series of investigations led to the convictions of Oliver North and Vice Admiral John C. Poindexter, head of the National Security Council, on charges of obstructing Congress and unlawfully destroying documents, but both their convictions were later reversed. In 1992 President George H.W. Bush pardoned many of the top government officials who had been charged or convicted in the scheme. The main perpetrators of Iran/Contra and associated events remain free today, and many of them work in George W. Bush's Administration.

…

Of the three generations of Bush men mentioned on this site, the most evil and most dangerous by far is George Bush, Sr.

The Bush family came by their wealth on the backs of 11 million dead. Prescott Bush, along with partner E. Ronald Harriman, supplied financial aid and raw materials to Hitler's Third Reich.

In 1942, Bush/Harriman companies were seized under the Trading with the Enemy Act: the Union Banking Corporation, the Holland-American Trading Corporation, the Seamless Steel Equipment Corporation and Silesian-American Corporation.

After the war, the CIA recruited many former Nazis to work for them, escaping prosecution for war crimes. Klaus Barbie, infamous for ordering the murder of French children, was among them. He was, however, eventually caught and returned to France to stand trial.

… Shortly before the 9/11 attacks, John Ashcroft stopped flying commercial and started flying on government-chartered planes. Why?

In fact, the George W. Bush received many warnings that he disregarded. Bush knew, and he did nothing. Why?

Oil, that's why. And a free rein to rape the Constitution.

…- David Blomstrom ]

] Gerson: He could have taken quiet credit for the bipartisan tax deal; he chose otherwise.

Krauthammer: Comeback kid (Washington Post) [ While getting almost everything (ie., perpetual wars, economy, political scenario, etc.) wrong, almost all of the time, with a gaunt, ghastly visage that’s almost unbearable to view much less listen to, krauthammer certainly gets this wrong. Where do they get such ‘professional commentators’ as him? After all, though given the benefit of every possible doubt, wobama’s failure has been consistent with a profile of predictable disfunctionality, and his jive-talking b*** s*** belying his every flawed action is too egregious too dispel from memory which of course is reflected in all polls and probably much worse. ]

Pearlstein: GOP and tax cuts? Now that's rich. (Washington Post) [ Why is it that today, of all times in american history (albeit a relatively short and fudged one at that), people are particularly afraid to call ‘a spade a spade’. After all, america is defacto bankrupt and pervasively corrupt. Moreover, economically speaking, the principle of marginal propensity to consume militates against the egalitarian treatment accorded the rich relative to the growing ranks and magnitude of the poor in the u.s.. Practically speaking, this irrational scenario in light of the fraudulent wall street scams, inter alia, still in large part unprosecuted, has become all too familiar in the everdeclining america we now see. It brings to mind that axiom prominently displayed in that seminal (masterfully done by Francis Ford Coppola) ‘Godfather’ film (the source of inspiration and trendy rationalization for what have now become ubiquitous mob scenarios infesting america and now manifest in every stripe, color, persuasion; and particularly, the especially nefarious government mob.),‘Behind Every Fortune, a Crime’. Even if that wasn’t true then (but probably was), it most assuredly is true in america now (ie., wall street frauds, war profiteering, etc.). ]

2010: The Year of Reflation The Housing Time Bomb ‘ Since it looks like the holiday trade is on, I thought I would look back and see how various sectors performed in 2010: [chart] (Click to enlarge)
My Take: If you were an inflationist you did pretty darn well last year. Commodities were clearly the play of the year. I find it kinda funny to look at the S&P 500 performance relative to other investment options.CNBC would love to make you believe that buying stocks was and always is the best thing to do. As you can see above, this was clearly not the case in 2010. Ironically, bonds gave a lot back since November when the Fed started it's brilliant QE strategy.You can thank the Fed's reckless policies (along with lots of Chindians) for the commodity run. The dollar has held up well as of late as a result of the European debt fiasco but it's clearly evident above that the market believes inflation is coming.If you were a deflationist in 2010 you pretty much got slaughtered. The classic deflation trade is to go short stocks and energy and go long the dollar and bonds. So much for that idea in 2010.Personally, I was pleased with my year for the most part. I did well with gold and silver. My bond funds did well thanks to PIMCO. I lost a little on some short hedges but I was glad I owned them when we dipped this summer. My cash didn't do anything thanks to low rates. In fact, I probably lost money from an inflation adjusted standpoint but that's OK. The security of knowing it's there is invaluable from my perspective at this point in the game.
Where Do We Go From Here? This is the million dollar question. I will touch on this today but stay tuned for a THTB Top 10 prediction list for 2011. I see this done a lot and i liked it, so I figured I would give it a shot.I think a lot of what happens in 2010 will come down to the Fed, the bond market, and politics. I think Obama put himself in a bad spot by passing the tax cuts. I say this because Washington DC is going to change drastically starting next year. The House and the Senate will both be filled with several new tea partying Republicans who are going to want to cut spending. As the deficit worsens we will see increasing pressure to do something to stop it.This is going to lead to job cuts and other austerity measures beginning in 2011. I don't expect anything drastic but it will start nonetheless. Obama is going to end up looking bad when the Republicans start cutting because the middle class are the ones who are going to feel the pain. Obama will then get painted the President who gave the middle class the shaft after giving tax cuts to the rich. This will be a political nightmare for him down the line and ironically I think the left may hate on him on this issue as much as the right does.
The Bottom Line We have clearly reached a fork in the road when it comes to the markets and the economy. Unemployment remains high and is getting worse. Our deficit is on the verge of not being manageable as bond yields continue to rise.Stocks have priced in a strong 2011 recovery which I don't think is going to happen. I can't see any material recovery without a nice uptick in jobs. The only reason we had a recovery this year was because the government was willing to put it on it's credit card. The economy would have been miserable this year without their handouts.The Fed would love to rinse and repeat the same thing this year which is why we got QE2. The problem with this idea is the Fed now has the bond market to deal with. They aren't too keen on this idea. They are becoming increasingly worried about our deficits because they see no recovery that can pull us out of this mess.The Fed doesn't see the recovery either. If they did then they would have never pushed the QE2 button. Bernanke knows this can't work but he did it anyway because there was no other option. The after shocks are still being felt from our "printing" announcement. Bonds have collapsed and commodities have soared ever since.This is going to be felt down the line by stocks as increased costs hurt margins. Remember: Oil remains stubbornly high and you need oil to make pretty much everything in our economy. The bottom line is, I expect lower stock prices in our future as the market realizes that the great 2011 recovery was nothing but a pipedream.

CPI Indicating a Market Turning Point Is at Hand? Jin ‘Wednesday, the CPI for November 2010 was released. The headline CPI increased by 1.1% over November 2009. The core CPI increased by 0.8% over the same month in 2009. Both readings are well below the Federal Reserve’s long term target inflation rate of 2%, reinforcing the Fed’s worrying about deflation rather than inflation. And worry it should, the Fed. QE2 has not shown any success in its intended impact of improving employment and lifting inflation in the U.S. But China and a large part of emerging economies have already felt the heat. Nearly all commodities have seen their prices rise sharply in the past two months. The latest CPI growth rate from China is 5.1%, the highest in over two years. The Fed might have had this scenario in mind when the FOMC decided to implement QE2 last November. In addition to stimulating business investment in the U.S., QE2 causes inflation to rise in emerging economies, which implicitly reduces the cost advantage enjoyed by those regions. The idea then, is that the imbalance between the U.S. and emerging economies could be somehow corrected. However, as the global supply chain is tightly integrated today, the U.S. may have to bear the costs of QE2 before the benefits are felt. The reason is simple. So far, commodity prices reacted much more strongly to QE2 than CPI in the U.S. The pace of commodity price appreciation is so fast that the adjustment in the global supply chain has not occurred yet. U.S. corporations have already seen their input price hiking. However, since unemployment rates have stayed above 9% for nearly 20 months now, consumer prices in the U.S. have little room to increase further. As companies cannot pass the higher costs of raw materials to final consumers, in the short term, there are two likely results: The first result is that corporations will have to cut their profit margins since they cannot fully pass their increased costs to consumers. Lower profit margin means less incentive to invest and expand. Another result is to cut other costs (mainly labor costs) to offset rising materials prices. Cutting labor cost will reduce wages, increase unemployment and then put more pressure on consumers. Both results spell trouble for the whole economy and the stock market. Historical data has proven the above point. The following chart presents the monthly S&P 500 Index and the growth rate of U.S. core CPI minus the growth rate of the Import Price Index from China to the U.S. Since China is often the last step in the supply chain- in assembling and shipping goods to the U.S.- the growth rate of the Import Price Index from China could measure the production costs of U.S. companies (a better measurement than PPI in the U.S.). Click to enlarge: [chart] The chart shows that the S&P 500 largely lagged the growth rate of core CPI ex the growth rate of import prices from China. More importantly, whenever the core CPI ex-import price moved across zero, a major turning point of the stock market happened in a very short period thereafter or even at the same time. The import price index from China has only been available since December 2003. In the past seven years, the growth rate of core CPI ex-import price from China has only moved across zero twice. It first fell below zero during the period between the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008. The S&P 500 index reached its peak during that period. Then, the rate rose above zero at the beginning of 2009. One month later, the S&P 500 index touched the bottom. After the CPI release Wednesday, the growth rate of core CPI ex-import price is now at 0.4%, continuing its downward trend. Given rising inflation expectations in China and the danger of deflation in the U.S. right now, that rate is falling below zero again. Companies will bear the increasing costs and see their profits fall. Is the next turning point for the stock market right in front of us now?’

Is America the sick man of the globe? Not long ago, if you wanted steak for lunch at the Texan Restaurant, less than two minutes drive from the Nexteer Automotive assembly plant, you had to be in the door by 11 o’clock in the morning. If you arrived any later, you joined a long line with other laggards and waited for a table to open up.

Most Driven Into Debt by Medical Bills HAVE Health Insurance Most driven into debt and bankruptcy by medical bills have health insurance. For example, Reader’s Digest notes.

Chinese rush to gold as inflation fears bite While recent statistics show that China’s gold imports have risen dramatically this year, despite China itself being the world’s largest gold producer with mine production still rising to, anecdotal evidence suggests that this may just be the tip of the iceberg as Chinese people are, apparently, rushing to buy gold as an inflation hedge.

Foreclosure Activity Plunges By Record Amount In November As Fraudclosure Forces Banks To Halt Evictions The latest report from RealtyTrac indicates that, as expected, November foreclosure activity has fallen off a cliff. In November “default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions were reported on 262,339 U.S. properties, a 21 percent decrease from the previous month and a 14 percent decrease from November 2009.

Crude Oil Price Targeted for $150-200/Barrel says Longtime Friend and Confidant of Two Retired Top Oil Execs During his hour-long radio interview on the Alex Jones show today, broadcast over GCNLive.com, Lindsey Williams told Alex that he’d learned recently from two of this longtime friends, both retired top executives of major oil producers, that the price of crude oil, now rising again, is slated to move to $150-200 per barrel soon.

National / World

DHS Implementing No Work List: Citizens Must Get Government Approval to Work in Private Sector Jobs Kurt Nimmo | You’ve heard of no fly and no buy lists – get ready for no work lists. Millions of workers now must apply to the DHS and prove they are not terrorists in order to be granted permission by the government to work.

WISH TV: Camper resident facing eviction backed by viral Infowars campaign WISH 8 TV | An Indiana station is covering the attempt to evict a man living in his camper, noting the viral resistance mounted by Alex Jones and other online patriots who are trying to support the 72-year old man.

TSA Lies Again Over Capture, Storage Of Body Scanner Images Steve Watson | Spokesman says Baywatch star’s image will not leak because it is “impossible.”

Yet Another iPhone Snitch App Released Jason Douglass | Yet another iPhone snitch app released allows users to report infractions.

Insider Reveals Diabolical Secrets Of The Rand Corporation Prison Planet.tv | Alex Abella on how mad men who run technocratic elite are intent on starting World War III

Italian court increases sentences for 23 CIA agents AFP | An Italian court upped the sentences for 23 CIA agents convicted in absentia of abducting an Egyptian imam.

Ireland passes bailout package despite opposition Reuters | Ireland’s parliament approved a multi-billion euro EU/IMF bailout package on Wednesday.

Michael Moore offers bail, help to WikiLeaks AFP | Michael Moore offers Julian Assange help with bail and Moore’s own website servers to continue Wikileaks.

TSA Lies Again Over Capture, Storage Of Body Scanner Images The TSA has once again denied that the crisp naked images produced by x-ray imaging machines can be captured and stored, a claim already shown to be false by documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.

Complaint About DHS/Wal-Mart Partnership Leads to Wiretap Talaya Soria, a pastor’s wife living in California and an ex-employee of Wal-Mart shared some interesting information regarding a phone call placed to Wal-Mart’s corporate offices about the mega-giant’s ‘if you see something, say something’ partnership between Wal-Mart and The Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Insider Reveals Diabolical Secrets Of The Rand Corporation Cuban-born journalist and author Alex Abella was allowed exclusive access inside the RAND Corporation to view their archives. What he discovered was a plot driven by mad scientists, behaviorists, and generals who were intent on starting world war three and fleecing the American people in the process. Once he was a skeptic on the subject of conspiracy theories and the new world order, but after his work with the RAND Corporation he is now convinced that this top secret think tank has been pulling the strings of American government for at least 60 years.

TSA Choir Will Sing While You Are Groped The LAX TSA Choir, a group of 17 singers and musicians, all of them employees of the TSA, have been surprising passengers with performances of holiday music and other tunes in the midst of one of the nation’s busiest airports, reports USA Today .

Julian Assange granted bail at high court Britain’s high court today decided to grant bail to Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who is wanted in Sweden for questioning over allegations of rape.

Austin Joins Rebellion Against Naked Body Scanners Austin has joined the nationwide rebellion against naked body scanners by resisting plans on behalf of the TSA to install the devices at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport next year, while the TSA has still failed to respond to a FOIA request filed by former Congressman Bob Barr demanding information about whether the agency is keeping a list of “domestic extremists” who have opposed invasive airport security measures.

Espionage Act endangers First Amendment rights, ACLU warns Applying the US Espionage Act to third-party publishers of classified information like WikiLeaks would violate protected speech rights, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) told members of the House Judiciary Committee Thursday.

Nigel Farage: The People are holding you in contempt, Mr Barroso Farage again points out that Barroso was not democratically elected, to which Barroso brags that he was elected in secret by his own cronies. Farage points to recent Wikileaks cables which show that world leaders hold little or no respect for Barroso.

More Cyber Attacks Promised A pro-WikiLeaks hacker has told Sky News an internet insurgent group will keep attacking those companies who target the whistleblowing website.

UK, not Sweden, behind efforts to keep Assange in jail: report British prosecutors, rather than Swedish officials, are behind the effort to keep WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from being granted bail, the Guardian reports.

US may charge Assange with conspiring to leak cables: report The Justice Department is looking at contact between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the alleged source of the leaked State Department cables, PFC Bradley Manning, in order to build a criminal conspiracy case against Assange, a news report says.

Red Cross offers bleak assessment of Afghan war (Washington Post) [ Well at least someone’s telling the truth about pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america’s destructive, self-destructive, self-defeating perpetual war in Afghanistan … ‘…As the war affects more areas of the country, a growing number of Afghans have been caught in crossfire and thousands have fled their home towns, Reto Stocker, the head of the ICRC here, said during a news conference in Kabul. "We are entering a new, rather murky phase in the conflict in which the proliferation of armed groups threatens the ability of humanitarian organizations to reach the people who need their help," Stocker said. "The conflict is now in its 10th year. It is spreading. There is no end in sight." The assessment was unusually bleak and blunt for an organization that tends to be circumspect in public. ICRC officials in Afghanistan have a deep and nuanced understanding of the conflict because they have open lines of communication with all major armed groups, including the Taliban…’ ]

Senate overwhelmingly approves tax-cut deal (Washington Post) [ Yeah … you just have to shake your head and wonder with Davis … Timid Tuesday: Is it Safe? Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘]
A far-reaching $858 billion tax plan negotiated by the White House and Republican leaders sails through the Senate and is heading for a vote Thursday in the House, as lawmakers rush to prevent a New Year's tax hike from striking virtually every American household.

GOP members blame housing policy for financial plunge (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! Anything but the actual reason, the pervasive (and unprosecuted as to the main, large perpetrators) fraud(s) on wall street! Congressionally appointed? Sounds like a (fraudulent wall street) plan … you know, they expect to get what they pay for! ] Study by a congressionally appointed panel highlights how differently the right and the left view the crisis.

$50B pledged to aid poor nations (Washington Post) [ Wow! The only real question is where defacto bankrupt america is on that list of poor nations to receive funds (and since mentioned, what’s britain’s place number.Talk about an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ world! Drudgereport: DEFICIT HITS RECORD...
MOODY'S May Cut US Rating on Tax Package...
New spending bill totals $1.1 TRILLION! / 16 Nightmarish Economic Trends To Watch Carefully In 2011 The American Dream Dec 15, 2010 ‘If you only watch the “economic pundits” on television, it can be very confusing to figure out exactly what is happening with the U.S. economy.  One pundit will pull out a couple statistics that got a little bit better over the past month and claim that we have entered a time of solid recovery.  Another pundit will pull out a couple statistics that got a little worse over the past month and claim that we are headed for trouble.  So what is the truth?  Well, if you really want to get a clear idea of what is really going on you have to look at the long-term trends.  There are some economic trends which just keep getting worse year after year after year, and it is those trends that tell the real story of the decline of our economic system.

As you examine the long-term trends, you quickly come to realize that the U.S. is trapped in an endless spiral of debt, the middle class is being wiped out, the U.S. dollar is being destroyed and America is rapidly becoming a post-industrial wasteland.

Posted below are 16 nightmarish economic trends to watch carefully in 2011.  It is becoming exceedingly apparent that unless something is done rapidly we are heading for an economic collapse of unprecedented magnitude (see infra)… / Howard Davidowitz on the Economy: "Here Are the Numbers ... WE'RE BROKE!" 11-25-10 ‘The U.S. economy "is a complete disaster," Howard Davidowitz declared here in July, the most recent in a string of dire predictions from Tech Ticker's most entertaining guest.On the eve of Thanksgiving, I asked Davidowitz if he had any regrets, or was ready to throw in the towel given recent signs of economic revival. Are you kidding me? "Here are the numbers...we're broke," Davidowitz declares, noting the U.S. government goes $5 billion deeper into debt every day and is facing $1 trillion-plus annual deficits for the next decade. "In other words, we're bankrupt."As with the economy, Davidowitz is unwaveringly consistent in his views on President Obama, calling him "deranged, dysfunctional and discredited."Results of the midterm election show "the people of this country think we are in a catastrophe," he says. "I'm with them."Check the accompanying video for more of Howard's unfettered opinions and stay tuned for additional clips from this interview. And...Happy Thanksgiving! Aaron Task is the host of Tech Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at [email protected]’ ] The 18 percent boost of a World Bank fund marks the arrival of some previous aid recipients as donors.

Afghan war's next big debate: Troop withdrawal –‘"differences of opinion" persist over the long-term goals ‘ (Washington Post) [ Long-term goals? What goals? You mean defacto bankruptcy of the nation … Already mission accomplished … Increase reasons for blowback and global anti-american sentiment … Again, mission accomplished … Greater reason to disapprove ‘leadership’ … Once again, mission accomplished … Drudgereport: DEFICIT HITS RECORD...
MOODY'S May Cut US Rating on Tax Package...
New spending bill totals $1.1 TRILLION!
Congress Job Approval Rating Worst in GALLUP History...
Socialist president plays host to capitalism...
REPORT: Obama told lawmakers not passing tax deal could end presidency...
A $48 billion earmark... … and, long-term as defined by at best, election cycles . ] Despite signs of progress from Obama's main counterinsurgency strategy, "differences of opinion" persist over the long-term goals.

QE2 Is a Failure Higher Yields Will Hurt Overbought Stocks Suttmeier ‘The primary purpose of QE2 was to force US Treasury yields lower to help consumers and home owners on Main Street USA. Since October 8th the yield on the 10-Year is 117 basis points higher, which in my opinion makes “QE2 A FAILURE”. Comex Gold remains between this week’s value level at $1377.4 and my monthly risky level at $1443.5. Nymex Crude oil is back below my weekly pivot at $88.76 this week. The euro is just above my quarterly pivot at 1.3318. The Dow Industrial Average closed above 11,444.08 to confirm another Dow Theory Buy Signal, but stocks are overbought on both daily and weekly charts. This week’s risky levels / pivots are 1242.9 SPX, 2643 NASDAQ, 5141 Transports, 770.13 Russell 2000, and 428.02 Sox. Stocks are overbought on both daily and weekly charts and ValuEngine shows fifteen of sixteen sectors overvalued. The Fed’s concerns are real, but their policy decisions are a failure.

10-Year Note – (3.453) Daily and semiannual pivots are 3.465 and 3.479 with a weekly risky level at 3.176, and annual pivots at 2.999 and 2.813, and quarterly, semiannual and monthly risky levels at 2.265, 2.249 and 1.949. The rise in yields is overdone technically.

[chart]

Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Comex Gold – ($1397.6) Weekly, Quarterly, semiannual and annual value levels are $1377.4, $1306.4, $1260.8, $1218.7 and $1115.2 with a daily pivot at $1410.4, and monthly risky level at $1443.5. Gold has a negative divergence in momentum.

click on charts to enlarge

[chart]

Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Nymex Crude Oil – ($88.30) Semiannual, annual and monthly value levels are $83.94, $77.05 and $75.50 with a weekly pivot at $88.76, and daily and weekly pivots at $88.92 and $88.76, and semiannual and annual risky levels at $96.53 and $97.29. Oil has negative MOJO.

[chart]

Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

The Euro – (1.3384) Weekly and monthly value levels are 1.3227 and 1.2500 with quarterly and daily pivots at 1.3318 and 1.3417, and semiannual risky level at 1.4733.

[chart]

Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Daily Dow: (11,477) Semiannual, annual, monthly and quarterly value levels are 10,558, 10,379, 10,325 and 8,523 with annual and semiannual pivots at 11,235 and 11,296, and weekly and daily pivots at 11,467 and 11,446. The Dow is extremely overbought with overvalued fundamentals.

[chart]

Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Fed Statement for the December 14th FOMC Meeting – Caution Prevails

· Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November confirms that the economic recovery is continuing, though at a rate that has been insufficient to bring down unemployment.

· Household spending is increasing at a moderate pace, but remains constrained by high unemployment, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit.

· Business spending on equipment and software is rising, though less rapidly than earlier in the year, while investment in nonresidential structures continues to be weak.

· Employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls.

· The housing sector continues to be depressed.

· Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable, but measures of underlying inflation have continued to trend downward.

QE2 Continues as Planned

· The Committee will maintain its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its securities holdings.

· The Committee intends to purchase $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of the second quarter of 2011, a pace of about $75 billion per month.

· The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and continues to anticipate that economic conditions, including low rates of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations, are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate for an extended period.

My Analysis – The low interest rate policy has not worked. QE2 is not working as intended, as US Treasury yields are rising not declining. The Federal Reserve should never have taken the federal funds rate below 3%, because zero to one percent rates for Wall Street simply ignites commodity speculation and creates bubbles including the housing bubble, which is still deflating. Low rates make it impossible for folks on Main Street living on a fixed income to earn money market rates high enough to drive consumer spending. The Fed’s concern about deflation is ludicrous, as food and energy prices move higher day to day. You cannot have a sustained economic recovery without a program that helps the housing market and resolves the problems that persist among community banks across the country.’

Europe Concerns Resurface: Dave's Daily - ‘It seems the on again off again euro zone troubles just keep coming. Wednesday it was Spain's turn in the spotlight with threats of credit rating downgrades. So, just when you think things are "fixed" they come unglued. This affair caused the dollar to rise and commodity related markets to fall as many investors get whipsawed about. Despite the rise in the dollar and another bout of POMO bonds continued to sell-off. It makes one wonder at the Fed's policies frankly since the effect thus far has been the opposite of policy intentions. Further, the rise in yields will eventually become a negative for equity investors as higher yields compete for investor dollars…’

Markets Are Overbought, But On With the Party Tradermark ‘The unshortable market continues. Even losing some of the "generals" doesn't seem to matter anymore. We are now at the halfway point of December and despite a huge run for the month, the two major indices (I don't consider Dow Jones to be useful as it is 30 stocks and price weighted) have each only suffered one day of drops: A crushing 0.1% drop in the S&P 500 on Dec. 6 and a debilitating 0.5% loss in the Nasdaq on the 13th. Other than that, every other day is a non-stop win (or tie).
[chart]
Just another in a series of V shaped moves (that were once rare) since QE1 began. Truly the only time this market acted normally these past 1.75 years was in a short period in late spring/early summer of 2010 when we were in between QE1 and QE1.5 (when the Fed decided it needed to begin buying Treasuries to keep its balance sheet from shrinking and before QE2 was announced) Each time I think to myself this market is overbought and needs a rest, I have to remember - this is not a market with normal price discovery ... overbought is only a state of mind. Dick Arms stated this morning, using his Arms index, the market is the most overbought in the nearly 50 years since he started the measure.

It has been nearly 50 years since I invented the Arms Index (also known as the TRIN) and wrote about it in an article for Barrons. Since then, the Index has had many big swings, most being very good signals. Now, in terms of both the five-day and the 10-day moving averages, the Arms Index is at its most overbought levels ever.

We did have a few drops during the QE 1, 1.5, and 2 campaigns such as July 2009. But other than a few weeks in November 2010 when Europe temporarily interfered with the "we can only go up or sideways" market, this has been a non-stop party since Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in late August.

Obviously at some point we are due to consolidate a now soon to be four-month move ... but a lot of fingers have been severed trying to use any historical pattern as to when this time will come. I continue to be amazed all the "free market capitalists" on certain TeeVee channels are applauding the Fed's intention to inflate assets... I guess intervention is super cool as long as it pushes things in the "right direction" versus a true market value.

Animated short illustrates Fed looting of America Freedom Watch | Discussion of an animated short which exposes Fed looting of America.

Stockman: A Leveraged Buy-out of the American Economy Zero Hedge | The only good outcome is that the great experiment of LBOing America by the kleptocratic elite is coming to its sad conclusion.

Goldman Sachs Hires N.Y. Fed’s Lubke, Point Man on Swaps Reform Bloomberg | Goldman Sachs hires N.Y. Fed’s Lubke as point man on swaps reform.

Visa and MasterCard Deny Service to Assange Supporters It looks like the financial elite and government are working hand-in-hand to make sure Julian Assange remains in custody as he awaits extradition to Sweden and the United States to stand trial.

Unemployed and Uncounted The 9.8% unemployment rate in the United States may be closer to 20%, or 30 million Americans without a job. Those measured are those who had a job before, are actively looking for work and are immediately available for work. Despite Washington DC having a somewhat healthy economy, so many residents here are left behind without a job, an income or any hope that things will get better.

Moody’s Put Spain’s Aa1 Rating On Downgrade Review, EURUSD Meets Gravity Moody’s Investors Service has today placed Spain’s Aa1 local and foreign currency government bond ratings on review for possible downgrade.

Sidestepping the U.S. Dollar, a Russian Exchange Will Swap Rubles and Renminbi Russia and China are poised to take a small but symbolic step in their expanding economic relationship, a move that in the long term could make the dollar less relevant to business between the two nations.

National / World

‘Martial Law UK’ tops Google following protest ban Infowars | Following a decision in the UK to ban protesting, the term “Martial Law UK” has gone viral.

Martial Law: UK Police Chief Mulls Banning Protests Paul Joseph Watson | Despite police being behind provocations that enraged demonstrators, Metropolitan commissioner considers using Public Order Act to kill free speech.

Constitutional Judo Giordano Bruno | How much are we willing to endure to see our ideals survive?

Secret Grand Jury Empaneled in Wikileaks Case Kurt Nimmo | Attorney Mark Stephens cited Swedish authorities.

When Americans Lose Everything, They Start To Lose It Paul Joseph Watson | Falling down: Gunman opens fire on school board over economic woes.

Martial Law: UK Police Chief Mulls Banning Protests UK police chief Sir Paul Stephenson is considering whether to ask the British government to ban protest marches altogether in response to last week’s student riots, a move that would place Britain under a de facto state of martial law.

The Age Of Rage: Europe Is Exploding Riots are sweeping Europe and the age of rage continues to intensify as the financial terrorists who caused the economic collapse now meter out the punishment for their own wrongdoing. Britain, Italy, Russia, and Greece are all gripped with unrest as 2011 shapes up to be the year of civil disobedience.

Warning Issued Over Mass Fingerprinting Of School Children The European Commission has warned that children in British schools are being mandated to submit their biometric information and being issued with “unique pupil numbers” with no oversight whatsoever.

Congress’ Job Approval Rating Worst in Gallup History Americans’ assessment of Congress has hit a new low, with 13% saying they approve of the way Congress is handling its job. The 83% disapproval rating is also the worst Gallup has measured in more than 30 years of tracking congressional job performance.

UCLA Prof: DREAM Act Will Help Illegal Immigrants Replace ‘Old White Men’ in Congress On Dec. 13, UCLA Professor Kent Wong gave an impassioned speech at a rally held at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles with DREAM Act supporters in attendance. During his speech, Wong says that illegal immigrants will one day replace the ‘old white men’ in the Senate.

When Americans Lose Everything, They Start To Lose It As Gerald Celente has often warned, when Americans lose everything, they will start to lose it, and nowhere was that more apparent than in the case of Clay Duke, the 56-year-old gunman who opened fire on school board members in protest against his wife being fired and his unemployment benefits running out.

Globalists Can Win Cyber War, But Not Information War The establishment has been desperately trying to implement legal control over the Internet. They’re attacking freedom of speech and the open Internet from all angles; through government tools, corporate methods, and even the courts. All three of these methods are converging in the WikiLeaks case, but that’s not the only battle being waged in the so-called “all-out cyber war.”

Who is Behind Wikileaks? Wikleaks is upheld as a breakthrough in the battle against media disinformation and the lies of the US government.

“Off With Their Heads”: A New Class Warfare Has Begun The media has not connected the dots: a new class warfare has begun. The attack upon the Royals exemplified the pent-up hatred building among a population that can no longer be cajoled into believing sacrifices to further enrich the über-rich are in the best interest of their nation.

Former Greek minister attacked by mob as riots break out in Greece A former government minister was stoned by a mob in Athens s riots broke out in the Greek capital in protest at the government’s austerity measures.

Europe Faces Accelerating Riots & Austerity Unrest in 2011 As austerity bites, Western Europe faces a near inevitable rise in protest and unrest in 2011 which is likely to hit markets and dampen weak governments’ appetite for reform but not affect policies dramatically.

Ireland: Safe Sales Soar as Worried Bank Customers Keep Money at Home SAFE sales are soaring as more and more worried bank customers stash their cash at home.

Uptick in rates puts Fed on alert (Washington Post) [ And just what kind of alert are we talking about here for the ‘no-recession fed’ … maybe Robby the Robot frantically spewing out, ‘danger (George) Will (Eugene) Robinson, danger Will Robinson, danger Will Robinson? … Producer prices in U.S. increased in November (WP) ] Interest rates are marching upward, diluting efforts by Congress and the Fed to strengthen the economy.

WikiLeaks founder not yet freed (Washington Post) [ ‘… Moore (correctly) asserts that Assange is under attack solely because he had the courage to expose American war crimes. Moore writes:

We were taken to war in Iraq on a lie. Hundreds of thousands are now dead. Just imagine if the men who planned this war crime back in 2002 had had a WikiLeaks to deal with. They might not have been able to pull it off. The only reason they thought they could get away with it was because they had a guaranteed cloak of secrecy....

So why is WikiLeaks, after performing such an important public service, under such vicious attack? Because they have outed and embarrassed those who have covered up the truth…’

Though Assange’s arrest was on far more tenuous grounds owing to a CIA-linked girl, Roman Polanski was similarly targeted:

BBC News - Roman Polanski triumphs at European Film Awards Dec 5, 2010 ... Roman Polanski's thriller The Ghost Writer wins six prizes at the European ... Polanski was working on the film at the time of his arrest in ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11921048 {I strongly recommend this, of course, masterfully done film which deals with exactly that topic and the sordid, unscrupulous machinations of the cia / u.s. (no wonder the u.s. opted out of coverage by world treaty / The Hague thereby) to avoid detection of, and to further such activities as the war crimes referenced.}

Don’t forget: america has their own untouchables in the illegal sense, ie., wall street, etc., and In interview, Bush defends Iraq war and waterboarding (Washington Post) [ Defending the indefensible … what choice does he have … then there’s the lies … ] Bush breaks silence, writes next chapter (Washington Post) [ As a failed president and war criminal himself, moron dumbya bush is among the few in the world that makes failed president wobama look plausibly good in comparison … wobama merely continued the failed policies of dumbya (perpetual war, no pros the frauds on wallstreet, etc.) that got pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america to this point of decline and failure. ] Anne E. Kornblut Your take: His most memorable moment? [ Like regrets in that old song (his way) he’s had a few – http://albertpeia.com/evilonthetarmac.htm here’s a few: bushisms from bush the brain-damaged moron http://albertpeia.com/bushisms.htm :

Clinton Speaks: He Did It Because He Could - There Are Serial Killers On Death Row Who Have Killed Fewer People Than Unconflicted, Pathological Liar/Perjurer, Rapist, and Murderer, Psychopath criminal american clinton

· clinton Flashed ("Dropped his Drawers") Paula Jones and Implored Her To "Kiss It" (his p***s, which owing to distinctive "marking/disfigurement" she was able to describe)

· clinton "Cops a Cheap Feel/Grope" From Kathleen Willey In Attempting Prey Upon Her Perceived Vulnerability

· clintonites Threaten Dolly Kyle Browning In Attempting To Intimidate Her Into Giving False Testimony

· clinton Brutally Rapes Juanita Broaddrick

· clinton Was Asked To Leave Oxford Owing To Sexual Assault Of A Fellow Student

He Does It Because He Can

On March 11, 1999, Investor’s Business Daily reported that at least nine (9) women have now charged that Clinton "personally assaulted them or, through his ‘agents’ or ‘people,’ threatened to do them or their families physical harm." The list includes Dolly Kyle Browning, Gennifer Flowers, Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Corbin Jones, Kathleen Willey, Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, Sally Perdue, and Elizabeth Ward Gracen. "And all of them say they’re afraid for their safety so long as he remains in power."

CLINTON BODY COUNT

By: Ether Zone Staff

Here is the latest body count that we have. All of these people have been connected with the Clintons in some form or another. We have not included any deaths that could not be verified or connected to the Clinton scandals. All deaths are listed chronologically by date. This list is current and accurate to the best of our knowledge as of January 13, 1999 August 1, 2000. (see complete list http://albertpeia.com/bodycount.htm ) …’ ]

Senate prepares for tax package vote (Washington Post) [ What’s outlandish is that the polls strewn and bandied about in support of this bill do not include an exclusion of the top 1%. I am no fan of taxes, especially the way they waste money for various nefarious interests, parties, agendas, illegal wars, etc.; but the nation is defacto bankrupt. Previous: Tax-cut package clears test in Senate (Washington Post) [ Drudgereport: DEFICIT HITS RECORD... MOODY'S May Cut US Rating on Tax Package... Senate reaches enough votes to move forward... Previous: Where does $250,000 a year go? (Washington Post) [ The point so aptly made by Davis hereafter and infra, is that ‘somethin’s gotta’ give, and the top 1% and the $1trillion in unnecessary war spending, for example, are the logical places to start. After all, the nation’s defacto bankrupt! Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘ ] In the heated battle over extending the expiring Bush-era tax cuts, a single number has emerged from the crossfire: $250,000. But just how flush is a family of four with a $250,000 income? Analysis examines what it's like to be a 'rich' family in America. ] ] The measure is expected to sail through the Senate with even stronger support than it received in a test vote this week, when 83 senators voted to advance the package in the strongest bipartisan vote on a major initiative since President Obama took office.

Meyerson: Save economy by keeping jobs here (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! Unfortunately that rational plan flies in the face of what they’ve (the government, as celebrated by wall street, those think stink tanks among other ‘strategists’; ie., cia, nsa, etc.) actually done making the same all but impossible to unring that bell without ruffling the feathers of the monied interests that have ‘feathered their nests’, so to speak, as well as deconstructing, and reconstructing the irrevocable structural shift thereby. ]

Senate spending bill is loaded with earmarks (Washington Post) [ Well what else are spending bills for … to spend of course … and we all know the defacto bankrupt nation can afford it… Drudgereport: DEFICIT HITS RECORD...
MOODY'S May Cut US Rating on Tax Package...
New spending bill totals $1.1 TRILLION!
$575 million PER PAGE...
6,488 earmarks...
McConnell fumes: 'No one has seen it'... Howard Davidowitz on the Economy: "Here Are the Numbers ... WE'RE BROKE!" 11-25-10 ‘The U.S. economy "is a complete disaster," Howard Davidowitz declared here in July, the most recent in a string of dire predictions from Tech Ticker's most entertaining guest. On the eve of Thanksgiving, I asked Davidowitz if he had any regrets, or was ready to throw in the towel given recent signs of economic revival. Are you kidding me? "Here are the numbers...we're broke," Davidowitz declares, noting the U.S. government goes $5 billion deeper into debt every day and is facing $1 trillion-plus annual deficits for the next decade. "In other words, we're bankrupt."As with the economy, Davidowitz is unwaveringly consistent in his views on President Obama, calling him "deranged, dysfunctional and discredited."Results of the midterm election show "the people of this country think we are in a catastrophe," he says. "I'm with them."Check the accompanying video for more of Howard's unfettered opinions and stay tuned for additional clips from this interview. And...Happy Thanksgiving! Aaron Task is the host of Tech Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at [email protected]’ ] Weeks after swearing off earmarks, many senators stand to gain tens of millions of dollars for pet projects in a massive $1.2 trillion measure. House Democrats consider estate tax amendments

Credit Suisse: The 5 Biggest Risks of 2011 Roche ‘In a recent strategy note, Andrew Garthwaite of Credit Suisse covered what he believes are the biggest risks heading into 2011. On the whole, Garthwaite believes all 5 risks are manageable, which contributes to their expectations for 13% gains in the S&P next year.The 5 risks and the CS opinion of each is attached:

· Chinese inflation (as above), which we think is manageable until we see a sharp rise in export prices;

· Peripheral Europe. Critically, we think even under a severe private sector de-leveraging scenario, Spanish government debt to GDP would only rise to 100% by 2014E which would make its funding arithmetic sustainable, provided fiscal policy is tightened by another 2% of GDP (which should be politically possible). We think core Europe will continue to support peripheral Europe (the cost of it not doing so would be at least $500bn on our estimates); the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) is likely to be extended and the ECB is unlikely to withdraw from the policy of providing unlimited liquidity to the banks. Peripheral Europe needs Germany’s economy to grow well above trend (after all it is 50% larger than the periphery) – and that, we think, will continue to happen.

· The inventory rebuild has been extreme: normally, a reversal of an inventory rebuild of this magnitude is associated with a slowdown in growth. Yet, the level of inventories (to sales) is not extreme and there should also be a positive surprise to domestic demand, which again limits de-stocking;

· Fiscal overkill. Yet, we estimate fiscal tightening now accounts for just 1% of GDP globally in 2011 and is being watered down; especially now that the Bush tax cuts have been renewed.

· Contraction in lending. Yet, US bank leverage is already close to a 30-year low and US and European bank lending conditions are consistent with a pick-up in loan growth.

Source: CS’

First Move's the Wrong Move: Dave's Daily ‘FIRST MOVE'S THE WRONG MOVE Fed days often feature the initial market move after an FOMC announcement that turns out to be the wrong move as markets reverse. So it was today as the initial jump after the announcement was met by selling. What did the Fed do or say that was different? Not much really. But, those in the business of dissecting the announcement seized, for what it's worth, on a subtle change in housing sector language. The previous announcement stated concern over "housing starts" and now the statement was "housing sector". Somebody gets paid big bucks to ferret this stuff out. Be that as it may, stocks were higher early on Retail Sales data which was, ahem, better than expected. One thing interesting in the report was that discounting was very high and one would think this would affect profit margins. Ignored overall was the poor earnings report from Best Buy which must mean everyone has their big screen TV now. Good news came from Amgen which announced good results on a prostrate drug. Everyone is focused on forecasts for 2011 and we don't want to be left out. We value the judgments from the Business Monitor International (London) in our recent interview here.  Volume was once again quite light while breadth was mixed to negative per the WSJ…’

Japan business sentiment falls less than expected Wed, 15 Dec 2010 01:23:47 GMT Business sentiment among Japanese manufacturers worsens for the first time in nearly two years, according...

YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: ‘The FOMC statement made for a volatile afternoon as stocks sold off, treasuries sold off, and the dollar rallied. The Dow had been trading up as much as 85 points following the FOMC statement, but sold off as traders digested the news, and closed with a gain of 48 points. Today's gains in the Dow allowed the index to close at its best level since September 2008. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each finished with gains of 0.1%…’

EU says no referendum needed for permanent rescue fund amendment Irish Times | EU leaders are poised this week to agree an amendment to the Lisbon Treaty to create a permanent rescue fund for euro countries, a step they believe they can take without prompting another Irish referendum.

Audit the Fed in 2011 Ron Paul | My hope is that we can build on our broad bipartisan coalition in 2011 and continue the push for greater Fed transparency going forward.

10 Signs That Confidence In U.S. Treasuries Is Dying And That Financial Armageddon May Be Approaching Selling government debt is a gigantic confidence game. For decades, investors all over the globe have gobbled up massive amounts of U.S. debt at incredibly low interest rates because they believed that it was a certainly that they would be paid back and be able to make a little bit of profit on top of it.

Regulators exist to ‘serve the banks,’ next House finance chairman declares Alabama Republican Spencer Bachus, the incoming chairman of the House banking committee, suggested Congress and federal regulators should play a subservient role with banks.

BoE Sought Global Bank Bailout in 2008 The head of the Bank of England had sought to set up a group with the United States, Switzerland and Japan to recapitalize major global banks six months before the financial crisis engulfed them, U.S. diplomatic cables show.

National / World

Visa and MasterCard Deny Service to Assange Supporters Kurt Nimmo | Assange called Visa and MasterCard “instruments of U.S. foreign policy.”

Bruce Levine: The Rebel Yell Prison Planet.tv | Pacifying the population by listing anti-authoritarianism as a mental illness.

Remote ‘kill switch’ added to Intel’s newest processor Jason Douglass | Intel’s new processor features ‘kill switch’ to remotely disable a computer system.

Newt Gringo Wants Your Brown Babies Keith Johnson | This is all part of an ongoing campaign—financed by powerful money interests—to co-opt every grassroots political movement in America.

Boy Asks TSA ‘Why Pat Down Mom And Not Me?’, TSA Replies “You Don’t Have Boobs” A California woman is suing the TSA following an incident at Albuquerque International Sunport where she was subjected to an invasive breast groping in full public view by the TSA, despite making it known that she had been forced to undergo a mastectomy last year.

Bruce Levine: The Rebel Yell Clinical psychologist Bruce Levine explains how health authorities are increasingly listing individualistic behavior as abnormal in the move to pacify the population through mass medication, the education system and television.

UK court frees WikiLeaks’ Assange on bail WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, arrested in Britain on Swedish allegations of sex crimes, was freed on bail by a British court on Tuesday.

Ron Paul: Audit the Fed in 2011 Since the announcement last week that I will chair the congressional subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve, the media response has been overwhelming.

On Deathbed, Globalist Holbrooke Called for End of Afghan War Richard Holbrooke, Obama’s point man on Pakistan and Afghanistan, has died following a second round of surgery to treat a heart condition. Officialdom and the corporate media are in mourning. Praise for the one-worlder gluts the media.

Cartels wielding U.S. weapons (Post, December 13, 2010; 12:41 AM) (Washington Post) [ This should come as no surprise to anyone … Treaty on weapons trafficking stays stalled (Washington Post ) {No surprise there! I strongly recommend the well done, well researched film, ‘Lord of War’, which effectively captures in a relatively small amount of time the essential theme of creating the conflict, strife, conditions, bogeymen, etc., (ie., Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico, etc.,) to create need for the lucrative and deadly arms trade (lots of cash and bribes as well). Previous: Cartels beef up presence in U.S. (Washington Post) [ I strongly recommend the entertaining, albeit exaggerated for shock effects, films by the talented director Robert Rodriguez, ‘Machete’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’. The important point in the films is the manipulation and interwoven money connections, pieces of the action, bribes, etc. (see infra, RICO case, 10-15-10 letter to the FBI , ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ). While I assume he’s of Mexican-American descent, and only slightly biased as a consequence, realize that a real life american story, names, etc., wouldn’t get made / distributed. Those Cartels referenced in this article wouldn’t be here without inside american help, very, very high up and quite officially unofficial. } When a major Mexican drug cartel opened a branch office in San Diego, U.S. authorities tapped into their cellphones -- then listened, watched and waited. ] ] The difficulty of passing the treaty in the United States offers a lesson in the political sensitivities of taking even modest legal steps to crack down on gun-smuggling to Mexico.

World Trade Organization upholds U.S. tax on Chinese tires (Washington Post) [ Well there’s a tax that’ll stick. There is a feeling out there, certainly on wall street, that the damage they have done (still out there in the trillions now marked to anything as per legislated FASB rule change) and as well, the steps taken to bail them out, was of great benefit to all, kind of like that ‘ we’re doing the people’s work’ in washington. We all know that that was then and still is absolute, total b*** s***. The bailout was good for them only, and they amazingly (not really so amazing) had the political clout in Washington to get that mindset shoved down everyone’s throats. Actually, if prosecuted with disgorgement / fines, the damage would at least be somewhat diminished but still not absent since the choices made with ever more scarce resources, financial and otherwise, do have long-term implications and (detrimental) effects and the favoring of the high-frequency churn-and-earn among other fraud continuance has only enabled and encourages these should be felons / inmates to greater frauds to the substantial detriment to the greater good of the nation. The following sounds like a real plan although prosecution, jail, fines, and disgorgement are the far better route; but there’s no excuse for not doing one or the other. Poll: Majority want Wall Street to help bailout government A levy on financial services firms is the top choice among more than a dozen deficit-cutting options in poll. Catherine DodgeDec 13, 2010 12:16 am ET Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- More than 70 percent of Americans say big bonuses should be banned this year at Wall Street firms that took taxpayer bailouts, a Bloomberg National Poll shows. An additional one in six favors slapping a 50 percent tax on bonuses exceeding $400,000. Just 7 percent of U.S. adults say bonuses are an appropriate incentive reflecting Wall Street’s return to financial health. A large majority also want to tax Wall Street profits to reduce the federal budget deficit. A levy on financial services firms is the top choice among more than a dozen deficit-cutting options presented to respondents ...’] A panel at the Geneva-based trade group agreed that the U.S. was justified in slapping a 35 percent tax on Chinese tires under WTO provisions.

U.S. foreclosure-prevention program fell short, says panel (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! It was never meant to be anything more than an egalitarian talking point to help ‘rationalize’ their largesse to the frauds on wall street who precipitated the financial crisis / debacle (and remain unprosecuted). ]Report: Treasury's program failed to live up to expectations, suffered from lack of "meaningful goals."

Death leaves void in war strategy (Washington Post) [ What Strategy? america’s defacto bankruptcy? He’s gone, don’t let the door bump him on the way out … I say that with great generosity … After all, ‘ Window into Holbrooke Editorial: He was devoted to american (failed) leadership’ ; what a terrible legacy ! Veteran U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke dies Cohen: An extraordinari(ly pro-zionist and failed) man FP: Remembering his contributions to foreign policy [ What contributions? To global anti-americanism? ] Richard C. Holbrooke: 1941-2010 Milbank: Larry Summers bids good riddance ] He brokered the 1995 Dayton peace accords that ended the war in the Balkans, a feat he hoped to emulate as President Obama's chief envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was 69.

Tax-cut package clears test in Senate (Washington Post) [ Drudgereport: DEFICIT HITS RECORD... MOODY'S May Cut US Rating on Tax Package... Senate reaches enough votes to move forward... Previous: Where does $250,000 a year go? (Washington Post) [ The point so aptly made by Davis hereafter and infra, is that ‘somethin’s gotta’ give, and the top 1% and the $1trillion in unnecessary war spending, for example, are the logical places to start. After all, the nation’s defacto bankrupt! Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘ ] In the heated battle over extending the expiring Bush-era tax cuts, a single number has emerged from the crossfire: $250,000. But just how flush is a family of four with a $250,000 income? Analysis examines what it's like to be a 'rich' family in America. ]

John Hussman: Warning, An Updated Who's Who of Awful Times to Invest Excerpt from the Hussman Funds' Weekly Market Comment (12/13/10):

In recent weeks, the U.S. stock market has been characterized by an overvalued, overbought, overbullish, rising-yields syndrome that has historically been hostile to stocks. Last week, the situation became much more pointed. Past instances have been associated with such uniformly negative outcomes that the current situation has to be accompanied by the word "warning."

The following set of conditions is one way to capture the basic "overvalued, overbought, overbullish, rising-yields" syndrome:

1) S&P 500 more than 8% above its 52 week (exponential) average
2) S&P 500 more than 50% above its 4-year low
3) Shiller P/E greater than 18
4) 10-year Treasury yield higher than 6 months earlier
5) Advisory bullishness > 47%, with bearishness < 27% (Investor's Intelligence)

[These are observationally equivalent to criteria I noted in the July 16, 2007 comment, A Who's Who of Awful Times to Invest. The Shiller P/E is used in place of the price/peak earnings ratio (as the latter can be corrupted when prior peak earnings reflect unusually elevated profit margins). Also, it's sufficient for the market to have advanced substantially from its 4-year low, regardless of whether that advance represents a 4-year high. I've added elevated bullish sentiment with a 20 point spread to capture the "overbullish" part of the syndrome, which doesn't change the set of warnings, but narrows the number of weeks at each peak to the most extreme observations].

The historical instances corresponding to these conditions are as follows:

December 1972 - January 1973 (followed by a 48% collapse over the next 21 months)

August - September 1987 (followed by a 34% plunge over the following 3 months)
July 1998 (followed abruptly by an 18% loss over the following 3 months)

July 1999 (followed by a 12% market loss over the next 3 months)

January 2000 (followed by a spike 10% loss over the next 6 weeks)
March 2000 (followed by a spike loss of 12% over 3 weeks, and a 49% loss into 2002)

July 2007 (followed by a 57% market plunge over the following 21 months)

January 2010 (followed by a 7% "air pocket" loss over the next 4 weeks)

April 2010 (followed by a 17% market loss over the following 3 months)

December 2010...

We certainly are aware of trend-following models that are positive here, but these things are testable, and when we do so, we find that they have performed less well over the long-term, and with much larger drawdowns, than our Market Climate approach (if that wasn't the case, we would be using them instead). As I noted in recent weeks, we've introduced robust modifications that broaden the number of Climates we define, and will allow us to take moderate, transitory exposure to market fluctuations much more frequently. So despite our present defensiveness, we expect to have more sensitivity to short and intermediate-term fluctuations as we move forward. Clearing the overbought and overbullish components of the present environment, without a significant breakdown in overall market internals, would be the quickest way to prompt a more constructive stance, even in what we view as an overvalued market. All of that said, we are hard defensive here.’

[$$] Seoul Warns Barclays, JPMorgan SEOUL—South Korean units of Barclays PLC and J.P. Morgan Chase Co. violated local banking regulations by selling inappropriate currency derivatives, an official at the Financial Supervisory Service said ...’

Unintended Consequences of Monetary Policy Mauldin ‘Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember that one of the reasons for QE2 was to lower rates on the longer end of the US yield curve. Clearly, that has not happened? Today we look at come of the unintended consequences of monetary policy, turn our eyes briefly to consumer debt, and wonder about deflating incomes. There are a lot of very interesting things to cover. (This letter will print long because there are a lot of graphs. There is the usual amount of copy.)
Ten-Year Yields Are Rising
Look at the chart below. The yield on ten-year US bonds has been rising since the beginning of QE2. But it is not just US bonds; European and UK bonds are moving up as well. This has also meant that mortgage rates in the US are up almost a half percent in the last few months. That certainly has not helped housing prices or sales, as it makes housing less affordable. (Chart from my friends at Variant Perception.) [chart]
But it is not just the US and UK. Look at what is happening to German bonds, supposedly the safest in Europe. They are up about as much as their counterparts. (Chart from Cowen International and data from Bloomberg.) [chart]
And then we look at Japan and we see the same phenomenon. Japanese real rates going up? Really? What is up with that? [chart]
In Europe it is now cheaper to hedge against corporate default than sovereign default. That is not the way it is supposed to be. [chart]
My friend and fishing buddy David Kotok of Cumberland Advisors is in London at a conference where they are discussing this very issue. He sent a note that says:

In meetings today we speculated that the sell-off is not a US-only phenomenon. We speculated that it is more than a reaction to Bernanke's QE2. If all benchmark 10-year debt is selling off by about the same amount in price change, could it be that this selling is the reallocation of globally indexed funds away from sovereign debt and into something else? Think of yourself as a Persian Gulf fund. You usually hold foreign sovereign debt in proportion to an index or benchmark. Now you want to reduce your exposure to some of the countries in the index. You either have to sell proportionately from all of the countries in the index or you will face a concentration that violates your index or benchmark. Worldwide sell-off in benchmark sovereign debt suggests this reallocation is underway. Otherwise, how can you account for the Japanese government bond, the German Bund, and the US Treasury note all moving in a correlated way?

I think that is part of it. I also think that investors and non-core central banks (those in the emerging world especially) are asking themselves about the wisdom of holding sovereign debt in currencies that are either in trouble (the euro) or have central banks that are printing money (the US, UK, and Japan). Couple that with the US having just done a tax compromise that is one huge stimulus bill, on top of extending the tax cuts, and it is enough to make investors consider the wisdom of holding longer-term debt at low rates.

Earlier this year I did one of my Conversations with John Mauldin with professors Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff, who wrote the book This Time is Different. Here is a quote from Ken:

I would say that virtually every country in the world is grappling right now with how fast we get out of our fiscal stimulus and how much do we worry about this longer term problem of debt. And I fear that all together too many countries will wait too long, which doesn't mean you end up getting forced to default, it just means the choices get more painful. Something we just find as a recurrent theme, is you're just rolling along, borrowing money and it seems okay, and that's what a lot of people say and wham, you hit some limit. No one knows where it is, what it is, but we know you hit it. Carmen and I do have numbers of what are really high debts and what aren't. And the U.S. will hit that [limit] and there are people who say it is not a problem and everyone loves us, greatest country in the world, where else will the Chinese invest? And you want to hear a great, "this time it's different" theme that's a new one.John, you started out this conversation on how we got started in this research and this was one of the things in our 2003 paper that is now built into the early chapter or two of the book that just got us really excited was this realization of how not only theoretically, but quantitatively you see it, that countries have the threshold that they hit that we've found ways to try and crudely measure, where the interest rates you're charged just explode.It was an epiphany for us because it helped us understand in a really clear way, why it was that the IMF program that we were involved with, and watching and commenting on, so many of them seemed to run awry. We would be presented with this calculation with, "Oh well their debt is 50 percent, and we're going to let them go slow and run it up to 55 percent before we start getting it down." But you know if they are running into trouble at 50 percent, and you let it go up to 55 percent, the interest rate could just explode on you as the markets just don't have confidence. And then in our more recent works that we just finished this paper, Growth in a Time of Debt, we found that there was a parallel effect for advanced countries where they hit these growth limits at 90 and 100 percent.

In their book (a must read!) they write:

Highly indebted governments, banks, or corporations can seem to be merrily rolling along for an extended period, when bang! - confidence collapses, lenders disappear, and a crisis hits.

Bang is the right word. It is the nature of human beings to assume that the current trend will work out, that things can't really be that bad. The trend is your friend ... until it ends. Look at the bond markets just a few months before World War I. There was no sign of an impending war. Everyone "knew" that cooler heads would prevail.

We can look back now and see where we made mistakes in the recent crisis. We actually believed that this time was different, that we had better financial instruments, smarter regulators, and were so, well, modern. Times were different. We knew how to deal with leverage. Borrowing against your home was a good thing. Housing values would always go up. Etc.

Now there are bullish voices telling us that things are headed back to normal. Mainstream forecasts for GDP growth next year (2011) are quite robust, north of 3.5-4% for the year, based on evidence from past recoveries.

However, the underlying fundamentals of a banking crisis are far different from those of a typical business-cycle recession, as Reinhart and Rogoff's work so clearly reveals. It typically takes years to work off excess leverage in a banking crisis, with unemployment often rising for 4 years running.

An Uptick in Consumer Credit? Not!

The Fed Flow of Funds data came out this week, and it is a treasure trove for those of us with no social life. Look at the following chart. This is basically credit card debt, and it is continuing to fall. [chart]

The New York Times reports (hat tip: Mike Shedlock):

"he lowest percentage of shoppers in the 27-year-history of a national survey said they used credit cards over the Thanksgiving weekend, while the use of general credit cards like Visa and MasterCard fell 11 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to the credit bureau TransUnion. Britt Beemer, chief executive of America's Research Group, a survey firm, said 'The consumer really feels a lot of pressure from previous debts, and they just aren't going to dig themselves into that kind of hole,' he said. After the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, the group found that just about 17 percent were paying with credit ... just over half of last year's level and the lowest rate in the 27 years it has conducted a survey.

Credit lines have been reduced and cards have gone away. Debit cards are the current growth area, but such a drop-off in credit card debt is unprecedented, and the graph above and the NYT-cited survey give no indications that it's going to change soon.

Then the next chart is total consumer credit outstanding. Interestingly, when I looked at it this week I noted an uptick. That seemed odd and didn't square with the credit card data. I put it into my mental file to figure out what was happening.

[chart]

And then I read fellow data miner and good friend David Rosenberg, who looked a little deeper into the data. Seems that they now count student loans as consumer credit, whereas they did not in the past. I guess I missed that memo. (Which makes using past data a bitch. I wish they would keep the data consistent or just create another series, if they think it is that important.) This from David:

Is The Credit Contraction Over? What do you know? Outstanding U.S. consumer credit expanded $3.3 billion in October after eking out a $1.3 billion increase in September. This is the first back-to-back gain since just before Hank Paulson took out his bazooka in the summer of 2008. Does this mean the credit contraction is over? Hell no. First, the raw not seasonally adjusted data show a $700 million decline.Once again, it was federally-supported credit (ie. student-backed loans) that accounted for all the increase last month - a record $31.8 billion expansion. Commercial banks, securitized pools and finance companies posted huge declines - to the point where excluding federal loans, consumer credit plunged $32.5 billion, to the lowest level since November 2004 (not to mention down a record 9% YoY). Over the past three months consumer credit outstanding net of federal student assisted loans has collapsed $76 billion ... this degree of contraction is without precedent. [chart]

That makes a lot more sense. But then how is it that consumer spending is rising as much as it has recently? Seems the savings rate is back down to 4% and people are hitting their savings.

I want us to look at these few paragraphs from a Bloomberg story quoted by Merrill:

'Ford Investing $600 million, Hiring 1,800 at SUV plant.' -- According to Bloomberg, Ford is hiring 1,800 workers and spending $600 million to overhaul a factory in Louisville, Kentucky that builds sport utility vehicles. Once the overhaul is complete, the plant will operate with two shifts employing 2,900 workers which is an increase from the current one shift that only employs 1,100. However, while work on the plant is being performed (starting December 16th) 700 workers will be laid off from the plant but they will return in the fourth quarter of 2011. Overall, 1,000 new employees will be added to Ford's payroll due to the plant's overhaul while the rest are relocated from other factories. New hires will be paid $14.50 an hour.

That works out to about $29,000 a year. Take away Social Security and other taxes and that does not leave a lot, certainly not enough to buy one of those SUVs. But that is the wave of the future, as we now compete in a global economy. I know I keep talking about my kids, but I can see every time we talk how tough it is. I get it.

But what do interest rates, QE2, debt, and lower wages have to do with each other?

QE2 and the nervousness of investors around the world are pushing up interest rates. We in the US may not have as much time as we think we do before Bang! and rates start moving up with a vengeance. And no amount of QE3-4-5 will bring rates down when the bond vigilantes strike fear into the markets.

Further, that money is not showing up in new loans to either consumers or businesses. It is showing up in asset prices like stocks, emerging markets, and commodities. Oil at $90 and gasoline at $3 per gallon is a tax on consumers, especially at the lower end of the scale. Food prices climb as grains explode, along with the metals that go into our products. And rising interest rates are not good for mortgages. QE2 is not helping consumers or the housing market. Those are unintended consequences. I am sure that was not the plan. It is helping banks with a steeper yield curve. And maybe that is the plan.

Some Thoughts for Ben

Ben. Get a clue. The world is not responding to your theories. What it is doing is getting worried about a central bank that will debase a currency. I agree that your current QE is not all that much in the grand scheme of things, but it is perception and NOT the actual use of those new dollars that is driving rates up.

Further, I am sure you are paying attention to the problems over in Europe. There is the real potential for another credit crisis, where we may in fact need some liquidity injections. You are wasting your bullets on the wrong targets. It is NOT working.

Further, what if the Irish go to the polls in a few months and vote in a new government that repudiates the current agreement (for Irish taxpayers to back Irish bank debt that is owed to German and French banks), and then when the ECB and the Germans tell them no one will buy any new debt they simply say, "Fine, we won't pay you on anything." Think that wouldn't throw a wrench in the gears? Can you 100% assure me that it won't happen?

(As an aside, I might vote for that if I were Irish. Given where they are, how much worse can it get? Here in Texas we lost all our banks in the oil and real estate crash of the '80s. Now we are doing just fine. It would be tough, but the Irish are being asked to shoulder a massive amount of bank debt, far beyond their real means to pay. Erin Go Bragh.)

I can't get any real data on how closely tied US banks are to European banks. The ties were certainly close in the last credit crisis. How much has that changed? If we actually need the Fed to step in once again, the markets could get really spooked, as the next QE rounds might not be accepted so sanguinely.

Then maybe I am just a natural-born worrier, sitting back here in the cheap seats. The markets are going up. The call-to-put ratio is high and rising. Bull-bear sentiment is very high. The world is bullish. What could go wrong? Bartender, another round, please.

Disclaimer

John Mauldin is president of Millennium Wave Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor. All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Investment recommendations may change and readers are urged to check with their investment counselors before making any investment decisions…’

2010: The Year of Bifurcated Recoveries, Part 2 ‘… In summation, we really do have two separate economies:

(1) An industrial, export, Wall Street and general consumer goods economy, which is in a strong, full, V-shaped recovery; and

(2) an economy consisting of:
- Housing and other construction, which is still bouncing along the bottom or still declining slightly

- State and local government, lagging one year behind and still in the throes of recession, and

- Employment, which is growing slowly; and wages and income, which are barely growing at all.

The story of 2010 was indeed that of the bifurcated recovery.’

Is Santa Claus rally almost done? (Reuters) Krudy NEW YORK – ‘The December rally may be reaching its climax, with just two weeks to go before Santa Claus makes his midnight run. Dwindling volume, excess optimism, and history all point to a stock market that could be running out of steam…’

NY Times: A Secretive Banking Elite Rules Trading in Derivatives On the third Wednesday of every month, the nine members of an elite Wall Street society gather in Midtown Manhattan.

The Time Has Come for Accountability And Transparency At The Fed Fed officials are not elected, and by design are not subject to the will of the voters. While the Fed is a creature of Congress, current law does not provide substantive control.

The Economy Cannot Recover Until the Big Banks Are Broken Up [ That, along with long overdue prosecutions! ]A lot of people still haven’t heard that the economy cannot recover until the big banks are broken up.

November Budget Deficit $150.4 Billion, Worse Than $138 Billion Consensus, Biggest November Deficit On Record The Treasury has released the November deficit, which at $150.4 billion was about $12 billion worse than expected. Total receipts were $148 billion, of which individual income taxes were $64.3 billion, while the government actually refunded $3.1 billion for corporate taxes in the month.

Federal Reserve Loses $2.4 Billion In Taxpayer Money In Most Recent QE2 POMO Interval Zero Hedge | Like every other asset manager, the Fed has to be held accountable for its trading efficacy.

November Budget Deficit $150.4 Billion, Worse Than $138 Billion Consensus, Biggest November Deficit On Record The Treasury has released the November deficit, which at $150.4 billion was about $12 billion worse than expected. Total receipts were $148 billion, of which individual income taxes were $64.3 billion, while the government actually refunded $3.1 billion for corporate taxes in the month.

Federal Reserve Loses $2.4 Billion In Taxpayer Money In Most Recent QE2 POMO Interval With the Federal Reserve now actively participating in capital markets, it should be noted that just like every other asset manager, the Fed has to be held accountable for its trading efficacy.

A Secretive Banking Elite Rules Trading in Derivatives New York Times | The men share a common goal: to protect the interests of big banks in the vast market for derivatives, one of the most profitable.

Federal Reserve Loses $2.4 Billion In Taxpayer Money In Most Recent QE2 POMO Interval Zero Hedge | Like every other asset manager, the Fed has to be held accountable for its trading efficacy.

Bernard Madoff’s son Mark found hanged London Guardian | Mark Madoff found hanged in New York, two years to the day after his father turned himself in over billion-dollar fraud.

Jim Rogers – Britain is Bankrupt! – The UK just havent owned up to it yet RT discusses UK’s economic and political situation with author, financial commentator and investor Jim Rogers.

Will Ron Paul Be Able To End The Fed? Is Ron Paul finally in position to really do something about the Federal Reserve? U.S. Representative Spencer Bachus, the chairman-elect of the House Financial Services Committee, has announced that Ron Paul will chair the domestic monetary policy subcommittee starting next month.

Ron Paul On Job to Oversee Federal Reserve Infowars.com | Paul: “Nothing good can come from the Federal Reserve.”

Two bank closures bring year total to 151 (Reuters) Paramount Bank Bank Fails Along with Earthstar Bank This brings the total amount of 2010 bank failures to 151. ... Paramount Bank closed on Friday, December 10 without any advanced notice to customers. ... MyBankTracker.com - FoxBusiness.com - Two Bank Failures Bring Year's Tally To 151 Published December 10, 2010. | MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO -- One bank failure in Pennsylvania and one in ... http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/12/10/bank-failures-bring-years-tally

Vatican Bank mired in laundering scandal (AP)

Gold May Beat Silver, Lifting Ratio by as Much as 20%: Technical Analysis Bloomberg | Gold may outperform silver, lifting the ratio between the two metals by as much as 20 percent.

Wall Street Set For Best Two Years Ever, Thanks To Bailouts Two agonizing years for the U.S. economy have been some of the best years on record for Wall Street.

`Shadow’ Lenders’ Emergency Fed Loans Benefited Biggest Banks The Federal Reserve gave more support to the world’s biggest financial companies, including Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, than the direct loans it disclosed this month in response to congressional mandates.

Moody’s Warns There Is Increased Likelihood Of Negative Outlook To US AAA Rating In Next 2 Years And now for some woefully overdue attempts at regaining credibility from farce agency Moody’s, which after realizing that US debt may soon hit $16 trillion has noted that the US tax package increases the likelihood of negative outlook on the US AAA rating in next 2 years.

The Consequences of Excessive Money and Debt Believe it or not the euro zone and European Union crisis is still in the formative stages. The bailout packages arranged for Greece and Ireland are not to bail out those two countries, but to bail out the European banks that lent to them and bought their bonds when it was imprudent to do so.

Ruling Puts Obamacare In Doubt U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson dealt a severe blow to Obamacare today, ruling that the government’s attempt to force citizens to buy health insurance violates the U.S. Constitution. This decision puts the enforceability of Obama’s health care system in doubt.

National / World

Breaking News: Wikileaks Hacktivists Shut Down Amazon’s European Websites Assange supporters make good on threat to exact revenge for website closure Paul Joseph Watson Infowars.com Sunday, December 12, 2010. UPDATE: Amazon’s websites have just come back online. The down time was a good two hours. Twitter is still raging on the issue. It appears that Wikileaks hacktivists have made good on their threat to [...]

Did the CIA Hijack a Wikileaks Mirror? On Friday, BoingBoing reported on the CIA hosting a server that has the Wikileaks cables.

WikiLeaks backlash: The first global cyber war has begun, claim hackers He is one of the newest recruits to Operation Payback. In a London bedroom, the 24-year-old computer hacker is preparing his weaponry for this week’s battles in an evolving cyberwar. He is a self-styled defender of free speech, his weapon a laptop and his enemy the US corporations responsible for attacking the website WikiLeaks.

Worldwide demonstrations support WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Spanish online supporters of Julian Assange called for worldwide demonstrations Saturday to press for the release of the WikiLeaks founder, who is in a London jail awaiting possible extradition to Sweden to face rape charges.

Ruling Puts Obamacare In Doubt U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson dealt a severe blow to Obamacare today, ruling that the government’s attempt to force citizens to buy health insurance violates the U.S. Constitution. This decision puts the enforceability of Obama’s health care system in doubt.

Experiment finds ‘underwear bomber’ could not have taken down flight 253 Marc Roussy | CBC recreation of underwear bomber stunt reveals difficulty igniting explosive.

Special Ops target Myanmar refugees for recruitment Jason Douglass | Special Ops identifies hundreds of refugees as potential military assets.

Constitution Will Be Victim In Zealous Effort to Go After Assange and Wikileaks Kurt Nimmo | The Constitution is anathema to the globalists and their minions in the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Justice Department and the White House.

iPhone snitch network launched Jason Douglass | A new iPhone App with the misleading name ‘PatriotApp’ attempts to draw on the power of the patriot movement, turning smartphone users into a gigantic snitch network.

On Taxes, Both Republicans and Democrats Doing the Bidding of Globalist Gangsters Kurt Nimmo | Republicans like stealing your money as much as Democrats do.

Tax Exempt Foundations and Think Tanks: The Process of Invisible Power Daniel Taylor | The hidden influence of tax-exempt foundations and think tanks in the halls of power has dramatically impacted our society.

Activist Calls Wal-Mart: Everyone is a Suspect, The Wal-Mart–DHS Connection (VIDEO) You Tube | A caller to Walmart is told by customer service that the store is working with Homeland Security to route out “suspicious behaviour” including stealing and messing up Walmart displays.

Revealed: How the CIA protected Nazi murderers London Independent | Declassified CIA files have revealed that a Ukrainian fascist leader and suspected Nazi collaborator was protected from prosecution after WWII.

WikiLeaks cables: Russia ‘was tracking killers of Alexander Litvinenko but UK warned it off’ Russia was tracking the assassins of dissident spy Alexander Litvinenko before he was poisoned but was warned off by Britain, which said the situation was “under control”, according to claims made in a leaked US diplomatic cable.

DPRK says its army and people ready for all-out war The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) said its army and people were ready for escalated conflicts and all-out war that would not be confined to the peninsula, the official news agency KCNA reported Saturday.

‘Mossad, CIA, MI6 behind Tehran hit’ Iran’s interior minister has accused the intelligence agencies of Israel, the United States, and Britain of involvement in the recent terrorist attacks on two Iranian nuclear scientists.

Stockholm Hit by Blasts After E-Mail Warning One man was killed and two other people were injured when two explosions hit the heart of Stockholm’s city-center shopping district on Saturday evening, the police in the Swedish capital said.

WikiLeaks: “al-Qaeda Narrative” Feeds War in Yemen, Africa The Maimi Herald reports the United States is deeply enmeshed in the Muslim world. “From the Saudi-Yemen border to lawless Somalia and the north-central African desert, the U.S. military is more engaged in armed conflicts in the Muslim world than the U.S. government openly acknowledges,” the Florida newspaper reported on December 9 after reading the latest batch of Wikileaks cables.

Did the CIA Hijack a Wikileaks Mirror? Kurt Nimmo | The CIA is notorious for setting up front companies and operations.

Geraldo Schools O’Reilly: Recent Domestic Terror Plots ‘Bogus’ Aaron Dykes | Geraldo Rivera explains why a foiled plot in Maryland fits the pattern of the FBI to “seduce” radicals and set them up with a bomb.

Will Ron Paul Be Able To End The Fed? The Economic Collapse | Ron Paul is already talking about how he is planning for a full slate of hearings on U.S. monetary policy and he has indicated that he plans to restart a push to have the Fed audited.

Ky Sen. Rand Paul: More Transparency of The Fed is a Must The Alex Jones Channel | Alex talks with the United States Senator-elect for Kentucky, Rand Paul.

Murder Or Suicide? Bernie Madoff’s son, Mark, found dead Bernard Madoff’s son Mark was found dead in the living room of his SoHo apartment this morning — hanging from a black dog leash on the two-year anniversary of his father’s stunning downfall, officials said.

Ky Sen. Rand Paul: More Transparency of The Fed is a Must Alex talks with the United States Senator-elect for Kentucky, Rand Paul.

WikiLeaks: “al-Qaeda Narrative” Feeds War in Yemen, Africa The Maimi Herald reports the United States is deeply enmeshed in the Muslim world. “From the Saudi-Yemen border to lawless Somalia and the north-central African desert, the U.S. military is more engaged in armed conflicts in the Muslim world than the U.S. government openly acknowledges,” the Florida newspaper reported on December 9 after reading the latest batch of Wikileaks cables.

“CIA Honeytrap” Ardin Deleted Twitter Posts Praising Assange Anna Ardin, described in court documents as “Miss A,” had deleted Twitter messages speaking highly of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, the man she would later accuse of rape, according to Göran Rudling, the editor Consensus Now, a website arguing that laws based on sexual activities need to be consensual to not be considered criminal.

Congressman Ron Paul On Fox Business News Congressman Ron Paul is interviewed by Fox Business. December 10, 2010.

CIA running Wikileaks mirror site? A CIA honeypot?

Father Harassed By CPS For Feeding Kids Organic Food A father of two was harassed and investigated by Child Protective Services and police for feeding his daughters organic food, refusing to make them drink fluoride-poisoned tap water and not having them injected with mercury-laden vaccines, all of which constitutes “suspicious activity” in the new Sovietized America, a foretaste of what’s to come once Big Sis’ Wal-Mart spy campaign gets up and running.

On Taxes, Both Republicans and Democrats Doing the Bidding of Globalist Gangsters The late Leona Helmsley was spot on when she said: “We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.” Billionaires don’t pay taxes. They hide their money in charitable and philanthropic foundations and avoid Uncle Sam.

Ron Paul 2012? Congressman Says Odds Are 50/50 Texas Congressman Ron Paul has raised the hopes of his supporters by suggesting that a 2012 presidential run is still a distinct possibility. Meanwhile a new poll indicates that the vast majority of voters want to see the Federal Reserve fully investigated.

Obama’s Health-Care Law Ruled Unconstitutional Over Insurance Requirement The Obama administration’s requirement that most citizens maintain minimum health coverage as part of a broad overhaul of the industry is unconstitutional because it forces people to buy insurance, a federal judge ruled, striking down the linchpin of the president’s plan.

YouTube is letting users decide on terrorism-related videos Nudity. Sexual activity. Animal abuse. All are reasons YouTube users can flag a video for removal from the website. Add a new category: promotes terrorism.

Swedish Military Had Prior Knowledge Of Suicide Blast The Swedish military had prior knowledge of the suicide blast which hit a busy shopping street in central Stockholm on Saturday, suggesting the attack was allowed to go ahead in order to bolster the flagging global war on terror.

Israel group blasts arrests of Palestinian minors [ May have been some serious stone-throwers say israelis in their own defense. ] The Associated Press - JERUSALEM (AP) - Heavily armed Israeli police dragged the Dana brothers from their home before dawn, tossed them in armored jeeps and hauled them in for interrogation, the Palestinian boys and their father told The Associated Press. Video: Credibility of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks questioned Al Jazeera Video:  Credibility of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks questioned Al Jazeera Report: Police dealings with Palestinian minors illegal Ha'aretz

Arrests in Afghan attack that killed 6 US troops [ Well, you heard it here first … victory at last say the americans with the arrests… riiiiight! And, we all want to know how many number twos are among the arrestees. ] The Associated Press - KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Several suspects have been arrested after a suicide attack killed six American troops when an explosives-packed minibus blew up at the entrance of a joint NATO-Afghan base in southern Afghanistan, officials said Monday. Afghan, NATO forces detain several people CNN International 6 US, 2 Afghan Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan Voice of America

In backing tax-cut deal, Clinton regains spotlight (Washington Post) [ Right own failed presidency? Righto … riiiiight! No can do … least of all with a guy who propitiously stumbled into ‘the short-lived era’ of the global peace dividend, only to snatch failure from the jaws of victory … Of course, one may say, well, they’re better than their bush league predecessors … point well taken … but in retrospect they’ve proven to be distinctions in name only without significant differences, from war, to economics (nafta, new world order b*** s***, perpetual war / conflict, etc.). Criminals all, the new pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless, defacto bankrupt america . ] Ex-president's solo turn in White House briefing room seems at least a temporary handoff of power by Obama as he struggles to right own presidency. [ Timid Tuesday: Is it Safe? Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘

Robinson: White House is eerily silent on taxes (Washington Post) [ Eerily? I think not! Expectantly? I think so! That is, once you get beyond the wobama b*** s*** ! And, truth be told party distinctions are merely distinctions without significant differences (no prosecution of the wall street frauds, wars raging in Afghanistan / Middle East, etc.. But alas, as to the ‘wobama whitehouse’ this was predictable early on as by David Icke : Barack Obama: The Naked Emperor Shocking but true revelations from David Icke (a must read) | ‘Vast numbers of people across the world, including many who should know better, have been duped by the mind-game called Operation Obama... (excerpts) Obama has been the chosen one for a long time, a fact known only to a few in the deep inner circle, and his relationship with Brzezinski almost certainly goes back to the start of the 1980s when he attended the Ivy League, and big-time Illuminati, Columbia University where Brzezinski was head of the Institute for Communist Affairs. Obama simply will not talk in any detail about this period. He has been covertly funded and supported ever since by the Trilateral Commission and its network of foundations connecting into the Ford Foundation, for whom Obama's mother worked. And a question: Does anyone really believe that someone, a 'man of the people', would simply appear from apparently nowhere to run the slickest and best-funded presidential campaign in American history? He was chosen long ago by those who wish to enslave the very people that Obama says he wants to 'set free'. The sources of Obama funding read like a Wall Street Who's Who - Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and so on. No wonder he went back on his pledge to accept the limitations of public funding for his campaign and instead took the no-limit option of 'private funding. Then there is the Jewish financier, George Soros, the multi-billionaire associate of Brzezinski and closely involved with the funding and marketing of Obama. Soros is a former board member of the Illuminati's Council on Foreign Relations and funds the European Council on Foreign Relations. In short, he is a major insider' You can certainly see the Soros/Brzezinski techniques in the Obama 'revolution' in the United States. It was the complex and secretive network of Soros foundations and organisations, connected to the intelligence agencies of the US and Israel, that trained and funded students in the Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere in the art of mass protest and overthrowing governments. These manufactured protests were sold to the world as peoples' revolutions, but it just so happened that when they were over and the old regime was removed the new leaders were those waiting in the wings all along - the puppets of Soros, Brzezinski and their associated networks. Obama is just more of the same, a big smile with strings attached, and controlled completely by the Illuminati networks that chose him, trained him, sold him and provided his record funding. It was they who kept his many skeletons under wraps, like the gay sex and crack cocaine allegations of Larry Sinclair (from affidavit: 1. Who is Ron Allen that claims to be with your Presidential camp, who is alleged to claim that someone claiming to represent me called asking for $100,000, to keep me from coming forward about our (Obama and I) November 1999 encounter of sex and cocaine use?), and they will continue to do so as long as he jumps to their bidding. Obama is just another Banksters' moll prostituting himself for fame and power, and that's why he supported the grotesque bail-out of the banking system and why he will always put their interests before the people. His financial advisors are straight from the Wall Street 'A' list, including Paul Adolph Volker (Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg Group), the head of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987 and Illuminati to his fingertips. Obama has made him head of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which is dominated by insiders, including its staff director and chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, a close Obama associate from the University of Chicago. Goolsbee is an initiate of the infamous Illuminati Skull and Bones Society at Yale University, which also includes Boy and Father Bush. It was Goolsbee who told the Canadian government not to worry about Obama's attacks on the economic effects of free trade agreements because his words were just to win votes in the election campaign. Another Wall Street insider, the Zionist Timothy Geithner (Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations), was appointed by Obama to be his Treasury Secretary. Geithner was the President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, the most powerful in the private Federal Reserve cartel that masquerades as America's central bank, and he is a former employee of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the appalling Kissinger Associates. Obama's Treasury team locks into the inner circle around the Zionist Robert Rubin, the Director and Senior Counselor of Citigroup, co-chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, and economic advisor to Obama. Rubin, a member of the Illuminati Bilderberg Group, was the man behind Citigroup's strategy of expanding its risk in debt markets which forced it to be rescued by taxpayers' money. The very people who caused the financial crisis are being appointed by Obama to decide how to respond to it (more taxpayers' money for them and their friends) ‘
The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ‘In emotional and personal testimony, an ex-Justice official who quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims ...’  US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Washington Post | Obama has promised to hold Wall Street accountable for the meltdown. ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 – well worth a look. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

While boner and barton are indeed jokes / vegetables that bespeak the single-digit approval rate for congress, obama’s failure to deliver on promises with as well, endless war spending despite defacto bankruptcy of the nation and a watered down nothing financial regulation bill for talking points but little substance, make him as big a joker. This well researched / produced video tells the real story : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 ‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ – well worth the view. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored A viral You Tube upload of one of Alex Jones’ most popular feature films ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored following a spur of the moment campaign to elevate the movie’s title to the top of the major internet search engines. In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257# [ youtube is often down – website archived version is available as follows: http://www.albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv http://www.albertpeia.com/esotericagendalinktoarchive.htm ]

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In interview, Bush defends Iraq war and waterboarding (Washington Post) [ Defending the indefensible … what choice does he have … then there’s the lies … ] Bush breaks silence, writes next chapter (Washington Post) [ As a failed president and war criminal himself, moron dumbya bush is among the few in the world that makes failed president wobama look plausibly good in comparison … wobama merely continued the failed policies of dumbya (perpetual war, no pros the frauds on wallstreet, etc.) that got pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america to this point of decline and failure. ] Anne E. Kornblut Your take: His most memorable moment? [ Like regrets in that old song (his way) he’s had a few – http://albertpeia.com/evilonthetarmac.htm here’s a few: bushisms from bush the brain-damaged moron http://albertpeia.com/bushisms.htm :

Clinton Speaks: He Did It Because He Could - There Are Serial Killers On Death Row Who Have Killed Fewer People Than Unconflicted, Pathological Liar/Perjurer, Rapist, and Murderer, Psychopath criminal american clinton

· clinton Flashed ("Dropped his Drawers") Paula Jones and Implored Her To "Kiss It" (his p***s, which owing to distinctive "marking/disfigurement" she was able to describe)

· clinton "Cops a Cheap Feel/Grope" From Kathleen Willey In Attempting Prey Upon Her Perceived Vulnerability

· clintonites Threaten Dolly Kyle Browning In Attempting To Intimidate Her Into Giving False Testimony

· clinton Brutally Rapes Juanita Broaddrick

· clinton Was Asked To Leave Oxford Owing To Sexual Assault Of A Fellow Student

He Does It Because He Can

On March 11, 1999, Investor’s Business Daily reported that at least nine (9) women have now charged that Clinton "personally assaulted them or, through his ‘agents’ or ‘people,’ threatened to do them or their families physical harm." The list includes Dolly Kyle Browning, Gennifer Flowers, Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Corbin Jones, Kathleen Willey, Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, Sally Perdue, and Elizabeth Ward Gracen. "And all of them say they’re afraid for their safety so long as he remains in power."

CLINTON BODY COUNT

By: Ether Zone Staff

Here is the latest body count that we have. All of these people have been connected with the Clintons in some form or another. We have not included any deaths that could not be verified or connected to the Clinton scandals. All deaths are listed chronologically by date. This list is current and accurate to the best of our knowledge as of January 13, 1999 August 1, 2000. (see complete list http://albertpeia.com/bodycount.htm )

Susan Coleman: Rumors were circulating in Arkansas of an affair with Bill Clinton. She was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head at 7 1/2 months pregnant. Death was an apparent suicide.


Kevin Ives & Don Henry: Initial cause of death was reported to be the result of falling asleep on a railroad track in Arkansas on August 23, 1987. This ruling was reported by the State medical examiner Fahmy Malak. Later it was determined that Kevin died from a crushed skull prior to being placed on the tracks. Don had been stabbed in the back. Rumors indicate that they might have stumbled upon a Mena drug operation.


Paul Olson: A Federal witness in investigations to drug money corruption in Chicago politics, Paul had just finished 2 days of FBI interviews when his plane ride home crashed, killing Paul and 130 others on Sept 8 1994. The Sept. 15, 1994 Tempe Tribune newspaper reported that the FBI suspected that a bomb had brought down the airplane.

Calvin Walraven: 24 year on Walraven was a key witness against Jocelyn Elder's son's drug case. Walraven was found dead in his apartment with a gunshot wound to the head. Tim Hover, a Little Rock police spokesman says no foul play is suspected.

Alan G. Whicher: Oversaw Clinton's Secret Service detail. In October 1994 Whicher was transferred to the Secret Service field office in the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. Whatever warning was given to the BATF agents in that building did not reach Alan Whicher, who died in the bomb blast of April 19th 1995.


Ron Brown:. The Commerce Secretary died on  April 3, 1996, in an Air Force jet carrying Brown and 34 others, including 14 business executives on a trade mission to Croatia, crashed into a mountainside. The Air Force, in a 22-volume report issued in June of 1996, confirmed its initial judgment that the crash resulted from pilot errors and faulty navigation equipment At the time of Brown's death, Independent Counsel Daniel Pearson was seeking to determine whether Brown had engaged in several sham financial transactions with longtime business partner Nolanda Hill shortly before he became secretary of commerce.

Charles Meissner: died: UNK - Following Ron Brown's death, John Huang was placed on a Commerce Department contract that allowed him to retain his security clearance by Charles Meissner. Shortly thereafter, Meissner died in the crash of a small plane.   He was an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Economic Policy.




Barbara Wise: Wise a 14-year Commerce Department employee found dead and partially naked in her office following a long weekend. She worked in the same section as John Huang. Officially, she is said to have died of natural causes.


Mary C. Mahoney: 25, murdered at the Georgetown Starbuck's coffee bar over the 4th of July '97 weekend. She was a former White House intern who worked with John Huang. Apparently she knew Monica Lewinsky and her sexual encounters with Bill Clinton. Although not verified, it has been said that Lewinsky told Linda Tripp that she did not want to end up like Mahoney.

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Background http://albertpeia.com/CIAAgentAffidavit1.jpg

For Those Who Wonder About the bush-clinton-bush Stranglehold on the Nation, Realize That Their Criminal Cooperation Began With Their Lucrative Relationship Vis-a-vis What Was Known as the Mena, Arkansas Drug (cocaine from Central/South America) Run As Set Forth In This CIA Agent's Affidavit/Declaration Under Penalty of Perjury.

The Vietnam war was a painful time for America. Many young Americans were drafted and died thousands of miles from their loved ones. Young men of priviledge had a clear advantage - few of them went to Vietnam, securing positions in the National Guards of their respective states. George W. Bush was one of these men, securing a place in the Texas Air National Guard in spite of a waiting list of several hundred. However, he claims that he did not receive special consideration, which is clearly a lie.

Most of the young men lucky enough to get into the Guard fulfilled their obligations. George W. Bush did not. He was absent without leave, AWOL, for over a year. Not surprisingly, this got little attention from the corporate media...

… After the hostages' release, the arms shipments to Iran continued. Profits were funneled to another pet cause of the right wing - the Nicuaraguan terrorists known as "freedom fighters" or "Contras". Another Contra source of income was trafficking in narcotics, running cocaine into the United States, with the full knowledge and cooperation of Administration officials. In the 80's there was a huge increase in the flow of cheap crack cocaine into the inner cities of America and countless lives were destroyed.

A series of investigations led to the convictions of Oliver North and Vice Admiral John C. Poindexter, head of the National Security Council, on charges of obstructing Congress and unlawfully destroying documents, but both their convictions were later reversed. In 1992 President George H.W. Bush pardoned many of the top government officials who had been charged or convicted in the scheme. The main perpetrators of Iran/Contra and associated events remain free today, and many of them work in George W. Bush's Administration.

…

Of the three generations of Bush men mentioned on this site, the most evil and most dangerous by far is George Bush, Sr.

The Bush family came by their wealth on the backs of 11 million dead. Prescott Bush, along with partner E. Ronald Harriman, supplied financial aid and raw materials to Hitler's Third Reich.

In 1942, Bush/Harriman companies were seized under the Trading with the Enemy Act: the Union Banking Corporation, the Holland-American Trading Corporation, the Seamless Steel Equipment Corporation and Silesian-American Corporation.

After the war, the CIA recruited many former Nazis to work for them, escaping prosecution for war crimes. Klaus Barbie, infamous for ordering the murder of French children, was among them. He was, however, eventually caught and returned to France to stand trial.

… Shortly before the 9/11 attacks, John Ashcroft stopped flying commercial and started flying on government-chartered planes. Why?

In fact, the George W. Bush received many warnings that he disregarded. Bush knew, and he did nothing. Why?

Oil, that's why. And a free rein to rape the Constitution.

…- David Blomstrom ]

Hillary Clinton signals failure of direct talks on Mideast peace (Washington Post) [ Wow! I guess we were all blind-sided by that one …riiiiight! … I mean, who woulda thunk it … failed mideast peace talks … Rather than face american humiliation time after time along with contra american interest mideast status quo, america should ‘read the riot act’ to illegal nuke totin’, provocateur and war criminal nation israel and impose a fair peace … which america has the capacity to do, along with an overwhelming global consensus in which to do it! ]

Revamping 'made in China' (Washington Post) [ ‘escape sweatshop image’? I’d say, if at all, they’re not trying too hard. I mean, let’s not kid ourselves … their extreme capitalist business model is one that only an extremely communist nation can accomplish ( as the Beatles have sung, ‘with a little help from their capitalist american, etc., friends’ –and sales agents / distributors as ie., Walmart, etc.) and is as senile greenspun liked to say of the american bubble economy, ‘the envy of all the world’. No, they don’t need to, nor are they trying very hard, though there are many in the west who like to think they are. ] Export hub's upmarket moves is part of Chinese effort to escape sweatshop image.

Crude oil prices hit $90 a barrel (Washington Post) [ The wonders of that QE dollar debasement policy; which is exceedingly good for wall street short term (and I also beilieve they’re cashing out the still trillions of toxic / worthless paper assets / securities from the last, ongoing debacle for hard, fiat currency, sub rosa. ) along with the commissionable up and down, fraudulent computerized high-frequency churn-and-earn scam. If you’re attentive and look closely, the declining dollar manipulation and consequent higher oil prices, etc., preceded that last crash / debacle and this wil be no different, though possibly more drawn out. ] The jump pushes up gas prices at the pumps and crimps consumers in the peak shopping season.

Where does $250,000 a year go? (Washington Post) [ The point so aptly made by Davis hereafter and infra, is that ‘somethin’s gotta’ give, and the top 1% and the $1trillion in unnecessary war spending, for example, are the logical places to start. After all, the nation’s defacto bankrupt! Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘ ] In the heated battle over extending the expiring Bush-era tax cuts, a single number has emerged from the crossfire: $250,000. But just how flush is a family of four with a $250,000 income? Analysis examines what it's like to be a 'rich' family in America.

New Economic Slide to a Lower Level? The Inflation Trader ‘Initial Claims did not administer the coup de grace to the bond market. While TIPS continued to struggle, bonds were roughly unchanged on the day as Claims came out quite near to expectations (421k). It does appear that ‘Claims have begun a new slide to a lower level, but I would caution here against relying too much on one’s eyes. The spike in late summer makes the slide appear larger than it really is, and moreover at this time of year (and, frankly, through most of January) the volatility of the Claims numbers is much higher. Ergo, we need more data to be sure that we’re really seeing what we’re seeing. I would say that I “suspect” it is so, but I don’t have enough evidence yet to reject the null. Absent such a mercy-strike, the market was reasonably quiet yesterday. However, one of my favorite data releases – come to think of it, the fact that I have a favorite data release is pretty sad – was out yesterday: the Federal Reserve’s quarterly Z1 Flow of Funds report, updated through Q3. I like this report because it allows me to update charts like these (click to enlarge): [chart] This chart (click to enlarge) shows that Federal, State, and Local debt (including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt) as a proportion of total debt. This matters because the higher this ratio goes, the bigger the incentive for the government to simply monetize the debt. It isn’t outlandishly high yet, but the trend is kinda bad. [chart] This chart (click to enlarge) makes a neat point. The private sector is deleveraging, slightly. But the overall economy is not, because the government has thoughtfully taken up the slack and borrowed whatever we weren’t borrowing. This is not unrelated to the fact that the economy didn’t collapse after 2008Q3. Some of you may applaud the Administration(s) for this since it helped avert an imminent collapse. Some of you may throw brickbats at the Administration(s), since if leverage was what was causing the collapse to threaten, we clearly have the same Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. I tend towards the latter camp, but either way I think we can agree it’s a smashing chart. [chart] So where has the private deleveraging come from? Well, there is a myth that the consumer is deleveraging. A little bit, yes, but most of the deleveraging is coming from domestic financial institutions (banks, dealers, etc). And yes, you might combine these last two charts and say “so, the financial system basically foisted a bunch of debt onto the federal ledger, aka taxpayers?” Yep, that was the deal the Administration(s) made with the devil. Again, some of you will applaud this for the short-term results and others will hurl rotten tomatoes. But probably none of you will pat Bank of America (BAC) on the back these days. (I’m just sayin’.) [chart] Tobin's Q / Average Q And, yes, the Z.1 allows us to calculate a variation of Tobin’s Q. If you don’t know what Tobin’s Q is, you can read my comparatively-succinct explanation here, but in a nutshell it is a way of comparing the market value of equities to the replacement value of their assets. Higher means a frothier market. Here I’ve divided the calculated Q by the average Q since 1952 to get a normalized Q. If this makes you think the stock market may still be overvalued, then you can thank Q. You’re welcome!’

Austrian banker Kohn key to Madoff crimes: trustee (Reuters) Reuters - Austrian banker Sonja Kohn was a "criminal soul mate" of Bernard Madoff for 23 years, running an international network of banks and funds to help perpetrate the biggest fraud in financial history... [ Biggest fraud in financial history? Come on! The recent and on-going financial fraud / debacle, yet unprosecuted is the largest of many in financial history of this country particularly. Biggest fraud that wasn’t covered up? Not even … other fraudulent wealth transfers (that’s what they really are) include that historic savings and loan debacle, among others. This is an especially great time to Sell / Take Profits since there is much, much worse to come! ]

Time to Take a Pause? - author: The Housing Time Bomb ‘Let me start things with a chart (click to enlarge) of the S&P of the past 12 months: [chart]
My Take:
I think this chart is very interesting. As you can see above, we saw a huge rally this fall as the market roared back to it's post crash highs. What's interesting to me is it looks like the market is having a hard time breaking through to the upside since getting back up here.
Could we be hitting an inflection point where the trend reverses? It's to soon to tell, but what I can say is if the longer the market continues to stall up here the higher the risk is to the downside.
I think the market is realizing there are many questions that need to be answered before marching higher:

• Are the bond vigilantes going to take rates higher?
• Are rates rising due to a strong economic recovery or rising deficits?
• How bad will housing get hit if rates keep heading north?
• What will this do to the banks balance sheets?
• Will QE cause inflation or will the deflationary forces of a bursting credit bubble eventually win out?
• Will unemployment continue to worsen?
• If unemployment continues how will this effect the consumer?
• Can Europe contain the Sovereign debt crisis?
• If it can't will the Euro survive?
• Will QE destroy the US dollar?
• Can the Fed react fast enough if inflation hits as the currency weakens?

Take Continued:
Can you blame the market from taking a pause here? The market seems to be running on fumes at this point given the risks I described above.
I loved the two tech tickers below that discuss some of the same worries:
Take Continued
I couldn't agree more with the guests above. QE2 is "criminal" and the fact that Bernanke feels he needs to go on 60 Minutes and sell it makes me extremely uneasy.
Bernanke's point about being 100% in control of this situation is borderline delusional.
How could anyone be 100% certain of anything given the risks above? Some of the most brilliant hedge fund managers quit the game because the market became so uncertain. How can this guy get on air and actually say something like this?
I mean just look at their history as the commentator above brilliantly points: The Fed has always been late in reacting to key "inflection" points over the past 15 years. Their biggest mistake was holding rates down for too long which then created the housing bubble. This will likely go down in the history books as the worst policy decision in history.
In fact, after looking at their history, I am 100% sure that they will be too late to react when this all blows up in their face. God help us all when this happens.
The Bottom Line
The one thing you can count on right now is uncertainty. The Democrats have now decided to not go through with Obama's idiotic tax cut deal(thank god).
Let's hope the Democrats have enough balls to hold out long enough for a better deal. I must admit I am skeptical because in their eyes they can't afford to not do anything. The Republicans have time on their side because the clock is ticking and something must get done now.
If this thing gets strung out without compromise then my guess is the Democrats will end up eating the whole **it sandwich at the 11th hour before the critters go home for the holiday. We will see what the bond market has to say if this is how it plays out.
In the meantime, cash is king until we get more clarity around the economy. As "the credit trader" told me last week: "Now is a time to sit on capital because bigger opportunities lie ahead".
Remember, we are in the middle of a housing crash and we still have a long ways to go especially if rates keep rising. This is the 100lb gorilla in the room that everyone keeps trying to ignore.
Every now and then he rears his ugly head, beats his chest, and reminds us how bad it really is:’

What if I Were a Buy and Hold Investor? Roche [ The scenario is actually worse than the bad, secular bear market one that Roche accurately posits owing to the fact that there has been a substantial structural shift away from and substantially deleterious to pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america in economic, financial, and geo-political terms. ] ‘I don’t discuss long-term investment strategies for various reasons, but I understand that the majority of investors don’t have the time to implement an approach that is similar to mine. I have, on occasion, made broader long-term prognostications. For example, in early 2009 it was very popular to proclaim that “buy and hold” was dead (which I said was nonsense at the time) or that the bear market was never going to end. The smart money was doing the opposite of what the permabears were saying as “once in a lifetime opportunities” were apparent in many markets. It would be convenient revisionist history for me to say that I was “all in” on long-term bullish bets back in 2009 (that hasn’t been my M.O. over the last 5 years), but there are a few long-term indicators that I have routinely tracked in recent years that have proven to be superb long-term trend indicators. Among them are my Expectation Ratio, Stock market to GNP ratio, the AAII’s allocation portfolio and jobless claims trends. In late January 2009 I highlighted one very bullish long-term development in the markets:

The indicator (my ER) has only just recently become positive again which is telling me that analysts are finally beginning to cut their estimates to realistic levels. The indicator was a little early to the party in 2007 and I presume it will be early again in forecasting a recovery, however, it is a good sign that now is a time when you might want to be dipping your toe in the waters. If you’re young and have a long time horizon you certainly want to be adding to positions.

A few weeks later I discussed the long-term impact of jobless claims:

The inverse of this is what we’re seeing now. People are being laid off at a record rate and that’s a potentially bullish sign. It means that the economy is entering a period of under-capacity. Although it goes against every intuition you might have I think this is one more sign (in addition to my ER) that we are closer to the bottom than the top. If you have a long time horizon I think it’s best to ignore those people who are saying that buy and hold is dead. In fact, as I’ve repeated recently, buy and hold is likely more viable now than ever.

At the same time the stock market to GNP ratio was also giving a very bullish signal and the AAII’s small investor allocation for equities had declined to levels consistent with previous market bottoms. For those with a stomach for risk the stars were in many ways aligned. It’s safe to say that my own performance over the last two years would have been superior if I had been eating more of this long-term cooking, however, a longer perspective (my 60%+ outperformance in 2008 for instance) shows that my short-term tactical approach to the markets has saved me a great deal of anxiety and successfully resulted in high risk adjusted returns. Regardless of my current approach, it’s useful to update these long-term models on occasion if not for my own benefit then for the benefit of the reader. Maintaining a grasp on the overall macro picture can also be useful in trying to grasp where we are in the investment cycle.

Since I’ve updated the first three indicators just recently I figure it’s about time we update the fourth. The chart below (click to enlarge) shows the most recent jobless claims data. Any economist will tell you that jobs are likely the single most important component to economic and profit growth. The weekly jobless claims data remains the closest real-time proof of labor market trends. Therefore, equities tend to be relatively closely correlated with claims data.

I have (somewhat arbitrarily) used this indicator in recent years to gauge labor utilization. When claims are low it means the economy is humming and that things are unlikely to improve substantially. This tends to coincide with equity environments that are richly valued or overvalued. The opposite occurs when claims are high. This tends to coincide with an environment in which labor is being underutilized and equities are inexpensive. Over the last two years we’ve moved from a period that is consistent with aggressive equity accumulation (very high claims data) to a period of more moderate growth, but growth nonetheless. We’re still well off the historical range in which equities are a clear sell.[chart]

If we look at all four indicators the outlook remains a bit mixed. My ER is very bullish. The market:GNP ratio is moderately overvalued. The AAII allocation survey is not consistent with market tops. And finally, the jobless claims data is consistent with an environment in which you want to own stocks, but not aggressively accumulate stocks. This all adds up to a longer-term outlook of moderate, but not aggressive bullishness.

So, the question then is – if you held a gun to my head would I be a long-term buyer or seller of stocks currently? I would likely be a buyer, however, because I still believe we are in a balance sheet recession and have resolved none of our long-term imbalances I am not eating that cooking. Instead, I continue to use a short-term model based on the idea that the secular bear is alive and well and volatility must be navigated as opposed to ignored. Risk management is not going out of style. While a long-term outlook is likely to reward equity investors in the coming years I believe higher risk adjusted returns can be obtained through a multi-strategy short-term approach that focuses on hedging strategies and risk management. Hopefully, however, this helps some of you long-term investors put things into perspective.

Add-ons turn tax cut bill into 'Christmas tree' The Associated Press - WASHINGTON (AP) - In the spirit of the holiday season, President Barack Obama's tax-cut deal with Republicans is becoming a Christmas tree tinseled with gifts for lobbyists and lawmakers. Video: Shields, Brooks on Obama's Tax-Cut Deal, 'Glimmer of Life' for DADT Repeal PBS Video:  Shields, Brooks on Obama's Tax-Cut Deal, 'Glimmer of Life' for DADT Repeal PBS Estate Tax Cutoff Draws Special Fire in Congress New York Times

Ron Paul On Job to Oversee Federal Reserve Infowars.com | Paul: “Nothing good can come from the Federal Reserve.”

Will Ron Paul Be Able To End The Fed? Is Ron Paul finally in position to really do something about the Federal Reserve? U.S. Representative Spencer Bachus, the chairman-elect of the House Financial Services Committee, has announced that Ron Paul will chair the domestic monetary policy subcommittee starting next month.

U.S. Mint To Re-Launch Silver Bullion Coins On Friday, Warns Of Price Gouging The U.S. Mint plans to re-launch sales of its 2010 America the Beautiful silver bullion coins on Friday after delaying the release of the five-ounce coin on Monday, it said on Thursday.

U.S. Military Spending Is Out Of Control: 12 Facts That Show That We Cannot Afford To Be The Plunderers Of The World Today, the United States has become the police of the world. The U.S. military has a total of over 700 military bases in 130 countries around the world. Total military spending by the U.S. government is nearly equal to the combined military spending of the rest of the globe.

More Than Half of Americans Want Fed Reined In or Abolished A majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the nation’s independent central bank, saying the U.S. Federal Reserve should either be brought under tighter political control or abolished outright, a poll shows.

Jobless rate jumps to 9.8% as hiring slows (Washington Post) [ The reality is not a mystery! The nation’s been thrown under the bus for the greater good (wealth) of the very few (frauds on wall street, etc.); wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION: Come on! This is gettin’ even more downright ridiculous (if that’s even possible)! Pending home foreclosure / distress sales up, oil prices (and oil stocks) up, debased dollar down, plus a little familiar ‘better than expected’ thrown in along with prospects of a ‘no-recession bernanke’ market-frothing bull session on 60 minutes and, voila, suckers’ rally into the close to keep the suckers suckered! What’s good for the frauds on wall street is bad for just about everyone else which includes the vast majority of people and businesses, domestically and globally, as current dollar manipulation / debasement ultimately results in higher costs and loss of purchasing power (ie., oil, etc.). Clearly, this is one of those fraudulent wealth transfers to the frauds on wall street et als which will ultimately be paid for by those who least are in a position to afford it, courtesy of the ever more worthless Weimar dollar, etc., inflating earnings, eps, lowering p/e multiples, etc., see infra. This is an especially great time to sell / take profits while you can since there's much worse to come! Previous: Rosy numbers on consumer sentiment, unemployment (far better than private forecasts) from the government prior to the holiday so-called ‘shop till you drop’? How can anyone believe anything they say? Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz adds that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! And, with insiders and wall street frauds selling into the bubble as preceded last crash, this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally on light volume, full moon, and government complicity (false data / reports) to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam/fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

National / World

WikiLeaks: “al-Qaeda Narrative” Feeds War in Yemen, Africa Kurt Nimmo | U.S. and Saudis work together to foment a phony war on terror.

Ron Paul On Ending The Fed: The Power Of Ideas Will Prevail Steve Watson | The Federal Reserve should be abolished, but warned that turning ideas into reality takes time and effort.

Wikileaks Founder: Bigger Bombshells On The Way Paul Joseph Watson | While the cybersecurity agenda is activated by Assange’s arrest, bigger revelations are in the pipeline for Wikileaks, according to one of its original members.

Assange lawyer says US spying indictment imminent David Edwards | Assange attorney says he’s not been allowed to meet with his client.

CIA “Honeytrap” Ardin Deleted Twitter Posts Praising Assange Kurt Nimmo | More evidence surfaces indicating Assange take-down orchestrated by government.

‘Anna Ardin, described in court documents as “Miss A,” had deleted Twitter messages speaking highly of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, the man she would later accuse of rape, according to Göran Rudling, the editor Consensus Now, a website arguing that laws based on sexual activities need to be consensual to not be considered criminal.Assange was in Stockholm, Sweden, in August to speak at the invitation of Sweden’s Social Democratic Party. The event was organized by Ardin, who was the press secretary of the Brotherhood Movement, which is an adjunct of the Social Democratic Party.The 31 year old woman is described as a feminist, leftist and animal rights activist who previously worked at the Uppsala University where she handled equality issues for the students’ union.Earlier this week, the Cuban news agencies Granma and Prensa Latina stated that Ardin is a Cuban CIA collaborator who works with Miami-based, U.S. government paid intelligence agencies. They say Ardin is linked to the anti-Cuban terrorist Carlos Aberto Montaner.In newspapers and blogs, the blond Swede has been called a “honey trap” — see here, here, and here — a word that describes intelligence agencies using women to lure in male targets.Between Saturday and Sunday, August 14-15, Ardin wrote the following about Assange on her Twitter account:

‘Julian wants to go to a crayfish party, anyone have a couple of available seats tonight or tomorrow? #fb’

‘Sitting outdoors at 02:00 and hardly freezing with the world’s coolest smartest people, it’s amazing! #fb’

“When Anna Ardin files a police complaint against Julian Assange on 20 August these tweets are removed,” Rudling notes. “Why? As far as I can tell, it’s not common for victims of crime to delete blogs, clean up their cellphones, and try to get witnesses to attest to things that aren’t true. Why is it so important to remove these particular tweets?”Rudling wrote about his discovery on the Radsoft website on September 30.James Catlin, also writing for Radsoft, reports that Ardin and Swedish associate Sofia Wilén invented the rape scenario in order to entrap Assange. “They went to the police station asking for advice, knowing the police would turn it into an accusation of rape. They’re also the ones who leaked the story to the tabloid Expressen,” writes Catlin.Catlin claims Ardin’s SMS history proves she made the story up and plotted with Wilén “to leak the story to notorious Swedish tabloid Expressen.”It was reported that Ardin moved to the Palestinian West Bank to work with an outreach group called the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel, but this was later debunked. The group’s program coordinator, Pauline Nunu, said Ardin had canceled her trip and did not know where she was.On Thursday, December 9, Rundle reported that Ardin may have ceased actively co-operating with the Swedish prosecution service and her own lawyer.“The move comes amid a growing campaign by leading Western feminists to question the investigation, and renewed confusion as to whether Sweden has actually issued charges against Assange. Naomi Klein, Naomi Wolf, and the European group Women Against Rape, have all made statements questioning the nature and purpose of the prosecution,” Rundle wrote for Crikey.A growing number of observers believe Ardin works for the CIA and was employed to set-up Assange. “After leaving Cuba, Ardin worked with web sites financed by USAID and controlled by the CIA,” writes the Australia-Cuba Friendship Society.

One of these sites was ‘Miscelánea de Cuba’, run by the Cuban Alexis Gainza. Through Gainza she became linked to Swedish agencies, including Dagens Nyheter and SVT, and entered the Swedish Social Democrat party. Gainza is linked to the German Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte (International Human Rights Society), a group linked to German and U.S. intelligence and has some former Nazis (such as Ludwig Martin) and ex military figures (Dieter von Glahn) in its ranks. The current president of the IGFM, Martin Lessenthin, works closely with the Venezuelan opposition party Primero Justicia, led by the anti-Chavez terrorist Alejandro Peña. Primero Justicia, in turn is the main partner of the International republican Institute, and extreme right wing group funded by the US Government’s National Endowment for Democracy.

Both USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy are linked to the CIA. In 2009, a high ranking CIA official admitted that USAID is a cover for the agency. “A lot of what we [NED] do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,” Allen Weinstein, one of the founders of NED, admitted. Julian Assange, who appears to be a dupe for a concerted government effort to shut down whistleblowers and criminalize the release of government information, may or may not be extradited from Britain to Sweden to face what now appears to be wholly invented rape charges. A number of politicians and officials want Assange sent to the United States to face espionage charges. Assange’s lawyer, however, said that she did not believe the Espionage Act applied to Assange, who is she added currently in solitary confinement in Wandsworth prison in London, according to The Telegraph.’

Zimbabwe: WikiLeaks Reveals Military Plans for Mass Displacement [ Criminal americans … they’re all zimbabweans now! ] Suzanne Persard | Zimbabwean military planned to uproot as many as 25,000 villagers for control of diamond fields

Wikileaks Founder: Bigger Bombshells On The Way One of the original members of Wikileaks warns that a series of bigger bombshell revelations are in the pipeline and that the growing crisis being contrived around the group and its figurehead Julian Assange is greasing the skids for the cybersecurity agenda to regulate and censor the world wide web.

Ron Paul On Ending The Fed: The Power Of Ideas Will Prevail Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who will take control of the House subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve in the new year, has re-emphasized his belief that the Federal Reserve should be abolished, but warned that turning ideas into reality takes time and effort.

Glenn Beck Channels Alex Jones: Economic Crisis, Food Riots & Martial Law Coming Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Should we be elated or alarmed that Fox News host Glenn Beck now sounds almost identical to Alex Jones? Earlier this week on his television program, Beck talked about Pentagon war games which featured National Guard soldiers training to take on protesters holding signs with the words “FOOD NOW” scrawled on them.

Establishment Republicans Introduce Bill to Criminalize Wikileaks [ What a typical zionist sinkhole new york jew (like sinkhole connecticut buddies incompetent zelig zionist lieberman, sinkhole mob haven new jersey pro-israel lautenberg and zionist rabbi son chertoff.) ! How ‘bout criminalizing the ongoing, day-in/day-out, continued (from last debacle and anew) high frequency churn-and-earn frauds on wall street, etc., among numerous other major crimes.] New York Rep. Peter King has exploited the hysteria surrounding the Wikileaks case to introduce legislation to make it illegal to publish the names of American intelligence sources who provide information to the US military or intelligence community, according to Homeland Security Today.

Pfizer Vaccine Killed 11 Children, Disabled Dozens of Others U.S. drugmaker Pfizer hired investigators to find evidence of corruption against Nigeria’s attorney general to convince him to drop legal action against the company over a drug trial involving children, the Guardian newspaper reported, citing U.S. diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks.

Clinton: TSA Policies To Be Reviewed After “Humiliating” Pat Down Of Indian Diplomat A humiliating TSA pat down that left Indian Ambassador to the United States livid and insistent that she would never return to America has prompted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to promise a review of TSA policies in the aftermath of a nationwide revolt against invasive airport security measures.

Towards Universal and Permanent Peace on Earth War in our day is the plague that must be cured before we can truly call ourselves a species, and since war thrives today because of government deception, it can only be put to rest by an injection of truth into politics by global citizens.

Pentagon Papers Whistleblowers Call for a New 9/11 Investigation The main players in releasing the Pentagon Papers were Daniel Ellsberg and Senator Mike Gravel.

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: White House Cabinet Member Suggested Killing an American Service Man to Justify War On Monday, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton told told Jon Stewart that a Clinton cabinet member proposed letting Saddam kill an American pilot as a pretext for war in Iraq.

Housing agencies clash over mortgage-relief program (Washington Post) [ At this point, who’s still counting? Howard Davidowitz on the Economy: "Here Are the Numbers ... WE'RE BROKE!" 11-25-10 ‘The U.S. economy "is a complete disaster," Howard Davidowitz declared here in July, the most recent in a string of dire predictions from Tech Ticker's most entertaining guest.On the eve of Thanksgiving, I asked Davidowitz if he had any regrets, or was ready to throw in the towel given recent signs of economic revival. Are you kidding me? "Here are the numbers...we're broke," Davidowitz declares, noting the U.S. government goes $5 billion deeper into debt every day and is facing $1 trillion-plus annual deficits for the next decade. "In other words, we're bankrupt."As with the economy, Davidowitz is unwaveringly consistent in his views on President Obama, calling him "deranged, dysfunctional and discredited."Results of the midterm election show "the people of this country think we are in a catastrophe," he says. "I'm with them."Check the accompanying video for more of Howard's unfettered opinions and stay tuned for additional clips from this interview. And...Happy Thanksgiving! Aaron Task is the host of Tech Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at [email protected]’

Timid Tuesday: Is it Safe? Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘ ] Some say the plan could avert foreclosures. Others fear it would cost taxpayers too much.

How China branded Nobel winner Liu Xiaobo a traitor (Washington Post) [ I am staunchly anti-communism. That said, it is also true that I’m also against what pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless, defacto bankrupt america has become; most certainly not a thriving democracy. Though america’s suppression of speech, cover-ups, etc. ( see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ), are arguably less direct, indirect, circumlocuted, obfuscated, etc., the same is very real and one may say the communist Chinese have in essence taken a page out of america’s playbook. ]

Amazon, PayPal fend off hacker attacks over WikiLeaks (Washington Post) [ Having been the subject / object of numerous cyber attacks / attempted hacks, etc., while opposing such as the u.s. gov’t is noted for, aren’t amazon, paypal, etc., getting a taste of their own medicine in wrapping themselves in the flag as scoundrels are apt to do (as a last refuge and act of desperation – yes, pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america’s desperate) or bully bandwagon policy. ]Sympathizers of the anti-secrecy Web site attack firms because they had severed ties with WikiLeaks.

Unions oppose free-trade deal (Washington Post) [ While one must concede that the union opposition is an instance of too little, too late; what one cannot do is argue with the logic and rationality of their position. ] AFL-CIO, Steelworkers and other unions say that South Korea pact will drain U.S. manufacturing jobs.

Democrats vow to block tax deal (Washington Post) [ ‘bush tax cuts’? … as he spent more on contrived, illegal wars … doesn’t that kind of say it all … from that war-criminal moron ( http://albertpeia.com/bushisms.htm ) whose admitted ‘conversations with his war-approving God’ indicating a delusional mental state easily diagnosed as one of a number of mental disorders in the APA Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and whose irrationality has been continued by wobama. How can anyone justify the ‘bush tax cut extension’ economically or otherwise? ( Timid Tuesday: Is it Safe? Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘) Bernanke's newest headache looms (Washington Post) [Headache? I would say it’s his last contact with sanity! After all, wasn’t it bernanke that declared ‘no recession’, now dubbed the ‘Great Recession (actually depression)’ which has morphed into what will ultimately be called a hyperinflationary depression. Indeed, the so-called (fraudulent wall street) ‘wealth effect’ as now admitted to by bernanke as a goal of his dollar debasing easing, has been done before with disastrous results (ie., most recently the dot.com bubble, and that even more recent bubble preceding the last crash, etc.). The debased currency enables ‘paper profits’ before the higher costs catch up, even as the inflated profits are hailed as something other than fleeting, obfuscating manipulations which are posited as justification for enabling the continued wall street churn-and-earn record-bonus fraud, even as their prior fraud is swept under the rug in the form of now mark-to-anything worthless paper, as the wall street perps cash out … again! Abolish the fed! ] Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) is poised to chair the House Domestic Monetary Policy Subcommittee, putting the gavel of the panel overseeing the Federal Reserve into the hands of one of its most outspoken critics.

It's OK to Panic, But Take Your Time Inflation Trader ‘Another day of selloff in the bond market, and I wonder how much fingernail-chewing is happening at the Fed? 10-year Treasury yields rose to 3.27% for the first time since mid-June (see Chart, click to enlarge). Forget QE2 at the beginning of November, or the discussion about it at the end of August; in June we had just watched volatility spike and the S&P was undecided about whether to go above 1100 or below 1050 (it eventually did both). Inflation expectations were in retreat. [chart] This is starting to get ugly. The sharp selloff in bonds is, at some level, not terribly surprising because of the time of year. Illiquidity in December is hardly a news flash, and I always take care to remind people that illiquidity doesn’t mix well with all of the mortgage paper out there that represents “short gamma” positions. More succinctly put, if you start a stone rolling at this time of year, it is often more likely to gather speed than come to rest. For all of the beating that nominal yields have taken, though, real yields today got it worse. The 10-year real yield surpassed 1% for the first time since September, on a 19bp selloff. 10-year TIPS yields have risen from 0.40% to 1.04% since the Fed started QE2 (see Chart, click to enlarge). Keep in mind that this happened on a day in which the Federal Reserve was buying TIPS in the market. [chart] …’

Rogers: U.S. Government Inflation Data Is a ‘Sham’ U.S. government inflation data is “a sham” and is causing the Federal Reserve to vastly understate price pressures in the economy, influential U.S. investor Jim Rogers said on Tuesday.

[video] Traders Skeptical of Claims Data [ Of course they’re skeptical because they know it’s not true and far worse.] NEW YORK (TheStreet) – ‘The market is wary of the latest positive jobless claims causing some selling according the NASDAQ analyst Anu Sharma.’

More Than Half of Americans Want Fed Reined In or Abolished A majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the nation’s independent central bank, saying the U.S. Federal Reserve should either be brought under tighter political control or abolished outright, a poll shows.

Bernanke’s False Bounce Way back in 2008, Michael Maloney, in his book, Guide to Investing in Gold and Silver, described the economic scenario he thought most likely to come to pass. Here’s an update: it’s playing out right now!

Economists Encourage Gulf States To Dump Dollar, Buy Gold GCC states should boost their foreign reserve holdings of gold to help shield their billions of dollars of assets from turbulence in global currency markets, say economists at the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA).

QE2 Has Added To The Severity of the Crisis Policy makers within the Treasury and the Fed are only interested in delaying and extending the timeline trying to find and extricate themselves from one of the most dangerous fiscal and monetary failures of all time.

National / World

Your Toxic Tap Water Paul Joseph Watson | After watching this interview, you’ll never look at tap water the same way again.

Russian official: WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange should receive Nobel prize Eric W. Dolan | An unnamed Russian official suggested detained WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be awarded a Nobel prize.

TSA Subjects Indian Ambassador To US To Glass Cage, Enhanced Groping Steve Watson | Indian Embassy describes incident as “unacceptable.”

Shadowy Hacker Group Targets Enemies of Wikileaks Kurt Nimmo | The attacks are intended to put pressure on financial companies that recently cut ties with the WikiLeaks website.

Alex Calls FBI During Live Broadcast to Report Illegal Activities at Pentagon Infowars.com | Alex responds to “report suspicious activity” at Wal-Mart checkouts.

UN Climate Concern Morphs into Chemtrail Glee Club Rady Ananda | Group agreed by consensus to a moratorium on geoengineering projects and experiments.

Celente: American Empire is collapsing ‘As the US economy continues to struggle, it seems Wall Street and big banks are doing better than ever. The income disparity gap in the United States is the largest of all the developed industrial nations. The Trends Research Institute Director Gerald Celente says the American Empire is collapsing and the banks have committed the greatest bank robbery in the history of the world.

Where no man has gone before (Washington Post) [ Geeh! I can almost hear that Star Trek Theme reverberate in my head, followed by a taste of Zarathustra … After all, this is 2010 Odd but hardly a Space Odyssey. Indeed, merely launching rockets is a far cry from Jupiter, and as for the moon; well, they just didn’t get that done either … though the video was … okay. Launch of secret US space ship masks even more secret launch of new weapon

The Militarization of Outer Space: The Pentagon’s “Space Warriors” Global Research | It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on planet earth. Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new, destabilizing weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit into another “battlespace.”     

buzz aldrin wants to colonize Mars … Riiiiight buzzed! Better check with DePalma to see if he already has the footage in the can since you won’t be able to use the moon footage for the new boondoggle video ...

OBAMA SPEECH OUTLINES PLANS FOR RETURNING DEFACTO BANKRUPT U.S. TO SPACE – OOOOOH! SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN … FOR INNER SPACE (IMAGINATION).

NASA's New Asteroid Mission Could Save the Planet Space.com - Tariq Malik - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - President Barack Obama set a lofty next goal this week for Americans in space: Visiting an asteroid by 2025. Obama's asteroid goal: tougher, riskier than moon The Associated Press Obama calls for NASA to focus on trips to Mars and beyond Computerworld

New Boondoggle promised to save NASA boondoggle defacto bankrupt budget piece of pie. And don’t forget, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, et als, have already done this so it’s not as if they’re starting from ‘ground zero’, so to speak; and Brian DePalma already has ‘Mission to Mars’ in the can, but beware say the producers of ‘Species II’ since Eve, the cloned daughter of Sill, might want to mate with astronaut Paddy Ross who has returned from Mars as a space alien host body.

First fake moonwalker blasts Obama's space plan msnbc.com - Bill Ingalls - The first man to pretend to walk on the moon blasted President Barack Obama's decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program on Tuesday, saying that not going with the new movie is “devastating” to america's boondoggle spaced out effort. Fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed a treasured piece at the dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, ...bbc news bbc news | europe | fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed prized moon rock a fake - a piece of moon rock given to an overseas politician by the united states is actually a lump of petrified wood, museum authorities revealed yesterday. ... 'Moon rock' in dutch museum is just petrified wood aug 27, 2009 ... Fake moon rock at dutch national museum. Rijksmuseum / ap. This rock, supposedly brought back from the moon by american astronauts, ...    http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm

In reality it is just a piece of petrified wood ... Another piece of evidence that shows again that apollo program is indeed a fake and a typical american fraud!

http://www.albertpeia.com/UFOetryWeNeverWentToTheMoonPNTV.wmv http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm

] SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch heralded as successful test of commercial spaceflight.

Afghanistan:  Gates: Progress has 'exceeded my expectations' (Post, December 8, 2010; 5:53 PM) [ Talk about that ‘low expectations / better than expectations thing’. ]
U.S. hurting peace chances by giving up on israeli settlement freeze, analysts say (Post, December 8, 2010; 11:00 PM)
In South Korea, Joint Chiefs chairman scolds China for its 'tacit approval' of North's aggression (Post, December 8, 2010; 11:01 PM)
Iran talks end with little sign of progress (Post, December 8, 2010; 1:04 AM)
Rice, on 'The View,' defends Obama on WikiLeaks (Post, December 8, 2010; 1:00 AM) (Washington Post) [ The problems in all these regions are inextricably tied to the nation with insurmountable problems of its own and own making. That nation quite obviously is pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless, defacto bankrupt america (along with such comparable enablers / allies as zionist israel, nato, etc.. How can anyone believe anything they say, least of all gates who hails from C(ottage)I(ndustries of)A(merica) based on lies, chaos, and conflict.]

[I’m beginning to wonder if Messiers Broder and Milbank are long lost monozygotic twins who seem to have coincident albeit wildly outlandish thought patterns so I once again keep them together here … Broder: Obama's in a good position for 2012 / A short-lived rebellion Milbank: Congressional Democrats berated Vice President Biden (oooooh! A real tongue-lashing for lobotomy joe who can hardly comprehend the words much less the rationale, if any, underlying their opposition) . But there wasn't much more they could do about the tax deal. - I mean … come on! Not that those disfunctional republicans are a shoe-in by any means but let’s get real; republicans / democrats, are distinctions without significant differences, ie., perpetual war, increased defacto bankruptcy of the nation, incompetent, corrupt, etc.. The democrats don’t when the could have, and try when they can’t; and frankly, I believe the people are on to both parties’ politics of political cover / talking points as they all proceed with same old, same old politics of failure which in america is a recurring theme because nothing succeeds like failure in america. As it stands now, things are so open that even a dope like palin thinks she has a shot … at caribou that is – Drudgereport: Sorkin: Palin TV show is 'snuff movie'... [ Yeah … ‘she’s really all that’ and worse … I have great difficulty getting past the fact that she’s so incredibly dumb … not just ‘nonintellectual’ … butt really dumb! (That said, she is a major contributor … to Saturday Night Live. ] ‘… Sorkin, writer of the recent Facebook movie The Social Network, also accused the Fox News contributor of making a "snuff film" after the latest episode of Sarah's Palin's Alaska featured the politician going hunting with her father and shooting a caribou. He described Palin as "deranged", a "witless bully" and a "phony pioneer girl". He also said The Learning Channel, the US cable network, "should be ashamed of itself" for broadcasting her "truly awful reality show"…’ ]

U.S., European policies diverge (Washington Post) [ Well, we certainly can start with the fundamental reality that they’re both failing; sinking or drowning (in debt, corruption, etc.), so to speak, and as they thrash about in desperation, some view of the convergent policies that got them there, ie., wall street frauds and cover-ups / mark to anything, etc., perpetual wars, etc., eventually leads to that inevitable conclusion that maybe a different direction is warranted as the proverbial light bulb goes on in their heads. While it is true that you can lead a horse to water but can’t make them drink, it is also true that sometimes as when you’re drowning, drinking water is the last thing you should or want to do. China Official: US Fiscal Health Worse Than Europe's Dec 8, 2010 ... China Official: US Fiscal Health Worse Than Europe's. ... Position Yourself to Profit from Obama's About-Face ... said that U.S. bond prices and the dollar would fall when the European economic situation stabilized. ... Some European Countries Are Bankrupt: Jim Rogers ] Even as President Obama details this week a sweeping deal on tax cuts that would add hundreds of billions to the nation's debt, European officials are pushing ahead with a sometimes draconian round of spending cuts, tax increases and other government belt-tightening. Both strategies are being pursued in the name of economic growth. But can both be right?

Senate leaders set to begin debate on tax cuts (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! They’re busy doing the people’s work … the question is, which people? If you said the frauds on wall street, you’d be correct. If you said the top 1% in income (the wealthiest), you’d be correct. If you said themselves, you’d be correct. If you said anything else you’d undoubtedly be incorrect. See infra, ie., The Economic Recovery Rolls on as America Turns to Food Stamps What recovery? On fraudulent wall street? The new fraud goes on!, etc.. ] Democrats are still angry, but lawmakers say the magnitude of the concessions President Obama won in the talks came into sharper focus. GOP lawmakers hiring lobbyists, despite rhetoric Interactive: What the extension means for you. Reid seeks votes that are sure to fail

The Economic Recovery Rolls on as America Turns to Food Stamps [ What recovery? On fraudulent wall street? The new fraud goes on! ] Tradermark ‘I could talk about the food stamp issue once a month, but as the "recovery" gains steam, I prefer to only speak about it when we hit important milestones. Believe it or not, when I began FMMF in 2007, "only" 1 in 11 of our citizens was on foodstamps. [May 7, 2008: 1 in 11 Americans on Food Stamps] We passed many milestones during the Great Recession...1 in 10, 1 in 9 [Jun 8, 2009: 1 in 9 Americans on Food Stamps] ... and finally in the throes of recovery we hit 1 in 8 ... with 1 in 4 American children in the program.[Nov 29, 2009: 1 in 4 Children, and 1 in 8 Americans Now on Food Stamps] I know it is hard to believe in a country where we measure our progress based on how the stock market does, how many Coach bags the average upper middle class woman owns, or what aggregate GDP figures say, but things are pretty awful for a large part of society. After crossing the 1 in 8 threshold last Thanksgiving, just over a year later we are sniffing at 1 in 7 (which would be approximately 14.25% of all citizen per the WSJ.The bifurcation of American society continues at pace. [Nov 10, 2009: Walmart Executive "There are Families Not Eating at the End of the Month"] Definitely a fascinating society we are creating.... the social implications in the long run are compelling. We joke about Americans not being engaged and why we do not have protests in the street about what is happening in this country, like those crazy Europeans. Aside from being busy with the circus (Dancing with the Stars, NFL, et al) ... we are also offered bread. If you want to see those sort of public movements, take away programs like food stamp. When the desperation kicks in, you would see some serious game changing fireworks [Dec 8, 2007: Do the Bottom 80% of Americans Stand a Chance?] [Sep 7, 2009: Citigroup - America; A Modern Day Plutonomy]

• More people tapped food stamps to pay for groceries in September as the recession and lackluster recovery have prompted more Americans to turn to government safety net programs to make ends meet.
• Some 42.9 million people collected food stamps last month, up 1.2% from the prior month and 16.2% higher than the same time a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
• Nationwide 14% of the population relied on food stamps as of September but in some states the percentage was much higher. In Washington, D.C., Mississippi and Tennessee – the states with the largest share of citizens receiving benefits – more than a fifth of the population in each was collecting food stamps.

Anyhow, per the 'wealth effect' plan, we're all gonna get rich via the stock market bubble Ben is inflating, so no problemo. [Nov 10, 2010: Who Will Any Form of Intermediate Term Wealth Effect Really Help? Not the Masses] The irony of my piece on November 10th is borne out by the fact that the 6 of the 10 counties ringing Washington D.C. are the country's richest, as our federal government spends as if there is no tomorrow. But Washington D.C. itself has more than 1 in 5 citizens on food stamps.
FOOD STAMP USE, BY STATE [Click on the top of any column to resort the chart.]

State	Number of people on food stamps Sept. 2010	Year-over-year change	Month-over-month change	Percent of population on food stamps
U.S. total	42,911,042	16.2%	1.2%	14%
Alabama	849,785	12.8%	1.2%	18%
Alaska	81,196	15.4%	-0.1%	11.6%
Arizona	1,044,410	10.9%	-0.3%	15.8%
Arkansas	483,309	8.4%	0.7%	16.7%
California	3,466,974	17.7%	1.2%	9.4%
Colorado	424,878	16.8%	0.1%	8.5%
Connecticut	364,341	22.8%	1.4%	10.4%
Delaware	124,755	21.9%	2.6%	14.1%
District of Columbia	128,759	16.4%	1.7%	21.5%
Florida	2,881,019	25.8%	2.5%	15.5%
Georgia	1,693,976	16.4%	0.7%	17.2%
Hawaii	147,250	15.7%	1.2%	11.4%
Idaho	214,378	39.1%	1.2%	13.9%
Illinois	1,839,051	18.6%	8.5%	14.2%
Indiana	857,992	13.3%	0.6%	13.4%
Iowa	352,164	10.9%	0%	11.7%
Kansas	291,126	18%	0.6%	10.3%
Kentucky	804,538	8.7%	-0.1%	18.6%
Louisiana	864,112	10.3%	0.9%	19.2%
Maine	237,530	9.6%	0.1%	18%
Maryland	616,102	20.4%	1.5%	10.8%
Massachusetts	785,435	12.2%	1%	11.9%
Michigan	1,884,751	15.2%	0.4%	18.9%
Minnesota	455,852	17.2%	0.7%	8.7%
Mississippi	601,432	8.7%	1.1%	20.4%
Missouri	928,183	7.9%	0.1%	15.5%
Montana	119,039	15.8%	0.1%	12.2%
Nebraska	169,385	14.5%td>	0%	9.4%
Nevada	314,253	28.7%	1.5%	11.9%
New Hampshire	110,576	20.4%	0.6%	8.3%
New Jersey	690,075	27.2%	1.9%	7.9%
New Mexico	390,154	20.1%	0.6%	19.4%
New York	2,895,995	13.3%	0.8%	14.8%
North Carolina	1,476,207	18.2%	2.3%	15.7%
North Dakota	61,229	7.1%	0.3%	9.5%
Ohio	1,683,877	11.9%	0.8%	14.6%
Oklahoma	613,531	14%	0.9%	16.6%
Oregon	738,702	13.2%	0.7%	19.3%
Pennsylvania	1,644,259	13.2%	0.3%	13%
Rhode Island	150,450	26%	1.3%	14.3%
South Carolina	832,651	11.3%	0.3%	18.3%
South Dakota	99,504	14.9%	0%	12.2%
Tennessee	1,267,478	8%	0.5%	20.1%
Texas	3,837,839	24.6%	0.9%	15.5%
Utah	269,819	25.9%	3.8%	9.7%
Vermont	87,838	7.7%	1%	14.1%
Virginia	826,277	13.8%	0.7%	10.5%
Washington	1,006,518	16.4%	0.8%	15.1%
West Virginia	343,764	5.1%	-0.6%	18.9%
Wisconsin	762,287	21.3%	0.6%	13.5%
Wyoming	35,615	17.2%	0.2%	6.5%

Sources: USDA, WSJ Research

[Nov 5, 2010: USA Today: Anti-Poverty Programs Surpass Cost of Medicare in US]
[May 25, 2010: 1 in 5.5 Dollars of American Income Now Via Government; All time High]
[Oct 22, 2010: Reuters - The Haves, the Have Nots, and the Dreamless Dead]
[Sep 3, 2010: FT.com - The Crisis in Middle America]
[July 26, 2010: [Video] DatelineNBC - America's Increasing Ranks of Poor]
original article’

Fading Momentum: Dave's Daily ‘Some worry that interest rates are rising quickly steepening the yield curve which in turn rallies the dollar and hurts commodities. Clearly, rising interest rates have always been the enemy of commodities especially when they rally the dollar. Politics are also in play as investors fret that congress won't pass the Obama deal made with republicans. That seems a little too short-term in thinking since next month republicans take charge of the agenda either way. So, investors are trying to come to an understanding of current conditions feeding sector rotation and a lack of resolve. Copper has always been a measure of economic growth; hence the "Dr. Copper" nickname given the metals ability to forecast accurately. Copper prices are setting new highs and that indicates strong demand particularly from China where every economist worries about bubbles and economic dangers. But, I'll go with the good doctor. We haven't gotten much in the way of economic data recently but that will change with Jobless Claims on Thursday as if anyone cares based on recent reactions to both a good or poor report. The lack of conviction is reflected by another low volume trading day on Wednesday. Breadth was mixed.’

Bull Market for Traders Only Hui ‘Further to my last post indicating that the bulls are firmly in control of the stock market, I received a number of comments to the effect of "what are risks in your forecast?"
BULLISH CALL FOR TRADERS ONLY
First of all, I would emphasize that my bullish call is for traders only. Investors should be cognizant of the macro risks inherent in this market. I agree with John Hussman that central bank action is only propping up a house of cards and the macro risks are considerable [my emphasis]:

I continue to view Bernanke's apparent objective for QE2 - to create a "wealth effect" by encouraging speculation in risk assets - to be dangerously misguided. Historically, the elasticity of GDP to changes in the stock market is on the order of 0.03 to 0.05, and is transitory at that. In plain English, this means that even large changes in the value of the stock market do not translate well into changes in GDP. This is because consumers correctly consume on the basis of what they see as their "permanent income," and are well aware that changes in volatile assets tend to be transitory when they are not accompanied by growth in real output and incomes. Bernanke is not thinking as an economist in this regard. He is thinking like a witch doctor calling on animal spirits (ooh, eee, ooh-aah-aah, ting, tang, walla-walla bing-bang).

And the ECB seems to be getting into the act as well:

Finally, last week, Jean Claude Trichet, the head of the European Central Bank, provided early indications that the ECB would be stepping up its buying peripheral government debt issued by Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Spain. Of course, the ECB prefers to "sterilize" these interventions, so it can be expected to sell the debt of stronger members such as Germany. Accordingly, yields dropped on the debt of credit-strained European countries, while German yields pushed to fresh yearly highs. It doesn't take much thought to recognize that, like Bernanke's actions, the actions of the ECB are ultimately likely to represent not monetary policy but fiscal policy. When you buy the debt of countries that have a high likelihood of defaulting on this debt, or will avoid default only by the creation of currency that could have been issued to finance fiscal expenditures, it follows that you are engaging in fiscal policy without the authorization of elected governments.

For the time being, my inner trader continues to believe that central bankers are intent on throwing a huge party - so enjoy it while you can (but don't forget to keep an eye on the exit).
KEEP AN EYE ON CHINA
While the risks posed by the actions of the Federal Reserve and the ECB are longer term in nature, the biggest risk to the near term outlook continues to be China. The Chinese economy may be slowing. Indicators such as the Baltic Dry Index are suggestive of incipient weakness. The Chinese have indicated that they are worried about inflation and they may take further stepss to tighten monetary policy by increasing banking reserve ratios in 2011. Other analysts have indicated that the Chinese authorities may resort to interest rate increase and possibly price controls.I believe that as long as the RMB-USD peg remains, Federal Reserve actions (QE2, QE3...) are likely to export asset price inflation to China and the Chinese authorities have limited tools available to combat domestic inflationary pressures. The real risk becomes one of China going overboard on the limited toolset that they have and send their economy into a hard landing. Moreover, with the US recovery continuing to be anemic for the forseeable future and the 2012 presidential election just over the horizon next year, trade tensions with China are likely to rise in 2011 because of domestic political considerations. What happens if either Washington or Beijing miscalculates?
WATCH FOR SIGNS OF WEAKNESS
For the time being, I am watching the Shanghai market closely. The chart below shows that while that market has retreated from recent highs, it appears to be only corrective action (for now). Should the Shanghai Composite weaken further, along with other indicators such as the Baltic Dry and more signs of Chinese tightening, then it's time for the bulls to head for the exits. [chart] ‘

ETF Fund Flows: RSP Exceeds, SPY Bleeds Nadig and Ludwig, On Wednesday December 8, 2010, 11:00 am EST ‘Investors put $322 million into the Rydex S&P Equal Weight ETF (NYSEArca:RSP - News), while pulling $1.61 billion out of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca:SPY - News), as total assets in U.S. ETFs climbed to more than $986 million for the first time, according to data compiled by IndexUniverse.com.The stock market was about unchanged from Monday, as renewed concern about Ireland’s indebtedness erased early gains related to a deal in Washington that extended Bush-era tax cuts for two years. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 3.03 points, closing at 11,359.16.SPY’s outflows were offset by a number of equity creations, including $581.8 million that went into the small-cap Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEArca:IWM - News). Also, $170.6 million went into the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSEArca:DIA - News).Overall, net inflows across all asset classes totaled $513.9 million.One noteworthy redemption was the $113.6 million investors pulled out of the iShares Barclays 10-20 Year Treasury Bond Index Fund (NYSEArca:TLH - News). That was one reflection in the ETF world of how bond yields have been rising since the Federal Reserve launched its quantitative easing plan several weeks ago.
Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)

Ticker	Name	Net Flows ($,mm)	AUM ($, mm)	AUM % Change
IWM	iShares Russell 2000	581.78	16,645.71	4%
RSP	Rydex S&P Equal Weight	322.41	2,660.28	14%
XLY	Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR	187.19	2,755.55	7%
MDY	SPDR S&P MidCap 400	185.69	11,262.21	2%
DIA	SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust	170.58	8,141.39	2%
IWN	iShares Russell 2000 Value	138.74	4,737.83	3%
XRT	SPDR S&P Retail	136.34	1,004.64	16%
XLP	Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR	88.11	3,244.71	3%
IWO	iShares Russell 2000 Growth	77.21	4,032.33	2%
EWJ	iShares MSCI Japan	63.26	4,194.20	2%

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

Ticker	Name	Net Flows ($,mm)	AUM ($, mm)	AUM % Change
SPY	SPDR S&P 500	-1,608.97	83,909.98	-2%
XLE	Energy Select Sector SPDR	-115.07	8,595.43	-1%
TLH	iShares Barclays 10-20 Year Treasury Bond	-113.63	261.36	-30%
XLI	Industrial Select Sector SPDR	-107.52	3,581.61	-3%
XLV	Health Care Select Sector SPDR	-92.67	2,777.36	-3%
USO	United States Oil	-87.54	1,826.86	-5%
XLF	Financial Select Sector SPDR	-69.69	6,425.63	-1%
EZU	iShares MSCI EMU	-60.10	784.83	-7%
VXX	iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN	-59.76	1,216.24	-5%
IYR	iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate	-55.51	3,036.58	-2%

ETF Daily Flows By Asset Class

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	440.61	426,912.43	0.10%
International Equity	222.91	275,769.02	0.08%
U.S. Fixed Income	-100.22	134,897.89	-0.07%
International Fixed Income	-	6,560.80	0.00%
Commodities	-109.59	100,656.74	-0.11%
Currency	66.27	4,826.98	1.37%
Leveraged	34.90	12,875.81	0.27%
Inverse	-19.07	19,730.58	-0.10%
Asset Allocation	-	488.29	0.00%
Alternatives	-21.91	3,677.72	-0.60%
Total:	513.90	986,396.27	0.05%

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

Ticker	Name	Average Volume (30 Day)	1-Day Volume	% of Average
TLH	iShares Barclays 10-20 Year Treasury Bond	55,196	868,506	1573%
NFO	Guggenheim Insider Sentiment ETF	61,743	600,007	972%
PSK	SPDR Wells Fargo Preferred Stock	26,692	209,858	786%
IGM	iShares S&P North American Technology Sector	51,616	386,731	749%
IWW	iShares Russell 3000 Value	33,016	233,096	706%
GXC	SPDR S&P China	127,541	729,452	572%
IJT	iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Growth	170,435	974,287	572%
PWJ	PowerShares Dynamic Mid Cap Growth Portfolio	36,161	175,514	485%
VIS	Vanguard Industrials	48,782	220,635	452%
RYJ	Guggenheim Raymond James SB-1 Equity ETF	12,506	53,949	431%

Top 10 1-Day Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and >1,000 Shares Traded

Ticker	Name	1-Day Performance	1-Day Volume	AUM ($, mm)
VNM	Market Vectors Vietnam	4.15%	725,554	210.48
TDH	TDX Independence 2020	2.48%	4,815	41.24
STPP	iPath U.S. Treasury Steepener ETN	2.42%	12,000	6.80
CU	First Trust ISE Global Copper	2.12%	84,988	67.82
LD	iPath Dow Jones-UBS Lead Subindex Total Return ETN	2.03%	3,024	5.91
COPX	Global X Copper Miners	1.95%	295,794	52.42
EIRL	iShares MSCI Ireland Capped Investable Market	1.95%	4,075	3.03
PEK	Market Vectors China	1.68%	10,007	20.21
PTRP	PowerShares Global Progressive Transportation Portfolio	1.56%	1,440	6.07

Bottom 10 1-Day Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and >1,000 Shares Traded

Ticker	Name	1-Day Performance	1-Day Volume	AUM ($, mm)
CVOL	C-Tracks Exchange-Traded Notes on the Citi Volatility Index	-5.40%	2,500	16.40
SIVR	ETFS Physical Silver	-5.11%	1,141,269	461.69
SLV	iShares Silver	-4.85%	69,216,688	10,727.13
UBD	Claymore U.S. Capital Markets Bond	-4.75%	1,599	10.57
DTYL	iPath U.S. Treasury 10-Year Bull ETN	-4.50%	50,900	4.56
DBS	PowerShares DB Silver	-4.48%	182,890	189.25
PALL	ETFS Physical Palladium	-3.73%	469,888	834.16
ZROZ	PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury	-3.58%	32,338	35.58
GDXJ	Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners	-3.55%	4,292,186	2,235.34
GWO	ELEMENTS Credit Suisse Global Warming ETN	-3.45%	9,000	3.34

Disclaimer:All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern following the day noted in the headline. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.’

Daily Show: The Big Bank Theory The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Jon Stewart points out two conflicting interviews with Bernanke.

Crude jumps above $90 Reuters | U.S. crude oil futures prices rose sharply on Tuesday, pushing above $90 a barrel for the first time in 26 months.

Gold ends at record on Europe’s woes, dollar fears MarketWatch | Gold futures settled at a record Monday.

Poll: Americans Believe China Has Surpassed USA in Economic Strength In the global race for jobs and economic prosperity, the United States is No. 2. And it is likely to remain there for some time. That’s the glum conclusion of most Americans surveyed in the latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll.

US Treasuries hit by biggest sell-off in two years US Treasuries suffered their biggest two-day sell-off since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, following a torrid month that has seen borrowing costs for western governments soar.

Volatility Chasing Goes Gold: Precious Metals Drop On Year End Profit-Taking Rumor Both gold and silver are having a rough day to say the least. After a forced slide in the gold complex pushed the metal to sub $1,380, fueled in part by recurring rumors of a large macro/commodity fund taking profits ahead of the year end, numerous stops were triggered.

Fed Up: Ron Paul on America’s Rotten Banks RT talks to Congressman Ron Paul about everything from emergency bailouts, to North Korea, via Sarah Palin.

Bernanke: 60 Minutes, 2 Big Lies This past Sunday on the CBS program “60 Minutes”, Americans received a massive dose of mendacity from our Fed Chairman. Mr. Bernanke’s shaky delivery, and even shakier logic may cause faith in America’s economic leadership to evaporate faster than the value of our dollar.

National / World

The Death of Free Will Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt | This is the ultimate war for our children’s minds and souls.

This Backlash Against WikiLeaks Is Bogus And Outrageous — What Happened To Freedom Of The Press? Unless what is being discussed in those meetings is something that can’t withstand public scrutiny (secret cash payoffs, bribes, assassination plots, etc.), our diplomats should have no fear of being “exposed.”

Assange Prosecution: A Brazen Effort to Kill Alternative Media Kurt Nimmo | In order to convert the United States into a third world slave gulag with a high-tech police state overlay, the ruling elite will target and attempt to liquidate alternative media.

Wikileaks: Corrupted Oracle or a Cointelpro Asset of the Establishment? Patrick Henningsen | You can judge a tree by its fruit. In the case of Wikileaks, its low-hanging fruit.

Don’t shoot messenger for revealing uncomfortable truths The Australian | Julian Assange speaks out about motives behind WIKILEAKS document dump.

Critics Of Big Sis/Wal-Mart Spy Campaign Branded Insane Paul Joseph Watson | “Ridiculous” to oppose government encouraging citizens to report on each other for “suspicious activity,” claims founder of stasi-style slogan.

Hackers Strike Back to Support WikiLeaks….Patriot Act for Internet Ahead? As a result of WikiLeaks, the Obama Administration may introduce a new bill that would allow government officials the ability to spy on Americans through the internet. Meanwhile, an army of hackers rally behind WikiLeaks by shutting down MasterCard and PayPal because they stopped all payments to WikiLeaks. Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen says we could see massive government surveillance of our personal computers, phones and surveillance of our internet activities.

Assange Prosecution: A Brazen Effort to Kill Alternative Media Now that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is in custody, we can expect the U.S. government to request his extradition and prosecute the Australian for espionage. “Any such proceedings would set up a test of whether the First Amendment’s protection for a free press extends to a website with a worldwide audience,” notes McClatchy today.

Alex Jones: Assange and the Plan to Censor the Internet Woman claiming rape connected to CIA anti-Castro terrorist guilty of killing 73 people in 1976.

Wikileaks Spokesman: Only Way To Stop Whistleblowers Is To Shut Down The Web A spokesman for Wikileaks has told the media that the website continues to function as normal without it’s founder Julian Assange, and that the only way it could be stopped is for the entire internet to be shut down.

John Lott: More Guns, Less Crime In a talk given on the very day a gunman was apprehended at the University of Austin, American senior research scientist at the University of Maryland and gun rights expert John Lott explains why guns bans only serve to increase gun crime rates, why the pilots should be armed, and how statistics prove that since the DC handgun ban was lifted, there has been a dramatic drop in the murder rate.

Obama Administration Quietly Grants More Health Care Waivers The Obama Administration has quietly granted even more waivers to one provision of the new federal health reform law, doubling the number in just the last three weeks to a new total of 222.

Police: Ex-con acted alone in publicist slaying (AP) [ I don’t buy it! ]

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested in Britain [ I wish I could say I didn’t see this coming; but, truth be told, though nonplused by the choice, I held out hope that there was method to his traveling to Orwellian Britain, hardly a first choice where people therein walk around with thumbs up their a***s; you know, where their brains are. After all, what can you expect from ‘good Germans’ (That lock-step, goose-step, following orders thing. I’m sure you know the so-called ‘royal family’ of Britain are Germans, not Anglos. The neo-nazis are zionist israel, america and u.s. allies. ). Lap-dogs to the pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt war criminal nation u.s., one can hardly expect anything resembling rationality or meaningful rules of law but rather short-term expedience, however unlawful, self-destructive, and destructive. Murder threats to family of Julian Assange WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange says militant supporters of the US military have made death threats against his family in Australia. Alex Jones: Assange and the Plan to Censor the Internet Infowars.com | Woman claiming rape connected to CIA anti-Castro terrorist guilty of killing 73 people in 1976. (Drudgereport: NO BAIL...
Assange 'sabotaged condom' during one night stand...
Refused to wear one during another...
Stockholm police: Both women are victims...
INTERPOL WARRANT FOR NOT WEARING PROTECTION?
ASSANGE UNDER ARREST:
'HE DIDN'T WEAR A CONDOM' ) Julian Assange refused bail over rape allegations WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was today refused bail and remanded in custody until 14 December over claims he committed sex offences in Sweden. Assange Set Up By CIA Operative? Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s arrest over the dubious rape and molestation claims of two Swedish women is likely a political stunt, after it was revealed that one of the women has connections to the CIA and is a militant feminist who published a guide on how to get revenge on men and make them “suffer”. ] WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested by British police on a European warrant issued by Sweden over allegations of sex crimes including rape, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday.

24 Signs That All Of America Is Becoming Just Like Detroit – A Rotting, Post-Industrial, Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland [ This is more true than most care to believe or admit. In the scheme of things, america will be viewed as but a brief, destructive, self-immolating flame in the flashpan of history. ] For years, people have been laughing at the horrific economic decline of Detroit. Well, guess what? The same thing that happened to Detroit is now happening to dozens of other communities across the United States.

Drudgereport: US Treasuries hit by biggest sell-off since LEHMAN...
Prices Plunge for 2nd Day on Deficit Fears...
Rattles investors...
Oil tipped to bubble over $100 barrel...
Food Stamp Rolls Continue to Rise...
SHOCK POLL: Americans Believe China Has Surpassed USA in Economic Strength...
'U.S. fiscal health worse than Europe's'...
Sorkin: Palin TV show is 'snuff movie'... [ Yeah … ‘she’s really all that’ and worse … I have great difficulty getting past the fact that she’s so incredibly dumb … not just ‘nonintellectual’ … butt really dumb! ] ‘… Sorkin, writer of the recent Facebook movie The Social Network, also accused the Fox News contributor of making a "snuff film" after the latest episode of Sarah's Palin's Alaska featured the politician going hunting with her father and shooting a caribou. He described Palin as "deranged", a "witless bully" and a "phony pioneer girl". He also said The Learning Channel, the US cable network, "should be ashamed of itself" for broadcasting her "truly awful reality show"…’
Senate convicts Clinton-appointed judge... [ Come on! One way or another they’re almost all getting bribed; including the initial lifetime appointment as alito, trump-barry, etc.. Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts (see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) End those lifetime licenses to steel. ] In earlier hearings, two attorneys who once worked with Porteous had testified that they gave him thousands of dollars in cash, including about $2,000 stuffed in an envelope in 1999, just before Porteous decided a major civil case in their client's favor.
Assange could face espionage trial in USA...
Palin under cyber attack...
1st Amendment issues...
Assange's 'poison pill' file impossible to stop...
WIKILEAKS: Stop Us? You'll Have to Shut Down Web...
Berkeley 'resolution' honoring leaker...
Scientologists outraged over spoof Christmas play... [ Hubbard was such a total fraud! Scientologists are delusional! ]St. Petersburg, Florida – ‘A controversial holiday musical production is set to open at American Stage Theatre in St. Petersburg. Photos: Pictures of A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant" is a musical play designed for the holiday season, but this play will not focus on Jesus Christ, but instead the story is about L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the church Of Scientology…’
NO BAIL...
Assange 'sabotaged condom' during one night stand...
Refused to wear one during another...
Stockholm police: Both women are victims...
INTERPOL WARRANT FOR NOT WEARING PROTECTION?
ASSANGE UNDER ARREST:
'HE DIDN'T WEAR A CONDOM'
Under arrest, will Assange dump the Doomsday Files?
Assange: Don't shoot messenger for revealing uncomfortable truths...
FLASHBACK: HILLARY COMPLAINS GOVERNMENTS BLOCK FREE FLOW OF INFO ON INTERNET...
WIKILEAKS: LIVE UPDATES...
FCC push to regulate news draws fire...
Lieberman: NYT may have committed crime by printing WIKILEAKS docs...
US to Host World Press Freedom Day in 2011 … [ What a total travesty! The u.s. as host … What a cruel joke! ] ...
OBAMA RACES TO CUT TAXES BEFORE REPUBLICANS: 6.2% Social Security tax would drop to 4.2% for workers for one year... MORE
THE NEW OBAMA!
SURPRISE TAX CUT MOVE [ As with defacto bankrupt america generally, more defacto bankrupt social security system, etc., are distinctions without significant differences. ]
OIL HITS $89...
Pump prices hit 2-year high...
Schwarzenegger Declares Fiscal Emergency, Proposes $9.9 Billion In Cuts...
Top Democrats defect, join unified GOP...
WIKILEAKS' Assange Will Release Encrypted Files If Arrested...
Cables Reveal How US Manipulated Climate Accord...
Cable: China Leaders Ordered Hacking on GOOGLE...
Meddling by Neighbors Adds to Iraq's Woes...
Government Workers Ordered Not to Read Cables...
Gingrich: Leaks Show Admin 'Shallow,' 'Amateurish'...
McConnell: Assange a 'High-Tech Terrorist'...
List of facilities 'vital to US security' leaked...
Mirror Sites Appear by the Hundreds...
Assange Speaks...
Hillary Jokes...
US forced to shake up embassies around world...
THE DOOMSDAY FILES
PAPER: Wave goodbye to Internet freedom...
[ I’m absolutely astounded that the world is not profoundly grateful to Assange et als for providing insight into the machinations and insanity of pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america, et als who wreaked havoc on the world as they pillage, plunder, and destroy (lives, nations, etc.). ]
+39,000 JOBS IN NOVEMBER...
BOEHNER: Dem Leaders Should Stop Wasting Time on Tax Hike Votes...
HALPERIN: Dems 'In Midst of Nervous Breakdown'...
Obama Makes Surprise Trip to Afghanistan...
Flies 7,000 miles -- talks to Karzai for 15 minutes on phone!
Forgets the Coast Guard...
Leaves Biden behind to handle 'disappointing' jobs report...
Reid, funded by casinos, pushes online gambling...
ABCNEWS accused of breaking embargo...
2010 death toll of US troops nears that of 2001-2008 combined...
OBAMA SPEECHWRITER JOKES ABOUT TSA GROPING: Allows 'defrocked priests to give back to society'...
US Deficit-Cutting Plan Falls Short of Needed Votes...
UNEMPLOYMENT UP TO 9.8%
HILLARY: Secretary of State will be 'my last public position'... ... PITCHE$ $IGNED DVD ON HOME $HOPPING NETWORK..
US TO BAILOUT EU [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! After all, in defacto bankrupt america money does grow on trees … derivatively (pun intended) that is … you know … that ever more worthless fiat paper currency … and ultimately, existentially, philosophically, doesn’t paper come from trees … sure it does …so, no problemo since money grows on trees. ]
BOMBSHELL: European banks took big slice of Fed aid...
Hundreds of billions of dollars...
Fed reveals global extent of its backing... ]

Funds went to stalwarts of American industry including GE and Caterpillar and household-name companies such as Verizon, new data show.
GEORGIA: HUNDREDS LINE UP IN COLD FOR HEAT HELP...
Assistance Funds Quickly Depleted...
'Almost like being in soup line during great depression'...
VIDEO...
DELAYING TAX VOTE COULD 'CRASH STOCK MARKET' STARTING 12/15 [ Come on! There’s no way to justify the tax cut to the top 1% including the frauds on wall street … their threats don’t hunt no more … the nation’s defacto bankrupt … see Davis, supra! ]
Chase Bank orders branch to remove Christmas tree...
Cyber attack forces WIKILEAKS to change web address...
Respected media outlets collaborate with organization... [ Said outlets and other disseminators and of course Wikileaks deserve accolades for the advancement of first amendment liberties in the name of an informed global body politick for all.]
UPDATE: Latest developments...
Foreign contractors hired Afghan 'dancing boys'...
Embassy cables portray Karzai as corrupt, erratic...
CIA drew up UN spying wishlist...
Assange speaks...
UPDATE: Latest WIKILEAKS developments...
Foreign contractors hired Afghan 'dancing boys'...
Embassy cables portray Karzai as corrupt, erratic...
CIA drew up UN spying wishlist...
SANTA CLAUSE: FED AID WENT TO COMPANIES, BANKS, OFFSHORE...
SECRETLY BAILED OUT GE -- GE NEWS OUTLETS FAILED TO REVEAL IN FED COVERAGE...
SANTA CLAUSE: FORD, BMW, TOYOTA Took Secret Government Money......
Fed Created Conflicts in Improvising Financial System Rescue...
Tax Breaks for Bailout Recipients Spark Debate...
MORE SECRETS: Fed Withholds Data for $885 Billion in Loans...
RUSSIA TO HOST '18 WORLD CUP FINALS...
Qatar selected '22 host over USA, others...
'AMERICAN PSYCHO' musical in works... [ I recommend the derivative films, American Psycho and American Psycho 2, for insight! ]
National Board of Review: SOCIAL NETWORK named best film... [ National board of what? ‘Inception’ is by far and away the ‘Best Film’ across the board, in all categories, and on the list! ] LIST...

BANK OF AMERICA Becoming 'Bank of Asia' as Revenue Increases 30% ...
RESET: PUTIN CRITICIZES USA OVER WIKILEAKS … [ Putin deserves the greatest deference in matters of global concern in light of his greater rationality; america’s self-serving accusations are merely envy and projection / displacement (in psychoanalytic terms) of america’s pervasively corrupt, criminal, broken system which is a far cry in reality from defacto bankrupt america’s propaganda.]...
REWARD: [ The payoff. Bribe complete! Next bribe scenario … ] CITI to Hire Obama's Ex-Budget Chief Orszag...
FLASHBACK: Rubin and friends ride NY-DC shuttle...
ZUCKERMAN: Watching America's Decline and Fall [the moral authority of the West has dramatically declined in the face of the financial crisis. It has revealed deep fault lines within Western economies that have spread to the global economy. The majority of Western governments are running fiscal deficits of 10 percent or more relative to GDP, but it is increasingly clear that there will be no quick fixes, that big government and fiscal deficits will not bring us back to the status quo ante. Indeed, the tidal wave of red ink has meant that the leverage-led or debt-led growth model is dead. Developed countries will be forced to deal with their debt on every level, from the personal to the corporate to the sovereign. Being able to borrow may have made people feel richer, but having to repay the debt is certainly making them feel poorer, particularly since the unfunded liabilities that many governments face from aging populations will have to be paid for by a shrinking band of workers. (Ecoutez, mes amis!) Demography is destiny. As a result, there is a burgeoning consensus that we are witnessing an inevitable rise of the East and a decline of the West…( Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ) ]...
Interpol issues wanted notice for Julian Assange [ They just can’t take the truth! ] ...
US cuts access to files [ Think about it. Really think about it. Their policies are in the tank, along with the nation and the rest of this world as a consequence. Don’t those so detrimentally affected (everyone) have a right to know? I think in light of the global frauds, contrived perpetual wars though defacto bankruptcy of this and other nations, pervasive corruption and crime, failed policies domestically and geo-politically while serving the very parochial interests of the self-interested few, the answer is an unequivocal, YES! I believe that world history will write Mr. Assange as a hero in the truest sense. He should be given a medal; and, certainly, since mr. b*** s*** wobama undeservingly got a ‘nobel peace prize’ (what he does, not what he says, ie., Afghanistan, etc.), who more than Julian Assange is deserving of that and more? Cover-up / propaganda … thy name is fallen america.]...
WIKILECTURE: 'HILLARY SHOULD RESIGN' ‘…Hillary Clinton, Julian Assange said, "should resign." Speaking over Skype from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, the WikiLeaks founder was replying to a question by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel over the diplomatic-cable dump that Assange's organization loosed on the world this past weekend. Stengel had said the U.S. Secretary of State was looking like "the fall guy" in the ensuing controversy, and had asked whether her firing or resignation was an outcome that Assange wanted. "I don't think it would make much of a difference either way," Assange said. "But she should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up. Yes, she should resign over that."…’
CITY ON EDGE: Cash-Strapped Newark, new jersey Forced To Lay Off 14% Of Police Force... [ From decades old (1978-1985) direct personal experience with newark, n.j., the police are the absolute last cuts that can be afforded to be made. Indeed, while walking through Military Park (a sliver of a “park” - more a pedestrian thoroughfare/cement walks) in newark, new jersey on the way to the bank during lunch hour, I heard the clearly audible screams/cries of what turned out to be an old lady on the ground with blood streaming from her mouth. I ran toward the sound of the cries, the source of which I could not see because there were so many people in and about this thoroughfare so as to block any vision of the source of the cries. When I came to the woman, on the ground, blood streaming from her mouth, I asked what happened, to which she responded she had been hit in the mouth and knocked to the ground, her purse stolen/put inside her shopping bag, and she pointed out the criminal casually now walking across the main street. Nobody stopped to help her, many having passed her by. I slammed the thug to the ground so hard that, in light of all the blood and confusion (limbic system / adrenalin flow) I thought I had been stabbed (the blood was from his elbows hitting the pavement so hard - no one helped / a crowd gathered / an undercover cop happened along). When I testified at the Grand Jury Proceeding I made sure his threat on my life was set forth in prima facie fashion so as to maximize the DA’s position with both felonies ( he went to prison – pled out ). The other case I wrote about here ( This was included on my website in the Psychology forum discussion of ‘bystander effect’ / diffusion of responsibility. ) - Having had occasion to have run down a mugger in newark, n.j. who apparently had followed a girl from the bank on her way to the bursar to pay tuition, though in pretty good shape, I was astounded by how totally exhausting such a pursuit was, how much like rubber my arms were when I traded punches with the perpetrator, and truth be told, if I had a flashlight on my belt, I have little doubt that I would have probably used it to subdue the perp. The girl was not that seriously injured, did get her pocketbook and tuition back, and the criminal went to jail. The other thing about such a pursuit that amazed me was that no one else assisted the girl or me despite being in a position to do so). (Other newark / new jersey and new york, n.y. metro, viz., ie., connecticut, and of course, d.c., d.c. metro, viz., ie., virginia experience … corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz (california), hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken (AP) Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ]
Nation's '2nd Most Dangerous City' (camden, new jersey) To Lay Off Nearly Half Of Police Force...
Chicagoland: Vandals torch Christmas charity van...

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http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

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FCC's Internet plan raises video, access questions (Washington Post) [ Come on! There may be some nations where an ‘honor system’ of sorts as this could possibly work, pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america, where propaganda and cover-up are king most assuredly would not be among them; and the potential for abuse and censorship and denial of access to information so substantial as to be unjustifiable. Moreover, my own direct experience with time warner began with the installer not turning in the cash funds, and further, after that was resolved, a spike in charges contrary to the original deal as represented and continued billing after notice and request to end the service. Unfortunately, such a company as time warner enjoys monopoly status and, also mentioned, att is no exception to bad service (I actually had to go to magicjack for my long line but continue att for the dsl) … AT&T is rated worst cellphone service provider by Consumer Reports [ They should have also added land lines to this ‘distinction’. ] Los Angeles Times The magazine, known for independent testing of consumer products, said AT&T came in last behind top scorer US Cellular. Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile also scored higher than the exclusive service provider of ... ] Analysts say pay-as-you-go Internet access could put the brakes on the burgeoning online video industry, handing a victory to cable and satellite TV providers.

A reminder that the fight goes on (Washington Post) [ As if we needed remindin’. After all, a cursory glance at the real time national debt level says it all: u.s. national debt (real time) $13,825,386,653,160 . http://albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm#todaynonbus . This is not to say that all is lost … beyond the nation that is. For some, it’s downright profitable. Previous: Carlyle Group planning IPO (Washington Post) [ Come on! Mr. Heath makes this sound like an almost public service endeavor to serve the public interest in some vague, nondescript fashion (What of real value do they do? … kind of like the fraudulent wall street high-frequency trading churn-and-earn … Nothing! … Like parasitic termites eating away at the foundation of the nation); poppy’s estate plan is maximized, along with the other principal’s financial interests by cashing out through this ‘public offering / scam’ as for the most part, this era of their ‘jig is up’ . Meet The Carlyle Group - Former World Leaders and Washington ... How will President George W. Bush make a personal fortune from the War on Terror? The old fashioned way. He'll inherit it; Meet the Carlyle Group.
www.hereinreality.com/carlyle.html

How will President George W. Bush personally make million$, if not billion$ from the War on Terror? The easy way. He'll inherit it.

Meet the Carlyle Group

Former World Leaders and Washington Insiders Making Billions in the War on Terrorism

Bush Baker Carlucci Darman Major Ramos

http://www.angelfire.com/indie/pearly/htmls/bush-carlyle.html ] Investment giant says it will likely sell shares.Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates tours eastern Afghanistan, days before the Obama administration is scheduled to complete a major review of its war strategy.

Region leads nation in Oct. 12-month job growth (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! Who could have missed that coming … that bustling national hub of productive activity … and those padded payroll makework jobs of no added value for better unemployment numbers … sounds like a plan (Washington Post and law enforcement excepted). Washington / virginia are second only to the fraudulent wall street, new york / new jersey / connecticut metropolitan area sinkholes for national economic / financial drain. ]The unemployment rate in the Washington region dropped in October to 5.8 percent from 6.3 percent a year ago, according to federal government data.

Tax deal, spending plan up against a hectic finish (Washington Post) [ 1 out of 2 would be great according to the vast national and world majority; specifically, pass the nuclear arms treaty and don’t pass whatever’s necessary to keep the u.s. government running. Please, in the yuletide spirit of peace on earth and good will towards men, women, and children, don’t keep the u.s. government running. ] Congress will try to pass two major items before the end of the year: a $1.1 trillion bill to keep the government running and a nuclear arms treaty

WikiLeaks arrest complicates extradition efforts (Washington Post) [ WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested in Britain [ I wish I could say I didn’t see this coming; but, truth be told, though nonplused by the choice, I held out hope that there was method to his traveling to Orwellian Britain, hardly a first choice where people therein walk around with thumbs up their a***s; you know, where their brains are. After all, what can you expect from ‘good Germans’ (That lock-step, goose-step, following orders thing. I’m sure you know the so-called ‘royal family’ of Britain are Germans, not Anglos. The neo-nazis are zionist israel, america and u.s. allies. ). Lap-dogs to the pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt war criminal nation u.s., one can hardly expect anything resembling rationality or meaningful rules of law but rather short-term expedience, however unlawful, self-destructive, and destructive. Murder threats to family of Julian Assange WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange says militant supporters of the US military have made death threats against his family in Australia. Alex Jones: Assange and the Plan to Censor the Internet Infowars.com | Woman claiming rape connected to CIA anti-Castro terrorist guilty of killing 73 people in 1976. (Drudgereport: NO BAIL...
Assange 'sabotaged condom' during one night stand...
Refused to wear one during another...
Stockholm police: Both women are victims...
INTERPOL WARRANT FOR NOT WEARING PROTECTION?
ASSANGE UNDER ARREST:
'HE DIDN'T WEAR A CONDOM' ) Julian Assange refused bail over rape allegations WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was today refused bail and remanded in custody until 14 December over claims he committed sex offences in Sweden. Assange Set Up By CIA Operative? Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s arrest over the dubious rape and molestation claims of two Swedish women is likely a political stunt, after it was revealed that one of the women has connections to the CIA and is a militant feminist who published a guide on how to get revenge on men and make them “suffer”. ] WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested by British police on a European warrant issued by Sweden over allegations of sex crimes including rape, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday. ]

State of the Market in Early December 2010 Montgomery ‘The "Helicopter Economics Investing Guide" is meant to help educate people on how to make profitable investing choices in the current economic environment. We have coined this term to describe the current monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. government, which involve unprecedented money printing. This is the official blog of the New York Investing meetup:There is a lot of controversy currently on whether the markets are bullish or bearish as we enter December. Most investors are on the bullish side, yet there are voices of caution saying the market has gotten too frothy. There is substantial evidence that the market is indeed over done on the upside. Yet, there is a case to be made that it can get even more overpriced.The first thing investors should note is that the U.S. stock market has entered a period of volatility, with the Dow Jones Industrials commonly going up or down more than 100 points in a day. Such wild swings are not healthy for a market. They indicate indecision on the part of traders. The market, like everything else, will eventually break if it is bent too much.Certainly investors are generally very bullish, probably much too bullish at this point. At the end of November, Investors Intelligence had the bulls at over 55% and the bears at around 21%. These are classical points where the market frequently turns. When too many people become bullish, there is eventually no one else to buy and too many bears mean there is no one else to sell. A recent global survey supports this view with large money managers having only 3% of their funds in cash – the lowest level ever recorded. The large funds, who move the markets with their actions, are basically tapped out and have no more money to invest. So where is the money coming from for the rally we saw the first three trading days of December?Quite simply, it’s coming from the Federal Reserve. This doesn’t mean the Fed is buying stocks. It means the Fed is pumping money (newly printed money) into the financial system and this money is finding its way into the markets. For its current quantitative easing program the Fed bought $8.17 billion in treasuries on December 1st, $8.31 billion on December 2nd and $6.81 billion on December 3rd. Not only did this drive U.S. stocks up, but gold broke above $1400 an ounce and oil hit $90 a barrel – both inflation indicators. The rising price of oil is particularly significant since oil tends to hit seasonal lows in December and February and yet it is going up now instead of down. Higher oil prices percolate through the economy and lead to higher prices for a large number of items. They also increase the U.S. trade deficit, which means the government has to borrow or print even more money in order to fund it.Despite the obvious inflationary implications of quantitative easing, the Fed consistently denies it will lead to inflation even though excess money printing has always led to inflation in the past. The original form of money printing was cutting the amount of gold or silver in coins. It only took a short time before coinage was invented in 600 to 700 B.C.E. before one of the Greek city states caught on to this idea – the government had over borrowed and wanted to pay back the money it owed with cheaper currency (this should sound familiar to Americans in 2010). Paper money was invented by the Chinese before 1000 A.D., but they eventually had to stop using it because they made so much of it that it led to huge inflation. The lessons of what happens when too much money it created go way back – yet governments continue to it over and over again and with the same predictable outcome. Yet, even though I have researched this extensively, I have not found any government that ever admitted its role in creating inflation. It’s always someone else or something else that is responsible.Most market observers are bullish on the market because expansionary Fed policies should make stocks go up. We have not only had a zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) since December 2008, but the Fed is on its second round of money printing through quantitative easing. Under ordinary circumstances, the stock market should be rising. However, circumstances have hardly been ordinary since the Credit Crisis began.We only have to look at what happened to the Japanese stock market to predict the long-term impact of current Fed policies. The Japanese have had close to zero interest rates for most of the 2000s. They also started engaging in quantitative easing. This didn’t keep the Nikkei, which was close to 40,000 at its height at the beginning of 1990, from falling below 8000 in 2003 and in 2008/2009. The Japanese made other attempts to push their stock market up as well – and these worked temporarily. Ultimately economic reality prevailed however. In the long run this approach is not likely to work any better for Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.The current quantitative easing program of the Fed is not working as planned either. Interest rates were supposed to go down and so was the trade-weighted U.S. dollar. Neither has happened. Interest rates went up – and this is a negative for the market – and the dollar also went up instead of going down. Interest rates are possibly going up because foreigners are selling some of their large holdings of U.S. treasuries (the exporting countries are extremely angry at Bernanke’s policies). The dollar is going up because of the banking crisis in Ireland. The 85 billion euro bailout there has not calmed markets because everyone realizes that there are major problems remaining in Portugal and Spain. Both countries deny they need a bailout, but so did Ireland right up to the last minute.The market is also rising on economic data that is being reported as "good." This is mostly wishful thinking on the part of the mass media and the government press releases that they publish without much examination or by putting in context. Auto sales and consumer confidence have been two oft cited pieces of evidence of an improving economy.Auto sales which are supposedly taking place at a rate of 12.2 million a year have frequently been brought up as evidence of a recovering economy. At the bottom of the Credit Crisis, when the economy literally stopped dead in it tracks, auto sales were approximately 10 million a year and at the top they were 17 million a year. So, they are indeed doing better than they did when the economy was completely frozen (whether this can be referred to as a recovery is quite another matter). The improvement in auto sales taking place now though is nothing compared to the increases in the 1930s during the Great Depression, which lasted for many years after the first big increases in auto sales were reported.Consumer confidence rising to the 54 level also got a lot of hype. The number needs to be over 90 to indicate an economy that is doing just OK. The number during a boom would be well over 100. The slight chances in this figure are nothing but statistical noise – meaningless changes caused by random movements. What caused the slight increase were consumers becoming more confident about the future state of the economy. This is not surprising since they keep reading in the papers and hearing on TV that the economy is getting better, even though they don’t see it in the everyday lives. The "present conditions" number is still at an incredibly low 24. It has been stuck around this level for a quite a long time.The November employment figures last Friday also threw some cold water on the economic recovery scenario. The government admitted to unemployment rising to a rate of 9.8%. The underemployment rate, which includes some discouraged workers and people forced to work part time was 17.0%. There has been little change in these figures during 2010. Investors should remember that the stimulus bill from early 2009 was supposed to prevent unemployment from rising above 8.0%. The Fed’s first round of quantitative easing was also supposed to fix the economy. Even though both failed, Washington is one of the few places where lack of success isn’t a reason for not repeating an action.The failure of Washington’s policies can be seen by how little the GDP improved despite the massive stimulus that has been applied. In fiscal year 2010 (ending September 30th), the U.S. ran a budget deficit of 1,290 billion dollars (or $1.29 trillion). During the same time period, the GDP increased by 635.5 billion dollars or slightly less than half of the budget deficit. So for every two dollars being run in deficits, the U.S. is getting less than a dollar of economic growth (and this is with a zero interest rates on Fed funds, the return would diminish as interest rates got higher). The borrowed money for the deficit still has to be paid back or reduced by creating inflation. There is no way the U.S. will be able to pay back its national debt (the accumulation of all the annual deficits) and the higher the total becomes the greater the inflation that will eventually be necessary to deal with it.At the moment, the U.S. stock market looks like it could be topping. Along with the volatility, the technical indicators, such as the RSI, MACD and DMI are fairly negative. The Dow industrial Average broke below its 50-day moving average in late November, but rose above it on December 1st. The Dow is leading the market down and it should be watched for the future direction of the market. The other major indices – the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the small cap Russell 2000 - have still managed to stay above their simple 50-day moving averages. Until all the indices have fallen below their 50-day moving averages, the stock market should still be considered to be in an uptrend.While there will always be some stocks that go up no matter how bad the market, at the moment, it is a generally a good idea to avoid buying any more stocks or commodity ETFs. The upside profit potential is probably limited. If you have large profits, you should consider taking some money off the table. The classic trading rule of thumb is that if you have a 100% profit in something, you should sell half of your position. It also a good idea to keep reasonable stops (an automatic sell at a price you have selected before hand). What is a reasonable stop depends on how much profit you are willing to potentially give up.If you have a large portfolio and wish to hedge it or you just want to take a short position on the market, you can do so by buying the VXX, the ETF for the VIX (the volatility index). The VXX is not perfect because it unfortunately doesn’t precisely track the VIX. The big advantage of the VIX is that when it gets very low, there is limited downside risk of loss (shorting a stock can have an infinite risk of loss). In the current environment, a VIX around 18 or below seems to be a good buy. It is possible that the VIX still has to fill a gap in the 16s to 17s. If this happens - and it may not – this should be considered a very good buy point. Like all investment positions, it’s generally not a good idea to buy 100% of the position you ultimately want all at once. Buying on days when the market is up a lot is the best approach. Investors should be cautious at this point. The bullishness seems overdone and things always look best at a top. The market could indeed go higher, but a lot of risk is being taken on to make whatever extra money can be made. If you are a day trader or very short-term trader, this can be a profitable time for you. For position traders, with a trade horizon of several months or more, this is not the best of times for additional long positions.’

After a Good Start, Stocks Sputter Late, Barely Break Even Midnight Trader 4:15 PM, Dec 7, 2010 --

* NYSE down 1.03 (-0.01%) to 7,739.66

* DJIA down 3.03 (-0.03%) to 11,359

* S&P 500 up 0.63 (+0.1%) to 1,224

* Nasdaq up 3.57 (+0.1%) to 2,598

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

* Hang Seng up 0.82%

* Nikkei down 0.26%

* FTSE up 0.78%

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) CPST inks new order

(+) STX started at Buy at Citi.

(+) SGMO presents positive clinical data.

(+) DG upgraded.

(+) IPCI gets ANDA for generic Focalin XR 30 mg.

(+) GOOG upgraded.

(+) STEM gets approval to conduct first stem cell trial in spinal cord injury.

(+) UL upgraded.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) BMY reports with Abbott study data on mutliple myeloma treatment.

(-) AZO beats Q1 estimates.

(-) SMG sells unit to Israel Chemicals for $270 mln.

(-) MMM updates 2010, 2011 guidance in range that straddles Street view.

(-) GFI upgraded.

(-) ESLR announces recapitalization plan.

(-) TLB issues mixed results.

(-) XING reports sales drop.

MARKET DIRECTION

Stock averages closed little changed, well off the earlier highs that pushed the broad S&P 500 to two-year highs. A firmer dollar late in the day sapped some of the stock market's strength.

Markets generally welcomed a deal to extend U.S. tax breaks and hope emerged for progress in resolving European debt issues. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.12%, its highest level since July 13. Oil prices jumped above $90 a barrel for the first time in more than two years. Gold slipped after a six-session win streak.

On Monday evening, President Barack Obama detailed a tentative deal with congressional Republicans to extend tax cuts up and down the brackets for the next two years and renew unemployment benefits for millions of people.

Wall Street generally welcomed a White House-GOP compromise to extend tax breaks, while hopes for Ireland budget austerity measures lifted global investor sentiment.

Financials were broadly higher on Ireland's news. Citigroup (C) rose 4% after the government said late Monday it reached a deal to sell its remaining stake in the bank for a $12 billion profit.

Deal news was also supportive. Nicor jumped after the natural gas distributor said it had agreed to be acquired by AGL Resources for about $2.38 billion in cash and stock.

Also, Aetna Inc. (AET) shares were higher following news the health insurer made a $500-million bid to acquire Medicity, a health information exchange technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Pfizer (PFE) shares were higher on a report that CEO Jeffery Kindler was pushed out after he refused to name a head of operations as a part of an accord by senior managers in September, Bloomberg reports. Kindler reportedly quit hours before a special board meeting to discuss his future.

Salesforce.com (CRM) unveiled its new Database.com service today in an effort to diversify its lineup of business software. The move also puts the company in a $21 billion database program market dominated by Oracle (ORCL), Reuters reported. Salesforce.com's traditional business is software that helps companies manage their sales and marketing activities.

Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX) shares were near flat in the regular session as the company told a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel that its Contrave weight-loss drug can help patients lose weight safely, according to a Reuters report on the matter. The FDA has rejected two diet drugs this year and will likely have hard questions on the pill's effect on blood pressure, pulse rates and other matters.

Shares of Barnes & Noble (BKS) were up after a Wall Street Journal report said the bookstore chain likely won't be sold for less than $20 a share. The report cited people familiar with the matter. Eight to 10 private-equity firms are deciding whether to submit second-round bids.

Meanwhile, The New York Times (NYT) was up after it says it expects Q4 print advertising revenue to improve sequentially, helping 2010 earnings top last year's. Print-advertising revenue in Q4 will decline by about 4% compared with the year-earlier quarter, the company said.

Google Inc. (GOOG) gained after the online search engine company reportedly started a new translation service aimed at businesses that sell their products internationally. Google Ads for Global Advertisers was designed to help companies find customers in international markets, Google said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg News. The program will be available in 43 languages. Separately, BMO Capital initiated coverage on the stock with an "outperform" rating and a $700 target.

Wells Fargo Corp (WFC) was up on reports the bank intends to soon increase its dividend and start share buybacks.

Shares of 3M (MMM) fell after the company issued guidance that disappointed the Street. The company anticipates sales of $29 billion to $30.5 billion, 3M also expects that 2011 earnings will be between $5.90 and $6.10 per share, which includes a $0.27 per share year-on-year increase in pension expense. Excluding the 2011 pension expense increase, 2011 earnings are expected to be in the range of $6.17 to $6.37 per share, an increase of 10 to 14 percent versus 2010 estimated GAAP earnings levels. The mean analyst estimate in the Thomson Reuters survey is for $6.20 per share on $29.1 billion in sales.

Video: US Will Need Major Tax Increases, Not Cuts Last Friday at Minyanville's Festivus event, Yahoo's Tech Ticker set up shop and sat down with David Stockman. The two discussed the President's Deficit Commission Panel's failure to get the 14 votes necessary to send the recommendations to Congress. Stockman doesn't believe the discussions in the government have made any progress, calling it more of a "sideshow." But the real story, he says, is "not what they failed to do in the long term...," it's what happens next week and the week after as Congress negotiates with the White House. David says, "We're going to extend all the Bush tax cuts whether we can afford it or not... We need major tax increases and we're going to have them year after year."…’

Crude jumps above $90 Reuters | U.S. crude oil futures prices rose sharply on Tuesday, pushing above $90 a barrel for the first time in 26 months.

Gold ends at record on Europe’s woes, dollar fears MarketWatch | Gold futures settled at a record Monday.

‘Scariest jobs chart ever’ shows post-recession unemployment is at its worst since World War Two Mail Online | Some commentators have described the comparison as ‘the scariest jobs chart ever’, pointing to the fact that only the 2001 recession took longer to bring employment back to pre-crisis levels.

Euro at risk of collapse, says Treasury watchdog as economic crisis sweeps Continent Daily Mail | The Euro is at risk of collapse as economic crisis sweeps the continent, Britain’s independent Treasury watchdog warned last night.

Some European Countries Are Bankrupt: Jim Rogers Some countries in Western Europe are bankrupt or are having serious liquidity problems and they should be allowed to restructure their debt, famous investor Jim Rogers told CNBC Tuesday.

Euro at risk of collapse, says Treasury watchdog as economic crisis sweeps Continent The Euro is at risk of collapse as economic crisis sweeps the continent, Britain’s independent Treasury watchdog warned last night.

How Effective Would a Payroll Tax Holiday Be In Spurring Employment and Stimulating the Economy? Obama’s tax deal with Republicans extends the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy for another 2 years.

Gold bullion extends to fresh record at $1429.60 Gold futures continue to post record highs today, as they extend a 6-day bullish run which has already added $50 a troy ounce over that period.

Jobless Recovery?: 25 Unemployment Statistics That Are Almost Too Depressing To Read ‘… Unemployment is up again! That’s right – even though Wall Street is swimming in cash and the Obama administration is declaring that “the recession is over”, the U.S. unemployment rate has gone even higher. So are you enjoying the jobless recovery? Economic Collapse Blog Dec 4, 2010 ‘Guess what?  Unemployment is up again!  That’s right – even though Wall Street is swimming in cash and the Obama administration is declaring that “the recession is over”, the U.S. unemployment rate has gone even higher ... Times are really, really tough and unfortunately the long-term outlook is very bleak.  We should have compassion on those who are out of work right now, because soon many of us may join them.

The following are 25 unemployment statistics that are almost too depressing to read….

#1 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. unemployment rate for November was 9.8 percent.  This was up from 9.6 percent in October, and it continues a trend of depressingly high unemployment rates.  The official unemployment number has been at 9.5 percent or higher for well over a year at this point.

#2 In November 2006, the “official” U.S. unemployment rate was just 4.5 percent.

#3 Most economists had been expecting the U.S. economy to add about 150,000 jobs in November.  Instead, it only added 39,000.

#4 In the United States today, there are over 15 million people who are “officially” considered to be unemployed for statistical purposes.  But everyone knows that the “real” number is even much larger than that.

#5 As 2007 began, there were just over 1 million Americans that had been unemployed for half a year or longer.  Today, there are over 6 million Americans that have been unemployed for half a year or longer.

#6 The number of “persons not in the labor force” in the United States recently set another new all-time record.

#7 It now takes the average unemployed American over 33 weeks to find a job.

#8 When you throw in “discouraged workers” and “underemployed workers”, the “real” unemployment rate in the state of California is actually about 22 percent.

#9 In America today there are not nearly enough jobs for everyone.  In fact, there are now approximately 5 unemployed Americans for every single job opening.

#10 According to The New York Times, Americans that have been unemployed for five weeks or less are three times more likely to find a new job in the coming month than Americans that have been unemployed for over a year.

#11 The U.S. economy would need to create 235,120 new jobs a month to get the unemployment rate down to pre-recession levels by 2016.  Does anyone think that there is even a prayer that is going to happen?

#12 There are 9 million Americans that are working part-time for “economic reasons”.  In other words, those Americans would gladly take full-time jobs if they could get them, but all they have been able to find is part-time work.

#13 In 2009, total wages, median wages, and average wages all declined in the United States.

#14 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing.  The last time that less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.

#15 The United States has lost at least 7.5 million jobs since the recession began.

#16 Today, only about 40 percent of Ford Motor Company’s 178,000 workers are employed in North America, and a big percentage of those jobs are in Canada and Mexico.

#17 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output.  In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.

#18 Earlier this year, one poll found that 28% of all American households had at least one member that was looking for a full-time job.

#19 In the United States today, over 18,000 parking lot attendants have college degrees.

#20 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.

#21 As the employment situation continues to stagnate, millions of American families have decided to cut back on things such as insurance coverage.  For example, the percentage of American households that have life insurance coverage is at its lowest level in 50 years.

#22 Unless Congress acts, and there is no indication that is going to happen, approximately 2 million Americans will stop receiving unemployment checks over the next couple of months.

#23 A poll that was released by the Pew Research Center back in June discovered that an astounding 55 percent of the U.S. labor force has experienced either unemployment, a pay decrease, a reduction in hours or an involuntary move to part-time work since the economic downturn began.

#24 According to Richard McCormack, the United States has lost over 42,000 factories (and counting) since 2001.

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

But this is what we get for creating the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world.  For decades we have been digging a deeper hole for ourselves by going into increasingly larger amounts of debt.  In America today, our entire economy is based on debt.  Even our money is debt.  We were fools if we ever thought this could go on forever. Just think about it.  Have you ever gone out and run up a bunch of debt?  It can be a lot of fun sitting behind the wheel of a new car, running your credit cards up to the limit and buying a beautiful big house that you cannot afford. But in the end what happens? It always catches up with you. Well, our collective debt is starting to catch up with us.  There is a sea of red ink on every level of American society.  It is only a matter of time before it destroys our economy. IF YOU THINK THAT THINGS ARE BAD NOW, JUST WAIT.  THINGS ARE GOING TO GET A WHOLE LOT WORSE.  A HORRIFIC ECONOMIC COLLAPSE IS COMING, AND IT IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY PAINFUL.’

Howard Davidowitz on the Economy: "Here Are the Numbers ... WE'RE BROKE!" The U.S. economy "is a complete disaster," Howard Davidowitz declared here in July, the most recent in a string of dire predictions from Tech Ticker's most entertaining guest.On the eve of Thanksgiving, I asked Davidowitz if he had any regrets, or was ready to throw in the towel given recent signs of economic revival. Are you kidding me? "Here are the numbers...we're broke," Davidowitz declares, noting the U.S. government goes $5 billion deeper into debt every day and is facing $1 trillion-plus annual deficits for the next decade. "In other words, we're bankrupt."As with the economy, Davidowitz is unwaveringly consistent in his views on President Obama, calling him "deranged, dysfunctional and discredited."Results of the midterm election show "the people of this country think we are in a catastrophe," he says. "I'm with them."Check the accompanying video for more of Howard's unfettered opinions and stay tuned for additional clips from this interview. And...Happy Thanksgiving! Aaron Task is the host of Tech Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at [email protected]

Timid Tuesday: Is it Safe? Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.

THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘

17 Things Worrying Investors Lloyd's Wall of Worry

Worry Count: 17


CHINA: 1,330,044,605 people can’t be wrong.

The PIIGS: Fasten your seatbelts. It’s gonna be a long, bumpy, expensive, weird, (insert your own adjective here) freak show of a ride.

CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Not yet as dire as “The PIIGS”. Might I suggest the classier moniker of “The Prosciuttos” for the American basket-case states?

QE II: Gobble?

U.S. ECONOMY: The “Punky Brewster” of the global economic landscape.

UNEMPLOYMENT: Only thing worse than losing your job, losing your unemployment check. At least there’s the holiday season to cheer everyone up (read: heavy sarcasm).

TAXES: Praying to the Financial Market Gods that we don’t have another TARP-like vote fiasco.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PART II: Still two years before the Pres. election and the peanut gallery is already pleading for a Hail Mary Pass to get them back in the game.

HFT: Instead of beating up these liquidity supplying traders, let’s honor them with their very own stock exchange. But wait -- with no retail saps to pick-off they will never get that Day 1 opening bell tick. Perfect.

XMAS 2010: As my professor friend Nick says, “Nowadays Americans are dining off of two menus – The Million Dollar and the $0.99 Cent.” And both are pissed about it.

CURRENCIES: Poor Mr. Greenback. Does someone need a hug?

HOUSING CRISIS: Price Stabilization – Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more….

INFLATION/DEFLATION: Fed Chief Ben B. comes out swinging from his heels in defense of inflation promotion. Don’t punch yourself out as this one is likely to go the distance.

COMMODITIES: Corrected but still sky high; fortunately these prices are only affecting core, basic, life-sustaining necessities and sparing our electronic gadgets and plus-sized SUVs. Whew!

INSIDER TRADING: Another black eye for Hedge Funds. I estimate that makes black eye number 6,597.

INTEREST RATES: South Korea and China slowly turning up the dial to “11”. On the other hand the U.S. has removed the dial altogether. This never ends well….

NORTH KOREA: Here we go again.

Jobless rate jumps to 9.8% as hiring slows (Washington Post) [ The reality is not a mystery! The nation’s been thrown under the bus for the greater good (wealth) of the very few (frauds on wall street, etc.); wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION: Come on! This is gettin’ even more downright ridiculous (if that’s even possible)! Pending home foreclosure / distress sales up, oil prices (and oil stocks) up, debased dollar down, plus a little familiar ‘better than expected’ thrown in along with prospects of a ‘no-recession bernanke’ market-frothing bull session on 60 minutes and, voila, suckers’ rally into the close to keep the suckers suckered! What’s good for the frauds on wall street is bad for just about everyone else which includes the vast majority of people and businesses, domestically and globally, as current dollar manipulation / debasement ultimately results in higher costs and loss of purchasing power (ie., oil, etc.). Clearly, this is one of those fraudulent wealth transfers to the frauds on wall street et als which will ultimately be paid for by those who least are in a position to afford it, courtesy of the ever more worthless Weimar dollar, etc., inflating earnings, eps, lowering p/e multiples, etc., see infra. This is an especially great time to sell / take profits while you can since there's much worse to come! Previous: Rosy numbers on consumer sentiment, unemployment (far better than private forecasts) from the government prior to the holiday so-called ‘shop till you drop’? How can anyone believe anything they say? Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz adds that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! And, with insiders and wall street frauds selling into the bubble as preceded last crash, this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally on light volume, full moon, and government complicity (false data / reports) to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam/fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

National / World

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested in Britain [ I wish I could say I didn’t see this coming; but, truth be told, though nonplused by the choice, I held out hope that there was method to his traveling to Orwellian Britain, hardly a first choice where people therein walk around with thumbs up their a***s; you know, where their brains are. After all, what can you expect from ‘good Germans’ (That lock-step, goose-step, following orders thing. I’m sure you know the so-called ‘royal family’ of Britain are Germans, not Anglos. The neo-nazis are zionist israel, america and u.s. allies. ). Lap-dogs to the pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt war criminal nation u.s., one can hardly expect anything resembling rationality or meaningful rules of law but rather short-term expedience, however unlawful, self-destructive, and destructive. Murder threats to family of Julian Assange WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange says militant supporters of the US military have made death threats against his family in Australia. Alex Jones: Assange and the Plan to Censor the Internet Infowars.com | Woman claiming rape connected to CIA anti-Castro terrorist guilty of killing 73 people in 1976. (Drudgereport: NO BAIL...
Assange 'sabotaged condom' during one night stand...
Refused to wear one during another...
Stockholm police: Both women are victims...
INTERPOL WARRANT FOR NOT WEARING PROTECTION?
ASSANGE UNDER ARREST:
'HE DIDN'T WEAR A CONDOM' ) Julian Assange refused bail over rape allegations WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was today refused bail and remanded in custody until 14 December over claims he committed sex offences in Sweden. Assange Set Up By CIA Operative? Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s arrest over the dubious rape and molestation claims of two Swedish women is likely a political stunt, after it was revealed that one of the women has connections to the CIA and is a militant feminist who published a guide on how to get revenge on men and make them “suffer”. ] WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested by British police on a European warrant issued by Sweden over allegations of sex crimes including rape, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday.

FCC Push to Sovietize Broadcast Media in America Last week FCC Commissioner Michael Copps suggested broadcasters be subject to a new “public values test” every four years. Copps said that the test would make a broadcaster’s license renewal contingent upon evidence that they meet a prospective set of federal criteria.

Just Released: Julian Assange Op-Ed In The Australian Don’t shoot messenger for revealing uncomfortable truths.

24 Signs That All Of America Is Becoming Just Like Detroit – A Rotting, Post-Industrial, Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland [ This is more true than most care to believe or admit. In the scheme of things, america will be viewed as but a brief, destructive, self-immolating flame. ] For years, people have been laughing at the horrific economic decline of Detroit. Well, guess what? The same thing that happened to Detroit is now happening to dozens of other communities across the United States.

Defend Julian Assange and WikiLeaks The release of secret U.S. diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks last week has caused the further unraveling of certain psychopathic public officials within Washington who most represent and defend the barbaric, evil, and criminal United States government.

Actual Wiki Cables Belie NYT’s Version of Saudi / Gulf States’ Stance on Iran The dominant theme that emerged in U.S. media coverage of the first round of Wikileaks diplomatic cables last week was that Arab regimes in the Gulf – led by Saudi Arabia – shared Israel’s view that Iran’s nuclear program had to be stopped by military force, if necessary.

Rage Against Cash Machine: Bank Run Day take-away to trash financial terror? French bankers have a nervous day ahead. They’re waiting to see whether a campaign calling on depositors to withdraw all their money will really catch on. It’s been organized by a former French football star against what he calls the ‘corrupt and criminal’ financial system.

US military threatens soldiers not to read Wikileaks The US military in Iraq is warning soldiers not to access the documents released by WikiLeaks, informing them it could result in their computers being “sanitized.”

Cops Violate Private Property, Leave Behind Propaganda Chris Jewell | Canada’s Merry Christmas police state.

M.I.A. creates controversy pulling skeletons out of CIA ‘closet’ Infowars.com | The new album Maya by controversial recording artist M.I.A. highlights connections between Google and C.I.A. run organizations like Keyhole Corporation.

Alex Jones Rant: DHS & TSA Invading America TheAlexJonesChannel | Alex Jones rails against the 1984-style “Telescreens” that Homeland Security plans to unroll in over 800 Wal-

Big Sis Invasion of Walmart Start of Obama’s Civilian Security Force Paul Joseph Watson | 1984-style Homeland Security telescreens in Wal-Mart stores represent pathetic new low in America’s collapse into a dictatorial banana republic.

TSA Agents Complain Over Body Scanner Radiation Exposure TSA workers are complaining about the amounts of radiation they are being exposed to on a daily basis in the wake of the mass introduction of body scanners to airports around the country.

Savage Slams “Lunatic” Big Sis For Wal-Mart Invasion Popular talk show host Michael Savage reacted with fury to yesterday’s announcement by Homeland Security that Big Sis would be encouraging Americans to spy on each other at Wal-Mart stores, slamming Janet Napolitano as a lunatic who belongs in an asylum and warning that the program was about identifying ‘blonde haired, blue eyed’ Americans as domestic terrorists.

Americans Outraged As Big Sis Launches DHS Invasion Of Society Americans have reacted with outrage to Big Sis Janet Napolitano’s announcement that Homeland Security messages encouraging shoppers to spy on each other will play at Wal-Mart checkouts, but the announcement is part of a wider takeover of America that will see the DHS invade virtually every aspect of public life in the United States as the country sinks into a decrepit banana republic.

WikiLeaks won’t release key to ‘insurance’ file, despite Assange arrest The website Wikileaks will continue publishing leaked US embassy cables but won’t release the encryption key for its 200,000 cable “insurance file” despite the arrest of its founder, Julian Assange.

Carlyle Group planning IPO (Washington Post) [ Come on! Mr. Heath makes this sound like an almost public service endeavor to serve the public interest in some vague, nondescript fashion (What of real value do they do? … kind of like the fraudulent wall street high-frequency trading churn-and-earn … Nothing! … Like parasitic termites eating away at the foundation of the nation) . My view: poppy’s estate plan is maximized, along with the other principal’s financial interests, directly and / or indirectly, by cashing out through this ‘public offering / scam’ as for the most part, this era of their ‘jig is up’ . Meet The Carlyle Group - Former World Leaders and Washington ... How will President George W. Bush make a personal fortune from the War on Terror? The old fashioned way. He'll inherit it; Meet the Carlyle Group.
www.hereinreality.com/carlyle.html

How will President George W. Bush personally make million$, if not billion$ from the War on Terror? The easy way. He'll inherit it.

Meet the Carlyle Group

Former World Leaders and Washington Insiders Making Billions in the War on Terrorism

Bush Baker Carlucci Darman Major Ramos
US President

1988-1992

Former Director of the CIA Secretary of State

Bush Administration Secretary of Defense

Reagan Administration White House Budget Advisor

Bush / Clinton Administrations Former Prime Minister of UK

Former President of the Phillipines

Carlyle Senior Advisor Carlyle Senior Counselor Carlyle Chairman/CEO Carlyle Managing Director Carlyle Europe Chairman Carlyle Asia Advisory Board

http://www.angelfire.com/indie/pearly/htmls/bush-carlyle.html ] Investment giant says it will likely sell shares, which would require the very private firm to be transparent.

Pakistani anti-Taliban militias offer lessons for U.S. in Afghanistan (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! The new pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt american talking point … the new american-induced inbred chaos, like ‘napalm in the morning in Vietnam’, smells like … victory… riiiiight! … sounds a new new new new new plan! ]

Feds tout anti-fraud successes (Washington Post) [ Come on! $10.4 billion? That’s not even a year’s interest on the trillions that are still out there now marked to anything; the products of their last and continuing fraud, even as I believe they’re swapping out hard (albeit fiat) currency for the worthless paper / securities to be paid for by … the taxpayers … again … and again … and again. What a collaborative scam … pac money for prosecution abatement … in the real world they’re called bribes, etc.. Then there’s also wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION. WAKE UP! ] The charges are a result of "Operation Broken Trust," a 3 1/2-month effort to stop investment fraud that has caused $10.4 billion in investor losses.

Citigroup stake sold by U.S. (Washington Post) [ Yeah! Talk about the ultimate inside(r) trade … Then again it would look even worse for the gov’t to be obliged to bring a shareholder’s derivative suit on behalf of the taxpayers. ]Treasury says it's reached an agreement to sell its remaining 2.4 billion shares in the company for a deal that would net the government proceeds of $10.5B.

White House, GOP reach deal to extend tax cuts (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! Drudgereport: OBAMA RACES TO CUT TAXES BEFORE REPUBLICANS: 6.2% Social Security tax would drop to 4.2% for workers for one year... MORE
THE NEW WOBAMA!
SURPRISE TAX CUT MOVE As with defacto bankrupt america generally, more defacto bankrupt social security system, etc., are distinctions without significant differences. ] ]President Obama and congressional Republicans have agreed to a tentative deal that represents a concession to political reality: Democrats don't have the votes in Congress to extend only the expiring income tax breaks that benefit the middle class.

The Recent Correction Is Not Deep Enough Headley ‘A little good economic news (consumer confidence, challenger job cuts) early in the week sent stocks tumbling last Monday and Tuesday. Then a little bad news later last week (higher unemployment, factory orders) sent stocks soaring. Go figure. All told, it was the best (i.e. most gainful) week we've seen in the last four. Yet....As exciting as the last three trading days of last week must have been for the bulls, the wild rally carried the market back into an uncomfortably overbought condition again. That's not to say stocks can't keep rallying. In fact, the market was pretty much overbought throughout the September/November rally. Just know that without a healthy correction since the early November peak we've not seen a capitulation strong enough to really 'reload' the market and spur another big rally; from that peak to the mid-November low was only a 5.1% correction.We'll look at that idea below, after working through some of the key economic data.
Economic Outlook
There was plenty of good news about the economy last week. The Case-Shiller Index, for instance, confirmed that home prices inched higher again, consumer confidence swelled, construction spending was up, and more jobs were created than lost.Before popping the cork on the champagne bottle though, digest the fact that the unemployment rate moved up (by more than a little), factory orders were down, and mortgage applications plummeted.There was more going on than that though; the entire report card is below. As for grading the economy based on the sum of last week's data, we'd have to give it another C. In some ways that's good, and in some bad. It's good in the sense of "could be worse, while the 'bad' is that it's not a conclusive snapshot, which allows investors to interpret and reinterpret the data on a whim. And clearly, that's what happened last week.
Economic Calendar
[chart]
The coming week will be much less eventful, though important all the same. The pros are looking for another contraction in consumer credit levels (-$2.3B), which crimps the consumer spending that's needed to spur the recovery.Of course we'll hear about new and ingoing unemployment clams on Thursday - both should be flat. On Friday we'll get the initial Michigan Sentiment Index level for December, which at this point is expected to move higher, to 72.5.
S&P 500
The good news is, the S&P 500 jumped 35.31 points (+2.97%) last week to close out at 1224.71. The bad news is - and don't assume the worst just yet - there's a great deal of overbought pressure piling up.... not to mention a couple of other red flags. That in itself isn't the end of the world. In fact, being reeled in now may be just what the doctor ordered. It's better to start out a rally by first establishing a good base, and then methodically working past prior highs. To simply blast through prior ceilings while still in the shadow of a 14.3% rally (from late August to early November) like we seem to be attempting to do as of last week is a setup/invitation for some huge and rapid profit taking.Just for perspective, the average correction for the S&P 500 since March of 2009 has been on the order of 9%... and that was the average, meaning some were bigger. The smallest during that time was 7.8%. The November dip? A mere 5.1%. And the 14.3% rally that got us there in the first place? That's on the upper end of the 'normal' scale for bull market runs since March of 2009. Point being, we're really pushing our luck here by counting on significant more upside from here without a significant selloff first. As for what a 'significant selloff' would be, a pullback to the 1136 area would do just fine. That's where the lower Bollinger band is aligning with the 200-day moving average line, both of which have proven to be significant factors (reversal points) for quite some time. Although the idea of such a dip is alarming, it would only be about a 7.5% pullback from Friday's close. In those terms, a correction doesn't sound nearly as troubling; it would actually be a welcome release of all that overbought pressure. And, there are a couple of hints such a dip could be brewing. One is the fading buying volume over the past three trading days. The other is how the VIX is back near its lower Bollinger band again, which is pretty much where the market has rolled over - or at least stalled for a few days - since August. Putting all the pitfalls and red flags together technically puts the odds in favor of the bears, and against the bulls.
S&P 500 - Daily Chart
[chart]
What the market "should be doing" and what it "is doing", however, are often two different things. As overdue as we are for a dip, we can't fight the tape. If for some reason the S&P 500 does manage to punch through that upper band at 1230 (and subsequently hit new highs), that may well be enough to jump-start another leg of this bull market regardless of driving us further into the overbought problem. 'Tis the season, after all.The next couple of days are critical, for obvious reasons.
Industry Performance
It's been a while since we've posted an industry-ranking chart. There wasn't much need to, as everything was rallying or selling off in tandem. The same even goes for the broad sectors. Last week, however, we started to see some separation between the men and the boys... enough separation to suggest emerging leaders or decided laggards as we head into the New Year. There's a clear theme to most of the winners... industrial materials. If it's used to build a house or a machine or infrastructure, it was hot. Just be careful though, as many of those winners are also sitting atop big longer-term rallies. Aluminum may be an area you want to really focus on first.Many of the laggards were recently the market's leaders, proving it's not wise to try and lasso every shooting star. Indeed, some of those recent winners may now be prime short candidates now that they're starting to crumble; apparel and Internet stocks come to mind...’

Awful Employment Number, But Investors Act as if Bad News Is Good ‘ …Payrolls rose by only 39,000 employees in November, versus +150,000 that had been expected. There were net upward revisions of 38,000 to prior months, so that the net increase in jobs was 77,000. Moreover, the Unemployment Rate wasn’t steady. It didn’t go up 0.1%. It went up 0.2%, to 9.8%; it was actually 9.817%, so it wasn’t even that it was rounded up…the Rate legitimately rose. The labor force participation rate held at a 24-year-low of 64.5%; note that when the labor force participation rate rises, it tends to increase the Unemployment Rate at first since at first the new people in the labor force are merely looking. Believe it or not, there is a possibility that we haven’t seen the cyclical high in Unemployment yet…’

Why Not Silver, Too?: Dave's Daily ‘Goldfinger may "love only gold" but methinks he's more versatile. While gold continued its steady rally to new highs Monday, silver continues to put on a show rising nearly 3%. What's driving this? Some suggest there's still trouble with JPMs short position whether that's old news or not. Further silver bulls argue silver should be priced at its historical price ratio relationship to gold at around 18-1. If that were the case we'd be pushing $80. Finally, has Bernanke and the Fed given the green light to higher prices by saying POMO could increase if necessary?During Bernanke's 60 Minutes interview he stated he could reverse inflation in minutes if the Fed chose to raise interest rates. Since he said there was no inflation during the interview and added the possibility of greater POMO it seems he can't reverse himself now. Commodity exchanges will be pressured to raise margin requirements to cool markets. That can work spectacularly in the short-run anyway; but, the sense is silver is in short supply. Look, I've been in the business long enough to remember the Hunt Bros debacle in the late 70s. I also remember having a Commodity Trading Advisor being long silver futures in the mid-80s. Our clients were long at $8 and I went into a meeting with the price at $12. There I pondered what color my new Porsche would be and smirked at my peers. (Do you guys know how smart and sharp I am?) But, alas, I left the meeting an hour later to find silver back at $8. Given the experiences, I'd advise caution. Europe still has its ubiquitous problems that seem never to end. It's scary in the sense the current episode is reminiscent of the "drip, drip, drip" of bad news from late 2007. This still troubles investors as they flock to precious metals. Meanwhile back to conventional markets things were rather slow unless you were one of the gang of 500 scam artists preparing for perp-walks. Light volume must have set a record for a typical Monday in December. Breadth was positive to flat.’

China Is `Scared’ of U.S. Monetary Policy, Rogoff, Rickards Say Bloomberg | Policy makers in China, which holds $883.5 billion in U.S. Treasuries, are concerned the nation with the world’s biggest economy is debasing its currency, according to Kenneth S. Rogoff and James Rickards.

Jobless Recovery?: 25 Unemployment Statistics That Are Almost Too Depressing To Read Guess what? Unemployment is up again! That’s right – even though Wall Street is swimming in cash and the Obama administration is declaring that “the recession is over”, the U.S. unemployment rate has gone even higher. So are you enjoying the jobless recovery? Economic Collapse Blog Dec 4, 2010 ‘Guess what?  Unemployment is up again!  That’s right – even though Wall Street is swimming in cash and the Obama administration is declaring that “the recession is over”, the U.S. unemployment rate has gone even higher.  So are you enjoying the jobless recovery?  The truth is that there should not be any talk of a “recovery” as long as the “official” unemployment rate remains at around 10 percent and the “real” unemployment continues to hover around 17 percent.  There are millions and millions of American families that are living every day in deep pain because of the lack of jobs.  Meanwhile, there are all of these economic pundits that are declaring that we are just going to have to realize that chronic unemployment is the “new normal” and that if other nations can handle high rates of unemployment then so can we.  The most optimistic economists are projecting that we can perhaps get the unemployment rate down to around 8 percent by 2012.  On the other hand, there are many economists that are convinced that things are going to get even worse.If you have never been unemployed, it can be hard to describe how soul-crushing it can be.  As the bills pile up and the financial obligations mount, the pressure can be debilitating.  Being unemployed for an extended period of time can easily plunge you into depression and grind your self-worth away to almost nothing.  After getting rejected dozens of times (or even hundreds of times), many Americans simply give up.  There are countless marriages and countless families that are being ripped to shreds by financial pressure even as you read this.  When the money is gone and there is no job in sight it can be a really, really empty feeling.Of course there is a whole lot more to life than money, but it can be difficult to tell that to someone who can barely sleep at night because of the intense pressure to find a job.The vast majority of Americans have at least one family member or close friend that is looking for work right now.  Times are really, really tough and unfortunately the long-term outlook is very bleak.  We should have compassion on those who are out of work right now, because soon many of us may join them.

The following are 25 unemployment statistics that are almost too depressing to read….

#1 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. unemployment rate for November was 9.8 percent.  This was up from 9.6 percent in October, and it continues a trend of depressingly high unemployment rates.  The official unemployment number has been at 9.5 percent or higher for well over a year at this point.

#2 In November 2006, the “official” U.S. unemployment rate was just 4.5 percent.

#3 Most economists had been expecting the U.S. economy to add about 150,000 jobs in November.  Instead, it only added 39,000.

#4 In the United States today, there are over 15 million people who are “officially” considered to be unemployed for statistical purposes.  But everyone knows that the “real” number is even much larger than that.

#5 As 2007 began, there were just over 1 million Americans that had been unemployed for half a year or longer.  Today, there are over 6 million Americans that have been unemployed for half a year or longer.

#6 The number of “persons not in the labor force” in the United States recently set another new all-time record.

#7 It now takes the average unemployed American over 33 weeks to find a job.

#8 When you throw in “discouraged workers” and “underemployed workers”, the “real” unemployment rate in the state of California is actually about 22 percent.

#9 In America today there are not nearly enough jobs for everyone.  In fact, there are now approximately 5 unemployed Americans for every single job opening.

#10 According to The New York Times, Americans that have been unemployed for five weeks or less are three times more likely to find a new job in the coming month than Americans that have been unemployed for over a year.

#11 The U.S. economy would need to create 235,120 new jobs a month to get the unemployment rate down to pre-recession levels by 2016.  Does anyone think that there is even a prayer that is going to happen?

#12 There are 9 million Americans that are working part-time for “economic reasons”.  In other words, those Americans would gladly take full-time jobs if they could get them, but all they have been able to find is part-time work.

#13 In 2009, total wages, median wages, and average wages all declined in the United States.

#14 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing.  The last time that less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.

#15 The United States has lost at least 7.5 million jobs since the recession began.

#16 Today, only about 40 percent of Ford Motor Company’s 178,000 workers are employed in North America, and a big percentage of those jobs are in Canada and Mexico.

#17 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output.  In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.

#18 Earlier this year, one poll found that 28% of all American households had at least one member that was looking for a full-time job.

#19 In the United States today, over 18,000 parking lot attendants have college degrees.

#20 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.

#21 As the employment situation continues to stagnate, millions of American families have decided to cut back on things such as insurance coverage.  For example, the percentage of American households that have life insurance coverage is at its lowest level in 50 years.

#22 Unless Congress acts, and there is no indication that is going to happen, approximately 2 million Americans will stop receiving unemployment checks over the next couple of months.

#23 A poll that was released by the Pew Research Center back in June discovered that an astounding 55 percent of the U.S. labor force has experienced either unemployment, a pay decrease, a reduction in hours or an involuntary move to part-time work since the economic downturn began.

#24 According to Richard McCormack, the United States has lost over 42,000 factories (and counting) since 2001.

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

But this is what we get for creating the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world.  For decades we have been digging a deeper hole for ourselves by going into increasingly larger amounts of debt.  In America today, our entire economy is based on debt.  Even our money is debt.  We were fools if we ever thought this could go on forever. Just think about it.  Have you ever gone out and run up a bunch of debt?  It can be a lot of fun sitting behind the wheel of a new car, running your credit cards up to the limit and buying a beautiful big house that you cannot afford. But in the end what happens? It always catches up with you. Well, our collective debt is starting to catch up with us.  There is a sea of red ink on every level of American society.  It is only a matter of time before it destroys our economy. IF YOU THINK THAT THINGS ARE BAD NOW, JUST WAIT.  THINGS ARE GOING TO GET A WHOLE LOT WORSE.  A HORRIFIC ECONOMIC COLLAPSE IS COMING, AND IT IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY PAINFUL.’

Fed Created Conflicts in Improvising $3.3 Trillion Financial System Rescue Bloomberg | Deborah A. Cunningham, the manager of $261 billion at Federated Investors Inc., was squeezed into the bathroom of her family’s recreational vehicle, trying to help save the $3.6 trillion money market industry.

Ford, BMW, Toyota Took Secret Government Money Jalopnik | In the depths of the financial collapse, the U.S. Federal Reserve pumped $3.3 trillion into keeping credit moving through the economy. It eventually lent $57.9 billion to the auto industry — including $26.8 billion to Ford, Toyota and BMW.

Senate blocks Obama’s tax plan Washington Times | The Senate blocked President Obama’s and Democratic leaders’ tax cut plans Saturday in a foreordained symbolic vote that now sends both sides back to the negotiating table to work out a viable deal.

Senate Blocks Middle Class Tax Cut Extension, As Treasury Will Soon Need To Issue Yet More Trillions In Bonds To Fund Revenue Shortfall (Which Fed Will Monetize) The recent passage of the middle class tax cut extension by Congress was roundly refuted by the Senate today as republicans and even some democrats voted against the proposal.

AT&T is rated worst cellphone service provider by Consumer Reports [ They should have also added land lines to this ‘distinction’. ] Los Angeles Times The magazine, known for independent testing of consumer products, said AT&T came in last behind top scorer US Cellular. Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile also scored higher than the exclusive service provider of ...

Gold ends at record on Europe’s woes, dollar fears MarketWatch | Gold futures settled at a record Monday.

‘Scariest jobs chart ever’ shows post-recession unemployment is at its worst since World War Two Mail Online | Some commentators have described the comparison as ‘the scariest jobs chart ever’, pointing to the fact that only the 2001 recession took longer to bring employment back to pre-crisis levels.

Irony: Printing Presses Break Leaving $110 Billion In Worthless $100 Bills A significant production problem with new high-tech $100 bills has caused government printers to shut down production of the new notes and to quarantine more than one billion of the bills in huge vaults in Fort Worth, Texas and Washington, DC, CNBC has learned.

David Einhorn: Gold Will Keep Going Higher, As Long As Monetary And Fiscal Policy Is So Bad Hedge fund manager David Einhorn is on CNBC this morning talking policy, the financial system, moral hazard, and the issue of “too big to fail,” which hasn’t yet been solved at all.

Does Bernanke Look Like a Man Who is Confident About the State of the Economy and the Prospects for Recovery? There is a lot to say about Bernanke’s comments on 60 Minutes today.

Silvergoldsilver.com Runs Out Of All Precious Metals In Hours Since Zero Hedge posted (unsolicited and uncompensated) the “Crash The JP Morgue” now-viral video late last night , it appears that among the tens of thousands of viewers who have subsequently gone to the goldsilvergold.com website, there have been quite a few conversions.

Howard Davidowitz on the Economy: "Here Are the Numbers ... WE'RE BROKE!" The U.S. economy "is a complete disaster," Howard Davidowitz declared here in July, the most recent in a string of dire predictions from Tech Ticker's most entertaining guest.On the eve of Thanksgiving, I asked Davidowitz if he had any regrets, or was ready to throw in the towel given recent signs of economic revival. Are you kidding me? "Here are the numbers...we're broke," Davidowitz declares, noting the U.S. government goes $5 billion deeper into debt every day and is facing $1 trillion-plus annual deficits for the next decade. "In other words, we're bankrupt."As with the economy, Davidowitz is unwaveringly consistent in his views on President Obama, calling him "deranged, dysfunctional and discredited."Results of the midterm election show "the people of this country think we are in a catastrophe," he says. "I'm with them."Check the accompanying video for more of Howard's unfettered opinions and stay tuned for additional clips from this interview. And...Happy Thanksgiving! Aaron Task is the host of Tech Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at [email protected]

Timid Tuesday: Is it Safe? Davis ‘… This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.

THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘

17 Things Worrying Investors Lloyd's Wall of Worry

Worry Count: 17


CHINA: 1,330,044,605 people can’t be wrong.

The PIIGS: Fasten your seatbelts. It’s gonna be a long, bumpy, expensive, weird, (insert your own adjective here) freak show of a ride.

CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Not yet as dire as “The PIIGS”. Might I suggest the classier moniker of “The Prosciuttos” for the American basket-case states?

QE II: Gobble?

U.S. ECONOMY: The “Punky Brewster” of the global economic landscape.

UNEMPLOYMENT: Only thing worse than losing your job, losing your unemployment check. At least there’s the holiday season to cheer everyone up (read: heavy sarcasm).

TAXES: Praying to the Financial Market Gods that we don’t have another TARP-like vote fiasco.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PART II: Still two years before the Pres. election and the peanut gallery is already pleading for a Hail Mary Pass to get them back in the game.

HFT: Instead of beating up these liquidity supplying traders, let’s honor them with their very own stock exchange. But wait -- with no retail saps to pick-off they will never get that Day 1 opening bell tick. Perfect.

XMAS 2010: As my professor friend Nick says, “Nowadays Americans are dining off of two menus – The Million Dollar and the $0.99 Cent.” And both are pissed about it.

CURRENCIES: Poor Mr. Greenback. Does someone need a hug?

HOUSING CRISIS: Price Stabilization – Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more….

INFLATION/DEFLATION: Fed Chief Ben B. comes out swinging from his heels in defense of inflation promotion. Don’t punch yourself out as this one is likely to go the distance.

COMMODITIES: Corrected but still sky high; fortunately these prices are only affecting core, basic, life-sustaining necessities and sparing our electronic gadgets and plus-sized SUVs. Whew!

INSIDER TRADING: Another black eye for Hedge Funds. I estimate that makes black eye number 6,597.

INTEREST RATES: South Korea and China slowly turning up the dial to “11”. On the other hand the U.S. has removed the dial altogether. This never ends well….

NORTH KOREA: Here we go again.

Jobless rate jumps to 9.8% as hiring slows (Washington Post) [ The reality is not a mystery! The nation’s been thrown under the bus for the greater good (wealth) of the very few (frauds on wall street, etc.); wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION:

Come on! This is gettin’ even more downright ridiculous (if that’s even possible)! Pending home foreclosure / distress sales up, oil prices (and oil stocks) up, debased dollar down, plus a little familiar ‘better than expected’ thrown in along with prospects of a ‘no-recession bernanke’ market-frothing bull session on 60 minutes and, voila, suckers’ rally into the close to keep the suckers suckered! What’s good for the frauds on wall street is bad for just about everyone else which includes the vast majority of people and businesses, domestically and globally, as current dollar manipulation / debasement ultimately results in higher costs and loss of purchasing power (ie., oil, etc.). Clearly, this is one of those fraudulent wealth transfers to the frauds on wall street et als which will ultimately be paid for by those who least are in a position to afford it, courtesy of the ever more worthless Weimar dollar, etc., inflating earnings, eps, lowering p/e multiples, etc., see infra. This is an especially great time to sell / take profits while you can since there's much worse to come! Previous: Rosy numbers on consumer sentiment, unemployment (far better than private forecasts) from the government prior to the holiday so-called ‘shop till you drop’? How can anyone believe anything they say? Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz adds that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! And, with insiders and wall street frauds selling into the bubble as preceded last crash, this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally on light volume, full moon, and government complicity (false data / reports) to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam/fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

National / World

The Secret Behind Ted Turner’s Call For A Global One Child Policy [ The real secret is he forgot to take his lithium. ] Just months after a leaked UN blueprint that revealed climate change alarmists would start pushing “overpopulation” fears in favor of the discredited mantra of global warming as a means of dismantling the middle class, billionaire globalist Ted Turner followed suit during a Cancun luncheon yesterday when he urged the world to adopt China’s brutal one-child policy, and even suggested poor people should be sterilized in return for government handouts.

DHS Telescreens To Encourage Walmart Shoppers To Spy On Each Other More than 230 Walmart stores nationwide launched the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign today, with a total of 588 Walmart stores in 27 states joining in the coming weeks. A short video message, available here, will play at select checkout locations to remind shoppers to contact local law enforcement to report suspicious activity.

Western Civilization Has Shed Its Values Western Civilization no longer upholds the values it proclaims, so what is the basis for its claim to virtue? For example, the U.S. print and TV media and the U.S. government have made it completely clear that they have no regard for the First Amendment.

Gold Trades Close To All Time Record, Silver Hits 30 Year High Gold prices rose close to all time highs on Monday following Ben Bernanke’s comments on CBS’s “60 Minutes” Sunday, as the Fed chairman indicated that even more quantitative easing is being considered.

No end in sight to U.S. economic crisis as ‘scariest jobs chart ever’ shows post-recession unemployment is at its worst since World War Two As unemployment in the U.S. nears the dreaded 10 per cent mark, it is a chart to chill the bones of any job hunter.

Western Civilization Has Shed Its Values Paul Craig Roberts | Western Civilization no longer upholds the values it proclaims, so what is the basis for its claim to virtue?

1984 Arrives in America Drudge Report | Big Sis to address public via telescreens at checkout lanes.

The Secret Behind Ted Turner’s Call For A Global One Child Policy [ The real secret is he forgot to take his lithium. ] Paul Joseph Watson | Uncle Ted has 5 children, but once the new world order is done with its economic raping of the middle class, you may be forced to get sterilized for cash.

Alex Jones & Webster Tarpley: The Hidden Agenda Behind WikiLeaks Infowars.com | Alex talks with Webster Tarpley, historian and researcher. Tarpley covers the latest in the explosive story surrounding Wikileaks.

Martial Law Comes to the Suburbs: Spike Jonze and Arcade Fire Infowars.com | Scary vision of totalitarian police state in Austin, Texas.

US soldier admits to sport killing Press TV | A US military court has spared an American soldier from an early discharge from the US Army after he admitted to shooting unarmed Afghan civilians for fun.

Is the Internet 9/11 Under Way? Zen Gardner | Where is this seemingly staged Wikileaks furor taking us?

Newt Gingrich: Julian Assange is Enemy Combatant Engaged in Warfare [ The slimey, scandal-scarred newt, has no credibility. The truth really hurts his ilk. ]Kurt Nimmo | Neocons declare war on truth and truth-tellers.

More, Please Charles Featherstone | To WikiLeaks I say, “Yes! More! Better! Faster!”

NFL commercial makes joke of TSA selective screening Andrew Steele | Arrogant NFL stars waved past TSA security as they flash Super Bowl rings while “ordinary” passengers are forced to wait in line.

Rosalind Peterson: The Chemtrail Cover-Up Prison Planet.tv | Rosalind Peterson of California Skywatch exposes how chemtrails are being sprayed in our skies as part of a clandestine NASA-military program.

WikiLeaks Turns to Swiss Party for Help With Web Address New York Times  LONDON - The battle lines between supporters of the whistle-blowing Web site WikiLeaks and its detractors began to form on Sunday, as supporters erected numerous copies of the site on the Internet and the United States put pressure on ... WikiLeaks founder threatens to release entire cache of unfiltered files Globe and Mail Australia says Assange entitled to consular help The Associated Press

TSA Policing Media’s Use of Scanner Images We knew the TSA was sensitive about this whole scanner thing, but not this sensitive: This morning, SF Weekly got a phone call and a wrist-slap from the Transportation Security Administration’s press department. It turns out the TSA doesn’t like the image of body scans we used with our piece last week about how the scanners do not bombard people with an unhealthy dose of radiation.

Assange lawyer blames ‘state actor’ for cyberattacks The lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Friday that a ‘state actor’ is likely to blame for massive cyber attacks on the whistleblower website after it released secret US diplomatic cables.

Newt Gingrich: Julian Assange is Enemy Combatant Engaged in Warfare Outspoken neocon and former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told Fox’s Judge Napolitano over the weekend that Wikileaks is a terrorist organization and its founder Julian Assange should be considered an enemy combatant.

Assange Lawyers Harassed By Security Services Lawyers representing the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, say that they have been surveilled by members of the security services and have accused the US state department of behaving “inappropriately” by failing to respect attorney-client protocol.

State Department To Columbia University Students: DO NOT Discuss WikiLeaks On Facebook, Twitter Talking about WikiLeaks on Facebook or Twitter could endanger your job prospects, a State Department official warned students at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs this week.

Government agencies restrict employee access to WikiLeaks The White House told government agencies to take measures to prevent employees without proper authorization from accessing classified US diplomatic cables on WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks website stops again; shifting to Sweden The whistle-blower WikiLeaks’ website has gone offline again after facing some unknown technical errors.

Paypal cuts off donations to WikiLeaks The online payment service PayPal suspended the account used by WikiLeaks to collect donations.

Republicans Move to Block Ron Paul from Monetary Policy Subcommittee Chair Ron Paul, Bernie Sanders, and a handful of other House and Senate renegades who are not reading from the bankster script like John Boehner and the establishment Republicans will not be allowed to hold the Federal Reserve to account.

ACLU: Flying Americans Fear Being Put On Government Watch List The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that it is still receiving high volumes of complaints about the new airport screening procedures, and that some travelers say they have not filed official complaints with the TSA because they are fearful of being placed on a government watch list.

Drudgereport: OBAMA RACES TO CUT TAXES BEFORE REPUBLICANS: 6.2% Social Security tax would drop to 4.2% for workers for one year... MORE
THE NEW OBAMA!
SURPRISE TAX CUT MOVE [ As with defacto bankrupt america generally, more defacto bankrupt social security system, etc., are distinctions without significant differences. ]
OIL HITS $89...
Pump prices hit 2-year high...
Schwarzenegger Declares Fiscal Emergency, Proposes $9.9 Billion In Cuts...
Top Democrats defect, join unified GOP...
WIKILEAKS' Assange Will Release Encrypted Files If Arrested...
Cables Reveal How US Manipulated Climate Accord...
Cable: China Leaders Ordered Hacking on GOOGLE...
Meddling by Neighbors Adds to Iraq's Woes...
Government Workers Ordered Not to Read Cables...
Gingrich: Leaks Show Admin 'Shallow,' 'Amateurish'...
McConnell: Assange a 'High-Tech Terrorist'...
List of facilities 'vital to US security' leaked...
Mirror Sites Appear by the Hundreds...
Assange Speaks...
Hillary Jokes...
US forced to shake up embassies around world...
THE DOOMSDAY FILES
PAPER: Wave goodbye to Internet freedom...
[ I’m absolutely astounded that the world is not profoundly grateful to Assange et als for providing insight into the machinations and insanity of pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america, et als who wreaked havoc on the world as they pillage, plunder, and destroy (lives, nations, etc.). ]
+39,000 JOBS IN NOVEMBER...
BOEHNER: Dem Leaders Should Stop Wasting Time on Tax Hike Votes...
HALPERIN: Dems 'In Midst of Nervous Breakdown'...
Obama Makes Surprise Trip to Afghanistan...
Flies 7,000 miles -- talks to Karzai for 15 minutes on phone!
Forgets the Coast Guard...
Leaves Biden behind to handle 'disappointing' jobs report...
Reid, funded by casinos, pushes online gambling...
ABCNEWS accused of breaking embargo...
2010 death toll of US troops nears that of 2001-2008 combined...
OBAMA SPEECHWRITER JOKES ABOUT TSA GROPING: Allows 'defrocked priests to give back to society'...
US Deficit-Cutting Plan Falls Short of Needed Votes...
UNEMPLOYMENT UP TO 9.8%
HILLARY: Secretary of State will be 'my last public position'... ... PITCHE$ $IGNED DVD ON HOME $HOPPING NETWORK..
US TO BAILOUT EU [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! After all, in defacto bankrupt america money does grow on trees … derivatively (pun intended) that is … you know … that ever more worthless fiat paper currency … and ultimately, existentially, philosophically, doesn’t paper come from trees … sure it does …so, no problemo since money grows on trees. ]
BOMBSHELL: European banks took big slice of Fed aid...
Hundreds of billions of dollars...
Fed reveals global extent of its backing... ]

Funds went to stalwarts of American industry including GE and Caterpillar and household-name companies such as Verizon, new data show.
GEORGIA: HUNDREDS LINE UP IN COLD FOR HEAT HELP...
Assistance Funds Quickly Depleted...
'Almost like being in soup line during great depression'...
VIDEO...
DELAYING TAX VOTE COULD 'CRASH STOCK MARKET' STARTING 12/15 [ Come on! There’s no way to justify the tax cut to the top 1% including the frauds on wall street … their threats don’t hunt no more … the nation’s defacto bankrupt … see Davis, supra! ]
Chase Bank orders branch to remove Christmas tree...
Cyber attack forces WIKILEAKS to change web address...
Respected media outlets collaborate with organization... [ Said outlets and other disseminators and of course Wikileaks deserve accolades for the advancement of first amendment liberties in the name of an informed global body politick for all.]
UPDATE: Latest developments...
Foreign contractors hired Afghan 'dancing boys'...
Embassy cables portray Karzai as corrupt, erratic...
CIA drew up UN spying wishlist...
Assange speaks...
UPDATE: Latest WIKILEAKS developments...
Foreign contractors hired Afghan 'dancing boys'...
Embassy cables portray Karzai as corrupt, erratic...
CIA drew up UN spying wishlist...
SANTA CLAUSE: FED AID WENT TO COMPANIES, BANKS, OFFSHORE...
SECRETLY BAILED OUT GE -- GE NEWS OUTLETS FAILED TO REVEAL IN FED COVERAGE...
SANTA CLAUSE: FORD, BMW, TOYOTA Took Secret Government Money......
Fed Created Conflicts in Improvising Financial System Rescue...
Tax Breaks for Bailout Recipients Spark Debate...
MORE SECRETS: Fed Withholds Data for $885 Billion in Loans...
RUSSIA TO HOST '18 WORLD CUP FINALS...
Qatar selected '22 host over USA, others...
'AMERICAN PSYCHO' musical in works... [ I recommend the derivative films, American Psycho and American Psycho 2, for insight! ]
National Board of Review: SOCIAL NETWORK named best film... [ National board of what? ‘Inception’ is by far and away the ‘Best Film’ across the board, in all categories, and on the list! ] LIST...

BANK OF AMERICA Becoming 'Bank of Asia' as Revenue Increases 30% ...
RESET: PUTIN CRITICIZES USA OVER WIKILEAKS … [ Putin deserves the greatest deference in matters of global concern in light of his greater rationality; america’s self-serving accusations are merely envy and projection / displacement (in psychoanalytic terms) of america’s pervasively corrupt, criminal, broken system which is a far cry in reality from defacto bankrupt america’s propaganda.]...
REWARD: [ The payoff. Bribe complete! Next bribe scenario … ] CITI to Hire Obama's Ex-Budget Chief Orszag...
FLASHBACK: Rubin and friends ride NY-DC shuttle...
ZUCKERMAN: Watching America's Decline and Fall [the moral authority of the West has dramatically declined in the face of the financial crisis. It has revealed deep fault lines within Western economies that have spread to the global economy. The majority of Western governments are running fiscal deficits of 10 percent or more relative to GDP, but it is increasingly clear that there will be no quick fixes, that big government and fiscal deficits will not bring us back to the status quo ante. Indeed, the tidal wave of red ink has meant that the leverage-led or debt-led growth model is dead. Developed countries will be forced to deal with their debt on every level, from the personal to the corporate to the sovereign. Being able to borrow may have made people feel richer, but having to repay the debt is certainly making them feel poorer, particularly since the unfunded liabilities that many governments face from aging populations will have to be paid for by a shrinking band of workers. (Ecoutez, mes amis!) Demography is destiny. As a result, there is a burgeoning consensus that we are witnessing an inevitable rise of the East and a decline of the West…( Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ) ]...
Interpol issues wanted notice for Julian Assange [ They just can’t take the truth! ] ...
US cuts access to files [ Think about it. Really think about it. Their policies are in the tank, along with the nation and the rest of this world as a consequence. Don’t those so detrimentally affected (everyone) have a right to know? I think in light of the global frauds, contrived perpetual wars though defacto bankruptcy of this and other nations, pervasive corruption and crime, failed policies domestically and geo-politically while serving the very parochial interests of the self-interested few, the answer is an unequivocal, YES! I believe that world history will write Mr. Assange as a hero in the truest sense. He should be given a medal; and, certainly, since mr. b*** s*** wobama undeservingly got a ‘nobel peace prize’ (what he does, not what he says, ie., Afghanistan, etc.), who more than Julian Assange is deserving of that and more? Cover-up / propaganda … thy name is fallen america.]...
WIKILECTURE: 'HILLARY SHOULD RESIGN' ‘…Hillary Clinton, Julian Assange said, "should resign." Speaking over Skype from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, the WikiLeaks founder was replying to a question by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel over the diplomatic-cable dump that Assange's organization loosed on the world this past weekend. Stengel had said the U.S. Secretary of State was looking like "the fall guy" in the ensuing controversy, and had asked whether her firing or resignation was an outcome that Assange wanted. "I don't think it would make much of a difference either way," Assange said. "But she should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up. Yes, she should resign over that."…’
CITY ON EDGE: Cash-Strapped Newark, new jersey Forced To Lay Off 14% Of Police Force... [ From decades old (1978-1985) direct personal experience with newark, n.j., the police are the absolute last cuts that can be afforded to be made. Indeed, while walking through Military Park (a sliver of a “park” - more a pedestrian thoroughfare/cement walks) in newark, new jersey on the way to the bank during lunch hour, I heard the clearly audible screams/cries of what turned out to be an old lady on the ground with blood streaming from her mouth. I ran toward the sound of the cries, the source of which I could not see because there were so many people in and about this thoroughfare so as to block any vision of the source of the cries. When I came to the woman, on the ground, blood streaming from her mouth, I asked what happened, to which she responded she had been hit in the mouth and knocked to the ground, her purse stolen/put inside her shopping bag, and she pointed out the criminal casually now walking across the main street. Nobody stopped to help her, many having passed her by. I slammed the thug to the ground so hard that, in light of all the blood and confusion (limbic system / adrenalin flow) I thought I had been stabbed (the blood was from his elbows hitting the pavement so hard - no one helped / a crowd gathered / an undercover cop happened along). When I testified at the Grand Jury Proceeding I made sure his threat on my life was set forth in prima facie fashion so as to maximize the DA’s position with both felonies ( he went to prison – pled out ). The other case I wrote about here ( This was included on my website in the Psychology forum discussion of ‘bystander effect’ / diffusion of responsibility. ) - Having had occasion to have run down a mugger in newark, n.j. who apparently had followed a girl from the bank on her way to the bursar to pay tuition, though in pretty good shape, I was astounded by how totally exhausting such a pursuit was, how much like rubber my arms were when I traded punches with the perpetrator, and truth be told, if I had a flashlight on my belt, I have little doubt that I would have probably used it to subdue the perp. The girl was not that seriously injured, did get her pocketbook and tuition back, and the criminal went to jail. The other thing about such a pursuit that amazed me was that no one else assisted the girl or me despite being in a position to do so). (Other newark / new jersey and new york, n.y. metro, viz., ie., connecticut, and of course, d.c., d.c. metro, viz., ie., virginia experience … corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz (california), hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken (AP) Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ]
Nation's '2nd Most Dangerous City' (camden, new jersey) To Lay Off Nearly Half Of Police Force...
Chicagoland: Vandals torch Christmas charity van...

The monthly report dashes the expectations of economists, many of whom have predicted much more robust job growth. The news also punctures some of the optimism that has been building because of other recent positive signs in the economy.

A resurgent Syria alarms u.s., israel (Washington Post) [ Tell me! What doesn’t alarm these two paranoid, zionist neo-nazi regimes of oppression, suppression, aggression, and regression. If they were individuals, they’d undoubtedly be diagnosed as psychopaths, sociopaths totally ignorant of the rights of others, laws, civilized behavior as israel pads her illegal nuke arsenals with american supplied weaponry / support while expecting all other nations to ‘role over and die’. Bipolar / manic / depressive, the ups and downs are increasingly difficult for even americans to follow. Obssessive / compulsive thy names are zionist israel / america. Projection / displacement regarding their own illegal acts, war crimes, etc.; what they say as distinguished from what they do … dissociative fugue? Yes … the u.s. and israel are the world’s lunatics, sorely in need of therapy! ] Syria's fresh interference in Lebanon and its increasingly sophisticated weapons shipments to Hezbollah have alarm officials and prompt Israel's military to consider striking a Syrian weapons depot.

Milbank: The House's disgrace (Washington Post) Rangel's sad fall Broder: He played the Washington game with sheer joy. [ Messieurs Broder and Milbank, you are both hurting my eyes and ears. Mr. Broder, this is no game … the suffering of innocent men, women, and children domestically and internationally is a direct consequence of their foibles at best, and gross incompetence and criminality at worst! This is no game! Mr. Milbank, you are preposterous in implying that there is honor among thieves. Censure? Don’t make me laugh! … particularly when cognizant of what they typically do should make one cry! (Do you recall how hard they fought the FBI’s disruption of Jefferson’s ‘bribe stash’?)]

Super PACs boost super wealthy's clout (Washington Post) [ Oh yeah! It’s really worked like a charm … for them … as the nation’s decline and fall is no longer a matter of debate but reality. What really gets me is the blather about american ‘democracy’ as if it’s something that’s real as opposed to fantasy / propaganda; especially in the context of (illegally) ‘bringing democracy’ to such nations as Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.. At best, pervasively corrupt defacto bankrupt america is a plutocracy, albeit a failed one; and quite frankly, I think america to be no more than a huge mob, cartel, of meaningfully lawless thugs. ZUCKERMAN: Watching America's Decline and Fall [the moral authority of the West has dramatically declined in the face of the financial crisis. It has revealed deep fault lines within Western economies that have spread to the global economy. The majority of Western governments are running fiscal deficits of 10 percent or more relative to GDP, but it is increasingly clear that there will be no quick fixes, that big government and fiscal deficits will not bring us back to the status quo ante. Indeed, the tidal wave of red ink has meant that the leverage-led or debt-led growth model is dead. Developed countries will be forced to deal with their debt on every level, from the personal to the corporate to the sovereign. Being able to borrow may have made people feel richer, but having to repay the debt is certainly making them feel poorer, particularly since the unfunded liabilities that many governments face from aging populations will have to be paid for by a shrinking band of workers. (Ecoutez, mes amis!) Demography is destiny. As a result, there is a burgeoning consensus that we are witnessing an inevitable rise of the East and a decline of the West…( Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ) ]... ]

OPINION: Why prosecuting Assange won't be easy (Washington Post) [ ‘charges he denies and claims are part of an effort to shut him down’ … I believe Assange. Indeed, such as this is typical and ultimately part of america’s decline and fall as spurious charges / no action against major criminals (ie., wall street frauds, criminal acts by government employees in all three branches of the u.s. government, etc.) have long been america’s injustice department’s strong suit. Yeah! One, Assange, against the many / mighty is also the bully scenario evidenced by america’s contrived / illegal conflicts / wars; ie., Granada, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., while real criminals who’ve been greasing palms have not a care in the world beyond their next scam / fraud as the fruits of their last financial crisis inducing fraud continue to be consummated by those worthless now ‘marked to anything’ paper assets are converted to hard fiat currency with a complicit fed, all three branches of the u.s. government (see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ), and surprisingly, the lemmings of Europe. ]

Short-Term, High-Probability Mean-Reversion Indicator: Overbought and Ready Crowder ‘Thursday the bulls continued their recent push and now just as the market is ready to absorb another jobs report, the majority of the ETFs I follow using my short-term indicators have moved into an overbought state. Yes, finally after three weeks of patiently waiting on the sidelines while the market muddled around in a fairly tight range the High-Probability, Mean-Reversion Strategy could have a signal forthcoming. In most cases, I would have placed a trade at the end of the day, but given the upcoming jobs report out tomorrow before the open I decided to wait on the sidelines. Remember, opportunities are made up easier than losses. As with any good trading strategy, patience is key.So, if we happen to open higher today, I will be sending out a trade alert to my loyal paid subscribers. Short-Term High-Probability, Mean-Reversion Indicator – as of close 12/02/10

BENCHMARK ETFS

* S&P 500 (SPY) – 72.4 (overbought)

* Dow Jones (DIA) –71.9 (overbought)

* Russell 2000 (IWM) – 75.2 (overbought)

* NASDAQ 100 (QQQQ) – 67.9 (neutral)

SECTOR ETFS

* Biotech (IBB) – 59.5 (neutral)

* Consumer Discretionary (XLY) – 77.4 (overbought)

* Health Care (XLV) – 64.0 (neutral)

* Financial (XLF) – 72.2 (overbought)

* Energy (XLE) – 77.4 (overbought)

* Gold Miners (GDX) – 74.3 (overbought)

* Industrial (XLI) – 79.9 (overbought)

* Materials (XLB) – 76.7 (overbought)

* Real Estate (IYR) – 72.3 (overbought)

* Retail (RTH) – 82.1 (very overbought)

* Semiconductor (SMH) – 78.1 (overbought)

* United States Oil Fund (USO) – 73.1 (overbought)

* Utilities (XLU) – 61.3 (neutral)

INTERNATIONAL ETFS

* Brazil (EWZ) – 64.6 (neutral)

* China 25 (FXI) – 62.1 (neutral)

* EAFE (EFA) – 61.0 (neutral)

* South Korea (EWY) – 65.9 (neutral)

COMMODITY ETFS

* Gold (GLD) – 64.6 (neutral)

ULTRA EXTREMES

* Small Cap Bear 3x (TZA) – 24.1 (oversold)

* Small-Cap Bull 3x (TNA) – 75.7 (overbought)

* UltraLong QQQQ (QLD) – 67.8 (neutral)

* Ultra Long S&P 500 (SSO) – 72.1 (overbought)

* Ultra Short S&P 500 (SDS) – 26.9 (oversold)

* UltraShort 20+ Treasury (TBT) – 59.2 (neutral)’

Pending Home Sales Up; Pending Stock Sales Down The Inflation Trader ‘The stock market continues to look like a one-decision investment, as investors piled in for a second day and drove prices still higher. The S&P rose 1.3%, reflecting the ebullience and dare I say exuberance in European bond markets. Portuguese 10-year debt rallied 55bps, Ireland improved 36bps, and Greece and Spain both picked up 24bps (poor Ireland rallied a mere 14bps). The occasion for this show of enthusiasm was the meeting of the ECB – actually, more to the point it was that the ECB went into the market to buy bonds right after the meeting. Clearly banks and investors had been pleading for additional support of the sovereign bond market (which they got) and an extension and even expansion of the special liquidity facilities (they got a one-quarter extension of special loans from the ECB, but no expansion of the program). But the ECB didn’t exactly surprise the market. ECB President Trichet, insisting that recent growth numbers have surprised on the upside … imagine how many banks would have failed already if growth had surprised on the downside!! … admitted that growth risks are currently tilted to the downside although he saw inflation risks as balanced. Yawn. The equity market rally was aided by a surge in October Pending Home Sales, which leapt 10% month-over-month. Investors overlooked the worse-than-expected Initial Claims (although 436k is still better than we have seen for a while) to focus on this rather unimportant report. To put the jump into context, I think it is worthwhile to look at the year-on-year number. See the chart below, click to enlarge, (Source: Bloomberg) for that. You see, we also had a surge in Pending Home Sales last fall, so that the monthly spike appears more likely to be the result of poor seasonal adjustment affecting the report in the autumn.

[chart]

Yeah, the monthly surge in pending home sales doesn't really look impressive on a y/y basis. U.S. Treasury note yields rose on all of the (scoff!) good news, with the 10y yield rising to a heady 2.99%. The dollar weakened, and the VIX weakened. It would seem that many investors feel the crisis is over. Again. Or perhaps they just hope that it is over for this year. Before we get too far out in front of this wonderful, powerful, riskless recovery, we probably should pause to look at today’s Employment report. Recall that last month’s report was a mess, with strong private payrolls yet an Unemployment Rate that barely missed ticking higher and a labor force participation rate that fell to a 24-year low. The market that day initially focused on the Jobs number but was unable to hold early gains. However, looking back on it now, people seem to recall that it was a strong Employment report and they are looking to draw grand conclusions if today’s report makes it two in a row. The Consensus forecast is achievable, with expectations for 150k new jobs and a 9.6% Unemployment Rate (unchanged, but this probably implies a small improvement). But while Initial Claims have recently looked positive, there are other indicators that are not so strong. In particular I am mindful of the Jobs-Hard-To-Get element of the Consumer Confidence report. The ADP, which clocked in at a better-than-expected +93k on Wednesday, is consistent with a 101k showing from private payrolls (see chart below, click to enlarge).

[chart]

The 93k ADP figure suggests that +100k is roughly what we should expect from private payrolls. Accordingly, I am not very sanguine about the number later today, although I don’t expect a huge miss; given the recent rally into previous resistance I think that playing stocks from the short side is a defensible trading strategy. It also is not clear to me that, once the ECB stops buying PIIGS bonds, there will be lots of other buyers lined up behind them – so while I wouldn’t short PIIGS bonds for spite (it is usually a bad short-term bet to fade the central bankers), if I were long I would get out. The Non-Manufacturing ISM (Consensus: 54.8 from 54.3) is also scheduled for a mid-morning release. This isn’t likely to be a market mover.’

AP Business Highlights - Job growth weak for Nov. in setback for economy [ Stocks rally … Riiiiight! ]

Investors in Wonderland: Dave's Daily

U.S. Jobs Report Likely to be Robust Chandler [ Here’s a post before the bell … definitely listening to the frauds on wall street and their cottage industries including the ‘money honeys’, etc.. Yeah! He’s with ‘Alice in Wonderland’ … magic mushrooms anybody?

U.S. dollar extends weekly loss with 1% drop

Here are some very basic financial ratios that always deserve attention in fundamental analysis [from investopedia – but it’s really ultimately the art of projecting, ie., income statements, balance sheets, and first and foremost the economy, then select industries, which counts in security analysis / valuation, which of course also takes account of factors such as quality of the earnings (clearly absent in this market of dollar debasement) , stability and growth (not too great in light of structural shift away from u.s. economically, financially, and geopolitically, etc.), (they appeared as a link so I’m including them here) ] .

Soft Jobs Figure Halts Run Of Upbeat Data ‘The U.S. economy added just 39,000 jobs in November, a far cry below expectations, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8%. Friday's nonfarm payrolls from the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics stunned Wall Street, sending index futures from modest gains to losses of better than 0.5% in pre-market trading. The weak report – private sector payrolls added just 50,000 jobs, compared with expectations for about 140,000 – came amid a string of more upbeat data, including Thursday's weekly jobless claims report. The number of discouraged workers climbed to 1.3 million in November, up 421,000 from a year ago. The closely-watched measure of the average workweek was unchanged at 34.3 hours and hourly earnings inched up just a penny to $22.75. With those figures it comes as little surprise that the number of workers involuntarily working part-time because they can't find full-time jobs was barely changed at 9 million.Temp jobs continued to rise, adding another 40,000 jobs, as did healthcare with a gain of 19,000, but retail trade employment was down 28,000 and manufacturing shed 13,000 jobs. ‘

Initial Weekly Claims Rise 26,000 [ Bad, worse than expected news … stocks rally … what fraud / b*** s***. ] ]NEW YORK (TheStreet) – ‘The number of Americans filing unemployment claims for the first time rose more than expected last week, the Labor Department said early Thursday. The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims increased by a higher-than-expected 26,000 to 436,000 in the week ended Nov. 27, from the previous week's upwardly revised estimate of 410,000. Analysts were expecting initial claims to rise to 422,000, after it dropped to 407,000, its lowest level since July 2008 in the previous week. The number of Americans filing continuing claims -- those who have been receiving unemployment insurance for at least a week -- came in higher than expected at 4.27 million for the week ended Nov. 20, an increase of 53,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 4.217 million. Consensus estimates projected continuing claims to come in at 4.2 million. The four-week moving average in initial claims, which smoothes the volatility in week-to-week reports, was 431,000, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's revised average of 436,750. The four-week moving average in continuing claims was 4.288 million, a decrease of 29,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 4.317 million. The numbers do not include millions of those who claim benefits under the extended unemployment benefits program. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.4% for the week ending Nov. 20, unchanged from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 3.4 percent…’

Economy Needs To Create 235K Jobs A Month To Return To Pre-Depression Levels By End Of Obama Second Term When we last ran this number, the economy needed to create 232,400 jobs per month to get to the same unemployment rate as last seen in December 2007, just before the depression started, courtesy of today’s massive disappointment we can now increase the creation requirement to 235,120.

The Confiscation Con If you’ve spent enough time in the gold community, you might be under the impression that the most imminent threat to the average American isn’t terrorism or unemployment, but rather gold confiscation.

Delaying Tax Vote Could Crash Stock Market Failure by Congress to extend the Bush tax cuts, especially locking in the 15 percent capital gains tax rate, will spark a stock market sell off starting December 15 as investors move to lock in gains at a lower rate than the 20 percent it would jump to next year, warn analysts.

From the “Wealth of Nations” to the “Debt of Nations” As everyone from Paul Krugman to Simon Johnson has noted, the banks are so big and politically powerful that they have bought the politicians and captured the regulators.

It’s The Bankers Or Us Problem, Reaction, Solution: Derivatives, Crash, Too Big To Fail, Bailout, Nationalization, Budget Crisis, Privatization, Debt Slavery, Austerity, Evaporating Pensions, Central Banks, Big Government, World Government…’

John Hussman's Index: Stocks Are 13% Overvalued John Hussman, manager of Hussman Strategy Growth Fund (HSGFX), proposed price to peak 10 year average earnings as a long term stock market valuation metric. Compared with the normal one year price to earning ratio, Price to Peak Earnings would eliminate short term noise. This is similar to Shiller's ‘Cyclically Adjusted Price Earning’ ratio (CAPE10) and Warren Buffett’s stock market GNP/GDP metric.In his weekly commentary on Dec 5, 2005, titled as 'Earnings Revert to the Mean, Stocks Will Struggle', he proposed a simplistic method: "buy when Price to Peak Earnings is lower than 15 and sell when it exceeds 19.5". John Hussman has been using this as the valuation yardstick to manage the Hussman Strategic Growth Fund HSGFX.A model portfolio called P Hussman Peak PE Market Timing Strategy Buy 15 Sell 19.5 Weekly is also maintained to live monitor the strategy suggested in 'Earnings Revert to the Mean, Stocks Will Struggle'. click [chart] On Nov 19, 2010, the ratio of Real Price to the average of last 10 year Peak Real Earnings (13.44) to its long term average (11.93) is 1.13. The US stock market is 13% overvalued. We will be tracking this number biweekly.

National / World

‘Ventura show FEMA’ and ‘feminizing uranium’ lead Google Trends Infowars.com | Two terms dealing with the controversial information released via Gov. Ventura’s Conspiracy Theory have topped Google Trends today.

ACLU: Flying Americans Fear Being Put On Government Watch List Steve Watson | TSA complaints continue to flood in, travelers afraid of government “retaliation” if they complain.

Stop the John Boehner scam: Give Ron Paul monetary subcommittee chair Infowars | Boehner’s underhanded tactic to silence Ron Paul and the will of the people to hold the Federal Reserve accountable is absolutely disgusting. Be heard and stop this bureaucratic tyranny.

Republicans Move to Block Ron Paul from Monetary Policy Subcommittee Chair Kurt Nimmo | Ron Paul will not head up the House’s monetary policy subcommittee if John Boehner has anything to say about it.

Shocker: Feminizing-uranium, fluoride & lithium in water to be exposed on Ventura TV show Aaron Dykes | Tonight’s Great Lakes episode of Conspiracy Theory has now expanded into a startling exposé of the dangerous toxins being added to our water by design.

Shocker: Feminizing-uranium, fluoride & lithium in water to be exposed on Ventura TV show As producer Michael Braverman announced yesterday, what was once an episode just dealing with schemes to profit off the Great Lakes has now expanded into a startling exposé of the dangerous toxins being added to our water by design.

Trillions In Secret Fed Bailouts For Global Corporations And Foreign Banks Has the Federal Reserve become the Central Bank of the World? That is what some members of Congress are asking after the Federal Reserve revealed the details of 21,000 transactions stretching from December 2007 to July 2010 that totaled more than $3 trillion on Wednesday.

joe ‘zelig zionist incompetent and corrupt‘ lieberman’s Campaign To Trample The First Amendment Is Proceeding Right On Schedule As if it wasn’t enough that America’s ruling oligarchs were sufficiently happy with abdicating their governing duties to the Federal Reserve, they have now decided to imitate China in every possible way.

Arrest Assange? Arrest the Banksters Instead [ I quite agree, and for the reason stated plus the fact that Assange is a world class hero! ] Kurt Nimmo | Assange’s supposed crimes pale in comparison to the unprecedented grand theft larceny pulled off by Wall Street, the banksters, and the global financial elite.

Robinson: White House is eerily silent on taxes (Washington Post) [ Eerily? I think not! Expectantly? I think so! That is, once you get beyond the wobama b*** s*** ! And, truth be told party distinctions are merely distinctions without significant differences (no prosecution of the wall street frauds, wars raging in Afghanistan / Middle East, etc.. But alas, as to the ‘wobama whitehouse’ this was predictable early on as by David Icke : Barack Obama: The Naked Emperor Shocking but true revelations from David Icke (a must read) | ‘Vast numbers of people across the world, including many who should know better, have been duped by the mind-game called Operation Obama... (excerpts) Obama has been the chosen one for a long time, a fact known only to a few in the deep inner circle, and his relationship with Brzezinski almost certainly goes back to the start of the 1980s when he attended the Ivy League, and big-time Illuminati, Columbia University where Brzezinski was head of the Institute for Communist Affairs. Obama simply will not talk in any detail about this period. He has been covertly funded and supported ever since by the Trilateral Commission and its network of foundations connecting into the Ford Foundation, for whom Obama's mother worked. And a question: Does anyone really believe that someone, a 'man of the people', would simply appear from apparently nowhere to run the slickest and best-funded presidential campaign in American history? He was chosen long ago by those who wish to enslave the very people that Obama says he wants to 'set free'. The sources of Obama funding read like a Wall Street Who's Who - Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and so on. No wonder he went back on his pledge to accept the limitations of public funding for his campaign and instead took the no-limit option of 'private funding. Then there is the Jewish financier, George Soros, the multi-billionaire associate of Brzezinski and closely involved with the funding and marketing of Obama. Soros is a former board member of the Illuminati's Council on Foreign Relations and funds the European Council on Foreign Relations. In short, he is a major insider' You can certainly see the Soros/Brzezinski techniques in the Obama 'revolution' in the United States. It was the complex and secretive network of Soros foundations and organisations, connected to the intelligence agencies of the US and Israel, that trained and funded students in the Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere in the art of mass protest and overthrowing governments. These manufactured protests were sold to the world as peoples' revolutions, but it just so happened that when they were over and the old regime was removed the new leaders were those waiting in the wings all along - the puppets of Soros, Brzezinski and their associated networks. Obama is just more of the same, a big smile with strings attached, and controlled completely by the Illuminati networks that chose him, trained him, sold him and provided his record funding. It was they who kept his many skeletons under wraps, like the gay sex and crack cocaine allegations of Larry Sinclair (from affidavit: 1. Who is Ron Allen that claims to be with your Presidential camp, who is alleged to claim that someone claiming to represent me called asking for $100,000, to keep me from coming forward about our (Obama and I) November 1999 encounter of sex and cocaine use?), and they will continue to do so as long as he jumps to their bidding. Obama is just another Banksters' moll prostituting himself for fame and power, and that's why he supported the grotesque bail-out of the banking system and why he will always put their interests before the people. His financial advisors are straight from the Wall Street 'A' list, including Paul Adolph Volker (Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg Group), the head of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987 and Illuminati to his fingertips. Obama has made him head of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which is dominated by insiders, including its staff director and chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, a close Obama associate from the University of Chicago. Goolsbee is an initiate of the infamous Illuminati Skull and Bones Society at Yale University, which also includes Boy and Father Bush. It was Goolsbee who told the Canadian government not to worry about Obama's attacks on the economic effects of free trade agreements because his words were just to win votes in the election campaign. Another Wall Street insider, the Zionist Timothy Geithner (Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations), was appointed by Obama to be his Treasury Secretary. Geithner was the President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, the most powerful in the private Federal Reserve cartel that masquerades as America's central bank, and he is a former employee of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the appalling Kissinger Associates. Obama's Treasury team locks into the inner circle around the Zionist Robert Rubin, the Director and Senior Counselor of Citigroup, co-chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, and economic advisor to Obama. Rubin, a member of the Illuminati Bilderberg Group, was the man behind Citigroup's strategy of expanding its risk in debt markets which forced it to be rescued by taxpayers' money. The very people who caused the financial crisis are being appointed by Obama to decide how to respond to it (more taxpayers' money for them and their friends) ‘
The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ‘In emotional and personal testimony, an ex-Justice official who quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims ...’  US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Washington Post | Obama has promised to hold Wall Street accountable for the meltdown. ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 – well worth a look. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

While boner and barton are indeed jokes / vegetables that bespeak the single-digit approval rate for congress, obama’s failure to deliver on promises with as well, endless war spending despite defacto bankruptcy of the nation and a watered down nothing financial regulation bill for talking points but little substance, make him as big a joker. This well researched / produced video tells the real story : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 ‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ – well worth the view. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored A viral You Tube upload of one of Alex Jones’ most popular feature films ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored following a spur of the moment campaign to elevate the movie’s title to the top of the major internet search engines. In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257# [ youtube is often down – website archived version is available as follows: http://www.albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv http://www.albertpeia.com/esotericagendalinktoarchive.htm ]

Communications lay bare Afghan corruption (Washington Post) [ Corruption? The same, along with the american re-invigorated heroin trade there go hand in hand. There were no illusions concerning karzai and brother’s ties to same and the cia and the same also the very reason for choosing him. ‘Tens of millions of dollars are carried out of Afghanistan each month, with no telling how much is illicit. The country's dominant money exchange caters to "narco-traffickers, insurgents, and criminals" also known as the cia and friends. Come on! Wake up! You’re paying for this and their enrichment. These revelations confirm the obvious.] WikiLeaks disclosures provide new details showing how corruption has undermined progress in a country that is in many ways a 9-year-old project in U.S. nation-(destruction, including defacto bankrupt america) building. Leaks reveal frustration with Karzai Inquiry: Troop killed aid worker

Three key senators on deficit panel say they'll back plan (Washington Post) [ Well, that settles it! Three key senators … our worries are over … happy days are here again … NOT! … Note the prospective assumptions for, ie., GDP, etc.. Preposterous! There has been a structural change, economically, financially, etc., that’s not going to change. We’re witnessing only the beginnings of a dismal reality and turmoil masked by huge bubble-spending of funds not really there other than the paper on which they’re printed, or computers on which the entries are made, enabling the continued frauds by wall street, insiders, politically connected, etc., who are cashing out at everyone else’s expense. ] Proposal plans to rein in runaway federal deficits by allowing taxes to rise sharply in coming years.

Consumers show renewed strength (Washington Post) [ Come on! Who’s buyin’ their b*** s*** ! You can’t believe a word they say / report. Previously Najerian was interviewed by Motek and stated the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz added that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! Drudgereport: GEORGIA: HUNDREDS LINE UP IN COLD FOR HEAT HELP...
Assistance Funds Quickly Depleted...
'Almost like being in soup line during great depression'...
VIDEO...
DELAYING TAX VOTE COULD 'CRASH STOCK MARKET' STARTING 12/15 [ Come on! There’s no way to justify the tax cut to the top 1% including the frauds on wall street … their threats don’t hunt no more … the nation’s defacto bankrupt … see Davis, supra! ]
] Retail and housing data indicate that American consumers are spending again and raising hopes that they are ready to shoulder the burden of the nation's economic recovery.

Obama, GOP in quiet talks to extend tax cuts (Washington Post) [ How can this be justified for the ‘top 1%’ economically, financially, fiscally, rationally, morally, etc.. The nation’s defacto bankrupt and not by a small margin. Davis weighs in with reality (and see infra) ‘ … This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! … ‘ ] The discussions, which parallel a more public set of talks, have left many Democrats grousing that the president is being too quick to accommodate GOP.

Bulls Charge On With Blinders: Dave's Daily ‘More POMO ($8.3 billion), better Retail Sales reports and Pending Home Sales data (+10.4%) allow bulls to build on yesterday's rally. Any worries from Europe, China tightening, higher Jobless Claims are mere inconveniences when the light is a bright green. Let's face it. This is what the Fed stated they wanted with their POMO activities -- higher prices overall with higher stock prices emphasized. The Fed prints money and buys bonds from the Primary Dealers and (wink, wink) they know what they're supposed to do with it. Bears just better get out of the way. Friday presents the unemployment report which should be a nonevent if numbers are bad -- remember, and keep repeating this mantra as you try to reason with events: "bad news is good, good news is better."  That should do the trick…’

Phillips ‘…Goldman analysts opine about the potential for euro-credit “contagion,” as well as freakouts tied to the parlous state of U.S. finances. Likewise, UBS analysts are expecting problems — should they arise — to erupt from the bond markets. “We believe that credit disruptions — whether they emanate from the banking system, the mortgage market, U.S. municipalities, or from abroad — will be the likely culprit should the stock market behave poorly in 2011,” they wrote.’

Initial Weekly Claims Rise 26,000 [ Bad, worse than expected news … stocks rally … what fraud / b*** s***. ] ]NEW YORK (TheStreet) – ‘The number of Americans filing unemployment claims for the first time rose more than expected last week, the Labor Department said early Thursday. The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims increased by a higher-than-expected 26,000 to 436,000 in the week ended Nov. 27, from the previous week's upwardly revised estimate of 410,000. Analysts were expecting initial claims to rise to 422,000, after it dropped to 407,000, its lowest level since July 2008 in the previous week. The number of Americans filing continuing claims -- those who have been receiving unemployment insurance for at least a week -- came in higher than expected at 4.27 million for the week ended Nov. 20, an increase of 53,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 4.217 million. Consensus estimates projected continuing claims to come in at 4.2 million. The four-week moving average in initial claims, which smoothes the volatility in week-to-week reports, was 431,000, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's revised average of 436,750. The four-week moving average in continuing claims was 4.288 million, a decrease of 29,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 4.317 million. The numbers do not include millions of those who claim benefits under the extended unemployment benefits program. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.4% for the week ending Nov. 20, unchanged from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 3.4 percent…’

Come on! Suckers’ rally to keep the suckers suckered! Clearly, this is one of those fraudulent wealth transfers to the frauds on wall street et als which will ultimately be paid for by those who least are in a position to afford it, courtesy of the ever more worthless Weimar dollar, etc., inflating earnings, eps, lowering p/e multiples, etc., see infra. This is an especially great time to sell / take profits while you can since there's much worse to come! Previous: Rosy numbers on consumer sentiment, unemployment (far better than private forecasts) from the government prior to the holiday so-called ‘shop till you drop’? How can anyone believe anything they say? Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz adds that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! And, with insiders and wall street frauds selling into the bubble as preceded last crash, this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally on light volume, full moon, and government complicity (false data / reports) to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam/fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

Smart Money Playing Defense

Delegge ‘… Is the euro (NYSEArca: FXE - News) heading for a breakup? Many well-heeled investors like George Soros have publicly expressed their doubts about the long-term viability of the euro. The cost of borrowing has jumped for euro-land governments with weaker economies even though they are all part of the same currency union, which implies ongoing financial aid from stronger members…’

Arrest Assange? Arrest the Banksters Instead [ I quite agree, and for the reason stated plus the fact that Assange is a world class hero! ] Kurt Nimmo | Assange’s supposed crimes pale in comparison to the unprecedented grand theft larceny pulled off by Wall Street, the banksters, and the global financial elite.

Financial oligarchy dictates terms of Irish bailout Jordan Shilton | While ordinary working people will suffer the devastating consequences of the deal, the bailout ensures that the financial speculators whose criminal activity brought about the crisis will escape unpunished.

Fed Withholds Collateral Data for $885 Billion in Financial-Crisis Loans Bloomberg | The Federal Reserve withheld details on individual securities pledged as collateral by recipients of $885 billion in central bank loans.

Fed aid in financial crisis went beyond U.S. banks to industry, foreign firms Washington Post | The financial crisis stretched even farther across the economy than many had realized.

Chinese Gold Imports Surge By 500% Through October All who thought that China was merely posturing when it announced a few days back it was creating a fund to allow its domestic investor base to allocated capital to foreign gold ETF, may wish to reconsider after it was disclosed late last night that China gold imports jumped by 500% in the first 10 months compared to all of 2009 on concerns of rising inflation according to the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Fed May Be `Central Bank of the World’ After UBS, Barclays Aid Federal Reserve data showing UBS AG and Barclays Plc ranked among the top users of $3.3 trillion from emergency programs is stoking debate on whether U.S. regulators bear responsibility for aiding other nations’ banks.

Fed Data Shows Foreign Banks Huge Beneficiaries of Emergency Lending Programs, Hedge Funds, McDonald’s, Harley-Davidson and Others Also Bailed Out Under orders from Congress pursuant to the Dodd-Frank financial legislation, the Fed has finally released details of its emergency lending starting in 2007.

Fed Wealth Grows While Others Drown In Debt [ Yet, these ledger entries / transactions are, as in the kiting of checks, ultimately illusory, worth less, and with the rest of the worthless paper, will end quite badly. ] The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet grew a 4th straight week to $2,328 trillion, up $31 billion in a week. In May the balance sheet was $2,333 trillion.

Are Stocks Cheap? [ Reality’s short anwer: NO! NO! NO! ] Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday November 30, 2010 Are Stocks Over Loved and Over Valued? [ Is the Pope Catholic? Do bears s*** in the woods? … Reality’s short answer: YES! YES! YES! ]
Simon Maierhofer, On Monday November 22, 2010 ‘Momentum and perception are the big intangibles of the investing universe.  Nobody knows exactly when the investing masses' mojo will turn on or off, overheat or over correct.Valuations, similar to gravity, are the big equalizer. In a world of uncertainty, valuations are the one thing you can rely on.  Getting valuations right is one thing, figuring out when valuations will exercise their gravitational pull on stocks (NYSEArca: VTI - News) is another.
Using Valuations as a Guide
When planning a trip from point A to B, you need to know where A and B are. If you don't know your destination, you will most likely end up some place you don't want to be.  Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.Fair valuations are the final investment destination. If you invest in an undervalued market or stock and have the patience to let the market do its magic, your investment will be profitable 9 out of 10 times.If you invest in an overvalued market and don't get out in time, odds are that your journey will end in tears.
Asking the 'Valuation Guru'
Charles Dow, the founder of the Wall Street Journal and inventor of the Dow Jones Averages was an astute student of valuations. According to Mr. Dow, a correct understanding of valuations is the single most important ingredient to investment success. If Mr. Dow was still alive, what would he say about today's market? Would he tell you to buy or sell?Let's examine the most basic and probably purest measure of value: Dividend yields.Unlike P/E ratios, dividend yields can't be fudged and massaged. Companies with a healthy cash flow use their financial prowess to attract and retain buy-and hold type investors with juicy dividend checks.The dividend yield is expressed as a percentage of the stock price and can rise for two reasons: 1) stock price drops or 2) dividend payment increases. As a rule of thumb, the higher dividend yields, the healthier valuations.
Dividend Yield - Buy High, Sell Low
It's human nature to want what you can't get. Current yields are low, but everybody wants income, so investors are willing to risk the return of their money for return on their money.  Current yields are close to an all-time low, so it's fair to assume that stocks are overvalued.The opposite was true in the first quarter of 2009. A variety of ETFs yielded close to or even more than 10%. The Financial Select Sector SPDRs (NYSEArca: XLF - News) and Vanguard Financial ETF (NYSEArca: VFH - News) paid more than 7%.Dividend ETFs like the iShares DJ Select Dividend (NYSEArca: DVY - News) and SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: SDY - News) had yields north of 6%, and even plain value ETFs like Vanguard Value (NYSEArca: VTV - News) and iShares Russell 1000 Value (NYSEArca: IWD - News) paid more than 4%.The problem at that time was that nobody was interested in yield. Investors shunned stocks and yields like cats shun water. Within a week of prices bottoming and stocks beginning to rally, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter recommended to load up on dividend-rich ETFs.Here's the newsletter's March 2, 2009 recommendation: 'This counter trend rally will have to be broad and powerful in order to relieve investor's pent-up urge to buy. Dividend ETFs with a higher allocation to financials are likely to rise higher than the broad market. Some of the dividend yields are quite juicy and can help to offset timing mistakes.'

Beware of the Yields Trap

Since then, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) has risen as much as 84%, the performance for the Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) has been similar. What about dividend yields?If the March 2009 lows marked a true market bottom, dividend payments should have increased somewhat proportionally to stock prices. They didn't. In fact, yields today are lower than they were at the March 2009 bottom.In March 2009 the dividend yield for S&P 500 constituents was 3.6%. By multiplying 3.6% with the March 2009 low of 666 we arrive at a dividend yield of 23.98 points. In October 2010, the S&P yielded 1.97%. Based on an S&P at 1,200 points, this represented 23.64 points, 0.34 points less than at the March 2009 bottom.Hunting after yield without considering the risk at current prices is similar to maxing out your credit cards just to rack up frequent flier miles. The return comes at a (long-term) cost.
Beware of the Earnings TrapIn my humble opinion, earnings are more than just a trap, they are a minefield. According to the numbers we are fed, earnings have already surpassed the threshold reached at the peak of the dot-com bubble and are projected to eclipse even the 2007 all-time record high in 2011.If this doesn't strike you as odd, take a moment to examine the chart below. Leading up to the 2007 stock market and earnings high, we had consistent GDP growth (not historically great but steady). The real unemployment rate (U-6, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) was 8.4%.[chart]Today, GDP is sputtering (and inflated by government subsidies) and U-6 unemployment has more than doubled to 17%. For those who prefer to go by the media's more palatable U-3 jobless number, it has soared from below 4.7% to 9.6%. Does that look like the kind of environment that would produce record high earnings?I don't think it would be presumptuous to wonder if financial engineering and massaging the books has something to do with high earnings. Remember the 157 rule change which allows banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) to hide real estate losses (see June 2010 ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter for a detailed analysis).Even when assuming that current earnings are for real, the P/E ratio (high earnings translate into a lower P/E ratio) is still historically elevated. Admittedly not as much out of line as a year ago, but still high.

Don't Bet Against Valuations

Buying into an overvalued market and expecting a long-term gain, is like sowing seed in the winter and expecting to reap in the summer - it doesn't work that way.Of course, over the short-term, markets can defy valuations and make disciplined investors look like temporary fools. But, as the 2000 and 2008 declines have shown, there are no shortcuts to long-term success.The most intriguing facet of dividend yields and P/E ratios is that they tend to pinpoint major market bottoms. All historic market bottoms had one thing in common: super high dividend yields and ridiculously low P/E ratios.Based on this historic clue, the March 2009 bottom looks more like a fake than a major bottom. Just as ice doesn't thaw unless the temperature rises above 32 degrees, the market doesn't bottom until P/E ratios and dividend yields signal that a valuation reset has occurred.The December issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed analysis of P/E ratios, dividend yields, and two other benchmarks of value-based forecasting plotted against historic charts of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones.A picture paints more than a thousand words, and the featured chart shows how overvalued stocks are and how far they have to drop before a sustainable new bull market can begin.’

Timid Tuesday: Is it Safe? Davis ‘Is it safe?

Is what safe?

Is it safe?

I don’t know what you mean. I can’t tell you something’s safe or not, unless I know specifically what you’re talking about.

Is it safe?

Tell me what the "it" refers to.

Is it safe?

Yes, it’s safe, it’s very safe, it’s so safe you wouldn’t believe it.

Is it safe?

No. It’s not safe, it’s… very dangerous, be careful.

One could only wish we could torture the MSM pundits the way the evil dentist tortured Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man - these guys cannot give us a straight answer and, frankly, we’re not even sure what the question is anymore. Is it safe to buy bonds? Is it safe to buy stocks? Is our currency safe? Are commodities safe?

All this uncertainty is certainly boosting gold and, although I am no fan of gold speculation, we did take a gold hedge in last Tuesday’s Alert to Members and on Wednesday our market hedge was a 500% hedge on the Russell that goes 100% in the money right about 730. Monday’s upside Alert play was a 1,000% payoff on FAS that’s already all in the money – it’s a crazy market when your longs and your shorts work at the same time!

That’s the sort of thing that gave us the confidence to restart the "$10,000 to $50,000 by Jan 21st" virtual portfolio as we were halfway to goal at $26,000 when we cashed out in early October. We didn’t like the market then for directional plays and we still don’t but now we’re taking the opportunity to practice our short-term trading techniques in this choppy market. As you can see from David Fry’s Nasdaq chart above, we’re in a critical zone and the chips are literally flying every which way – our job is just to reach in and grab a few.

Yesterday we focused on the DIA (always a favorite) $112 calls, which opened at .94 and we took 20 at the open and stopped out with a quick .10 loss ($200) just 10 minutes later as the Dow failed to hold 11,000. We took a re-load with 30 at .75 at 11:12, stuck out the dip to .70 and cashed back out at $1.05, for a very nice $900 gain on our second attempt. We need to average $500 a day to get to our goal by Jan 21st, so we’re off to a fine start already!

CHART

The key to day-trading options is paying close attention to your channels. In more certain market conditions, we would have rode out the initial drop and doubled down at .75 for a .80 average entry on 40 contracts but 11,000 was a key breakdown and we couldn’t be sure the S&P 500 would hold 1,177 so it wasn’t worth taking the chance.

CHART

As you can see from David’s S&P chart, we did get our hold at 1,177 and between looking stronger at the 1,180 line and our anticipation of the day’s POMO by the Fed, we were brave enough to test our buy premise for the 2nd time. We’re also getting used to these sell-offs into the close and we know to take the money and run sooner, rather than later. I called an end to this trade at 3:29 in Member Chat as we have no reason to be greedy on a 40% day’s gain.

That left us with a bearish play on one of our high flyers and a bullish play on the Financials as we need something to the upside, just in case but I can assure you our hearts are not in the bull side just yet because no one can answer the question – "Is it safe?"

That’s why we have 1,000% plays to the upside hedging 500% plays to the downside – we don’t know what’s going to happen but we sure do think something is going to happen pretty soon! So, we construct plays that give us great pay-offs in either direction which enables us to use just a little bit of our sideline cash on trades that can give us a 5x and 10x payoff. We don’t really care what the market does and, in fact, when it does nothing – as it has been for a week – we can win on both sides! This is what hedging is all about – striking a balance that allows us to take advantage of opportunities in either direction or no direction at all.

There is risk, of course, and the risk we take on these spreads is usually being forced to own the underlying stock or ETF at a discount (see "How to Buy Stocks for a 15-20% Discount"). This is just fine as long as you only play things you really do want to own at the assignment price so always keep that in mind – we expect to have the losing side put to us and we are pleasantly surprised if it isn’t but, if it is, we are happy to be long-term owners in, for example, QID.

Speaking of QID, it is the Nasdaq we’ll be looking to short if the Dow and the S&P 500 break down as they certainly have the most to lose next to the Russell, who we are already short on. We already have longer-term QID spreads, also in the 500% range, that we were using at the top to guard against a move back to $50 on the Qs. The Qs are always fun to play with as they have weekly options and we love our weekly option plays! Oil is another short play on our radar but we were hoping for a more bullish surge last night to give us a better entry than $86. Now the dollar is back to 81.40 and oil can’t even hold $85 – pathetic!

That’s not stopping gold as it is perceived as "safe" by millions of global investors who are liquidating their Euros. $130Bn floated to Ireland Monday morning didn’t even keep the EU markets up through lunch-time as they dropped about 2% on the day, closing at the lows. This morning, after gapping up (bouncing) half a point at the open, the EU markets are now down about half a point during lunch. As Martin Weiss points out:

The authorities had hoped that Irish bond yields would come down sharply, helping to avert a disastrous, additional interest burden for the government. Instead, bond investors have dumped Irish bonds with both hands, driving their prices down and yields up. Exactly seven days ago, on the morning after the big bailout announcement, the yield on Ireland’s benchmark 10-year government bond was near 8 percent. Now, it has surged by more than a full percentage point to 9.17 percent. That extra interest cost alone threatens to eat up a big chunk of the bailout money.

That doesn’t sound "safe" at all, does it? As I said to Members in my Weekend Post, where we examined the Dollar chart – "I’m not a TA guy, but dollar bears should be very concerned if we break up here as conditions are ripe for a big run." At the height of the last Greek debt crisis — on February 8, 2010, to be exact — the cost of insuring a €10 million 5-year Greek government bond reached a peak of €420,855. But last week, the cost on the exact same instrument had surged above €1,000,000! Who is going to keep their money in Europe under those conditions? Notorious bond pimp, Mohamed El Erian was on CNBC this morning, calling for action before his investments turn sour! Europe isn’t "safe", California isn’t "safe", giving money to Timmy certainly isn’t "safe" and borderlines irrational. Asia may not be "safe" either so where is a man with $1Tn under management supposed to go? I’ll be the first one to chip in to send El Erian and Bill Gross to another planet so they can wreck their economies for a change – who’s with me?

Of course the boys from Pimpco are already trapped in their own little hell with pretty much every nation on Earth defaulting on debt. What, you say? Who is defaulting on debt? Pretty much everybody says I and so says the Market Oracle, who have a nice article with "eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence" that makes the very good point that inflation, quantitative easing or whatever you want to call it is simply a default on debt only it’s the kind of default where you pretend to pay back the debt but you pay it back with worthless bits of paper that in no way, shape or form resembles the value of the paper you were lent. That’s default folks!

How is it better to have a global policy of "extend and pretend" that amounts to nothing more than a multi-trillion Dollar massive default against bondholders (as their debts get canceled for monopoly money) than to just honestly restructure global debt so we can all see where we actually stand and reorganize (because that’s what bankruptcies are supposed to help us do) in order to move forward more responsibly in the future. It is not "safe" to pretend that the global markets are functioning correctly and to keep taking new investors capital in this global Ponzi scheme that is, in fact, collapsing right now!

What’s beginning to unravel, even in this "brilliant" scheme is that investors are starting to wise up and are reluctant to put more money into money-printing nations like the US, the EU and Japan. Even China had a failed bond auction last week and Spain is having them weekly with the last auction not filling at 5% and we’re already up to 5.25 with 5.5% likely on the next offering. At 6%, the wheels begin to come off the El Autobus and then all bets will be off in the EU.

The US has "solved" the problem of waning interest in our TBills by selling them to the Fed and I encourage anyone who has debts to try this at home. Simply take out your checkbook and give your spouse some deposit slips. Let them go upstairs so you don’t feel like it’s all being done in the same room. Then have your spouse put down whatever number you need as a deposit, which you can then immediately write checks against. If anyone wants to know where your wife got the money – she can say – well my husband clearly made an entry in his checkbook that we had the money and that’s the money I’m using to give him! See, who can argue with that kind of logic?

This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.

THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! ‘

National / World

“Police State” episode of hit Ventura show covering FEMA camps pulled from air Infowars | Alex Jones, a consultant to TruTV’s Conspiracy Theory, can confirm that the controversial episode “Police State,” dealing with FEMA camps and fusion centers, has been essentially “memory-holed” due to behind the scenes pressure.

The Secret The TSA Doesn’t Want You To Know Paul Joseph Watson | Big Sis has been quietly preparing the groundwork for the total takeover of all public transport and highways by federal government goon squads.

‘Bankers or us’ tops Google trends Infowars | Today’s #1 search term signifies a grassroots revolt in the Infowar against the economic war being waged against ordinary Americans

Who Precisely Is Attacking The World? Paul Craig Roberts | The stuck pigs are squealing.

Arrest Assange? Arrest the Banksters Instead [ I quite agree, and for the reason stated plus the fact that Assange is a world class hero! Sweden should focus on their own major criminals of old … Swedish royal family hit by fresh Nazi allegations Sweden’s royal family has been rocked by a new scandal which has exposed the hidden Nazi past of the Queen’s father, only weeks after its reputation was shattered by lurid disclosures about the king’s secret sex life. ] Kurt Nimmo | Assange’s supposed crimes pale in comparison to the unprecedented grand theft larceny pulled off by Wall Street, the banksters, and the global financial elite.

The Secret The TSA Doesn’t Want You To Know While many Americans think they can skip being sexually molested at the hands of the TSA by avoiding airports, Big Sis has been quietly preparing the groundwork for the total takeover of all public transport and highways by federal government goon squads.

Arrest Assange? Arrest the Banksters Instead So-called “fiscal conservative” radio talk show host Todd Schnitt has posted a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of “WikiLeaks menace” Julian Assange. Schnitt, who hosts a radio show in Tampa, Florida, says Assange is a terrorist and an enemy combatant “who needs to be treated as such,” according to a wanted poster on Schnitt’s website.

Ron Paul: US “Counterfeit Machine” Will Lead To Political, Social Chaos Texas Congressman Ron Paul, active member of the Committee on Financial Services, appeared on MSNBC today and issued a stark warning to viewers regarding the continuing debt crisis: reduce the deficit now or face mass political and social chaos.

Warrant To Be Issued For Cheney Arrest Via Interpol The prosecuting counsel for the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said that indictments will be handed down in the next three days and that an arrest warrant for Cheney “will be issued and transmitted through Interpol.”

Max Keiser’s Plan To Destroy JP Morgan Goes Mainstream, After The Guardian Posts His “Silver Squeeze” Thoughts As Zero Hedge readers know, the reason why the US mint sold a record amount of silver American Eagle coins in November is unlikely a coincidence, and very possibly an indication that the recently disclosed plan as espoused by the MKs (Mike Krieger and Max Keiser) to destroy JP Morgan is working.

WikiLeaks II – A Government Caught Up in Mendacity and Lies The reaction to WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange tells us all we need to know about the total corruption of our “modern” world, which in fact is a throwback to the Dark Ages.

WTC Steel Was So Hot It Bent Without Cracking & Fused With The Concrete Carbon fire can’t melt steel.

Debt = Money, Money = Debt Where does money come from? You would think that question should be so simple that any 10-year-old child could answer it, but that is not the case. You see, the truth is that the vast majority of American adults cannot even answer that question.

Corrupt, incompetent, zionist ‘being there’ zelig of man, lieberman, Has Power To Shut Down Websites With A Phone Call The corrupt, incompetent, zionist ‘being there’ zelig of man, lieberman, the man behind legislation to give President Obama a kill switch for the Internet in the move towards a Chinese-style government controlled world wide web, now has the power to shut down websites with a mere phone call, as was underscored yesterday when Amazon axed Wikileaks from its servers after being pressured to do so by Lieberman’s Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Drudgereport: US TO BAILOUT EU [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! After all, in defacto bankrupt america money does grow on trees … derivatively (pun intended) that is … you know … that ever more worthless fiat paper currency … and ultimately, existentially, philosophically, doesn’t paper come from trees … sure it does …so, no problemo since money grows on trees. ]
BOMBSHELL: European banks took big slice of Fed aid...
Hundreds of billions of dollars...
Fed reveals global extent of its backing... ]

Funds went to stalwarts of American industry including GE and Caterpillar and household-name companies such as Verizon, new data show.
GEORGIA: HUNDREDS LINE UP IN COLD FOR HEAT HELP...
Assistance Funds Quickly Depleted...
'Almost like being in soup line during great depression'...
VIDEO...
DELAYING TAX VOTE COULD 'CRASH STOCK MARKET' STARTING 12/15 [ Come on! There’s no way to justify the tax cut to the top 1% including the frauds on wall street … their threats don’t hunt no more … the nation’s defacto bankrupt … see Davis, supra! ]
Nation's '2nd Most Dangerous City' (camden, new jersey) To Lay Off Nearly Half Of Police Force...
UPDATE: Latest WIKILEAKS developments...
Foreign contractors hired Afghan 'dancing boys'...
Embassy cables portray Karzai as corrupt, erratic...
CIA drew up UN spying wishlist...
SANTA CLAUSE: FED AID WENT TO COMPANIES, BANKS, OFFSHORE...
SECRETLY BAILED OUT GE -- GE NEWS OUTLETS FAILED TO REVEAL IN FED COVERAGE...
MORE SECRETS: Fed Withholds Data for $885 Billion in Loans...
RUSSIA TO HOST '18 WORLD CUP FINALS...
Qatar selected '22 host over USA, others...
National Board of Review: SOCIAL NETWORK named best film... [ National board of what? ‘Inception’ is by far and away the ‘Best Film’ across the board and on the list! ] LIST...

BANK OF AMERICA Becoming 'Bank of Asia' as Revenue Increases 30% ...
RESET: PUTIN CRITICIZES USA OVER WIKILEAKS … [ Putin deserves the greatest deference in matters of global concern in light of his greater rationality; america’s self-serving accusations are merely envy and projection / displacement (in psychoanalytic terms) of america’s pervasively corrupt, criminal, broken system which is a far cry in reality from defacto bankrupt america’s propaganda.]...
REWARD: [ The payoff. Bribe complete! Next bribe scenario … ] CITI to Hire Obama's Ex-Budget Chief Orszag...
FLASHBACK: Rubin and friends ride NY-DC shuttle...
ZUCKERMAN: Watching America's Decline and Fall [the moral authority of the West has dramatically declined in the face of the financial crisis. It has revealed deep fault lines within Western economies that have spread to the global economy. The majority of Western governments are running fiscal deficits of 10 percent or more relative to GDP, but it is increasingly clear that there will be no quick fixes, that big government and fiscal deficits will not bring us back to the status quo ante. Indeed, the tidal wave of red ink has meant that the leverage-led or debt-led growth model is dead. Developed countries will be forced to deal with their debt on every level, from the personal to the corporate to the sovereign. Being able to borrow may have made people feel richer, but having to repay the debt is certainly making them feel poorer, particularly since the unfunded liabilities that many governments face from aging populations will have to be paid for by a shrinking band of workers. (Ecoutez, mes amis!) Demography is destiny. As a result, there is a burgeoning consensus that we are witnessing an inevitable rise of the East and a decline of the West…( Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ) ]...
Interpol issues wanted notice for Julian Assange [ They just can’t take the truth! ] ...
US cuts access to files [ Think about it. Really think about it. Their policies are in the tank, along with the nation and the rest of this world as a consequence. Don’t those so detrimentally affected (everyone) have a right to know? I think in light of the global frauds, contrived perpetual wars though defacto bankruptcy of this and other nations, pervasive corruption and crime, failed policies domestically and geo-politically while serving the very parochial interests of the self-interested few, the answer is an unequivocal, YES! I believe that world history will write Mr. Assange as a hero in the truest sense. He should be given a medal; and, certainly, since mr. b*** s*** wobama undeservingly got a ‘nobel peace prize’ (what he does, not what he says, ie., Afghanistan, etc.), who more than Julian Assange is deserving of that and more? Cover-up / propaganda … thy name is fallen america.]...
WIKILECTURE: 'HILLARY SHOULD RESIGN' ‘…Hillary Clinton, Julian Assange said, "should resign." Speaking over Skype from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, the WikiLeaks founder was replying to a question by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel over the diplomatic-cable dump that Assange's organization loosed on the world this past weekend. Stengel had said the U.S. Secretary of State was looking like "the fall guy" in the ensuing controversy, and had asked whether her firing or resignation was an outcome that Assange wanted. "I don't think it would make much of a difference either way," Assange said. "But she should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up. Yes, she should resign over that."…’
CITY ON EDGE: Cash-Strapped Newark, new jersey Forced To Lay Off 14% Of Police Force... [ From decades old (1978-1985) direct personal experience with newark, n.j., the police are the absolute last cuts that can be afforded to be made. Indeed, while walking through Military Park (a sliver of a “park” - more a pedestrian thoroughfare/cement walks) in newark, new jersey on the way to the bank during lunch hour, I heard the clearly audible screams/cries of what turned out to be an old lady on the ground with blood streaming from her mouth. I ran toward the sound of the cries, the source of which I could not see because there were so many people in and about this thoroughfare so as to block any vision of the source of the cries. When I came to the woman, on the ground, blood streaming from her mouth, I asked what happened, to which she responded she had been hit in the mouth and knocked to the ground, her purse stolen/put inside her shopping bag, and she pointed out the criminal casually now walking across the main street. Nobody stopped to help her, many having passed her by. I slammed the thug to the ground so hard that, in light of all the blood and confusion (limbic system / adrenalin flow) I thought I had been stabbed (the blood was from his elbows hitting the pavement so hard - no one helped / a crowd gathered / an undercover cop happened along). When I testified at the Grand Jury Proceeding I made sure his threat on my life was set forth in prima facie fashion so as to maximize the DA’s position with both felonies ( he went to prison – pled out ). The other case I wrote about here ( This was included on my website in the Psychology forum discussion of ‘bystander effect’ / diffusion of responsibility. ) - Having had occasion to have run down a mugger in newark, n.j. who apparently had followed a girl from the bank on her way to the bursar to pay tuition, though in pretty good shape, I was astounded by how totally exhausting such a pursuit was, how much like rubber my arms were when I traded punches with the perpetrator, and truth be told, if I had a flashlight on my belt, I have little doubt that I would have probably used it to subdue the perp. The girl was not that seriously injured, did get her pocketbook and tuition back, and the criminal went to jail. The other thing about such a pursuit that amazed me was that no one else assisted the girl or me despite being in a position to do so). (Other newark / new jersey and new york, n.y. metro, viz., ie., connecticut, and of course, d.c., d.c. metro, viz., ie., virginia experience … corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz (california), hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken (AP) Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ]

Deficit panel offers compromises (Washington Post) [ Compromise? Talk about Irock and a hard place! What? Fantasy? Is this some parallel universe they’re operating in? Come on! Davis has a realistic studied perspective: Davis weighs in with reality (and see infra) ‘ … This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! … ‘ ] Commission shows surprising willingness to compromise on issues that long divided Republicans and Democrats.

Russia:  Putin warns of arms buildup (Washington Post) [ Drudgereport: RESET: PUTIN CRITICIZES USA OVER WIKILEAKS … Putin deserves the greatest deference in matters of global concern in light of his greater rationality; america’s self-serving accusations are merely envy and projection / displacement (in psychoanalytic terms) of america’s pervasively corrupt, criminal, broken system which is a far cry in reality from defacto bankrupt america’s propaganda... ]

Fannie, Freddie: Mortgage servicers triggered crisis (Washington Post) [ ‘Defend their role’ … literally … After all, culpability is in such short supply that the same must rationed with every culpable party fighting for a little piece of the action … then as well, there’s that raison d’etre thing which such as fannie / freddie say shows they’re contributing by giving federal employees everywhere something to do … and, pointing fingers is clearly a consequence of blame being in such short supply indeed as well … whew! ]The mortgage giants defend their role in the foreclosure crisis.

Amazon stops hosting WikiLeaks Assange hiding from Interpol Thwarting WikiLeaks coverage Unflattering portrait of Moscow (Washington Post) [ Wow! Sounds like neo-nazi-zionist america … you know, burn all those non-flattering sources of information / reality. The real clue here was the source of speech suppression / oppression; viz., that corrupt, incompetent, zionist ‘being there’ zelig of man, lieberman, et als. Interpol issues wanted notice for Julian Assange [ They just can’t take the truth! ] ... US cuts access to files [ Think about it. Really think about it. Their policies are in the tank, along with the nation and the rest of this world as a consequence. Don’t those so detrimentally affected (everyone) have a right to know? I think in light of the global frauds, contrived perpetual wars though defacto bankruptcy of this and other nations, pervasive corruption and crime, failed policies domestically and geo-politically while serving the very parochial interests of the self-interested few, the answer is an unequivocal, YES! I believe that world history will write Mr. Assange as a hero in the truest sense. He should be given a medal; and, certainly, since mr. b*** s*** wobama undeservingly got a ‘nobel peace prize’ (what he does, not what he says, ie., Afghanistan, etc.), who more than Julian Assange is deserving of that and more? Cover-up / propaganda … thy name is fallen america.]... ]

Fed aid in crisis went beyond U.S. banks (Washington Post) [ Drudgereport: US TO BAILOUT EU [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! After all, in defacto bankrupt america money does grow on trees … derivatively (pun intended) that is … you know … that ever more worthless fiat paper currency … and ultimately, existentially, philosophically, doesn’t paper come from trees … sure it does …so, no problemo since money grows on trees. ]
BOMBSHELL: European banks took big slice of Fed aid...
Hundreds of billions of dollars...
Fed reveals global extent of its backing... ]

Funds went to stalwarts of American industry including GE and Caterpillar and household-name companies such as Verizon, new data show.
BANK OF AMERICA Becoming 'Bank of Asia' as Revenue Increases 30% ...
RESET: PUTIN CRITICIZES USA OVER WIKILEAKS … [ Putin deserves the greatest deference in matters of global concern in light of his greater rationality; america’s self-serving accusations are merely envy and projection / displacement (in psychoanalytic terms) of america’s pervasively corrupt, criminal, broken system which is a far cry in reality from defacto bankrupt america’s propaganda.]...
REWARD: [ The payoff. Bribe complete! Next bribe scenario … ] CITI to Hire Obama's Ex-Budget Chief Orszag...
FLASHBACK: Rubin and friends ride NY-DC shuttle...
ZUCKERMAN: Watching America's Decline and Fall [the moral authority of the West has dramatically declined in the face of the financial crisis. It has revealed deep fault lines within Western economies that have spread to the global economy. The majority of Western governments are running fiscal deficits of 10 percent or more relative to GDP, but it is increasingly clear that there will be no quick fixes, that big government and fiscal deficits will not bring us back to the status quo ante. Indeed, the tidal wave of red ink has meant that the leverage-led or debt-led growth model is dead. Developed countries will be forced to deal with their debt on every level, from the personal to the corporate to the sovereign. Being able to borrow may have made people feel richer, but having to repay the debt is certainly making them feel poorer, particularly since the unfunded liabilities that many governments face from aging populations will have to be paid for by a shrinking band of workers. (Ecoutez, mes amis!) Demography is destiny. As a result, there is a burgeoning consensus that we are witnessing an inevitable rise of the East and a decline of the West…( Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ) ]...
Interpol issues wanted notice for Julian Assange [ They just can’t take the truth! ] ...
US cuts access to files [ Think about it. Really think about it. Their policies are in the tank, along with the nation and the rest of this world as a consequence. Don’t those so detrimentally affected (everyone) have a right to know? I think in light of the global frauds, contrived perpetual wars though defacto bankruptcy of this and other nations, pervasive corruption and crime, failed policies domestically and geo-politically while serving the very parochial interests of the self-interested few, the answer is an unequivocal, YES! I believe that world history will write Mr. Assange as a hero in the truest sense. He should be given a medal; and, certainly, since mr. b*** s*** wobama undeservingly got a ‘nobel peace prize’ (what he does, not what he says, ie., Afghanistan, etc.), who more than Julian Assange is deserving of that and more? Cover-up / propaganda … thy name is fallen america.]...
WIKILECTURE: 'HILLARY SHOULD RESIGN' ‘…Hillary Clinton, Julian Assange said, "should resign." Speaking over Skype from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, the WikiLeaks founder was replying to a question by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel over the diplomatic-cable dump that Assange's organization loosed on the world this past weekend. Stengel had said the U.S. Secretary of State was looking like "the fall guy" in the ensuing controversy, and had asked whether her firing or resignation was an outcome that Assange wanted. "I don't think it would make much of a difference either way," Assange said. "But she should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up. Yes, she should resign over that."…’
CITY ON EDGE: Cash-Strapped Newark, new jersey Forced To Lay Off 14% Of Police Force... [ From decades old (1978-1985) direct personal experience with newark, n.j., the police are the absolute last cuts that can be afforded to be made. Indeed, while walking through Military Park (a sliver of a “park” - more a pedestrian thoroughfare/cement walks) in newark, new jersey on the way to the bank during lunch hour, I heard the clearly audible screams/cries of what turned out to be an old lady on the ground with blood streaming from her mouth. I ran toward the sound of the cries, the source of which I could not see because there were so many people in and about this thoroughfare so as to block any vision of the source of the cries. When I came to the woman, on the ground, blood streaming from her mouth, I asked what happened, to which she responded she had been hit in the mouth and knocked to the ground, her purse stolen/put inside her shopping bag, and she pointed out the criminal casually now walking across the main street. Nobody stopped to help her, many having passed her by. I slammed the thug to the ground so hard that, in light of all the blood and confusion (limbic system / adrenalin flow) I thought I had been stabbed (the blood was from his elbows hitting the pavement so hard - no one helped / a crowd gathered / an undercover cop happened along). When I testified at the Grand Jury Proceeding I made sure his threat on my life was set forth in prima facie fashion so as to maximize the DA’s position with both felonies ( he went to prison – pled out ). The other case I wrote about here ( This was included on my website in the Psychology discussion of ‘bystander effect’ / diffusion of responsibility. ) - Having had occasion to have run down a mugger in newark, n.j. who apparent had followed a girl from the bank on her way to the bursar to pay tuition, though in pretty good shape, I was astounded by how totally exhausting such a pursuit was, how much like rubber my arms were when I traded punches with the perpetrator, and truth be told, if I had a flashlight on my belt, I have little doubt that I would have probably used it to subdue the perp. The girl was not that seriously injured, did get her pocketbook and tuition back, and the criminal went to jail. The other thing about such a pursuit that amazed me was that no one else assisted the girl or me despite being in a position to do so). (Other newark / new jersey and new york, n.y. metro, viz., ie., connecticut, and of course, d.c., d.c. metro, viz., ie., virginia experience … corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz (california), hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken (AP) Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ]

EU-US Back-Scratching Society: Dave's Daily – ‘The worries over eurozone troubles were absent Wednesday as it was assumed the U.S. would back any rescue of troubled sovereign debt issues. This was well-hyped but then later denied by the Treasury. No matter, bulls were not about to be slowed by inconvenient facts shifting instead to better economic data. As the Fed Beige Book reported modest economic growth was continuing and the ADP Jobs Report showed 93K job growth in the services sector. Also Labor Productivity rose 2.3% but ISM factory index was lower. Oh, and just in case you missed it, there was another round of POMO Wednesday to keep markets and FOFs (Friends of the Fed) well-lubed. In this operation, many of the bonds purchased from the Primary Dealers were from the auction last week so the shell game continues. Further, how much more can the Fed print to shore up the EU? We had four days of stock market declines and had gotten short-term oversold so a bounce wasn't surprising. Let's not forget this is the best month of the year and those daring to be short were squeezed. Finally, let's remember what bullish month and season we're in now. Volume was higher than previous market melt-ups and breadth was quite positive but not quite a 90/10 day by current data.’

Private employers add jobs, manufacturing grows (Reuters) [ Come on! That ‘jersey-based adp thing’? That ‘better than expected thing’? Then there’s ‘the Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity dipped to 56.6 last month from 56.9 in October’ which is bad but what the heck, this is a good month for stocks, that’s what they say, you know, Santa Claus rallies, etc., and you believe in Santa Claus … riiiiight!’ How can anyone believe anything they say? ] ‘…Even though economists cheered the job gains, they noted the labor market still has a long way to go. Friday's jobs report is forecast to show the U.S. unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent in November. Also, the number of planned layoffs in November by U.S. employers rose to the highest since March, according to a report by consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Employers announced 48,711 planned job cuts last month, up 28 percent from 37,986 in October, with the government and nonprofit sector leading the rise, the report showed. A government report showing construction spending posted a 0.7 percent gain in October provided a more upbeat view of the economy. Expectations had been for a 0.4 percent decline in spending, a Reuters poll showed…’

New Home Sales Fell 8.1% in October Suttmeier ‘For the 10-Year yield my annual value level is 2.999 with a annual pivot at 2.813, and quarterly and semiannual risky levels at 2.265 and 2.249. Gold remains above its 50-day simple moving average at $1345.8. My quarterly value level is $1306.4 with weekly risky level at $1401.6. Crude oil is just above my semiannual pivot at $83.94 with this week’s risky level at $84.89. The euro is below my quarterly pivot at 1.3318 and its 200-day simple moving average at 1.3129 on Monday. The Dow is below its 50-day at 11,062, which indicates risk to my semiannual and annual pivots at 10,558 and 10,379. My annual and semiannual pivots are 11,235 and 11,296. New Home Sales declined in October along with home prices.

10-Year Note – (2.826) My annual value level is 2.999 with daily, annual and weekly pivots at 2.855, 2.813 and 2.816, and monthly, quarterly and semiannual risky levels at 2.380, 2.265 and 2.249.

Click [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Comex Gold – ($1366.3) Quarterly, semiannual and annual value levels are $1306.4, $1260.8, $1218.7 and $1115.2 with my monthly pivot at $1373.0, and daily and weekly risky levels at $1381.7 and $1401.6. Watch the 50-day simple moving average at $1345.8.

[chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Nymex Crude Oil – ($85.74) Monthly and annual value levels are $78.51 and $77.05 with semiannual, daily and weekly pivots at $83.94, $84.01 and $84.89, and semiannual and annual risky levels at $96.53 and $97.29.

[chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

The Euro – (1.3119) My monthly value level is 1.2709 with daily and quarterly pivots at 1.3321 and 1.3318, and weekly and semiannual risky levels at 1.3688 and 1.4733. The euro is below its 200-day simple moving average at 1.3129.

[chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Daily Dow: (11,052) Monthly, semiannual, annual and quarterly value levels are 10,848, 10,558, 10,379 and 8,523 with daily, annual, semiannual, and weekly risky levels at 11,197, 11,235, 11,296, and 11,469. The Dow is below its 50-day simple moving average at 11,063.

[chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

New Home Sales Fell 8.1% in October - According to the Commerce Department New Home Sales fell 8.1% in October to a 283,000 annual rate, and sales are down 28.5% year over year. This report came out before Thanksgiving last week and followed a weaker than expected reading for Existing Home Sales.Home builders have slowed the pace of building as banks are stingy with regard to construction loans. There are only 202,000 new homes available for sale, the lowest since June 1968.New homes are under downward price pressures with the median price dropping a record 13.9% in October to the lowest level since October 2003. The price decline was 9.4% year over year.’

Street Renews Slump After Case-Shiller Shows Home Prices Slip Schaefer ‘…. The housing market's woes returned to center stage with the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which showed declines are accelerating in the largest U.S. cities. On a year-over-year basis, the index's 20-city gauge inched up 0.6% from a year ago in September, but the figure was down 0.7% from the month prior as 18 of the 20 cities saw declines. Prices were rising through July, buoyed by the government's home buyer tax credits, but have swooned in more recent months after the credits expired and could continue their slide into 2011 given the record number foreclosures that may further depress prices …’

Guess Who’s Paying For The Greece Bailout? That’s Right — YOU Business Insider | The US supplies almost 20% of the IMF’s funding (per quotas). So that means US taxpayers are providing ~$8 billion of the $145 billion going to kick the Greek can down the road.

Why Poverty Spreads Across America Sherwood Ross | Pockets of poverty, like the sores of some malignant disease, are spreading across America, as its states and cities go broke and bankrupt.

Europe’s Debt Domino Effect CNBC | Insight on Europe’s debt debacle.

Insanity: US Ready to Back EU Bailout EconomicPolicyJournal.com | The United States would be ready to support the extension of the European Financial Stability Facility via an extra commitment of money from the International Monetary Fund.

Fed Report on Crisis Loans May Embarass Banks Reuters | The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will have to disclose details about emergency loans made during the 2007-2009 financial meltdown, including who borrowed how much and what collateral was offered in return.

WikiLeaks vs. Bank of America The Street | In its latest perception battle, Bank of America (BAC_) is up against an international man of mystery who appears to have a loaded publicity gun.

Nigel Farage: Euro Empire Collapsing, Bailout River Dry Another Eurozone country might need a financial bailout soon. Italy – which is the third largest economy that uses the Euro currency – has started plunging in the same direction as Greece and Ireland. It comes as fresh protests sweep across Europe – with people angry at facing tough cuts to pay for it all. RT talks to European Parliament member Nigel Farage, who’s the leader of the UK Independence Party.

US Mint Sells Record 4.2 Million American Eagle Silver Coins In November In what is becoming a very sad development, the more money (pardon, monetary base) Bernanke prints, the more silver coins Americans buy.

As The Euro Goes The Way Of The Dodo, Where Does That Leave The Dollar? The Eurozone is heading for a crash—anyone saying otherwise is either stoned, works in Brussels, or hasn’t checked the European bond market action lately: All hell is breaking loose there.

Fed Names Recipients of $3.3 Trillion in Crisis Aid The Federal Reserve, under orders from Congress, today named the counterparties of about 21,000 transactions from $3.3 trillion in aid provided to stem the worst financial panic since the Great Depression.

Are Stocks Cheap? [ Reality’s short anwer: NO! NO! NO! ] Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday November 30, 2010 Are Stocks Over Loved and Over Valued? [ Is the Pope Catholic? Do bears s*** in the woods? … Reality’s short answer: YES! YES! YES! ]
Simon Maierhofer, On Monday November 22, 2010 ‘Momentum and perception are the big intangibles of the investing universe.  Nobody knows exactly when the investing masses' mojo will turn on or off, overheat or over correct.Valuations, similar to gravity, are the big equalizer. In a world of uncertainty, valuations are the one thing you can rely on.  Getting valuations right is one thing, figuring out when valuations will exercise their gravitational pull on stocks (NYSEArca: VTI - News) is another.
Using Valuations as a Guide
When planning a trip from point A to B, you need to know where A and B are. If you don't know your destination, you will most likely end up some place you don't want to be.  Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.Fair valuations are the final investment destination. If you invest in an undervalued market or stock and have the patience to let the market do its magic, your investment will be profitable 9 out of 10 times.If you invest in an overvalued market and don't get out in time, odds are that your journey will end in tears.
Asking the 'Valuation Guru'
Charles Dow, the founder of the Wall Street Journal and inventor of the Dow Jones Averages was an astute student of valuations. According to Mr. Dow, a correct understanding of valuations is the single most important ingredient to investment success. If Mr. Dow was still alive, what would he say about today's market? Would he tell you to buy or sell?Let's examine the most basic and probably purest measure of value: Dividend yields.Unlike P/E ratios, dividend yields can't be fudged and massaged. Companies with a healthy cash flow use their financial prowess to attract and retain buy-and hold type investors with juicy dividend checks.The dividend yield is expressed as a percentage of the stock price and can rise for two reasons: 1) stock price drops or 2) dividend payment increases. As a rule of thumb, the higher dividend yields, the healthier valuations.
Dividend Yield - Buy High, Sell Low
It's human nature to want what you can't get. Current yields are low, but everybody wants income, so investors are willing to risk the return of their money for return on their money.  Current yields are close to an all-time low, so it's fair to assume that stocks are overvalued.The opposite was true in the first quarter of 2009. A variety of ETFs yielded close to or even more than 10%. The Financial Select Sector SPDRs (NYSEArca: XLF - News) and Vanguard Financial ETF (NYSEArca: VFH - News) paid more than 7%.Dividend ETFs like the iShares DJ Select Dividend (NYSEArca: DVY - News) and SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: SDY - News) had yields north of 6%, and even plain value ETFs like Vanguard Value (NYSEArca: VTV - News) and iShares Russell 1000 Value (NYSEArca: IWD - News) paid more than 4%.The problem at that time was that nobody was interested in yield. Investors shunned stocks and yields like cats shun water. Within a week of prices bottoming and stocks beginning to rally, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter recommended to load up on dividend-rich ETFs.Here's the newsletter's March 2, 2009 recommendation: 'This counter trend rally will have to be broad and powerful in order to relieve investor's pent-up urge to buy. Dividend ETFs with a higher allocation to financials are likely to rise higher than the broad market. Some of the dividend yields are quite juicy and can help to offset timing mistakes.'

Beware of the Yields Trap

Since then, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) has risen as much as 84%, the performance for the Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) has been similar. What about dividend yields?If the March 2009 lows marked a true market bottom, dividend payments should have increased somewhat proportionally to stock prices. They didn't. In fact, yields today are lower than they were at the March 2009 bottom.In March 2009 the dividend yield for S&P 500 constituents was 3.6%. By multiplying 3.6% with the March 2009 low of 666 we arrive at a dividend yield of 23.98 points. In October 2010, the S&P yielded 1.97%. Based on an S&P at 1,200 points, this represented 23.64 points, 0.34 points less than at the March 2009 bottom.Hunting after yield without considering the risk at current prices is similar to maxing out your credit cards just to rack up frequent flier miles. The return comes at a (long-term) cost.
Beware of the Earnings TrapIn my humble opinion, earnings are more than just a trap, they are a minefield. According to the numbers we are fed, earnings have already surpassed the threshold reached at the peak of the dot-com bubble and are projected to eclipse even the 2007 all-time record high in 2011.If this doesn't strike you as odd, take a moment to examine the chart below. Leading up to the 2007 stock market and earnings high, we had consistent GDP growth (not historically great but steady). The real unemployment rate (U-6, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) was 8.4%.[chart]Today, GDP is sputtering (and inflated by government subsidies) and U-6 unemployment has more than doubled to 17%. For those who prefer to go by the media's more palatable U-3 jobless number, it has soared from below 4.7% to 9.6%. Does that look like the kind of environment that would produce record high earnings?I don't think it would be presumptuous to wonder if financial engineering and massaging the books has something to do with high earnings. Remember the 157 rule change which allows banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) to hide real estate losses (see June 2010 ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter for a detailed analysis).Even when assuming that current earnings are for real, the P/E ratio (high earnings translate into a lower P/E ratio) is still historically elevated. Admittedly not as much out of line as a year ago, but still high.

Don't Bet Against Valuations

Buying into an overvalued market and expecting a long-term gain, is like sowing seed in the winter and expecting to reap in the summer - it doesn't work that way.Of course, over the short-term, markets can defy valuations and make disciplined investors look like temporary fools. But, as the 2000 and 2008 declines have shown, there are no shortcuts to long-term success.The most intriguing facet of dividend yields and P/E ratios is that they tend to pinpoint major market bottoms. All historic market bottoms had one thing in common: super high dividend yields and ridiculously low P/E ratios.Based on this historic clue, the March 2009 bottom looks more like a fake than a major bottom. Just as ice doesn't thaw unless the temperature rises above 32 degrees, the market doesn't bottom until P/E ratios and dividend yields signal that a valuation reset has occurred.The December issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed analysis of P/E ratios, dividend yields, and two other benchmarks of value-based forecasting plotted against historic charts of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones.A picture paints more than a thousand words, and the featured chart shows how overvalued stocks are and how far they have to drop before a sustainable new bull market can begin.’

John Hussman's Index: Stocks Are 13% Overvalued John Hussman, manager of Hussman Strategy Growth Fund (HSGFX), proposed price to peak 10 year average earnings as a long term stock market valuation metric. Compared with the normal one year price to earning ratio, Price to Peak Earnings would eliminate short term noise. This is similar to Shiller's ‘Cyclically Adjusted Price Earning’ ratio (CAPE10) and Warren Buffett’s stock market GNP/GDP metric.In his weekly commentary on Dec 5, 2005, titled as 'Earnings Revert to the Mean, Stocks Will Struggle', he proposed a simplistic method: "buy when Price to Peak Earnings is lower than 15 and sell when it exceeds 19.5". John Hussman has been using this as the valuation yardstick to manage the Hussman Strategic Growth Fund HSGFX.A model portfolio called P Hussman Peak PE Market Timing Strategy Buy 15 Sell 19.5 Weekly is also maintained to live monitor the strategy suggested in 'Earnings Revert to the Mean, Stocks Will Struggle'. click [chart] On Nov 19, 2010, the ratio of Real Price to the average of last 10 year Peak Real Earnings (13.44) to its long term average (11.93) is 1.13. The US stock market is 13% overvalued. We will be tracking this number biweekly.

Howard Davidowitz on the Economy: "Here Are the Numbers ... WE'RE BROKE!" The U.S. economy "is a complete disaster," Howard Davidowitz declared here in July, the most recent in a string of dire predictions from Tech Ticker's most entertaining guest.On the eve of Thanksgiving, I asked Davidowitz if he had any regrets, or was ready to throw in the towel given recent signs of economic revival. Are you kidding me? "Here are the numbers...we're broke," Davidowitz declares, noting the U.S. government goes $5 billion deeper into debt every day and is facing $1 trillion-plus annual deficits for the next decade. "In other words, we're bankrupt."As with the economy, Davidowitz is unwaveringly consistent in his views on President Obama, calling him "deranged, dysfunctional and discredited."Results of the midterm election show "the people of this country think we are in a catastrophe," he says. "I'm with them."Check the accompanying video for more of Howard's unfettered opinions and stay tuned for additional clips from this interview. And...Happy Thanksgiving! Aaron Task is the host of Tech Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at [email protected]

National / World

Top 3 Google Trends: ‘Google Evil,’ ‘Spying on Drudge’ & ‘PrisonPlanet.com Censored’ Aaron Dykes | Three Infowars.com initiated search terms have all peaked on Google’s Trends list for December 1, 2010.

UPDATE: You Tube Restores Banned Video After Media Storm Alex Jones & Aaron Dykes | Both Google and its subsidiary company You Tube have banned Alex Jones and his websites, as attempts to curtail free speech widen.

Watchdog Probes DHS Spying on Drudge Paul Joseph Watson | FOIA request investigates whether critics of TSA are being listed as domestic extremists

Former Pakistani General: CIA, Mossad behind WikiLeaks Reports FARS News Agency December 1, 2010 A former Pakistani army commander said that the disclosure of classified documents by the whistleblower site of Wikileaks is a US plot to create rift among friendly and neighboring states. “The US has a hand in this plot, and these reports (posted by the WikiLeaks website) are part of [...]

Top 3 Google Trends: ‘Google Evil,’ ‘Spying on Drudge’ & ‘PrisonPlanet.com Censored’ Thanks to our listeners and supporters, we have once again topped Google’s Trends. Now, for the first time ever, three terms, “Google Evil,” “Spying on Drudge” and “PrisonPlanet.com Censored,” have simultaneously charted the influential hot trends list.

Watchdog Probes DHS Spying on Drudge A Freedom of Information Act request filed by former Congressman Bob Barr seeks to discover whether the Department of Homeland Security has been keeping tabs on the Drudge Report and other prominent media outlets who have spearheaded a nationwide revolt against invasive TSA airport security measures.

US Gets Ready To Bail Out Europe Through IMF Funds The United States would be ready to support the extension of the European Financial Stability Facility via an extra commitment of money from the International Monetary Fund, a U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Bob Barr Investigates TSA Stand Down On National Opt Out Day A civil liberties watchdog group has filed a Freedom of Information Act request in an attempt to shed more light on the TSA’s efforts to disrupt a day of protest aimed at full body scanners and invasive pat-downs by largely curtailing their use for one day only last week.

UPDATE: You Tube Restores Banned Video After Media Storm Both Google and its subsidiary company You Tube have banned Alex Jones and his websites, as attempts to curtail free speech widen.

TSA Caves On Pat Downs But Mandates Government Permission For All Fliers In response to the national outcry surrounding invasive pat down measures, the TSA has been forced to refine its airport security procedures, but has simultaneously entrenched its policy that requires government permission for all Americans who wish to fly, creating what critics have labeled a Communist-style system of internal checkpoints.

Bank of America was shown leniency by SEC, report finds (Washington Post) [ It’s really difficult to justify any leniency whatsoever to these ‘too big to fail or jail’ institutions. Indeed, such treatment only encourages more fraud and abuse, ie., $144 bilion in bonuses this year alone, then the proceeds from the continuing frauds, computer programmed high-frequency commissioned churn and earn, etc.. Moreover, their importance to the nation’s economic well-being is wildly exaggerated. In fact, quite the opposite is true. ] The agency agreed to a settlement that was "favorable" to the bank "because of the nation's perilous economic situation at the time."

WikiLeaks founder could be charged under Espionage Act (Washington Post) [ Drudgereport: Interpol issues wanted notice for Julian Assange [ They just can’t take the truth! ] ...
US cuts access to files [ Think about it. Really think about it. Their policies are in the tank, along with the nation and the rest of this world as a consequence. Don’t those so detrimentally affected (everyone) have a right to know? I think in light of the global frauds, contrived perpetual wars though defacto bankruptcy of this and other nations, pervasive corruption and crime, failed policies domestically and geo-politically while serving the very parochial interests of the self-interested few, the answer is an unequivocal, YES! I believe that world history will write Mr. Assange as a hero in the truest sense. He should be given a medal; and, certainly, since mr. b*** s*** wobama undeservingly got a ‘nobel peace prize’ (what he does, not what he says, ie., Afghanistan, etc.), who more than Julian Assange is deserving of that and more? Cover-up / propaganda … thy name is fallen america.]...
WIKILECTURE: 'HILLARY SHOULD RESIGN' ‘…Hillary Clinton, Julian Assange said, "should resign." Speaking over Skype from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, the WikiLeaks founder was replying to a question by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel over the diplomatic-cable dump that Assange's organization loosed on the world this past weekend. Stengel had said the U.S. Secretary of State was looking like "the fall guy" in the ensuing controversy, and had asked whether her firing or resignation was an outcome that Assange wanted. "I don't think it would make much of a difference either way," Assange said. "But she should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up. Yes, she should resign over that."…’
CITY ON EDGE: Cash-Strapped Newark, new jersey Forced To Lay Off 14% Of Police Force... [ From decades old (1978-1985) direct personal experience with newark, n.j., the police are the absolute last cuts that can be afforded to be made. Indeed, while walking through Military Park (a sliver of a “park” - more a pedestrian thoroughfare/cement walks) in newark, new jersey on the way to the bank during lunch hour, I heard the clearly audible screams/cries of what turned out to be an old lady on the ground with blood streaming from her mouth. I ran toward the sound of the cries, the source of which I could not see because there were so many people in and about this thoroughfare so as to block any vision of the source of the cries. When I came to the woman, on the ground, blood streaming from her mouth, I asked what happened, to which she responded she had been hit in the mouth and knocked to the ground, her purse stolen/put inside her shopping bag, and she pointed out the criminal casually now walking across the main street. Nobody stopped to help her, many having passed her by. I slammed the thug to the ground so hard that, in light of all the blood and confusion (limbic system / adrenalin flow) I thought I had been stabbed (the blood was from his elbows hitting the pavement so hard - no one helped / a crowd gathered / an undercover cop happened along). When I testified at the Grand Jury Proceeding I made sure his threat on my life was set forth in prima facie fashion so as to maximize the DA’s position with both felonies ( he went to prison – pled out ). The other case I wrote about here ( This was included on my website in the Psychology discussion of ‘bystander effect’ / diffusion of responsibility. ) - Having had occasion to have run down a mugger in newark, n.j. who apparently had followed a girl from the bank on her way to the bursar to pay tuition, though in pretty good shape, I was astounded by how totally exhausting such a pursuit was, how much like rubber my arms were when I traded punches with the perpetrator, and truth be told, if I had a flashlight on my belt, I have little doubt that I would have probably used it to subdue the perp. The girl was not that seriously injured, did get her pocketbook and tuition back, and the criminal went to jail. The other thing about such a pursuit that amazed me was that no one else assisted the girl or me despite being in a position to do so). (Other newark / new jersey and new york, n.y. metro, viz., ie., connecticut, and of course, d.c., d.c. metro, viz., ie., virginia experience … corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz (california), hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken (AP) Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ]

]

Federal Diary Deficit panel eyes federal pay (Washington Post) [ ‘critical challenges being shouldered by federal workers’ ? … PLEASE! Shoulder them no more … haven’t they done enough damage already … cease and desist … do not pass go … do not collect $200,000+ (with benefits), abolish lifetime appointments, etc., prosecute the frauds on wall street including jail, fines, and disgorgement, etc.. Fire them! The exception is law enforcement only, along with what’s strictly necessary and directly tied to prosecutions. ]

After meeting, hope for cuts deal (Washington Post) [ Is this some parallel universe they’re operating in? Davis weighs in with reality (and see infra) ‘ … This is how we pay off our current debts and I think bondholders are simply happy to get anything out of a country that admits it owes $15Tn (1/4 of global GDP) but probably owes closer to $60Tn (entire global GDP) in the form of unfunded liabilities. The funniest thing about this (and you have to laugh) is to see Conservative pundits get on TV and talk about how we need to cut $100Bn worth of discretionary spending to "fix" this (while continuing to spend $1Tn on the military and $1Tn on tax cuts for the top 1% each year). There is no fixing this and even a Republican said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. THIS HOUSE OF CARDS IS TEETERING FOLKS – PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! … ‘ ] President Obama and congressional Republicans expressed determination Tuesday to reach an agreement on the tax cuts due to expire at year's end

Panel's focus: Foreclosures after firms' bad advice (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! Bad advice … nothing to do with the bernanke ‘no recession’, now dubbed the Great Recession … which is actually a depression albeit masked by an ever increasing (debt) defacto bankruptcy of the nation along with pervasive corruption / fraud (particularly securities) / criminality of the nation. Then there’s that lamest weird duck, incompetent dummy dodd, from that corrupt suburb of new york ( corrupt sinkhole tri-state metropolitan region-ny,nj,ct) where corrupt federal judges, contractors, etc., must have been gettin’ his bad advice along with that of that zionist ‘being there’ incompetent zelig of man, lieberman. Dodd has a familial history of corruption which goes with the territory these days and those. Tip of the iceberg, systemic failure, etc., thy name is chris dodd et als. See here for some insight into from whence dododd came… new jersey and new york, n.y. metro, viz., ie., connecticut, and of course, d.c., d.c. metro, viz., ie., virginia … corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz (california), hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken (AP) Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ] Mortgage industry executives have argued for weeks that they are foreclosing only on borrowers who deserve it for missing their monthly payments.

New Home Sales Fell 8.1% in October Suttmeier ‘For the 10-Year yield my annual value level is 2.999 with a annual pivot at 2.813, and quarterly and semiannual risky levels at 2.265 and 2.249. Gold remains above its 50-day simple moving average at $1345.8. My quarterly value level is $1306.4 with weekly risky level at $1401.6. Crude oil is just above my semiannual pivot at $83.94 with this week’s risky level at $84.89. The euro is below my quarterly pivot at 1.3318 and its 200-day simple moving average at 1.3129 on Monday. The Dow is below its 50-day at 11,062, which indicates risk to my semiannual and annual pivots at 10,558 and 10,379. My annual and semiannual pivots are 11,235 and 11,296. New Home Sales declined in October along with home prices.

10-Year Note – (2.826) My annual value level is 2.999 with daily, annual and weekly pivots at 2.855, 2.813 and 2.816, and monthly, quarterly and semiannual risky levels at 2.380, 2.265 and 2.249.

Click [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Comex Gold – ($1366.3) Quarterly, semiannual and annual value levels are $1306.4, $1260.8, $1218.7 and $1115.2 with my monthly pivot at $1373.0, and daily and weekly risky levels at $1381.7 and $1401.6. Watch the 50-day simple moving average at $1345.8.

[chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Nymex Crude Oil – ($85.74) Monthly and annual value levels are $78.51 and $77.05 with semiannual, daily and weekly pivots at $83.94, $84.01 and $84.89, and semiannual and annual risky levels at $96.53 and $97.29.

[chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

The Euro – (1.3119) My monthly value level is 1.2709 with daily and quarterly pivots at 1.3321 and 1.3318, and weekly and semiannual risky levels at 1.3688 and 1.4733. The euro is below its 200-day simple moving average at 1.3129.

[chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Daily Dow: (11,052) Monthly, semiannual, annual and quarterly value levels are 10,848, 10,558, 10,379 and 8,523 with daily, annual, semiannual, and weekly risky levels at 11,197, 11,235, 11,296, and 11,469. The Dow is below its 50-day simple moving average at 11,063.

[chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

New Home Sales Fell 8.1% in October - According to the Commerce Department New Home Sales fell 8.1% in October to a 283,000 annual rate, and sales are down 28.5% year over year. This report came out before Thanksgiving last week and followed a weaker than expected reading for Existing Home Sales.Home builders have slowed the pace of building as banks are stingy with regard to construction loans. There are only 202,000 new homes available for sale, the lowest since June 1968.New homes are under downward price pressures with the median price dropping a record 13.9% in October to the lowest level since October 2003. The price decline was 9.4% year over year.’

Street Renews Slump After Case-Shiller Shows Home Prices Slip Schaefer ‘… For the second straight day, stocks plunged into the red at the opening bell in New York Tuesday. The housing market's woes returned to center stage with the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which showed declines are accelerating in the largest U.S. cities. On a year-over-year basis, the index's 20-city gauge inched up 0.6% from a year ago in September, but the figure was down 0.7% from the month prior as 18 of the 20 cities saw declines. Prices were rising through July, buoyed by the government's home buyer tax credits, but have swooned in more recent months after the credits expired and could continue their slide into 2011 given the record number foreclosures that may further depress prices …’

Guess Who’s Paying For The Greece Bailout? That’s Right — YOU Business Insider | The US supplies almost 20% of the IMF’s funding (per quotas). So that means US taxpayers are providing ~$8 billion of the $145 billion going to kick the Greek can down the road.

Why Poverty Spreads Across America Sherwood Ross | Pockets of poverty, like the sores of some malignant disease, are spreading across America, as its states and cities go broke and bankrupt.

Europe’s Debt Domino Effect CNBC | Insight on Europe’s debt debacle.

Ireland’s Debt Servitude Stripped to its essentials, the €85bn package imposed on Ireland by the Eurogroup and the European Central Bank is a bail-out for improvident British, German, Dutch, and Belgian bankers and creditors.

Gold Is Going Nuts, Stocks And The Dollar Are Tanking But what we’re seeing now is mega buying in gold and major selling in equities. This is real flight-to-safety stuff we’re seeing right now.

20 Statistics That Prove That Global Wealth Is Being Funneled Into The Hands Of The Elite – Leaving Most Of The Rest Of The World Wretchedly Poor Today global wealth is more highly concentrated in the hands of the elite than it ever has been at any other point in modern history. Once upon a time, the vast majority of the people in the world knew how to grow their own food, raise their own animals and take care of themselves.

France, Ireland and Hungary Seize Pensions As Part of Move By Governments to Use Long -Term Assets to Fill “Short-Term Deficits” France is apparently following the example of Ireland and Hungary and seizing pension funds.

Robots Don’t Need Us Anymore (PC World) Daw ‘ Here is your daily warning of the coming technological singularity: Robots have begun creating themselves with no direct human intervention. And, shockingly, it’s even weirder than it already sounds. These robots aren’t just built independently of humans using a 3D printer; they’re designed independently by a software algorithm that creates its own best robot for a given task. Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute calls its creations "genetic robots." The algorithmic software used in the project creates several different designs and then decides which is most fit for the task. While similar projects have existed in the past the Fraunhofer algorithm takes into account physical laws and environmental factors. All of this allows for unprecedented variation and even a kind of mutation in the output of the robot designs. The chosen design is then created on a 3D printer and sent on its merry way. At the moment the robots are fairly simplistic little guys with ball and socket joint parts to allow for the many variations spat out by the genetic algorithms, so the fear of robot revolution may be a bit premature. Still, the completely independent design and creation of robots paves the way for some pretty freaky stuff. How long before a robot is created using this method that doesn’t just imitate human design, it surpasses it? ‘

National / World

Americans Trample One Another To Get Their Hands On Cheap Foreign-Made Plastic Crap The American Dream | As this latest Black Friday clearly demonstrated, Americans are literally willing to trample one another to get the best deals on cheap foreign-made plastic crap.

Hapless Senator Admits Obvious: Political Process a Rigged Game Kurt Nimmo | Occasionally the shadowy machinations of the secret government and the elite are exposed.

Google Blacklists Prison Planet.com Paul Joseph Watson | You Tube freezes Alex Jones Channel as web censorship accelerates.

Climate Alarmists Push Forced Relocation At Cancun Summit Paul Joseph Watson | Green movement channels Nazis as authoritarian march to global government bares its teeth.

Google Blacklists Prison Planet.com In a damning new lurch towards web censorship, Google’s news aggregator has blacklisted Prison Planet and Infowars despite the fact that both websites are internationally known and now attract more traffic than many mainstream media websites, while Google-owned You Tube has frozen the Alex Jones Channel based on a spurious complaint about showing Wikileaks footage that has been carried on hundreds of other You Tube channels for months.

Mother Kept In “Glass Cage” For Almost An Hour By TSA For Resisting Over Breast Milk The latest case of TSA tyranny to hit the headlines comes in the form of a young mother who was subjected to enhanced groping and then shut inside a screening box for almost an hour by agents after she refused to allow them to put her breast milk through an X-ray device, a legitimate request that is even written into the TSA’s own guidelines.

Hapless Senator Admits Obvious: Political Process a Rigged Game Colorado Democrat Senator Michael Bennet made the mistake of admitting what many of us already know – the political process in the district of criminals is a rigged game.

Drudgereport: Interpol issues wanted notice for Julian Assange [ They just can’t take the truth! ] ...
US cuts access to files [ Think about it. Really think about it. Their policies are in the tank, along with the nation and the rest of this world as a consequence. Don’t those so detrimentally affected (everyone) have a right to know? I think in light of the global frauds, contrived perpetual wars though defacto bankruptcy of this and other nations, pervasive corruption and crime, failed policies domestically and geo-politically while serving the very parochial interests of the self-interested few, the answer is an unequivocal, YES! I believe that world history will write Mr. Assange as a hero in the truest sense. He should be given a medal; and, certainly, since mr. b*** s*** wobama undeservingly got a ‘nobel peace prize’ (what he does, not what he says, ie., Afghanistan, etc.), who more than Julian Assange is deserving of that and more? Cover-up / propaganda … thy name is fallen america.]...
WIKILECTURE: 'HILLARY SHOULD RESIGN' ‘…Hillary Clinton, Julian Assange said, "should resign." Speaking over Skype from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, the WikiLeaks founder was replying to a question by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel over the diplomatic-cable dump that Assange's organization loosed on the world this past weekend. Stengel had said the U.S. Secretary of State was looking like "the fall guy" in the ensuing controversy, and had asked whether her firing or resignation was an outcome that Assange wanted. "I don't think it would make much of a difference either way," Assange said. "But she should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up. Yes, she should resign over that."…’
CITY ON EDGE: Cash-Strapped Newark, new jersey Forced To Lay Off 14% Of Police Force... [ From decades old (1978-1985) direct personal experience with newark, n.j., the police are the absolute last cuts that can be afforded to be made. Indeed, while walking through Military Park (a sliver of a “park” - more a pedestrian thoroughfare/cement walks) in newark, new jersey on the way to the bank during lunch hour, I heard the clearly audible screams/cries of what turned out to be an old lady on the ground with blood streaming from her mouth. I ran toward the sound of the cries, the source of which I could not see because there were so many people in and about this thoroughfare so as to block any vision of the source of the cries. When I came to the woman, on the ground, blood streaming from her mouth, I asked what happened, to which she responded she had been hit in the mouth and knocked to the ground, her purse stolen/put inside her shopping bag, and she pointed out the criminal casually now walking across the main street. Nobody stopped to help her, many having passed her by. I slammed the thug to the ground so hard that, in light of all the blood and confusion (limbic system / adrenalin flow) I thought I had been stabbed (the blood was from his elbows hitting the pavement so hard - no one helped / a crowd gathered / an undercover cop happened along). When I testified at the Grand Jury Proceeding I made sure his threat on my life was set forth in prima facie fashion so as to maximize the DA’s position with both felonies ( he went to prison – pled out ). The other case I wrote about here ( This was included on my website in the Psychology discussion of ‘bystander effect’ / diffusion of responsibility. ) - Having had occasion to have run down a mugger in newark, n.j. who apparent had followed a girl from the bank on her way to the bursar to pay tuition, though in pretty good shape, I was astounded by how totally exhausting such a pursuit was, how much like rubber my arms were when I traded punches with the perpetrator, and truth be told, if I had a flashlight on my belt, I have little doubt that I would have probably used it to subdue the perp. The girl was not that seriously injured, did get her pocketbook and tuition back, and the criminal went to jail. The other thing about such a pursuit that amazed me was that no one else assisted the girl or me despite being in a position to do so). (Other newark / new jersey and new york, n.y. metro, viz., ie., connecticut, and of course, d.c., d.c. metro, viz., ie., virginia experience … corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz (california), hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken (AP) Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ]

Weekend shopping rises, exceeding expectation (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That ‘exceeding expectations stuff’ … who says you can’t, for bad or good, learn somethin’ from the frauds on wall street. I don’t buy it! Here’s why among other reasons … ‘Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods … sounds like a plan! ]

CBO: TARP costs limited to $25B (Washington Post) [ Wow! Talk about a ‘shill piece’ for fraudulent wall street! I mean, $144 billion in bonuses the wall street frauds this year alone, do you think ‘money grows on trees’? It has to come from somewhere even as those computerized high-frequency commissioned churn-and-earn fraud eating away at nations’ productive capability / resources, as well as embarking on new frauds, enabled by the too big to fail or jail mindset. Previous: Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz adds that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! Contrary to popular … propaganda, there is such thing as cause and effect. What has and continues to be the cost of their debacle / fraud. Don’t forget, the worthless toxic paper / assets / securities from the last fraud are still out there and marked to anything, even as I believe they’re getting hard (albeit fiat Weimar paper) currency for said worthless toxic paper / assets / securities. $25 billion? I don’t think so! ]

Banks' halcyon days may be over (Washington Post) [ Yeah! This is really the truth; especially when you take into account the fact that the worthless toxic paper / assets / securities from the last fraud are still out there and marked to anything, and the world is catching on to the computerized high-frequency commissioned churn-and-earn fraud eating away at nations’ productive capability / resources, as well as new frauds. Then there’s the ‘other stuff’. I invite attention to the unheralded film, ‘The International’ which focuses on the world destabilizing, war enhancing activities of the big banks. Clearly, for Naomi Watts these are adversaries more formidable than that ‘love interest’ King Kong, and for Clive Owen, he’s still not quite ‘James Bond’ in gettin’ things done. But hardly their fault inasmuch as this thematically realistic and well-researched film unfortunately falls short on the tiny details; ie., bank CEOS dispensing with security (I don’t think so!), etc.. Still, what can you expect in 2 hours; but very worthwhile for the reality of the legally impenetrable nature of these banking monoliths with their monied connections. Great films sweat the details. ]

Bush's fantasy world (Washington Post) [ I’m frankly surprised to see cohen bite the hand that feeds zionists( ie., dumbya bush, et als). After all, I’ve never seen cohen not like a pro israel policy, regardless of the cost to this nation in blood, sweat, tears, and geopolitical and general decline, particulary economic / financial; nor like a pro-american policy that negatively impacts israel. I think america particularly, and the rest of the world have sacrificed enough for the greedy, blood-thirsty, lawless israelis. ] Cohen: WikiLeaks shows the unreality of a presidential memoir.

WikiLeaks founder could be charged by Feds (Washington Post) [ He deserves a medal! I think they should start prosecuting american war criminals, frauds on wall street, $12 billion $100 bills flown into and missing in Iraq, RICO litigation http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm .

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It Zach Carter, … etc. … Drudgereport: CLASSIFIED NO MORE: USA RACES TO LIMIT WIKILEAKS DAMAGE [Publishing the Wikileaks is the right thing to do; after all, one cannot possibly look to even one rationally correct strategy, domestically, globally, geopolitically that would justify continued hiding/cover-up of the failed strategies, their genesis, flawed rationale, etc., which has cost this nation and the world dearly] ...
WIKILEAKS: We've been hit with 'mass distributed denial of service attack'...
MOST EMBARRASSING, DAMAGING DISCLOSURE IN DECADES...
SENATORS: PROSECUTE THE LEAKERS!
NYT EXPLAINS: THE DECISION TO PUBLISH … [The NYT clearly did the right thing to publish; after all, one cannot possibly look to even one rationally correct strategy, domestically, globally, geopolitically that would justify continued hiding/cover-up of the failed strategies, their genesis, flawed rationale, etc., which has cost this nation and the world dearly]...
SKorea says sound of artillery heard on island...
US, SKorea start major naval drills...
China issues warning...

TO THE BRINK

DHS SEIZES DOMAIN NAMES...
EU Debt Crisis Escalates...
6 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan...

Next Debt Crisis 'May Start in Washington'...
WIKILEAKS TURNS ON OBAMA! … [ Like who hasn’t, and for good reason! Publishing the Wikileaks is the right thing to do; after all, one cannot possibly look to even one rationally correct strategy, domestically, globally, geopolitically that would justify continued hiding/cover-up of the failed strategies, their genesis, flawed rationale, etc., which has cost this nation and the world dearly] ]
] Authorities are investigating whether Julian Assange violated criminal laws, including possible charges under the Espionage Act, sources say.

Reasons to Be Fearful About the Stock Market Norfolk ‘This is the time that tests bearish investors. Interest rates on deposits are lower than inflation, if you look at food and energy costs. Since the 1990s, I have been more cautious than most of my investors and have been careful to suggest that they might like to keep their powder dry. Some listened and switched to cash in 1998 and 1999, and so avoided the fallout of the 2000-2003 decline.Just when I was beginning to feel that things were getting sensibly priced, interest rates were pushed down and the already-existing house price bubble superinflated from 2003 on, along with much else. And then...But now there is talk of investors being "forced" into the market by negative real returns on cash - and fears that inflation may rise significantly. I recently displayed a graph from the Now and Futures site, showing how German shareholders survived the Weimar hyperinflation of 1923, after a severe interim drop. "Financial Armageddon" author Michael Panzner justly pointed out that there was a danger that investors in a similar situation might lose their nerve, sell out and miss the market recovery.It is also very hard to stay out of the market when it has risen dramatically. I was batting away queries from clients in the latter stages of the tech stock boom with warnings of what I strongly suspected was a bubble ready to burst. But there is pressure to get in, not merely because of greed but in the case of fund managers, fear: the fear that your boss will use peer benchmarks to judge you negatively and appoint someone else to take over the portfolio. So you need nerve at more than one level in the organization.Invesco Perpetual's Neil Woodford has that kind of nerve. During the dot com craze, he stayed out and stuck to his guns despite the stellar tech-invested performances of others' funds - and fortunately the management backed him.Woodford was very bullish - selectively - in January this year, according to the Daily Telegraph. So how does he feel now? Well, bearish about China this week, according to Investment Week. This, at a time when others are coming late to the emerging-markets party, looking for something to get exciting returns. Surely, we tell ourselves, someone's making money somewhere, and we want a piece. This, I think, is the dangerous time.It's caught out geniuses before now. During the South Sea Bubble of 1720, Sir Isaac Newton bought in, sold out and made £7000 profit - about £1 million in today's money. Then, seeing the market soaring further, he bought in again. And the scam crashed, costing him £20,000 - the equivalent of nearly £3 million.Some say the market now has been climbing a "wall of worry", so that really, we're not in a mania and reasonable concern has already been factored into valuations. Personally, I fear that this is like a lunatic certifying his own sanity and discharging himself from the hospital - "I'm all right now."I'm not alone in this fear. In a Financial Sense article by Tim Wood, he says:

I continue to believe, based on the evidence at hand, that the rally out the March 2009 low is a large scale bear market rally that should ultimately prove to separate Phase I from Phase II of the much larger and ongoing secular bear market. But, just as I told my subscribers before that low was even made, the longer this rally holds up, the more dangerous it becomes. Reason being, it becomes more and more convincing.

We have interest rates lower than ever, debts higher than ever and a financial sector borrowing cash at giveaway rates and playing games in the market. We now have an interdependent world economy, which is like lashing all the lifeboats together - extra security in a small storm and complete disaster in a big one. Granted that the situation is such that there is no completely valid basis of comparison - and remembering that the Dow now lists companies that garner much more from foreign earnings than they used to - let's take a look at the Dow adjusted for CPI inflation since the peak before last - the one in January of 1966:

Remember, too, that everyone agrees that we've just had a recession, and many say we're not out of it. Where would you pin the tail on this donkey? Mr. Market appears to have stuck it on the back of his neck. click to enlarge [chart] If we are climbing the Wall of Worry, we're starting from very high up. Don't look down…’

Have Stocks Become a Sucker Bet [Short answer: YES!] ? Morici ‘With corporate profits breaking records, Wall Street anxiously anticipates the return of the individual investors to the stock market. It may be a long wait, because the little guy may have concluded that investing in stocks is a sucker bet. Investors, as opposed to traders, buy stocks in companies whose profits they expect to rise. The conventional wisdom says stock prices will follow profits up, but over the last two business cycles, that simply has not happened. In February 1998, the S&P 500 first closed above 1000. From the first quarter of 1998 to third quarter of 2010, corporate profits were up 203 percent but the average daily close of the S&P 500 was up only 7 percent—about one half percent a year. Buying stocks does not seem to pay anymore, because most of the increased value created by higher profits has been captured by hedge funds, electronic traders, private equity funds, and aggressive M&A shops, free standing and at major investment banks, which have multiplied over the last two decades. Their activities, essentially, fall into two categories. Aggressive trading—e.g., exploiting complex shorting opportunities, quickly detecting and exploiting movements in trading intentions of large mutual funds and other tactics often associated with exotic hedged bets and electronic trading. Direct asset purchases—buying underperforming companies, all or in part, to force managers to pay out large sums, rearrange their companies through mergers and divestitures, or exploit unattended business opportunities incumbent managers have been lazy about pursuing. Not all of this is negative to stock prices or unfair. Shrewdly synthesizing public information to identify value in companies ahead of other investors is the way stars like Warren Buffet became legends. Stock prices rise permanently in wake of their actions, and that’s good for the ordinary investor already in the stocks they pick. Shaping up underperforming companies likely started even before the first Greek shippers bought out rivals to discharge incompetent captains and reduce seafaring risk, spread overhead and accomplish more leverage with potters, weavers, farmers and foreign merchants. However, too much of a good thing—electronic trading and aggressive hedging—can be disruptive. Look at the costs imposed by the May 6 Flash Crash or defensive tactics by corporate managers besieged by unwarranted shorting. And, consider how often private equity and M&A shops acquire companies and load up them with debt, make big payouts to dealmakers, and then later disappoint investors and creditors. Through superior information, quick execution and aggressive marketing, traders and dealmakers capture a great deal of the potential increase in value created by new and anticipated corporate profits before that value is recognized in stock prices. This results in lavish compensation for traders and dealmakers and stock prices that don’t rise with profits. Instead of ordinary folks getting a decent return in their IRAs and Keoghs, real estate prices in the Hamptons and luxury goods sales at Manhattan’s finest stores soar. Hedge funds, electronic traders, private equity and M&S shops do act on information that is obtained through careful, legitimate research but as ongoing SEC investigations into insider trading and published reports on electronic voyeuring indicate, critical competitive information is obtained through unethical and perhaps illegal means. Data pried from incautious corporate officials and through electronic espionage further disadvantages opportunities for gains by individual investors and conventional mutual and pension funds. It all sounds preposterous, but consider that J.P. Morgan and Bank of America went through the entire third quarter without a negative trading day—no losing days on proprietary trades. Unless you believe in perfection, something stinks about the information they are using. If someone is winning all the time, then someone else is losing. That’s the ordinary investor. Stocks have become a rigged game.’

Here's The Real Problem For The Stock Market Bloget ‘Despite the recent pullback in the stock market, most people are still bullish.

The economy's finally recovering, they note. Jobless claims are finally improving, corporate profits are at record highs, and bond yields are so appallingly low that investors are almost forced into the market.

And all that is true.

But unless "it's different this time" (the four most expensive words in the English language), stock returns over the next decade are likely to be far worse than average.

Why?

Valuation.

Stocks appear reasonably valued when viewed against today's super-high profit margins. But in the past, every time profit margins have gotten so high (and they've only gotten this high once before), profit margins have reverted to the mean, taking stocks down with them.

Only 5 times in the past 60 years have corporate profit margins approached the levels they're at today. And note what happened each time thereafter. (They regressed to--or beyond--the mean.)

When corporate profit margins are expanding, profits grow faster than revenue, and stock multiples usually expand (stocks track profits over the long haul).

When corporate profit margins are shrinking, profits grow more slowly than revenue, and stock multiples usually contract.

The most optimistic forecasts for GDP for the next several years (a proxy for corporate revenue) call for growth of 3%-4% per year.

If profit margins stay at today's high levels, this would mean earnings growth of about 3%-4% per year, which is below normal.

If profit margins begin to revert to the mean, meanwhile, profit growth will be even slower.

Yes, there is always a possibility that we're in a "new normal" in which profit margins will keep expanding for years, if not forever. (Well, okay, not forever. Even the biggest bull would be forced to agree that, at some point, profit margins have to stop expanding, or profits will get bigger than revenue.)

Based on the history of the past 60 years, however, this seems unlikely. At several points in the past 60 years, it looked like profit margins had hit a new normal, only to see them collapse to the mean. And the odds are that the same thing will happen this time.

What could bring profit margins down?

Any of a number of things:

* Increasing commodity prices, which companies might not be able to pass through to end users
* Higher taxes, as federal and local governments try to balance their budgets
* Higher labor costs, as weak-dollar policies raise the cost of foreign manufacturing
* Deflation, as companies are forced to compete by cutting prices because consumer demand remains weak
* Recession. No one's talking about a double-dip now, but that doesn't mean we won't eventually get one. And have a look at what corporate profit margins have done in past recessions.

If corporate profit margins stay at today's high level for the next several years, the only way the stock market will deliver strong returns is if the market's P/E ratio expands. Again, it's possible that the PE ratio will do this, but the PE ratio is already high.

Specifically, on cyclically adjusted earnings (more on this here), today's PE ratio is about 22X, versus a long-term average of 16X.

It's possible that the market's PE will stay elevated (or get even more elevated). But it's more likely that the PE ratio will also regress to the mean... And it also means that you should ask every bull to explain to you 1) why profit margins will keep expanding even though they're already near record highs, and 2) why PEs will keep expanding even though they're well above normal.Whatever the bulls' answer is, be skeptical. Because what they're really saying is "it's different this time." ‘

The Stench of US Economic Decay: Russia and China Dump the US Dollar Dr. Paul Craig Roberts | The American government only has resources for wars of aggression, police state intrusions, and bailouts of rich banksters.

‘Bank Run 2010′ aims to end ‘criminal, corrupt’ financial system In what may be the most subversive reaction yet to global outrage over the financial crisis, a European soccer star has inspired an international “bank run” protest aiming to collapse the global financial system.

Iceland Better Off Than Ireland Because They Let Big Private Banks Fail, says President Iceland’s President Olafur R. Grimsson said his country is better off than Ireland thanks to the government’s decision to allow the banks to fail two years ago and because the krona could be devalued.

Guess Who’s Paying For The Greece Bailout? That’s Right — YOU Business Insider | The US supplies almost 20% of the IMF’s funding (per quotas). So that means US taxpayers are providing ~$8 billion of the $145 billion going to kick the Greek can down the road.

Why Poverty Spreads Across America Sherwood Ross | Pockets of poverty, like the sores of some malignant disease, are spreading across America, as its states and cities go broke and bankrupt.

Europe’s Debt Domino Effect CNBC | Insight on Europe’s debt debacle.

Stock Averages Claw Back, With Help [Of B*** s*** Alone!] Midnight Trader 4:13 PM, Nov 29, 2010 --

* NYSE down 17 (-0.2%) to 7,483

* DJIA down 39.5 (-0.4%) to 10.968.14

* S&P 500 down 1.6 (-0.1%) to 1,188

* Nasdaq down 9.34 (-0.4%) to 2,525

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

* Hang Seng up 1.26%

* Nikkei up 0.86%

* FTSE down 2.08%

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) NTSP upgraded.

(+) NLST tapped for storage center solution contract.

(+) THRX gains as GSK ups stake in company.

(+) AKAM upgraded.

(+) SHOO gets favorable Barron's coverage.

(+) AMAG reaches product label agreement with FDA for Feraheme.

(+) FDX upgraded.

(+) AMP covered in critical Barron's piece.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) DE upgraded.

(-) EBAY downgraded.

(-) SWC says majority stockholder selling shares.

(-) BA down as analyst JPMorgan cuts earnings view.

(-) WMT offers to take stake in South Africa's Massmart.

(-) AEO upgraded.

(-) LDK upgraded, reaches capacity in specific plant.

(-) ADSK gets favorable Barron's coverage.

(-) TSO upgraded.

MARKET DIRECTION

Stock averages end barely in negative territory, having pushed to new session highs and mixed action for the major averages late in the day, well off earlier lows. Concerns for European debt risks overshadowed optimism for retail spending after a strong weekend of holiday buying. Then, financials improved from early weakness, helping the broad market to recover. Some analysts said U.S. investors may be opting to decouple U.S. and European markets to some degree.

Crude oil for January delivery finished up $1.87, or 2.4%, at $85.73 a barrel. In other energy futures, heating oil was up 1.78% to $2.35 a gallon while natural gas fell 4.55%, to $4.19 per million British thermal units. Meanwhile, gold for February delivery finished up 0.3% to $1,366 an ounce. In other metal futures, silver rose 1.39% to $27.14 a troy ounce while copper was down 0.03% to $3.76 a pound.

The euro fell to a two-month low and investors flocked to the relative safety of the U.S. dollar and Treasury notes. The European Union agreed Sunday to provide nearly $90 billion in rescue loans for Ireland in order to help banks there, but the move does little to relieve investors' concerns about other European countries, including Portugal and Spain.

Bank of Ireland (IRE) and Allied Irish Banks (AIB) were both higher. In a regulatory statement, Bank of Ireland said it would seek to raise 2.2 billion euros in capital by Feb. 28, via "internal capital management initiatives, support from existing shareholders and other capital market sources."

Positive news limited the downside and allowed stocks to revive later in the day. Trade group the National Retail Federation estimated that 212 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the first weekend of the holiday season, up from 195 million last year. Online spending also rose more than 14 percent from Thanksgiving Day through Saturday, according to IBM's Coremetrics.

With shoppers taking advantage of Cyber Monday specials, online retailer Amazon.com (AMZN) rose $1.51, or 0.9%, to $178.73.

Wal-Mart (WMT) was a decliner after taking a stake in South African retailer Massmart.’

Europe bails out Ireland Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:05:07 GMT Long-anticipated agreement on an aid to Ireland of about $112.53 billion announced by European leaers...

Greece → Ireland → Portugal → Spain → Italy → UK → ? It is now common knowledge that there is a potential domino effect of European sovereign debt contagion in roughly the following order: Greece → Ireland → Portugal → Spain → Italy → UK

Euro-Zone Debt Crisis Escalates The euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis escalated Friday as the market homed in on Spain as another potential weak spot, leaving officials scrambling to quell investors’ fears.

Insider-Trading Probe Reinforces Belief Market is Rigged The insider-trading dragnet that has rocked Wall Street this week appears likely to reinforce the feeling that the house always wins.

CLSA’s Chris Wood Chimes In On The Endless European Banker Bailouts CLSA’s Chris Wood has released his latest outlook on the world is out, and it is getting progressively gloomy: when even a banker says that he is “aghast” at the “grotesque” extent to which senior creditors are being bailed out left and right in Europe, one has to stop and wonder.

Euro-Zone Debt Crisis Escalates Wall Street Journal | The euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis escalated Friday as the market homed in on Spain as another potential weak spot, leaving officials scrambling to quell investors’ fears.

Putin proposes EU become reserve currency Russia Today | Russia and Germany should dramatically increase their economic co-operation. That’s the message from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to some of Germany’s top industrialists at a business forum in Berlin.

Insider-Trading Probe Reinforces Belief Market is Rigged

DHS Closing Down Web Domains Right and Left TorrentFreak | Guilty until proven innocent.

Financial Writers Slam Irish Bailout Washington’s Blog | The same happened in the US with taxpayers footing an enormous bill for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG.

Microsoft Downplays 'Nightmare' Windows Kernel Flaw [ They would … downplay the flaw. ]A security firm claims a Windows kernel bug lets attackers evade Windows UAC security.

Europe set to bail out Ireland as debt crisis grows Reuters - Carmel Crimmins, Luke Baker DUBLIN/BRUSSELS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - European ministers are expected to sign off on an 85 billion euro ($112.7 billion) rescue for Ireland on Sunday, making it the second euro member after Greece to require a bailout in ... They Are Not Like Ireland. Really. New York Times Spain's PM vows to reduce deficit The Associated Press

Bernanke's True Intentions Revealed Simon Maierhofer, On Monday November 29, 2010 Unintended Consequences of Bernanke's QE2 Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday November 23, 2010

In the mid-2000s, Alan Greenspan was the hero of the financial world. With his blunt philosophy of inflation, Greenspan was credited for turning the tech-bust into a real estate and financial boom.Following the 2008/2009 meltdown, Greenspan morphed from hero to scapegoat (or for Thanksgiving aficionados; turkey to feather duster). Another Turkey to Feather Duster Roundtrip?Bernanke carried on the torch of fearless Keynesian Fed Presidents and made it on the cover of Time magazine within his first term. Much ink has been spilled about the effects and side effects of quantitative easing in general and QE2 in particular (click here if you care to read my two cents worth). Actions speak louder than words, and the initial reaction by stocks and commodities has been net-positive (at least when going back to the initial announcement), which is exactly what the financial alchemists in Washington wanted to see; but, what about the economy or the unemployed? Obviously, that's only a secondary concern.According to Bernanke (quoted in the Washington Post), inflating stock prices is the golden grail of today's monetary policy: 'Higher stock prices will boost consumer wealth and help increase confidence, which can also spur spending. Increased spending will lead to higher incomes and profits that, in a virtuous circle, will further support economic expansion.'

QE2 - UNFAIR FOR MANY REASONS

Perhaps it's been lost to Mr. Bernanke that the Fed actively inflating asset prices has a number of unfair side effects.

1) Wall Street banksters' get to profit from their mistakes that led to the sub-prime debacle.

2) Retail investors have been withdrawing money from mutual funds for two years. The effect of higher stock prices is lost to many.

3) Artificially depressing interest rates takes away wealth from savers and distributes it to borrowers. Who are today's savers? Retirees and near-retirees. In fact, this group accounts for more individuals (and lost spending power) than ever before.

WHAT EFFECT HAS THE FEDERAL RESERVE'S MONETARY POLICY HAD ON JOBLESS AMERICANS? LET'S EXAMINE THE FACTS:

August 2007: Fed lowered discount rate, unemployment rate at 4.7%

December 2008: Fed reduced rates to just north of zero, unemployment rate at 7.4%.

March 2009: Fed launches QE1, unemployment rate at 8.6%.

November 2010: Fed launches QE2, unemployment rate at 9.6%.

MAKING THE RICH RICHER AND THE POOR POORER

While large cap (NYSEArca: IVV - News), mid cap (NYSEArca: MDY - News), small cap (NYSEArca: IWM - News), international (NYSEArca: EFA - News), emerging market stocks (NYSEArca: EEM - News) and commodities are brewing their own Fed sponsored bubble, the jobless are left in the dust. Would there have been anyway to help them?

Our infrastructure (streets and bridges) is literally rotting away beneath our tires. $600 billion (as in $600 billion QE2) would have been enough money to employ 4 million construction workers at $75,000/year for two years.

Going this route would provide jobs for the hardest hit sector, increase morale and social status and distribute money to the consumer so he can do what he does best - consume. The labor cost of such an infrastructure repair program would be far less than $600 billion because the government wouldn't have to pay unemployment benefits to Americans who could be employed.

GOING THE JAPAN ROUTE

The United States' current predicament is not unique, it happened before. Not in the U.S., but in Japan (NYSEArca: EWJ - News). Following a late 1980s real estate bust, Japan's Nikkei has gone nowhere but down (aside from counter trend rallies, some massive, but nonetheless trumped by the bear market).

The chart below illustrates Japan's pain. The April 2010 ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter, includes an in-depth analysis of the similarities between the two scenarios.

One of the few differences is that Japan's breakdown occurred amidst a roaring global bull market. The U.S. bear market isn't that lucky, as it parallels an escalating European debt crisis and, therefore, should be swifter and ultimately more pronounced.

DON'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH

If there's only one sentence you take away from this article, let it be this: Things change fast. If you wish, you may add a second: Bear markets work much faster than bull markets.

Momentum is a strong force. Upside momentum breeds optimism which eventually culminates at optimistic extremes. A few days before the April decline, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter noted that the: 'message conveyed by the composite bullishness is unmistakably bearish.'

A more recent example of bear market forces taking hold can be found in the municipal bond market. For over two years, muni bonds have been quenching the thirst of yield hungry investors.

On July 8, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter observed: 'Predicting the location of the next credit crisis isn't easy by virtue of the fact that there are so many darn cracks everywhere. Nevertheless, the $2.8 trillion municipal bond market looks especially ripe for disaster.'

On August 26 - the very day muni bonds and 30-year Treasury Bonds (NYSEArca: TLT - News) peaked - the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter followed up the initial red flag with this word of advice: 'Our technical analysis along with fundamentals suggest that T-Bonds are getting ready to roll over. A look at the overall picture suggests that this is more than just a minor correction. The rally in municipal, corporate and high yield bonds is showing signs of weakness too. Investors should start exiting from those markets.'

The chart of the iShares S&P National Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: MUB - News) below shows that MUB lost nearly two years worth of gains within a matter of weeks.

DON'T DISCOUNT THE RIPPLE EFFECT

Thus far, the major indexes a la Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) have largely resisted that drag. But a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

At its most recent earnings disappointment, Cisco CEO Chambers disclosed that weak sales to the government and state sector contributed to weak earnings. The government sector accounts for 13% of spending on goods and services.

It's probably just a matter of time until this weakness affects the tech (NYSEArca: XLK - News), and by extension the consumer discretionary (NYSEArca: XLY - News) sectors; especially since earnings for 2011 are expected to clock in at an all-time high (no, that's not a typo, check Standard and Poor's earnings estimates).

For right now, the straws (fundamental problems) are piling up on the camel's back (stock market), until the last straw breaks his back. My personal guess is that the insanity will go on a bit longer, but as we've seen in 2000, 2007, 2010 and the above MUB chart, the power of the last straw can bring the camel to its knees in a hurry.

Unlike Wall Street and the financial media, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter doesn't simply ignore red flags, but tries to identify Trojan-Horse-like asset classes before they enter and destroy your portfolio. Semi-weekly updates continually monitor major asset classes and provide invaluable support and resistance levels.

Silver Prices Surging on Near-Record Demand The price of silver is surging and so is business at many coin dealers across the country. At Plaza Collectibles, an appraisals shop in Manhattan, owner Lee Rosenbloom says he’s seeing a tremendous demand both in new and older silver coins. “This is probably the strongest demand there’s been in the last 25 years,” he says.

9 Shocking Examples Of Black Friday Violence – Is This A Foretaste Of The Economic Riots We Can Expect When The Financial System Collapses? It seems with each passing year the madness on Black Friday gets even worse. This year, there were reports of fights and rioting from coast to coast. It was estimated that over 180 million U.S. shoppers headed for the stores on Friday, and whenever you get that many people together there are going to be problems.

France, Germany Determined to Save Euro: Spokesman France and Germany are determined to save the euro currency and will not allow it to be taken hostage by the markets, French government spokesman Francois Baroin said on Monday.

Portugal And Ireland’s Private Debt Levels Are Far Worse Than Even Greece By now we’re probably all familiar with the notion that Ireland’s financial challenges are different than Greece’s, but still a crisis in their own right.

Come on! Suckers rally into the close to keep the suckers suckered! Previous: Rosy numbers on consumer sentiment, unemployment (far better than private forecasts) from the government prior to the holiday so-called ‘shop till you drop’? How can anyone believe anything they say? Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz adds that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! And, with insiders and wall street frauds selling into the bubble as preceded last crash, this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally on light volume, full moon, and government complicity (false data / reports) to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam/fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

17 Things Worrying Investors Lloyd's Wall of Worry

Worry Count: 17


CHINA: 1,330,044,605 people can’t be wrong.

The PIIGS: Fasten your seatbelts. It’s gonna be a long, bumpy, expensive, weird, (insert your own adjective here) freak show of a ride.

CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Not yet as dire as “The PIIGS”. Might I suggest the classier moniker of “The Prosciuttos” for the American basket-case states?

QE II: Gobble?

U.S. ECONOMY: The “Punky Brewster” of the global economic landscape.

UNEMPLOYMENT: Only thing worse than losing your job, losing your unemployment check. At least there’s the holiday season to cheer everyone up (read: heavy sarcasm).

TAXES: Praying to the Financial Market Gods that we don’t have another TARP-like vote fiasco.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PART II: Still two years before the Pres. election and the peanut gallery is already pleading for a Hail Mary Pass to get them back in the game.

HFT: Instead of beating up these liquidity supplying traders, let’s honor them with their very own stock exchange. But wait -- with no retail saps to pick-off they will never get that Day 1 opening bell tick. Perfect.

XMAS 2010: As my professor friend Nick says, “Nowadays Americans are dining off of two menus – The Million Dollar and the $0.99 Cent.” And both are pissed about it.

CURRENCIES: Poor Mr. Greenback. Does someone need a hug?

HOUSING CRISIS: Price Stabilization – Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more….

INFLATION/DEFLATION: Fed Chief Ben B. comes out swinging from his heels in defense of inflation promotion. Don’t punch yourself out as this one is likely to go the distance.

COMMODITIES: Corrected but still sky high; fortunately these prices are only affecting core, basic, life-sustaining necessities and sparing our electronic gadgets and plus-sized SUVs. Whew!

INSIDER TRADING: Another black eye for Hedge Funds. I estimate that makes black eye number 6,597.

INTEREST RATES: South Korea and China slowly turning up the dial to “11”. On the other hand the U.S. has removed the dial altogether. This never ends well….

NORTH KOREA: Here we go again.

(11-29-10) Dow  11,052 -40 Nasdaq  2,525 -9 S&P 500  1,187 -2 [CLOSE- OIL $85.73 (-54% for year 2008) (RECORD TRADING HIGH $147.27) GAS $3.00 (reg. gas in LAND OF FRUITS AND NUTS  $3.15 REG./ $3.29 MID-GRADE/ $3.39 PREM./ $3.79  DIESEL) / GOLD $1,366 (+24% for year 2009) / SILVER $27.13 (+47% for year 2009) PLATINUM $1,639 (+56% for year 2009)  / DOLLAR= .76 EURO, 84 YEN, .64 POUND STERLING, ETC. (How low can you go - LOWER)/ http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/update 10 YR NOTE YIELD 2.82% …..…   AP Business Highlights  ...Yahoo Market Update...   T. Rowe Price Weekly Recap – Stocks / Bonds / Currencies -  Domestic / International      This Is a Secular Bear Market and The End of Buy and Hold … and Hope   MARKET MANIPULATION AND HOW THE LATEST BUBBLE-FRAUD PRE-COMING CRASH IS BEING ACCOMPLISHED 3-11-10      6 Theories On Why the Stock Market Has Rallied  3-9-10 [archived website file]     Risks Lurk for ETF Investors The bull market that never was/were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold Property Values Projected to Fall 12% in 2010 Jan 31, 2010 The Week Ahead: Risk Is Off the Cliff; Unwind Has Begun Jan 31, 2010 01-13-10 Forecast for 2010 from Seeking Alpha Contributor THE COMING MARKET CRASH / CORRECTION   1-28-10 Maierhofer   (01-15-10) 11 Clear Signs Economy Sinking Economic Black Hole 1-22-10: 20 Reasons Why The U.S. Economy Is Dying And Is Simply Not Going To Recover Current Economic / Fiscal Charts Trendsresearch.com forecast for 2009 1-7-10 Crash is coming!          ‘WORST ECONOMIC COLLAPSE EVER’ Must Read Economic / Financial Data                     This Depression is just beginning The coming depression…  thecomingdepression.net MUST READ: JEREMY GRANTHAM’S QUARTERLY UPDATE 25 January 2010 (850 on the S&P) by TPC The Next Wave of Collapse is Coming Sooner than you think Sliding Back Into the Great Depression ABSOLUTELY, ABSURDLY, RIDICULOUS! SELL / TAKE PROFITS WHILE YOU CAN SINCE MUCH, MUCH WORSE TO COME!

National / World

Alex Jones: Info Gems in the Latest WikiLeaks Docs RT America | Radio Host Alex Jones says it will take time to go over all of the documents but most of the information is not a big surprise.

Blaylock: Fluoride’s Deadly Secret Paul Joseph Watson | Eugenics program forged by Rockefeller Foundation with Nazi support now seeks to change human behavior by chemically altering the brain.

Sec. State Clinton Condemns Wikileaks Documents Kurt Nimmo | Others see shrewd propaganda effort against Iran.

Ultra Elitist Environmental Group: Halt Economic Growth, Institute Rationing Steve Watson | As fresh UN climate talks begin, de-industrializationists set out their agenda.

The Stench of US Economic Decay: Russia and China Dump the US Dollar Dr. Paul Craig Roberts | The American government only has resources for wars of aggression, police state intrusions, and bailouts of rich banksters.

Ultra Elitist Environmental Group: Halt Economic Growth, Institute Rationing Ultra elitist environmental group The Royal Society has published a series of papers to coincide with the latest round of UN climate talks, in which influential scientists suggest that politicians should force the population of the developed world to adhere to a system of rationing in order to stave off rising global temperatures.

Alex Jones Live In Santa Cruz After an introduction by legendary conspiracy researcher Dr. Stan Monteith in which he divulges the plan to lower living standards in the United States as part of the one world agenda, Alex Jones gives a speech live in Santa Cruz California about the global awakening, how we as a species can take back our power and ultimately live out our destiny as free human beings.

Blaylock: Fluoride’s Deadly Secret In this fascinating interview, Blaylock reveals how depopulation programs forged by the Rockefeller foundation in association with the Nazis were the basis of modern day incarnations of eugenics like fluoride poisoning and vaccinations.

Downloaded onto Lady Gaga CDs and transferred to a memory stick: The staggeringly simple theft of 250,000 top secret documents It is the largest security leak in history – and has rocked the intelligence world to the core.

Shocking cable: US says Saudi donors are chief financiers of al Qaeda A quick aside in a New York Times article about leaked diplomatic cables is sure to spark renewed interest about the role of the US’ biggest ally in the Gulf supporting terrorism.

Drudge Fought The TSA….And Drudge Won Despite the establishment media presiding over another mass hoax in claiming that Americans were completely happy with invasive airport security measures, contrary to polls showing a majority in opposition, and that the national opt out day was a failure, the fact that the TSA was forced to change its policy by mothballing naked body scanners and curtailing aggressive pat downs clearly goes to show that the man who almost single-handedly drove the issue, Matt Drudge, fought the TSA and he won.

China Warns U.S. On Naval Exercises as North Korea Promises Retaliation China has warned the United States against engaging in military activity on its coastline.

South Korea Girds for Show of Force With U.S. Ships After Attacks by North The aircraft carrier USS George Washington and four smaller warships begin exercises with South Korean vessels tomorrow in a show of force that North Korea warned will take the peninsula to the “brink of war.”

North Korea threatens a ’sea of fire’ as the South begins posturing war games with US South Korean residents scrambled for cover today as North Korea threatened to launch a ’sea of fire’ over military drills in the Yellow Sea with the US military.

North Korea opens fire as war games begin North Korea fired off more artillery shells in an apparent training exercise while it moved missiles into position near the sea border.

N. Korea deploys SA-2 surface-to-air missiles near Yellow Sea border North Korea has deployed SA-2 surface-to-air missiles to its west coast near the Yellow Sea border with South Korea as U.S.-led naval drills got underway in a show of force against the North’s deadly artillery attack on a South Korean island earlier last week, government sources said Sunday.

S. Korean artillery “mistakenly” fired on DMZ South Korea mistakenly fired an artillery shell toward the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Sunday afternoon and soon sent a message to North Korea that the firing was accidental, military officials said.

S. Korea, US start major naval drills The US and South Korea launched large-scale naval maneuvers Sunday (November 28) off the Korean Peninsula’s west coast, days after North Korea bombarded an inhabited southern island.

MI6 blamed for fiasco of phoney Taliban warlord who was paid a fortune MI6 was blamed yesterday for the fiasco that saw a fake Taliban commander paid hundreds of thousands of pounds for his role in secret Afghan peace negotiations.

US general McChrystal approved peace talks with fake Taliban leader Peace talks conducted with an impostor who posed as a Taliban leader, and which led to a meeting with Hamid Karzai in Kabul and thousands of dollars in “goodwill payments”, were started by the Afghan government and approved by the former American commander, Stanley McChrystal, the Guardian has learned.

China Warns U.S. On Naval Exercises as North Korea Promises Retaliation China has warned the United States against engaging in military activity on its coastline. It was reported today that Obama would be speaking with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in coming days. China has refused to condemn North Korea’s attack.

North Korea Deploys Missiles, Targets Fighter Jets Kurt Nimmo | Provocative military exercises taunt a belligerent North Korea.

Odd Couple: North Korea & America Tony Cartalucci | The sails of US Asian policy ride on the winds of North Korean belligerence.

6 Reasons To Start World War III If You Are A Globalist Activist Post | The average person can barely imagine why World War III would be anything but a civilization-ending event.

The Big Lie: Governments Have to Save the Big Banks Many of the world’s top economists and financial experts have said that the too big to fail banks are destroying the world economy, that they must be broken up in order to restore stability, and that small banks can easily pick up the slack and make all of the loans which are needed needs.

World At A Boil With War And Economic Crisis Koreas prepare for war, Fed beyond point of no return, silver manipulation charges, Ireland in economic collapse, pondering foreclosuregate, more Madoff fallout, TSA patdowns despised.

Bomb Kills Iranian Nuclear Scientist Unidentified assailants riding motorcycles launched bomb attacks early on Monday against two Iranian nuclear physicists here, killing one of them and prompting accusations in the state-run media that the United States and Israel were behind the episode.

South Korea Warns North Against New Attack President Lee Myung-bak promised in a televised speech on Monday to make sure that North Korea “pays a dear price” should it attack the South again.

Following Hungary And Ireland, France Is Next To Seize Pension Funds If the recent Hungarian “appropriation” of pension funds, and today’s laughable Irish bailout courtesy of domestic pension funds sourcing 20% of the “new” money was not enough to convince the world just how bankrupt the entire European experiment has become, enter France.

Int'l groups say Israel not living up to Gaza promises Jerusalem Post Gaza blockade still 'crippling' BBC News

Aid groups decry blockade on Gaza Aljazeera.net Sen. John Kerry calls for Israel to cede Golan Heights and East Jerusalem...

Drudgereport: Assange: Document Dump Targets 'Lying, Corrupt and Murderous Leadership'...
Ecuador offers Assange residency...
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia proposed planting chips in Gitmo prisoners upon release...
China 'ready to abandon North Korea'...
China 'scared to death' of Pelosi...
USA RACES TO LIMIT WIKI DAMAGE [ Publishing the wikileaks is the right thing to do; after all, one cannot possibly look to even one rationally correct strategy, domestically, globally, geopolitically that would justify continued hiding/cover-up of the failed strategies, their genesis, flawed rationale, etc., which has cost this nation and the world dearly] ...
Laughter in Rome, Denials in Berlin...
Sen. John Kerry calls for Israel to cede Golan Heights and East Jerusalem...
Reveal: Iran 'smuggled arms' to Hezbollah on ambulances...
Reveal: Hillary Clinton ordered diplomats to spy on UN leaders...
*UN seeks answers from Washington...
What America REALLY thinks of world leaders...
Now Australian police investigate Assange...
Holder orders criminal investigation...
Pentagon: No guarantee against another leak...
Disclosures show secrets not safe...
Obama 'not pleased'...
CYBER MONDAY NIGHTMARE

CLASSIFIED NO MORE: USA RACES TO LIMIT WIKILEAKS DAMAGE [Publishing the Wikileaks is the right thing to do; after all, one cannot possibly look to even one rationally correct strategy, domestically, globally, geopolitically that would justify continued hiding/cover-up of the failed strategies, their genesis, flawed rationale, etc., which has cost this nation and the world dearly] ...
250,000 State Dept. cables cover Iran, NKorea, Putin... MORE
Reveal: Dangerous standoff with Pakistan...
Gitmo became game of 'Let's Make A Deal'...
US to Slovenia: Take a prisoner if you want meeting with Obama...
Reveal: Clinton Orders US Diplomats to Spy on Other Countries at UN...
Reveal: Iran obtained missiles from NKorea -- capable of striking Europe...
WIKILEAKS: We've been hit with 'mass distributed denial of service attack'...
MOST EMBARRASSING, DAMAGING DISCLOSURE IN DECADES...
Reveal: China conducting computer sabotage...
Saudis are chief financiers for al Qaeda...
Reveal: Saudis repeatedly urge US attack on Iran...
SENATORS: PROSECUTE THE LEAKERS!
NYT EXPLAINS: THE DECISION TO PUBLISH … [The NYT clearly did the right thing to publish; after all, one cannot possibly look to even one rationally correct strategy, domestically, globally, geopolitically that would justify continued hiding/cover-up of the failed strategies, their genesis, flawed rationale, etc., which has cost this nation and the world dearly]...
SKorea says sound of artillery heard on island...
US, SKorea start major naval drills...
China issues warning...

TO THE BRINK

DHS SEIZES DOMAIN NAMES...
EU Debt Crisis Escalates...
6 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan...

Obama announces two-year pay freeze for federal workers...
Dem Leader Hoyer: Military should also see pay freeze...
Now rescue threatens Germany...
100,000+ march in Dublin over budget cuts...
'Day of Reckoning' Nears...
Banks downgraded -- one to junk bond status...
Portugal Denies Report on Bailout...
Spain Bets on Budget Cuts...
Next Debt Crisis 'May Start in Washington'...
WIKILEAKS TURNS ON OBAMA! … [ Like who hasn’t, and for good reason! Publishing the Wikileaks is the right thing to do; after all, one cannot possibly look to even one rationally correct strategy, domestically, globally, geopolitically that would justify continued hiding/cover-up of the failed strategies, their genesis, flawed rationale, etc., which has cost this nation and the world dearly] ]
LEAKED: Gates Says 'Russian democracy has disappeared' [ Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america merely goes through the façade of some familiar motions, now totally corrupted and control, reminiscent of what had been a democracy, long since lost to and fallen by the weight of inherent crime and corruption.] ...
Ireland Wins $113 Billion Bailout as EU Ministers Seek to Halt Debt Crisis...
Labour Leader: 'A national sell out'...

100,000+ march in Dublin over budget cuts...
'Day of Reckoning' Nears...
Banks downgraded -- one to junk bond status...
Portugal Denies Report on Bailout...
Spain Bets on Budget Cuts...
PAPER: 'Never before in history has a superpower lost control of such vast amounts of such sensitive information'...
Assange teasing Obama over drip, drip drip...
FALLOUT...

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Seeking new skills but finding classes full (Washington Post) [ Truly a shame inasmuch as I’ve found the California Community Colleges (ie., LA Trade Tech, LACC, etc.) to have been of the highest quality and functionality. http://albertpeia.com/alresume.htm ]Community college enrollments have surged with unemployed and underemployed people seeking new careers. But just as workers have turned to community colleges, states have cut their budgets, forcing the institutions to turn away legions of students.

U.S. strips intelligence analyst of security clearance and job but won't say why (Washington Post) [ Wow! Talk about splitting hairs and not being brain surgery! After all, even a perfunctory look at Intelligence’s intelligence (Iraq, perpetual wars, contrived conflicts, etc., though defacto bankruptcy of the nation) leads ineluctably to a shrug of the shoulders and a conclusion that such are distinctions without significant, meaningful differences. ]

The nerve center of the U.S. Treasury Department (Washington Post) [ Nerve center? The defacto bankrupt u.s. treasury? Brings to mind such word pictures as myasthenias gravis, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Alsheimer’s Disease, dementia, etc.. It’s disappointing that this article doesn’t paint a more realistic picture of disfunction (though fraud-facilitative) consistent with those degenerative, mind/body-numbing diseases aforementioned. ]

G-20 strives for a deeper form of economic cooperation (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! I don’t think so! Those wobama dogs don’t hunt no more… you know … the more wars though defacto bankrupt, ubiquitous debased fiat paper currencies, pervasive securities and other frauds, etc. ] If the Obama administration gets its way, world leaders will reshape their countries' policies to do what's in the longer-term interest of the global economy.

Let's talk turkey about privatizing Social Security (Washington Post) [ Come on! They may be dumb / corrupt, but not that dumb / corrupt! The frauds on wall street would go through those funds like a hot knife through butter … there’d be blood on the streets, chaos, rioting, and the capital would be no exception owing to their complicity ... The Big Disconnect: U.S. Corporate Profits Rising With No Job Growth [ This dynamic is far more dire than presented hereafter; first, profits are inflated by the debasement of the u.s. fiat paper currency ( see infra, ie., Davis, etc.) ; second, there has been an irrevocable structural shift in the u.s. economy in the most negative sense, formally cheered by the churn-and-earn frauds on wall street, and, those jobs really have been shipped overseas and won’t be coming back. ‘The nation’s been taken to the cleaners’ as wall street cheered. Another example: DOW down 142, up 150, down 95 on three successive days. What changed? Hundreds of millions in (computerized high frequency trade) commissions each day taken out of the real economy by those parasitic frauds on wall street. ] Big New York insider trading probe spawns another (AP) ‘NEW YORK – An insider trading case last year that federal authorities said was the biggest ever is providing a recipe for another case that may be even bigger. Howard Davidowitz on the Economy: "Here Are the Numbers ... WE'RE BROKE!" The U.S. economy "is a complete disaster," Howard Davidowitz declared here ] Thanksgiving is upon us, making this a perfect time to go searching for turkeys - the financial variety, of course. And the biggest one is . . . privatizing Social Security.

Why We Should Be Skeptical of Any Near Term Strength in the Markets [ Keep in mind, the scenario is even worse than the dismal one described as follows because the debasement of the dollar has artificially inflated earnings substantially and lowered P/E multiples thereby (see, ie., Davis, etc., infra)] Prieur du Plessis ‘The S&P 500 Index is entering expensive territory with the cyclically adjusted price-earnings ratio at 22.64 approaching the average of 25.0 from the post ICT crisis to the advent of the Lehman debacle. The current level is also at the upper end of the range that existed from 1881 to the start of the ICT bubble in the latter part of the 1990s. Click [chart] for charts: [chart] On the normal basis, with the PE calculated trailing 12-month earnings, the market is inexpensive at 17.86 times earnings compared to the past 20 years. However, the market is expensive compared to the long-term historical average of 15.5 times earnings. [chart] The Q Ratio defined by Doug Short as the total price of the market divided by the replacement cost of all its companies is currently at the upper end of the range since 2003 and near the previous peaks in valuation since 1900 bar the ICT bubble in the latter part of the 1990s. [chart] Source: dshort.com Sitting on a price to book value of 2.3 times the S&P 500 is still significantly below the average at 2.3 times compared to 2.9 since 1981. Barring the ICT bubble the average is closer to 2.5, though. [chart] Sources: Various internet; Plexus Asset Management. If the S&P 500’s long-term historical earnings growth of 6% in real terms is factored in and given the average dividend yield of 3.7% of the S&P 500 over the past 70 years, the capital return over the next seven years is expected to be minus 1.1% per year. If the exit dividend yield turns out to be that of the past ten years’ average of 2.1%, though, the capital return will be 6.1% per year. [chart] Sources: Hussman Funds; Plexus Asset Management. In light of the extended valuation levels I think the market is currently discounting the latter and view it as close to the upper limit of what can be expected. I will treat any further significant strength in the market with the utmost caution. At best, it seems to me that year-on-year growth in the coming years could range between 0% and 10%. [chart] The declining trend of the peaks in the Coppock indicator of the S&P 500 is also worrisome, indicating that further significant upward momentum will be a hard-fought battle and not without risk. [chart] The technical position is also telling me that a significant correction may be in the offing. [chart] Caveat emptor!

John Hussman's Index: Stocks Are 13% Overvalued John Hussman, manager of Hussman Strategy Growth Fund (HSGFX), proposed price to peak 10 year average earnings as a long term stock market valuation metric. Compared with the normal one year price to earning ratio, Price to Peak Earnings would eliminate short term noise. This is similar to Shiller's ‘Cyclically Adjusted Price Earning’ ratio (CAPE10) and Warren Buffett’s stock market GNP/GDP metric.In his weekly commentary on Dec 5, 2005, titled as 'Earnings Revert to the Mean, Stocks Will Struggle', he proposed a simplistic method: "buy when Price to Peak Earnings is lower than 15 and sell when it exceeds 19.5". John Hussman has been using this as the valuation yardstick to manage the Hussman Strategic Growth Fund HSGFX.A model portfolio called P Hussman Peak PE Market Timing Strategy Buy 15 Sell 19.5 Weekly is also maintained to live monitor the strategy suggested in 'Earnings Revert to the Mean, Stocks Will Struggle'. click [chart] On Nov 19, 2010, the ratio of Real Price to the average of last 10 year Peak Real Earnings (13.44) to its long term average (11.93) is 1.13. The US stock market is 13% overvalued. We will be tracking this number biweekly.

Howard Davidowitz on the Economy: "Here Are the Numbers ... WE'RE BROKE!" The U.S. economy "is a complete disaster," Howard Davidowitz declared here in July, the most recent in a string of dire predictions from Tech Ticker's most entertaining guest.On the eve of Thanksgiving, I asked Davidowitz if he had any regrets, or was ready to throw in the towel given recent signs of economic revival. Are you kidding me? "Here are the numbers...we're broke," Davidowitz declares, noting the U.S. government goes $5 billion deeper into debt every day and is facing $1 trillion-plus annual deficits for the next decade. "In other words, we're bankrupt."As with the economy, Davidowitz is unwaveringly consistent in his views on President Obama, calling him "deranged, dysfunctional and discredited."Results of the midterm election show "the people of this country think we are in a catastrophe," he says. "I'm with them."Check the accompanying video for more of Howard's unfettered opinions and stay tuned for additional clips from this interview. And...Happy Thanksgiving! Aaron Task is the host of Tech Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at [email protected]

Big New York insider trading probe spawns another (AP) ‘NEW YORK – An insider trading case last year that federal authorities said was the biggest ever is providing a recipe for another case that may be even bigger. The current case is largely an extension of work that led to the arrest of Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam in October 2009. The Galleon investigation marked the first time that federal authorities used wiretaps in an insider trading probe. Similarly, wiretaps led to the first arrest in the latest case. Don Ching Trang Chu, a consulting firm executive, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly providing private information about a company's corporate earnings to a hedge fund. The FBI this week searched the offices of three hedge funds and subpoenaed some of Wall Street's most influential firms, including Janus Capital Group and SAC Capital. The Galleon case has resulted in 23 arrests and 14 guilty pleas. Many of those arrested are cooperating in the latest investigation ...’

The Big Disconnect: U.S. Corporate Profits Rising With No Job Growth [ This dynamic is far more dire than presented hereafter; first, profits are inflated by the debasement of the u.s. fiat paper currency ( see infra, ie., Davis, etc.) ; second, there has been an irrevocable structural shift in the u.s. economy in the most negative sense, formally cheered by the churn-and-earn frauds on wall street, and, those jobs really have been shipped overseas and won’t be coming back. ‘The nation’s been taken to the cleaners’ as wall street cheered. Another example: DOW down 142, up 150, down 95 on three successive days. What changed? Hundreds of millions in (computerized high frequency trade) commissions each day taken out of the real economy by those parasitic frauds on wall street. ] Hunkar ‘U.S. companies earned profits at an annual rate of $1.659 trillion in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. In non-inflation adjusted terms, this is the highest figure since the government started keeping track over 60 years ago. Since the credit crisis ended, many businesses have resumed growing profits – but have not resumed creating jobs. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6% in October, with 14.8 million persons unemployed, according to official figures. U.S. firms slashed 8.5 million jobs during the last recession; millions of these workers remain unemployed. However, corporate profits are soaring to pre-crisis levels. This is because American businesses are able to increase profits by rising productivity, increasing exports, cutting costs, and in some cases raising prices. Productivity simply means extracting more or the same amount of work using fewer workers. Globally, U.S. companies are leaders in productivity due to the corporate culture prevalent in the U.S. and the fierce competition in many industries. Hence, in the current situation, they are wringing out more profits with fewer workers. This concept was illustrated in a recent Bloomberg article:

Campbell (CPB), the world’s largest soup maker, DuPont Co. (DD), the third-biggest U.S. chemical maker, and United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), the world’s largest package-delivery business, are asking workers to help save cash by working smarter with existing technology. A potential cost: Efficiency gains reduce the chances recession-casualty jobs will come back.“When the productivity growth comes, then watch out because that is when companies start not needing so much labor,” Edmund Phelps, a Columbia University economist and Nobel laureate, said in an interview.Some 142 non-financial companies in the S&P 500 had improvements in operating margins of three percentage points or more from the final three months of 2007, when the previous expansion peaked, compared with the most recent quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of yesterday.

The chart below shows annualized corporate profits, both before and after taxes, since 1947: [chart]

The following chart shows corporate profit growth in terms of GDP: [chart]

(Charts source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, via Haver Analytics, as published by The New York Times.)

It represented 11.2% of GDP last quarter, a figure that has been growing for seven consecutive quarters. Therefore, for the past seven quarters, companies have been earning higher profits with almost no hiring of workers, since unemployment remains stubbornly high at around 10 percent. The Economist wrote about this dichotomy in the U.S. economy back in August in an article entitled “Profits, But No Jobs“:

Americans used to love to hear tales of success in business. One of the many oddities of the current joyless economic recovery is that this traditional enthusiasm is strikingly lacking. Corporate America has bounced back impressively. The quarterly results season that is now nearly over has revealed that profits are back within a whisker of the all-time highs achieved before the downturn in late 2008. By some calculations, the rate of recovery of profits from their trough is the strongest since the end of the Great Depression. Yet nobody seems pleased. Not investors, who have failed to push up share prices in the way this sort of earnings growth would have caused them to do at this stage of previous economic cycles. Certainly not politicians, who complain that firms are “hoarding” cash and creating hardly any new jobs. As Robert Reich, an economist at Berkeley and former labour secretary under Bill Clinton, puts it: “Bottom line: higher corporate profits no longer lead to higher employment. We’re witnessing a great decoupling of company profits from jobs.” [Emphasis mine.] Corporate America is reaping the rewards for tough actions taken after the financial markets collapsed in September 2008.

Yes indeed. There is a huge disconnect between rising corporate earnings and job growth. This recovery is not only a “jobless recovery” but also a “joyless recovery." According to S&P, non-financial companies in the S&P 500 held over $1 trillion in cash at the end of the first quarter. Much of this cash is neither getting paid out as higher dividends to investors, nor being spent on capital investments …’

Debt turmoil, contagion fears sweep Europe (AP) ‘LISBON, Portugal – Europe struggled mightily Friday to keep the debt crisis from engulfing country after country. Portugal passed austerity measures to fend off the speculative trades pushing it toward a bailout and Ireland rushed to negotiate its own imminent rescue.As Portugal and Spain insisted they will not seek outside help, creating an eery sense of deja-vu for investors, Europe braced for what seems inevitable — more expensive bailouts.The Portuguese Parliament approved an unpopular debt-reducing package, including tax hikes and cuts in pay and welfare benefits. But while that helped to avoid a sharper deterioration in bond markets, the sense among analysts was that the move had only bought a little time.Adding to the pressure, Ireland's major banks were hit with credit downgrades — one to junk bond status — as speculation mounted that the EU-IMF bailout of Ireland, to be revealed within days, would require investors to take losses, a possibility earlier denied by officials."This confusing `pea-soup' of indecision, vacillation and disunity by the EU is beginning to create unnecessarily seismic waves of fear in international bond and money markets," said David Buik, markets analyst at BGC Partners.Yields in fiscally weak eurozone countries remained near record highs Friday, stocks slumped across the board and the 16-nation euro lost another 0.8 percent on the day to trade at $1.3241, just off two-month lows.Portugal's high debt and low growth have alarmed investors, but the government insists it doesn't require an international rescue — a line ominously reminiscent of claims by Greece and Ireland before their massive rescues.Analysts say markets need more reassurance from EU leaders that the rot can be stopped in Portugal before spreading to Spain, the continent's fourth-largest economy — a scenario that would threaten the 16-nation euro currency itself …’

Investor Sentiment and Fund Flows Templeton ‘Two weeks ago bullish investor sentiment was reported at its highest level of the year coming in at 57.56%. At the same time the S&P 500 Index hit its yearly high of 1,225. In the following week the bullish sentiment level fell over 17 percentage points to 40% and the market has trended lower since that time. In the latest week the bullish sentiment level has ticked higher to 47.4% with the market trading pretty much in a volatile range. [chart] From The Blog of HORAN Capital Advisors Click, Data Source: American Association of Individual Investors This market volatility seems to be resulting in investors having uncertainty about investing in equities. The below chart (click to enlarge) shows investors continue to pour money into bond mutual funds at the expense of equity mutual funds. The chart captures data through mid September and the subsequent table (click to enlarge) contains weekly data for November. [chart] From The Blog of HORAN Capital Advisors

[chart] From The Blog of HORAN Capital Advisors Table Data Source: ICI …’

Instead of Actually Dealing With Rampant Mortgage Fraud, Fed Orders More Faux Stress Tests Well-known British economic writer Jeremy Warner said yesterday that the European stress tests were a sham.

The Day the Dollar Died The first 12 hours of a U.S. dollar collapse!

Euro-Zone Debt Crisis Escalates Wall Street Journal | The euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis escalated Friday as the market homed in on Spain as another potential weak spot, leaving officials scrambling to quell investors’ fears.

Putin proposes EU become reserve currency [ As previously stated, Putin’s positions on matters of global concern should be given great deference. ] Russia Today | Russia and Germany should dramatically increase their economic co-operation. That’s the message from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to some of Germany’s top industrialists at a business forum in Berlin.

Insider-Trading Probe Reinforces Belief Market is Rigged Fox Business | The insider-trading dragnet that has rocked Wall Street this week appears likely to reinforce the feeling that the house always wins.

Euro-Zone Debt Crisis Escalates The euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis escalated Friday as the market homed in on Spain as another potential weak spot, leaving officials scrambling to quell investors’ fears.

Insider-Trading Probe Reinforces Belief Market is Rigged The insider-trading dragnet that has rocked Wall Street this week appears likely to reinforce the feeling that the house always wins.

CLSA’s Chris Wood Chimes In On The Endless European Banker Bailouts CLSA’s Chris Wood has released his latest outlook on the world is out, and it is getting progressively gloomy: when even a banker says that he is “aghast” at the “grotesque” extent to which senior creditors are being bailed out left and right in Europe, one has to stop and wonder.

Economic Implosion Sets The Blame Game In Motion When a child bounds about the house and breaks his mother’s favorite flower vase or creepy ‘Precious Moments’ figurine, he usually blames the dog before he blames himself.

The 17 Things Worrying Investors This Week Lloyd's Wall of Worry

Week of November 22-26
Worry Count: 17


CHINA: 1,330,044,605 people can’t be wrong.

The PIIGS: Fasten your seatbelts. It’s gonna be a long, bumpy, expensive, weird, (insert your own adjective here) freak show of a ride.

CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Not yet as dire as “The PIIGS”. Might I suggest the classier moniker of “The Prosciuttos” for the American basket-case states?

QE II: Gobble?

U.S. ECONOMY: The “Punky Brewster” of the global economic landscape.

UNEMPLOYMENT: Only thing worse than losing your job, losing your unemployment check. At least there’s the holiday season to cheer everyone up (read: heavy sarcasm).

TAXES: Praying to the Financial Market Gods that we don’t have another TARP-like vote fiasco.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PART II: Still two years before the Pres. election and the peanut gallery is already pleading for a Hail Mary Pass to get them back in the game.

HFT: Instead of beating up these liquidity supplying traders, let’s honor them with their very own stock exchange. But wait -- with no retail saps to pick-off they will never get that Day 1 opening bell tick. Perfect.

XMAS 2010: As my professor friend Nick says, “Nowadays Americans are dining off of two menus – The Million Dollar and the $0.99 Cent.” And both are pissed about it.

CURRENCIES: Poor Mr. Greenback. Does someone need a hug?

HOUSING CRISIS: Price Stabilization – Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more. Are we there yet? Just a little bit more….

INFLATION/DEFLATION: Fed Chief Ben B. comes out swinging from his heels in defense of inflation promotion. Don’t punch yourself out as this one is likely to go the distance.

COMMODITIES: Corrected but still sky high; fortunately these prices are only affecting core, basic, life-sustaining necessities and sparing our electronic gadgets and plus-sized SUVs. Whew!

INSIDER TRADING: Another black eye for Hedge Funds. I estimate that makes black eye number 6,597.

INTEREST RATES: South Korea and China slowly turning up the dial to “11”. On the other hand the U.S. has removed the dial altogether. This never ends well….

NORTH KOREA: Here we go again.

Why We Should Be Skeptical of Any Near Term Strength in the Markets [ Keep in mind, the scenario is even worse than the dismal one described as follows because the debasement of the dollar has artificially inflated earnings substantially and lowered P/E multiples thereby (see, ie., Davis, etc., infra)] The Big Disconnect: U.S. Corporate Profits Rising With No Job Growth [ This dynamic is far more dire than presented hereafter; first, profits are inflated by the debasement of the u.s. fiat paper currency ( see infra, ie., Davis, etc.) ; second, there has been an irrevocable structural shift in the u.s. economy in the most negative sense, formally cheered by the churn-and-earn frauds on wall street, and, those jobs really have been shipped overseas and won’t be coming back. ‘The nation’s been taken to the cleaners’ as wall street cheered. Another example: DOW down 142, up 150, down 95 on three successive days. What changed? Hundreds of millions in (computerized high frequency trade) commissions each day taken out of the real economy by those parasitic frauds on wall street. ] Come on! Rosy numbers on consumer sentiment, unemployment (far better than private forecasts) from the government prior to the holiday so-called ‘shop till you drop’? How can anyone believe anything they say? Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz adds that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! And, with insiders and wall street frauds selling into the bubble as preceded last crash, this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally on light volume, full moon, and government complicity (false data / reports) to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam/fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

Who Will Any Form of Intermediate Term Wealth Effect Really Help? [ The so-called ‘wealth effect touted by no-recession helicopter ben‘ is just a continuation of the fraudulent wall street bailout / subsidization churn-and-earn scam / fraud. Bill Fleckenstein Has Some Thoughts On QE2: “These Idiots Think We Can Print Our Way To Prosperity” ( I disagree! I believe they are well aware of the folly of their fraudulent and ultimately disastrous approach but are, as in the last debacle, creating a fraudulent bubble for the wall street frauds and insiders to sell into, which they are indeed doing as we speak. (INSIDER SELLING IS AT RECORD HIGHS) (Another Nobel Economist Says We Have to Prosecute Fraud Or Else the Economy Won’t Recover As economists such as William Black and James Galbraith have repeatedly said, we cannot solve the economic crisis unless we throw the criminals who committed fraud in jail. ) ] Fed to pump $600B into the economy (Washington Post) [ Listen to this total, absolute b*** s*** … from no-recession-helicopter ben shalom or b.s. for short, bernanke, with green shoots wilting on the vine … to his recent ‘better to try and fail than to do nothing at all’ … Balderdash! … I hearken back to a distinction made by the brilliant Peter Drucker who in emphasizing the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness states that being effective means doing the right things, clearly not the case here … other than frothing that fraudulent wall street market with high-frequency programmed trades and debased dollars he can’t seem to print enough of, and for all but wall frauds churn and earn profits as they retain their fraudulent gains from the last debacle and this one, his policies are nothing short of disaster for this nation and the world. That money going into wall street pockets has to come from somewhere … guess. Remember, america’s defacto bankrupt and the consequences for those continuing frauds on wall street don’t justify the irretrievable costs! ] In addition to a question for Bloomberg TV anchor Betty Lui, who asked Bill to “admit” that “the markets were in a better mood yesterday after QE2,” which is simply this: “Betty? Betty? Betty? How about in summer 2008, 2007, were the markets in a good mood? Were the markets in a good mood then?” Quite right! The same pattern that preceded the last crash. Falling dollar, high volume programmed high frequency trades to the upside creating an even larger, gravity-defying bubble for the wall street frauds and insiders to sell into. They’re not too big or important to fail and jail! Prospective economic health depends on that reality! ]

John Hussman: Bubble, Crash, Bubble, Crash, Bubble... [ This really is the story and far worse than the bad scenario presented herefter by Hussman in light of the debased dollar and the inflated earnings and lower P / E ratios thereby, etc. ] Excerpt from the Hussman Funds' Weekly Market Comment (11/8/10):

‘We will continue this cycle until we catch on. The problem isn't only that the Fed is treating the symptoms instead of the disease. Rather, by irresponsibly promoting reckless speculation, misallocation of capital, moral hazard (careless lending without repercussions), and illusory "wealth effects," the Fed has become the disease ... It is difficult to interpret Bernanke's defense of QE2 as anything else but an attempt to replace the recent bubble with yet another - to drive already overvalued risky assets to further overvaluation in hopes that consumers will view the "wealth" as permanent. The problem here is that unlike housing, which consumers had viewed as immune from major price declines, investors have observed two separate stock market plunges of over 50% each, within the past decade alone. While investors have obviously demonstrated an aptitude for ignoring risk over short periods of time, it is a simple fact that raising the price of a risky asset comes at the sacrifice of lower long-term returns, except when there is a proportional increase in the long-term stream cash flows that can be expected from the security. As a result of Bernanke's actions, investors now own higher priced securities that can be expected to deliver commensurately lower long-term returns, leaving their lifetime "wealth" unaffected, but exposing them to enormous risk of price declines over the intermediate (2-5 year) horizon. This is not a basis on which consumers are likely to shift their spending patterns. What Bernanke doesn't seem to absorb is that stocks are nothing but a claim on a long-term stream of cash flows that investors expect to be delivered over time. Propping up the price of stocks changes the distribution of long-term investment returns, but it doesn't materially affect the cash flows. This reckless policy has done nothing but to promote further overvaluation of already overvalued assets. The current Shiller P/E above 22 has historically been associated with subsequent total returns in the S&P 500 of less than 5% annually, on average, over every investment horizon shorter than a decade ... We are betting on the wrong horse. When the Fed acts outside of the role of liquidity provision, it does more harm than good. Worse, we have somehow accepted a situation where the Fed's actions are increasingly independent of our democratically elected government. Bernanke's unsound leadership has placed the nation's economic stability on two pillars: inflated asset prices, and actions that - in Bernanke's own words - should be "correctly viewed as an end run around the authority of the legislature" (see below). The right horse is ourselves, and the ability of our elected representatives to create an economic environment that encourages productive investment, research, development, infrastructure, and education, while avoiding policies that promote speculation, discourage work, or defend reckless lenders from experiencing losses on bad investments.’

National / World

Spain, Portugal and Belgium set to follow Ireland into abyss as debt crisis threatens to destroy the euro New fears have been raised about the future of the euro with the domino effect of faltering economies spreading today. The latest nation to get sucked into the crisis is Belgium after market traders pushed the cost of insuring the country’s debt to record levels.

South Korea to defy North by sending in troops South Korea’s president vowed today to increase the number of troops on the island hit by a North Korean artillery barrage.

N. Korea vows more attacks North Korea threatened further provocation against South Korea, Thursday, raising the question of its next move as Washington and Seoul prepare military drills in the wake of Pyongyang’s deadly artillery attack earlier this week.

Tarpley: US using Korea to make money North Korea and South Korea exchanged artillery fire yesterday. All the while the United States dollar has strengthened as bad blood between North and South Korea means big business for the US. Investigative journalist Webster Tarpley says the financial district is taking part in a flight to safety moving money in the US treasury, using North Korea as a catalyst to make other nations depend on the US.

China Warns U.S. On Naval Exercises as North Korea Promises Retaliation China has warned the United States against engaging in military activity on its coastline. It was reported today that Obama would be speaking with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in coming days. China has refused to condemn North Korea’s attack.

CHINA TELLS AMERICA: Turn Around The USS George Washington China has warned against military activity near its coastline ahead of U.S.-Korea naval exercises, according to Reuters.China’s Foreign Ministry said in an online posting that naval exercises risks starting a war: “We oppose any military act by any party conducted in China’s exclusive economic zone without approval.”

Alex Jones Show: Judge Napolitano On TSA Storm Trooper Behavior Infowars.com | Judge talks about TSA thuggery, the Constitution, and North Korea.

China Warns U.S. On Naval Exercises as North Korea Promises Retaliation Kurt Nimmo | As U.S. warships steam to the Yellow Sea, North Korea warns it will retaliate with waves of missiles.

The TSA and America’s Turning Point Hobbes | This battle must be won, for to lose it means losing everything.

Doctors sound TSA germ alert Bob Unruh | Some of the infections are “a tough little beast” and easily would be spread through the contact being used by the TSA.

Big Sis’ Street Scanners Target Of FOIA Request Paul Joseph Watson | EPIC attempts to uncover why feds are radiating Americans in their homes and vehicles at internal checkpoints.

Max Keiser: Teutonic Genie out of bottle, America punches itself in face Max Keiser, financial analyst and host of RT’s Keiser Report says Germany is ready to emerge as the world’s new superpower.

Ten Essential Steps To End A Nightmare We cannot be rescued by the current system because it is that system which is destroying our nations and families by design: using corrupted media-culture with divide-and-rule and false-flag terror deceptions to remove our freedoms.

Currency Crisis! So What Happens If The Dollar And The Euro Both Collapse? Some analysts are warning that the U.S. dollar is in danger of collapse because of the exploding U.S. government debt, the horrific U.S. trade deficit and the new round of quantitative easing recently announced by the Federal Reserve.

Syrian FM warns of war with Israel Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem on Friday warned of the ramifications of a war with Israel. “There is no doubt that closing the horizons to peace may lead to a possible war. This option always exists in our region, as Israel usually outrageously evades the commitment to peace,” he told Russian newspaper Moscow News.

Potential Next UK Prime Minister Admits: “I’m a Socialist” ‘Yeah, I am a socialist,’ he replied. ‘I’m not embarrassed about it. I’ll tell you why I’m not embarrassed about it … there are big unfairnesses in our society, and part of the job of government is to bring about social justice and to tackle those unfairnesses. And that’s why I’m a politician, that’s why I’m in politics.’

Wikileaks set to release more top secret US diplomatic files Embarrassing top secret US diplomatic files are set to be made public by Wikileaks.

Now It’s Italy: Students Occupy Colosseum, Leaning Tower Of Pisa To Protest Cuts STUDENTS ACROSS ITALY have occupied buildings all around the country – including two of the its most iconic tourist attractions – in protest at proposed government cutbacks to university fundings.

‘We are facing new era of unrest’ warns Met chief as further protests are expected The head of the Metropolitan police has said the violence seen in the student protests will bring in a greater risk of civil unrest.

Europe a financial powder keg Europe is sinking ever deeper into a crisis of confidence that its leaders seem unable to stop, threatening the region’s political and social stability.

Polls Tell Different Stories On New Korean War Kurt Nimmo | Corporate and alternative media polls diverge significantly.

Alex Jones on the Keiser Report: Taking Down the Banksters RT | Max talks to Alex Jones about Google bombs, naked body scanners and ‘Crash JP Morgan Buy Silver’.

Deadlier Than Scanners: TSA To Spread Flesh-Eating Bacteria Paul Joseph Watson | Doctors warn of spread of communicable diseases through direct contact with skin; poses far greater risk to public health than statistical chance of being a victim of terrorism.

Endgame Legislation: Lame Duck Session Ushers in Tyranny Eric Blair | Both of these bills will likely become laws given their overwhelming support in Congress.

Violent Crime Rises in New York as … s New York Times

Sanitary Towel Prompts TSA To Grope Sexual Assault Victim Menstruating women beware. If you intend to travel, your panty-liners are now considered suspicious objects, after all you could be concealing a bomb in there.

TSA Hired Sex Offender Despite Prior Convictions Of Harassment and Stalking Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Regan reviewed court records from Clinton County, Pennsylvania. According to the records, King was charged with nine offenses of harassment and stalking by communication in January 2001. A court clerk told Regan that King pleaded guilty and spent three months in jail for skipping a court appearance.

Daily Kos Obamanoids: TSA Just Following Orders When They Sexually Molest Your Child The Daily Kos says that TSA goons are just following orders when they sexually molest your child, therefore they are not to blame. Even their own readers go off big style in reaction to this putrid and pathetic defense of the indefensible.

Homeland Security To Install Hundreds Of Surveillance Cameras In Houston The city is installing 250 to 300 cameras at downtown intersections in an effort to prevent and fight terrorism and crime, part of a security initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Confirmed: TSA Switched Off Scanners To Defuse Opt Out Protest The majority of Newark’s full-body scanners were idle throughout much of the day, depriving most passengers of the chance to opt out of the controversial screening procedure even if they had wanted to.

Deadlier Than Scanners: TSA To Spread Flesh-Eating Bacteria Now that the TSA’s new pat down procedures include reaching inside people’s clothing and directly touching their skin and genitals, communicable diseases are set to soar, with doctors warning of a new wave of infections that will pose a greater risk to public health than any statistical probability of being a victim of terrorism.

Drudgereport: NKorea warns region is on brink of war...
China issues warning ahead of US-SKorea drills...
Sounds of new fire near island cause panic...
american HOLIDAY NUTS:VIDEO: Crazed shoppers stampede at TARGET...
Marine stabbed at BEST BUY...
Shopper arrested after packing gun in belt; knives, 'pepper grenade'...
Mall food court placed on lockdown after fight, reports of gunshots...
Shopper arrested after cutting in line, raging...
Police called after 'thousands' rush TOYS R US...
Woman busted after gun threat at toy store...
Shoppers accuse WAL-MART of false advertising...
FACEBOOK posting leads to assault with frying pan, stabbing...
Woman jumps from bridge onto I-95...

EU Debt Crisis Escalates...
Now rescue threatens Germany...
Irish bond yields hit high, banks sink...
'Day of Reckoning' Nears...
Banks downgraded -- one to junk bond status...
Portugal Denies Report on Bailout...
Spain Bets on Budget Cuts...
Pentagon to test 2nd space strike craft (illegal militarization of space … oh, they can afford it … riiiiight!) ...
Next Debt Crisis 'May Start in Washington'...

Progress in Afghan war called 'uneven' ( Washington Post ) [ Uneven? Riiiiight! The real question consonant with reality: Is there EVEN progress at all … just a little bit … un petit peux … teeny weeny, itsy bitsy, one iota of progress … A resounding NO! … unless you’re counting the magnitude of america’s defacto bankruptcy, anti-american sentiment, etc.. ]

U.S. deployment sends a message to China ( Washington Post ) [ And what message is that, pray tell … I’d say they’ve gotten the message and here’s the first installment of a reply to the multi-front contrived war / war mongering / pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt nation america … Drudgereport: CHINA, RUSSIA QUIT DOLLAR … Previous: N.Korean attack leaves U.S. with few options I’d be very concerned about the contrived nature of the incident as set forth by infowars.com / prisonplanet.com as follows: Korean War Crisis: Brought To You By Uncle Sam Despite the fact that South Korea admits it fired the first shots that prompted the North to retaliate, the vast majority of the establishment press are feverishly blaming North Korea for a new escalation in the crisis, while failing completely to acknowledge the fact that the whole fiasco was generated as a direct result of Uncle Sam’s policy through two separate administrations to ensure hereditary dictator Kim Jong-Il and his successors acquired the atom bomb. North Korea Attack Part Of RAND Plan For Total War? The exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea, which the North says was started by South Korea firing shells during a military drill, could act as the catalyst for a huge new conflict that the RAND Corporation has been lobbying for over the past two years. ] North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island Tuesday, coupled with its choreographed rollout of a new nuclear program, has presented the U.S. with a massive strategic challenge. Photos: Artillery fire exchanged In sending the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the Yellow Sea, the Obama administration says it is putting on a show of U.S. support for South Korea. Poll: How should U.S. proceed? Few good options for U.S.

Obama is hostage to a tepid economic recovery (Washington Post) [ Cheerleader? Wobama the B (for b*** s***)? I think not … he’s been there, done that … that dog don’t hunt no more … this self-created fortress of failure is the direct consequence of failing to do as promised, particularly the war spending (could you imagine the macroeconomic effects of such funds if spent domestically rather than frittered away in foreign lands in illegal, contrived wars / conflicts which are contra-indicated by any rational criteria, prosecutions of the wall street fraud ‘big boys’, etc.. Don’t forget … america’s defacto bankrupt and pervasively corrupt. ] Obama faces the prospect of having to be a cheerleader for a tepid recovery.

Va. liquor privatization plan off by millions, report says (Washington Post) [ What can you expect from a d.c. suburb dominated by the cia, pentagon, et als, essentially an alphabet soup kitchen where ‘being there’ participants wrap themselves in flags as an excuse for their less than legitimate / productive activities which they posit as patriotism in the most self-interested forms otherwise known more colloquially as plain old-style corruption, crime, venality. Then there’s the purposeful lack of math skills that facilitates billions at at time going missing. I think for succinctness we may call this the moonshine effect which I observed, experienced directly: previous - Ex-Justice official: CIA may have exceeded limits (Washington Post) Wee doggies! This sounds like the stuff that SNL Weekend Update ‘Really’ skits are made of; also fitting into that list of queries as, ‘Is the Pope Catholic?’, ‘Do bears **** in the woods?’, etc.. Come on! Wake up! This is the kind of complicit cover-up / corruption found betwixt and between all three branches of the u.s. government leading ineluctably to america’s current decline and to which I’ve attested under penalty of perjury in the context of the RICO litigation  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ].

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It Zach Carter | Wachovia was moving money behind literally tons of cocaine from violent drug cartels. It wasn’t an accident. ] A commission finds that the Republican governor's staff was too rosy in its estimates and also simply made mathematical errors.

Ireland unveils painful plan to cut spending (Washington Post) [ Things are gettin’ downright existential / philosophical; all this pain, suffering stuff … I’m waitin’ for them to start quotin’ Soren Kierkegaard’s ‘sickness unto death’ … yeah … things are that bad and coming soon to a region near you! Drudgereport:The Domino Effect... List of Problem Banks Grows... ‘…The number of banks on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp's confidential "problem" list grew over the summer even while the overall industry posted solid net income. The FDIC says its list of troubled banks rose to 860 in the July-September quarter from 829 in the previous quarter. At the same time, the FDIC says banks earned $14.5 billion during the third quarter. That was a decrease from the previous quarter's result of $21.4 billion, but well above the $2 billion banks earned a year earlier ..’ ]The move comes as the near-bankrupt government scrambles to show negotiators from the International Monetary Fund and European Union that it can cut spending and raise more revenue to meet the conditions of a $115 billion rescue package. Related News Europe contagion worsens on Merkel's plan Ireland rating lowered by S&P Spain excludes bailout amid 'speculative attacks'

Come on! Rosy numbers on consumer sentiment, unemployment (far better than private forecasts) from the government prior to the holiday so-called ‘shop till you drop’? How can anyone believe anything they say? Najerian interviewed by Motek chimes in with the reason for good retail cheer; viz., people have stopped paying their mortgages and are using the funds to purchase retail goods; while Davidowitz adds that with record numbers of americans on food stamps, real unemployment at 17+, and wall street giving out record bonuses from their accomplished fraud (with no-recession b.s. bernanke help) of $144 BILLION … the high end stores / jewelers will do well … daaaaah! And, with insiders and wall street frauds selling into the bubble as preceded last crash, this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally on light volume, full moon, and government complicity (false data / reports) to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam/fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

Wednesday's Data Dump: Durable Goods, Jobless Claims, Wages [ Dump indeed! As in stocks. After all, as bad as the durable goods data is, it no doubt is worse than they’re saying! ] The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis published several economic reports today that collectively offer a mixed bag of macroeconomic news. The updates on new orders for durable goods, personal income and spending, and weekly jobless claims are usually dispatched on separate days. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, all three were released this morning, leaving an unusually hefty dose of statistics to review. Here’s a brief tour of some of the noteworthy data points:
DURABLE GOODS (much worse than expected)
New orders for durable goods dropped a hefty 3.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in October vs. the previous month. The drop reverses September’s revised 5.0% rise, the Census Bureau reports. It’s too soon to say if October’s retreat for new orders is a sign of things to come, but it’s troubling nonetheless. Indeed, we haven’t seen such a deep fall in durable goods orders since the 8% tumble in January 2009, when the financial crisis and recession were raging. The setback was widespread. Even after ignoring the volatile aircraft sector, or removing the government’s defense-related orders, October was still a losing month for durable goods orders. The only good news is that new orders are still up sharply vs. a year ago, rising more than 10% last month vs. October 2009. And let's remember, too, that this is a volatile series. It's also a crucial leading indicator, and so for the moment there’s a new reason to wonder about the staying power of the economic recovery. One month is hardly definitive proof of anything, but any excuse to worry will do these days. click [chart] for images
[chart]
PERSONAL INCOME & SPENDING
The trend was more encouraging for income and spending last month. Disposable personal income (DPI) rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in October, more than repairing September’s modest 0.1% decline, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. DPI has increased every month this year except for September’s mild setback. Meanwhile, consumer spending marched upward last month as well. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) advanced in October by a respectable 0.4% over September. That’s the fourth consecutive monthly rise. The increase in consumption was especially strong in the cyclically sensitive area of durable goods purchases, which gained 1.9% in October—the best month since March’s 3.5% jump.
[chart]
INITIAL JOBLESS CLAIMS
We saved the best for last. New filings for jobless benefits dropped by a robust 34,000 last week, the Labor Department advises. That pushed new weekly unemployment applications down to 407,000—the lowest since July 2008. Is the long-awaited drop in jobless claims finally here? If so, that bodes well for stronger job growth, or so history suggests. Of course, there’s always reason to doubt any one report. The obvious suspect for skewing the data is the Thanksgiving holiday. Did the newly unemployed delay filing last week because of Turkey day? We’ll know soon enough. But even if last week’s drop is misleading, there’s no denying the improvement in this series over the past few months. If the lower levels of jobless claims holds in the weeks ahead, it’s a strong sign of improving momentum in the labor market.
[chart]
WAGES
In fact, the update on private wages for October in the spending and income report suggests that the job market is on the mend. Or at least wage growth is. Private wages rose 0.6% last month, the fourth-straight monthly increase. On a year-over-year basis, the trend looks even stronger, as the chart below shows. Falling applications for jobless benefits and rising wages is a potent combination, assuming it lasts. It has so far.
[chart]

AP Business Highlights: On Wednesday November 24, 2010, 5:47 pm EST ‘Probe leads investors to wonder: Is game rigged? NEW YORK (AP) -- The Wall Street insider trading investigation may lead everyday investors -- already rattled by a stock market meltdown, a one-day "flash crash" and the Madoff scandal -- to finally conclude that the game is rigged …’ [ Come on! Wake up! It’s worse than just rigged! These computerized high-frequency churn-and-earn commissioned tades are literally eating away at the nation’s productive resources ($144 billion in wall street bonuses this year alone) … then the continuing frauds … the mark to anything worthless paper from the last fraud still out there … now let’s see if they have the fortitude and resolve to prosecute the perps. ]

YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: ‘… Support picked up amid news that the latest initial jobless claims count fell 34,000 week-over-week to a two-year low of 407,000, which is less than the 442,000 initial claims that had been widely expected among economists polled by Brieifng.com. Continuing claims set their own two-year low at 4.18 million, down from 4.32 million in the prior week. The improvement in jobless claims generally overshadowed disappointing durable goods orders data for October. Total orders declined 3.3%, which is worse than the 0.3% decline that had been widely expected. Orders less transportation fell 2.7%, which contrasts sharply to the 0.4% increase that had been expected by many. The rather poor orders readings for October come after overall orders for September increased 5.0% and orders less transportation increased 1.3%. Less attention was paid to personal income and spending for October. Income increased 0.5%, which is slightly stronger than the expected increase of 0.4%. Spending increased 0.4%, but that was a bit softer than the 0.6% increase that had been expected. In the prior month income was flat and spending had increased 0.3%. Once trade opened and stocks made a nice gap up, buying was further bolstered by the final Consumer Sentiment Survey for November from the University of Michigan. It improved to 71.6 after a preliminary reading of 69.3. However, enthusiasm for that report was offset by news that new home sales for October fell 8.1% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 283,000 units, which is less than the 314,000 units that had been broadly forecast by economists polled by Briefing.com …’

[video] Teddy Weisberg: No Positives for Market NEW YORK (TheStreet) - - Teddy Weisberg of Seaport Securities is bearish on the direction of the market.

Insider Trading Inquiry Accelerates New York Times - Peter Lattman, Azam Ahmed - John Marshall Mantel for The New York TimesDon Chu was arrested on charges that he helped hedge funds obtain improper information about publicly traded companies. Crackdown on Insider Trading Picks Up Steam Wall Street Journal Authorities suspect an inside game on Wall Street Los Angeles Times [ Suspect? With the computer-programmed high-frequency churn-and-earn scams it’s far worse than they can even imagine! ]

Stocks Sharply Lower Today as Fed Minutes Aggravate Negative Global Factors Midnight Trader 4:14 PM, Nov 23, 2010

China, Russia quit dollar China Daily | China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday.

Portugal Goes Pop? ‘Euro burning, people pay, bankers get away’ Protests against austerity measures have also flared in cities across Europe. Portugal has ground to a halt, as workers stage a 24-hour general strike over public sector pay cuts and tax rises. It comes two days before parliament votes on a severe new budget. Some experts say adopting the single currency was a mistake in the first place.

As Irish Financial System Collapses, We Present Goldman’s Recent Thoughts On Bank Of Ireland Take one look at Bank of Ireland stock this morning. Then read the following October 4 report on BOI from Goldman Sachs, and please join us in extended our congratulations to Goldman analyst Pawel Dziedzic who has joined the prestigious ranks of Cramer and Dick Bove of telling those who care to buy a bank days or weeks ahead of its bankruptcy.

For Europe’s Future, Spain Is All That Matters Last Spring it was Greece that was in crisis mode—then last week, it was Ireland—and coming up next is Portugal— but all those pale in comparison to Spain.

China, Russia quit dollar on bilateral trade China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday in St. Petersburg.

National / World

[ http://www.prisonplanet.com http://www.infowars.com ]

Rep. Kucinich slams fake Afghan elections, fake withdrawal, fake Taliban Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) again called for the United States to end its involvement in Afghanistan after it was revealed that NATO officials were duped into holding negotiations with a man posing as a senior member of the Taliban.

Students Riot Again In London Two police officers were injured as police held back demonstrators trying to break through their lines. A police van was attacked, fires started and barricades thrown during clashes in Whitehall.

Pentagon to Send Aircraft Carrier Strike Group into Yellow Sea The Pentagon will further exacerbate the situation by sending in an aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS George Washington into the Yellow Sea.

Drudgereport: Tough-guy Putin calls DiCaprio 'a real man' for Tiger Summit ...
CHINA, RUSSIA QUIT DOLLAR

OPT-OUT...
POLL: 61% oppose new airport security measures...
Prosthetics Become Source of Shame at Airport Screenings...
Scanner Uproar Shadows Holiday Travel...
AAA Expects Record Traffic on Highways...
30-Mile Backup on Mass Turnpike...
VIDEO: TSA Speedo Protester...
VIDEO: Woman wears bikini to LAX...
Woman: Agents Singled Me Out For My Breasts...
Fliers Claim TSA Has Deactivated Body Scanners...
Jobless Claims, Durable Goods Offer Mixed (Though Faked to the Upside) Economic Message...
Food bank delivery van stolen on eve of Thanksgiving...
Squatters overrunning foreclosed homes in LA...
Ireland Plans to Reduce Spending 20%, Raise Taxes...
Cut Minimum Wage...
Portugal, Spain hit by investor fears over debt...
The Domino Effect...
List of Problem Banks Grows... ‘…The number of banks on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp's confidential "problem" list grew over the summer even while the overall industry posted solid net income. The FDIC says its list of troubled banks rose to 860 in the July-September quarter from 829 in the previous quarter. At the same time, the FDIC says banks earned $14.5 billion during the third quarter. That was a decrease from the previous quarter's result of $21.4 billion, but well above the $2 billion banks earned a year earlier ..’

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To solve the deficit, the numbers add up -- but not the votes ( Washington Post ) [ Geeh! A discussion of the deficit with a reference to math … who woulda’ thunk it! I mean, that’s script material for the next installment of ‘Mission Impossible’. ] The sudden proliferation of deficit-reduction plans is a reminder that the deficit is, at its heart, a math problem.

N.Korean attack leaves U.S. with few options ( Washington Post ) [ I’d be very concerned about the contrived nature of the incident as set forth by infowars.com / prisonplanet.com as follows: Korean War Crisis: Brought To You By Uncle Sam Despite the fact that South Korea admits it fired the first shots that prompted the North to retaliate, the vast majority of the establishment press are feverishly blaming North Korea for a new escalation in the crisis, while failing completely to acknowledge the fact that the whole fiasco was generated as a direct result of Uncle Sam’s policy through two separate administrations to ensure hereditary dictator Kim Jong-Il and his successors acquired the atom bomb. North Korea Attack Part Of RAND Plan For Total War? The exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea, which the North says was started by South Korea firing shells during a military drill, could act as the catalyst for a huge new conflict that the RAND Corporation has been lobbying for over the past two years. ] North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island Tuesday, coupled with its choreographed rollout of a new nuclear program, has presents the U.S. with a massive strategic challenge. Photos: Artillery fire exchanged

October unemployment down in D.C., unchanged in Md., Va. ( Washington Post ) [ Wow! If there ever was a contrarian economic / financial indicator, decreased unemployment in the pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt u.s. government’s capital (excepting The Washington Post, of course) has got to be it. After all, efficiency / effectiveness / competence is not their strong suit, need I say more in restating the obvious. Not even an instance of ‘too many chefs’. ] Federal government data released Tuesday illustrates the region's mixed progress on a long road to economic recovery.

Foreclosure process 'must be fixed,' Treasury official says ( Washington Post ) [ Oooooh! Sounds like a plan! … and from a ‘tiny tim buck 2 man’ … Whew! Close one! Dodged that bullet! Not to worry since ‘johnny on the spot’ treasury’s on the case for some timely action … Not! ] Federal investigators have found widespread and "inexcusable" breakdowns in basic controls in the foreclosure process.

Joblessness to remain elevated, Fed projects ( Washington Post ) [ Mr. Irwin’s come a long way from his ‘glass-half-full-though-empty’ days and I just wish in discussing those so-called enhanced earnings that he included reference to the lessened quality of said earnings as accomplished by way of the debasement of the u.s. currency inflating a bubble in part thereby as preceded the last crash,; which bubble the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into (see plenary discussion infra, ie., Why Ben Bernanke Is Wrong Rein This column originally appeared in Forbes ‘… In other words, he wants simply to reinflate the bubble that caused our problems in the first place. Soaring equity prices won't increase confidence until more jobs are created. It will only postpone the day of reckoning…’ , etc. ). ] Even though conditions are likely to remain miserable for job seekers, a bounce-back is underway in the nation's corporate sector.

[video] Teddy Weisberg: No Positives for Market NEW YORK (TheStreet) - - Teddy Weisberg of Seaport Securities is bearish on the direction of the market.

Unintended Consequences of Bernanke's QE2 Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday November 23, 2010, 12:34 pm EST

In the mid-2000s, Alan Greenspan was the hero of the financial world. With his blunt philosophy of inflation, Greenspan was credited for turning the tech-bust into a real estate and financial boom.Following the 2008/2009 meltdown, Greenspan morphed from hero to scapegoat (or for Thanksgiving aficionados; turkey to feather duster). Another Turkey to Feather Duster Roundtrip?Bernanke carried on the torch of fearless Keynesian Fed Presidents and made it on the cover of Time magazine within his first term. Much ink has been spilled about the effects and side effects of quantitative easing in general and QE2 in particular (click here if you care to read my two cents worth). Actions speak louder than words, and the initial reaction by stocks and commodities has been net-positive (at least when going back to the initial announcement), which is exactly what the financial alchemists in Washington wanted to see; but, what about the economy or the unemployed? Obviously, that's only a secondary concern.According to Bernanke (quoted in the Washington Post), inflating stock prices is the golden grail of today's monetary policy: 'Higher stock prices will boost consumer wealth and help increase confidence, which can also spur spending. Increased spending will lead to higher incomes and profits that, in a virtuous circle, will further support economic expansion.'

QE2 - UNFAIR FOR MANY REASONS

Perhaps it's been lost to Mr. Bernanke that the Fed actively inflating asset prices has a number of unfair side effects.

1) Wall Street banksters' get to profit from their mistakes that led to the sub-prime debacle.

2) Retail investors have been withdrawing money from mutual funds for two years. The effect of higher stock prices is lost to many.

3) Artificially depressing interest rates takes away wealth from savers and distributes it to borrowers. Who are today's savers? Retirees and near-retirees. In fact, this group accounts for more individuals (and lost spending power) than ever before.

WHAT EFFECT HAS THE FEDERAL RESERVE'S MONETARY POLICY HAD ON JOBLESS AMERICANS? LET'S EXAMINE THE FACTS:

August 2007: Fed lowered discount rate, unemployment rate at 4.7%

December 2008: Fed reduced rates to just north of zero, unemployment rate at 7.4%.

March 2009: Fed launches QE1, unemployment rate at 8.6%.

November 2010: Fed launches QE2, unemployment rate at 9.6%.

MAKING THE RICH RICHER AND THE POOR POORER

While large cap (NYSEArca: IVV - News), mid cap (NYSEArca: MDY - News), small cap (NYSEArca: IWM - News), international (NYSEArca: EFA - News), emerging market stocks (NYSEArca: EEM - News) and commodities are brewing their own Fed sponsored bubble, the jobless are left in the dust. Would there have been anyway to help them?

Our infrastructure (streets and bridges) is literally rotting away beneath our tires. $600 billion (as in $600 billion QE2) would have been enough money to employ 4 million construction workers at $75,000/year for two years.

Going this route would provide jobs for the hardest hit sector, increase morale and social status and distribute money to the consumer so he can do what he does best - consume. The labor cost of such an infrastructure repair program would be far less than $600 billion because the government wouldn't have to pay unemployment benefits to Americans who could be employed.

GOING THE JAPAN ROUTE

The United States' current predicament is not unique, it happened before. Not in the U.S., but in Japan (NYSEArca: EWJ - News). Following a late 1980s real estate bust, Japan's Nikkei has gone nowhere but down (aside from counter trend rallies, some massive, but nonetheless trumped by the bear market).

The chart below illustrates Japan's pain. The April 2010 ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter, includes an in-depth analysis of the similarities between the two scenarios.

One of the few differences is that Japan's breakdown occurred amidst a roaring global bull market. The U.S. bear market isn't that lucky, as it parallels an escalating European debt crisis and, therefore, should be swifter and ultimately more pronounced.

DON'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH

If there's only one sentence you take away from this article, let it be this: Things change fast. If you wish, you may add a second: Bear markets work much faster than bull markets.

Momentum is a strong force. Upside momentum breeds optimism which eventually culminates at optimistic extremes. A few days before the April decline, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter noted that the: 'message conveyed by the composite bullishness is unmistakably bearish.'

A more recent example of bear market forces taking hold can be found in the municipal bond market. For over two years, muni bonds have been quenching the thirst of yield hungry investors.

On July 8, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter observed: 'Predicting the location of the next credit crisis isn't easy by virtue of the fact that there are so many darn cracks everywhere. Nevertheless, the $2.8 trillion municipal bond market looks especially ripe for disaster.'

On August 26 - the very day muni bonds and 30-year Treasury Bonds (NYSEArca: TLT - News) peaked - the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter followed up the initial red flag with this word of advice: 'Our technical analysis along with fundamentals suggest that T-Bonds are getting ready to roll over. A look at the overall picture suggests that this is more than just a minor correction. The rally in municipal, corporate and high yield bonds is showing signs of weakness too. Investors should start exiting from those markets.'

The chart of the iShares S&P National Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: MUB - News) below shows that MUB lost nearly two years worth of gains within a matter of weeks.

DON'T DISCOUNT THE RIPPLE EFFECT

Thus far, the major indexes a la Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) have largely resisted that drag. But a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

At its most recent earnings disappointment, Cisco CEO Chambers disclosed that weak sales to the government and state sector contributed to weak earnings. The government sector accounts for 13% of spending on goods and services.

It's probably just a matter of time until this weakness affects the tech (NYSEArca: XLK - News), and by extension the consumer discretionary (NYSEArca: XLY - News) sectors; especially since earnings for 2011 are expected to clock in at an all-time high (no, that's not a typo, check Standard and Poor's earnings estimates).

For right now, the straws (fundamental problems) are piling up on the camel's back (stock market), until the last straw breaks his back. My personal guess is that the insanity will go on a bit longer, but as we've seen in 2000, 2007, 2010 and the above MUB chart, the power of the last straw can bring the camel to its knees in a hurry.

Unlike Wall Street and the financial media, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter doesn't simply ignore red flags, but tries to identify Trojan-Horse-like asset classes before they enter and destroy your portfolio. Semi-weekly updates continually monitor major asset classes and provide invaluable support and resistance levels.

Fred Carstensen: We're in for a Lost Decade Levy ‘Economist Fred Carstensen is a professor of economics at the University of Connecticut and executive director of the university's Center for Economic Analysis.

H.L.: What do you predict is the real effect of the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy $600 billion worth of Treasurys – and what do you think of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s defense of the move against other countries’ negative reactions?

F.C.: It’s exactly what the late economist Milton Friedman, the great guru of conservative economic thought, would want him to do. There’s no question that it’s the right strategy, and there’s no question that it’s actually working. The American stock market is up 14 percent since Bernanke announced in August that he would do this. And it’s gotten investors to switch from government debt to equities. Household wealth has increased $1.3 trillion as a consequence, and households feeling somewhat wealthier will consume somewhat more.

The hope is that the shift in investments will also help convince companies to expand. So insofar as the Fed police can actually influence financial markets, it’s worked.

But there are two issues: First, it may not be large enough to really have a sufficient impact on economic performance. Second, monetary policy is like pushing on a string, because ultimately businesses respond to demand not supply. So, Bernanke has successfully improved the supply of credit, but American demand is still very weak. In fact, some significant share of the benefits from the policy flow out of the country and flow abroad. And because so much of what we consume is imported, it increases capital exports to China, Viet Nam, South Korea, and Germany and increases imports of merchandise, and those two processes tend to drive the value of the dollar down. It diminishes the demand for dollars and increases the demand for foreign currencies, because when you invest in China you have to convert your dollars into Chinese currency. The consequence is the demand for dollar falls. That’s why foreign countries are complaining about this, because it’s working. Meanwhile, the foreign countries that I mentioned are pursuing dynamic economic development strategies, improving their workforce, investing in education, investing in infrastructure. The U.S. is pursuing none of these strategies in any coherent way.

But let’s get this into perspective. The depreciation of the dollar is much, much less than the depreciation that occurred during the Bush administration. There is no historical basis on which to complain about the change in the value of the American dollar or about the Fed’s policies by other countries or by the Republicans who are criticizing it and asking that it be stopped. The only reason they would want it stopped is because they want to thwart economic recovery. I do mean that the only motivation that I can understand is they want to thwart recovery. But the data demonstrate that the policy has been successful, but in a large sense, the policy has not and will not improve American economic performance.

H.L.: Where is the U.S. economy headed?

F.C: In general, the economy is going to grow at an anemic pace, and as a consequence it will generate relatively few new jobs. We will therefore continue to have relatively high unemployment rates for several years. I don’t see how we’re going to get unemployment rates below 8 to 10 percent in the foreseeable future. I don’t see where the job creation is going to come from.

Most forecasters have downgraded their projections for U.S. economic growth for the next two or three years from a range of 2.5 to 3 percent growth down to 2 to 2.3 percent annually. That is such a slow growth rate it will create very few jobs. We will not get a job recovery in the near future, and we are not making the kinds of strategic investments that are likely to strengthen our economic performance further out. Frankly, I think we’re in for a lost decade. I can easily see us limping along through the entire decade.

H.L.: What’s going to change it?

F.C.: It’s just a matter of effective political leadership and getting the people to understand the kind of perverse policies that we’re currently pursuing. There’s a huge mythology that’s been out there over the last 30 years that government doesn’t do anything useful, Yet it’s public-sector investment in human capital and infrastructure that is at the heart of America’s historic economic success and it is precisely the strategy that these competitive economies are now pursuing. India and China are in fact making massive investments in education, rfeserach and development, and infrastructure. It is making them progressively more competitive, even as America becomes less competitive.

H.L.: Is the economy threatened by deflation -- the downward cycle of prices, leading to lower profits, then lower wages, then fewer new jobs, and more layoffs -- that feeds on itself, drains the economy, and keeps it flaccid?

F.C.: No. There is some small threat of deflation, but the Federal Reserve is going to do everything imaginable to prevent that from happening. If we got into a deflationary cycle it would be extraordinarily destructive.

H.L.: Will the resurgent Republicans solve our economic problems with the plans they’ve announced, or will their goal of blocking all Democratic initiatives paralyze the economy and the nation even more than they already are?

F.C.: Yes. I have seen nothing in the Republican proposals that suggest anything, any strategies or initiatives that would help to drive economic recovery. They talk about budget cuts. Well, budget cuts are going to reduce the number of people who are employed, reduce the demand for goods and services, so inherently what the core set of proposals that Republicans seem to be committed to enacting would clearly be a drag on the national economy.

H.L.: So you seem to think that the deficit hawks are wrong in their approach to healing the economy?

F.C.: Reducing the deficit in the short term in the face of a weakening economy inevitably weakens the economy further. That’s simply basic economic analysis that has nothing to do with ideology.

H.L.: Should all the Bush tax cuts be extended or just those for people earning less than $250,000 a year?

F.C.: Keep them, kill them, it won’t make much difference either way. The reason is that the Bush tax cuts themselves delivered very little benefit to the American economy. Following the Bush tax cuts we had the lowest level of business investment in 50 years. We had a very weak job recovery. The benefits of the Bush tax cuts both in consumption and in investment largely flowed out of the country. They benefited the global economy. They did not benefit the American economy. We import our consumption goods and the attractive investments are in emerging markets, so the money did not stay here.’

Tumbling Tuesday - China Korea and Europe, Oh My! Davis ‘Man was yesterday silly! We ran with some upside plays out of the box but they died by 10:10. I called the top at 10:12 when I pointed out to Members that 2,530 was Friday’s top-out on the Nas and 2,532 was resistance going back to the Friday before. By 10:54, the Nasdaq was back down to 2,515 and I said to Members:

Wow, that turned fast! What a joke that the Nas can pop from 2,500 to 2,530 in 30 mins and then all the way back down 30 mins later – as I said this morning – an untradable market unless you are a real cowboy day-trader.

Of course we are cowboy day traders, and mega kudos to JRW, who called a move into TZA at $20.06 and a move out at $20.84 (4%) at 1pm. My own 1:31 note to Members was: "Volume died at 77M on the Dow at 1:27, only 50M since 10am so very slow at the moment, which means we could start heading up again." And, of course, we did! At 1:57, I added: "Meanwhile, Nas looks like it’s going to make another run back to 2,532 – just to make sure it’s totally obvious what a farce this market is…"

Of course, at PSW, we don’t care IF the market is fixed as long as know HOW it’s fixed so we can play along at home. As the Nas headed back to our 2,532 target (where they closed exactly for the day), we added the weekly QQQQ $53 puts at .45, which was a play I called at 3:01 in Member Chat, while the puts were still selling for .55 – that's how fixed the market is – we know option prices an hour in advance!

Speaking of fixed markets, the image above right is from Bess Levin’s well-titled "Insider Trading Festivus 2010" in which she suggests sending FBI strip-o-grams to the evil hedge fund of your choice "just to f*ck with them!" Bess cautions fund managers not to assume that all FBI agents bursting through their doors are strippers as that can lead to some very awkward moments…

Meanwhile, it’s a Festivus for the rest of us (who are short) as the markets roll back over. Of course, yesterday’s insane market moves served to reinforce our "take the money and run" sentiment as we got a drop on the Dow all the way to 11,060 at 12:48 yet the Dow recovered 120 points into the close on weak volume that gave us the cue to move in short – despite our bullish expectations for HP (HPQ) earnings (we sold puts earlier in the session).

The Nikkei was up 1% this morning but the rest of Asia had a rotten day with the Hang Seng falling 627 points (2.67%) and the Shanghai off 56 points (2%) and the BSE down 265 points (1.33%). This knocked the FXI below support and down to the 22 DMA at 42.67 (see David Fry’s chart) and breaking that would be – bad. China is experiencing runaway inflation and Wen Jiabao’s price controls are doing nothing to rein in the 54% increase in the money supply over the past two years – an amount our own Fed calls "a good start."

Bloomberg has an article today with this little anecdote:

Standing near his 12-table noodle shop on Beijing’s Yonghegong Avenue, owner Liu Heliang says meat and vegetable prices have climbed 10 percent in a year and staff wages are up 40 percent.

“I’m struggling to make ends meet with costs going up like this,” said Liu, a native of Sichuan province who pays his workers as much as 1,800 yuan ($271) a month, or 88 percent more than the Beijing minimum wage, to serve up a staple Chinese meal. “Raising prices is the only way out,” he said, predicting he won’t be able to hold out beyond two months.

I mean, really people, how is a man supposed to run a successful business when he is forced to pay his workers close to $10 a day?!? This is why we must protect the business owners in this country before our own workers start getting funny ideas about being able to afford to eat the food they serve or buy the things they make ... This is a great example of why China’s growth is unsustainable. Just the way Egypt’s growth was unsustainable 3,000 years ago because it was based on slavery, China’s growth also reaches a breaking point if the workers are no longer willing to accept their lot in life.

Paying a worker $271 a month (and that dollar matters when it’s only $271!) for 160 hours of work (and you know it’s more than that) is $1.70 per hour or about what I made as a busboy in 1976, when my plan was to buy a brand new VW Beetle for $1,999. That’s why Tata motors has cars for $2,499 – that’s what the market will bear over there! Of course, in 1976 gas was $1 per gallon and we’d put 6 kids in that VW and $1 each would get us to the shore and back and another Dollar would pay for lunch so I was happy to work one hour to pay for a day off and save the rest. Modern workers are not so lucky as they work all 40 hours of the week just to buy necessities and spend their free time praying nothing happens that will force them to borrow money.

“They are just not addressing the fundamental problem at all,” said Patrick Chovanec, an associate professor at Beijing’s Tsinghua University. With the expansion of credit and cash in the economy stemming from China’s response to the global crisis, “you’re sitting on a volcano,” he said. China’s plans to rein in prices include selling state food reserves, stabilizing the cost of natural gas and cracking down on speculation in and hoarding of agricultural products, the State Council said. The aim is to damp food inflation that reached 10 percent in October, more than twice the 4.4 percent headline rate.

If you think you don’t have to worry about whether or not Chinese workers can afford a Big Mac, think again. The myth of infinite Chinese demand is what’s spurring the speculative rally in America. Since the people PHYSICALLY cannot afford price increases, margins are being squeezed and sales are dropping fast. Bloomberg points to another example of an apple seller whose prices went up 60% which led directly to a 60% drop in sales – all this is right on the money with my call on the 2010 outlook I made last year – it’s "A Tale of Two Economies" and the wealthy investing class simply does not see (or does not want to see) the abject suffering of the working class – whether it’s Chinese or US workers, as the situation reaches a breaking point.

Even the mighty US consumers are nearing the breaking point with just 15.7% of holiday shopping completed by the week ending Nov. 14th compared to 20.5% at this time last year and 28.3% in 2008 – the last year we had a "healthy" economy and when 10M more people had jobs and 4M more families had homes to put a Christmas tree up in.

Food companies are still reeling from lower sales volumes that began in 2008 with what some dub "pantry deloading." Over the past two years, the number of items kept in American pantries has fallen about 20%, according to a recent SymphonyIRI survey. Consumers are also cutting back on the range of goods they stock. The average household had 369 unique items in its medicine cabinets, pantries and cosmetics bags this year, compared with 404 in 2006, the survey found.

[chart]

We’re going to run our annual PSW Holiday Shopping Survey this weekend so our Members can give us their observations of Black Fridays from around the nation. Our holiday surveys have been excellent predictors in the past so I look forward to this year’s results! The Government revised GDP UP this morning, to 2.5% in Q3 from 2% originally estimated. That’s a nice 50% improvement over Q2′s 1.7%, although we still have 9.6% official unemployment but I guess those bums weren’t shopping anyway. A big contributor to GDP was a 28.2% boost in year over year profits in the Financial Sector, which is about 20% of the S&P these days. Thank goodness for that as we were sure worried about our Bankster buddies in this rough economy!

openingimageFed Minutes are out at 2 pm and we can expect the Fed to lower their forecasts, despite the GDP. They have to do this to justify QE2, of course, as "The Bernank" does whatever it takes to distract you from what’s really happening.

Ireland is NOT "fixed." As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, they are two weeks away from a budget vote and, if they can’t agree on the loan terms that are being shoved down their throats – we could be right back to chaos over there. Now that Ireland does appear to have a lifeline, the sharks have moved on to surround Portugal, Italy and Spain, with Antonio Garcia Pascual, chief southern European economist at Barclays Capital in London, saying “Spain is bit too big to be bailed out, the size of a rescue required would use up all the funds available and then you have Italy with contagion as well,” prompting “a situation where the euro itself is put into question.”

So happy Tuesday to you and GOOD LUCK – we’re going to need it to get through this mess! We’ll be watching our 10% lines and taking the money and running on our short plays because we don’t really have the volume for a proper breakdown just yet but the trend is no longer the friend of the bulls who need to do more than last minute stick-saves to turn things around at this point.

Things should be interesting this afternoon with the Fed Minutes and, for the morning, we’ll be looking to hold the floor we established last Thursday and Friday at Dow 11,120 (already lost), S&P 1,185 (already lost), Nasdaq 2,500 (holding), NYSE 7,550 (oops again), and Russell 715 (holding). If those break down, we’ve got a clean shot for another 2.5% drop below those lines and that’s going to make for a very worried Thanksgiving for those who ignored my cash calls of the past month.’

Why Ben Bernanke Is Wrong Rein This column originally appeared in Forbes [ ‘… In other words, he wants simply to reinflate the bubble that caused our problems in the first place. Soaring equity prices won't increase confidence until more jobs are created. It will only postpone the day of reckoning…’ ]

‘I have a childhood friend named Johnny. Our families used to vacation together. By high school we had grown apart, as Johnny got into drinking and pot. He dropped out of school and graduated to hard drugs and who knows what else. By the time he reached his 20s, he was a total mess. Out of love, his parents vainly doled out money and vacations to him. No matter how well-intentioned they were, his parents basically enabled him. Johnny got worse and worse. Nothing worked until one day they kicked him to the curb and said "we love you but we won't give you any more money.' The next few years were torture for both Johnny and his parents. He would disappear for months at a time, occasionally showing up gaunt and ragged. Fortunately, he is now getting rid of his internal demons, off drugs, back in school and living at home. Like Johnny's parents, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is misguided with his $600 billion "QE2" quantitative easing. He is continuing to enable America's addiction to debt without addressing America's internal structural problems. As I said on Bloomberg TV in an appearance last week, America is addicted to debt the way a drug addict is addicted to heroin. Bernanke needs to cut off the money supply, as Johnny's parents did, and have the U.S. go through very painful restructuring for three to five years. Otherwise America will never get better. With QE2, Bernanke is copying the mistakes Japan made over the past two decades trying to move beyond its stagnation. Like the U.S. now, Japan lowered interest rates nearly to zero and invested in infrastructure. Those policies led to drawn-out stagnation with entire industries and towns dependent on handouts. The same will happen to America if Bernanke continues to pump liquidity into the system. Why? Low interest rates and an increased money supply are worthless tools if companies don't think there are ways to make money. More than a trillion dollars sits on the books of America's largest companies in reserves for a rainy day, because they are scared about the future. It is true that when credit markets don't work a short-term money infusion is needed (as was done with the Trouble Asset Relief Program in 2008), but continuing to throw money at those problems nearly three years after the recession started in the hope that something will finally stick is foolish. Aside from relying on the wrong measures to remedy the current situation, here are two more reasons why Bernanke's policy is wrong.First, Bernanke says he wants a looser monetary policy to boost the stock market and increase confidence, even though the Dow has rebounded from 6,000 to 11,000 in the last two years. Huh? What a ridiculous, dimwitted view for a central b anker to have. In other words, he wants simply to reinflate the bubble that caused our problems in the first place. Soaring equity prices won't increase confidence until more jobs are created. It will only postpone the day of reckoning. Instead, the U.S. should look to Singapore for guidance. The government there subsidized new hires of private companies as soon as the crisis hit. The result? Companies competed to hire at a fraction of their normal costs. Even though Singapore's export-oriented economy got hit hard, its gross domestic product grew 10.6% in the third quarter of 2010, year over year. America should subsidize new hires for small and medium enterprises in key sectors like clean technology, high technology and media and focus on job creation in small and medium-size businesses, not on temporary census takers. That will boost confidence and create jobs. Second, global investors are rightly worried that with the U.S. money supply growing the value of the dollar will continue to drop. So what are they doing? Companies likeApple, General Electric and Pepsi are investing in emerging markets like Brazil, India and China that are rebounding better from the crisis. The result is massive asset bubbles in those places that could create great volatility if they popped. In other words, Bernanke is unleashing America's economic woes and bubbles on the rest of the world. America's closest allies like Germany and Brazil are protesting, sensibly, as are the Chinese. They don't want Bernanke to fob off America's problems onto them. Lowering the value of dollar also won't help America export its way to success, as Bernanke and President Obama mistakenly believe. Countries like Thailand and Japan will keep up by devaluing their own currencies. Currency wars don't help anyone. Instead of debasing the greenback, America should bolster its manufacturing prowess. It doesn't have the workers and infrastructure needed to make Nike and Ralph Laurenproducts, but it can and should be manufacturing more products higher up the value chain, where China and Vietnam can't compete. Instead of trying to blame China's currency policies for America's problems (I am still not sure how Bernanke seems to forget that the global crisis started because of irresponsible regulatory oversight and easy credit in the U.S., since he became a member of the Fed's Board of Governors in 2002), the Federal Reserve chairman needs to look at quelling America's economic demons. There are no easy answers. Fixing those problems will be painful and politically difficult and may cause unemployment to spike and the equity markets to drop. But it has to be done. Unless Bernanke learns as Johnny's parents did that tough love works better than throwing money at problems, I am very concerned that America's addiction to debt will continue to damage the global economy.’

Fed lowers economic expectations for 2011 Washington Post - Neil Irwin - During the housing boom, millions of homeowners got easy access to mortgages. Now, some mortgage lenders and government officials have taken action after discovering that many mortgage documents were mishandled. Bernanke Has FOMC Dissent But Still Runs The Show Forbes Fed Downgrades US Economic Outlook - Minutes Wall Street Journal

Asian Stocks Decline on Korea Attack Jonathan Burgos | Asian stocks fell, dragging the benchmark index to an almost four-week low.

Yuan begins trading against the rouble China started allowing the yuan to trade against the Russian rouble in the interbank market from Monday as policymakers promote the currency’s use in global trade and finance.

Velma Hart, Who Questioned Obama’s Policies, Loses Job Velma Hart, who told President Obama she was “exhausted” of defending him and became the face of disappointed Americans this fall, has lost her job.

The Beginning Of The Ponzi End: As Of Today, The Biggest Holder Of US Debt Is Ben Bernanke Well, folks, it’s official – mark November 22, 2010 in your calendars – today is the day the Ponzi starts in earnest.

Irish Clash with Cops as IMF Readies Austerity Plan In Dublin, Ireland, people are not taking the IMF invasion sitting down. On Monday, November 22, around 50 Irish demonstrators attempted to stage a sit-down at a government building and protest the sell-out of the country to the international bankers.

Who Will Any Form of Intermediate Term Wealth Effect Really Help? [ The so-called ‘wealth effect touted by no-recession helicopter ben‘ is just a continuation of the fraudulent wall street bailout / subsidization churn-and-earn scam / fraud. Bill Fleckenstein Has Some Thoughts On QE2: “These Idiots Think We Can Print Our Way To Prosperity” ( I disagree! I believe they are well aware of the folly of their fraudulent and ultimately disastrous approach but are, as in the last debacle, creating a fraudulent bubble for the wall street frauds and insiders to sell into, which they are indeed doing as we speak. (INSIDER SELLING IS AT RECORD HIGHS) (Another Nobel Economist Says We Have to Prosecute Fraud Or Else the Economy Won’t Recover As economists such as William Black and James Galbraith have repeatedly said, we cannot solve the economic crisis unless we throw the criminals who committed fraud in jail. ) ] Fed to pump $600B into the economy (Washington Post) [ Listen to this total, absolute b*** s*** … from no-recession-helicopter ben shalom or b.s. for short, bernanke, with green shoots wilting on the vine … to his recent ‘better to try and fail than to do nothing at all’ … Balderdash! … I hearken back to a distinction made by the brilliant Peter Drucker who in emphasizing the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness states that being effective means doing the right things, clearly not the case here … other than frothing that fraudulent wall street market with high-frequency programmed trades and debased dollars he can’t seem to print enough of, and for all but wall frauds churn and earn profits as they retain their fraudulent gains from the last debacle and this one, his policies are nothing short of disaster for this nation and the world. That money going into wall street pockets has to come from somewhere … guess. Remember, america’s defacto bankrupt and the consequences for those continuing frauds on wall street don’t justify the irretrievable costs! ] In addition to a question for Bloomberg TV anchor Betty Lui, who asked Bill to “admit” that “the markets were in a better mood yesterday after QE2,” which is simply this: “Betty? Betty? Betty? How about in summer 2008, 2007, were the markets in a good mood? Were the markets in a good mood then?” Quite right! The same pattern that preceded the last crash. Falling dollar, high volume programmed high frequency trades to the upside creating an even larger, gravity-defying bubble for the wall street frauds and insiders to sell into. They’re not too big or important to fail and jail! Prospective economic health depends on that reality! ]

John Hussman: Bubble, Crash, Bubble, Crash, Bubble... [ This really is the story and far worse than the bad scenario presented herefter by Hussman in light of the debased dollar and the inflated earnings and lower P / E ratios thereby, etc. ] Excerpt from the Hussman Funds' Weekly Market Comment (11/8/10):

‘We will continue this cycle until we catch on. The problem isn't only that the Fed is treating the symptoms instead of the disease. Rather, by irresponsibly promoting reckless speculation, misallocation of capital, moral hazard (careless lending without repercussions), and illusory "wealth effects," the Fed has become the disease ... It is difficult to interpret Bernanke's defense of QE2 as anything else but an attempt to replace the recent bubble with yet another - to drive already overvalued risky assets to further overvaluation in hopes that consumers will view the "wealth" as permanent. The problem here is that unlike housing, which consumers had viewed as immune from major price declines, investors have observed two separate stock market plunges of over 50% each, within the past decade alone. While investors have obviously demonstrated an aptitude for ignoring risk over short periods of time, it is a simple fact that raising the price of a risky asset comes at the sacrifice of lower long-term returns, except when there is a proportional increase in the long-term stream cash flows that can be expected from the security. As a result of Bernanke's actions, investors now own higher priced securities that can be expected to deliver commensurately lower long-term returns, leaving their lifetime "wealth" unaffected, but exposing them to enormous risk of price declines over the intermediate (2-5 year) horizon. This is not a basis on which consumers are likely to shift their spending patterns. What Bernanke doesn't seem to absorb is that stocks are nothing but a claim on a long-term stream of cash flows that investors expect to be delivered over time. Propping up the price of stocks changes the distribution of long-term investment returns, but it doesn't materially affect the cash flows. This reckless policy has done nothing but to promote further overvaluation of already overvalued assets. The current Shiller P/E above 22 has historically been associated with subsequent total returns in the S&P 500 of less than 5% annually, on average, over every investment horizon shorter than a decade ... We are betting on the wrong horse. When the Fed acts outside of the role of liquidity provision, it does more harm than good. Worse, we have somehow accepted a situation where the Fed's actions are increasingly independent of our democratically elected government. Bernanke's unsound leadership has placed the nation's economic stability on two pillars: inflated asset prices, and actions that - in Bernanke's own words - should be "correctly viewed as an end run around the authority of the legislature" (see below). The right horse is ourselves, and the ability of our elected representatives to create an economic environment that encourages productive investment, research, development, infrastructure, and education, while avoiding policies that promote speculation, discourage work, or defend reckless lenders from experiencing losses on bad investments.’

Insiders selling (into the bubble as preceded last crash), this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam/fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

To solve the deficit, the numbers add up -- but not the votes ( Washington Post ) [ Geeh! A discussion of the deficit with a reference to math … who woulda’ thunk it! I mean, that’s script material for the next installment of ‘Mission Impossible’. ]The sudden proliferation of deficit-reduction plans is a reminder that the deficit is, at its heart, a math problem.

National / World

Lowest ever: Obama job approval sinks to 39%, as even Democrats’ support melts away President Obama has passed the Big 4-0 — going the wrong way.

Korean War Crisis: Brought To You By Uncle Sam Despite the fact that South Korea admits it fired the first shots that prompted the North to retaliate, the vast majority of the establishment press are feverishly blaming North Korea for a new escalation in the crisis, while failing completely to acknowledge the fact that the whole fiasco was generated as a direct result of Uncle Sam’s policy through two separate administrations to ensure hereditary dictator Kim Jong-Il and his successors acquired the atom bomb.

North Korea Attack Part Of RAND Plan For Total War? The exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea, which the North says was started by South Korea firing shells during a military drill, could act as the catalyst for a huge new conflict that the RAND Corporation has been lobbying for over the past two years.

Polls Indicate Americans Waking Up To TSA Tyranny A new national poll indicates that the majority of Americans are against the enhanced TSA pat-downs that some have likened to sexual molestation, while more travelers are turning against the full body scanners as they learn more about the risks associated with the technology.

NKorea’s military command vows ‘merciless’ military strike against SKorea North Korea threatened to continue “merciless” strikes on South Korea on Tuesday after the communist state launched a deadly artillery attack across their western sea border.

Ron Paul: Crotch Groped by TSA, Calls for Boycott of Airlines Kurt Nimmo | “I think it’s a healthy wake-up call to a lot of Americans,” Paul told Jones.

Ron Paul: Korea Conflict May Be Orchestrated Crisis To Boost Dollar Paul Joseph Watson | RAND Corporation lobbied Pentagon for major war to reverse US economy

RT Crew Arrested for Reporting Pentagon’s Dirty Laundry Kurt Nimmo | It is Job One of the corporate media to make sure the American people remain oblivious to the ramifications of U.S. foreign policy.

Korean War Crisis: Brought To You By Uncle Sam Paul Joseph Watson | US military-industrial complex armed North Korea with nuclear weapons.

Breaking: South Korea Threatens Retaliation Against North Korea Infowars.com | Kim Jong-un, the anointed successor of Kim Jong-il, is said to be responsible.

Drudgereport: US-SKorea Joint Military Exercises Possible in Coming Days...
NKorea's military command vows 'merciless' military strike against South...
Fires artillery onto island...
South denies seeking redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons...
Returns Fire...
'Intentional, planned attack'...
CHINA WATCHES... WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS...
Russia Sees 'Colossal Danger'...
IT BEGINS

POLL: Obama job approval sinks to 39%...
Woman who told Obama her financial fears -- has lost her job...
Even MoveOn.org sours...
Afghan violence soars, insurgency expanding..

A united goal: Saving the tiger (Washington Post) [ Clearly the wisdom of an historically great leader for the ages, Vladimir V. Putin should be given great deference in all matters of global concern. Having evolved from his youthful indiscretion as a novice KGB agent, a hand dealt to him (by a soviet communist system) more than chosen, he has reminded the world of the greatness that was, is, and forever will be Russia’s and His! ] The tale of the magnificent Siberian tiger, and its unfinished fight for survival, should be a compelling one for the 500 conservationists and world leaders arriving for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin's tiger summit this weekend. Protecting where the wild things are Washington Post - Kathy Lally - IN MOSCOW The tale of the magnificent Siberian tiger, and its unfinished fight for survival, should be a compelling one for the 500 conservationists and world leaders arriving for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's tiger summit this weekend ... 13 nations meet to try to save wild tigers CNN International Putin, Wen, other leaders in bid to save the tiger Reuters

The Economy Will Not Recover Until the Economic Criminals are Prosecuted, and There Are Real Investigations Into 9/11 and Other Government Failures Trust is essential for a stable economy; Trust is currently at an all-time low; Launching criminal prosecutions and real investigations is one of the main prerequisites for an economic recovery.

Multitudes of lobbyists weigh in on Dodd-Frank Act (Washington Post) [ Who cares what they have to say. What can you expect them to say? After all, for the amounts they’re getting paid, what do you expect them to say. As it stands, the dodd-frank bill’s already a soft touch for the perennial frauds on wall street. Partner rates, ie., Washington-based Patton Boggs, at $990 per hour (in 2008, higher no doubt today), do you really think you’re paying for knowledge / expertise or just influence / slush? These amounts are staggering. Such is unheard of in more productive societies. ] The financial overhaul has generated more work for lawyers and lobbyists now than during the frenzied days leading up to its passage.

Helmand's refugees disheartened by troops (Washington Post) [ ‘Gauge of success?’ Come on! What success can be had? Greater defacto bankruptcies for the nato coalition members? More death and destruction? Even if it were not true (that they are to blame) though I believe it is, the u.s. / brits / nato will be blamed for even unimprovable scenarios beyond their scope and control where even pyhric victories are not in the cards (though that’s all they could possibly have hoped for). Indeed, a geopolitical misstep of monumental proportion for the u.s., Britain, et als. Then there’s the u.s. initiated resurgence of the poppy / heroin production / trade … their raison d’etre. ] The arid province will be an important gauge of success in the U.S.-led strategy against the Taliban. But refugees offer a bleak assessment, blaming insecurity in Afghanistan on the presence of U.S. and British troops.

With bailout near, Irish PM's coalition cracks (Washington Post) [ Cracks? If it were only the Irish coalition that suffers from cracks, things might be just a smidgen better than the bleak reality, current and prospective. Cracked, on crack, all cracked up, etc., are expressions that describe any number of political / business interest groups that should have got crackin’ when the same would have really meant something! ]

The Wall Street snitch pitch (Washington Post) [ Oh yeah! Laws are great on paper, but in a pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt nation as america, just try to get them to apply them as opposed to the more lucrative perpetration and cover-up (but the incentives are a positive). ] An unlikely ad has been getting screen time in Manhattan theaters that cater to a Wall Street crowd. [

October 15, 2010 (*see infra)

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include 1 copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’). The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://albertpeia.com/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ].

The correspondence I received from the Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

1. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
2. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
3. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
4. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
5. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
6. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) 219-**** (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

----------

*The foregoing and as indicated therein was previously send 9-14-10 but delivery confirmation was flawed as set forth below and my inquiries to the u.s. postal service rebuffed (I believe tampered with inasmuch as your office could not locate same). This cover letter (9-13-10) is on the 3 disks with navigable hyperlinks to the subject files for ease of reference, including the files in the RICO action as indicated. (10-15-10) I spoke with Rose, FBI, ADIC Secretary, who indicates once again that your office has not received the aforesaid and which can reasonably be presumed to have been tampered with, and hence, a violation of the federal statute concerning same. ]

-----

Food banks swamped by demand (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Sounds bullish (unlike those other bank runs) … to the lunatic frauds on wall street this full-moon luneday (Monday) … you know … ‘demand is up’ … riiiiight! … but the real question is: Are Stocks Over Loved and Over Valued? [ Is the Pope Catholic? Do bears s*** in the woods? … Reality’s short answer: YES! YES! YES! ]
Simon Maierhofer, On Monday November 22, 2010, 12:32 pm EST ‘Momentum and perception are the big intangibles of the investing universe.  Nobody knows exactly when the investing masses' mojo will turn on or off, overheat or over correct.Valuations, similar to gravity, are the big equalizer. In a world of uncertainty, valuations are the one thing you can rely on.  Getting valuations right is one thing, figuring out when valuations will exercise their gravitational pull on stocks (NYSEArca: VTI - News) is another.
Using Valuations as a Guide
When planning a trip from point A to B, you need to know where A and B are. If you don't know your destination, you will most likely end up some place you don't want to be.  Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.Fair valuations are the final investment destination. If you invest in an undervalued market or stock and have the patience to let the market do its magic, your investment will be profitable 9 out of 10 times.If you invest in an overvalued market and don't get out in time, odds are that your journey will end in tears.
Asking the 'Valuation Guru'
Charles Dow, the founder of the Wall Street Journal and inventor of the Dow Jones Averages was an astute student of valuations. According to Mr. Dow, a correct understanding of valuations is the single most important ingredient to investment success. If Mr. Dow was still alive, what would he say about today's market? Would he tell you to buy or sell?Let's examine the most basic and probably purest measure of value: Dividend yields.Unlike P/E ratios, dividend yields can't be fudged and massaged. Companies with a healthy cash flow use their financial prowess to attract and retain buy-and hold type investors with juicy dividend checks.The dividend yield is expressed as a percentage of the stock price and can rise for two reasons: 1) stock price drops or 2) dividend payment increases. As a rule of thumb, the higher dividend yields, the healthier valuations.
Dividend Yield - Buy High, Sell Low
It's human nature to want what you can't get. Current yields are low, but everybody wants income, so investors are willing to risk the return of their money for return on their money.  Current yields are close to an all-time low, so it's fair to assume that stocks are overvalued.The opposite was true in the first quarter of 2009. A variety of ETFs yielded close to or even more than 10%. The Financial Select Sector SPDRs (NYSEArca: XLF - News) and Vanguard Financial ETF (NYSEArca: VFH - News) paid more than 7%.Dividend ETFs like the iShares DJ Select Dividend (NYSEArca: DVY - News) and SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: SDY - News) had yields north of 6%, and even plain value ETFs like Vanguard Value (NYSEArca: VTV - News) and iShares Russell 1000 Value (NYSEArca: IWD - News) paid more than 4%.The problem at that time was that nobody was interested in yield. Investors shunned stocks and yields like cats shun water. Within a week of prices bottoming and stocks beginning to rally, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter recommended to load up on dividend-rich ETFs.Here's the newsletter's March 2, 2009 recommendation: 'This counter trend rally will have to be broad and powerful in order to relieve investor's pent-up urge to buy. Dividend ETFs with a higher allocation to financials are likely to rise higher than the broad market. Some of the dividend yields are quite juicy and can help to offset timing mistakes.'

Beware of the Yields Trap

Since then, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) has risen as much as 84%, the performance for the Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) has been similar. What about dividend yields?If the March 2009 lows marked a true market bottom, dividend payments should have increased somewhat proportionally to stock prices. They didn't. In fact, yields today are lower than they were at the March 2009 bottom.In March 2009 the dividend yield for S&P 500 constituents was 3.6%. By multiplying 3.6% with the March 2009 low of 666 we arrive at a dividend yield of 23.98 points. In October 2010, the S&P yielded 1.97%. Based on an S&P at 1,200 points, this represented 23.64 points, 0.34 points less than at the March 2009 bottom.Hunting after yield without considering the risk at current prices is similar to maxing out your credit cards just to rack up frequent flier miles. The return comes at a (long-term) cost.Beware of the Earnings TrapIn my humble opinion, earnings are more than just a trap, they are a minefield. According to the numbers we are fed, earnings have already surpassed the threshold reached at the peak of the dot-com bubble and are projected to eclipse even the 2007 all-time record high in 2011.If this doesn't strike you as odd, take a moment to examine the chart below. Leading up to the 2007 stock market and earnings high, we had consistent GDP growth (not historically great but steady). The real unemployment rate (U-6, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) was 8.4%.[chart]Today, GDP is sputtering (and inflated by government subsidies) and U-6 unemployment has more than doubled to 17%. For those who prefer to go by the media's more palatable U-3 jobless number, it has soared from below 4.7% to 9.6%. Does that look like the kind of environment that would produce record high earnings?I don't think it would be presumptuous to wonder if financial engineering and massaging the books has something to do with high earnings. Remember the 157 rule change which allows banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) to hide real estate losses (see June 2010 ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter for a detailed analysis).Even when assuming that current earnings are for real, the P/E ratio (high earnings translate into a lower P/E ratio) is still historically elevated. Admittedly not as much out of line as a year ago, but still high.

Don't Bet Against Valuations

Buying into an overvalued market and expecting a long-term gain, is like sowing seed in the winter and expecting to reap in the summer - it doesn't work that way.Of course, over the short-term, markets can defy valuations and make disciplined investors look like temporary fools. But, as the 2000 and 2008 declines have shown, there are no shortcuts to long-term success.The most intriguing facet of dividend yields and P/E ratios is that they tend to pinpoint major market bottoms. All historic market bottoms had one thing in common: super high dividend yields and ridiculously low P/E ratios.Based on this historic clue, the March 2009 bottom looks more like a fake than a major bottom. Just as ice doesn't thaw unless the temperature rises above 32 degrees, the market doesn't bottom until P/E ratios and dividend yields signal that a valuation reset has occurred.The December issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed analysis of P/E ratios, dividend yields, and two other benchmarks of value-based forecasting plotted against historic charts of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones.A picture paints more than a thousand words, and the featured chart shows how overvalued stocks are and how far they have to drop before a sustainable new bull market can begin.’

Reality check for Fed forecasts (Reuters) - Reuters - The U.S. economy, to mix two Federal Reserve catch phrases, may be disappointingly slow for an extended period.

Largest-ever insider trading probe targets Goldman Sachs Insider-trading charges are being prepared against a vast network of consultants and traders across the US financial industry in a years-long probe that a report suggests will reveal a pervasive culture of backroom dealing.

Ireland fears civil unrest as bank crisis deepens One of Ireland’s biggest trade unions warned today that the nation was on the brink of civil unrest as government officials negotiated a multibillion euro bailout for the country’s ailing banks.

Geithner warns GOP: politicizing the Federal Reserve could ‘hurt credibility’ [ Riiiiight! This coming from an administration without an credibility whatsoever! ‘No recession as per b.s. ben shalom bernanke? The natiion’s living it! ]Bloomberg | Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the Obama administration would oppose any effort to strip the Federal Reserve of its mandate and warned Republicans against politicizing the central bank.

US STOCKS-Futures rise after news of Irish bailout [ Oh come on! This long discounted many times previously / over is a non-event vis-à-vis the u.s. economy other than pointing to the weakness of the global economy and the dire fiscal predicament of the nations therein, particularly pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america. ]

Weekly Market Forecast: Risk Back On Edition Summers ‘Last week’s rally occurred for one reason and one reason only: options expiration week. I’ve detailed this phenomenon countless times, but the primary point is that EVERY month, Wall Street shreds options traders by pushing the market this way and that to insure the maximum number of options contracts expire worthless. As the below chart shows, last week was no exception with both the puts and calls taking it on the chin in succession. In particular, Wall Street gunned for 1,200 on the S&P 500. [Chart] Again, none of this action was related to anything fundamental or economic in the world: it was option contract shredding by Wall Street and that’s that. Of course, the ramp job occurring on the 18th coincided with the US Dollar dropping when it hit up against the upper trend-line of its recent downward trading channel: [Chart] This rejection was in turn precipitated by the Euro bouncing at the lower trend-line (135) of its own upward trading channel (the Euro accounts for over 50% of the US Dollar index and consequently the two currencies trade in near perfect inverse correlation). [Chart] In many ways, this move was to be expected. The Euro had fallen pretty far pretty fast. The main issue now is whether the currency can rally to break above resistance at 137.5. This line acted as strong former support multiple times in the last few months, so it should now act as strong resistance. In this context, we could see a tad more upside in stocks as the Euro rallies to challenge 137.5 (which would coincide with the US Dollar falling to test 78). However, at that point the risk-off trade should return with a vengeance with the US Dollar rallying strongly and the Euro falling (along with equities and commodities). If this DOESN’T happen, then the US Dollar has serious trouble as a violation of 76 would break its multi-year trend-line. [Chart] This would trigger a serious potential “flight from the Dollar” pattern in the form of a massive Head and Shoulders that has been forming in the US Dollar over the last 20 years. [Chart] In closing, keep your eyes glued to the Euro. The markets seem to view the Irish bailout as a “positive” for the currency. If this view results in the European currency breaking above 37.5, then the inflation trade is back on with a vengeance and the US Dollar could potentially be in SERIOUS trouble.’

Bernanke Admits QE2 May Fail, Requests Fiscal Stimulus Now Lenzner ‘Kudos to Dr. Sherry Cooper, Executive Vice President and Chief Economist, BMO Financial Group. She read Ben Bernanke’s ECB address in Germany on Friday– and discovered that the inventor of Quantitative Easing I and II admitted that his monetary policy may not assure economic recovery– what his critics have been carping about or weeks now.Unnoticed by most was Bernanke’s carefully phrased suggestion that a further fiscal stimulus is necessary. And since no-one has a finer view of the unfolding economic scenario, we ought to take the Fed Chairman’s warning as deadly serious.“The Federal Reserve is nonpartisan and does not make recommendations regarding specific tax and spending programs,” Bernanke stated. ” However, in general terms, a fiscal program that combines near-term measures to enhance growth with strong, confidence-inducing steps to reduce longer-term structural deficits would be an important complement to the policies of the Federal Reserve.”Clearly, Bernanke has doubts that the $600 billion program to purchase securities may not properly affect the yields on acquired securities and “via substitution effects in investors’ portfolios, on a wider range of assets.” Stunning, that admission.He also chose last Friday at the ECB to retreat on the notion that “quantitative easing” is the accurate term to use in describing Fed policy. Stunning that he was backing off the phrasing used to describe his policy. Wow!Clearly, Bernanke is worried about longer-term unemployment becoming “intractable long-term structural unemployment.” He reckons it “could threaten the strength and sustainability of the recovery.”Shocking that there has been no appropriate clamor at the White House, at Treasury, on Wall Street, in Congress, on cable TV– to motivate public opinion for another fiscal stimulus. NO matter what the Republican nabobs say. This is one of the most overlooked issues of our time.Household net worth is over $12 trillion less– yes, that’s $12 trillion– less than it was 3 years ago– a shocking, rocking, sickening loss of 18.5% of household net worth. Wake up everyone. The Fed Chairman has come clean about prospects.For more insight into Bernanke’s controversial policy, you would be wise to read Stephen Robert’s column examining the fallacy of QE2 and fingering other troubling ramifications of it. Robert is the former Chairman and CEO of the Oppenheimer group of mutual funds.’

Crisis of Fiat Currencies: US Dollar Surpluses Converted into Gold Something is going on that your government does not want you to know about. Very few journalists have written about it and little or nothing has appeared in the mainstream media. The story could be one of major stories of our time.

‘Credibility of the Fed’ Under Historic Attack: Mishkin The Federal Reserve is undergoing what former central bank governor Frederic Mishkin is calling an unprecedented level of attacks caused by its inability to articulate a clear message regarding its multitrillion-dollar monetary policies.

Economist: TSA screenings will kill Americans on highways The TSA’s intrusive new screenings will result in more deaths on highways, says an economist with St. Lawrence University in New York state.

International Soccer Star: Reclaim Your Power By Pulling Your Money Out of Your Bank on December 7th Most Americans haven’t heard of him, but Eric Cantona is a huge international soccer star known throughout Europe and much of the world.

The 17 Things Worrying Investors Right Now
LLOYD'S WALL OF WORRY
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 15-19
WORRY COUNT: 17

CHINA: Kickin’ it purely “my way or the highway.” Especially treacherous on the rest of us as they are still building their highways.

THE PIIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. FYI: News of their demise has been greatly…delayed.

CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Automakers – done. Banks – done. Next on line at the bailout window: Muni Bonds

. “Please step up to the white line.”

QE II: In the popularity ratings still more dear than a root canal but not by much.

U.S. ECONOMY: This aging heavyweight looks to be making a comeback but don’t expect any championship belts.

UNEMPLOYMENT: The good news is we added 151,000 new jobs. The bad news is that's about 100,000 less than needed to keep us from sinking deeper into the jobless quicksand pit.

TAXES: Extend and Pretend-- it ain't just for loans anymore.

HEALTHCARE REFORM: “If I were a cheese what kind of cheese would I be? Umm…that would be Swiss.” Give it a year or so.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PART II: “Heavy lies the crown.”

XMAS 2010: Praying the Repo Man doesn’t tow away Santa’s sleigh until after he brings some good cheer. Stack of $20s for me, KK!

CURRENCIES: No longer a race to the bottom. More like a slow bumpy roll down into death valley.

HOUSING CRISIS: The reset button doesn’t seem to be working here. Might I suggest bulldozers and bonfires?

INFLATION/DEFLATION: The Fed’s inflation wish will come true. And then, like old luggage and my gut, it will be with us for a long time.

G20 MEETING: Granted I wasn’t expecting any Gold Medals for the U.S., I wasn’t expecting a disqualification smack down either.

TERRORISM: I knew there was a reason I always hated changing the toner cartridge.

COMMODITIES: Trying to wrestle them down with higher margin requirements. You mean some people actually pay for these things?

HFT: High Frequency Trading -- a festering boil on our stock market but nothing a penny transaction tax wouldn’t clear up. Dr. SEC, we’re waiting…?

WSJ: U.S. in Vast Insider Trading Probe... By SUSAN PULLIAM, MICHAEL ROTHFELD,JENNY STRASBURG and GREGORY ZUCKERMAN ‘Federal authorities, capping a three-year investigation, are preparing insider-trading charges that could ensnare consultants, investment bankers, hedge-fund and mutual-fund traders and analysts across the nation, according to people familiar with the matter.The criminal and civil probes, which authorities say could eclipse the impact on the financial industry of any previous such investigation, are examining whether multiple insider-trading rings reaped illegal profits totaling tens of millions of dollars, the people say. Some charges could be brought before year-end, they say. The investigations, if they bear fruit, have the potential to expose a culture of pervasive insider trading in U.S. financial markets, including new ways non-public information is passed to traders through experts tied to specific industries or companies, federal authorities say.One focus of the criminal investigation is examining whether nonpublic information was passed along by independent analysts and consultants who work for companies that provide "expert network" services to hedge funds and mutual funds. These companies set up meetings and calls with current and former managers from hundreds of companies for traders seeking an investing edge.On the InsideThe New Age of Insider Information on Wall Street. Among the expert networks whose consultants are being examined, the people say, is Primary Global Research LLC, a Mountain View, Calif., firm that connects experts with investors seeking information in the technology, health-care and other industries. "I have no comment on that," said Phani Kumar Saripella, Primary Global's chief operating officer. Primary's chief executive and chief operating officers previously worked at Intel Corp., according to its website.In another aspect of the probes, prosecutors and regulators are examining whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bankers leaked information about transactions, including health-care mergers, in ways that benefited certain investors, the people say. Goldman declined to comment.Independent analysts and research boutiques also are being examined. John Kinnucan, a principal at Broadband Research LLC in Portland, Ore., sent an email on Oct. 26 to roughly 20 hedge-fund and mutual-fund clients telling of a visit by the Federal Bureau of Investigation."Today two fresh faced eager beavers from the FBI showed up unannounced (obviously) on my doorstep thoroughly convinced that my clients have been trading on copious inside information," the email said. "(They obviously have been recording my cell phone conversations for quite some time, with what motivation I have no idea.) We obviously beg to differ, so have therefore declined the young gentleman's gracious offer to wear a wire and therefore ensnare you in their devious web." The email, which Mr. Kinnucan confirms writing, was addressed to traders at, among others: hedge-fund firms SAC Capital Advisors LP and Citadel Asset Management, and mutual-fund firms Janus Capital Group, Wellington Management Co. and MFS Investment Management. SAC, Wellington and MFS declined to comment; Janus and Citadel didn't immediately comment. It isn't known whether clients are under investigation for their business with Mr. Kinnucan.The investigations have been conducted by federal prosecutors in New York, the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Representatives of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office, the FBI and the SEC declined to comment.Another aspect of the probe is an examination of whether traders at a number of hedge funds and trading firms, including First New York Securities LLC, improperly gained nonpublic information about pending health-care, technology and other merger deals, according to the people familiar with the matter.Some traders at First New York, a 250-person trading firm, profited by anticipating health-care and other mergers unveiled in 2009, people familiar with the firm say. A First New York spokesman said: "We are one of more than three dozen firms that have been asked by regulators to provide general information in a widespread inquiry; we have cooperated fully." He added: "We stand behind our traders and our systems and policies in place that ensure full regulatory compliance."Key parts of the probes are at a late stage. A federal grand jury in New York has heard evidence, say people familiar with the matter. But as with all investigations that aren't completed, it's unclear what specific charges, if any, might be brought.[chart]The action is an outgrowth of a focus on insider trading by Preet Bharara, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney. In an October speech, Mr. Bharara said the area is a "top criminal priority" for his office, adding: "Illegal insider trading is rampant and may even be on the rise." Mr. Bharara declined to comment.Expert-network firms hire current or former company employees, as well as doctors and other specialists, to be consultants to funds making investment decisions. More than a third of institutional investment-management firms use expert networks, according to a late-2009 survey by Integrity Research Associates LLC in New York.The consultants typically earn several hundred dollars an hour for their services, which can include meetings or phone calls with traders to discuss developments in their company or industry. The expert-network companies say internal policies bar their consultants from disclosing confidential information.Generally, inside traders profit by buying stocks of acquisition targets before deals are announced and selling after the targets' shares rise in value.The SEC has been investigating potential leaks on takeover deals going back to at least 2007 amid an explosion of deals leading up to the financial crisis. The SEC sent subpoenas last fall to more than 30 hedge funds and other investors.“Today two fresh faced eager beavers from the FBI showed up unannounced (obviously) on my doorstep thoroughly convinced that my clients have been trading on copious inside information.... We obviously beg to differ, so have therefore declined the young gentleman's gracious offer to wear a wire and therefore ensnare you in their devious web.” John Kinnucan, of Broadband Research, in an Oct. 26 email to clients Some subpoenas were related to trading in Schering-Plough Corp. stock before its takeover by Merck & Co. in 2009, say people familiar with the matter. Schering-Plough stock rose 8% the trading day before the deal plan was announced and 14% the day of the announcement. Merck said it "has a long-standing practice of fully cooperating with any regulatory inquiries and has explicit policies prohibiting the sharing of confidential information about the company and its potential partners."Transactions being focused on include MedImmune Inc.'s takeover by AstraZeneca Plc in 2007, the people say. MedImmune shares jumped 18% on Apr. 23, 2007, the day the deal was announced. A spokesman for AstraZeneca and its MedImmune unit declined to comment. Investigators are also examining the role of Goldman bankers in trading in shares of Advanced Medical Optics Inc., which was taken over by Abbott Laboratories in 2009, according to the people familiar with the matter. Advanced Medical Optics's shares jumped 143% on Jan. 12, 2009, the day the deal was announced. Goldman advised MedImmune and Advanced Medical Optics on the deals.A spokesman for AstraZeneca and its MedImmune unit declined to comment. In subpoenas, the SEC has sought information about communications—related to Schering-Plough and other deals—with Ziff Brothers, Jana Partners LLC, TPG-Axon Capital Management, Prudential Financial Inc.'s Jennison Associates asset-management unit, UBS AG's UBS Financial Services Inc. unit, and Deutsche Bank AG, according to subpoenas and the people familiar with the matter. Representatives of Ziff Brothers, Jana, TPG-Axon, Jennison, UBS and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.Among hedge-fund managers whose trading in takeovers is a focus of the criminal probe is Todd Deutsch, a top Wall Street trader who left Galleon Group in 2008 to go out on his own, the people close to the situation say. A spokesman for Mr. Deutsch, who has specialized in health-care and technology stocks, declined to comment. Prosecutors also are investigating whether some hedge-fund traders received inside information about Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which figured prominently in the government's insider-trading case last year against Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam and 22 other defendants.Fourteen defendants have pleaded guilty in the Galleon case; Mr. Rajaratnam has pleaded not guilty and is expected to go to trial in early 2011. Among those whose AMD transactions have been scrutinized is hedge-fund manager Richard Grodin. Mr. Grodin, who received a subpoena last fall, didn't return calls. An AMD spokesman declined to comment.’

National / World

Patience with Palin? Michael S. Rozeff | I see her as a phony and an extremely dangerous person, just as dangerous as Bush and Obama [ I quite agree! He is absolutely correct. ]

TSA Searches: Are Trains and Subways Next? John Pistole, the TSA boss, has implored activists to rethink their “opt-out” protest this week. Pistole warns that the national protest against naked body scanners and intrusive pat downs at airports would be a mistake and will only serve to “tie up people who want to go home and see their loved ones,” according to the Associated Press.

ABC producer says TSA agent felt inside her underwear As the busiest travel days of the year approach, more and more passengers are accusing the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of going too far with their screenings.

Blinding Hypocrisy: Insouciant Americans In a recent column, “The Stench of American Hypocrisy,” I noted that US public officials and media are on their high horse about the rule of law in Burma while the rule of law collapses unremarked in the US. Americans enjoy beating up other peoples for American sins. Indeed, hypocrisy has become the defining characteristic of the United States.

Beck: Obama Will Blame Terror Attack On TSA Resistance In little noticed comments made during an appearance on Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show on Fox News, Glenn Beck warned that the Obama administration wouldn’t hesitate to exploit a terror attack targeting airliners to blame the event on people protesting naked body scanners and TSA groping in airports.

St. Louis tops list of most dangerous US cities (AP) TRENTON, N.J. – St. Louis overtook Camden, N.J., as the nation's most dangerous city in 2009, according to a national study released Sunday.The study by CQ Press found St. Louis had 2,070.1 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, compared with a national average of 429.4. That helped St. Louis beat out Camden, which topped last year's list and was the most dangerous city for 2003 and 2004.Detroit, Flint, Mich., and Oakland, Calif., rounded out the top five. For the second straight year, the safest city with more than 75,000 residents was Colonie, N.Y.The annual rankings are based on population figures and crime data compiled by the FBI. Some criminologists question the findings, saying the methodology is unfair.Greg Scarbro, unit chief of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, said the FBI also discourages using the data for these types of rankings.Kara Bowlin, spokeswoman for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, said the city actually has been getting safer over the last few years. She said crime in St. Louis has gone down each year since 2007, and so far in 2010, St. Louis crime is down 7 percent.Erica Van Ross, spokeswoman for the St. Louis Police Department, called the rankings irresponsible."Crime is based on a variety of factors. It's based on geography, it's based on poverty, it's based on the economy," Van Ross said."That is not to say that urban cities don't have challenges, because we do," Van Ross said. "But it's that it's irresponsible to use the data in this way." [ See the lists here http://albertpeia.com/listssafestdangerouscities.htm ]

TSA Searches: Are Trains and Subways Next? Kurt Nimmo | Pistole would like to see TSA workers operate as a “national-security, counterterrorism organization, fully integrated into U.S. government efforts.”

Beck: Obama Will Blame Terror Attack On TSA Resistance Paul Joseph Watson | Fox News host warns that administration is preparing to exploit event to squelch resistance to airport security.

TSA needs false flag security incident to convince Americans to accept obscene pat-downs Mike Adams | The formula works like a charm for everything from pushing flu vaccines to justifying a war.

Crisis of Fiat Currencies: US Dollar Surpluses Converted into Gold Bob Chapman | Western powers have tried to destroy gold as a backing for currencies for many years.

TSA Tactics Find Ominous Parallel in Nazi Germany Kurt Nimmo | Left unchallenged, government invariably evolves into a tyrannical force at odds with the interest of the people.

Young Boy Strip Searched by TSA You Tube | The father tried several times to just hold the boys arms out for the TSA agent but I guess it didn’t end up being enough for the guy.

Jesse Ventura’s Conspiracy Theory: JFK Assassination Federal Jack | Jesse adds new explosive information to the assassination conspiracy theory.

TSA Warns Travelers May Be Arrested, Detained, and Fined for Refusing Search Kurt Nimmo | TSA announces it will enlist local police to detain people who refuse dangerous naked body scans and molestation of their private parts.

‘JFK Deathbed Confession’ reaches #1 on Google Ahead of Ventura TV program Aaron Dykes | Former Gov. Jesse Ventura appeared on the Alex Jones Show today to inform the world about the earth-shattering info that will air tonight on TruTV, prompting a #1 search term.

Drudgereport: Pessimistic Fed to slash growth forecasts...
Ireland Second Euro Nation to Request International Aid as Banks Wobble...
Protesters break through front gate of PM's office...
Rescue Would Dwarf Greek Bailout...
Portugal on the brink...
Spain Will Be 'the Biggie...
HANDS ON BOY
TSA WORKERS FEAR BACKLASH
GLORIA ALLRED: I LIKED BEING FELT-UP AND FINGERED!
Ireland to Seek EU-Led Bailout; Works to Avert Bank 'Collapse'...
WSJ: U.S. in Vast Insider Trading Probe...

Lame duck Dem governor in Iowa OKs $100 million in raises for state workers...

BUFFETT: 'Rich' Americans Should Be Paying 'a Lot' More in Taxes...

Monday, November 22, 2010

November 19, 2010 posts

I truly believe that though uploaded on 11-19-10, this day did not appear on either scribed or my blog page (how pathetic their felt need to censor) which I truly believe to have been a consequence of the following:

Rockefeller Wants Government to Shut Down Fox and MSNBC [ This is really quite shocking (and believe me, I’m no fan of either) , and totally unforgivable and people must ask the question would it have been better if rockefeller’s family hadn’t placed him in the senate. Given the state of the nation’s pervasive corruption, defacto bankruptcy, and decline, it’s difficult to justify the tenure of such long-standing ‘leaders’ / pols as rockefeller who have rode the nations down. ] “It really almost makes you ask the question would it have been better if we had never invented the internet,” Rockefeller mused during the confirmation hearing of Gary Locke, Barry Obama’s choice for Commerce Secretary…The former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Obama’s current director Admiral Dennis C. Blair, agreed with Rockefeller about the internet and national security … Rockefeller’s comments once again demonstrate the arrogance of “elected officials” who believe they have the power to control … and dictate what sort of news and even entertainment Americans should consume…’ Sen. Rockefeller: FCC Should Take FOX News, MSNBC Off Airwaves SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV): [ Clearly, just a hillbilly in heart and mind! ]

Congress's latest awful tech-policy idea (Washington Post) [ I agree! Drudgereport: Web Censorship Bill Sails Through Senate Committee... [ I believe this to be a backdoor censorship ploy by the government. This is particularly so in light of jay rockefeller’s outrageous statements! ]‘ … In short, COICA would allow the federal government to censor the internet without due process… Scholars, lawyers, technologists, human rights groups and public interest groups have denounced the bill. Forty-nine prominent law professors called it “dangerous.” (pdf.) The American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch warned the bill could have “grave repercussions for global human rights.” (pdf.) Several dozen of the most prominent internet engineers in the country — many of whom were instrumental in the creation of the internet — said the bill will “create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation.” (pdf.) Several prominent conservative bloggers, including representatives from RedState.com, HotAir.com, The Next Right and Publius Forum, issued a call to help stop this “serious threat to the Internet.”And Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the world wide web, said, “Neither governments nor corporations should be allowed to use disconnection from the internet as a way of arbitrarily furthering their own aims.” He added: “In the spirit going back to Magna Carta, we require a principle that no person or organization shall be deprived of their ability to connect to others at will without due process of law, with the presumption of innocence until found guilty.”Critics of the bill object to it on a number of grounds, starting with this one: “The Act is an unconstitutional abridgment of the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment,” the 49 law professors wrote. “The Act permits the issuance of speech suppressing injunctions without any meaningful opportunity for any party to contest the Attorney General’s allegations of unlawful content.” (original emphasis.)Because it is so ill-conceived and poorly written, the law professors wrote, “the Act, if enacted into law, will not survive judicial scrutiny, and will, therefore, never be used to address the problem (online copyright and trademark infringement) that it is designed to address. Its significance, therefore, is entirely symbolic — and the symbolism it presents is ugly and insidious. For the first time, the United States would be requiring Internet Service Providers to block speech because of its content.”The law professors noted that the bill would actually undermine United States policy, enunciated forcefully by Secretary of State Clinton, which calls for global internet freedom and opposes web censorship. “Censorship should not be in any way accepted by any company anywhere,” Clinton said in her landmark speech on global internet freedom earlier this year. She was referring to China. Apparently some of Mrs. Clinton’s former colleagues in the U.S. Senate approve of internet censorship in the United States…’ FCC TO MOVE ON WEB REGULATION... ] Meet the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act".

don t_rump: I'll Decide on Presidential Run by June CBS News [ The complete take-over of government by confirmed mobster and fraudulent wall street criminals to pillage and plunder the nation even further in new york metro sinkhole style to support their lavish, plush fraudulent lifestyles. How totally pathetic is pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america. trump should be in jail! Look for the pay-offs / bribes. How pathetic and tragic at once is fallen america! ] Real estate fraudster / mobster and unreality television star don t_rump said on ABC's "Good Morning America" today that he'll make a decision about running for president in 2012 by June. don juan trump eyes US presidency BBC News NEWS FLASH: Direct from Lost Angeles Learning Annex – Presenting mobster t_rump of new yoke, new joyzey, and now caleefornia mob fame with his continuing message for the past several years: buy real estate (and watch the values go down…..riiiiight!).
Bank sues Trump over Chicago tower loan...
Trump casino to miss interest payment...
trump’s fired
Blagojevich calls feds 'cowards and liars'…[Yes. This is a rare moment for one to say that a sleazy hypocrite like blago, who is on corrupt federale-connected mobster trump’s celebrity apprentice, happens to be correct based upon facts / reality and my own direct observation and experience and the law – Don’t forget to include corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz, hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken] (AP) [Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ]

Gingrich makes 2012 plans, inches up in early polls (The Ticket) [ Pathetic! Still part of the current problem, including for all the reasons he previously stepped down! ] Palin admits she’s considering 2012 run (The Ticket) [ Preposterous! A total joke! More needs not be said! ]

‘JFK Deathbed Confession’ reaches #1 on Google Ahead of Ventura TV program Aaron Dykes | Former Gov. Jesse Ventura appeared on the Alex Jones Show today to inform the world about the earth-shattering info that will air tonight on TruTV, prompting a #1 search term.

Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.scribd.com/alpeia
http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

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A united goal: Saving the tiger (Washington Post) [ Clearly the wisdom of an historically great leader for the ages, Vladimir V. Putin should be given great deference in all matters of global concern. Having evolved from his youthful indiscretion as a novice KGB agent, a hand dealt to him (by a soviet communist system) more than chosen, he has reminded the world of the greatness that was, is, and forever will be Russia’s and His! ] The tale of the magnificent Siberian tiger, and its unfinished fight for survival, should be a compelling one for the 500 conservationists and world leaders arriving for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin's tiger summit this weekend. Protecting where the wild things are Washington Post - Kathy Lally - IN MOSCOW The tale of the magnificent Siberian tiger, and its unfinished fight for survival, should be a compelling one for the 500 conservationists and world leaders arriving for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's tiger summit this weekend ... 13 nations meet to try to save wild tigers CNN International Putin, Wen, other leaders in bid to save the tiger Reuters

NATO members pledge to fight (to continue their) terrorism (Washington Post) [ Come on! Wars based on lies, war crimes, etc., and resistance / blowback called terrorism? Really! Nato’s almost to a nation suckin’ wind! Yeah, defacto bankrupt like america, almost to a nation they are. How pathetic! How tragic for the world! ] The U.S.-led NATO alliance declared Friday that it will focus on antimissile defenses and fighting terrorism in Afghanistan and "around the globe." Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, November 18, 2010; 3:42 PM MOSCOW - Russians are mystified. They can't quite believe the U.S. Senate might fail to ratify the nuclear arms treaty, and they see no good from such an outcome… And think of how the United States - and particularly Obama - would look, Rogov said. "The fact that America can't deliver on its promises would harm its standing around the world," he said. "And if START is not ratified, the [2009] Nobel Peace Prize would look very funny indeed." [ War crimes, torture, illegal wars, pervasively corrupt, massive frauds with global consequences, etc.; the world has looked … america and wobama et als look quite bad indeed! ]

After Black Friday, here comes 'Small Business Saturday' (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! … and online Monday. We might even run short on pom-poms for cheer-leaders of these fraudulent wall street’s b.s. talking points heralded non-events since, with the exception of few high-end niche small-box sellers, there’s no competing with big-box China-product sales agents / distributors as Walmart, etc.. ] A new event seeks to bring local retailers out of the shadows of their big-box counterparts.

Congress's latest awful tech-policy idea (Washington Post) [ I agree! Drudgereport: Web Censorship Bill Sails Through Senate Committee... [ I believe this to be a backdoor censorship ploy by the government. This is particularly so in light of jay rockefeller’s outrageous statements! ]‘ … In short, COICA would allow the federal government to censor the internet without due process… Scholars, lawyers, technologists, human rights groups and public interest groups have denounced the bill. Forty-nine prominent law professors called it “dangerous.” (pdf.) The American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch warned the bill could have “grave repercussions for global human rights.” (pdf.) Several dozen of the most prominent internet engineers in the country — many of whom were instrumental in the creation of the internet — said the bill will “create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation.” (pdf.) Several prominent conservative bloggers, including representatives from RedState.com, HotAir.com, The Next Right and Publius Forum, issued a call to help stop this “serious threat to the Internet.”And Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the world wide web, said, “Neither governments nor corporations should be allowed to use disconnection from the internet as a way of arbitrarily furthering their own aims.” He added: “In the spirit going back to Magna Carta, we require a principle that no person or organization shall be deprived of their ability to connect to others at will without due process of law, with the presumption of innocence until found guilty.”Critics of the bill object to it on a number of grounds, starting with this one: “The Act is an unconstitutional abridgment of the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment,” the 49 law professors wrote. “The Act permits the issuance of speech suppressing injunctions without any meaningful opportunity for any party to contest the Attorney General’s allegations of unlawful content.” (original emphasis.)Because it is so ill-conceived and poorly written, the law professors wrote, “the Act, if enacted into law, will not survive judicial scrutiny, and will, therefore, never be used to address the problem (online copyright and trademark infringement) that it is designed to address. Its significance, therefore, is entirely symbolic — and the symbolism it presents is ugly and insidious. For the first time, the United States would be requiring Internet Service Providers to block speech because of its content.”The law professors noted that the bill would actually undermine United States policy, enunciated forcefully by Secretary of State Clinton, which calls for global internet freedom and opposes web censorship. “Censorship should not be in any way accepted by any company anywhere,” Clinton said in her landmark speech on global internet freedom earlier this year. She was referring to China. Apparently some of Mrs. Clinton’s former colleagues in the U.S. Senate approve of internet censorship in the United States…’ FCC TO MOVE ON WEB REGULATION... ] Meet the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act".

Audit: Pension agency needs strategy for workload surge (Washington Post) [ Workload volume? I’d be more concerned with treasury revenue volume inasmuch as this is a federal, state, nation, local, corporate (large and small) catastrophe, current and prospective as promises greatly exceed resources. ] The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation "should arm itself with a well thought-out strategy for addressing surges in workload volume."

Bernanke hits back at critics (Washington Post) [ Mr. Irwin’s apt description using ‘full-throated rebuttal’ as, hopefully, a very subtle shade of well-founded sarcasm and skepticism is indeed welcomed. After all, there is an air of desperation about b.s. ben shalom bernanke whose prediction of no-recession is to this day far short of the mark (indeed, even according to that shill of fraudulent wall street, senile buffet, we’re still in the midst of what’s now dubbed ‘The Great Recession’, which is in fact a depression and soon to be an unprecedented hyperinflationary depression at that. That bernanke now shifts gears if not blame for his incompetence (he hasn’t the slightest idea what he’s doing other than helping the frauds on wall street, an end in itself) by saying america can’t do it alone is indeed very telling. Send the incompetent bernanke back to the ivy league vegetable garden from whence he came. Abolish the fed! ] The Fed chairman's speech at a European Central Bank conference amounts to a full-throated rebuttal, a departure from the reserved tone he usually uses to discuss monetary policy.

The Economy Will Not Recover Until the Economic Criminals are Prosecuted, and There Are Real Investigations Into 9/11 and Other Government Failures Trust is essential for a stable economy; Trust is currently at an all-time low; Launching criminal prosecutions and real investigations is one of the main prerequisites for an economic recovery.

Sentiment Seems Excessively Bullish, Watch The Stock Charts Harding ‘The market is in what is usually its favorable season of November to May, when it typically makes most of its gains each year. But it hasn’t been that way so far. Among other worries, analysts are concerned that the market’s consistent annual seasonality of ‘Sell in May and Go Away (until November1)’ has failed to work over the last two months. The market topped out on schedule in late April and was down 16% by July. This fall it began what is historically the worst three-month period of the year, August, September and October, with a big decline in August, which was the worst August in years. But then, usually negative September and October turned out to be just about the most positive two months of the year. So can we be sure November, December, and January will follow their historical pattern of usually being the most positive months of the year? Or was the weakness that normally takes place in September and October postponed to November and December? (…ad…) November hasn’t started out well, with the S&P 500 down roughly 3% over the last two weeks. So, analysts are watching potential support and resistance levels. For instance, two weeks ago the S&P 500 had rallied all the way back to the level it reached at its April top. It has now pulled back from that potential resistance level, and in the process it broke below the previous support at its 21-day moving average for the first time since the rally began in early September.The question is whether it can break back up through the resistance at that moving average and establish it as support again, or if the moving average will now become overhead resistance that prevents the market from making further progress.Interesting enough, the market experienced a big triple-digit rally on Thursday that carried the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq back up almost to their 21-day moving averages in one day. But the rally stopped just short of those resistance levels. So the question is still out there. [chart] Normally, market analysts would not be focused on such short-term considerations. But a situation is also in place that might have intermediate-term implications, thus making how the market deals with the short-term support and resistance levels more important. SEC filings show that usually astute corporate insiders have been selling into the market strength of the last few months at a near record pace, even as investor groups that have a history of being wrong at market turning points (extremely bearish at market bottoms and extremely bullish at market tops) have taken the opposite position. For instance, mutual funds have a history of holding high levels of cash at market bottoms and being fully invested at market tops, and they have stepped up their buying in the last two months. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch reported this week that its latest poll of large fund managers, conducted between November 5 and November 11, found their sentiment to be the most bullish since April, that they have invested just about all they can, now holding on average only 3.5% of their investors’ assets in cash reserves to meet potential redemptions, one of the lowest levels of cash on record. The latest sentiment report by Investors Intelligence, which measures the sentiment of investment newsletters, shows 56.2% are bullish, only 20.2% bearish, the highest level of bullishness since December, 2007, which was a couple of months after the severe 2007-2009 bear market began. And the weekly poll of its members by the American Association of Individual Investors, showed sentiment had reached 57.6% bullish last week, its highest level in a number of years, higher than just before the 2007 bull market top (54.6% bullish), higher than just before the top in January of this year (49.2%) and higher than just before the April top (48.5% bullish).It plunged to only 40.0% bullish this week, which had some pundits saying, “Ah, that removes the risk from the investor sentiment side.” But unfortunately that’s not how it usually works.The market was down sharply last week and the first three days of this week. So sentiment would be expected to be less bullish this week. But once a warning level of bullishness has been reached, a return to lower levels doesn’t usually make any difference.For instance, at the bull market top in 2007, bullishness reached 54.6% on October 11. The market had already topped out two days earlier. The next weekly reading on the AAII poll showed a drop to 41.9% bullish, and two weeks later to only 31.2% bullish. Those subsequent drops in bullishness were of no importance, the 2007-2009 bear market was underway.Similarly, at the April top this year, the AAII poll reached its high of bullishness at 48.5% on April 15. It dropped to only 38.1% bullish the next week. But that was of no importance. The peak of bullishness had been reached. The market topped out into the April-July correction on April 23, a week after the high reading.So, analysts are probably justified in watching to see if the market can recover and break out above the potential resistance at short-term 21-day moving averages again.If not, and the potential top-out at the high two weeks ago remains in place, those high levels of bullish investor sentiment last week will take on more importance.’

No stock exchange for old, new GM shares (Washington Post) [ Well, if this headline stopped after ‘No stock exchange’ you got my attention (stamping out those wall street frauds would be a real step forward) … GM stock, not so much, not to rain on their parade. GM, Ford, and Chrysler in the face of stiff competition will have to cannibalize one another, unfortunately, given economic realities. ] General Motors will be issuing new stock, a signal that the company is emerging from the ashes like the mythical phoenix. Initial Jobless Claims Rise 2,000 [ Now how is this good news at this point in the ‘no-recession’ (bernanke) / great recession / depression? Oh yes, that ‘not as bad as expected’ dynamic. Then you have the fraudulent wall street shills, ie., the street, forbes, etc., talking this up as if reality as in the last bubble crash doesn’t exist. What this is is a great opportunity to get out of this fraudulent, manipulated churn-and-earn market that the wall street frauds and insiders use to commission and sell into. And, now that they’ve gotten the benefit of their IPO and the benefit of my doubt and without playing the role of spoiler (with reality), sell that GM stock, if you’re smart. ]

12 Facts That Will Blow Your Mind – Federal Employees And Members Of Congress Are Getting Rich While Those Of Us Who Pay Their Salaries Suffer Do you remember the days when getting elected to Congress or choosing to work for the government was referred to as “public service”? The idea was that you would be making a sacrifice for the greater good of the country.

Equities Update: Global Worries Keep U.S. Trade in Check Midnight Trader 4:11 PM, Nov 19, 2010 --

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) DELL gains on earnings.

(+) MELA jumps on drug developments.

(+) CRM continues evening gain after Q3 beat.

(+) LVS gains as Moody's hikes credit rating.

(+) ANN gains on earnings.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-/+) F, GM trade mixed in wake of GM IPO, mixed analyst notes.

(-) IRE down as focus on Dublin bailout persists.

MARKET DIRECTION

A slate of better-than-expected earnings reports from tech firms Dell (DELL) and Salesforce.com (CRM) provided enough support to nudge up the Nasdaq on Friday, but the broader market carried little of that upside enthusiasm until a late buying binge sent the DJIA and S&P into positive territory. A move by China to tighten its monetary policy and continued wariness over Ireland's negotiations for an economic aid package out of Europe held markets in check for much of Friday's trade.

China's central bank hiked the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 50 basis points, an effort to crimp inflationary pressures. Separately, Ireland continued its negotiations with European agencies and the IMF, and all indications suggest the country will take a bailout package - a move that will take some of the European debt worries out of the spotlight in the near-term.

Looking out to next week, U.S. traders will see a holiday-shortened week as markets close Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and open just a half-day on Friday. On Monday, earnings are due from Brocade (BRCD) and HP (HPQ). Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) posts financials on Tuesday followed by Deere (DE) and Tiffany (TIF) on Wednesday.

On the economic front, data is packed into just two days next week, with GDP and existing home sales due on Tuesday. On Wednesday, traders will get a look at personal income/spending; PCE prices; durable orders; initial claims; Michigan Sentiment; new home sales; crude inventories and minutes from the latest FOMC meeting.

Elsewhere in today's market, shares of Pfizer (PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) were down following news the two stopped a trial of their experimental blood thinner after incidents of increased bleeding in patients outweighed benefits for patients who recently had a heart attack, or bad chest pain. The drug--named apixaban--is being tested to stop heat complications in patents with acute coronary syndrome.

Allied Irish Banks (AIB) ADRs were trading lower after it said deposits declined 17% this year as customers pulled money out amid the ongoing debt crisis in that country and around Europe. Deposits at the bank--Ireland's second largest--declined by about $17.8 billion euros since the beginning of the year. The bank said it is increasing its reliance on monetary authorities amid the challenging funding conditions.

Del Monte Foods (DLM) shares soared on reports KKR (KKR) is preparing an $18.50 a share offer for the company. Sources say the firms have been talking for some time and were hoping to wrap up the deal before Del Monte reports its quarterly earnings on Dec. 2.

Shares of General Motors (GM), which provided lift to the market yesterday, traded down modestly in the wake of its IPO pricing Thursday. GM advanced as much as 9.1% during its first day of trading since filing for bankruptcy last year. The U.S. Treasury and other GM owners sold $15.8 billion in common shares at an IPO price of $33 each, which was the second-largest U.S. IPO on record.

On the earnings front:

--Cost Plus (CPWM) says Q3 sales were $194.6 million, a 7.3% increase from a year ago. Net loss was $0.38 per share, down from a loss of $1 a year ago. Q4 sales are seen between $324 million to $330 million. EarningsWhispers says the consensus is for $329 million.

--Dell (DELL) was higher after the computer maker late Thursday reported its Q3 profit more than doubled and revenue surged to $15.4 billion from $12.9 billion.

--Foot Locker (FL) gained after reporting Q3 net income of $52 million, or $0.33 per share, easily beating an adjusted $16-million gain last year. The Street view was for a $0.17 per share profit, according to

Thomson Reuters.

--Salesforce.com (CRM) leaped higher after it reported Q3 non-GAAP EPS of 32 cents a share compared to Street estimates of 31 cents a share. The company reported revenue of $429 million compared to Street estimates of $410.46 million. Non-GAAP diluted EPS in Q4 is expected to be in the range of approximately $0.27 to approximately $0.28. The Street is at 28 cents a share.

Commodities finished lower as economic concerns--mostly from China's move to slow its economy--left gold futures fractionally higher while weighing on crude oil futures.

Crude oil for January delivery finished down $0.34, or 0.4%, at $81.51 a barrel. In other energy futures, heating oil was down 0.95% to $2.27 a gallon while natural gas rose 3.79%, to $1.15 per million British thermal units.

Gold futures had begun a small rally in late trading but still ended fractionally lower.

Gold for December delivery finished down $0.70 to $1,352.30 an ounce. In other metal futures, silver rose 0.5% to $27.04 a troy ounce while copper was down $0.01 to $3.83 a pound.’

Study Points To Rising Volatility In 3 Sectors & Emerging Markets Coleman ‘As we discussed earlier, the VIX was down yesterday.
Today, it also remained fairly calm, according to Dow Jones Newswires report. But several widely traded sector ETFs are showing much more anxious outlooks, especially over the past month.
In an updated report, Brendan Conway talked to analysts who pointed out that:

• Volatility readings for popular ETFs on materials, technology and financials each rose by double digits, according to a BNY ConvergEx Group study.
• Bearish put volume on the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (EEM) leapt to its highest level in months. “A put conveys the right to sell shares at a fixed price and can be used to guard against or speculative on the chance that a stock or index moves lower,” wrote Conway.

EEM closed today up 0.06%, or three cents, at $46.51 a share.

The PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ) finished up Friday by 0.08%, or four cents, at $52.47 a share.

The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) closed up today 0.80%, or 28 cents, at $35.39 a share.

The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) closed down 0.04%, or one cent, at $14.85 a share.’

Is QE2 Losing Its Allure? Simon Maierhofer, On Friday November 19, 2010, 1:14 pm EST A picture says more than a thousand words and the chart below does just that. Take a minute to study the chart, and you'll also learn that it takes only one picture to expel a myth, regardless of how pervasive it is.The black line is the percentage increase of the Fed's adjusted monetary base since January 2007, or the amount the Fed has spent on quantitative easing and other fiscal maneuvers. According to the QE myth, a drastically rising monetary base will increase money supply and inflation.The grey line is the M2 money supply. To compare apples to apples, M2 is also illustrated as percentage increase. The blue line is inflation measured by CPI.There's really not much else to say about QE1. Of course, we could add an additional thousand words of CNBC-fluff-like analysis, but your time is better-spent examining other pressing QE related topics, like:Did stocks rally because of QE1? Will stocks rally because of QE2?      [chart]
Timing is Everything
The second chart (quantitative easing and the big picture) plots the S&P's performance against QE1.As you can see, QE1 came at a time (on March 18, 2009) when the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) plummeted 57% from its October high. The Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) and other broad market measures didn't fare any better.Needless to say, the market was extremely oversold. After predicting a bottom target of Dow 6,700, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter issued a strong buy alert on March 2, 2009. Stocks bottomed on March 6. By March 18 (when QE1 became official), the S&P had already soared 20%. [chart]
QE1 vs. QE2
Timing is probably the main difference between QE1 and QE2. In terms of economic benchmarks, there hasn't been much improvement. Unemployment has risen from 8.6% in March 2009 to 9.6% (U-6 unemployment has gone from 15.6% to 17.1%). Real estate prices have failed to recover while consumer confidence is about at the same level today as it was in April 2009.What has changed is the stock market. The S&P today is nearly 80% above its March 2009 low. In other words, QE1 was launched after the major indexes lost some 57% while QE2 will be released after stocks have already rallied 80%. You decide which environment is more conducive for higher prices.
What's Fueling the Stock and Commodity Rally?
If you are a one-word-explanation kind of a person, the answer is liquidity.Fed-induced liquidity to be more accurate. Right now, banks (NYSEArca: KRE - News) and financial institutions (NYSEArca: XLF - News) are swimming in liquidity. Where does the liquidity come from?It's a complicated process, here's the short version (the longer version was discussed in the November ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter):Currently, banks are allowed to borrow money from the Fed at an interest rate of 0.25%. Of course, the average American can't borrow at 0.25%, but the biggest banks can.
Guaranteed Profits for Banks
With the borrowed money, banks buy Treasuries. Long-term Treasuries (NYSEArca: TLT - News) pay about 3.5%. This is a guaranteed profitable trade. Pay 0.25% - get 3.5%. There's no incentive for banks to provide risky loans to broke consumers if the government offers you a no-loss option.In addition to the guaranteed margin profit, the Federal Reserve buys back Treasuries from banks via its Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO). Since Bond prices have gone up for most of the year, this is another profit source for banks. Buy low, sell high. Another government guaranteed trade. Where do all the profits go? Look around! A rising tide lifts all boats.  Domestic stocks, international stocks (NYSEArca: FEZ - News), emerging market stocks (NYSEArca: EEM - News), broad bond funds (NYSEArca: AGG - News) and commodities (NYSEArca: DBC - News) are all up.
Fly in the Ointment
All things come to an end eventually. Even this perfectly legal and unethical enrichment cycle the banks are feasting on.30-Year T-Bonds were the first to decouple themselves from the liquidity rally. They topped on August 25 and have been going down since. On that very day, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter stated that: 'Our technical analysis along with fundaments suggest that T-Bonds are getting ready to roll over.'Shortly thereafter, Bill Gross stated that the 30-year bond bull market is over. Lower bond prices mean higher bond interest rates. When interest rates rise, investors become less inclined to 'gamble' with stocks.And regarding the POMO repurchase profit racket, lower bond prices mean smaller profits for banks which translates into less money to drive up stocks and commodities. This alone probably won't be a big enough knock against the liquidity house of cards, but every crash has to start somewhere - bonds may be the beginning.
Gold, Silver, Commodities and Inflation
Throughout much of 2008, 2009 and 2010, gold, silver and stocks have been moving in the same direction. That direction was usually the opposite of the U.S. dollar. A weak dollar means rising stocks and vice versa.If you look carefully, you'll see that the dollar has found support around current levels, which coincided with a correction in gold (NYSEArca: GLD - News) and silver (NYSEArca: SLV - News). In fact, gold has been correcting even though stocks have continued to rise. It's said that a fragmented market is an unhealthy market.This doesn't mean the patient (= various markets) can't live (= rise) longer, but it is an early warning sign.
Short-Term Effects of QE2
Leading up to today's Fed meeting, stocks have been rallying. If you believe 'buy the rumor and sell the news' will be the case, that's exactly the behavior you'd expect to see. Once the news is released, the big question is whether investors feel they actually got the steak or just the sizzle.Sentiment is extreme enough where a 'sizzle-induced' disappointment could lead to a correction - a correction bigger than many expect.Of course, there are many who believe that the ueber-bullish presidential election year cycle (October ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter, page 4) will kick in and propel stocks for the foreseeable future.Either way, we find ourselves at a very important juncture. The stock market has drawn a few lines in the sand, or trigger levels. A breakout above trigger levels will lead to the next resistance, while a drop below support may open the floodgates.

Tent Cities, Homelessness, Soul-Crushing Despair: Legacy Of Decades Of Government Debt, Mismanagement Of Economy The Economic Collapse | The safety net is getting awfully crowded.

National / World

don t_rump: I'll Decide on Presidential Run by June CBS News [ The complete take-over of government by confirmed mobster and fraudulent wall street criminals to pillage and plunder the nation even further in new york metro sinkhole style to support their lavish, plush fraudulent lifestyles. How totally pathetic is pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america. trump should be in jail! Look for the pay-offs / bribes. How pathetic and tragic at once is fallen america! ]  Real estate fraudster / mobster and unreality television star don t_rump said on ABC's "Good Morning America" today that he'll make a decision about running for president in 2012 by June. don juan trump eyes US presidency BBC News NEWS FLASH: Direct from Lost Angeles Learning Annex – Presenting mobster t_rump of new yoke, new joyzey, and now caleefornia mob fame with his continuing message for the past several years: buy real estate (and watch the values go down…..riiiiight!).
Bank sues Trump over Chicago tower loan...
Trump casino to miss interest payment...
trump’s fired
Blagojevich calls feds 'cowards and liars'…[Yes. This is a rare moment for one to say that a sleazy hypocrite like blago, who is on corrupt federale-connected mobster trump’s celebrity apprentice, happens to be correct based upon facts / reality and my own direct observation and experience and the law – Don’t forget to include corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz, hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken] (AP) [Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case [  http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]    

Gingrich makes 2012 plans, inches up in early polls (The Ticket) [ Pathetic! Still part of the current problem, including for all the reasons he previously stepped down! ] Palin admits she’s considering 2012 run (The Ticket) [ Preposterous! A total joke! More needs not be said! ]

Rockefeller Wants Government to Shut Down Fox and MSNBC [ This is really quite shocking (and believe me, I’m no fan of either) , and totally unforgivable and people must ask the question would it have been better if rockefeller’s family hadn’t placed him in the senate. Given the state of the nation’s pervasive corruption, defacto bankruptcy, and decline, it’s difficult to justify the tenure of such long-standing ‘leaders’ / pols as rockefeller who have rode the nations down. ] “It really almost makes you ask the question would it have been better if we had never invented the internet,” Rockefeller mused during the confirmation hearing of Gary Locke, Barry Obama’s choice for Commerce Secretary…The former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Obama’s current director Admiral Dennis C. Blair, agreed with Rockefeller about the internet and national security … Rockefeller’s comments once again demonstrate the arrogance of “elected officials” who believe they have the power to control … and dictate what sort of news and even entertainment Americans should consume…’ Sen. Rockefeller: FCC Should Take FOX News, MSNBC Off Airwaves SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV): [ Clearly, just a hillbilly in heart and mind! ]

‘JFK Deathbed Confession’ reaches #1 on Google Ahead of Ventura TV program Aaron Dykes | Former Gov. Jesse Ventura appeared on the Alex Jones Show today to inform the world about the earth-shattering info that will air tonight on TruTV, prompting a #1 search term.

Hell is for Children Keith Johnson | Somewhere in America, a seventeen-year-old boy is living the last year of his life.

Breaking: Former Gov. Ventura Will No Longer Fly Due to Abuse He’s Endured at Hands of TSA Kurt Nimmo | Admits decision not to fly may put an end to his career.

Climategate is Still the Issue James Corbett | We have to speak out against this fraud now, and more loudly than ever.

Bill Gates: Register Every Birth by Cellphone To Ensure Vaccination, Control Population Growth PreventDisease | Gates told the audience that there is no such thing as a healthy, high-population growth country.

Foreign-policy setbacks deepen Obama's election wounds (Washington Post) [ Wobama’s woes are a direct consequence of his perception as being a teleprompted b*** s*** artist who despite flowery rhetoric, has failed to deliver. Results count! What you do, not what you say, counts! ] Presidents have often turned to foreign policy after domestic setbacks - from Ronald Reagan's Latin American tour and speech calling the Soviet Union the "focus of evil in the modern world"[if Reagan was alive he’d be eatin’ plenty of crow since america’s the world’s biggest evil (with a little help from friends, ie., israel, etc.) with illegal wars, war crimes, torture, financial frauds of global reach, pervasive corruption in all governmental / judicial processes, etc.] in the months after his party's 1982 congressional losses to Bill Clinton's escape to Indonesia and the Phi...

Europe roiled by financial crisis (Washington Post) [ European crisis? … Coming to a state near you … made Lloyd’s List infra ….. ‘THE PIIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. FYI: News of their demise has been greatly…delayed.
CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Automakers – done. Banks – done. Next on line at the bailout window: Muni Bonds’

. “Please step up to the white line.” ] The 16-nation euro currency zone is beset by fissures between strong economies such as Germany and weaker ones such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal, which risk being engulfed by historic levels of government debt.

The trap of the Federal Reserve's dual mandate (Washington Post) [ Trap? I say the no-recession / great recession / fed’s a lot of crap … Abolish the fed! ] The Fed cannot perform a fundamentally political function and remain insulated from politics.

Little-confidence vote Milbank: Pelosi won her minority leader bid, but it was hardly a victory (Washington Post) [ I disagree! This was ‘victory american style’ because nothing succeeds like failure (and crime and corruption) in america. They’re still doin’ the wars though bankrupt, still no prosecutions of wall street frauds, and on and on with the typical b*** s***! ]

U.S. launches criminal probes into bank officials [ This is really quite amazing inasmuch as it’s the frauds who precipitated the ongoing crisis who need probing and prosecution, yet have owing to unfounded fear gotten what is tantamount thus far to ‘get out of jail free’ cards, immunity, ‘heck of a job brownie’, continue your churn-and-earn high frequency frauds / scams, etc.; particularly since many of those small bank failures were a consequence of the ‘big bank’ frauds. The Associated Press November 17, 2010 WASHINGTON -- The federal government has opened criminal investigations into approximately 50 executives and directors of U.S. banks that have collapsed during the financial crisis…’ The Economy Will Not Recover Until the Economic Criminals are Prosecuted, and There Are Real Investigations Into 9/11 and Other Government Failures Trust is essential for a stable economy; Trust is currently at an all-time low; Launching criminal prosecutions and real investigations is one of the main prerequisites for an economic recovery. Big banks to undergo reviews (Washington Post) [ Well, at least they appear to be cognizant of the still extant toxic assets now marked to anything their dark hearts desire courtesy of an equally corrupt and incompetent capital hill … But let’s not kid ourselves … the ‘reviews’ are likely to be as ‘fraud enabling’ as the powder puff pr ‘stress tests’.] Regulators will decide whether banks should be allowed to pay shareholders dividends or take other actions that would reduce their buffers against future losses.

Stocks Close Higher by Over 1.5%, but Where was the Volume? [ Running on fumes, hopes, and b*** s*** alone. They’ve been there done that. ] ‘…The move higher this morning was due to three catalysts: 1) China signaled that its inflation-fighting techniques won't be as severe as feared; 2) Dublin indicated that it was moving closer to reaching a deal with the IMF and EU on bailout terms; 3) Philadelphia Fed Survey was better than expected which mitigated worries sparked by Monday's Empire State Manufacturing Survey, while Jobless Claims continue to show improvement…’

Gerald Celente: Currency Wars + Trade Wars = Real Wars The meeting comes amid fresh market turmoil and fears some smaller economies like Portugal and Ireland are unable to service their massive debts. The E.U. President warned the Eurozone is actually facing a fight to survive. Trend forecaster Gerald Celente says the euro has been put to its greatest test ever.

“Terrifying” cotton prices are coming to a store near you Gap Inc., J.C. Penney Co., and other U.S. retailers may have to pay Chinese suppliers as much as 30 percent more for clothes as surging cotton prices boost costs.

12 Facts That Will Blow Your Mind – Federal Employees And Members Of Congress Are Getting Rich While Those Of Us Who Pay Their Salaries Suffer Do you remember the days when getting elected to Congress or choosing to work for the government was referred to as “public service”? The idea was that you would be making a sacrifice for the greater good of the country.

Gold Silver And Commodities Likely Safer We hear stories about oil and about how it will probably move higher, perhaps to $150.00 a barrel and perhaps higher. This is the first time in more than three years that it has moved to lofty levels.

More Evidence of a Housing Double Dip Crawford ‘More evidence of the double-dip in housing continues to trickle out. Corelogic reported that its home price index fell 1.8% month-over-month from August to September and 2.8% year-over-year. The index is now down 29% from the peak, but still slightly above the low reached in March 2009. Zimbabwe Ben has his work cut out for him to prevent home prices from falling to new lows in 2011. From Corelogic

CoreLogic today released its September Home Price Index (HPI) that shows that home prices in the U.S. declined for the second month in a row after rising slightly for the first seven months of the year. According to the CoreLogic HPI, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined 2.79 percent in September 2010 compared to September 2009 and declined by 1.08 percent [revised] in August 2010 compared to August 2009. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined .73 percent in September 2010.

“We’re continuing to see price declines across the board with all but seven states seeing a decrease in home prices,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “This continued and widespread decline will put further pressure on negative equity and stall the housing recovery.”

[chart] …’

Big Money Sells Stocks, Pie-Eyed Bulls Rush In Harding ‘Hey, who's selling those stocks? On the surface at least the market and surrounding conditions look eerily similar to the April top. The S&P 500 is falling back short-term from the same level, breaking below the support at its 21-day m.a. for the first time after a similar two and a half month rally began, with the market being spooked by the return of worries about the debt crisis in Europe, and with investor sentiment as measured by the American Association of Individual Investors at high levels of bullishness and complacency. (The AAII poll reached 48.5% bullish at the April top, and was at 57.6% bullish in its latest report last Wednesday night).

[chart]

But there are differences too, the biggest of which is the new round of quantitative easing by the Fed. However, it’s also interesting that the recent high on the S&P 500 was a Fibonacci 62% retracement of the 2007-2009 bear market.

[chart]

That’s a level where institutions may start pulling out of equities, just as bullish individual investors start piling in, and trading volume in Tuesday’s sell-off was 30% higher on the NYSE than the average of the last several months.’

If the Fed Can't Keep This Market Afloat, What Can? [ Nothing! Markets go up and down (that’s what markets do), efficient markets doing so for good reason. There is no good reason for the u.s. market (among many others) to be up, and many reasons for it (them) to be down, fraud being just one of many. ] Nyaradi ‘It has been a tough couple of weeks, at best, for Dr. Bernanke and his colleagues at the Federal Reserve, since they’ve been under nearly unrelenting attack since their announcement of “QE2,” the new $600 billion of bond purchases by the Fed.
First it was the Chinese and Germans at the recent G20 meeting in Seoul and then, more recently, they have taken flak from economists and politicians alike.
Sarah Palin led the political parade by issuing a “cease and desist” order while a raft of prominent Republicans including Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul joined in criticizing the Fed’s recently implemented plans.
Beyond that, a group of 23 well known economists including Michael J. Boskin, (Former Chairman, President’s Council of Economic Advisors for George H.W. Bush,) John F. Cogan, (Former Associate Director, U.S. Office of Management and Budget in the Reagan Administration, ( and Douglas Holtz-Eakin, (former Director of the Congressional Budget Office,) wrote an open letter in the Wall Street Journal in which they said, “We believe the Federal Reserve’s large-scale asset purchase plan (so-called “quantitative easing”) should be reconsidered and discontinued. We do not believe such a plan is necessary or advisable under current circumstances. The planned asset purchases risk currency debasement and inflation, and we do not think they will achieve the Fed’s objective of promoting employment.”
And finally, just yesterday, two prominent Republicans, Senator Bob Corker and Representative Mike Pence, said that they were introducing legislation to force the Fed to focus solely on inflation and drop its dual mandate of promoting inflation within target levels and full employment. Pence said that the Fed policy has “failed” and that the Fed should focus on keeping inflation low and preserving the value of the dollar…’

Which Country's Banking System Is Most at Risk? Crawford ‘Previously, we took a look at European banks to see which one had the largest sovereign exposure to Ireland. Here is a very interesting chart from the Bank for International Settlements that shows total foreign exposure to Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain by bank nationality. This is very important because it shows not just sovereign exposure but also total exposure (consumer lending, lending to the public sector, etc). The information is current as of the end of Q1 2010.The most alarming statistic from the report is that total worldwide exposure to Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain amounts to a whopping $2.6 trillion, which shows that any default could quickly collapse Europe and have significant consequences for the entire world. The two countries who should be praying for a bailout of Ireland are Germany and Great Britain since they are they have the largest exposures. Better fire up those ECB printing presses!
Click charts
[chart]
Here is a chart I made based on the BIS report which is easier to follow and more colorful. One thing to remember about the BIS report is that it does not include exposures of banks headquartered in the respective country.
[chart]
From the BIS report: (pdf)

Banks increase exposures to Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain: BIS-reporting banks increased their total exposures to residents of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain in the first quarter of 2010, despite mounting market pressures on these countries. The $109 billion (4.3%) combined expansion brought BIS reporting banks’ aggregate exposures to that group of economies to $2.6 trillion. Total exposures to Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain increase. Total exposures to Greece grew by $20.7 billion (7.1%). The expansion was driven by a $21.6 billion (29.3%) rise in BIS reporting banks’ other exposures, most of which reflected an $18.1 billion (54.0%) increase in their credit commitments to residents of the country. By contrast, foreign claims on residents of Greece declined by $0.9 billion (0.4%). Claims on non-banks and claims on the public sector both went up (by $4.0 billion (4.7%) and $0.8 billion (0.8%), respectively). However, those increases were more than offset by a $5.7 billion (16.9%) contraction in foreign claims on banks located in the country. BIS reporting banks also increased their exposures to the residents of Spain and Portugal. Despite the fact that foreign claims on Spain declined by $10.3 billion (1.2%) during the period, overall exposures to residents of the country expanded by $17.3 billion (1.5%) due to a $27.6 billion (11.8%) rise inbanks’ other exposures. Meanwhile, banks increased their total exposures to Portugal by $10.6 billion (3.2%). Both foreign claims and other exposures went up (by $5.8 billion (2.3%) and $4.8 billion (6.1%), respectively). Spanish banks increased their exposures to residents of Portugal by $5.2 billion (4.7%), more than banks headquartered in any other country.’

Does the Baltic Dry Index's Decline Really Mean Anything for Stocks? [ Short answer: YES! ]Ching ‘The Baltic Dry Index, often considered a leading indicator, has been trending downward for almost a year, even while the stock market has been rising. click [chart] This has lead to a question that many are asking themselves. Will the stock market following the Baltic Dry Index lower? While, the Baltic Dry Index is considered a leading indicator, the term, "leading" generally refers to leading the economy, not necessarily stocks. Stocks are also considered a leading indicator for the economy, and thus the Baltic Dry Index is probably at best a coincident indicator for stocks…’

QE2 Is Failing: Here's Evidence Loundsbury [ I quite agree with Loundsbury (and disagree on the point by Roche, infra; viz., there are many reasons for the market to fall including the preposterousness of the failed fed approaches). There are simply an unprecedented plethora of real reasons for the market to fall; ie., overvaluation, debasement of dollar, manipulation, fraud, a clueless fed / no-recession ben shalom bernanke et als who don’t have the slightest idea what they’re doing or what to do, a structural shift away from u.s., pervasive corruption in and defacto bankruptcy of the u.s., etc.. ] ‘ I know I have seen that QE2 is failing a number of times in the last 24 hours. In support of such statements I offer the following two graphs from the 5 Min. Forecast: [charts] Since QE2 hasn't really started yet, it might be more accurate to state that the prospect of QE2 is a failure. However, I would offer the following as the most accurate statement: There have been limited changes in stocks and bonds since the plan for QE2 has been discussed. Stocks are still more than 10% higher than they were at the end of August and bonds have not changed all that much in the past few months as well. The 10-year Treasury yield at 2.85% as this is written is below the rates seen in early August. There are many possible reasons for the sharp losses in stocks and bonds the past several days. The prospects for QE2 may have contributed but, in this analyst's opinion, that affect is very marginal compared to other factors that are current active. See yesterday's article for discussion of some of these market factors. There may be several reasons to question QE2, as Steve Hansen has discussed here and here and here. But screaming that the markets have entered a judgment about QE2 effects on securities markets before it has actually started is just plain poppycock based on the current evidence…’

The 17 Things Worrying Investors Right Now
LLOYD'S WALL OF WORRY
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 15-19
WORRY COUNT: 17

CHINA: Kickin’ it purely “my way or the highway.” Especially treacherous on the rest of us as they are still building their highways.

THE PIIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. FYI: News of their demise has been greatly…delayed.

CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Automakers – done. Banks – done. Next on line at the bailout window: Muni Bonds

. “Please step up to the white line.”

QE II: In the popularity ratings still more dear than a root canal but not by much.

U.S. ECONOMY: This aging heavyweight looks to be making a comeback but don’t expect any championship belts.

UNEMPLOYMENT: The good news is we added 151,000 new jobs. The bad news is that's about 100,000 less than needed to keep us from sinking deeper into the jobless quicksand pit.

TAXES: Extend and Pretend-- it ain't just for loans anymore.

HEALTHCARE REFORM: “If I were a cheese what kind of cheese would I be? Umm…that would be Swiss.” Give it a year or so.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PART II: “Heavy lies the crown.”

XMAS 2010: Praying the Repo Man doesn’t tow away Santa’s sleigh until after he brings some good cheer. Stack of $20s for me, KK!

CURRENCIES: No longer a race to the bottom. More like a slow bumpy roll down into death valley.

HOUSING CRISIS: The reset button doesn’t seem to be working here. Might I suggest bulldozers and bonfires?

INFLATION/DEFLATION: The Fed’s inflation wish will come true. And then, like old luggage and my gut, it will be with us for a long time.

G20 MEETING: Granted I wasn’t expecting any Gold Medals for the U.S., I wasn’t expecting a disqualification smack down either.

TERRORISM: I knew there was a reason I always hated changing the toner cartridge.

COMMODITIES: Trying to wrestle them down with higher margin requirements. You mean some people actually pay for these things?

HFT: High Frequency Trading -- a festering boil on our stock market but nothing a penny transaction tax wouldn’t clear up. Dr. SEC, we’re waiting…?

National / World

Senate bill S 510 vote imminent – procedural vote passes 74-25 ‘U.S. Senate Bill S 510 is now on the Senate floor where a vote is expected shortly. Yesterday, the Motion to Invoke Cloture passed on a vote of 74-25 (see how they voted, below), sending the bill forward for a final vote perhaps as early as today…US Senate offices are experiencing a huge backlash of grassroots opposition to the bill — called the Food Safety Modernization Act — as virtually every health freedom organization, family farm group and even dietary supplement companies have aligned to oppose this new bill. It is being called “The most dangerous bill in United States history” and would thrust America into a new Dark Ages of FDA tyranny over seeds, foods, herbs, gardens and nutritional supplements…’

DA Now Sending Deputies to SF Airport to Investigate Felony Groping Kurt Nimmo | Other counties start criminal investigations.

TSA Abuse Opens the Door to Resistance Daniel Taylor | The widespread media attention to growing resistance against TSA abuse is showing America that they are not alone in their anger.

Rockefeller Wants Government to Shut Down Fox and MSNBC Kurt Nimmo | Millions of Americans have tuned out the false right-left paradigm of the corporate-dominated news channels in favor of alternative news sources on the internet.

Ron Paul Unleashes On TSA: “Enough Is Enough” Paul Joseph Watson | Congressman introduces legislation to block immunity for federal goons who ‘treat Americans like cattle.’

Eurozone Debt Crisis 2.0: Dollar Sucks Less than Euro, Again Eric Blair | The grand symphony of currency manipulation seems more finely orchestrated than ever before.

Police Now Staking Out California Airports to Catch TSA Gropers Appearing on the Alex Jones Show today, current chief deputy DA and incoming DA of San Mateo County Steve Wagstaffe said his office will prosecute TSA employees who engage in lewd and lascivious behavior while conducting Homeland Security mandated patdowns at the San Francisco International Airport in San Mateo County.

Airport X-ray scanner is just as likely to kill you as a terrorist bomb Full-body airport scanners are just as likely to kill you as a terrorist’s bomb blowing your plane out of the sky, a leading scientist has said. ‘The thing that worries me the most, is not what happens if the machine works as advertised, but what happens if it doesn’t. A potential malfunction could increase the radiation dose, he said.

Airport staff ‘exposed woman’s breasts, laughed’ The 23-year-old traveller, from Amarillo, US, is suing the US Government for the emotional distressed she says the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents caused.

don t_rump: I'll Decide on Presidential Run by June CBS News [ Casinos, money laundering, and the u.s. presidency. How low can pervasively corrupt defacto bankrupt america go.The complete take-over of government by confirmed mobster and fraudulent wall street criminals to pillage and plunder the nation even further in new york metro sinkhole style to support their plush fraudulent lifestyles. How totally pathetic is pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america. trump should be in jail! Look for the pay-offs / bribes … the new fraudulent wall street bailout … How pathetic and tragic at once is fallen america! ]  Real estate fraudster / mobster and unreality television star don t_rump said on ABC's "Good Morning America" today that he'll make a decision about running for president in 2012 by June. don juan trump eyes US presidency [ You can’t make this stuff up; such a joke corrupt defacto bankrupt america has become! ]BBC News

Drudgereport: House Dems want $12 billion more in jobless benefits...
GOP blocks bill...
Troubled California to Restructure Debt Sales...
Bond Woe Bodes Ill for States...
House Dems want $12 billion more in jobless benefits...
GOP blocks bill...
Fears of new food crisis as prices soar...
House ethics panel recommends censure for Rangel...
Rangel weeps... ‘…"Failure to pay taxes for 17 years. What is that?" McCaul asked, referring to Rangel's shortchanging the Internal Revenue Service on rental income from his villa in the Dominican Republic. McCaul also noted the committee's finding that Rangel solicited donors for the Charles B. Rangel Center at City College of New York from donors who had business before the Ways and Means Committee…’

Preventing a domino effect (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That ‘domino effect’. Nothing like a sentimental favorite word picture to sell ‘policy / strategy’ as the ‘domino effect’ … I mean, it worked so well for the Vietnam War. And, they even got a Nixon touting it. ] As Europe debates a possible Ireland bailout, they are also worried about a more pressing question.

'Taking away the punchbowl' (Washington Post) [ Yeah! It might just prevent fraud / corruption in the defacto bankrupt, pervasively corrupt u.s.. Then what? ]VIDEO | FDIC Chairman tells Post's Steven Pearlstein how "it's never a good time to tighten regulation."

NATO envoy: Karzai criticism 'not helpful' (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! It’s only their country; their country being destroyed; their country’s citizens being maimed and killed; their pain; their defacto bankruptcy along with ‘misery-loves-company’ u.s. and nato allies, etc.. ] The top NATO civilian in Afghanistan says that coalition forces have "regained the initiative" in the war, but he added that President Hamid Karzai's recent criticism of U.S. and NATO strategy is "not helpful" in the lead-up to a summit in Lisbon.

• PHOTOS: Images from the war

• IG for Afghan war to testify

Wal-Mart to come to the District (Washington Post) [ Along with their boss / chief benefactor, communist China. After all, walmart’s but a sales agent for China goods, a business model that’s taken (over) america by storm. ] Four stores will be built in D.C. neighborhoods where retail options are relatively scarce.

Booz Allen raises $238M in IPO (Washington Post) [ Schmooz and booz … who says a name doesn’t say it all … after all, america can hardly be said to have done well by these capital hill schmoozers and boozers … indeed their results for the nation have been nothing short of capital … crimes … They do, however, deserve Boos with a capital b! ] Consulting giant's new stock traded at least 10 percent above its IPO of $17 and closed at $19.25.

The Economy Will Not Recover Until the Economic Criminals are Prosecuted, and There Are Real Investigations Into 9/11 and Other Government Failures Trust is essential for a stable economy; Trust is currently at an all-time low; Launching criminal prosecutions and real investigations is one of the main prerequisites for an economic recovery.

Soros: Conditions ‘pretty perfect’ for gold Reuters | Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros may be cutting back on his gold bets, but he says the precious metal still has some kick to it.

Rothschild-linked author pens “Five Myths About the Federal Reserve” in Washington Post The American Dream | There have been so many attacks on the Federal Reserve recently that the mainstream media now feels almost forced to try to defend their actions.

Former Treasury Secretary Rubin: Bond Market Could Implode; Vote to Increase Deficit Could be the Trigger EconomicPolicyJournal.com | He said Congress’ vote on raising the deficit ceiling next spring could be the “trigger” for a rout in the Treasury market.

Fed May Hesitate on More Easing After Critics Question Mandate The Federal Reserve is facing the fiercest political assault on its powers in three decades as it struggles to help revive the U.S. economy.

George Soros also profiting off controversial new TSA scanners Be sure and read Tim Carney’s Examiner column today on the politically-connected lobby for the controversial new TSA scanners that are upsetting airline employees and travelers everywhere.

Soros: Conditions ‘pretty perfect’ for gold Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros may be cutting back on his gold bets, but he says the precious metal still has some kick to it, as long as conditions like low interest rates prevail.

TODAY Congress Will Try – By Secret Vote – to Retroactively Legalize Foreclosure Fraud and Forgery By the Big Banks … Call Congress and Say NO Forgery of mortgage documents is systematic and widespread.

QE2 Is Failing: Here's Evidence Loundsbury [ I quite agree with Loundsbury (and disagree on the point by Roche, infra; viz., there are many reasons for the market to fall including the preposterousness of the failed fed approaches). There are simply an unprecedented plethora of real reasons for the market to fall; ie., overvaluation, debasement of dollar, manipulation, fraud, a clueless fed / no-recession ben shalom bernanke et als who don’t have the slightest idea what they’re doing or what to do, a structural shift away from u.s., pervasive corruption in and defacto bankruptcy of the u.s., etc.. ] ‘ I know I have seen that QE2 is failing a number of times in the last 24 hours. In support of such statements I offer the following two graphs from the 5 Min. Forecast: [charts] Since QE2 hasn't really started yet, it might be more accurate to state that the prospect of QE2 is a failure. However, I would offer the following as the most accurate statement: There have been limited changes in stocks and bonds since the plan for QE2 has been discussed. Stocks are still more than 10% higher than they were at the end of August and bonds have not changed all that much in the past few months as well. The 10-year Treasury yield at 2.85% as this is written is below the rates seen in early August. There are many possible reasons for the sharp losses in stocks and bonds the past several days. The prospects for QE2 may have contributed but, in this analyst's opinion, that affect is very marginal compared to other factors that are current active. See yesterday's article for discussion of some of these market factors. There may be several reasons to question QE2, as Steve Hansen has discussed here and here and here. But screaming that the markets have entered a judgment about QE2 effects on securities markets before it has actually started is just plain poppycock based on the current evidence…’

The 17 Things Worrying Investors Right Now
LLOYD'S WALL OF WORRY
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 15-19
WORRY COUNT: 17

CHINA: Kickin’ it purely “my way or the highway.” Especially treacherous on the rest of us as they are still building their highways.

THE PIIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. FYI: News of their demise has been greatly…delayed.

CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Automakers – done. Banks – done. Next on line at the bailout window: Muni Bonds

. “Please step up to the white line.”

QE II: In the popularity ratings still more dear than a root canal but not by much.

U.S. ECONOMY: This aging heavyweight looks to be making a comeback but don’t expect any championship belts.

UNEMPLOYMENT: The good news is we added 151,000 new jobs. The bad news is that's about 100,000 less than needed to keep us from sinking deeper into the jobless quicksand pit.

TAXES: Extend and Pretend-- it ain't just for loans anymore.

HEALTHCARE REFORM: “If I were a cheese what kind of cheese would I be? Umm…that would be Swiss.” Give it a year or so.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PART II: “Heavy lies the crown.”

XMAS 2010: Praying the Repo Man doesn’t tow away Santa’s sleigh until after he brings some good cheer. Stack of $20s for me, KK!

CURRENCIES: No longer a race to the bottom. More like a slow bumpy roll down into death valley.

HOUSING CRISIS: The reset button doesn’t seem to be working here. Might I suggest bulldozers and bonfires?

INFLATION/DEFLATION: The Fed’s inflation wish will come true. And then, like old luggage and my gut, it will be with us for a long time.

G20 MEETING: Granted I wasn’t expecting any Gold Medals for the U.S., I wasn’t expecting a disqualification smack down either.

TERRORISM: I knew there was a reason I always hated changing the toner cartridge.

COMMODITIES: Trying to wrestle them down with higher margin requirements. You mean some people actually pay for these things?

HFT: High Frequency Trading -- a festering boil on our stock market but nothing a penny transaction tax wouldn’t clear up. Dr. SEC, we’re waiting…?

National / World

New French defence minister says Afghanistan a trap Reuters | The war in Afghanistan is a trap for all parties involved and France will discuss how to draw down its troop presence at a NATO summit this week.

DHS Source: TSA Infuriated With Coverage Of Nationwide Backlash Paul Joseph Watson | No Grope, No Fly: TSA Refuses To Back Down: But lawmakers and local authorities prepare to take on feds.

Banksters Move to Gut Aspects of Financial Reform Bill Kurt Nimmo | Banker lobbyists are crawling all over the district of criminals like blood thirsty ticks on a swamp dog.

TSA Hit With Lawsuits As Revolt Explodes Paul Joseph Watson | In one shocking incident, TSA goons pulled down woman’s blouse, exposing her breasts, and laughed about it.

American Idle Keith Johnson | Americans—in large part—have become nothing more than stupid, scared, spoiled rotten slaves to their favorite TV programs, politicians and electronic toys.

The History of Health Tyranny: Codex Alimentarius, part 1 Brandon Turbeville | Codex is merely another tool in the chest of an elite group of individuals whose goal is to create a one world government in which they wield complete control.

Fears of New Food Crisis as Prices Soar The bill for global food imports will top $1,000bn this year for the second time ever, putting the world “dangerously close” to a new food crisis, the United Nations said.

District Attorney: Feds Are Not Above The Law The district attorney’s office in San Mateo County, California has promised to follow up any complaints of over the top TSA pat-downs with prosecutions on the charge of sexual battery, reports ABC 7 News.

Duncan Blasts TSA Pat-Downs, Body Scanners Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-Tenn.) blasted the Transportation Security Administration Wednesday during a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives for invasive “pat-downs” of U.S. citizens and the role lucrative government contracts played in the use of body scanning machines at airport checkpoints.

Big Sister’s police state: TSA’s tyrannical tactics threaten American freedoms The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has crossed the line. As if subjecting millions of Americans to X-rated x-ray scans and public groping sessions weren’t bad enough, the agency now threatens $11,000 in fines against anyone refusing to submit to humiliation at the airport.

TSA Hit With Lawsuits As Revolt Explodes The TSA has been hit with a number of lawsuits as the revolt against Big Sis, naked body scanners, and invasive groping measures explodes, with one case involving a woman who had her blouse pulled down in full public view by TSA goons who then proceeded to laugh and joke about her exposed breasts.

TSA, Pilots Weigh Biometric System for Airport Screening Pilots who fly passenger and cargo planes want the U.S. government to implement a program under which their identities will be confirmed using biometrics so they can pass quickly through airport security checkpoints and avoid — for the most part — controversial screening procedures involving body scanners or pat-downs.

Germany warns of imminent terror attacks German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière on Wednesday warned the government had indications Islamists were planning terrorist attacks in Germany later this month.

Iran intercepts ‘unknown planes’ Iran’s armed forces have intercepted six “unknown planes” that intruded into the country’s airspace during aerial defence manoeuvres, the spokesman for the exercise was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

The Washington Post Runs An Article Entitled “Five Myths About The Federal Reserve” Authored By An Economist Linked To The Rothschilds There have been so many attacks on the Federal Reserve recently that the mainstream media now feels almost forced to try to defend their actions.

Soros: China has better functioning government than U.S. If nothing else, Glenn Beck probably has his top story set for tonight’s show.

Drudgereport: Bernanke's 'Cheap Money' Spurs Investment Outside USA...

AILES: OBAMA 'DIFFERENT BELIEF SYSTEM THAN MOST AMERICANS'...
I COULD BEAT HIM! … [ wobama and co. have their fingers crossed since palin’s probably the only one who can’t! ]
Euro zone seems at a loss to stop the rot...
Berlusconi rating at new low as govt crisis worsens...
New French defense minister says Afghanistan a trap...
Iran: Foreign planes violated airspace...
Exercises involve protecting nuclear facilities...
Efforts to Extend 'Tax Cuts' Falter as Talks Are Delayed...
$319 BILLION PAID IN JOBLESS BENEFITS OVER PAST 3 YEARS...
Fears of new food crisis as prices soar...

Study: Americans fleeing high-tax, union-dominated states... ‘Migration from high-tax states to states with lower taxes and less government spending will dramatically alter the composition of future Congresses, according to a study by Americans for Tax Reform Eight states are projected to gain at least one congressional seat under reapportionment following the 2010 Census: Texas (four seats), Florida (two seats), Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington (one seat each). Their average top state personal income tax rate: 2.8 percent.By contrast, New York and Ohio are likely to lose two seats each, while Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will be down one apiece. The average top state personal income tax rate in these loser states: 6.05 percent.The state and local tax burden is nearly a third lower in states with growing populations, ATR found. As a result, per capita government spending is also lower: $4,008 for states gaining congressional seats, $5,117 for states losing them.And, as ATR notes, “in eight of ten losers, workers can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment. In 7 of the 8 gainers, workers are given a choice whether to join or contribute financially to a union.”Imagine that: Americans are fleeing high tax, union-dominated states and settling in states with lower taxes, right-to-work laws and lower government spending. Nothing sends a message like voting with your feet.’

Budget agreement may be harder than anticipated (Washington Post) [ ‘They’ve seen the enemy / opposition … the enemy is themselves … Yeah … The nation’s defacto bankrupt with an economic / financial structural shift away from america created by them and theirs as never before in the history of the u.s. with the most dour and negative implications. Pervasive corruption, incompetence, fraud, etc., has destroyed this country. The market will ultimately do what they don’t. They’ve seen the enemy … themselves! ]The leaders of the president's fiscal commission come under fire from the panel's own members.

NATO strategy alters weapon development (Washington Post) [ What strategy? National bankruptcies? More unnecessary death and destruction? Yes, I said unnecessary. All this has been geopolitically counter-productive and contra-indicated ab initio. Change? What change? Todays headlines: Nato chief says there is no alternative to staying in Afghanistan Telegraph [ Oooooh! Sounds like a plan! ]| Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO would commit the alliance to train and support Afghan troops battling the Taliban in substantial numbers through to the 2014 deadline for local forces to take over security.Britain’s top soldier: al-Qaeda cannot be beaten SINA.com | Violence across Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban were overthrown by US-backed Afghan forces nine years ago, with civilian and military casualties at record levels despite the presence of about 150,000 foreign troops. ]As NATO struggles to define itself in a post-Cold War world of new threats and tight budgets, the alliance this week will lay out a vision for itself that is meant to better reflect the 21st century.

Lawmakers seek to change Federal Reserve's mission (Washington Post) [ Well, focusing on their proven talents as opposed to their unmanifested supposed talents, I’d say they should be, not in the ‘beige book’ business; but rather, the comic book business … or, maybe just comics … or, heck, with that ‘no recession’ call, and subsequent fumbling of the ball, how ‘bout ending their mission which for them has proven to be a mission impossible. Abolish the fed! They can always seek work at Marvel Comics as evidenced by their masterwork … The New York Fed's Comic Book Explaining Monetary Policy [ Wow! This is at once both scary and tragic; and as well, a total joke. They are serious … criminals / jokesters / fraudsters! The sinkhole new york fed? … Where’s that missing $4 trillion, etc.? Here’s an archived website copy for your records. http://albertpeia.com/comic_monetary.pdf ] ]] Proposal by Sen. Corker and Rep. Pence would end Fed's three-decade-old "dual mandate."

Dow hovers near 11,000 (Washington Post) [ Yes … this sounds like a job for … Rosanne Rosanna Danna formerly of SNL fame, to chime in with a reminder as her mama always used to say, ‘it’s always something’ … but unfortunately, that somethin’ is not necessarily what they say it is. Reality is that the u.s. market needs no help from Asia or Ireland or Greece, etc., to fall but here in the states they would love for you to think that. The fact is that the u.s. market is way over-valued / over-bought, floating on air and b*** s*** alone in this new bubble as in the last before the previous crash that the wall street frauds and insiders commission with high frequency churn-and-earn trade programs and sell into. I mean, forget about valuations, security analysis, basic economics, etc. … it’s suddenly, from out of nowhere, Ireland and China jamming on the breaks … riiiiight! Come on! That dog don’t hunt no more! Lloyd, infra, lists 17 concerns right off the top. The decline certainly was no mystery to Loundsbury, Roche, Maierhofer, Hussman, etc., infra, among many others. … Fed Easing Is Not Aimed at Weakening US Dollar: Dudley [ It doesn’t matter what they say … you can’t believe a word they say, like no-recession ben shalom bernanke … and, contrary to rhetoric, their intent was as preceding the last crash was to inflate earnings to froth the stock market (to create the all too familiar bubble for wall street frauds and insiders to commission with high frequency churn-and-earn trade programs and sell into ) by debasing the fiat Weimar dollar currency. ] New York Fed President Bill Dudley, in one of the first Fed interviews since the central bank’s policy came under attack at the G20 meetings in Seoul, said critics were “off base” to believe the aim of the policy is to weaken the U.S. dollar.] U.S. stocks continue recent slide amid deepening investor anxiety about the global economy. The stock market continued its recent slide Tuesday amid deepening investor anxiety about the global economy. Wall Street was worried that Ireland could require a bailout, that China will jam the brakes on its overheating economy ... Commodities sink on China, European concerns BusinessWeek Summary Box: Stocks Sink on Fear of China Slowdown

Lenders, AGs in talks over foreclosure fund (Washington Post) [ Wow! Yet another fund! If you think this is a mess, just wait for the muni (ain’t so puny) bond crisis next up …

The 17 Things Worrying Investors Right Now
LLOYD'S WALL OF WORRY
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 15-19
WORRY COUNT: 17

CALIFORNIA AND THE OTHER 49 STATES: Automakers – done. Banks – done. Next on line at the bailout window: Muni Bonds

. “Please step up to the white line.”

CHINA: Kickin’ it purely “my way or the highway.” Especially treacherous on the rest of us as they are still building their highways.

THE PIIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. FYI: News of their demise has been greatly…delayed.

QE II: In the popularity ratings still more dear than a root canal but not by much.

U.S. ECONOMY: This aging heavyweight looks to be making a comeback but don’t expect any championship belts.

UNEMPLOYMENT: The good news is we added 151,000 new jobs. The bad news is that's about 100,000 less than needed to keep us from sinking deeper into the jobless quicksand pit.

TAXES: Extend and Pretend-- it ain't just for loans anymore.

HEALTHCARE REFORM: “If I were a cheese what kind of cheese would I be? Umm…that would be Swiss.” Give it a year or so.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PART II: “Heavy lies the crown.”

XMAS 2010: Praying the Repo Man doesn’t tow away Santa’s sleigh until after he brings some good cheer. Stack of $20s for me, KK!

CURRENCIES: No longer a race to the bottom. More like a slow bumpy roll down into death valley.

HOUSING CRISIS: The reset button doesn’t seem to be working here. Might I suggest bulldozers and bonfires?

INFLATION/DEFLATION: The Fed’s inflation wish will come true. And then, like old luggage and my gut, it will be with us for a long time.

G20 MEETING: Granted I wasn’t expecting any Gold Medals for the U.S., I wasn’t expecting a disqualification smack down either.

TERRORISM: I knew there was a reason I always hated changing the toner cartridge.

COMMODITIES: Trying to wrestle them down with higher margin requirements. You mean some people actually pay for these things?

HFT: High Frequency Trading -- a festering boil on our stock market but nothing a penny transaction tax wouldn’t clear up. Dr. SEC, we’re waiting…?

] Proposal would help banks avoid court challenges and aid state investigators in efforts to seek relief for homeowners who were wronged, officials said.

The Economy Will Not Recover Until the Economic Criminals are Prosecuted, and There Are Real Investigations Into 9/11 and Other Government Failures Trust is essential for a stable economy; Trust is currently at an all-time low; Launching criminal prosecutions and real investigations is one of the main prerequisites for an economic recovery.

Markets Hit Vertical Drop: Dave's Daily ‘Markets followed-on Monday's malaise with heavy selling tied to worries from China that inflation was getting out of control. This caused commodity markets to implode. It was reported the Chinese government was dumping stockpiles of grains and meats on markets to drive prices lower. The commodity exchanges have increased precious metals margins twice in the last week which usually stems rallies and that continued this week. Furthermore, investors are having second thoughts about the Fed's QE policies as they become more concerned with China's moves in the opposite direction. It just shows how leadership is changing in the 21^st century. Emerging Market stocks well-tied to commodity markets and with more volatility anyway fell harder than other markets. Earnings were coming in roughly as expected from powerhouses like HD and WMT. Meanwhile Industrial Production was weaker than expected and the PPI was up less than expected (and, yes the laughable "core" rate was down). Bonds rallied, reversing previous declines, in perhaps a brief flight to safety. It seems clear that our DeMark sequential weekly 9 counts well illustrated here many times have once again called an exit correctly with many such views on November 5^th... ‘

QE2 Is Failing: Here's Evidence Loundsbury [ I quite agree with Loundsbury (and disagree on the point by Roche, infra; viz., there are many reasons for the market to fall including the preposterousness of the failed fed approaches). There are simply an unprecedented plethora of real reasons for the market to fall; ie., overvaluation, debasement of dollar, manipulation, fraud, a clueless fed / no-recession ben shalom bernanke et als who don’t have the slightest idea what they’re doing or what to do, a structural shift away from u.s., pervasive corruption in and defacto bankruptcy of the u.s., etc.. ] ‘ I know I have seen that QE2 is failing a number of times in the last 24 hours. In support of such statements I offer the following two graphs from the 5 Min. Forecast: [charts] Since QE2 hasn't really started yet, it might be more accurate to state that the prospect of QE2 is a failure. However, I would offer the following as the most accurate statement: There have been limited changes in stocks and bonds since the plan for QE2 has been discussed. Stocks are still more than 10% higher than they were at the end of August and bonds have not changed all that much in the past few months as well. The 10-year Treasury yield at 2.85% as this is written is below the rates seen in early August. There are many possible reasons for the sharp losses in stocks and bonds the past several days. The prospects for QE2 may have contributed but, in this analyst's opinion, that affect is very marginal compared to other factors that are current active. See yesterday's article for discussion of some of these market factors. There may be several reasons to question QE2, as Steve Hansen has discussed here and here and here. But screaming that the markets have entered a judgment about QE2 effects on securities markets before it has actually started is just plain poppycock based on the current evidence…’

Is it Time to Bail on Stocks and Commodities? Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday November 16, 2010, 2:18 pm EST ‘According to the most recent AAII poll, 57.6% of investors are bullish, so why am I bearish? Well, one reason is that pervasive bullishness has never really paid off. It didn't before the tech-crash (NYSEArca: XLK - News) in 2000, it didn't before the real estate crash in 2005, and didn't before the financial led crash (NYSEArca: XLF - News) in 2007. But - and that's a big but - I have to admit, something is different this time around. What is it?
Does the Market See a Mirage?
It's said that the market discounts the future and looks about six months ahead. In March 2009, stocks turned up. Based on the market's foresight, the economy should have started improving no later than the end of 2009.As 2010 is coming to a close, we notice that the economy is still stuck in a rut. Yes, some indicators have improved, but in terms of aggregate net progress, there's been little over the past year.Unlike the economy, stocks are soaring. From the March 2009 lows, the Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI) has rallied as much as 77%, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) as much as 84% and the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) as much as 105%. What was the 'futuristic vision' that propelled stocks and left the economy in the dust?
Unexpected Doesn't mean Impossible
The disconnect between stocks and the economy was very pronounced earlier this year. By April, many measures of sentiment had reached extremes not seen since the 2007, 2000 and even 1987 market tops. On April 16, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter stated: 'The message conveyed by the composite bullishness is unmistakably bearish.' Referring to the low put/call ratio, the Newsletter remarked: 'Once prices do fall and investors get afraid of incurring losses, the only option is to sell. Selling, results in more selling. This negative feedback loop usually results in rapidly falling prices.'A few weeks later, a 'Flash crash' visited Wall Street and injected a healthy dose of reality. Since the market was repelled by the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level (a common retracement level for counter trend rallies), which coincided with extremely bullish sentiment, I assumed that the April high would not be broken. But it was. Why?
Liquidity Explained
The effect of supply and demand on prices is almost as well established as the law of gravity. While it's impossible to defy gravity, there's a crafty group of people who've found a way to tamper with the law of supply and demand. As it turns out, if you artificially inflate demand, prices will rise. The only organization big enough to pull off such a stunt is the Fed. And as unethical as it may seem, the Fed is using (as in rewarding) banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) to do just that. The image below illustrates how quantitative easing (QE2) is designed to inflate asset prices. In short, via QE2 the Federal Reserve injects fresh money into banks. Since banks are not lending (there's just been another drop in consumer loans), they use the money to buy assets across the board (the November issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed analysis of this process and the long-term effect on asset prices).  [Chart] Trading volume has been historically low, so the effect of extra liquidity ($105 billion over the next month) is magnified. Extra liquidity is the only explanation for the rare phenomenon of all asset classes rising at the same time. Do you remember the purpose of asset allocation and diversification? Asset classes boom and bust at various cycles ... Not lately. Most asset classes rise and fall in tandem. That is as unhealthy as it is historically unusual…Is the Fed's open money spigot enough reason to turn bullish? To me it isn't. In fact, I can't think of a single government law, rule or incentive that hasn't backfired in some way, at some time. QE2 is likely to be no different. Up until last week, U.S. stocks, international stocks (NYSEArca: VT - News), emerging market stocks (NYSEArca: EEM - News), commodities (NYSEArca: GSG - News), gold (NYSEArca: GLD - News) and silver (NYSEArca: SLV - News) were rising in sync. Now, the three outrageously contrarian predictions I shared via the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter aren't that outrageous anymore. The three predictions were: 1) A rising dollar 2) A falling or correction stock market 3) A falling or correcting commodity market…What caused and triggered the post 2007 meltdown? Easy credit fueled unsustainable growth for decades and falling real estate prices caused the collapse. The sub-prime mortgage debacle extends far beyond the mortgage market (worth about $10 trillion). Since sub-prime mortgages have been repacked, tranched, and leveraged many times over, the total problem is much bigger. The only way to recover real estate losses is for real estate prices to return to their 2006 highs. This isn't happening. Since the home buying tax credit expired, home prices have fallen 0.2% year-over-year, while the number of homes sold plummeted more than 25% compared to last quarter. In addition to rising real estate prices, I'd need to see falling unemployment. Not just the media's favorite headline jobless number (currently 9.6%), but real unemployment. The main reason unemployment has at least been stable is due to a shrinking labor pool, otherwise even the rosy 9.6% would be above 10%. Since a recovery in real estate prices and a decline in unemployment would not completely deal with the issue of over valuation, I would only become a cautious bull.
How to Navigate this Market
No doubt, the Fed's outright manipulation of the market is more than just a tempest in a teapot.'  Various indicators (in particular sentiment) seem to have been skewed by the massive inflow of indiscriminate dollars. Nevertheless, as the post April 2010 performance shows (including the 'Flash Crash'), the market has not become entirely immune to its own forces. The Fed is simply creating a bigger … bubble…’

Market Sell-Off: The Realization That QE Is Not Inflationary Roche [ Again, Mr. Roche is not quite correct as to why, but correct as to the fed’s failure and sell-off nevertheless, the reasons for which are still extant and further downside in the offing. ] ‘The QE trade is unwinding in dramatic fashion as the market slowly realizes that QE is not in any way inflationary. As I mentioned last week the smart money markets (fixed income and FX) were foreshadowing this as early as last week. The air pocket created by Ben Bernanke created an incredible trading opportunity for investors who weren’t blinded by confidence in the Federal Reserve. Just two weeks ago I said:

Would add (to shorts) into any move over 1200. Would LOVE to see 1220.

My position is that the market is misinterpreting the economic impact of QE in the long-term. My market position has always been that we could rally to these levels and that at these levels the market has become overly optimistic. If I am wrong I will lose some money and move on. It’s part of the business.

Like clockwork the market touched 1220, bounced and sold-off. The carnage across markets is broad. The only thing rallying is volatility, USD and US treasuries. In essence, the leveraged QE inflation trade is collapsing. You can thank Ben Bernanke for this. When you create distortions in the market you get volatility, uncertainty and ultimately a collapse in prices. Keeping market prices “higher than they otherwise would be” is not a recipe for economic growth. The most worrisome development is dissension inside the EMU. Austria is now threatening to withhold their contribution to the Greek bailout unless Greece can prove that they have fulfilled their requirements for aid:

The cost of insuring against default by Greece and the premium investors demand to hold the country’ bonds rather than lower-risk German Bunds jumped on Tuesday after Austria said Athens had not met aid commitments.

Five-year credit default swaps were 100 bps wider on the day at 950 bps, according to monitor Markit, while the 10-year yield spread between Greek and German government bonds was 15 bps wider at 923 bps.

Greece has not fulfilled commitments for its European Union-backed aid package, Austrian finance minister Josef Proell said on Tuesday, adding that Vienna had not yet submitted its contribution for December.

That’s not the only concern in the markets. Municipal bonds in the US continue to crash as a market that was priced for perfection now begins to price in some risk. Commodity markets are being crushed under the pressure of failing QE and tighter monetary policy in China. And ultimately U.S. stocks have finally succumbed to reality.

click to enlarge images

chart1…out (Figure 1)

chart2 (Figure 2)

chart3 (Figure 3) …‘

Lynn Reaser: Significant Profit-Taking Ahead

Ron Paul on Supervising the Fed You Tube | Rep. Ron Paul, (R-TX), on why he wants an audit of the Federal Reserve.

Weaker Dollar Seen as Unlikely to Cure Joblessness CNBC | The declining value of the dollar may not help the United States increase economic growth as much as it might have in the past.

NY Fed: New York state manufacturing plunges ‘unexpectedly’ AFP [ Yeah, right! That global hub of manufacturing activity, sinkhole new york … Unexpected … riiiiight! … There must have been a slowdown in fraudulent paper securities production! ] | New York state manufacturing unexpectedly plunged in November, the first contraction since July 2009 when the US economy exited recession.

Fed Easing Is Not Aimed at Weakening US Dollar: Dudley [ It doesn’t matter what they say … you can’t believe a word they say, like no-recession ben shalom bernanke … and, contrary to rhetoric, their intent was as preceding the last crash was to inflate earnings to froth the stock market (to create the all too familiar bubble for wall street frauds and insiders to commission with high frequency churn-and-earn trade programs and sell into ) by debasing the fiat Weimar dollar currency. ] New York Fed President Bill Dudley, in one of the first Fed interviews since the central bank’s policy came under attack at the G20 meetings in Seoul, said critics were “off base” to believe the aim of the policy is to weaken the U.S. dollar.

Weaker Dollar Seen as Unlikely to Cure Joblessness A weakening currency traditionally helps a country raise its exports and create more jobs for its workers. But the declining value of the dollar may not help the United States increase economic growth as much as it might have in the past.

Inflation rises unexpectedly to four-month high Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has had to dig out his headed notepaper once more to write a letter to the Chancellor explaining why UK inflation is too high.

Ireland told: Take EU bailout or trigger crisis An increasingly isolated Irish government was coming under mounting pressure tonight to seek an EU or International Monetary Fund bailout within 24 hours amid fears that contagion from its crippled banking sector might spread through the weaker eurozone countries.

The Early Evidence: QE Does More Harm Than Good Roche What exactly has QE “lite” and the expectations of QE2 done for markets and the economy so far? Two months following the initial rumors of of QE2 and well into QE “lite” we can make some early conclusions:

1) Equity markets have rallied, but this is of little significance. There is no evidence supporting an equity market “wealth effect” according to Robert Shiller (see here) and James Bianco (see here). Bianco’s research actually finds that the corresponding commodity price increases are more likely to be a net negative for consumers. And even if there is a “wealth effect” it only helps the rich because the middle class are only minority holders of equities on the whole. Of course, this isn’t a crisis of the wealthy so this looks like another case of failing trickle down economics at best. It’s also worth nothing that stock prices are nominal wealth so intentionally distorting prices from fundamentals is no recipe for sustained wealth. Keeping equity prices “higher than they otherwise would be” only diminishes the Fed’s credibility while also creating distortions in markets.

2) The 10 year bond yield is HIGHER since the Jackson Hole speech. The 30 year bond yield is up 50 bps since the Jackson Hole speech. Therefore, there is unlikely to be a sustained refinancing effect and no increased demand to take on more debt (not that this would work in a balance sheet recession anyhow, but Mr. Bernanke fails to acknowledge that this is a demand side problem). 74% of all consumer debt is mortgage based so it’s baffling that they are targeting the short end of the yield curve. Bernanke wants to stimulate borrowing, but his actions aren’t backing up his talk. He is focusing his efforts on the short end of the curve where rates are already very low – astoundingly confusing and misguided policy.

3) Many commodities have rallied in recent weeks which will do nothing but put pressure on input costs and ultimately make life more difficult for the US consumer (assuming these costs even get passed along, which is unlikely due to weak end demand). The consumer will either be hit with higher costs which they can’t afford to sustain or US corporations will continue to be hesitant to hire the millions that need jobs because they are too busy protecting their margins. On the one hand, this one of the few certainties we have regarding QE – it hurts corporate margins by causing a speculative ramp up in commodity prices. [chart]

4) QE IS NOT MONEY PRINTING [ It is here where Mr. Roche goes awry and is not quite correct. An analogous example (of enabling), though not perfect, would be if the fed was purchasing worthless driftwood at the base of the Mississippi or tumbleweeds in Texas reflected only by accounting book entries does not change the effect of ever more worthless Weimar dollar creation. ] so there is no reason to believe that it will cause anything more than expectations of future inflation. When the Fed implements a policy of QE they are merely purchasing an asset that already existed and swapping it with a deposit. There is some debate over the price changes before these transactions take place and whether the Fed is buying at higher prices, but this is offset by the fact that the Fed is removing a high yielding asset for a lower yielding asset. In this case, they are removing 1.2% paper (on average) in exchange for reserves that will earn just 0.25%. Remember, in QE1 the Fed removed over ~$47.5B in interest income from the private sector. So if anything, this has a marginal deflationary impact.

5) Borrowing didn’t pick-up after QE1 and there’s certainly no signs of a borrowing boom in recent data. Of course, with real estate in the midst of a double dip there’s unlikely to be a surge in borrowing in the coming quarters anyhow. As Robert Shiller detailed, the “wealth effect” of a housing boom can be quite substantial. With home prices now declining again we’re actually seeing the opposite of a “wealth effect”. In other words, the majority of Americans don’t feel better because Wall Street rallies each and every day. They feel worse because the asset they come home to every night, the asset that accounts for the majority of their net worth, has declined in value. [chart]

So just what exactly does QE do for the economy? Even the people who are advocates of it don’t seem to know and certainly can’t back up their claims with any positive evidence. Meanwhile the media and its misguided punditry are falling all over each other to spread falsehoods and inaccuracies regarding this policy as they shower Ben Bernanke with praise for trying something. I am not sure why Mr. Bernanke is worthy of any praise. He did not foresee this crisis. He responded too late when it was clear that a crisis was on our doorstep. And when he finally did respond he saved the banking system and left the American public out to dry. Thus far the evidence surrounding his latest tool looks poor at best and it in fact appears as though it could be causing more harm than good.

As for the markets, there has been some interesting action in recent weeks. It looks like the smart money markets (FX and fixed income) have slowly started coming around to the fact that QE won’t cause a dollar crash (because there is no interest rate effect and no “printed money”). Meanwhile, risk markets (equities and commodities) are on fire as “buy the dip” and “don’t fight the Fed” become the motto on every trading desk. The divergence here won’t last and given the early evidence it looks to me like a whole lot of investors are deep into the risk trade without the fundamentals to back it up. They’ve placed a bet on a Fed Chief who has failed at nearly every step of his tenure. A great deal of leveraged optimism has been priced into the market based on this “non-event“. I do not know if I have ever seen the market rally so much around an event that involved more misguided and inaccurate analysis.

Mr. Bernanke has created dangerous distortions in many markets over a policy that appears to have no real economic impact. He is playing games with the markets in an effort to give the appearance that he has not run out of policy tools. This not only calls into question the independence of the Federal Reserve, but has to very seriously make one wonder whether Mr. Bernanke is fit to run the world’s most important Central Bank? I have long maintained that he was never fit for this position and in my opinion the early evidence of QE only further confirms that belief.

How to Protect Yourself From the Crash of 2011 Lichtenfeld ‘There’s going to be a massive stock and bond market selloff in the first half of 2011.Not only that, the selloff could cause a worldwide financial disaster, global market crashes and the destruction of wealth that will make the popping of the dotcom and housing bubbles feel like a mild inconvenience.

Why?

Because, quite simply, America is playing a dangerous game of “chicken” with its national debt. And the ramifications are extraordinary. I’m going to explain the situation and give you three ways to protect yourself from this mess before it’s too late…

Debt Doomsday: Coming in May 2011

America’s debt ceiling currently stands at $14.3 trillion. This is the level that, by law, the government’s debt is not allowed to exceed.

Trouble is, the government’s present debt has swelled to $13.7 trillion.

This means that at the current rate, we’re on course to smash through that $14.3 trillion ceiling around May 2011 (although it might happen a month or two later, depending on what budget cuts are enacted in the next few months and how quickly they’re implemented).

So what will the government do about this? Same thing it’s done almost every year since 1962: Raise the debt ceiling so America can pay its bills.

Congress really has no choice in the matter either. If the ceiling isn’t raised, we’ve got a problem. A very big one.

A Fistful of Dominos

Without Congressional approval for additional debt, the U.S government cannot pay its bills – most notably, interest payments on treasury bonds, bills and notes.

If America defaults on those payments, or even misses them by just one day, the domino effect would be brutal…

* Domino #1: The country would lose its AAA credit rating and those bonds, bills and notes would no longer enjoy their status as the safest investments on the planet.

* Domino #2: In turn, a lower credit rating would mean that the United States would pay higher interest on its bonds in order to attract investors. Result?

* Domino #3: A tidal wave of selling through fixed income markets, driving interest rates higher still.

* Domino #4: Social Security would be hit hard, as its funds are invested in Treasuries. Suddenly, Social Security would have far less resources than just a day or two earlier.

* Domino #5: If money is pouring out of so-called “safe” investments, you can bet that in that kind of environment, the demand for riskier investments would be next to nil. Stocks and financial markets around the globe would plummet.

So why is this year’s Congressional raising of the debt limit different than every other?

To Raise or Not to Raise?

Simple: This year, some members of Congress have said they won’t vote to raise the debt ceiling. And they may be serious this time.

Earlier this year, 38 Republican Senators voted against raising the ceiling. However, they did so, knowing full well that they’d be outvoted and that the limit would be raised despite their “objections.” That way, they could return to their Congressional districts, claiming some semblance of fiscal responsibility.

Their vote didn’t matter so much back then… but with the Republicans having wrestled control of the House of Representatives last week, it sure does now.

It throws up an interesting dilemma. The Republicans – and particularly the Tea Party candidates who ran on a platform of cutting spending and the deficit – will have a very difficult choice to make. Either go back on their word and vote for an increase in the debt ceiling, or vote against it and run the risk of financial calamity.

It’s still early, but some Senators are already threatening to vote “no.”

* Senator-elect Rand Paul of Kentucky has indicated that he won’t vote in favor of raising the debt ceiling.

* South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint said he won’t vote to raise the limit unless it’s combined with some plan to balance the budget, return to 2008 spending levels and repeal President Obama’s healthcare plan.

* When asked if he’d vote against a debt ceiling increase, even if it leads to a government shutdown, Utah Senator-elect Mike Lee answered, “It’s an inconvenience. It would be frustrating to many people and it’s not a great thing, yet at the same time, it’s not something we can rule out.”

* And Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele told CNN, “We’re not going to compromise on raising more debt or the debt ceiling.”

This may be a dangerous political strategy…

History Repeating? Not Likely…

In 1995, the Republicans threatened President Clinton with shutting down the government if he didn’t agree to their budget. Clinton vowed that he’d never agree to it, even if his approval rating fell to 5%.

He won, too. The government did in fact shut down and the Republicans were the focal point of America’s anger. President Clinton’s approval numbers actually went up.

Flash forward to today. President Obama is likely aware of this history. And while he may be willing to negotiate on spending cuts, he will not repeal healthcare reform, which is the hallmark of his Presidency.

For Obama, though, the situation in 2011 will be much worse than it was for Clinton in 1995. I’m talking about a meltdown in the stock and bond markets.

Bill Busting… Washington Style

Bruce Bartlett, a former advisor to President Reagan and deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department under President George H.W. Bush, recently stated, “You introduce even the tiniest little bit of doubt into the minds of ultra-conservative investors and that’s potentially disastrous. It hurts our ability to raise money without a risk premium.”

Representative John Boehner, the new Speaker of the House, appears to be more realistic than his colleagues in the Senate. He’s indicated that he’d vote for raising the debt ceiling as long as it accompanies spending reductions.

The bottom line, though, is this: The Senate likely doesn’t have the votes to defeat a bill to raise the debt ceiling, while the House does.

And in the end, it doesn’t matter. The bill doesn’t have to be defeated. A filibuster accomplishes the same thing. Don’t forget, this bill must be passed by the date we hit the ceiling, otherwise the government goes into default. It’s not something that can be put off until later.

So, in fact, a filibuster is even more powerful than a “no” vote. And the mere threat of a filibuster could spook investors badly enough to sell first and ask questions later.

You need to go about protecting yourself as soon as possible…

Protect Yourself From America’s Debt Showdown

There are a few investments that will likely do well in the chaotic environment I just described…

* Gold: The resilient yellow metal should soar as the U.S. dollar sinks and investors flee to safety. If you don’t want to own the metal itself, you can buy the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (NYSE: GLD) ETF, which serves as a close proxy to the price of gold bullion.

* Short Treasuries (Option 1): Consider the ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (NYSE: TBF), which aims for a 100% inverse correlation to the Barclays 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index.

* Short Treasuries (Option 2): If you’re a more aggressive investor, take a look at the ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury (NYSE: TBT). It seeks to obtain results that are double the inverse daily performance of the Barclays 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index. So if the index falls 10%, the ETF should gain about 20%...'

Contrarian Ideas Are Starting to Show 'Teeth' Simon Maierhofer, On Wednesday November 10, 2010, 7:25 pm EST If you've lost money over the past 10 years, this statement may seem like a personal assault: 'Timing the market is easy and profitable.' That's the implied conclusion from a recent TrimTabs study. What's the recipe? A recent Wall Street Journal article drew this lesson from the study: 'Over the past decade, it was actually quite simple to time the market. All you had to do was buy when the public was selling and sell when the public was buying.' Naturally, going against the crowd is easier said than done. That's why it's often said that successful investing is simple, but it isn't easy. Good investment opportunities come along only so often. Now seems to be the time. A good opportunity offers more profit potential than risk of losses.
Do the Opposite 'Buy when the public was selling and sell when the public was buying,' was the Wall Street Journal's conclusion. So, what's the public doing right now? The public - this includes individual investors and Wall Street - is buying everything. Look around you, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC), small caps (NYSEArca: IWM - News), mid caps (NYSEArca: MDY - News), international stocks (NYSEArca: EFA - News), emerging markets (NYSEArca: EEM - News), bonds (NYSEArca: AGG - News), gold (NYSEArca: GLD - News), silver (NYSEArca: SLV - News), and many other commodities (NYSEArca: DBC - News) are up, up, up. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar (NYSEArca: UUP - News) is down. According to Wall Street and the media, the investment universe is full of profit sweet spots. Stocks right now are a win-win scenario, at least so they say. Any bad news is viewed to bring about more quantitative easing and is, therefore, good news and good news is good news anyway. Gold is another sweet spot. There's no need to worry about inflation or deflation. Gold is sure to profit either way, or so they say. From a fundamental point of view, gold is as sound an investment today as real estate was a few years ago. Of course with gold, this time is different. Isn't it always? The U.S. dollar is doomed because more quantitative easing (more dollars in circulation) will reduce the value of the current dollars in the system. The government doesn't care if the dollar falls to oblivion, so why should you?
Engrained Opinions Actually, there's a good reason to watch what's going on with the dollar. All the assets mentioned above (stocks, bonds and commodities) are denominated in dollars. A cheap dollar means higher prices and vice versa. Over the past five months, the U.S. Dollar Index dropped as much as 15%. Interestingly, it's after a 15% slide that the greenback has become despised.  Investors dislike the dollar as much today as they did in late 2009 when it was about to lose its reserve currency status. At that time, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter went out on a limb and predicted a major U.S. dollar rally. From November 2009 to June 2010, the dollar soared as much as 20%, a diabolical move for currencies. In June, when fears about Europe and a crumbling euro currency made the rounds (and optimism surrounding the dollar was plentiful), the newsletter called for a dollar correction.
Prediction #1 - The Dollar will Rally This correction has morphed into a decline pervasive enough to push dollar sentiment to an extreme that, historically, has foreshadowed significant turnarounds. The notion of a trend reversal is confirmed by technical indicators. The October 21 Technical Forecast (part of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter) stated: 'Last week's dollar action was encouraging as the U.S. Dollar Index finished with a green candle low on Friday and since pushed above the lower acceleration band. That's what bottoms are made of.' Since then, the U.S. Dollar Index has rallied above its middle acceleration band. (chart) As far as a candle formation goes, those are the initial stages of a trend reversal. Once again, a rising dollar is bad for stocks and commodities.
Prediction #2 - Commodities (Including Gold and Silver) Will Decline Not only is the dollar way oversold, the commodity rally is stretched to a point where a sharp and prolonged reversal could happen any moment. Net speculative positions in many commodities are at record highs, as is the percentage of bullish traders. We've seen time and again that extreme optimism is unhealthy for any market. Albeit not a short-term timing tool, it's a big red flag. Once underway, the selling pressure should affect nearly all commodities, including oil (NYSEArca: USO - News) and agricultural commodities (NYSEArca: DBA - News).
Prediction #3 - Nasdaq Should Lead Equity Decline Largely due to Apple's stellar performance, the Nasdaq has been outperforming the broad market. The Nasdaq's performance from here will be very telling.The Wall Street Journal just reported that: 'No hype: Tech is again a market star.' Let's see if the tech index can maintain it's star status. If it doesn't, watch out for a Nasdaq-led decline.
Third One 'Free' - QE2 Won't Work If you took a poll on Wall Street, 8 out of 10 Ivy League educated, Armani wearing, Mercedes driving Wall Street Banksters would probably tell you that QE2 will work.The media agrees. When September's jobless numbers went public, the figures were much worse than expected, but stocks surged. Why? Associated Press headline: 'Faith in Fed pushes Dow past 11,000.'When stocks slid on October 14, hope of QE2 kept things from getting worse. AP headline: 'Stocks dip; Likely Fed move keeps losses in check.'QE2 may end up working for Wall Street, but it seems not to have worked for the economy. If it did work, why would we need QE2?Obviously, the rumor of QE2 was enough to drive up stocks. Will the actual news deliver the steak or just the sizzle?
In POMO They Trust The fact is that the Federal Reserve's Permanent Open Market Operation (POMO) purchases of Treasuries have had a direct and delayed effect on the market's performance. Certain purchases translated into positive performance 89% of the time (a detailed performance analysis and schedule of future POMO purchases is available in the November issue of the).
Should You Fight the Fed? Will the Fed win the tug-of-war against sentiment, valuations, and technical analysis, all of which point towards a correction?If history is a guide, the market will win ... sooner or later. One way of navigating the current uncertainty is via support and resistance levels. A break through overhead resistance is likely to result in higher prices, while slicing through support may open the floodgates.

NATIONAL / WORLD

U.S. Justice System Doesn’t Actually Dispense Justice … It Just Serves the Powers-That-Be, Like the Other Branches of Government. Is anyone so foolish and naïve as to doubt this reality?

The horrible truth starts to dawn on Europe’s leaders The entire European Project is now at risk of disintegration, with strategic and economic consequences that are very hard to predict.

Greek deficit much bigger than estimate Greece’s goal of reducing its gargantuan debt received a fresh blow today when the EU statistics agency announced that the country’s 2009 budget deficit was much worse than first thought.

Euro under siege as now Portugal hits panic button The euro is facing an unprecedented crisis after another country indicated on Monday night that it was at a “high risk” of requiring an international bail-out.

Bloomberg Shills Carbon Tax to Fight Terrorism Kurt Nimmo | Is Bloomberg worried about terrorists in Canada?

Infowars’ TSA Abuse Story Number 1 Worldwide Aaron Dykes | Following a top headline on the Drudge Report, the shocking news story by Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones has gone completely viral, reaching #1 on Alexa.com’s “Hot Pages.”

TSA Now Putting Hands Down Fliers’ Pants Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones | Big Sis turns up the heat: New enhanced pat-down more invasive.

Ireland: Join the IMF-EU Borg Hive or Face the Abyss Kurt Nimmo | Ireland has yet to crawl to the IMF with hat in hand.

TSA Targets Tyner In Effort To Chill Nationwide Backlash Paul Joseph Watson | New CBS poll shows vast majority oppose groping measures.

Nato chief says there is no alternative to staying in Afghanistan Telegraph [ Oooooh! Sounds like a plan! ]| Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO would commit the alliance to train and support Afghan troops battling the Taliban in substantial numbers through to the 2014 deadline for local forces to take over security.

Britain’s top soldier: al-Qaeda cannot be beaten SINA.com | Violence across Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban were overthrown by US-backed Afghan forces nine years ago, with civilian and military casualties at record levels despite the presence of about 150,000 foreign troops.

Cash-hungry US war Ind stays armed as schools & clinics close Russia Today | Republicans were elected in mid-term elections on a promise to reduce the budget, yet they explicitly exempt the defense budget [ Which of course is totally preposterous … and self-destructive! ].

The Food Inflation Nightmare Is About To Hit 40% Of The World’s Population Overnight, the threat of further Chinese tightening multiplied as a result of food price inflation. A basket of 18 key vegetables saw their prices increase by 62.4%, year-over-year, in the first 10 days of November.

George W. Bush Confronted on 9/11 & war crimes in Florida We Are Change | George Bush Jr. comes to Florida to promote his new book , “Decision Points”,memoirs, we are change tampa confront him on 9/11,torture and him being a war criminal.

Dr. Kelly was murdered: British experts Press TV | Drugs experts leading an inquiry into the death of Britain’s former weapons inspector in Iraq, David Kelly, say his death was “murder” and not suicide.

Euro under siege as now Portugal hits panic button Montreal Gazette | The euro is facing an unprecedented crisis after another country indicated on Monday night that it was at a “high risk” of requiring an international bail-out.

Drudgereport: START ON STOP!
RANGEL GUILTY...
Old razzle dazzle doesn't save 20-term Dem...
Rioters attack UN peacekeepers in Haiti...
SHOCK POLL: ONLY 26% OF PUBLIC THINKS OBAMA WILL BE REELECTED...
Emanuel: I never believed in bipartisanship...
Woman becomes nation's 1st transgender trial judge... OAKLAND, Calif. – ‘A 49-year-old California patent lawyer has been elected as the nation's first openly transgender trial judge. Alameda County elections officials say Victoria Kolakowski beat prosecutor John Creighton 51 to 48 percent — a margin of nearly 10,000 votes — in the Nov. 2 election to fill the vacancy in California's Superior Court …’

Witnessing the birth of a black hole (Washington Post) [ Geeh! And here I thought this was a story about that sinkhole new york / wall street /nyc metropolitan area including jersey, ct, etc.. And here’s a good one … The New York Fed's Comic Book Explaining Monetary Policy [ Wow! This is at once both scary and tragic; and as well, a total joke. They are serious … criminals / jokesters / fraudsters! The sinkhole new york fed? … Where’s that missing $4 trillion, etc.? Here’s an archived website copy for your records. http://albertpeia.com/comic_monetary.pdf ] ]

Petraeus warns Afghans about Karzai's criticism of U.S. war strategy (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! It would be so foolish of them to argue with or question such a nation-bankrupting / destroying failed strategy (by even his own prior, stated, unmet standards / criteria.) ]

Study: Million-dollar college presidents are on the rise (Washington Post) [ I think the more correct question must be, ‘what isn’t over-priced / overvalued in america? … Certainly executives who lay-off , ie., 10% of their workforce and bonus themselves hundreds of millions (ie., fiorina, whitman, etc.), or unprosecuted frauds on wall street with their continued frauds / scams and churn-and-earn high-frequency trading, etc., are over-priced / overvalued.. Then there’s the results, which though difficult to quantify, certainly must compare globally because indeed, to some extent, beyond the hype (ivy league vegetable gardens, etc.), some management authorites would say you’re but ‘paying the job’. ] Nationwide, 30 chief executives of private colleges earned more than $1 million in total pay and benefits in 2008, according to a report released Sunday.

Hopes of holiday hires hinge on spending (Washington Post) [ Come on! Does anybody at all realize how desperately preposterous it is to be talking up temporary holiday hires as some kind of a significant and potentially auspicious development, panacea, etc.? What it does mean is how great a failure no-recession ben shalom bernanke, et als have been and continue to be. They haven’t even got a clue!] Retail has been a haven for workers seeking flexible schedules, but that safety net has grown increasingly crowded since the recession.

E.U. considers bailout for Ireland (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan … Then there’s Greece's deficit revised to largest in E.U. , and, closer to home, California: America's Greece ‘There is no state in our union suffering a bigger fiscal fiasco than California, with its structural budget deficit, $500 billion unfunded pension liability, and double-digit unemployment rate…’ ]

The Economy Will Not Recover Until the Economic Criminals are Prosecuted, and There Are Real Investigations Into 9/11 and Other Government Failures Trust is essential for a stable economy; Trust is currently at an all-time low; Launching criminal prosecutions and real investigations is one of the main prerequisites for an economic recovery.

Guy Lerner's Bear Signal or Why Investors Should Be Cautious Now Loundsbury ‘ Guy Lerner offers a market timing service at The Technical Take. He has just put out a bear signal alert. Here are some of the things he is looking at:

· Insider selling has moved to an extreme.

· Rydex market timing funds are extremely bullish (contrary indicator)

· His Dumb Money Indicator has gone very bullish (contrary indicator)

He also has a Smart Money Indicator which he has not commented on in his latest release.
Here is a quote:

The "Dumb Money" indicator (see figure 1) looks for extremes in the data from 4 different groups of investors who historically have been wrong on the market: 1) Investors Intelligence; 2) Market Vane; 3) American Association of Individual Investors; and 4) the put call ratio. The "Dumb Money" indicator remains extremely bullish for the fifth week in a row.

And, to put what Lerner is saying in perspective:

Our buy signal was issued on August 19, 2010, when market participants were fearful, and with market participants bullish to an extreme degree a bear signal is being issued here. If the market hasn't topped out already, it should do so within a couple of percent of the recent highs. Rallies should be sold and stops tightened up. The market is prone to sudden sell offs. There will be better risk adjusted opportunities to buy in the future.

Here is Lerner's Figure 1 (Dumb Money Indicator): [chart]
Additional perspective can be obtained from the following observations:

· The Dumb Money Indicator has a weaker signal now than in April and, more importantly, is weaker than much of the time from the March 2009 bottom to January 2010 when a historic rally was in full swing.

· The Rydex indicator is well below the levels reached in January and April this year.

· The insider indicator is issuing a far stronger signal than anything seen in the last three years.

So two of the three indicators Lerner has released are making relatively weak calls, while the third is sending a very strong signal.
It is interesting that the AAII (American Association of Individual Investors) investor sentiment survey reached 57.6% bullish, the highest level since January 2007. This is widely believed to be a contrary indicator and is one of the four parts of Lerner's Dumb Money Indicator. However, analysis has shown that the track record for the AAII Sentiment reading as a contrary indicator, while it does have some merits, shows some variability in past results when bearish sentiment correlations were tracked.There are a number of reasons why investors should remain cautious in coming weeks, independent of the investor sentiment market timing calls. Among these are rumors of Chinese monetary tightening, resurgent sovereign debt issues in Europe, a crashing muni bond market in the U.S., an over-extended U.S. stock market following an 18%+ rise in little more than two months, a steepening downturn in the U.S. housing market, an earnings and outlook shock from tech bellwether Cisco (CSCO) and worries that monetary policy can not make a significant difference to the lagging U.S. economy. And that is probably only a partial list of things weighing on the U.S. stock market right now and probably for several weeks to come.’

The New York Fed's Comic Book Explaining Monetary Policy [ Wow! This is at once both scary and tragic; and as well, a total joke. They are serious … criminals / jokesters / fraudsters! The sinkhole new york fed? … Where’s that missing $4 trillion, etc.? Here’s an archived website copy for your records. ]

Bulls Blow A Huge Chance: Here's What You Need To Know Weisenthat ‘Hard to imagine bulls being too happy about today, when it looked like there could be a decisive break from last week's hard selling. But first, the scoreboard:
Dow: -10.52
NASDAQ: -3.44
S&P 500: -0.5
And now, the top stories:

• After a furious end to last week, the overnight scene was fairly quiet. There wasn't huge news out of Asia, where stocks generally gained on little news. Japanese GDP did surpass expectations, which was refreshing.

• There had been a fair amount of talk about an Irish bailout over the weekend, but it didn't materialize. Instead Ireland, for now, seems content to let the ECB supply its banks with liquidity, while hoping that things improve before it has to tap the markets next year. Despite the lack of news yields narrowed. There was also chatter Portugal needing a bailout, not no huge reaction anywhere.

• At 8:30, we got a hotly anticipated retail sales report. It was very strong on the headline, though excluding auto it was ho-hum. It didn't move the markets much. Also at 8:30 we got a disastrous Empire Manufacturing Index survey, but... that didn't move markets much either.

• On the macro front, the day was characterized by dollar strength and heavy selling in Treasuries. JPY and EUR continue to come way off their highs, and gold is pretty meh.

• One interesting micro piece: Caterpillar is buying mining equipment maker Bucyrus, dropping nearly $8 billion in an ongoing bet on commodity bullishness.’

ETF Data Daily: SPY Bleeds $1.14 Billion Nadig and Ludwig, On Monday November 15, 2010, 11:00 am EST ‘Investors pulled $1.14 billion out of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca:SPY - News) on Friday, as stocks and bonds pulled back for various reasons, not the least of which is growing doubts about whether the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy $600 billion in Treasurys will truly come to pass.The small-cap iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEArca:IWM - News) meanwhile suffered $115.2 million in redemptions, and the PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (NYSEArca:DBA - News) had $86.7 million, rounding out the top three funds in terms of outflows.Overall, U.S. ETFs had $546.9 million in outflows, which, along with the stock market’s losses, lowered total assets in U.S. ETFs to $966.33 billion.The Dow Jones industrial average fell on Friday 90.52 points to 11,192.58, and lost 2.2 percent in the whole week. Concerns weighing on stocks ranged from China slowing its growth to control inflation, Ireland’s poor fiscal situation growing worse and views that the Fed’s “quantitative easing” plans would debase the dollar and would thus face opposition from U.S. legislators and global leaders.

Creations

On the flip side, most of the new money flowed into two State Street sector ETFs. The Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca:XLF - News) and Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca:XLY - News) gathered $201.9 million and $163.9, respectively. Rounding out the top three funds was the broad-based SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSEArca:DIA - News), which gathered $112.2 million.

Top 10 Creations (All ETFs)

Ticker	Name	Net Flows ($,mm)	AUM ($, mm)	AUM % Change
XLF	Financial Select Sector SPDR	201.87	7,199.14	3%
XLY	Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR	163.93	1,945.70	9%
DIA	SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust	112.15	7,989.65	1%
XLE	Energy Select Sector SPDR	91.19	7,142.63	1%
VXX	iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN	87.76	1,947.55	5%
IVV	iShares S&P 500	78.39	23,419.16	0%
XLK	Technology Select Sector SPDR	57.24	5,772.11	1%
IVE	iShares S&P 500 Value	48.06	3,915.57	1%
FXE	CurrencyShares Euro	47.78	457.31	12%
EWD	iShares MSCI Sweden	43.08	376.96	13%

Top 10 Redemptions (All ETFs)

Ticker	Name	Net Flows ($,mm)	AUM ($, mm)	AUM % Change
SPY	SPDR S&P 500	-1,135.78	87,104.38	-1%
IWM	iShares Russell 2000	-115.19	14,128.53	-1%
DBA	PowerShares DB Agriculture	-86.65	2,327.88	-4%
QQQQ	PowerShares QQQ	-86.63	23,017.67	0%
XRT	SPDR S&P Retail	-71.42	352.64	-17%
FXI	iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25	-62.41	8,515.12	-1%
EWG	iShares MSCI Germany	-57.28	1,832.95	-3%
TZA	Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3x	-36.40	856.85	-4%
IYR	iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate	-35.68	2,994.37	-1%
IWV	iShares Russell 3000	-24.92	3,030.07	-1%

ETF Daily Flows By Asset Class

	Net Flows ($, mm)	AUM ($, mm)	% of AUM
U.S. Equity	-627.68	413,084.27	-0.15%
International Equity	80.16	271,637.23	0.03%
U.S. Fixed Income	-51.23	137,365.91	-0.04%
International Fixed Income	-	6,766.88	0.00%
Commodities	-12.97	95,336.44	-0.01%
Currency	39.94	4,893.35	0.82%
Leveraged	22.74	11,618.35	0.20%
Inverse	-82.44	20,800.85	-0.40%
Asset Allocation	-	487.12	0.00%
Alternatives	84.59	4,340.37	1.95%
Total:	-546.89	966,330.77

Top 10 Volume Surprises, Funds >$50 mm AUM

Ticker	Name	Average Volume (30 Day)	1-Day Volume	% of Average
TAO	Guggenheim China Real Estate ETF	64,763	699,190	1080%
DAG	PowerShares DB Agriculture Double Long ETN	482,931	4,039,250	836%
IEI	iShares Barclays 3-7 Year Treasury Bond	161,369	1,107,325	686%
IEZ	iShares Dow Jones U.S. Oil Equipment & Services	147,107	971,034	660%
IDV	iShares Dow Jones International Select Dividend	264,758	1,499,877	567%
IHE	iShares Dow Jones U.S. Pharmaceuticals	13,781	75,862	550%
EWD	iShares MSCI Sweden	322,013	1,653,594	514%
FXS	CurrencyShares Swedish Krona	14,039	72,024	513%
IWV	iShares Russell 3000	326,511	1,521,712	466%
BIL	SPDR Barclays Capital 1-3 Month T-Bill	626,274	2,913,964	465%

Top 10 1-Day Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and >1,000 Shares Traded

Ticker	Name	1-Day Performance	1-Day Volume	AUM ($, mm)
VXX	iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN	4.78%	18,696,979	1,947.55
VXZ	iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN	3.03%	338,366	995.85
TFI	SPDR Barclays Capital Municipal Bond	2.05%	499,515	970.24
HYD	Market Vectors High-Yield Municipal	1.91%	160,947	213.53
PZA	PowerShares Insured National Municipal Bond	1.03%	304,607	621.45
IPD	SPDR S&P International Consumer Discretionary Sector	0.63%	57,429	19.81
ITM	Market Vectors Intermediate Municipal	0.46%	45,609	229.45
BSCH	Guggenheim BulletShares 2017 Corporate Bond ETF	0.44%	2,360	9.64
AGZ	iShares Barclays Agency Bond	0.41%	42,772	366.06
ZROZ	PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury	0.35%	12,473	41.11

Bottom 10 1-Day Performers, Excluding Leverage/Inverse Funds and >1,000 Shares Traded

Ticker	Name	1-Day Performance	1-Day Volume	AUM ($, mm)
SGG	iPath Dow Jones-UBS Sugar Subindex Total Return ETN	-10.24%	430,455	60.70
AGF	PowerShares DB Agriculture Long ETN	-8.30%	6,850	3.22
FUD	UBS E-TRACS CMCI Food Total Return ETN	-6.50%	22,618	8.54
JJN	iPath Dow Jones-UBS Nickel Subindex Total Return ETN	-6.15%	32,522	14.69
DBS	PowerShares DB Silver	-5.93%	189,625	165.33
SLV	iShares Silver	-5.87%	57,133,074	9,229.36
SIVR	ETFS Physical Silver	-5.83%	717,474	376.26
USV	UBS E-TRACS CMCI Silver Total Return ETN	-5.69%	1,350	6.26
UAG	UBS E-TRACS CMCI Agriculture Total Return ETN	-5.53%	4,390	8.42
FUE	ELEMENTS MLCX Biofuels Total Return ETN	-5.48%	11,211	2.62

Disclaimer:All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern following the day noted in the headline. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges.’

John Hussman: The Cliff Excerpt from the Hussman Funds' Weekly Market Comment (11/15/10):

‘Last week, the return/risk profiles that we estimate for stocks, bonds and even gold declined abruptly, based on the metrics we track. We don't know how long this shift will persist, but at present, investment risk appears to have spiked considerably, and our estimates of prospective market returns have deteriorated. The abruptness of the shift in market conditions is exemplified by the weakness observed in Irish, Greek and Spanish debt, as well as the plunge in municipal bonds (particularly, as Barry Ritholtz observes, in CA issues - see the chart below), which was steep enough to erase nearly a full year of progress in just three days. [chart]

On the NYSE, hundreds of stocks achieved new 52-week highs, but ended down on the week, with technical evidence suggesting a uniform reversal from a "high pole" buying climax. The percentage of bullish investment advisors reached 48.4% - the highest since the April peak, while the AAII sentiment poll shot to 57.6% bulls - the highest since 2007. Our bond market measures shifted to an unfavorable status for yield pressures, putting the stock market in an overvalued, overbought, overbullish, rising-yields conformation despite QE2, which as anticipated, has been met with fairly eager offers from bondholders. ...

I've reviewed the valuation conditions of the stock market extensively in recent months, emphasizing that stocks are not a claim on a single year's earnings, but rather on a whole stream of future cash flows that will be delivered to investors over time. At present, investors and analysts who focus on simple price/earnings multiples (rather than modeling the entire stream of cash flows) are placing themselves at tremendous risk, because simple P/E multiples are being distorted by unusually wide profit margins. Part of this can be traced to weak employment conditions, which have held down wages and salaries. But there is more to the story - the rebound in profit margins also reflects a heavy contribution from financials (which may be more indicative of accounting factors than sustainable earnings), as well as the tail-end of stimulus spending.

The chart below underscores the relationship between high current profit margins and poor subsequent earnings growth. The blue line shows U.S. corporate profits as a percentage of GDP (left scale), which is currently just over 8% and at the highest level since 2007. The red line depicts subsequent 5-year growth in profits, but on an inverted right scale (higher values are more negative). In effect, it should not be a surprise if present levels of corporate profits are followed by negative profit growth over the coming 5 years. Indeed, the 2009 burst of stimulus spending is most probably the only factor that has prevented profit growth from being negative over the most recent 5-year period. [chart] ‘

Lynn Reaser: Significant Profit-Taking Ahead

The Economy Will Not Recover Until the Economic Criminals are Prosecuted, and There Are Real Investigations Into 9/11 and Other Government Failures Trust is essential for a stable economy; Trust is currently at an all-time low; Launching criminal prosecutions and real investigations is one of the main prerequisites for an economic recovery.

NY Fed: New York state manufacturing plunges ‘unexpectedly’ AFP | New York state manufacturing unexpectedly plunged in November, the first contraction since July 2009 when the US economy exited recession.

The Media Is Already Blaming the Tea Party For the Coming Economic Collapse EndoftheAmericanDream.com | The mainstream media in both the United States and in the UK are placing blame for an economic collapse that hasn’t even happened yet on the Tea Party movement and on opponents of the Federal Reserve.

Economists Send Fed Open Letter Warning of QE2′s Perils Kurt Nimmo | Bernanke’s QE2 will rival all past QE2s and will build upon past efforts to inflate the money supply.

Obama Says Federal Reserve’s Easing Wasn’t Aimed at Affecting Dollar Value Bloomberg | President Barack Obama said the U.S. Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing is designed to boost growth.

Gonzalo Lira And The Boiling Frog: Effects Of QE2 On The Bottom 80% Of The U.S. Population Zero Hedge | I’ve been arguing that the unpayable Federal government debt, coupled with irresponsible Federal Reserve policies, will inevitably lead to a hyperinflationary event and currency collapse.

U.S. Debt Proposal Would Cut Social Security, Medicare Bloomberg | The government is projected to run $8 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years, which would push the national debt up to more than $20 trillion.

U.S. Pushes China for Yuan Appreciation Before Hu’s January Visit to Obama The U.S. called on China to let the yuan rise before President Hu Jintao’s planned January trip to Washington, setting a deadline for results after Group of 20 leaders failed to reach a broad agreement on currencies.

Bernanke’s worst nightmare: Ron Paul Ben Bernanke has had his hands full since his first day on the job as Federal Reserve chairman nearly five years ago. It’s about to get even tougher.

Here’s How to Stop Market Manipulation and Show Too Big To Fail Banks Like JP Morgan Who Is Boss Leading economists and financial experts say that our economy cannot recover until the too big to fails are broken up.

No change: Wall Street finds loophole in financial reform US banks have found a way to continue betting their own money on some investments, despite a new law’s restrictions on proprietary trading, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing Wall Street executives.

Fed Must Abandon $600 Billion Stimulus: Economists A group of Republican-leaning economists will launch a campaign this week calling on U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to drop his plan to buy $600 billion more in Treasury bonds, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: ECB Could Trigger Great Depression Unless the ECB takes fast and dramatic action, it risks destroying the currency it is paid to manage, and allowing a political catastrophe to unfold in Europe.

James Turk: Gold 8000, Hyperinflation sure, Prohibition possible For James Turk its quite clear, that the price of gold is maniupulated. “By doing so it makes the Dollar look better because gold is the only natural competitor towards the Dollar. If you keep the goldprice low it makes the Dollar look better then it really is”.

Is Gold In a Bubble … And If So, How Much Further Can It Rise Before It Pops? When everyone from Jim Cramer to Mr. T is hawking gold – and when the price has risen to all-time highs – it sure feels like a bubble.

Currencies Flashing Major Warning Signs for a Significant Correction

Prepping for the Opening Bell: Pain and Sobriety Return to the Markets, Waters Remain Choppy

Time to 'Bear Up'

A Case for Divesting Dollars

National / World

Economists Send Fed Open Letter Warning of QE2′s Perils Kurt Nimmo | Bernanke’s QE2 will rival all past QE2s and will build upon past efforts to inflate the money supply.

America at War: The Missing Election Issue Americans have voted, and voted for change. Real change. Yet the most important area requiring change is one that received virtually no attention on the campaign trail: foreign policy.

British demand US data on ‘nukes’ in Iraq British protesters call on the US government to disclose data on where in Iraq its army had used weapons containing depleted uranium (DU).

Does TSA Behavior Fall under Definition of Terrorism? Are agents of the Transportation Security Administration engaging in behavior that falls under the Patriot Act’s definition of domestic terrorism? The question may sound preposterous until you consider the following.

Military spending, collapse of US empire The military industrial complex continues to rev its engine even as the US economy continues to struggle. Pro-defense Republicans are already shouting to use their party’s newfound legislative power to boost the Pentagon budget. Paul Craig Roberts points out that the government only cares about the military industrial complex and lacks compassion for its people.

Candid Treason [ This is really quite remarkable when you consider the precarious state of pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america’s affairs, domestically, internationally / geopolitically, economically, and financially! ] Last week, the new House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York City to privately discuss U.S. sanctions against Iran, U.S.-Palestinian relations, the United Nations, the Republican smackdown in the recent election, and various subjects dealing with Israel and America’s special relationship.

Big Sis Caught Lying To American People Steve Watson | Propaganda piece attempts to quell massive backlash against naked body scanners, TSA molestation.

Flashback: TSA Goon Molests 3 Year Old Kurt Nimmo | Child throws tantrum as TSA goon attempts intrusive patdown.

TSA Caves On Molesting Pilots Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones | Feds beginning to back down in face of national outrage, but no word on ordinary travelers being subjected to airport oppression.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Shows Good Guys Using Torture Infowars | The newest edition of the series, with a plot that heavily involves biochemical engineering (bioweapons), features a scene where you torture someone by sticking a shard of glass in their mouth and punching them repeatedly.

CBS News: Obama’s G-20 Performance an ‘Embarrassing Disappointment’ President Obama arrived at the G-20 economic summit confident that his free trade agreement with South Korea was in the bag. But as Chip Reid reports, the president walked away empty-handed after South Korea refused to open its market to U.S. automobiles.

The Economy Will Not Recover Until the Economic Criminals are Prosecuted, and There Are Real Investigations Into 9/11 and Other Government Failures Trust is essential for a stable economy; Trust is currently at an all-time low; Launching criminal prosecutions and real investigations is one of the main prerequisites for an economic recovery.

Karzai wants U.S. to reduce military operations in Afghanistan KABUL- President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday that the United States must reduce the visibility and intensity of its military operations in Afghanistan and end the increased U.S. Special Operations forces night raids that aggravate Afghans and could exacerbate the Taliban insurgency.

Nazis Were Given ‘Safe Haven’ in U.S., Report Says A secret history of the United States government’s Nazi-hunting operation concludes that American intelligence officials created a “safe haven” in the United States for Nazis and their collaborators after World War II, and it details decades of clashes, often hidden, with other nations over war criminals here and abroad.

Germany Was Right When It Called Our Financial Policy “Clueless” It’s never a good thing when another country calls your financial policy clueless. It’s particularly bad if that other country is one of the world’s leading economies, and if it also happens to be right.

Timetable Abandoned: U.S. And NATO To Wage Endless War In Afghanistan The mainstream news media and alternative sources alike have seized on a recent revelation – though it is hardly such – published by McClatchy Newspapers that “The Obama administration has decided to begin publicly walking away from what it once touted as key deadlines in the war in Afghanistan in an effort to remove emphasis from Barack Obama’s pledge that he would begin withdrawing US forces in July 2011.”

G-20 Worries About Everything But What It Should Greg Hunter | There is a “new normal.”

Poll Shows Overwhelming Opposition to Naked Body Scanners, Patdowns Kurt Nimmo | “I do not accept being thoroughly groped and squeezed.”

America conducts subversive activities in friendly territories Sergei Balmasov and Vadim Trukhachev | Why is America conducting subversive activities in foreign territories, including, apparently friendly countries?

Geraldo Rivera changes mind on AE911Truth and BuildingWhat AE911truth | Geraldo Rivera surrenders his attitude against AE911Truth and BuildingWhat on building 7.

TSA Encounter at San Diego International Airport Johnny Hedge | I had my phone recording audio and video of much of these events.

TSA security officers flunk physics Mike Adams | It’s almost like we need to walk through the airport now with a book called Physics 101.

General Mcinerney: “I am absolutely certain that is not an aircraft” More information on the recent sighting off the coast of California has once again confirmed the unidentified flying object as a missile.

TSA Ejects Man, Threatens Lawsuit For Refusing “Groin Check” After he described the pat down, I realized that he intended to touch my groin. After he finished his description but before he started the pat down, I looked him straight in the eye and said, “if you touch my junk, I’ll have you arrested.” He, a bit taken aback, informed me that he would have to involve his supervisor because of my comment.

CNN Reports Growing Outrage Against Porno Scanners The Drudge Report, Infowars.com, Prison Planet.com, and the alternative media have forced CNN and the corporate media to cover this

Airport ‘pat-downs’ cause growing passenger backlash Airport travelers call it groping, prodding or just plain inappropriate – a pat-down that probes places where the sun doesn’t shine. The Transportation Security Administration calls it the new reality of airport security.

‘Naked scanners’: Lobbyists join the war on terror The degradations of passing through full-body scanners that provide naked pictures of you to Transportation Security Administration agents may not mean that the terrorists have won — but they do mark victories for a few politically connected high-tech companies and their revolving-door lobbyists.

Hero Pilot Opposes Naked Body Scanners Hero Bay Area pilot Sully Sullenberger is adding his voice to growing opposition among pilots and flight attendants to those airport body scanners.

Big Sis Slaps Pilots, Industry Leaders In Face Over TSA Revolt Big Sis has slapped travel and pilots associations in the face after a meeting designed to address the burgeoning backlash surrounding naked body scanners as well as new invasive groping measures ended in nothing more than a glib Homeland Security press release that failed completely to offer any reasonable response to the national outrage against the TSA.

Drudgereport: DANGER: NY Fed: 'State manufacturing plunges'...
PRAVDA: America conducts subversive activities in friendly territories...
THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON
Airport body-scan radiation under new scrutiny...
Government in our pants...
TSA agents eject man from airport for opting out of 'groin check'...
'You touch my junk and I'm going to have you arrested'...
BIG SIS DOUBLES DOWN: Scanners are safe, pat-downs discreet...
POLL: Are new security screenings affecting your decision to fly?
MAG: Abolish the TSA...
VIDEO: Nude Protest in Germany...
Social Security judges facing more violent threats...

Irish 'in bailout talks with EU'... Gov't denies... ...young flee abroad
Greece admits breach of bailout as audit begins...
CA COURT: Illegal aliens entitled to in-state tuition...
Petraeus lashes out at Karzai's criticism...
Toll from Afghan clash rises to 5, worst in 6 months...

Postal Service reports $8.5 billion loss for year (Washington Post) [ Let’s get real … the u.s.p.s. is essentially a jobs program for the otherwise unemployable … and the attitudes … you’d think by their ‘tude they were doing you a favor by ‘working there and getting paid’.  Drudgereport: US postal service delivers less mail, loses $8.5 billion  ... [ The u.s.postal service is totally unreliable ‘… *The foregoing and as indicated therein was previously send 9-14-10 but delivery confirmation was flawed as set forth below and my inquiries to the u.s. postal service rebuffed (I believe tampered with inasmuch as your office could not locate same). This cover letter (9-13-10) is on the 3 disks with navigable hyperlinks to the subject files for ease of reference, including the files in the RICO action as indicated. (10-15-10) I spoke with Rose, FBI, ADIC Secretary, who indicates once again that your office has not received the aforesaid and which can reasonably be presumed to have been tampered with, and hence, a violation of the federal statute concerning same…’ ] ]

As Iraqis forged agreement, U.S. remained influential, administration says (Washington Post) [ Wow! u.s. remained influential; kind of says it all … brings to mind that destructive character, Sluggo, on the ‘Mr. Bill Show’ of SNL fame. Thanks but no thanks!. ]   Agreement leaves some Iraqis bitter   The mood in Baghdad's Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiyah was one of quiet but bitter resignation Friday, a day after Iraq's Shiite incumbent prime minister kept his post during a chaotic parliamentary session marred by a walkout. U.S. says it remained influential

In China, a fierce battle for tourism dollars (Washington Post)   With revenue from local tourism estimated to reach $172 billion this year, Chinese towns are scrambling to lay claim to historical and even fictional characters to attract visitors.

Melinda Gates resigns from the Post Co. board (Washington Post)  [ I think that’s a good thing for The Washington Post but will say no more than that. ] Wife of billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates did not give a reason for stepping down.

U.S. stock market follows Asian stocks downward (Washington Post)  [  Blame the decline on the ‘yellow man’. Brings to mind the acclaimed documentary, ‘Sad Song of Yellow Skin: Important Film on 1970s Saigon - Viet ...’    http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2010/04/sad-song-of-yellow-skin-amazing-film-on-1970s-saigon.html  … Just kidding … actually, this sounds like a job for Rosanne Rosanna Danna formerly of SNL fame, as night follows the day, to chime in with a reminder as her mama always used to say, ‘it’s always something’ … but unfortunately, that somethin’ is not reality. Reality is that the u.s. market needs no help from Asia to fall but here in the states they love for you to think that. The fact is that the u.s. market is way over-valued / over-bought, floating on air and b*** s*** alone.  ] The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.8 percent to 11,192.58, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index - a broad gauge of the U.S. stock market - fell 1.2 percent to 1199.21.

G-20 nations agree to agree (Washington Post)  [ I’d say they ‘agree to agree to disagree’! After all, despite all the one-world-globalization rhetoric, joint and several interests of the various nations have never been more disparate. ]Major economies agree to abide by common standards that could reverse some of China's export dominance and help put americans back to work.

Five myths about the Fed  (Washington Post)   [ Clearly, Mr. Ip is but a blip in the realm of reality-based economics. The fed has proven itself detrimental to all but the frauds on wall street and the fed’s own ‘bootstrap’ (some would say not even legitimate and actually an illegal usurpation of what otherwise is even at present a non-delegable constitutional function) existence / raison d’etre. He’s not the only one who misperceives the fed fallacy. See generally, infra; but remember, there is no new alchemy that creates something out of thin air or nothing, without a corresponding debit to a credit, action / reaction, etc.. What ultimately is the impetus for this scam is to enable the frauds on wall street / banksters to get hard currency for worthless paper / securities / toxic assets which disparity in value must ultimately be made up somewhere, viz., treasury, taxpayers, etc.. Moreover, much of the fluff has wound up on wall street where the frothed market bubble thereby is sold into by insiders / wall street frauds and eaten away by programmed high-frequency computerized churn-and-earn scams and hence the bubble/bust, bubble/bust scenarios we’re now seeing where money’s coming out of the real economy (ie., main street) to make up for the disparity in real value, which is essentially a fraudulent wealth transfer to the perpetrators of the last, continuing, and current frauds. The fact of temporary delay does not change the inevitability / reality of same which is easily if not exactly discounted to present. See #4 by Roche that follows. ] Much of what the Fed and its chairman, Ben Bernanke, have done is shrouded in misperceptions.  [ The Early Evidence: QE Does More Harm Than Good Roche What exactly has QE “lite” and the expectations of QE2 done for markets and the economy so far? Two months following the initial rumors of of QE2 and well into QE “lite” we can make some early conclusions:

1) Equity markets have rallied, but this is of little significance. There is no evidence supporting an equity market “wealth effect” according to Robert Shiller (see here) and James Bianco (see here). Bianco’s research actually finds that the corresponding commodity price increases are more likely to be a net negative for consumers. And even if there is a “wealth effect” it only helps the rich because the middle class are only minority holders of equities on the whole. Of course, this isn’t a crisis of the wealthy so this looks like another case of failing trickle down economics at best. It’s also worth nothing that stock prices are nominal wealth so intentionally distorting prices from fundamentals is no recipe for sustained wealth. Keeping equity prices “higher than they otherwise would be” only diminishes the Fed’s credibility while also creating distortions in markets.

2) The 10 year bond yield is HIGHER since the Jackson Hole speech. The 30 year bond yield is up 50 bps since the Jackson Hole speech. Therefore, there is unlikely to be a sustained refinancing effect and no increased demand to take on more debt (not that this would work in a balance sheet recession anyhow, but Mr. Bernanke fails to acknowledge that this is a demand side problem). 74% of all consumer debt is mortgage based so it’s baffling that they are targeting the short end of the yield curve. Bernanke wants to stimulate borrowing, but his actions aren’t backing up his talk. He is focusing his efforts on the short end of the curve where rates are already very low – astoundingly confusing and misguided policy.

3) Many commodities have rallied in recent weeks which will do nothing but put pressure on input costs and ultimately make life more difficult for the US consumer (assuming these costs even get passed along, which is unlikely due to weak end demand). The consumer will either be hit with higher costs which they can’t afford to sustain or US corporations will continue to be hesitant to hire the millions that need jobs because they are too busy protecting their margins. On the one hand, this one of the few certainties we have regarding QE – it hurts corporate margins by causing a speculative ramp up in commodity prices. [chart]

4) QE IS NOT MONEY PRINTING [ It is here where Mr. Roche goes awry and is not quite correct. An analogous example (of enabling), though not perfect, would be if the fed was purchasing worthless driftwood at the base of the Mississippi or tumbleweeds in Texas reflected only by accounting book entries does not change the effect of ever more worthless Weimar dollar creation. ] so there is no reason to believe that it will cause anything more than expectations of future inflation. When the Fed implements a policy of QE they are merely purchasing an asset that already existed and swapping it with a deposit. There is some debate over the price changes before these transactions take place and whether the Fed is buying at higher prices, but this is offset by the fact that the Fed is removing a high yielding asset for a lower yielding asset. In this case, they are removing 1.2% paper (on average) in exchange for reserves that will earn just 0.25%. Remember, in QE1 the Fed removed over ~$47.5B in interest income from the private sector. So if anything, this has a marginal deflationary impact.

5) Borrowing didn’t pick-up after QE1 and there’s certainly no signs of a borrowing boom in recent data. Of course, with real estate in the midst of a double dip there’s unlikely to be a surge in borrowing in the coming quarters anyhow. As Robert Shiller detailed, the “wealth effect” of a housing boom can be quite substantial. With home prices now declining again we’re actually seeing the opposite of a “wealth effect”. In other words, the majority of Americans don’t feel better because Wall Street rallies each and every day. They feel worse because the asset they come home to every night, the asset that accounts for the majority of their net worth, has declined in value. [chart]

So just what exactly does QE do for the economy? Even the people who are advocates of it don’t seem to know and certainly can’t back up their claims with any positive evidence. Meanwhile the media and its misguided punditry are falling all over each other to spread falsehoods and inaccuracies regarding this policy as they shower Ben Bernanke with praise for trying something. I am not sure why Mr. Bernanke is worthy of any praise. He did not foresee this crisis. He responded too late when it was clear that a crisis was on our doorstep. And when he finally did respond he saved the banking system and left the American public out to dry. Thus far the evidence surrounding his latest tool looks poor at best and it in fact appears as though it could be causing more harm than good.

As for the markets, there has been some interesting action in recent weeks. It looks like the smart money markets (FX and fixed income) have slowly started coming around to the fact that QE won’t cause a dollar crash (because there is no interest rate effect and no “printed money”). Meanwhile, risk markets (equities and commodities) are on fire as “buy the dip” and “don’t fight the Fed” become the motto on every trading desk. The divergence here won’t last and given the early evidence it looks to me like a whole lot of investors are deep into the risk trade without the fundamentals to back it up. They’ve placed a bet on a Fed Chief who has failed at nearly every step of his tenure. A great deal of leveraged optimism has been priced into the market based on this “non-event“. I do not know if I have ever seen the market rally so much around an event that involved more misguided and inaccurate analysis.

Mr. Bernanke has created dangerous distortions in many markets over a policy that appears to have no real economic impact. He is playing games with the markets in an effort to give the appearance that he has not run out of policy tools. This not only calls into question the independence of the Federal Reserve, but has to very seriously make one wonder whether Mr. Bernanke is fit to run the world’s most important Central Bank? I have long maintained that he was never fit for this position and in my opinion the early evidence of QE only further confirms that belief.

5 Long-Term Consequences Of The Recession [ Actually this great recession that wasn’t going to happen as per b.s. bernanke is actually a depression which continues despite manipulation and spin and definitional niceties. Those continuing ‘consequences’ are merely a reflection of this fact. ] Simpson ‘Whenever the word “recession” comes up, people expect a certain amount of damage, and damage of a certain type. Everybody knows that there will be job losses and a general sense of gloom and malaise. Most people also seem to expect the government to “do something” to end the recession. Along the way, the stock market falls, interest rates drop and overall economic activity slows down. It is never pleasant, but it is a relatively routine part of the economic cycle.The Great Recession that officially ended a year ago may be different with consequences that could run deep and last for many years…
“I Love You, But …”
This recession seems to be having a definite impact on family life. Industrial production is not the only “production” that has fallen; birth rates have dropped to record lows as people delay having children in the face of the economic troubles. What’s more, there is the expected increase in divorces – not surprising, given that monetary issues are a common root cause of divorce and tough economic times sharpen those problems – as well as a big spike in prenup agreements.
Losing the Future
One of the saddest under-reported consequences of recession is the different impacts it can have on young people. Grim as it is, recessions lead to higher rates of child malnutrition, and there is ample evidence that points to serious long-term consequences to such malnutrition, including stunted development and academic under-achievement.Even for kids who have enough to eat, the impacts can still be serious. Less money in the pockets of parents can have a direct impact on the kids’ education and enrichment opportunities. Too many high school kids are finding college slipping out of reach due to a combination of parents who cannot help with tuition and banks that will not lend. What’s more, it is fair to wonder what the psychological impact may be of seeing mom and/or dad lose a job and be out of work for years – does it inspire unproductive emotions like resentment or fatalism? (For more, see The 6 Worst Student Loan Mistakes You Can Make.)
More Anger, More Distrust
Recessions have a way of stapling a “kick me” sign to the back of whatever government is in charge during the troubles. This recession feels a bit different though, as almost everybody seems angry about something. One side of the aisle is livid at what they see as untrammeled expansion and intrusion of government; the other side chastises the government for not getting involved enough and solving the problem!With a festering pit of rancor to exploit, some politicians are apparently looking to score points with constituents by stirring the pot instead of working with their colleagues to create long-term solutions for national policy. In turn, that may mean that this recession has the long-term side effect of distracting the political process and creating so many bad feelings that important work goes undone and problems become even more serious down the line.
A New World of Jobs and Housing
It seems likely that this recession will have a long tail in terms of its impact on jobs and housing. Individuals who thought their portfolio and/or the value of their house meant that retirement was imminent may now be facing a decade or more of additional working years. That could be bad on several levels, as it will block new entrants from the job market and will mean higher employment costs for companies. Ironically, the government may stand to benefit, as it could increase the spread of time where these workers contribute to the Social Security system before taking benefits.It is not unusual for housing prices to decline in a recession, but the role of housing in this Great Recession is clearly a little different than past examples. With so many people trapped in unsellable houses, the normal migration from areas with no jobs to areas with jobs has been stymied. Moreover, so many people have learned a harsh lesson regarding the fallacy of houses making great investments.What could this mean for the future? It is not unthinkable that politicians may reconsider whether it really is good to aggressively promote home ownership and whether Congress ought to roll back certain incentives. It may also be the case that former homeowners either decide that the hassles of home ownership are not worth the risks, or that they cannot get mortgages again in the future. In either case, houses may lose their luster and the recovery in housing prices could turn into a multi-decade slog. (For more, see Boomers: Twisting The Retirement Mindset.)
Huge Debts to Pay
In an ironic twist, a recession that came about in large part because of excessive consumer debt and excessive financial leverage in the system may yet end with far too much debt on balance sheets. As the Fed has determinedly pushed rates down to near-nothing, corporations (and the federal government) have gorged on the cheap paper.Savvy companies will no doubt put this capital to work and make substantial returns on the leverage. The problem is, it is never the savvy companies that cause reason to worry. It’s the “me too” companies led by reckless or inept managers who will cause the trouble. Sooner or later, these companies will have a tough time paying their debts, and that will lead to a whole new cycle of worry, distress, job loss and so on. Likewise, without a buoyant economy to bail out the federal government, this high public debt burden could lead the way to higher taxes, higher inflation and other unpleasant consequences.’

Correction Continues As Street Slides Schaefer ‘Stocks flail Friday as market pulls back sharply.

Stocks stumbled to close out a red week on Wall Street as the major indexes dropped more than TK over five days.Some pullback was certainly to be expected after a two-month rally culminated in last week's surge punctuated by the Federal Reserve's plan to purchase $600 billion in Treasury debt through June 2011., a plan that got off to a rocky start Friday as technical difficulties forced the central bank to extend the window for its first round of purchases.

The Fed's action has drawn criticism from around the world since last week, leading up to the G20 meeting in South Korea this week that has been marked thus far by sniping whether QE2 is intended to artificially depress the value of the dollar. Another wrinkle comes from China, where inflation hit a two-year high and sparked concerns that the central bank there could try to tamp down growth and in turn slow the global recovery.

All that combined with continued weakness from technology stocks on the heels of a cautious outlook from Cisco Systems ( CSCO - news - people ) Wednesday. The sector was not a complete basket case Friday – its losses were in line with the broader market thanks partly to a dividend hike from Intel ( INTC - news - people ) – but the Technology SPDR ETF ( XLK - news - people ) was still down 1.4%.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 91 points to 11,193, while the S&P 500 fell 14 points to 1,199 and the Nasdaq sank 37 points to 2,518. For the week the indexes were down 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.4%, respectively. Commodities were also reeling on the news out of China, with gold down more than $30 to below $1,370 an ounce and oil dropping to less than $85 a barrel.

Boeing ( BA - news - people ) was among the culprits behind the Dow's decline, sliding 3.5% amid fresh concerns over delays on its 787 Dreamliner. Analysts at Bernstein cut the aircraft maker to market perform, citing worries that challenges for the 787 could offset positive demand trends, according to TradeTheNews.com.’

Obama Says Federal Reserve’s Easing Wasn’t Aimed at Affecting Dollar Value Bloomberg | President Barack Obama said the U.S. Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing is designed to boost growth.

Gonzalo Lira And The Boiling Frog: Effects Of QE2 On The Bottom 80% Of The U.S. Population Zero Hedge | I’ve been arguing that the unpayable Federal government debt, coupled with irresponsible Federal Reserve policies, will inevitably lead to a hyperinflationary event and currency collapse.

U.S. Debt Proposal Would Cut Social Security, Medicare Bloomberg | The government is projected to run $8 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years, which would push the national debt up to more than $20 trillion.

No change: Wall Street finds loophole in financial reform US banks have found a way to continue betting their own money on some investments, despite a new law’s restrictions on proprietary trading, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing Wall Street executives.

The Fed Trashes The Dollar If it is the first responsibility of the Federal Reserve to protect the dollars that Americans earn and save, is it not dereliction of duty for the Fed to pursue a policy to bleed value from those dollars? For that is what Chairman Ben Bernanke is up to with his QE2, or “quantitative easing.”

John Taylor Predicts Euro Collapse Now that Ben Bernanke has re-introduced quantitative easing (QE2) to a mostly incredulous world and, across the ocean, the Eurozone has begun unraveling again, our thoughts should turn to the parlous state of the world and the risks ahead. These are amazing times and seem to grow more so every day.

We’re On The Brink Of The End Of King Dollar For a very long time I have been calling for, expecting and otherwise anticipating the day that the Federal Reserve would begin openly monetizing government debt. I knew the day would come intellectually, but in my heart I hoped it wouldn’t.

National / World

Obama Says Federal Reserve’s Easing Wasn’t Aimed at Affecting Dollar Value [ Come on! What does wobama know about such things; least of all, what the fed’s doing or why; then there’s the wall street froth / fraud / churn-and-earn thing! ] President Barack Obama said the U.S. Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing is designed to boost growth, not affect the value of the dollar, rebuffing charges that America is seeking a weaker exchange rate.

DHS chief tells pilot, tourism reps scans and patdowns will continue Aaron Dykes & Alex Jones | Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano rebuffed industry concerns at a White House meeting today, frustrating pilot and tourism representatives worried an about economic backlash and traveler revolt.

‘Revolt Against TSA’ hits #1 on Google Trends Aaron Dykes | A surge in criticism against the TSA’s increasingly violating practices along with extensive coverage on the Drudge Report has resulted in an all-out “Revolt Against TSA.”

DHS May Turn To Body Scanners That Store Biometrics Paul Joseph Watson & Kurt Nimmo | Devices ultimately intended to be used to control access to shopping malls, banks and even apartment blocks in frightening new Minority Report-style surveillance grid.

World Battles The Invasion Of The Naked Body Scanners Steve Watson | Scientists, pilots, flight attendants, privacy groups, parents, Muslim groups and everyday passengers all rebelling against airport tyranny.

TSA Desktop Image Makes Joke of Cavity Searching Children Kurt Nimmo | A Flickr photo shows a computer in a TSA airport office with a desktop image of a satirical book entitled “My First Cavity Search.”

Council on Foreign Relations panel advises Obama to scale back Afghan occupation AFP | The task force of the CFR largely backed the Obama administration’s plan of intensifying military operations against the Taliban and starting a withdrawal in mid-2011.

Timetable Abandoned: U.S. And NATO To Wage Endless War In Afghanistan The mainstream news media and alternative sources alike have seized on a recent revelation – though it is hardly such – published by McClatchy Newspapers that “The Obama administration has decided to begin publicly walking away from what it once touted as key deadlines in the war in Afghanistan in an effort to remove emphasis from Barack Obama’s pledge that he would begin withdrawing US forces in July 2011.”

41 Facts About The History Of Central Banks In The United States That Our Children Are No Longer Taught In School [ Oh come on! Only fools could possibly take american history as written by americans seriously! ] Today, most American students don’t even understand what a central bank is, much less that the battle over central banks is one of the most important themes in U.S. history.

Council on Foreign Relations panel advises Obama to scale back Afghan occupation Influential US experts on Friday painted a grim picture of the Afghanistan war, calling on President Barack Obama to consider scaling back the military mission without signs of progress.

Drudgereport: Obama's economic view rejected on world stage...
NYT: Obama’s Glow Dims on Trip to Asia...
UPDATE: G-20 refuses to back US push on China's currency...
Sarkozy questions dollar’s dominant role in world...
IMF Shadow Looms; Irish Take Pay Cuts to Avoid Bailout...

Airport body-scan radiation under new scrutiny...
PILOTS, PASSENGERS RAGE AT NEW NAKED SCANNERS, PATDOWNS...
MUSLIM GROUP TELLS WOMEN WEARING HIJABS: REFUSE FULL-BODY SEARCH...

US postal service delivers less mail, loses $8.5 billion ... [ The u.s.postal service is totally unreliable ‘… *The foregoing and as indicated therein was previously send 9-14-10 but delivery confirmation was flawed as set forth below and my inquiries to the u.s. postal service rebuffed (I believe tampered with inasmuch as your office could not locate same). This cover letter (9-13-10) is on the 3 disks with navigable hyperlinks to the subject files for ease of reference, including the files in the RICO action as indicated. (10-15-10) I spoke with Rose, FBI, ADIC Secretary, who indicates once again that your office has not received the aforesaid and which can reasonably be presumed to have been tampered with, and hence, a violation of the federal statute concerning same…’ ]

Pelosi's bid carries pros and cons (Washington Post) [ That’s pro’s and cons in the more literal sense of the words; viz., pros_titutes and cons / criminals / frauds. No mystery here! ]

Sunnis' walkout mars political talks in Iraq (Washington Post) [ It’s … be…ginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere pervasively corrupt ‘little israel’ defacto bankrupt war criminal nation america goes (to the tune of that Christmas song) … Nothing like creating the anti-Christian sentiment through failed policy to keep the war machine greased with money defacto bankrupt america doesn’t really have (and aren’t the jews / israelis by definition ‘anti-Christ and hence anti-Christian’) ] One chaotic parliamentary session reflects challenges facing U.S. efforts to leave behind a stable Iraq with a representative government. Attack on Karachi police building kills 18 (Washington Post) About six militants open fire on a criminal investigations office in the "red zone," a highly secured area within Pakistan's largest city that houses the provincial minister's residence and the U.S. Consulate. [Visiting U.S. senators praise Afghan progress, say drawdown date is unrealistic (Washington Post) [ I’ll tell you what’s unrealistic: having compromised senators ( ie., non-war-heroe senile mccain, closet homosexual graham, incompetent zelig zionist lieberman, new york sinkhole slug Kirsten Gillibrand chided As 'Schumer's (zionist) Little Girl' ) stay the course with already failed pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt american policy … Paul Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs  Kurt Nimmo | John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is:  http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm  ‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the "songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) click Here, Here.  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm ]  But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the (corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed, prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street" has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention, and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn"; huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)…’…Oh and they so can afford it Deficit panel proposes huge cuts (Washington Post) [ Cuts? I heard the corrupt, incompetent lawmakers were giving themselves a raise. They actually deserve at least a 10% paycut and abolition of those lifetime appointments / permanent corrupt bureaucracies. Nothing succeeds like failure and crime in pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america! ] Lawmakers propose curbs on Social Security, cuts in spending and tax hikes if long-term goals aren't met. ]

Cisco's shortfall an omen for rest of tech world (AP)

Eviction backlog piling up (Washington Post) Amid mess, a populist foreclosure revolt Photos: Thousands of foreclosures are put on hold Full coverage: Foreclosure chaos [ Chaos, rioting in light of pervasively corrupt america’s defacto bankruptcy, fraud, depression, complicity in old and now new wall street fraud without prosecutions, perpetual wars, etc., have been predicted for quite some time (links on this site, trendsresearch, infowars, etc.. (INSIDER SELLING IS AT RECORD HIGHS) (Another Nobel Economist Says We Have to Prosecute Fraud Or Else the Economy Won’t Recover As economists such as William Black and James Galbraith have repeatedly said, we cannot solve the economic crisis unless we throw the criminals who committed fraud in jail. ) ]

G-20 agrees to broad guidelines (Washington Post) [ Defacto bankrupt, corrupt and fallen america loves company (like misery) … Drudgereport: Lula: World headed for 'bankruptcy'... G-20 deals prove elusive... Gonzalo Lira And The Boiling Frog: Effects Of QE2 On The Bottom 80% Of The U.S. Population Zero Hedge | I’ve been arguing that the unpayable Federal government debt, coupled with irresponsible Federal Reserve policies, will inevitably lead to a hyperinflationary event and currency collapse. U.S. Debt Proposal Would Cut Social Security, Medicare Bloomberg | The government is projected to run $8 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years, which would push the national debt up to more than $20 trillion. Bernanke Confirms That The Key Goal Of The Fed, And QE2, Is To Boost Stock Prices Zero Hedge | So much for the Fed’s two mythical mandates of promoting “maximum employment” and maintaining “price stability.” China lashes Fed easing as risk to global recovery China said on Thursday that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s move to ease monetary policy risked undermining the global economic recovery, adding that Washington “should not force others to take medicine for its own disease”. ] Nations defer substance of the work amid uncertainty about how effective the effort will prove in practice.

Dems criticize possible tax deal (Washington Post) [ Well, isn’t that what parties out of power do … criticize … for the record … for the next election … or whatever (they never did stop those wasteful illegal wars, nation’s still defacto bankrupt, huge wall street fraud still unprosecuted, etc.). Besides, their motto’s still as always on capital hill, why sacrifice today when you can sacrifice tomorrow … you know, as derived from those profound philosophers, classic rocksters of old, The Grassroots, ‘La, La, La,La, La, LET’S LIVE FOR TODAY’, ‘La, La, La,La, La, LET’S LIVE FOR TODAY’, ‘and don’t worry ‘bout tomorrow, ‘La, La, La,La, La, LET’S LIVE FOR TODAY’ ] Report indicates that President Obama is likely to back a temporary extension of tax cuts for households with income over $250,000 a year.

Leonardo DiCaprio on tigers (Washington Post) [ This article which warranted frontpage treatment must have been buried inasmuch as I woud have commented before closure. But this is indeed an item of such global importance so as to warrant ‘ better late than never’ treatment. ]By Leonardo DiCaprio and Carter S. Roberts Sunday, November 7, 2010 ‘Tigers have long provoked awe in the human imagination, symbols of untamed nature whose "fearful symmetry," in the words of William Blake, has inspired everything from art to advertising…’

Sentiment Indicators Are Screaming Sell-Off Hedge Fund Live ‘As we have witnessed a solid run up from 1140 and a break to new highs in both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite sentiment indicators are hitting levels we witnessed in January and April which resulted in dynamic sell-offs. The latest indicator comes from Mark Hulbert who keeps a 30+ year sentiment indicator which tracks the mood of newsletter editors for equities, bonds, and gold. As of yesterday the Hulbert Stock Newsletter Sentiment index (S&P 500) is at 60.8% which is about a 40% point jump from September 2010. 60.8% is just below Hulbert’s line in the sand of 65% whcih has coincided with numerous market tops. In April, his indicator topped at 65.5% and in January at 65.2%. Hulbert’s NASDAQ indicator, which has a more volatile range due to the speculative nature of the index, is at 73%. In April 2010 Hulbert’s NASDAQ indicator topped out at 80%. Hulbert’s index isn’t perfect, for instance in Oct. 2006 his index read 67.8%, but, shrugged off the outsized bullishness and continued to rally until Feb. 2007. All in all, the majority of indicators tell you we are overbought and if managers need to chase performance into year-end we should see a rally into year-end, but these are facts and according to Hulbert’s study we could very well see a sell-off.’

Short-Term, High-Probability Mean Reversion Indicator. Energy Very Overbought Crowder If you recall, yesterday I stated that the Biotech ETF (IBB) was in a “very oversold” state according to my High-Probability, Mean-Reversion Indicators. The RSI (2) had pushed to a low of 1.5. I suppose I should have taken my own advice and placed a trade Tuesday morning as the ETF pushed down to test the 50-day moving average only to bounce right off and push higher to finish the day up $0.61 or 0.7%.As it stands now, the major market indice, S&P 500 (SPY), is still in an overbought state right alongside the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (QQQQ). The Energy ETF (XLE) is now on my radar as it has pushed into a “very overbought” state and the RSI (2) is currently reading 94.4. I would prefer to see a reading above 95 before I take a position, so we will have to see how today plays out. As I wrote this, the futures were substantially lower. Cisco’s (CSCO) outlook was well below analysts’ expectations, which pushed the stock lower 12% after hours and as expected, has pushed the Nasdaq 100 lower 1.3% after hours. If this holds up overnight, I should be able to get out of my current QQQQ position for a decent profit. Also, I think this could lead to the 11/4 gap close in all of the major indices. Could this be the beginning of further declines? While no one knows for certain, there are three remaining gaps that have yet to close. So, if indeed you believe that all gaps close eventually then maybe today could be the beginning of something special, that is, if you are one of the few bears left.

Short-Term High-Probability, Mean-Reversion Indicator – as of close 11/10/10

Benchmark ETFs

* S&P 500 (SPY) – 70.5 (overbought)

* Dow Jones (DIA) – 65.0 (neutral)

* Russell 2000 (IWM) – 69.1 (neutral)

* NASDAQ 100 (QQQQ) – 77.5 (overbought)

Sector ETFs

* Biotech (IBB) – 39.6 (neutral)

* Consumer Discretionary (XLY) – 71.3 (overbought)

* Health Care (XLV) – 38.9 (neutral)

* Financial (XLF) – 65.3 (neutral)

* Energy (XLE) – 92.4 (very overbought)

* Gold Miners (GDX) – 68.3 (neutral)

* Industrial (XLI) – 56.7 (neutral)

* Materials (XLB) – 61.0 (neutral)

* Real Estate (IYR) – 47.1 (neutral)

* Retail (RTH) – 58.6 (neutral)

* Semiconductor (SMH) – 75.1 (overbought)

* United States Oil Fund (USO) – 75.2 (overbought)

* Utilities (XLU) – 36.2 (neutral)

International ETFs

* Brazil (EWZ) – 42.7 (neutral)

* China 25 (FXI) – 57.8 (neutral)

* EAFE (EFA) – 54.4 (neutral)

* South Korea (EWY) – 68.2 (neutral)

Commodity ETFs

* Gold (GLD) – 67.6 (neutral)

Ultra Extremes

* Small Cap Bear 3x (TZA) – 28.4 (oversold)

* Small-Cap Bull 3x (TNA) – 68.4 (neutral)

* UltraLong QQQQ (QLD) – 62.3 (neutral)

* Ultra Long S&P 500 (SSO) – 69.5 (neutral)

* Ultra Short S&P 500 (SDS) – 28.8 (oversold)

* UltraShort 20+ Treasury (TBT) – 74.5 (overbought)

Disclosure: Long TZA. Short QQQQ, FXI and SPY.

Cisco Delivers Unexpected Pain: Dave's Daily ‘It wasn't all that bad now, was it? As the day progressed a little Novocain was provided by bulls who very much believe in the meme: good news is good and bad news is better. Markets inched steadily higher since every gap lower is a buying opportunity. Besides, Thursday was Veterans Day so there was no economic data to spoil the party. The G-20 is basically finished with serious issues and controversies papered over. Meanwhile Bernanke's QE plan is getting more negative reaction even as he outlines another $100 billion in Treasury bonds to be purchased over the next month. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas for the "gang of 21"' (the Fed's Primary Dealer network). Wouldn't you like to be a Primary Dealer? You can sell your bonds to them and get freshly minted greenbacks to trade. What the banks do with that money is anyone's guess since they're not telling. Most believe it pushes stock prices higher, and indeed, Bernanke himself suggested that much last week. Here's the deal from our perspective anyway -- markets were overbought and we observed dozens of weekly DeMark 9 counts on all major markets and subsectors. Usually that indicates "trend exhaustion'", sideways action and perhaps even a reversal…’

NUTCASE CENTRAL [comedy if not so tragic] : Tim Geithner Bought Shares Of Sweet Ass Manufacturer To Teach His Kids About Stocks - Government officials often avoid conflicts between professional obligations and personal finances by divesting company stocks from their portfolios. So it comes as a surprise that, along with the s... Merrill Lynch Guys Got At Least One Thing Right - Say what you want about them but they knew their Harry Potter references. And shouldn’t that count for something? Some Merrill Lynch & Co. traders had a dark departmental secret: They called it the ... Goldman Sachs Interview Tutorial Devoid Of Any Useful Tips For A Reason - As a firm with one of the most daunting interview processes on Wall Street, in which candidates may be asked to come in 30 to 100 times, Goldman Sachs is uniquely qualified to offer tips to job seeker... FSA To Require Firms To Record Employees’ Phone Calls Despite It Being A Waste Of Money That Enterprising Insider Traders Will Undoubtedly Work Around - The Financial Services Authority announced today that “relevant communications made with, sent from or received on mobile phones and other handheld devices must be recorded and stored for six months.”... Harbinger Capital Has An Interesting Alternative Theory For Why Goldman Sachs Pulled Its Money From The Fund

Gonzalo Lira And The Boiling Frog: Effects Of QE2 On The Bottom 80% Of The U.S. Population Zero Hedge | I’ve been arguing that the unpayable Federal government debt, coupled with irresponsible Federal Reserve policies, will inevitably lead to a hyperinflationary event and currency collapse.

U.S. Debt Proposal Would Cut Social Security, Medicare Bloomberg | The government is projected to run $8 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years, which would push the national debt up to more than $20 trillion.

Bernanke Confirms That The Key Goal Of The Fed, And QE2, Is To Boost Stock Prices Zero Hedge | So much for the Fed’s two mythical mandates of promoting “maximum employment” and maintaining “price stability.”

China lashes Fed easing as risk to global recovery China said on Thursday that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s move to ease monetary policy risked undermining the global economic recovery, adding that Washington “should not force others to take medicine for its own disease”.

Gonzalo Lira And The Boiling Frog: Effects Of QE2 On The Bottom 80% Of The U.S. Population An old metaphor: If you take a frog and drop it into a roiling pot of boiling water, it’ll jump right out, unscathed. But if you put that same frog in a pot of cold water, and then slowly raise the heat, that frog won’t move. It’ll stay in that pot of water, calm as can be, right up until it is boiled to death.

Keynsianism Fallen Upon Hard Times The cult of Keynesianism is about to come upon very hard times. The quantitative easing plan, known as QE1, did not produce a recovery in the American economy.

The “Current Housing Recession is Rivaling the Great Depression’s Real Estate Downturn [and] Will Easily Eclipse It In the Coming Months” During the Great Depression, home prices fell 25.9 percent in five years. The U.S. housing market is now down around 25 percent from its peak in 2006.

National / World

New Body Scanners to Store Biometrics Kurt Nimmo | New system marketed as one-stop for government’s body scanning and biometric collection needs.

Wayne Madsen: China Fired Missile Seen In Southern California Wayne Madsen Report | China flexed its military muscle Monday evening in the skies west of Los Angeles.

‘FEMA camps’ tops Google Trends as TruTV exposé set to air Aaron Dykes | The previously taboo issue of ‘FEMA internment camps’ is finally breaking into mainstream coverage, thanks to a #1 search term on Google and a powerful upcoming episode of Ventura’s Conspiracy Theory.

Glenn Beck Says Government Will Stage False Flag Terror to Discredit Opposition Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones | Fox News host warns Obama administration is planning to exploit crisis to demonize political opposition.

Statism, the Greatest Threat Campaign for Liberty | Pervasive confusion over the nature of government and freedom has opened the gates to perhaps the greatest, most widespread increase in political power in history.

Is the Fed’s Debt-Buying Unconstitutional? Fox News | Is the Fed engaging in an unconstitutional monetization of the U.S. Congress’ out of control spending spree that is really a bridge loan to fiscal insanity?

Agents Provocateurs Turn Tuition Protest Into Violent Melee Kurt Nimmo | Another protest devolves into a violent sideshow for the corporate media.

More Eyewitness Accounts Of Explosions On 9/11 Emerge From NIST Lawsuit More videos shot on the day of September 11 2001 that were held back by The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as part of it’s investigation into the attacks reveal accounts of explosions in the base of the towers before the planes hit and before they collapsed.

Drudge Stirs National Debate On TSA Abuse The populist Drudge Report website has stirred a national debate on TSA abuse of passengers through dangerous naked body scanners and invasive groping measures, culminating in an onslaught of resistance from numerous prominent travel and pilots associations, and leading to the organization of a national opt out day on November 24.

Staged Government Terror: An Open Admission Within The British House of Lords Activist Post | If there was any doubt that governments fund terror and stage false flag attacks against themselves, it should be erased by a recent exchange

Republican congressman: I have ‘no hesitation whatsoever’ in probing Bush for torture Raw Story | A newly elected Republican congressman said in a little-noticed interview Tuesday he’d have “no hesitation whatsoever” in beginning an investigation of the former President George W. Bush for torture.

Drudgereport: Backlash grows over TSA's 'naked strip searches'...
Pilots and passengers rail at new airport patdowns...
Resistance spreads...
UPDATE: China lashes Fed pumping as risk to global recovery...
Lula: World headed for 'bankruptcy'...
G-20 deals prove elusive...
Woman Tries To Set Herself On Fire Outside Summit...

Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.scribd.com/alpeia
http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

Obama marks Veterans Day with a warning to North Korea (Washington Post) [ There’s a new expression goin’ round in the realm of global diplomatic discourse to supplant the censored ‘go f*** yourself’. It is, ‘go warn yourself’. I mean, after all, what nation’s been invading nations causing destruction and death of innocent lives based on lies, committing war crimes, precipitating financial crises through ubiquitous fraud, etc.. Yes, pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt, war criminal nation america, ‘go warn yourself’! ]

The 'G-2' in G-20 summit (Washington Post) [ What terms? Buy more worthless american paper, hold more worthless u.s. Weimar dollars, etc.? China already took a bath in the hundreds of billions of ever more worthless american paper! Talk about ‘rams buttin’ the dams’ on high hopes alone! ] U.S. hopes to come to terms with China over core principles of global economic policy.

Cleaning up the legal mess (Washington Post) [ Legal mess? Pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america is an illegal mess! Moreover, inherently criminal america by history, definition, and reality beyond propaganda is and will always be an illegal mess. Again, criminal prosecutions of the wall street frauds and government accomplices is long overdue and the only means by which to cleanse the broken and corrupt ‘system’. J.P. Morgan Chase memo predicts 'gridlocked' Congress (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan … cooked up on fraudulent wall street … Not really, though they’d love you to think their machinations have a rational basis … The reality is their bribes are only geared to prevent their own long overdue prosecutions and this national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Even Greenspan Admits that Moral Hazard and Fraud are the Main Problems Even Alan Greenspan is confirming what William Black, James Galbraith, Joseph Stiglitz, George Akerlof and many other economists and financial experts have been saying for a long time: the economy cannot recover if fraud is not prosecuted and if the big banks know that government will bail them out every time they get in trouble. ] The memo forecasts that lawmakers will extend the Bush-era tax cuts for at least a year.] Regulators and J.P. Morgan Chase are embroiled in a fight over who should cover billions of dollars from a legal mess that the Seattle thrift left behind.

Tradermark ‘…Now let's look at it from one last angle before we leave the subject. There is one form of wealth that has a far more conventional distribution pattern in the US of A. That is saving deposits.Top 1%: 20% of American deposits Next 9%: 38% Bottom 90%: 42% [chart] So if one wanted to actually help the bottom 90%, and "lift all boats" and "generate economic activity" perhaps one would lift Fed fund rates to a level that banks would actually pay something larger than the size of a flea on savings. Or indeed something tangible on Certificates of Deposits (amazingly the average CD rate fell below 1% as of last week). That actually would be some form of wealth effect for the masses... instead our saver class is being used as a mass subsidization scheme for the debtors and speculator class. Of course the latter is concentrated in the upper shards of society as the previous paragraphs showcased. [Mar 31, 2010: Ben Bernanke Content to Sacrifice American Savors to Recapitalize Banks and Benefit Debtors] So who again exactly is QE2 "benefiting" (if the 'wealth effect indeed is even real?) Due to the demolishment of savers, we will have people twice burned by NASDAQ 2000, and real estate 2007 trying to rebuild their savings facing a scorched earth scenario. As for those fixed income seniors (who receive no cost of living adjustment because America has "no inflation" per government statistics)? If they want to make any inflation adjusted returns they will be 'herded' out of CDs and savings into bonds and stocks so they can survive the Bernanke inflation regime. And that's in an environment where the dollar is stable ... don't even think about the losses the savers of the country are suffering as their wealth is sapped away, so that a small proportion of our corporations can create jobs in China and India! make some extra bucks via weak dollar exports. Most likely just about these folks throw their hands up in disgust and go "all in" on risk assets, the next bubble implosion from fake asset values will commence, transferring the last vestiges of middle class wealth to the masters of our universe. (this will be round 3 of that cycle since 1999 - notice a pattern?) So as we clap for Mr. Bernanke, and sing kumbaya about how manipulation of asset prices is helping "us all" try not to think of any of the data in this piece. Stick to dogma recited on CNBC, or else your head might spin off.’

China's Dagong Downgrades U.S. Debt to A+ on Quantitative Easing

America Is Either Going To Suffer Through A Deflationary Depression Or Hyperinflation It seems the Fed has given up on the idea that the country can build a viable and stable economy through the conventional means. Instead, our central bank has resorted to once again growing GDP and increasing employment by the creation of asset bubbles. This is a dangerous game that no one, least of all the Fed, knows how to play.

U.S. Debt Proposal Would Cut Social Security, Medicare Bloomberg | The government is projected to run $8 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years, which would push the national debt up to more than $20 trillion.

Bernanke Confirms That The Key Goal Of The Fed, And QE2, Is To Boost Stock Prices Zero Hedge | So much for the Fed’s two mythical mandates of promoting “maximum employment” and maintaining “price stability.”

Phantom Jobs Paul Craig Roberts | The financial press did no investigation and simply reported the number handed to the media by the government.

Volcker Says in China He Remains Concerned About Global Economic Imbalance Bloomberg News | “Concerns about adjustments that I had five years ago remain.”

Chinese Credit Rater Downgrades U.S. Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., the Chinese rating company that was recently rejected in its bid to be an officially recognized bond rater in the U.S., just downgraded the entire U.S. The always objective Xinhua has the “scoop.”

Wall Street Collects $4 Billion From Taxpayers as Swaps Backfire The subprime mortgage crisis isn’t the only calamity Wall Street created that’s upending the finances of U.S. states and cities.

National / World

Bombshell: FEMA Camps Confirmed Aaron Dykes | Former Gov. Jesse Ventura and his crew at Conspiracy Theory have blown the FEMA camp issue wide open in a truly groundbreaking episode from the program’s second season on TruTV.

TSA Gives Rapists And Illegals The Green Light While Groping Children Paul Joseph Watson | While sexually molesting children in the name of security, agency hires pedophiles and allows illegal immigrants to fly planes and access secure areas of airports.

Independence Criminalized: The Great Wall of Bureaucracy Comes to America Michael Edwards | The impact that this creeping control structure has had on America’s social climate is beyond measure.

Flight Attendants Outraged Over Intrusive Patdowns Kurt Nimmo | In addition to voicing concern with their union, some flight attendants have contacted the ACLU.

TSA: No Fondling, Groping Or Squeezing Is Taking Place At Airports Paul Joseph Watson | Agency at center of molestation controversy caught in flagrant lie in pathetic effort to counter growing resistance.

Former British intelligence chairman defies Bush, says waterboarding didn’t stop terror plots John Byrne | A former British government minister who also led the House of Commons Intelligence Committee threw cold water on claims made by former President George W. Bush that waterboarding saved British lives.

Chinese Credit Rater Downgrades U.S. Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., the Chinese rating company that was recently rejected in its bid to be an officially recognized bond rater in the U.S., just downgraded the entire U.S. The always objective Xinhua has the “scoop.”

Wall Street Collects $4 Billion From Taxpayers as Swaps Backfire The subprime mortgage crisis isn’t the only calamity Wall Street created that’s upending the finances of U.S. states and cities.

New Zillow Report Warns Of Unprecedented Decline In Home Prices, No Hints Of Stabilization Zillow just released a devastating third quarter housing report. Basically every major indicator is crashing.

America Is Either Going To Suffer Through A Deflationary Depression Or Hyperinflation It seems the Fed has given up on the idea that the country can build a viable and stable economy through the conventional means. Instead, our central bank has resorted to once again growing GDP and increasing employment by the creation of asset bubbles. This is a dangerous game that no one, least of all the Fed, knows how to play.

Rand Paul: Thought Crime USA In this exclusive never-before-seen interview with new United States Senator for Kentucky Rand Paul, the son of Congressman Ron Paul warns that Americans are being politically profiled for thought crimes, while the Obama administration, in particular people like Rahm Emanuel, is seeking to exploit crises in order to advance the big government agenda.

Drive-by shootings, Metro bombings in DC and parcel bombs on planes but spies in training go unnoticed No mention is made of continuing aggressive field training of Israeli intelligence agents being employed in shopping malls across the country, some near America’s biggest military bases.

Drudgereport: SLASH AND BURN!

Debt Panel: Cut Social Security, Medicare...
End Tax Deduction for Mortgages...
Raise Retirement Age...
DEMS PRESSING PELOSI TO STEP ASIDE...
More federal workers' pay tops $150,000...
REVOLT...
TX GOV CALLS SOCIAL SECURITY BANKRUPT 'PONZI SCHEME'...
OIL HITS $88...

STUDENTS RUN WILD IN LONDON...
'THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING'...
VIDEO...
UK Govt to withhold welfare checks from some unemployed...

IRELAND MESS: INVESTORS DUMP BONDS...
BANK DOOM...

German tempers fray as US policy gulf widens...

CHINA TO OVERTAKE US ECONOMY 'WITHIN 2 YEARS'...
China to buy stake in GM...
China jails father of tainted milk victim; Organized support group for parents...

Clinton announces $150 million to Palestinian Authority...
...criticizes Israeli expanded building plan

GREENSPAN WARNS OVER WEARKER DOLLAR...

GOP's Palin paradox (Washington Post) Parker: She's too powerful to ignore, and too (fill-in-the-blank) to take seriously. [ Say it! … Dumb! … Everybody knows it! … Cher even said it! … I believe that this further evinces the leadership vacuum in america and is a testament to how unequivocally far america has fallen. Powerful? I don’t think so! ]

Sarah Palin: The Next Teleprompter Reader in the White House [ Not gonna’ happen … she’s just too embarrassingly dumb … and all that fake macho / zionist b*** s*** … unless her gal o’donnel casts a spell … which is a whole new ball game … witches … really … how ‘bout dumb *******s …. she’s really dumb enough to press the button. ] ? Kurt Nimmo | In 2008, Tea Party Sarah trekked to New York to kiss Henry Kissinger’s ring.

Sarah Palin: The Next Teleprompter Reader in the White House? [ Not gonna’ happen … she’s just too embarrassingly dumb … unless her gal o’donnel casts a spell … which is a whole new ball game … witches … really … how ‘bout dumb *******s ... and all that fake macho / zionist b*** s*** ... she’s really dumb enough to press the button. ] It looks like the establishment is grooming Tea Party Sarah for a run. She says as much in the Newsmax interview below.

Palin calls reporters 'impotent' and 'limp' (Washington Post) [ I must reiterate, she, palin’s so embarrassingly dumb! She truly is the joke that keeps on giving! I really mean it! I mean, what next? ] The former Alaska governor weighed in herself: "Those who are impotent and limp and gutless and they go on their anonymous -- sources that are anonymous -- and impotent, limp and gutless reporters take anonymous sources and cite them as being factual references," she told Sean Hannity. "It just slays me ( this could be a somewhat Freudian slip as she contemplates the uselessness of sexually non-interested reporters while she meant lays and I think her supposed / purported attractiveness / desirability is vastly overstated; but, this makes for great SNL skits; you know, those reporters not man enough to service her ) because it's so absolutely clear what the state of yellow journalism is today that they would take these anonymous sources as fact."

The power of Palin's touch (Washington Post) [Wow! Talk about stupid. Murphy could have eliminated the middle-man (person) and appeared on SNL himself; maybe reprising a familiar (Eddie) Murphy role as Gumby 2, Son of Gumby. The only thing funnier is palin herself. She’s so embarrassingly dumb!] .Endorsement lifts little-known candidate in Md., giving the struggling campaign a "megaphone."

Comment on: 5 Myths about Sarah Palin at 10/14/2010 9:39 PM EDT

Test yourself to find out how much you know about Sarah Palin. Take the quiz and after, check out The Washington Post's 'Five Myths about Palin.' (Washington Post) [ Geeh! I scoured the quiz / 5 myths and nowhere did I see the obvious myth; viz., that she really has a brain. Maybe gal pal pol protégé o’donnell can help her out … a few mysterious words, a slimy newt (gingrich) in a caldron of b*** s*** , and voila … a new reality which is what o’donnell herself is sorely in need of … O'Donnell, evolved Milbank: She didn't mention mice with human brains in Wednesday's debate. But she said silly things. Stromberg: O'Donnell is... wow The CNN host, moderating the long awaited Delaware senatorial debate Wednesday night, was trying to get the Republican nominee to talk about her 1998 statement on the Bill Maher show that "evolution is a myth."
"Do you believe evolution is a myth?" Blitzer asked.
"I believe that the local ... " O'Donnell began, then started anew. "I was talking about what a local school taught, and that should be taught, that should be decided on the local community."
"Do you believe evolution is a myth?" the moderator repeated.
"Local schools should make that decision."
"What do you believe?"
"What I believe is irrelevant."
"Why is it irrelevant? Voters want to know."
"What I will support in Washington, D.C. is the ability of the local school system to decide what is taught in their classrooms," O'Donnell repeated.
The answer, though, was obvious: Of course she believes in evolution; she is a product of evolution herself. She has evolved from a very odd woman who spoke about the evils of masturbation and of mice with fully functioning human brains and of her experience in sorcery (but she didn't join a coven!). …

Obama cites Indonesia as model for Muslims (Washington Post)[ Drudgereport: Obama slams israel from Jakarta … [ Wow! Who woulda’ thunk it … Wobama growing gonads in Indonesia … He is quite correct, albeit in one of those sparingly infrequent moments … But, alas … he’ll be returning to ‘little israel’ soon (usa) and I’m sure his rhetoric will return to typical pro-israeli (anti-american interest) actions and words (b*** s***)! ]...
netanayahu takes Flight Back...
Confronts Anti-israel Reality/Truth Movement in USA...
China Ratings Agency Downgrades America... ] In city he once lived in as a boy, Obama heralds nation's "spirit of tolerance" that allows mosques, churches and temples to co-exist in a democracy.

Panels tackling deficit, but consensus doubts remain (Washington Post) [ Holy smokes … ‘best minds in Washington’ … talk about oxymorons … Come on, lets get real! There are none … best minds, that is … and quite frankly, best in Washington just ain’t that good (Washington Post excepted … I’m talking about government, think tanks, lobbies, consulting orgs., etc.). And, reality is that the debt burdens are now quite insurmountable. ]Some of the best minds in Washington are about to roll out recommendations for bringing government borrowing under control.

Fed decision clouds Seoul debate (Washington Post) [ No! I would say it clarifies the debate, particularly in light of the last financial debacle / crisis / fraud precipitated and perpetrated by the wall street frauds, with pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt u.s. government (all three branches) / administration (treasury) / fed complicity, and still unprosecuted with disgorgement long overdue. They’re working on a new (actually continuing) debacle to wall street’s benefit and everyone else’s detriment. President backs $600B move (Washington Post) ( Not to pass up an opportunity to be on the wrong side of almost all issues, wobama, failed presidency in tow, seems more and more to resemble that ‘word picture gumball machine’; but, I say not a gumball machine at all but rather an extension of his teleprompter. His dogs don’t hunt ‘no more! IE. and infra, QE2: Last Rites for the World’s “Reserve Currency” Mike Whitney) ] An international backlash against the Federal Reserve's move last week to pump billions of dollars into the U.S. economy is threatening to undercut the Obama administration's economic goals for this week's G-20 meeting of world leaders.

China’s trade surplus widens more than expected
China’s trade surplus widens in October from September, even as import growth outpaces export growt...

Chinese agency cuts U.S. sovereign rating
China’s lone national ratings agency Dagong cuts U.S. debt ratings and warns of further downgrades,just...

Low expectations for G-20 summit
Analysts have low expectations for this week’s G-20 summit in Seoul, given the global angst over th...

Inflation Targeting Won't Fix the Fed Danker ‘… In as close as he’s gotten to a mea culpa, Bernanke gave a speech last January, “Monetary Policy and the Housing Crisis,” where he admitted that deflation was not the menace the FOMC had thought it was. How did he and the committee get it wrong? They used a measurement for the general price level, the personal consumption expenditure index (PCE), in which inflation was underestimated and later had to be revised upward. Unfortunately, the housing bubble was well under way by that time. Even if the Fed had used a traditional inflation-targeting framework like the ECB, it is far from clear that it would have been able to avoid the road Bernanke took it down. Inflation by any measure was fairly modest and not indicative of the price surge concentrated in residential real estate from 2003-2007. That the bubble happened in the low-inflation environment of the so-called Great Moderation tells us two things: inflation is an inadequate target for monetary policy and it will take more than good interest rate policy to fix it. Ending the Fed’s dual mandate and focusing it on some measure of price stability does not address the underlying structure of the monetary system that enabled the housing bubble: the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency. This system encourages massive flows of dollar-denominated debt to foreign central banks for use as reserves and international payments without the appropriate increase in output in the U.S. Asset prices rise to reflect this imbalance -- which is why we’ve experienced a litany of single-sector bubbles, from tech stocks to housing and now perhaps bonds, as this system has evolved in its current form since 1971. Unreasonably low interest rates may not result in domestic inflation, but they will feed these destabilizing one-way flows of hot money that encourage chronic overborrowing. The real choice on monetary reform is between band-aids over the status quo and addressing the roots of the meltdown. Successful inflation targeting by Ben Bernanke or his successors will do no more than paper over a debt-driven system that is beyond repair. It was hot money – not inflation – that steered us into trouble. Until the dollar is replaced as the world’s central bank reserve with something of independent value, gold to be exact, the U.S. will continue to experience monetary-induced boom and bust episodes that undermine our prosperity. World Bank President Robert Zoellick just called for a fresh look at gold as the basis of the international monetary system. For once, the World Bank is right.’

Bernanke Confirms That The Key Goal Of The Fed, And QE2, Is To Boost Stock Prices Zero Hedge | So much for the Fed’s two mythical mandates of promoting “maximum employment” and maintaining “price stability.”

Volcker Says in China He Remains Concerned About Global Economic Imbalance Bloomberg News | “Concerns about adjustments that I had five years ago remain.”

Fed Concludes Structurally High Unemployment is a Myth Mike Shedlock | Ben Bernanke and the Fed have great belief in academic models whether they make any real world practical sense or not. Indeed, Bernanke’s reliance on formulas instead of common sense is what told him there was no housing bubble, that unemployment would not get above 8.5%, and that Quantitative Easing in massive force would cause the unemployment rate to drop. He was wrong on all counts.

[video] December Selling Expected [ Of course that make sense, not that the criminally insane frauds on wall street are rational, but to lock in those ephemeral, illusory paper bubble gains; the kind of bubble that the insiders and wall street frauds sell into; dress up those ‘gains’ to keep the scam rollin’ ‘till the crash; you know, get while the gettin's good … sounds like a plan … hmm … just a typical wall street scam / fraud. ]

Gold shoots to new high on euro worries Gold prices have hit another record high on the back of Euro sovereign debt concerns and inflation worries. This morning, the price of gold rose 1% to a high of $1,422.30 a troy ounce.

Gold at $7800/oz, Or S&P 500 at 220? Take Your Pick The S&P 500 to gold ratio essentially prices the stock market in terms of gold.

Great Job Bernanke Bernanke has not been right about anything since 2005. That’s documented.

Bill Fleckenstein Has Some Thoughts On QE2: “These Idiots Think We Can Print Our Way To Prosperity” [ I disagree! I believe they are well aware of the folly of their fraudulent and ultimately disastrous approach but are, as in the last debacle, creating a fraudulent bubble for the wall street frauds and insiders to sell into, which they are indeed doing as we speak. (INSIDER SELLING IS AT RECORD HIGHS) (Another Nobel Economist Says We Have to Prosecute Fraud Or Else the Economy Won’t Recover As economists such as William Black and James Galbraith have repeatedly said, we cannot solve the economic crisis unless we throw the criminals who committed fraud in jail. ) ] Fed to pump $600B into the economy (Washington Post) [ Listen to this total, absolute b*** s*** … from no-recession-helicopter ben shalom or b.s. for short, bernanke, with green shoots wilting on the vine … to his recent ‘better to try and fail than to do nothing at all’ … Balderdash! … I hearken back to a distinction made by the brilliant Peter Drucker who in emphasizing the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness states that being effective means doing the right things, clearly not the case here … other than frothing that fraudulent wall street market with high-frequency programmed trades and debased dollars he can’t seem to print enough of, and for all but wall frauds churn and earn profits as they retain their fraudulent gains from the last debacle and this one, his policies are nothing short of disaster for this nation and the world. That money going into wall street pockets has to come from somewhere … guess. Remember, america’s defacto bankrupt and the consequences for those continuing frauds on wall street don’t justify the irretrievable costs! ] In addition to a question for Bloomberg TV anchor Betty Lui, who asked Bill to “admit” that “the markets were in a better mood yesterday after QE2,” which is simply this: “Betty? Betty? Betty? How about in summer 2008, 2007, were the markets in a good mood? Were the markets in a good mood then?” [ Quite right! The same pattern that preceded the last crash. Falling dollar, high volume programmed high frequency trades to the upside creating an even larger, gravity-defying bubble for the wall street frauds and insiders to sell into. They’re not too big or important to fail and jail! Prospective economic health depends on that reality! ]

China says G20 should monitor US Fed AFP | China’s state media has issued a new broadside at the US Federal Reserve’s move to prime the US economy.

National / World

Phantom Jobs Paul Craig Roberts | The financial press did no investigation and simply reported the number handed to the media by the government.

Gold Sets New Record as QE2 Devalues Fiat Currencies Kurt Nimmo | Price nudged higher on speculation members of the G20 to be held in in Seoul, South Korea, will discuss currency markets.

Pilots Association urges airline pilots to opt out of TSA naked body scanners Mike Adams | The president of the Allied Pilots Association issued a letter urging all pilots to opt out of the naked body scanners.

TSA Rejects Airport Molestation Complaints Paul Joseph Watson | Glib response does nothing to address concerns vehemently voiced by numerous prominent travel and pilots associations.

Drone Surveillance Program Targeting Americans? Activist Post | More investigation is needed about what the military-industrial complex has in store for Americans.

World Awakens To Criminal Banking Cartel A global backlash has emerged against the Federal Reserve’s blatant policy of devaluing the dollar by printing $600 billion out of thin air, a move that analysts, economists, foreign ministers and even the Fed’s own employees charge will only serve to stall economic recovery and initiate trade and currency wars.

Rand Paul: Thought Crime USA In this exclusive never-before-seen interview with new United States Senator for Kentucky Rand Paul, the son of Congressman Ron Paul warns that Americans are being politically profiled for thought crimes, while the Obama administration, in particular people like Rahm Emanuel, is seeking to exploit crises in order to advance the big government agenda.

“Damn Right”: Bush Boasts about Waterboarding Former President George W. Bush continues to be beyond shame. Those favored with an advance copy of his memoir, Decision Points, say it paints a picture of a totally unapologetic Bush bragging, for example, about authorizing the CIA to waterboard 9/11 “mastermind,” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Bush: Mom gave me permission to talk about seeing her fetus in a jar In an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer broadcast Monday, former President George W. Bush explained that his mother had a miscarriage when he was a teenager and showed him the fetus. [ What a bunch of sick creeps the bushes are! I mean come on! Sanctity of life means nothing to the psychopathic, war criminal bushes other than possibly politically opportunistic soundbites; and there is a long history of deplorable actions that belie their words and fluff-talk! ]

Chinese agency cuts US credit rating China’s leading credit rating agency downgraded the US to ‘A’ following last week’s announcement of a second round of quantitative easing.

Scarborough: Call to attack Iran ‘neoconservatism on crack’ MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough blasted the Republican Senator of South Carolina Monday for saying the United States should seek regime change in Iran through the use of military force.

Former NATO Ambassador: Missile “Mystery” Was US “Show Of Force” To Asia About that missile launched off the coast of southern California yesterday? The one that the military is saying they don’t know anything about? CBS shows the footage to Robert Ellsworth, former ambassador to NATO, who says the rocket is possibly an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Drudgereport: Appears to have been launched at sea...
No sign NORAD, NORTHCOM detected...
Just a jetliner's contrail?...
VIDEO...
MYSTERY 'MISSILE' OFF CA COAST; PENTAGON 'NO CLUE' [ I believe the pentagon has no clue, but not as concerns that missile. How totally and pathetically desperate they are! ]
Obama slams israel from Jakarta … [ Wow! Who woulda’ thunk it … Wobama growing gonads in Indonesia … He is quite correct, albeit in one of those sparingly infrequent moments … But, alas … he’ll be returning to ‘little israel’ soon (usa) and I’m sure his rhetoric will return to typical pro-israeli (anti-american interest) actions and words (b*** s***)! ]...
netanayahu takes Flight Back...
Confronts Anti-israel Reality/Truth Movement in USA...
China Ratings Agency Downgrades America...
Fed Backlash Grows...
China Fires Back At Bernanke With Harsh New Capital Controls...
WARNS: 'CATASTROPHIC INFLUENCE ON WORLD'...
GERMANY: 'The US Has Lived on Borrowed Money for Too Long'...
PENTAGON: TROOPS MAY STAY IN IRAQ...
U.S. Commander: U.S. Will Be Fighting in Afghanistan in 2014... [ As I said, to reiterate, the pentagon is clueless! ]

In interview, Bush defends Iraq war and waterboarding (Washington Post) [ Defending the indefensible … what choice does he have … then there’s the lies … ] Bush breaks silence, writes next chapter (Washington Post) [ As a failed president and war criminal himself, moron dumbya bush is among the few in the world that makes failed president wobama look plausibly good in comparison … wobama merely continued the failed policies of dumbya (perpetual war, no pros the frauds on wallstreet, etc.) that got pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america to this point of decline and failure. ] Anne E. Kornblut Your take: His most memorable moment? [ Like regrets in that old song (his way) he’s had a few – http://albertpeia.com/evilonthetarmac.htm here’s a few: bushisms from bush the brain-damaged moron http://albertpeia.com/bushisms.htm :

"After standing on the stage, after the debates, I made it very plain, we will not have an all-volunteer army. And yet, this week—we will have an all-volunteer army. Let me restate that."—Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 16, 2004

"The CIA laid out several scenarios and said life could be lousy, life could be OK, life could be better, and they were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like."—New York, Sept. 21, 2004

"Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat."—Washington, D.C., Sept. 17, 2004 (Thanks to David Stanford.)

"That's why I went to the Congress last September and proposed fundamental—supplemental funding, which is money for armor and body parts and ammunition and fuel."—Erie, Pa., Sept. 4, 2004

"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."—Sept. 6, 2004, Poplar Bluff, Mo. … there are so many more … ]

Israel plans housing in East Jerusalem (Washington Post) [netanayahu ‘cause everyone knows nuclear israel is greatest danger to world Jerusalem Post PM heckled repeatedly by activists at New Orleans GA protesting West Bank "occupation" and plans for loyalty oath. Israel is the greatest threat to the world, and its nuclear program must be stopped, Prime Minister ... US 'Deeply Disappointed' but committed to impotence by israel's Building Plan for East Jerusalem Voice of America Israel permits new settlement homes Aljazeera.net ] The move will likely complicate pm netanayahu's current visit to the United States for talks about reviving stalled peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Obama Defends Insane QE2 Takedown of Global Economy Ron Paul believes QE2 represents the beginning of the end of the Federal Reserve system.

A Dollar-Devaluation Adjusted Market Has Barely Moved Above Its 2009 Lows While nominal stocks will soon be reaching for new all time highs, very much in the spirit of the Zimbabwe stock market, all of these so-called price levels (and the associated “wealth effect”) are increasingly irrelevant as they continue to come solely at the expense of ongoing global currency devaluation, whose only alternative is the purchasing of hard currencies such as gold and silver.

Ron Paul: Federal Reserve System is “Deeply Flawed” On Friday, Congressman Ron Paul was interviewed on Fox News’ Your World w/ Neil Cavuto concerning the Federal Reserve and returning to honest money.

The age of the dollar is drawing to a close Right from the start of the financial crisis, it was apparent that one of its biggest long-term casualties would be the mighty dollar, and with it, very possibly, American economic hegemony. The process would take time – possibly a decade or more – but the starting gun had been fired.

Fed official raises doubts over bond-purchase plan

How Ben Bernanke Sentenced The Poorest 20% Of The Population To A Cold, Hungry Winter The following chart prepared recently by JPMorgan demonstrates something rather scary, and makes it all too clear how the Chairman’s plan to “assist” the US population via some imaginary “wealth effect” due to QE2, is about to backfire.

The Feds Biggest Fear Greg Hunter | The Fed wants to support housing prices and, thus, support mortgage bonds.

Obama Defends Dollar Printing Madness As China, Russia Slam Move U.S. President Barack Obama defended the Federal Reserve’s policy of printing dollars on Monday after China and Russia stepped up criticism ahead of this week’s Group of 20 meeting.

Gold climbs to all-time highs above US$1,400/oz Gold powered to an all-time high above US$1,400 an ounce Monday, despite a bounce in the dollar, as investors sought an inflation hedge from the Federal Reserve’s massive bond-buying program.

] Obama stresses the Fed's independence but implies support for Chairman Ben S. Bernanke.

S. Korea trade a backdoor to China for U.S.? (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Sounds like a timely plan! Riiiiight! Such strategists! ] U.S. and South Korean officials are aiming this week to conclude a free-trade agreement that leaders of both countries say would benefit their nations and deepen ties between two long-standing allies. But for the United States, it is also a test of whether American businesses can offset some of China's momentum.

Judges chastise banks over foreclosure details (Washington Post) [ Wow! Talk about parallel universes. Come on! Rules of law, legal precedents are absolutely irrelevant in pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america. Then there’s the ‘who’s getting’ or givin’ the green (or votes – some states elect judges, but appointment lends itself to the ‘green way’) factor’] ‘…Trust "of the lending institutions and Wall Street has eroded in some areas of the country more than others [ Some? How ‘bout almost all! ]," Winslow said…’ A judgment in favor of a homeowner has alarmed the nation's biggest lenders, who say it could establish a dramatic new legal precedent.’ [Feds press mortgage lenders to fix documents (Washington Post) [ Fix documents? In matters involving far more serious crimes of far more significance longer term to the nation, I’d be content with mere adherence to clear law applied to the documented facts, no matter where and to whom the crimes lead … see infra… ] White House says Obama will not sign foreclosure bill [ Oooooh, whoops … Sounds like a plan!] Consumer advocates and state officials argue legislation would make it difficult for homeowners to challenge documents prepared in other states. [When talking about the pervasively corrupt american legal / judicial system, you’re truly talking about tips of the iceberg! Judges rule without title, lenders can't foreclose (Washington Post) [ Rules of law? I didn’t think they cared. That’s certainly the direct experience I’ve had with the pervasively corrupt american legal / judicial system (along with the other two branches of the u.s. government and defact bankrupt america generally). Court decisions could call into doubt the ownership of mortgages, raising urgent challenges for both the real estate market, wider financial system. Connecticut, California join probe of Ally (Washington Post) [I’d be much more impressed if they initiated a probe of more readily discernible criminal offenses in violation of the RICO Act http://albertpeia.com

Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers)Covering Up for Other Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). In Productive Societies as China, Japan, etc., Fraudulent Liars (sic-lawyers) and the Fraudulent u.s. System They're a Part of Are Unheard Of/Non-existent. List of Files Regarding Filed Attorney Grievance Against Fraud coan et als Or Here For A Clearer View Of Filed Grievance Complaint, Response, Exhibits, and Related RICO Filings Note the Committee of Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). Included are DOJ Rep., State Court Rep., State Atty. General Office Rep., and even a Vegetable Garden yale law prof who probably never practiced law in his life. How Pathetic! http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ] Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally.

October 15, 2010 (*see infra)

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include 1 copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’). The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ].

The correspondence I received from the Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

7. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
8. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
9. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
10. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
11. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
12. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) 219-**** (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

----------

*The foregoing and as indicated therein was previously send 9-14-10 but delivery confirmation was flawed as set forth below and my inquiries to the u.s. postal service rebuffed (I believe tampered with inasmuch as your office could not locate same). This cover letter (9-13-10) is on the 3 disks with navigable hyperlinks to the subject files for ease of reference, including the files in the RICO action as indicated. (10-15-10) I spoke with Rose, FBI, ADIC Secretary, who indicates once again that your office has not received the aforesaid and which can reasonably be presumed to have been tampered with, and hence, a violation of the federal statute concerning same.

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Sent Postage Prepaid: United States Mail - VIA Priority Mail, Delivery Confirmation and VIA Certified Mail this ___ day of October, 2010.

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Sent VIA UPS Courier this 15th day of October, 2010.

Signed: Albert L. Peia

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] Federal regulators seek to prevent the growing furor over improper foreclosures from escalating, pressing mortgage lenders to replace flawed and fraudulent court documents while insisting that foreclosures continue apace. But advocates say the policy is soft on banks and may have little effect, because many lenders are already taking such steps.

Survey: Half of Wall Street expects bigger bonus this year (Washington Post) [ This is nothing short of incredible … What they should be expecting, for the sake of the nation and the world, is an 8 by 10 jail cell! ] Bloomberg The percentage anticipating a bigger bonus increased from last year.

Gerald Celente: “The selloff of America” Financial institutions on Wall Street are preparing to pay a shocking record $144 billion dollars in compensation & benefits. This amid spiraling foreclosures and an economic crisis that has devastated Americans, leaving many out in the street. Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute says that the gap between rich and poor in the US will continue to get larger because of the bank bailout that Washington shelled out in 2008.

]

Why I'm Short the Market, or Why the Market Is Not a Forward Looking Indicator ‘I’m sure there are plenty of investors who will scoff at the thesis of this article after reading the title. After all, in a free market economy the equity markets are supposed to reflect investors’ perception of future earnings. However, looking back over the past decade or so, it seems as if this has rarely been the case. Rather, equity markets are mean-reverting mechanisms that react to investors’ irrational levels of optimism or pessimism. Were markets correctly pricing future earnings in March 2000 or October 2007? What about in March of 2009? What about now?Over the last two months, the markets have staged a massive rally in anticipation of another round of quantitative easing. It seems as if most analysts, investors, and pundits have been praising QE2 as the solution to all of our problems. Even worse, they are pretending as if there are no possible negative repercussions or end to the rally in sight. Personally, my favorite take on QE2 was Jim Cramer’s reckless analysis on Thursday. My two favorite comments were “We're investing to make money, not make predictions about the economy.” and “If you can buy stocks that rally like they did today, because of this Bernanke plan, you can also sell those stocks after they've rallied.” Both of these comments are completely absurd. His audience is mostly amateur investors and frankly this is horrible advice. Despite what I consider to be the absurdity of Cramer’s comments, they actually echo much of investor sentiment right now. It is that sentiment that I plan to refute in this article. The basis of my argument centers on the Fed’s decision to announce further quantitative easing and what I believe that means for the markets. Let me begin, though, by saying that quantitative easing is complicated and has effects that will be felt around the globe. As such, it is unreasonable to expect I could succinctly cover the topic in its entirety in one article. Instead, I would like to call attention to a couple things I find particularly troubling in the hopes of fostering an intelligent discussion.By now, most investors should be well aware of the Fed’s intentions with quantitative easing. Essentially, the Fed is expanding its balance sheet to purchase treasuries in order to force interest rates even lower, prompting greater investment in a variety of asset classes. This effect is achieved because the Fed is printing money and driving the value of the dollar lower. A weaker dollar means dollar-denominated asset prices will increase on a relative basis. Further, a weak dollar means American made goods are cheaper overseas and should help increase exports. The hope is that inflated asset prices will give investors a “wealth effect”, leading to increased spending and job creation. It is my understanding that this is quantitative easing in a nutshell.My first concern is with the term “wealth effect”. It is not wealth creation. Rather, the prices of the assets you own increase because they are worth less in dollar terms. The hope that this will fool investors or businesses discredits their intelligence. Certainly major corporations are not this stupid. Most of them operate in many countries and are well aware of currency effects. Even individual investors should be somewhat aware of the inverse relationship between equities and the dollar, they have mentioned it on CNBC everyday for the last five months. If anything, the Fed may be able to fool amateur investors who take a more passive approach. However, this seems counterproductive to the necessary deleveraging most Americans are still going through. After watching the markets hit two-year highs Friday, I decided to look a little deeper into the inverse relationship between equities and the dollar. What I found was fairly surprising. On June 9^th, 2010, the Dollar Index futures hit a high of $88.91. They closed Friday at a low of $76.76. In the past five months, the price has dropped 13.7%. Over that same time period, the S&P 500 has moved from a close of $1055.69 on June 9th to a high of $1225.85. The rise in the S&P 500 over the same time period was 16.1%, pretty close to the decrease in the dollar. I decided to calculate what the S&P 500 would be worth today, based on the June 9th valuation of the dollar. The answer? $1057.91, only 0.002% higher than 5 months ago when the recent rally began. This helps to emphasize my point that the “wealth effect” is merely an illusion and a lousy one at that. (I should note this is rough math. I arrived at my valuation by taking the product of the fractional dollar value and the closing price of the S&P 500 at the end of the time period.)My second concern with further quantitative easing actually pertains to its effect on the Americans who likely have no understanding of what the Fed is doing – low-income, underemployed, and unemployed Americans. This group of Americans is most accurately represented by the real unemployment rate, which most experts peg between 15% and 20%. For these individuals, the “wealth effect” is irrelevant. The majority are either dependent on unemployment benefits or living paycheck-to-paycheck.Times are especially tough for this segment of the American population and those problems are about to be exacerbated by the rapid devaluation of the dollar. As I said earlier, a weaker dollar means dollar-denominated asset prices will increase on a relative basis. This increase includes the price of commodities like gas, food, clothing, etc. In the same time period referenced above, heating oil futures have increased 19.5%, wheat futures have increased 70.1%, cotton futures have increased 74.7%, and corn futures have increased 73.4%. I have placed the chart for cotton futures below to illustrate this point. (chart) This increase in commodity prices is being driven, in large part, because of the Feds systematic weakening of the dollar. In the short-term, the spike in commodity prices will be offset by hedges retailers and manufacturers likely have in place. However, in the long-term these price increases will eventually be passed on to the consumer as hedges expire. This, I believe, will be a pivotal point in the story of our economic recovery. When these skyrocketing commodity prices get passed on to the 15-20% of Americans that are really struggling to get by, they will have a HUGE impact on their budgets and their quality of life. If wages are not able to keep pace with rising costs, consumers will really be in a difficult position. Simple economics will tell you if price increases outpace income growth, demand will decrease. Argued another way, companies could absorb rising costs to maintain demand, but the result would be shrinking profit margins. Either way, I am of the belief that consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks in particular have a rough road ahead of them. The effect of rising prices is not reflected in stock prices now, but it is my belief that this realization will begin to sink in with analysts very soon. In fact, the Wall St. Journal actually ran an article on Friday discussing this very problem. If you’re interested you can read it here.Here is my understanding of the situation and why I think the Fed is playing a very dangerous game. The Fed is printing money to increase asset prices in the hope that people spend money they don’t really have to create jobs. While these jobs would be based on artificial demand, the hope is that lighting a spark would get the economy moving in the right direction and the demand will eventually fill in as people with new jobs begin to spend again. In the meantime, the Fed is racing rapidly increasing commodity prices that will eventually be passed on to the consumer. In the end, it all comes down to timing. In my opinion, the Fed is taking a very sizable risk in the hopes it can time this spark correctly. If it fails, as a nation we will have borrowed another $600 billion and will have little to show for it.After watching the events of this past week unfold, I have turned decidedly bearish on the markets. In the past few days I have heard far too many comparisons to the 2000 tech bubble. Investors’ attitude seems to be if it keeps going up, why not buy it and sell at the top to make a quick buck? People are choosing to ignore the stagnant unemployment rate, the uptick in unemployment claims, inflation that is trailing Fed targets, weak GDP growth, and a host of other mediocre economic data. There are plenty of cliché sayings that seem appropriate right now, but my favorite is Warren Buffett’s classic idiom “be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy”.At the end of last week I positioned myself quite short. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQQ) is within 2.5% of its 2007 high, despite a starkly different economic picture than three years ago. The ETFs that track consumer discretionary (XLY) and consumer staples (XLP) are both trading right at their May 2009 highs and are not far off their 2007 highs. I’m positioning myself with puts on the QQQQ and a short position in the XLY. I wanted to short the XLP as well but was unable to borrow the shares, so I increased the size of my short position in the XLY. I also went short Netflix (NFLX) after their 11% pop on earnings. The company is currently trading at 65x earnings (TTM) and if I am correct in my assumptions, Netflix will be subject to a harsher selloff relative to the broader markets.As an interesting closing thought, when looking at the Nasdaq 100, I thought the recent weakness of the dollar might have had some effect in its recent climb to 2007 highs. Quite the contrary, Dollar Index futures are actually trading within 1% of their November 2007 price. The historical chart below shows that the Dollar Index is essentially trading at the exact same level it was right before the 2007 collapse of the equity markets. Essentially, the market feels the Nasdaq 100 should only be trading at a discount of 2.5% to its 2007 highs. I find that very disturbing given the many economic uncertainties we have yet to resolve, let alone the fact we only reached 2007 highs because consumers were bingeing on cheap credit…just food for thought.’

Light Volume Shallow Selloff: Dave's Daily ‘…The important thing is markets are overbought and in need of some corrective action even if it's sideways movement. After all, we've had a big run and news from earnings and economic data are light. Equity markets hit the skids early with the DJIA dropping 100 points early on government bank subpoenas. But with another $6 billion in POMO markets were able to mount a slow steady recovery throughout the day. And speaking of subpoenas, Janet Tavakoli (Tavakoli Structured Finance) and I discuss bank and mortgage fraud in this video commentary. Not everyone is on board with the Fed's QE actions especially from overseas; but, it was notable today that Fed Governor Warsh issued a dissenting view as well. Despite a small rally in the dollar, commodities were mostly flat with the notable exception of precious metals -- with new highs in gold and silver. Bonds rallied slightly. ‘

California: America's Greece ‘There is no state in our union suffering a bigger fiscal fiasco than California, with its structural budget deficit, $500 billion unfunded pension liability, and double-digit unemployment rate. Yet, while most of the country gave Republicans a resounding victory in last Tuesday’s congressional elections, Californians voted for still more liberal Democratic policies. As Steven Greenhut pointed out in a recent City Journal article, California voters resurrected the career of their 1970-era governor Jerry Brown; Senator Barbara Boxer won reelection; and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom won overwhelmingly in his race for lieutenant governor. They supported Proposition 25, which lowers the state’s two-thirds vote requirement for passing budgets. This will push Republicans in the legislature further to the margins. They rejected Proposition 23, which would have suspended the state’s global-warming law until unemployment fell. They also voted down Proposition B, which would have imposed modest reforms on San Francisco’s pension and health-care systems for retired employees. All this leaves economists concerned about the Golden State’s future. “The Left Coast is working on becoming America’s Greece,” writes Dr. Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research, adding, “This state is among the most likely to experience a financial crisis over the next couple of years, and now is even more likely to wind up in a fiscal ditch.” For their part, California’s politicians honestly don’t understand all the fuss. Lt. Governor-elect Newsom, for instance, had this to say after winning the race: "We're nothing but a mirror of our consistent thoughts. You tend to manifest what you focus on. If you look around for what's wrong, you'll find it. But as all we know up here in San Francisco, when you focus on what's right, you see it all around you. . . . There is absolutely nothing wrong with California that can't be fixed by what's right with California. . . . If you're from another state, you'd love to have the problems of California." Barbara Boxer – that’s Senator Boxer to you! – chimed in on election night that it's her "eleventh straight election victory, and what a sweet one it is . . . [since] everything was thrown at us, including the kitchen sink, and the stove and the oven and everything, millions of dollars of negative ads from known and unknown opponents, millions and millions of dollars." Maybe some of these lawmakers assume that their friends and neighbors in more fiscally responsible states will just ride to the rescue, if need be. Don’t count on it, says Allysia Finley, a lapsed Californian and current assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com, in an editorial this morning: “We've tried to help you, California. Some spent millions on campaigns to entice you to change your reckless behavior. And you told them to kick rocks. So here's our final warning: When you inevitably crash and burn, don't count on us to bail you out.‘

THE FED’S LOST CONTROL Has The Fed Lost Control? by John Mauldin I am going to beg off from personally writing a letter this week, but will give you something even better. Dr. John Hussman wrote a piece last week that I thought was one of his best, on liquidity traps and quantitative easing, and that’s included here. We are embarking on a course through uncharted waters. No one (including the Fed) has any idea what the unintended consequences will be.I remarked a few weeks ago that the Fed is throwing an inflation party and not sure whether anyone will come. Last night at dinner, Albert Edwards of Societe Generale noted that not only do they not know whether anyone will come, they do not know what they will do if they do come, how much they will drink, or when they will leave.My quick takeaway is the $600 billion is not all that much, and the buying is concentrated in the middle of the curve, where it is likely to do the least in terms of lowering rates (they are already low!), so also likely to do the least damage. Mohammed El-Erian thinks that if nothing happens the Fed will be forced to continue, which is a dangerous thing. I wonder whether they might just shrug their shoulders and say, “We tried, and now it is up to the fiscal side of the equation.” We shall see. It will be important to listen to the speeches of the Fed governors to get some idea. Bernanke Leaps into a Liquidity Trap by John P. Hussman, Ph.D., Hussman Funds “There is the possibility … that after the rate of interest has fallen to a certain level, liquidity preference is virtually absolute in the sense that almost everyone prefers cash to holding a debt at so low a rate of interest. In this event, the monetary authority would have lost effective control.” -  John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory . One of the many controversies regarding Keynesian economic theory centers around the idea of a “liquidity trap.” Apart from suggesting the potential risk, Keynes himself did not focus much of his analysis on the idea, so much of what passes for debate is based on the ideas of economists other than Keynes, particularly Keynes’ contemporary John Hicks.In the Hicksian interpretation of the liquidity trap, monetary policy transmits its effect on the real economy by way of interest rates. In that view, the loss of monetary control occurs because, at some point, a further reduction of interest rates fails to stimulate additional demand for capital investment.Alternatively, monetary policy might transmit its effect on the real economy by directly altering the quantity of funds available to lend. In that view, a liquidity trap would be characterized by the failure of real investment and output to expand in response to increases in the monetary base (currency and reserves).Special Offer:  Earn 8% to 13% of corporate bonds, convertibles and preferreds. Click here for instant portfolio access to Forbes/Lehmann Income Securities Investor.In either case, the hallmark of a liquidity trap is that holdings of money become “infinitely elastic.” As the monetary base is increased, banks, corporations and individuals simply choose to hold onto those additional money balances, with no effect on the real economy. The typical Econ 101 chart of this is drawn in terms of “liquidity preference,” that is, desired cash holdings plotted against interest rates.When interest rates are high, people choose to hold less cash because cash doesn’t earn interest. As interest rates decline toward zero (and especially if the Fed chooses to pay banks interest on cash reserves, which is presently the case), there is no effective difference between holding riskless debt securities (say, Treasury bills) and riskless cash balances, so additional cash balances are simply kept idle.[chart]
Velocity
A related way to think about a liquidity trap is in terms of monetary velocity: nominal GDP divided by the monetary base. (The identity, which is true by definition, is M*V = P*Y – the monetary base times velocity is equal to the price level times real output).

Velocity is just the dollar value of GDP that the economy produces per dollar of monetary base. You can also think of velocity as the number of times that one dollar “turns over” each year to purchase goods and services in the economy. Rising velocity implies that money is “turning over” more rapidly, so that nominal GDP is increasing faster than the stock of money.

If velocity rises, holding the quantity of money constant, you’ll observe either growth in real output or inflation. Falling velocity implies that a given stock of money is being hoarded, so that nominal GDP is growing slower than the stock of money. If velocity falls, holding the quantity of money constant, you’ll observe either a decline in real GDP or deflation.

The belief that an increase in the money supply will result in an increase in GDP relies on the assumption that velocity will not decline in proportion to the increase in money. Unfortunately for the proponents of “quantitative easing,” this assumption fails spectacularly in the data—both in the U.S. and internationally—particularly at a zero interest rate.

How to Spot a Liquidity Trap
The chart below plots the velocity of the U.S. monetary base against interest rates since 1947. Since high money holdings correspond to low velocity, the graph is simply the mirror image of the theoretical chart above.

Few theoretical relationships in economics hold quite this well. Recall that a Keynesian liquidity trap occurs at the point when interest rates become so low that cash balances are passively held regardless of their size. The relationship between interest rates and velocity therefore goes flat at low interest rates, since increases in the money stock simply produce a proportional decline in velocity, without requiring any further decline in yields. Notice the cluster of observations where the interest rate is zero? Those are the most recent data points.

[chart]

One might argue that while short-term interest rates are essentially zero, long-term interest rates are not, which might leave some room for a “Hicksian” effect from QE —that is, a boost to investment and economic activity in response to a further decline in long-term interest rates. The problem here is that longer-term interest rates, in an expectations sense, are already essentially at zero. The remaining yield on longer-term bonds is a risk premium that is commensurate with U.S. interest-rate volatility (Japanese risk premiums are lower, but they also have nearly zero interest-rate variability).

So QE at this point represents little but an effort to drive risk premiums to levels that are inadequate to compensate investors for risk. This is unlikely to go well. Moreover, as noted below, the precise level of long-term interest rates is not the main constraint on borrowing here. The key issues are the rational desire to reduce debt loads, and the inadequacy of profitable investment opportunities in an economy flooded with excess capacity.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the current debate about monetary policy is the belief that changes in the money stock are tightly related either to GDP growth or inflation at all. Look at the historical data and you will find no evidence of it. Over the years, I’ve repeatedly emphasized that inflation is primarily a reflection of fiscal policy—specifically, growth in the outstanding quantity of government liabilities, regardless of their form, in order to finance unproductive spending.

Look at the experience of the 1970s (which followed large expansions in transfer payments), as well as every historical hyperinflation, and you’ll find massive increases in government spending that were made without regard to productivity (Germany’s hyperinflation, for instance, was provoked by continuous wage payments to striking workers).

Likewise, real economic growth has no observable correlation with growth in the monetary base (the correlation is actually slightly negative but insignificant). Rather, economic growth is the result of hundreds of millions of individual decision-makers, each acting in their best interests to shift their consumption plans, saving, and investment in response to desirable opportunities that they face. Their behavior cannot simply be induced by changes in the money supply or in interest rates, absent those desirable opportunities.

You can see why monetary-base manipulations have so little effect on GDP by examining U.S. data since 1947. Expand the quantity of base money, and it turns out that velocity falls in nearly direct proportion. The cluster of points at the bottom right reflect the most recent data.

[chart]

[Geek's Note: The slope of the relationship plotted above is approximately -1, while the Y intercept is just over 6%, which makes sense, and reflects the long-term growth of nominal GDP, virtually independent of variations in the monetary base.

For example, 6% growth in nominal GDP is consistent with 0% M and 6% V, 5% M and 1% V, 10% M and -4% V, etc. There is somewhat more scatter in 3-year, 2-year and 1-year charts, but it is random scatter. If expansions in base money were correlated with predictably higher GDP growth, and contractions in base money were correlated with predictably lower GDP growth, the slope of the line would be flatter and the fit would still be reasonably good. We don't observe this.]

Just to drive the point home, the chart below presents the same historical relationship in Japanese data over the past two decades. One wonders why anyone expects quantitative easing in the U.S. to be any less futile than it was in Japan.

(chart)

Simply put, monetary policy is far less effective in affecting real (or even nominal) economic activity than investors seem to believe. The main effect of a change in the monetary base is to change monetary velocity and short-term interest rates. Once short-term interest rates drop to zero, further expansions in base money simply induce a proportional collapse in velocity.

I should emphasize that the Federal Reserve does have an essential role in providing liquidity during periods of crisis, such as bank runs, when people are rapidly converting bank deposits into currency. Undoubtedly, we would have preferred the Fed to have provided that liquidity in recent years through open-market operations using Treasury securities, rather than outright purchases of the debt securities of insolvent financial institutions, which the public is now on the hook to make whole.

The Fed should not be in the insolvency bailout game. Outside of open-market operations using Treasuries, Fed loans during a crisis should be exactly that, loans – and preferably following Bagehot’s Rule (“lend freely but at a high rate of interest”). Moreover, those loans must be senior to any obligation to bank bondholders—the public’s claim should precede private claims. In any event, when liquidity constraints are truly binding, the Fed has an essential function in the economy.

At present, however, the governors of the Fed are creating massive distortions in the financial markets with little hope of improving real economic growth or employment. There is no question that the Fed has the ability to affect the supply of base money, and can affect the level of long-term interest rates, given a sufficient volume of intervention. The real issue is that neither of these factors is currently imposing a binding constraint on economic growth, so there is no benefit in relaxing them further. The Fed is pushing on a string.

Excerpted from the November 5 issue of John Mauldin’s Thoughts From The Frontline.

Ambac Financial files for bankruptcy

Sean Corrigan Butchers The Chairman’s Inversion Of Cause And Effect, Discusses The Fed’s Brand New “Unbridled Imperial Arrogance” Diapason’s Sean Corrigan is out in full force for the second week in a row, this time looking at the consequences of a QE2, in which as he explains, the very premise of cause and effect has been inverted by the Federal Reserve, and which will result in even more dire consequences bequeathed by the launch of the HFRBS QE2.

Germany attacks US economic policy Germany has put itself on a collision course with the US over the global economy, after its finance minister launched an extraordinary attack on policies being pursued in Washington.

Bernanke’s Solutions Are the Problem Ben Bernanke, the man who purports to be the savior of the economy today, was actually deeply involved in creating the housing bubble, encouraging people to invest in toxic assets, and orchestrating the cover-up after the bubble collapsed.

Bernanke Stands By Fed’s Moves Fears are the Fed’s action will have limited impact in boosting credit availability, while at the same time increasing the chance inflation could break out at some point.

World Bank Boss Zoellick Calls for International Gold Standard Leading economies should consider readopting a modified global gold standard to guide currency movements, argues the president of the World Bank.

John Boehner Says In Order To Pay For The Wars, We Need To Raise The Social Security Retirement Age To 70

Rand Paul: GOP must consider military spending cuts Government spending is sure to be one of the biggest targets now that Republicans have won back the House, but there have been few details on exactly what programs will see their budgets slashed.

Reject the Welfare/Warfare State Last week’s midterm elections have been characterized as a victory for grassroots Americans who are fed up with Washington and the political status quo. In particular, the elections are being touted as a clear indicator that voters demand reductions in federal spending, deficits, and debt.

Come On! Insiders selling (into the bubble as preceded last crash), this is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally into the close off lows to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button – and, they know all those technical trade lines that are easy to program in this current phase of the scam / fraud with the debased dollar). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

National / World

Even Greenspan Admits that Moral Hazard and Fraud are the Main Problems Even Alan Greenspan is confirming what William Black, James Galbraith, Joseph Stiglitz, George Akerlof and many other economists and financial experts have been saying for a long time: the economy cannot recover if fraud is not prosecuted and if the big banks know that government will bail them out every time they get in trouble.

Two Creepy Quotes of the Day David Kramer | In reality, the only things there would not be if we hadn’t fought those wars are the big bank accounts of the Banksters who own the Federal Reserve which prints the money for those wars.

Clintonite: Obama Needs OKC Bombing to “Reconnect with the American People” Kurt Nimmo | Pollster suggests another false flag mass murder event will help Obama regain popularity.

Noam Chomsky: No Evidence that Al-Qaeda Carried Out the 9/11 Attacks Washington’s Blog | Numerous people have expressed doubts about the official version, including the 9/11 Commissioners.

A loaf of wheat bread may soon cost $23 due to skyrocketing food price inflation Mike Adams | Make no mistake: Food prices are on the rise.

$27.5 Million for 9/11 Workers A group of workers who claimed they suffered health problems as a result of being exposed to debris from ground zero during its removal and transfer to a landfill on Staten Island stand to receive $27.5 million in a settlement announced on Friday.

Banks spying on your bills, rent payments, paychecks: report The age of the plain old credit score is gone, says a report at the Wall Street Journal, and it’s been replaced by ever more intrusive efforts by banks and credit agencies to gauge exactly what you’re worth, and what you can pay.

Republican Senator urges Obama to support war with Iran, ‘confrontation’ with China The United States faces a possible war with Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions and a “period of confrontation” with China over its currency, a top US lawmaker warned Saturday.

John Boehner Says In Order To Pay For The Wars, We Need To Raise The Social Security Retirement Age To 70 Daily Bail | I’m not in denial. I understand that some form of entitlement reform needs to happen otherwise we’ll go broke.

Rand Paul: GOP must consider military spending cuts Raw Story | Government spending is sure to be one of the biggest targets now that Republicans have won back the House, but there have been few details on exactly what programs will see their budgets slashed.

Fed Global Backlash Grows Wall Street Journal - Jonathan Weisman NEW DELHI—Global controversy mounted over the Federal Reserve's decision to pump billions of dollars into the US economy, with President Barack Obama defending the move as China, Russia and the euro zone added to a chorus of ... Obama Cranks Up Currency Heat on China as Gold, Oil Prices Soar Fox News Fed's Stimulus Overshadows This Week's Economic Summit CNBC CNNMoney - New York Times - Bloomberg -

netanayahu ‘cause everyone knows nuclear israel is greatest danger to world Jerusalem Post PM heckled repeatedly by activists at New Orleans GA protesting West Bank "occupation" and plans for loyalty oath. Israel is the greatest threat to the world, and its nuclear program must be stopped, Prime Minister ... US 'Deeply Disappointed' by Israel's Building Plan for East Jerusalem Voice of America Israel permits new settlement homes Aljazeera.net

Drudgereport: $10,200,000,000,000.00 IN GLOBAL BORROWING
Netanyahu to press U.S. for military threat on Iran...
World Bank seeks gold standard debate...
China tees up showdown with USA...
Powder keg...
Bernanke Defends Pumping...
Treasury Yields Tumble to Records...
Germany: American growth model 'in deep crisis'...
Banks set for small company failures...
California borrows $40M A DAY to pay unemployment benefits...
Feds spend $700,000 to study cow burps... and more
Gold hits record high, tops $1,400 per ounce...
Oil price hits two-year high...
MAY HIT $90...

Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.scribd.com/alpeia
http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

Obama vows to 'pry some markets open' on Asia trip (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan … for the ram … who kept buttin’ the damn … ‘cause he’s got high hopes … or maybe just high … I mean, come on … let’s get real here … what do we have, that they need, that they can’t get much cheaper elsewhere … and then there’s that geopolitical thing of not wanting to feed directly or indirectly the u.s. / israeli / zionist war machine. ]

Pentagon's Cyber Command seeks authority to expand its battlefield (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a backdoor censorship plan to me. After all, based on actual events and history that belies their words, isn’t expanding battlefields and perpetual war what they’ve become all about? The nation’s defacto bankrupt. Afghanistan, as warned here, an abject failure. Kind of reminds me of that war film (I don’t recall the name) where at the close of WW2 you see some nazi officers huddled around with one asking what to do now, with a stern, unequivocal response, ‘prepare for the next war’. Ridiculous! ]

Post company reports spike in earnings (Washington Post) [ Well deserved congratulations to The Washington Post. Well done! ]

Fed boosts markets where WH, Congress could not (Washington Post) [ Alas, poor Mr. Irwin … we knew him … for a fleeting moment of departure from his glass-half-full though empty days … that ephemeral lucidity that seems now lost forever in Mr. Irwin … I mean, look at this headline … phrased as almost a positive by implication … he’s hurting my eyes … after all, would you cheer a bank robber who robs a bank then distributes the loot to his friends … well, his friends will spend same and that loot was just sitting there … in the bank … riiiiight! Like the moment of fleeting brilliance of the retard consummately played by oscar-winner Cliff Robertson in ‘Charly’, let me just euphemistically say that Mr. Irwin and those who purport to think his way as appears by his less than incisive article are displaying a regressive thought pattern, at best, and short-memories / stupidity at worst. Artificially boosting stock prices (and commissions) by debasing currency is not the wh, congress, nor the fed’s mission or purpose and will end quite badly as has always historically been the case. Bill Fleckenstein Has Some Thoughts On QE2: “These Idiots Think We Can Print Our Way To Prosperity” [ I disagree! I believe they are well aware of the folly of their fraudulent and ultimately disastrous approach but are, as in the last debacle, creating a fraudulent bubble for the wall street frauds and insiders to sell into, which they are indeed doing as we speak. (INSIDER SELLING IS AT RECORD HIGHS) (Another Nobel Economist Says We Have to Prosecute Fraud Or Else the Economy Won’t Recover As economists such as William Black and James Galbraith have repeatedly said, we cannot solve the economic crisis unless we throw the criminals who committed fraud in jail. ) ] Fed to pump $600B into the economy (Washington Post) [ Listen to this total, absolute b*** s*** … from no-recession-helicopter ben shalom or b.s. for short, bernanke, with green shoots wilting on the vine … to his recent ‘better to try and fail than to do nothing at all’ … Balderdash! … I hearken back to a distinction made by the brilliant Peter Drucker who in emphasizing the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness states that being effective means doing the right things, clearly not the case here … other than frothing that fraudulent wall street market with high-frequency programmed trades and debased dollars he can’t seem to print enough of, and for all but wall frauds churn and earn profits as they retain their fraudulent gains from the last debacle and this one, his policies are nothing short of disaster for this nation and the world. That money going into wall street pockets has to come from somewhere … guess. Remember, america’s defacto bankrupt and the consequences for those continuing frauds on wall street don’t justify the irretrievable costs! ] In addition to a question for Bloomberg TV anchor Betty Lui, who asked Bill to “admit” that “the markets were in a better mood yesterday after QE2,” which is simply this: “Betty? Betty? Betty? How about in summer 2008, 2007, were the markets in a good mood? Were the markets in a good mood then?” [ Quite right! The same pattern that preceded the last crash. Falling dollar, high volume programmed high frequency trades to the upside creating an even larger, gravity-defying bubble for the wall street frauds and insiders to sell into. They’re not too big or important to fail and jail! Prospective economic health depends on that reality! ] ]

Employers add 151K jobs, most since May (Washington Post) [ And you can take that to your insolvent bank (Banks in Md, Calif shuttered; 141 failures in '10 - AP) . After all, if the defacto bankrupt american gov’t’s labor department says it, it must be true (although new record for that ‘stopped looking’ fudge factor as well. People Who “Want A Job Now” Jumps To Second Highest Ever As Persons Not In Labor Force Reaches Record Some more facts emerging from a look at two more sub-headline indicators: the persons not in the labor force, which we noted in the prior post, is now at the highest ever, at 84,626K, an increase of 462K from September.)]

Caught In A Lie: Bernanke Promised Congress The Federal Reserve Would Not Monetize The Debt But Now That Is Exactly What Is Happening On June 3rd, 2009 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke promised the U.S. Congress that the Federal Reserve would not monetize the debt of the U.S. government.

Pending Home Sales Fall 1.8%

Three Issues That Derail the Rally Wyatt ‘…But let’s also not forget that the news flow will turn at some point. Right now, it may be all good. But that won’t last.

• Oil prices have the potential to raise a warning flag for spending, as household budgets are pressured by prices at the pump.
• And of course, a surprise pickup in inflation as measured by the PPI or CPI is another potential catalyst.
• We also should pay attention to states’ budgets. Meredith Whitney made some minor headlines with her report about insolvency at certain states. This story is likely still percolating in the background.

I want to emphasize that I don’t expect these stories to pop up in the next day or two. We should see some significant new highs for the indices. And then there’s the holiday season to perpetuate the good cheer. But as we get toward January 1, 2011, the potential for a significant reversal increases…’

Why You Shouldn't Invest in American Stocks

Stocks Muddle Through, Uninspired by Jobs Report About the author: Midnight Trader 4:08 PM, Nov 5, 2010 --

Daily Short-Term, High-Probability Mean Reversion Indicator: ETFs in Extreme Overbought State

Stocks Rise To End This Ridiculously Exhausting Week: Here's What You Need To Know Weisenthal, On Friday November 5, 2010, We don't blame you if you left your desk at 8:31 today, the minute after the jobs report came out [ Ridiculous is the word. Is anyone foolish enough to believe anything the u.s. labor department has to say? After all, these are desperate criminals; that corrupt government / fraudulent wall street axis. Totally preposterous! Then of course on top of what is described infra as ‘yesterday was the most terrifying bull rally ever, as every last thing that wasn't the dollar went berserk. It felt like a mini-Zimbabwe day’. Zimbabweans are pikers compared to defacto bankrupt america’s current third-world scam / fraud! ] It was a ridiculously busy week, what with the election and FOMC and jobs report.

But first, the scoreboardDow: +10
NASDAQ: -0.05
S&P 500: +4.8And now, the top stories:

• Remember, yesterday was the most terrifying bull rally ever, as every last thing that wasn't the dollar went berserk. It felt like a mini-Zimbabwe day.

• That mega-rally continued in Japan where stocks went nuts on the BoJ's plan to intervene more in the market.

• The scene was basically the same in Europe. Notably, yields are surging across the PIIGS once again.

• Of course, the big anticipated news of the day was the jobs report at 8:30, which came in way ahead of expectations. Notably, the public sector jobs bleeding has stopped. Everyone figured there'd be about 100K+ net new jobs created in the private sector, but in past months, the public sector has killed the headline number. Also good news was the fact that August and September jobs were revised higher.

• As for markets... they didn't do a whole lot. You can't blame them for being tired.

Banks in Md, Calif shuttered; 141 failures in '10 - AP

George Soros on Market Bubbles Jack Sparrow [ Captain Jack again points to the all too familiar pirated plunder on fraudulent wall street. ] Things are getting nutty right now… and tempers are starting to fray.On one side of the coin, you have long-only types trumpeting thinly veiled versions of “I told you so” and “You were dumb not to be long this whole time.”On the other side of the coin, you have macro-oriented observers tearing their hair out over the blatantly manipulative falsehoods underpinning this move. Legendary value investor Seth Klarman pegged it best as “the Hostess Twinkie Market:”Hostess Twinkies make childhood happier with totally artificial ingredients. The market has been made happier by government manipulation.Not to get all judgmental, but both sides (to the degree they have become highly emotional) need to take a chill pill.Longs crowing over their favorite stocks should be more humble in respect to acknowledging the true drivers of this market, which have piss-all to do with fundamentals and are quite precarious.Angry bears, meanwhile, should get their zen on and recognize that false trends are still trends, and fighting the big wave has been a losing proposition since time immemorial.In other words, you don’t have to be theoretically correct in your reasoning. You just need to have the right positions on at the right time. If you are in this game to win, then it is not about being right, but making money. Yet at the same time, as a general rule you want to be theoretically sound if at all possible… because if your portfolio is anchored to a foundation of false beliefs, or not anchored to anything at all, that increases the likelihood of getting your head handed to you.And thus, for traders especially, the ideal is to have the best of both worlds:The ability to maintain general theoretical correctness, i.e. the chops to recognize a false trend for what it is, coupled with the flexibility and the means to profitably exploit false trends regardless, while keeping risk under control.There are at least three levels to the game:

• That which is real
• That which is believed
• The market’s reaction to both

And so we would argue that, right now, it is more important than ever to understand the nature of false trends, feedback loops, bubbles and the like — and the proper means of handling them all.The originator and grand master of this particular realm is the semi-palindrome, George Soros.Thus, for the general edification of the public in this time of turmoil, we reproduce below a relevant excerpt from Soros’ June 2010 ‘Act II Of the Drama’ speech, in which the key concepts are helpfully revisited.Read it, study it, ponder it… and while you’re at it, forward to every cranky / self-righteous market participant you know!EXCERPT FROM THE GEORGE SOROS ‘ACT II OF THE DRAMA’ SPEECH, JUNE 2010 (emphasis added)Let me briefly recapitulate my theory for those who are not familiar with it. It can be summed up in two propositions.
First, financial markets, far from accurately reflecting all the available knowledge, always provide a distorted view of reality. This is the principle of fallibility. The degree of distortion may vary from time to time. Sometimes it’s quite insignificant, at other times it is quite pronounced. When there is a significant divergence between market prices and the underlying reality I speak of far from equilibrium conditions. That is where we are now.
Second, financial markets do not play a purely passive role; they can also affect the so-called fundamentals they are supposed to reflect. These two functions that financial markets perform work in opposite directions. In the passive or cognitive function, the fundamentals are supposed to determine market prices. In the active or manipulative function market, prices find ways of influencing the fundamentals. When both functions operate at the same time, they interfere with each other. The supposedly independent variable of one function is the dependent variable of the other, so that neither function has a truly independent variable. As a result, neither market prices nor the underlying reality is fully determined. Both suffer from an element of uncertainty that cannot be quantified. I call the interaction between the two functions reflexivity. Frank Knight recognized and explicated this element of unquantifiable uncertainty in a book published in 1921, but the Efficient Market Hypothesis and Rational Expectation Theory have deliberately ignored it. That is what made them so misleading.Reflexivity sets up a feedback loop between market valuations and the so-called fundamentals which are being valued. The feedback can be either positive or negative. Negative feedback brings market prices and the underlying reality closer together. In other words, negative feedback is self-correcting. It can go on forever, and if the underlying reality remains unchanged, it may eventually lead to an equilibrium in which market prices accurately reflect the fundamentals. By contrast, a positive feedback is self-reinforcing. It cannot go on forever because eventually, market prices would become so far removed from reality that market participants would have to recognize them as unrealistic. When that tipping point is reached, the process becomes self-reinforcing in the opposite direction. That is how financial markets produce boom-bust phenomena or bubbles. Bubbles are not the only manifestations of reflexivity, but they are the most spectacular. In my interpretation equilibrium, which is the central case in economic theory, turns out to be a limiting case where negative feedback is carried to its ultimate limit. Positive feedback has been largely assumed away by the prevailing dogma, and it deserves a lot more attention. I have developed a rudimentary theory of bubbles along these lines. Every bubble has two components: an underlying trend that prevails in reality and a misconception relating to that trend. When a positive feedback develops between the trend and the misconception, a boom-bust process is set in motion. The process is liable to be tested by negative feedback along the way, and if it is strong enough to survive these tests, both the trend and the misconception will be reinforced. Eventually, market expectations become so far removed from reality that people are forced to recognize that a misconception is involved. A twilight period ensues during which doubts grow and more and more people lose faith, but the prevailing trend is sustained by inertia. As Chuck Prince, former head of Citigroup, said, “As long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. We are still dancing.” Eventually a tipping point is reached when the trend is reversed; it then becomes self-reinforcing in the opposite direction. Typically bubbles have an asymmetric shape. The boom is long and slow to start. It accelerates gradually until it flattens out again during the twilight period. The bust is short and steep because it involves the forced liquidation of unsound positions.

Do As I Say No Matter What I Do ‘…Stocks are a more difficult conundrum. If the Fed wants ‘em higher, then they may well be able to push them higher for a while until they crack and collapse. But the time to crack and collapse is inherently unstable (for two excellent explorations of this phenomenon, see Why Stock Markets Crash: Critical Events in Complex Financial Systems and the more-accessible Ubiquity: Why Catastrophes Happen). I am naturally risk-averse, although even investors with a greater risk tolerance should also respond to uncertainty by decreasing bet size (see my discussion of the Kelly Criterion here) …’

Trading Has Become Exuberant Pierce

“if folks really understood what was going on they would be pissed. but most are happy to spot breakouts.” @marketmonk

“Anyone else feel like we are on a freight train headed for a cliff? Oh look the transports are up.” @docjck

Yesterday was an amazingly fantastic day if you’re long. Frustrating day if you were in cash. Disastrous day if you were short. What can anybody say about yesterday’s reaction to the Fed news except that it appears we’re headed towards a severe inflationary environment that could be our own demise. I believe those 2 tweets above really capture the essence of where we stand after a $600 billion band aid. I’d be curious what the interest ends up being after it’s paid back. Does anybody ever think of that? Commodities are speaking…can you hear them? My watchlist exploded yesterday with the amount of stocks I’m adding to it. You can see the ones that made the cut here. Normally it’s a great thing to add stocks that I’m interested in buying, but there comes a point where too many is a sign that something bad is about to happen. It reminds me of this story from a biology class in College. My professor had a jar where he placed some sort of micro-organism that reproduced and they doubled their amount everyday. After 21 days there was such a high number inside this jar, that there wasn’t enough space to live. The 22nd day they all died because when they doubled again there just wasn’t enough space to accommodate them all. For some reason it feels like we’re on that path with money creation, inflation…even our own population growth if you want to parallel the two stories…’

Dollar Begins Crash in Response to QE2 as Gold Scores New High Kurt Nimmo | The sickly U.S. dollar is now at risk of crashing and consumers will soon be hammered with higher prices.

Bank Holiday Rumors Swirl Amidst Currency Crisis Paul Joseph Watson | Fed’s “mad experiment” in dollar debasement stokes fresh jitters.

Bankruptcy of U.S. is ‘Mathematical Certainty,’ Says Former CEO of Nation’s 10th Largest Bank CNSNews.com | Allison likened what he sees as the predictable future bankruptcy of the United States to the problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [ US to spend 500 million dollars on embassy in Afghanistan AFP | The United States is bolstering its presence in Afghanistan with a 500 million dollar expansion of its Kabul embassy and the construction of two consulates. (Yeah … defacto bankrupt america can afford it! Riiiiight! ]

Ireland is running out of time Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | The bond crisis is snowballing out of control before the country has had enough time to let its medical, pharma, IT, and financial services industries.

Sen. Gregg: Federal, State Governments Facing Grecian Tragedy in a Few Years Newsmax.com | The federal government and state governments are facing massive debts moving forward.

NIA Warns Of Food Crisis, “Societal Collapse” In Response To Fed Money Printing The National Inflation Association is warning of a food crisis in America as soon as next year and possible “societal collapse” as a result of the Federal Reserve’s new quantitative easing program that threatens to eviscerate the buying power of the greenback.

Bank Holiday Rumors Swirl Amidst Currency Crisis With the world on the verge of a currency war as the Federal Reserve follows through on its dollar-killing quantitative easing program, rumors are once again swirling of a “bank holiday,” during which US citizens will be prevented from withdrawing money or at least limited in the amount of the withdrawal they can make.

People Who “Want A Job Now” Jumps To Second Highest Ever As Persons Not In Labor Force Reaches Record Some more facts emerging from a look at two more sub-headline indicators: the persons not in the labor force, which we noted in the prior post, is now at the highest ever, at 84,626K, an increase of 462K from September.

Dollar Begins Crash in Response to QE2 as Gold Scores New High Earlier this year, Lindsey Williams told Alex Jones the globalists would devalue the dollar and jack up the price of oil. Both are now happening.

Must Watch: David Stockman Says The Fed Is Injecting High Grade Monetary Heroin Into The Financial System Today’s absolutely must watch clip comes from David Stockman, director of the OMB under Ronald Reagan. “An independent Fed is what we had when I was in the government.

Asian Nations Are Already Teaming Up To Protect Themselves From The “Bernanke Super-Put” “Bernanke super-put” is the excellent phrase Ambrose Evans-Pritchard uses to describe the latest round of QE.

National / World

Latest Al Qaeda Boogie Man Was “Killed” 11 Months Ago Anwar al-Awlaki, the Al-Qaeda leader who supposedly masterminded last month’s plane bomb plot is the latest terrorist boogie man to have risen from the grave to exact his revenge.

‘Socialist’ MSNBC Pundit: Ban All Guns In America In the midst of an argument with Glen Greenwald, MSNBC pundit Lawrence O’Donnell admits that he is a socialist who wants to “ban all guns in America” while forcing Obamacare on everyone.

TSA Fondles Women and Children Refusing Airport Naked Body Scanners While her experience is frightening enough to warrant serious concern among citizens, Alex himself has witnessed this happen to men, women, and children on multiple occasions. Michelle will be joining Alex on the show again today to continue the discussion.

UN, Soros Push Global Tax To Fight Man-Made Climate Change A top UN panel on Friday called for increased taxes on carbon emissions and air and sea transport to raise 100 billion dollars a year to combat climate change.

Dollar Begins Crash in Response to QE2 as Gold Scores New High Kurt Nimmo | The sickly U.S. dollar is now at risk of crashing and consumers will soon be hammered with higher prices.

Bank Holiday Rumors Swirl Amidst Currency Crisis Paul Joseph Watson | Fed’s “mad experiment” in dollar debasement stokes fresh jitters.

TSA Fondles Women and Children Refusing Airport Naked Body Scanners Infowars.com | Alex talks with Michelle, a long-time Infowars.com employee about her experience at the hands of the TSA.

YouTube Finally Removes Terror Impresario’s Videos Kurt Nimmo | Ron Paul, Alex Jones, 9/11 truth videos removed in hours, not weeks.

Drudgereport: OCTOBER UNEMPLOYMENT REMAINS AT 9.6%... ADDED 151,000 JOBS
Labor Force Participation Rate Drops To 25 Year Low, At 64.5%...
Oil above $87...

Boehner: First cut should be lawmakers' salaries...
House GOP Promises Democrats Chance to Offer Spending Amendments...

OBAMA TELLS 60 MINS: IT'S NOT POLICIES THAT WERE REJECTED, IT WAS FAILED COMMUNICATION SKILLS … [ Riiiiight, wobama ,,,, master b*** s*** artist ]...

BACKLASH BUILDS AGAINST FED PUMPING...
'Dollar at Risk of Crashing, Triggering Inflation'...
Brazil ready to retaliate for US move in 'currency war'...
CHINA WARNS FED MOVE 'HUGE RISK'...
Germany Concerned...

Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.scribd.com/alpeia
http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

:  Alleged Afghan voting fraud to be investigated (Washington Post) [ Geeh! They’re really taking this americanization of Afghanistan really seriously, corruption in voting among other governmental processes in the corrupt american way not excepted. ]

Neighboring countries ponder a post-occupation Afghanistan (Washington Post) [ Yeah! Riiiiight! Ponder … as in ‘who’s next?’ . What chaos has the cia lined up for who and when? Come on! … Wake up, dummies! ]

Booz Allen Hamilton seeks IPO (Washington Post) [ bush-connected Carlyle, Virginia fed.gov’t mob infested (ie., cia, military, nsa, etc.) based co. cashing in on the current worthless paper fraud / scam with IPO … INSIDER SELLING IS AT RECORD HIGHS … Another Nobel Economist Says We Have to Prosecute Fraud Or Else the Economy Won’t Recover As economists such as William Black and James Galbraith have repeatedly said, we cannot solve the economic crisis unless we throw the criminals who committed fraud in jail… see infra ] McLean consulting firm is seeking an initial public offering that might hand the buyout firm a 241 percent paper profit on its investment.

Stocks jump after Fed's move to jolt economy (Washington Post) [ Dollar Shrinkage: Dave's Daily INSIDER SELLING IS AT RECORD HIGHS - ‘I gotta do something different right? It seems every report and blog is writing about what a great day this was for markets. It was except for low volume. Overseas governments don't like the dollar shrinkage one little bit… / Fed to pump $600B into the economy (Washington Post) [ Listen to this total, absolute b*** s*** … from no-recession-helicopter ben shalom or b.s. for short, bernanke, with green shoots wilting on the vine … to his most recent b.s. line, ‘better to try and fail than to do nothing at all’ … Balderdash! … I hearken back to a distinction made by the brilliant Peter Drucker who in emphasizing the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness states that being effective means doing the right things, clearly not the case here … other than frothing that fraudulent wall street market with high-frequency programmed trades and debased dollars he can’t seem to print enough of, and for all but wall frauds churn and earn profits as they retain their fraudulent gains from the last debacle and this one, his policies are nothing short of disaster for this nation and the world. That money going into wall street pockets has to come from somewhere … guess. Remember, america’s defacto bankrupt and the consequences for those continuing frauds on wall street don’t justify the irretrievable costs! ] ] Central bank's aggressive move sends stocks soaring to their highest level in two years as investors express renewed confidence that someone in Washington is finally giving the sluggish recovery a lift.

Bush breaks silence, writes next chapter (Washington Post) [ As a failed president and war criminal himself, moron dumbya bush is among the few in the world that makes failed president wobama look plausibly good in comparison … wobama merely continued the failed policies of dumbya (perpetual war, no pros the frauds on wallstreet, etc.) that got pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america to this point of decline and failure. ] Anne E. Kornblut Your take: His most memorable moment? [ Like regrets in that old song (his way) he’s had a few – http://albertpeia.com/evilonthetarmac.htm here’s a few: bushisms from bush the brain-damaged moron http://albertpeia.com/bushisms.htm :

Another Nobel Economist Says We Have to Prosecute Fraud Or Else the Economy Won’t Recover As economists such as William Black and James Galbraith have repeatedly said, we cannot solve the economic crisis unless we throw the criminals who committed fraud in jail. ‘Washington’s Blog Nov 4th, 2010 As economists such as William Black and James Galbraith have repeatedly said, we cannot solve the economic crisis unless we throw the criminals who committed fraud in jail. And Nobel prize winning economist George Akerlof has demonstrated that failure to punish white collar criminals – and instead bailing them out- creates incentives for more economic crimes and further destruction of the economy in the future. See this, this and this. Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz just agreed. As Stiglitz told Yahoo’s Daily Finance on October 20th: This is a really important point to understand from the point of view of our society. The legal system is supposed to be the codification of our norms and beliefs, things that we need to make our system work. If the legal system is seen as exploitative, then confidence in our whole system starts eroding. And that’s really the problem that’s going on. *** A lot of the predatory practices in automobile loans are going to be able to be continued. Why is it OK to engage in bad lending in automobiles and not in the mortgage market? Is there any principle? We all know the answer to that. No, there’s no principle. It’s money. It’s campaign contributions, lobbying, revolving door, all of those kinds of things *** The system is designed to actually encourage that kind of thing, even with the fines [referring to former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozillo, who recently paid tens of millions of dollars in fines, a small fraction of what he actually earned, because he earned hundreds of millions.]. I know so many people who say it’s an outrage that we had more accountability in the ’80’s with the S&L crisis than we are having today. Yeah, we fine them, and what is the big lesson? Behave badly, and the government might take 5% or 10% of what you got in your ill-gotten gains, but you’re still sitting home pretty with your several hundred million dollars that you have left over after paying fines that look very large by ordinary standards but look small compared to the amount that you’ve been able to cash in. *** So the system is set so that even if you’re caught, the penalty is just a small number relative to what you walk home with. The fine is just a cost of doing business. It’s like a parking fine. Sometimes you make a decision to park knowing that you might get a fine because going around the corner to the parking lot takes you too much time. ***I think we ought to go do what we did in the S&L [crisis] and actually put many of these guys in prison. Absolutely. These are not just white-collar crimes or little accidents. There were victims. That’s the point. There were victims all over the world. *** So do we have any confidence that these guys who got us into the mess have really changed their minds? Actually we have pretty [good] confidence that they have not. I’ve seen some speeches where they said, “Nothing was really wrong. We didn’t get things quite right. But our understanding of the issues is pretty sound.” If they think that, then we really are in a sorry mess. *** There are many aspects of [deterring people from committing crime]. Economists focus on the whole notion of incentives. People have an incentive sometimes to behave badly, because they can make more money if they can cheat. If our economic system is going to work then we have to make sure that what they gain when they cheat is offset by a system of penalties. And that’s why, for instance, in our antitrust law, we often don’t catch people when they behave badly, but when we do we say there are treble damages. You pay three times the amount of the damage that you do. That’s a strong deterrent. Unfortunately, what we’ve been doing now, and more recently in these financial crimes, is settling for fractions – fractions! – of the direct damage, and even a smaller fraction of the total societal damage. That is to say, the financial sector really brought down the global economy and if you include all of that collateral damage, it’s really already in the trillions of dollars. But there’s a broader sense of collateral damage that I think that has not really been taken on board. And that is confidence in our legal system, in our rule of law, in our system of justice. When you say the Pledge of Allegiance you say, with “justice for all.” People aren’t sure that we have justice for all. Somebody is caught for a minor drug offense, they are sent to prison for a very long time. And yet, these so-called white-collar crimes, which are not victimless, almost none of these guys, almost none of them, go to prison. *** Let me give you another example of where the legal system has gotten very much out of whack, and which contributed to the financial crisis. In 2005, we passed a bankruptcy reform. It was a reform pushed by the banks. It was designed to allow them to make bad loans to people to who didn’t understand what was going on, and then basically choke them. Squeeze them dry. And we should have called it, “the new indentured servitude law.” Because that’s what it did. Let me just tell you how bad it is. I don’t think Americans understand how bad it is. It becomes really very difficult for individuals to discharge their debt. The basic principle in the past in America was people should have the right for a fresh start. People make mistakes. Especially when they’re preyed upon. And so you should be able to start afresh again. Get a clean slate. Pay what you can and start again. Now if you do it over and over again that’s a different thing. But at least when there are these lenders preying on you should be able to get a fresh start. But they [the banks] said, “No, no, you can’t discharge your debt,” or you can’t discharge it very easily. *** This is indentured servitude. And we criticize other countries for having indentured servitude of this kind, bonded labor. But in America we instituted this in 2005 with almost no discussion of the consequences. But what it did was encourage the banks to engage in even worse lending practices. *** The banks want to pretend that they did not make bad loans. They don’t want to come into reality. The fact that they were very instrumental in changing the accounting standards, so that loans that are impaired where people are not paying back what they owe, are treated as if they are just as good as a well-performing mortgage. So the whole strategy of the banks has been to hide the losses, muddle through and get the government to keep interest rates really low. *** The result of this is, as long as we keep up this strategy, it’s going to be a long time before the economy recovers …’

Dollar Shrinkage: Dave's Daily INSIDER SELLING IS AT RECORD HIGHS - ‘I gotta do something different right? It seems every report and blog is writing about what a great day this was for markets. It was except for low volume. Overseas governments don't like the dollar shrinkage one little bit. A currency war is the likely result. Oh, and before we get too optimistic (we're long too you know) its reported insider selling is at record highs--like, what do they know? Meanwhile with the big rally day for stocks and just about everything else priced in dollars. (Even bond prices rose!) It's all about the Fed wanting higher asset prices and that means stocks too. Forget about the PPT. The important thing when it comes to the Fed's monetary policies is for every action there's a reaction. They know that raising stock prices is good for 401Ks. It makes people feel better so they'll shop more and maybe even buy a house. And, forget about employment data since the unemployed have been left out on the ice with a few worthless dollars to buy food. As stated, volume was light for this type of day and reflects the absence of retail investors who continue to withdraw sums from equities. What good is inflation if they're sitting in low-yielding bonds? Breadth was positive naturally but not a 90/10 day.’

Initial Weekly Claims Rise 20,000 NEW YORK (TheStreet) – ‘The number of Americans filing unemployment claims for the first time rose more than expected last week according to a labor department report released early Thursday. The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims increased by 20,000 to 457,000 in the week ended Oct. 30, from the previous week's upwardly revised estimate of 437,000. Analysts were expecting initial claims to rise by 11,000 to 445,000, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com. The number of people filing continuing claims -- those who have been receiving unemployment insurance for at least a week -- came in lower than expected at 4.34 million for the week ended Oct. 23, a decrease of 42,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 4.382 million. Consensus estimates projected continuing claims to rise to 4.386 million. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average(DIA) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF(SPY) were rising by 0.8% and 1 % respectively in premarket trading while the PowerShares QQQ(QQQQ) was up 1.2%. The 4-week moving average in initial claims, which smoothes the volatility in week-to-week reports, was 456,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average of 454,000. The 4-week moving average in continuing claims was 4.410 million, a decrease of 42,750 from the preceding week's average of 4.453 million. This initial weekly claims report comes a day before the Labor Department reports nonfarm payroll numbers for the month of October. The economy is projected to have added 60,000 jobs in October, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com. In September, the economy shed 95,000 jobs, as the state and local government laid off more workers and private sector job growth remained modest…’

Auto Sales are Up, But Who's Really Buying? ‘… Not Buying It … As we search for these vital signs of health, we continue to be sustained by the disconnect between the markets and reality as the dow (DJI: ^DJI), Nasdaq  (Nasdaq: ^IXIC), and S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) grind higher.’ 

5 Promises That Money Printing Can't Fulfill - Pento ‘It seems the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve is of the belief that diluting the dollar is the cure for everything from a recession to male pattern baldness. And like other snake-oil salesmen before him, Mr. Bernanke is heavy on promises and light on results. Here are five prescriptions that money printing can't fulfill:

• Lower the corporate tax rate. The US corporate tax rate is the second highest in the developed world, after Japan. Lowering this tax would help American businesses compete with foreign corporations and unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of our workforce. In addition, lowering taxes on capital goods purchases and retained earnings would also encourage expansion projects, new hiring, and therefore general business development.
• Reduce crippling regulations. There isn't a much better example of the current environment of excessive red tape than the number of "Czars" running around the White House: 28, at last count. Ronald Reagan had just one. These sub-cabinet level offices simply advise the President on how to further fetter American businesses and launch umpteen "independent probes" every time an issue comes up. But even officials not given the Imperial Russian title are busy making life hell for small- and medium-sized businesses because there is too much power in Washington.
• Learn to compete with foreign workers. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and mandated benefits and regulations add even more to the cost of employment. We need to repeal these laws and allow wages to adjust freely to market conditions. Initially, incomes may drop, but if we also lower taxes while reducing the rate of inflation, workers' real disposable income may actually increase. Meanwhile, as our economy's underlying strength is rebuilt, American workers will finally be able to compete with foreign workers on a level playing field. If we ignore these reforms, high-quality jobs will continue to flow overseas.
• Improve America's educational system. According to a recent report put out by the National Academies of Science and Engineering, the US ranks 21st in science and 25th in math out of 30 industrialized nations. And, according to the World Economic Forum, the United States' K-12 education system now ranks 48th in the world. How can our workers compete in the 21st century without the necessary technological skills to fill highly paid positions? We need to dramatically reform our public educational system by injecting a massive dose of free markets into the mix. Whether this involves charter schools, private schools, vouchers, or a combination, public schools must be forced to compete for students and funding. If consumers were given a true choice by offering tax credits to those parents that opt-out of the public system, it would go a long way towards establishing an environment that purges mediocrity and rewards excellence.
• Balance the federal budgets. Balancing a budget simply means spending only what you take in as revenue. If we were to adopt that simply strategy, it would ensure that: tax rates would never have to rise sharply just to service debt, the Fed would never have to print money to 'monetize' the debt, interest rates would be lower, and spending that benefits one generation would never be paid for by generations to come. A stable currency, low taxes and the ability to pay down debts are necessary ingredients for a growing workforce and a viable middle class.

Unlike the snake oil of printed money, these genuine therapies take time and effort, and sometimes have painful side effects. The quack remedies offered by Dr. Bernanke promise to cure all ills with no effort on the part of the patient. If the measures I propose are established in concert, we would lay the groundwork upon which to rebuild the country's goods-producing sector. If allowed to flourish, manufacturing can create the needed jobs to lower the long-term unemployment rate and restore the county's economic vitality. The Fed's plan, by contrast, has only one predictable consequence: inflation. Indeed, Bernanke has already been remarkably successful in sending asset prices higher. Not only are most commodities soaring in dollar terms, but the broader measures of the money supply have started to surge as well. The compounded annual rates of change in MZM and M2 over the last month are 13.3% and 9.1% respectively. The prices-paid component of the September ISM manufactures survey jumped to 71, and the YoY increase in the PPI is 4%. Sure, we can look to the Dow or the stabilization of home prices and say the Fed's magic is working, but just because the headache has gone away doesn't mean you've cured the stroke. We can look to the inflation indicators to see that the Fed has failed to stop the bleeding.

Remember, the Fed is now printing dollars to purchase the bulk of US Treasuries at auction, in a process called debt monetization. It is that process of the Fed expanding the money supply to subsidize federal debt that is causing domestic prices to surge. It will not be very long before the consumer acutely suffers from this dangerous policy. On this point, history is clear: inflation has caused the destruction of every middle class and every economy that has sought it as a solution. There are no quick fixes to our current economic predicament, but there are fixes. It's up to the American people to decide they've had enough of Ben 'Rasputin' Bernanke and they're ready for some tough medicine. When that happens, I've got some great specialists to recommend.’

Financial Improprieties Abound as Stocks Rally Simon Maierhofer, On Thursday November 4, 2010, 6:53 pm EDT Throughout mankind's history, scales have been a symbol of equality. As much as commoners rely on scales to be treated fairly, 'ueber commoners' try to escape the scales of justice and equality and want to be measured by different and better standards. In his Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln exhorted his listeners to ensure the survival of a government of the people, by the people, for the people. It seems like survival of the fittest like forces have turned a government of, by and for the people into a government of, for and by special interest groups. No More Robin Hood This week we read that even the Robin Hood of investors, creates his own rules. Warren Buffett - the only candidate to even remotely resemble a Robin Hood of Wall Street - had a friendly exchange with the SEC about the treatment of actual losses.Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway was sitting on $1.86 billion in losses caused by declining Kraft and US Bancorp stock. The losses were more than 12 months old and according to current accounting rules had to be written down.Perhaps Warren had seen how Wall Street is allowed to bend accounting rules to its favor (more about that in a moment) and thought: 'what they can do I can do better.'In short, Berkshire didn't write down the $1.86 billion in losses because ... drum roll ... as Berkshire's Chief Financial Officer Marc Hamburg's reasoned:'We believe it is reasonably possible that the market prices of Kraft Foods and U.S. Bancorp will recover to our cast within the next one to two years assuming that there are no material adverse events affecting these companies or the industries in which they operate.'In other words, Berkshire didn't want to write down losses, because under the right circumstances there's a fair chance that stock prices will recover.Perfect Conditions - 100% ProfitabilityOf course, under the right conditions any loss could reverse itself. But, because we don't live in a perfect world, we have accounting rules. The final numbers are designed to help investors evaluate a company's current financial health.If the Doctor tells you that you have high cholesterol, do you tell him: 'Don't worry, under the perfect conditions I'll eat only raw vegetables,' when in reality you live on burgers and fries and should be on a double dose of cholesterol meds?Interestingly - and very smartly - Warren Buffett's new knight - Todd Combs - has stolen the headlight and absorbed the attention of what otherwise could turn into a full-fledged accounting scandal.Further ImplicationsCourtesy of the post-2007 credit contraction, Wall Street Banksters, the administration, and reputable companies have become quite adept at the denial and cover up approach.Case in point, Fannie and Freddie. In 2008, management for the ailing housing giant denied financial trouble.  On Sunday, September 7, 2008, the government seized control of Fannie and Freddie. Nevertheless, stocks rallied on Monday the morning after.Despite stock's (NYSEArca: VTI - News) party mood, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter considered banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) and financial institutions (NYSEArca: XLF - News) a 'downward spiral with no stop-loss provision' and predicted Dow (DJI: ^DJI) 7,500 previously in September 2008.As stocks quickly tumbled to Dow 7,500, the government became desperate. Real estate related losses were piling up; investors lost confidence in the financial system and drove Washington Mutual out of business.The problem was too big to fix, so the administration forced the Financial Accounting Standards Board to change rule 157. Obviously, the fix is only topical. If it wasn't, why would Fannie and Freddie need an additional $215 billion in aid?The 'new and improved' rule 157 allowed Banksters to value assets at what they might be worth in the future. If bank A purchased a portfolio of real estate (NYSEArca: IYR - News) for $10 million in 2006 and lost $6 million because the assets turned toxic, bank A is allowed to value the portfolio just below $10 million. The very real loss is not included in the current earnings numbers.Can You Trust EarningsThe real question is whether you can trust reported earnings? If Berkshire, along with most banks and financial conglomerates, has the legal right to fudge their earnings we may rightly wonder who else is employing this convenient accounting trick? Some would call them stupid if they didn't.Ironically, Citigroup's profits exceeded estimates because they reduced bad loan provisions. JPMorgan on the other hand expects mortgage buybacks (related to the foreclosure disaster) to cost lenders $120 billion.To emphasize, Citigroup reducing its bad loan reserves would be like an insurance company reducing its natural disaster fund right before hurricane season.Be that as it may, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), Dow Jones (NYSEArca: DIA - News), and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) continue to rally. The Nasdaq 100 (Nasdaq: QQQQ - News) has already shot past its April 2010 recovery high, while the Dow and S&P (NYSEArca: IVV - News) are within striking distance.Expect the Unexpected Following a horrendous August, investors were expecting a terrible September and/or October. The opposite happened.As we approach November, we hear that this month usually kicks off the most profitable time of the year. Fourth quarter institutional cash inflows tend to result in the best consecutive three-month period.As we've discussed here in the past, institutions are not the only ones that provide liquidity right now. The Federal Reserve via its POMO purchases is another one (detailed analysis available in the November issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter). This extra liquidity is not to be underestimated.An Extra Black Swan As we've experienced many times, the market tends to surprise the investing masses - most of which are bullish right now…’

Sen. Gregg: Federal, State Governments Facing Grecian Tragedy in a Few Years Newsmax.com | The federal government and state governments are facing massive debts moving forward.

Goldman: Real Cost Of Fed “Easing” Will Exceed $2 Trillion Steve Watson | [ When you see the now global lemming-like levels (yet again) of brazened, blatent, mind-numbing paper fraud, there is no conclusion other than that this is a dying planet, with america leading the way down! Decades, at most. ] Endless printing of money out of thin air will continue into 2012

Geithner Visited Jon Stewart in April, Though Not for Laughs Bloomberg | Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner sat down to discuss the U.S. economy — with comedian Jon Stewart.

European Central Bank Keeps Rates at Record The Bank of England and the European Central Bank left their key interest rates at record lows Thursday after recent data showed that the economic recovery was showing some resilience.

Oil tops $86 on weak dollar, Fed stimulus Oil topped $86 a barrel on Thursday and rose to a fresh six-month high, as higher-than-expected U.S. jobless claims accelerated dollar losses after a U.S. Federal Reserve decision to pump more money into the economy of the world’s top oil user.

Bernanke Confirms That The Key Goal Of The Fed, And QE2, Is To Boost Stock Prices So much for the Fed’s two mythical mandates of promoting “maximum employment” and maintaining “price stability.” First, we had Bernanke’s predecessor Greenspan confirming in late July on Meet the Press what everyone knows: namely that the primary goal of the Fed is merely to encourage higher stock prices.

Another Nobel Economist Says We Have to Prosecute Fraud Or Else the Economy Won’t Recover As economists such as William Black and James Galbraith have repeatedly said, we cannot solve the economic crisis unless we throw the criminals who committed fraud in jail.

(11-4-10) Dow  11,434 +220 Nasdaq  2,577 +37 S&P 500  1,221 +23 [CLOSE- OIL $86.49 (-54% for year 2008) (RECORD TRADING HIGH $147.27) GAS $3.00 (reg. gas in LAND OF FRUITS AND NUTS  $3.15 REG./ $3.29 MID-GRADE/ $3.39 PREM./ $3.79  DIESEL) / GOLD $1,383 (+24% for year 2009) / SILVER $26.05 (+47% for year 2009) PLATINUM $1,756 (+56% for year 2009)  / DOLLAR= .70 EURO, 80 YEN, .61 POUND STERLING, ETC. (How low can you go - LOWER)/ 10 YR NOTE YIELD 2.47% …..…   AP Business Highlights  ...Yahoo Market Update...   T. Rowe Price Weekly Recap – Stocks / Bonds / Currencies -  Domestic / International      This Is a Secular Bear Market and The End of Buy and Hold … and Hope   MARKET MANIPULATION AND HOW THE LATEST BUBBLE-FRAUD PRE-COMING CRASH IS BEING ACCOMPLISHED 3-11-10      6 Theories On Why the Stock Market Has Rallied  3-9-10 [archived website file]     Risks Lurk for ETF Investors The bull market that never was/were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold Property Values Projected to Fall 12% in 2010 Jan 31, 2010 The Week Ahead: Risk Is Off the Cliff; Unwind Has Begun Jan 31, 2010 01-13-10 Forecast for 2010 from Seeking Alpha Contributor THE COMING MARKET CRASH / CORRECTION   1-28-10 Maierhofer   (01-15-10) 11 Clear Signs Economy Sinking Economic Black Hole 1-22-10: 20 Reasons Why The U.S. Economy Is Dying And Is Simply Not Going To Recover Current Economic / Fiscal Charts Trendsresearch.com forecast for 2009 1-7-10 Crash is coming!          ‘WORST ECONOMIC COLLAPSE EVER’ Must Read Economic / Financial Data                     This Depression is just beginning The coming depression…  thecomingdepression.net MUST READ: JEREMY GRANTHAM’S QUARTERLY UPDATE 25 January 2010 (850 on the S&P) by TPC The Next Wave of Collapse is Coming Sooner than you think Sliding Back Into the Great Depression ABSOLUTELY, ABSURDLY, RIDICULOUS! SELL / TAKE PROFITS WHILE YOU CAN SINCE MUCH, MUCH WORSE TO COME!

National / World

Bill Gates Funds Approval of GM Mosquitoes to Combat Dengue Activist Post | There has been very little public debate about whether we should be meddling with nature by introducing billions of new organisms.

Alex Jones’ Audio Blog: The True Nature of Evil Infowars | Alex reflects on the complex evil within the New World Order system and our human nature to willingly participate in the destruction of our own souls.

New Republican House Promises Investigation Of Global Warming Fraud Paul Joseph Watson | Climate change con that threatens to eviscerate middle class faces more scrutiny

Election Over, Neocon Republicans Talk War Kurt Nimmo | It will take more than an election to get rid of the warmongers.

Might Is Right Paul Craig Roberts | Chertoff is using his government credentials to push full body scanners into American airports.

The US Covert War: Provoking Yemeni Terrorism Counterpunch | U.S. forces have been conducting a covert war on the people of Yemen for almost 10 years.

Yemenis: “The truth is there is no Al Qaeda” New York Times | Most Yemenis consider the group a myth, or a ploy by their president to squeeze the West for aid money and punish his domestic opponents.

Goldman: Real Cost Of Fed “Easing” Will Exceed $2 Trillion – Gold Hits Record High Goldman Sachs anticipates that the real cost of the second round of quantitative easing will be in excess of $2 trillion and will continue well into 2012, while other prominent economists have denounced the Fed’s actions.

Jeffrey M. Smith: The GMO Threat Jeffrey M. Smith, author of the #1 GMO bestseller Seeds of Deception, talks about his campaign to force mass rejection of genetically modified foods in order to expunge them form the market entirely. Smith explains how the FDA allowed GMO foods to enter the market with no safety testing whatsoever, and that the man primarily responsible for this is now food safety czar in the Obama administration.

Webster Tarpley: The Next Decade In this exclusive interview for Prison Planet.tv subscribers, author Webster Tarpley goes into detail on a whole host of historical, financial and geopolitical issues in a bid to outline the major crises, revolutions and wars that will hit the globe over the next decade and shape the future of our world.

This Is The Most Shocking Part Of Bernanke’s Case For Quantitative Easing What’s amazing about the latest bout of quantitative easing is the total lack of pretense. By that we mean Bernanke isn’t even pretending that that QE would actually benefit the real economy.

New Republican House Promises Investigation Of Global Warming Fraud One of the first tasks of the new Republican-controlled House of Congress will be to launch a full investigation into the man-made global warming fraud, as the climate change con that threatens to tax and regulate the American middle class out of existence is exposed to what could prove terminal scrutiny.

Drudgereport: UP. UP, UP: Stocks at Highest Since LEHMAN's Fall...
Jobless claims higher...
Oil six-month high...
Gold new high...
BACKLASH BUILDS AGAINST FED PUMPING

Pelosi Seriously Considers Staying as Dem Leader … [Nothing succeeds like failure in defacto bankrupt, pervasively corrupt america]...
WHITE HOUSE FACES INVESTIGATIONS...
No shredding documents...
New House Judiciary Chairman to Obama: Prepare...
Washington, Alaska Senate races still up in the air; 10 House races uncalled...
CT guv race mired in controversy; AP rescinds call for Dem...
Bag of Uncounted Ballots Found in totally corrupt, dead city of Bridgeport, CT...
Brazil ready to retaliate for US move in 'currency war'...
CHINA WARNS FED MOVE 'HUGE RISK'...
Germany Concerned...

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Alleged Afghan voting fraud to be investigated The Afghan attorney general's office has begun investigating nine cases in which election officials are accused of rigging votes.

Global impact of U.S. elections Foreign Policy: A Plan B for Obama (Washington Post) [ Plan B? Come on! … Either he’s on plan z or has no plan at all! ] World capitals brace for a new political order in Washington, as policymakers and analysts tried to assess the impact on foreign policy of a new Republican-led U.S. House. Foreign Policy: The China election [ China election? Don’t make me laugh! Almost as big a joke as american elections! (I realize the article wasn’t about an ‘election’ (hmm … riiiiight) in China per se, but wanted to make the albeit indirect point.)]

Election outcome may complicate Obama's foreign policy (Washington Post) [ Wow! That’s all this country needs … a more self-destructive zionist-leaning foreign policy which, as obvious to the rest of the world, ignores israel’s transgressions (ie., violations of international law, u.n. resolutions, nuclear non-proliferation treaty, etc.) while focusing on geopolitically detrimental or otherwise, non-events. I see an already zionist-leaning foreign policy with wobama and co. which begs the question … What foreign policy? James Forrestal made the point: ]

Loopholes in loan recording mess (Washington Post) Countless homeowners in Virginia are getting a tax break for which they don't really qualify because a mortgage documentation mess makes it hard to determine who qualifies, officials say. PHOTOS: Thousands of foreclosures put on hold Complete coverage: Foreclosure system in chaos [ If that were the only thing in chaos in pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america, there’d be cause for celebration. Then reality: there is no cause for celebration in america: Alex Jones on RT: “The second American Revolution” Russia Today | Radio host Alex Jones believes the midterm results are the beginning of one of the largest political realignments and that this is the start of the second American Revolution. Questions Loom Over Harry Reid Victory as ‘Steal Nevada’ #1 on Google Aaron Dykes | [ Oh come on! While Nevada’s not quite as bad as totally corrupt jersey, that’s hardly a complement, the reality being what is (as bad as jersey) though no worse than that sinkhole new york (wall street frauds, mob, etc.), virginia (government mob, cia, etc.), northeast (ie., as suburbs of nyc, Connecticut, etc.), california (corrupt bureaucrats, and as in the aforementioned, corrupt courts, etc.). I mean really … does anybody really believe there are any processes, governmental or otherwise, in defacto bankrupt america, state or federal, that are other than pervasively corrupt or broken? ( After all, didn’t Mikey Corleone choose Nevada … just kidding!) ] Questions remain over whether Harry Reid and his cronies may have manipulated the vote in Nevada, as searches for ‘Steal Nevada’ reach #1 on Google. ]

Obama's sad, not sorry Milbank: He has many talents; contrition isn't high among them. (Washington Post) [ With a statement like this, I don’t know who’s more out to lunch, wobama or Mr. Milbank … What talents? B*** S*** ting? All he had to do was what he campaigned on and said he would do, which he didn’t. B*** S*** ting is not a talent and yet that’s all he’s got. On my web site and previously in these posts I’ve said what I believe to be true … that wobama is content to muddle along, go with the flow, to get through this ‘thing’ called the presidency in this most precarious time for the nation … you know, then assume the celebrity status he craves with every insecurity of his being (there as also in ‘Being There’) by way of post-office lecture circuit. No … sorry … b*** s*** ability is not a talent. Wobama is pathetic! That’s sad! ]

Fed to pump $600B into the economy (Washington Post) [ Listen to this total, absolute b*** s*** … from no-recession-helicopter ben shalom or b.s. for short, bernanke, with green shoots wilting on the vine … to his recent ‘better to try and fail than to do nothing at all’ … Balderdash! … I hearken back to a distinction made by the brilliant Peter Drucker who in emphasizing the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness states that being effective means doing the right things, clearly not the case here … other than frothing that fraudulent wall street market with high-frequency programmed trades and debased dollars he can’t seem to print enough of, and for all but wall frauds churn and earn profits as they retain their fraudulent gains from the last debacle and this one, his policies are nothing short of disaster for this nation and the world. That money going into wall street pockets has to come from somewhere … guess. Remember, america’s defacto bankrupt and the consequences for those continuing frauds on wall street don’t justify the irretrievable costs! ]

Much Ado About Nothing?: Dave's Daily ‘…How much more tension can you give investors and still wind up with just a little "stick save" to close the session? Color me disappointed over the lack of any entertainment value Wednesday. Frankly, often markets will react to Fed decisions a day later which makes Thursday perhaps more interesting. The election results came in about as advertised. Then the Fed's QE decision offered greater stimulus than expected but that didn't seem to move equity markets. Bond markets were volatile as the yield curve rose sharply since the Fed is focusing their buying on shorter-term securities. Commodity prices were mixed as precious metals were sold while the dollar fell somewhat. This was a rather strange or unusual result. Earnings were still rolling-in better than expected while economic data was also better than expected (ISM, ADP, and Factory Orders). We still have Friday's unemployment report but the Fed is already done for now so who cares? Oh, and just to keep us interested, the GM IPO is about to hit markets to the tune of $13 billion. It will be interesting to see how that goes. The selling group will be calling in a few favors and wringing some hands to get this sucker off the ground…’

Forget the Short Term Questions, We're Actually in the Eye of a Very Long Storm Seeking Alpha

'Buy the Dip' Becomes 'Buy the Rip' Roche ‘… This evening’s early polling data shows the GOP making big gains in the House and possibly taking the Senate. Wall Street loves the news as it means a return to the good old days of no regulation, low taxes and essentially all the things that helped cause this situation in the first place. Curiously, this has been just about the most widely anticipated event in months if not years so it’s odd to see this rush into risk assets as the news comes out….This was widely expected to be a “sell the news” event …’

Feeling Sanguine About Stocks? Bullish Complacency Has Reached an Extreme Jack Sparrow [ Yeah, Captain Jack knows pirated plunder when he sees it … ie., he points out the reason for bullishness being price-earnings multiples; yet, as set for infra and by Davis infra, earnings have been inflated by the debased dollar currency which lowers, quite substantially and artificially, price-earnings ratios and is a significant factor in security analysis relating to quality of said earnings and a substantial negative for valuations, which reality as preceded the last crash is not discounted at all in the current / continuing bubble-fraud.] ‘Feeling sanguine about stocks? Here is a data point that should give you pause. Via the AAII and James Mackintosh at the FT, holdings of cash are now at their lowest levels since March of 2000. “If that date sounds familiar,” adds Mackintosh, “it should. The dot com bubble was just about to pop, and the S&P 500 hit levels not reached again for seven years.” (chart). Mackintosh further highlights the “bull-bear spread” (blue line) as plotted against the S&P 500 (red line) in the multi-year chart above The bull-bear spread is a basic contrary indicator that is most valuable at extremes. When bulls greatly outnumber bears — as represented by spikes in the spread — the market tends to run out of gas. This makes sense because, when optimism peaks, those with an urge to buy have mostly done so. Conversely, the bull-bear spread did a great job of highlighting the March 2009 lows, which came at a pessimistic extreme. As you can see, at current levels, the bull-bear spread is at record highs (with cash holdings at decade lows). Complacency is rampant. So why haven’t stocks roared even more? Because a good portion of that bullishness has been focused on corporate credit markets alongside equities. Bulls argue that the S&P is still reasonably priced, based on a forward earnings multiple in the 12.5 range. But this assumption depends on a far more speculative one — that corporate earnings have not hit a cyclical peak. The twin threats of post-stimulus slowdown and housing double dip threaten this belief. What really matters now is whether the U.S. economy is in true recovery or not. If the answer is “yes,” then the Fed is behind the curve and QE2 will serve as just another inflationary paper asset boost. If the answer is “no,” then the great body of evidence suggests QE2 will fail — and investors will be punished harshly for taking their complacency to such extremes.’

Federal Reserve to print billions of dollars in massive shadow stimulus Agence France-Presse | The central bank’s open market committee (FOMC) is expected to approve massive stimulus spending not seen since the depths of the economic crisis.

US Federal Reserve’s latest bubble threatens mayhem Telegraph | An awful lot of people are going to lose an awful lot of money.

The Fed No Longer Cares About Hiding The Fact It Is Killing The Dollar A number of prominent figures within the financial world are warning that a second round of quantitative easing, expected to be announced today by the Federal Reserve, will have disastrous consequences for the US dollar and the global economy.

Saxo Bank Joins Chorus Of Voices Calling For End Of The Federal Reserve Following the recent surge in Fed critics, including Gross, Buffett, Grantham, and most other self-respecting economists, Saxo Bank’s John J. Hardy shares the most recent, and very scathing, critique of the Fed, which essentially calls for the end of the US central bank, saying the days of the Fed are now numbered.

America’s yuan big problem Former Reagan Administration official Paul Craig Roberts writes, “now that a few Democrats and the remnants of the AFL-CIO are waking up to the destructive impact of jobs off shoring on the US economy and millions of American lives”.

The Fraud Started At the Very Top: With Government Leaders The government’s entire strategy now – as during the S&L crisis – is to cover up how bad things are.

AIG Dips Into Bailout Fund Again, This Time to Repay New York Fed Bailed-out insurance giant AIG will get another $22 billion in federal taxpayer funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) so it can pay back some of the other bailout funds it received from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY).

Pace of recovery remains unclear (Washington Post) [ What recovery? (Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression). Buffett: We're Still in a Recession ) ? The resurgence in the wall street fraud ] QE2 Is Not A Recovery Plan, It’s A Stealthy Scheme To Prepare For The Next Bank Bailout [ Next bailout? How ‘bout they’re still working on the last one … you know, that now ‘marked to anything’ multi-trillion dollar thing … I think people fail to recognize / realize / appreciate the magnitude of the last / continuing fraud by the criminally insane lunatics on wall street and accomplices. See infra. ] Federal (that says it all … NOT) report on manufacturing provides a glimmer of encouragement. [ This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally into the close to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ]

National / World

Alex Jones on RT: “The second American Revolution” Russia Today | Radio host Alex Jones believes the midterm results are the beginning of one of the largest political realignments and that this is the start of the second American Revolution.

Questions Loom Over Harry Reid Victory as ‘Steal Nevada’ #1 on Google Aaron Dykes | [ Oh come on! While Nevada’s not quite as bad as totally corrupt jersey, that’s hardly a complement, the reality being what is (as bad as jersey) though no worse than that sinkhole new york (wall street frauds, mob, etc.), virginia (government mob, cia, etc.), northeast (ie., as suburbs of nyc, Connecticut, etc.), california (corrupt bureaucrats, and as in the aforementioned, corrupt courts, etc.). I mean really … does anybody really believe there are any processes, governmental or otherwise, in defacto bankrupt america, state or federal, that are other than pervasively corrupt or broken? ( After all, didn’t Mikey Corleone choose Nevada … just kidding! ] Questions remain over whether Harry Reid and his cronies may have manipulated the vote in Nevada, as searches for ‘Steal Nevada’ reach #1 on Google.

The Impotence of Elections Paul Craig Roberts | Oligarchs will direct the anger away from themselves and toward the vulnerable elements of the domestic population and “foreign enemies.”

Fed Announces QE2 Kurt Nimmo | Fed decides to unleash destructive asset bubbles that will devastate the global economy.

Did Harry Reid Steal Nevada? Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones | 5 point margin of victory highly suspicious given pre-election polls showing Angle ahead.

“Steal Nevada” Tops Google Trends As New Evidence Emerges Of Reid Vote Fraud The search term “Steal Nevada” has topped Google Trends as new evidence emerges that strongly indicates Senate leader Harry Reid may have stolen last night’s election from pre-election favorite Sharron Angle.

The Fed No Longer Cares About Hiding The Fact It Is Killing The Dollar A number of prominent figures within the financial world are warning that a second round of quantitative easing, expected to be announced today by the Federal Reserve, will have disastrous consequences for the US dollar and the global economy.

Did Harry Reid Steal Nevada? A serious investigation into potential vote fraud needs to be launched immediately in Nevada, after incumbent Harry Reid beat Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle by a clear five points, despite pre-election polls showing Angle four points ahead, amidst suspicious evidence of vote flipping and other dirty tricks on behalf of the Reid campaign last week that were dubbed “criminal” by Angle’s campaign attorney.

Schultz Urges Boehner To Protect Obama From Impeachment, Just As Pelosi Did With Bush As the election results came in Tuesday night, MSNBC’s Ed Schultz just wanted to know if soon-to-be House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) would move to impeach President Barack Obama.

DeMint: Establishment Will Try To Buy Off Tea Party Candidates The establishment is much more likely to try to buy off your votes than to buy into your limited-government philosophy. Consider what former GOP senator-turned-lobbyist Trent Lott told the Washington Post earlier this year: “As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them.”

Rand Paul Promises To Challenge GOP Establishment On the same day that he swept to victory in the Kentucky Senate race, Rand Paul immediately contradicted doubters who warned that he would compromise and begin to support neo-con political policies by promising to challenge the GOP establishment while also working to cut the bloated US defense budget.

Drudgereport: Bye, Bye Tiny Tim Geithner … God bless us, everyone … ?
BRAND NEW PUMP: Fed to spend $1 trillion to buy gov't bonds...
Bernanke Faces More Congressional Scrutiny After GOP Election Gains...
Gregg: 'We're Greece' in a Few Years...
GOP to urge Obama officials not to shred documents...
Next up for House Dems: Ethics trials for Rangel, Waters...

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Mitt Romney: Time to slay the job-killing beast (Washington Post) [ Wow! Talk about talking to the hand (or mitt) … you know, creative fantasizing … I mean, a little bit late for that … Wobama’s done, defacto bankrupt, pervasively corrupt american government employees across the board are a venal, pervasively corrupt total waste (unless they gear up long overdue prosecutions of ie., wall street frauds, and not just the tiny ones for show, etc., then law enforcement / prosecution personnel excepted) . Then, of course, there’s reality. Methinks it’s a bit late to be asking these questions. In fact, meknows it’s too late to be asking that question in light of the irrevocable structural shift precipitated by those geniuses in Washington, including among other helmsmen of this now titanic of a nation, those ‘strategists’ in those hallowed halls of, ie., the cia, nsa, think tanks, sink tanks, etc., and of course, those vaunted trade deals which include essentially all branches of the corrupt u.s. government with complicit titans / ceos of american industry with a time horizon defined by their latest compensation package / stock option expirations as cheered by the wall street frauds who sold off / transferred the technological capacity to do so; and, of course, the coup de grace, viz., that thing called NAFTA that Ross Perot was vilified for opposing and warning against.]

Memoir: Bush debated dropping Cheney (Washington Post) [ More unequivocal proof that moron dumbya bush couldn’t, like wobama and recent predecessors, make the right decision even if their presidencies and the nation’s survival depended on it. Heck uv a job brownie, bushie, cheney, wobamie, etc…. Keep up those nation bankrupting, attention-diverting wars you knucklehead war criminals, you. ]

U.S. to cut its stake in GM (Washington Post) [ Ooooh! Sounds like a plan … they’re so on top of things at treasury … like multi-trillion dollar deficits, unprosecuted multi-trillion dollar frauds, missing / stolen trillions in Iraq and at the fed, etc.. ] The Treasury Department is expected to sell about $7 billion of its shares.

Consultant to Rockville biotech firm accused of insider trading (Washington Post) [ How is it that they’re prosecuting millions when the multi-trillion dollar fraud remains not only unprosecuted, but ongoing …QE2 Is Not A Recovery Plan, It’s A Stealthy Scheme To Prepare For The Next Bank Bailout [ Next bailout? How ‘bout they’re still working on the last one … you know, that now ‘marked to anything’ multi-trillion dollar thing … I think people fail to recognize / realize / appreciate the magnitude of the last / continuing fraud by the criminally insane lunatics on wall street and accomplices. … see infra … ] A consultant to Human Genome Sciences has been charged for allegedly tipping off a hedge fund about setbacks in the testing of a hepatitis drug.

In Albany, a boom based on microchips (Washington Post) [ Come on! Don’t be ridiculous! This would still be preposterous even if it was a story about Silicon Valley … but that sinkhole new york? … what have they been smoking … Absolutely ridiculous! ] The economic downturn has hit upstate New York as hard as anywhere in the country but an unusual, high-tech endeavor is taking shape there that could involve billions of dollars in manufacturing investment and possibly thousands of new jobs.

Equities Up as Street Bets on Fed Efforts, Congressional Shift [ The fraud continues …Come on! What total b*** s***! ]

Houdini Had Nothing on This (Suckers’) Rally Farrish ‘The rally lasted about thirty minutes and then worry took center stage. The NASDAQ gave up a twenty-five point gain which was within three points of the April high. The S&P 500 index gave back twelve points and barely ended the day positive. Was this the final attempt to reach the April highs before the reality of what has been the driver hits the headlines? Since the low on August 27th, quantitative easing and the election have been two of the driving factors in the move. In fact, many believe this to be nothing more than a liquidity rally. Factoring in the economic data one would have to give that argument serious consideration.The Fed announced on August 27th that it was considering another round of quantitative easing to stimulate the economy. The increased money supply is intended to reduce rates and keep freely flowing to stimulate growth through low interest rate loans. The argument for or against such efforts have been debated endlessly in the press over the last five weeks and the anticipation has prompted a 13% rally in the broad markets. It has accomplished the feat without a single draw-down of more than 2% since the move higher began. In the process of this accomplishment the dollar has declined 7% paying the price for proposed Fed actions.What I find interesting to this point, the Fed hasn’t taken any action, nor have they defined what action they may take moving forward. In other words speculation has been the driving factor in this broad market gain of 13% since the last FOMC meeting. Without supply any additional liquidity, the Fed has accomplished growth in the equity markets. Sounds like, “buy on the rumor” is in play. Some interesting stats:

• The dollar has moved from $1.26 to $138 versus the euro.
• Crude oil has moved from $71.60 to $83 per barrel.
• Gold has moved from $1236 to a high of $1380 an ounce.
• The 30 year Treasury bond yield has moved from 3.63% to 4.05%. (TLT dropped from $108.50 to $99.67)
• NASDAQ 100 index climbed from 1768 to 2128 (20.3%)

Last Friday the Q3 GDP report was a 2% gain. If the economy is growing at 2% and the above stats are the results, Houdini is in charge of the markets. I will be so bold as to say the market is overbought based on the current data. If investors are looking forward and anticipating accelerating growth, Q4 GDP growth estimates are currently 2.3%.China continues to grow despite the efforts to slow their economy. The manufacturing data released yesterday showed better than expected growth despite the restriction place on lending and available credit. Interesting that the US markets rally on proposed easing and essentially free money, while the Chinese markets rally on stronger economic growth. Maybe Bernanke really is Houdini!Tomorrow we should get the facts to go along with the speculation. The conclusion of the FOMC meeting is supposed to produce details on how much free money the Fed will produce to stimulate speculative growth in the US stock market (sorry I mean economy). The details will prove supportive of the growth which has taken place since the August 27th announcement or it will be disappointing and prompt a retraction of the growth. Either way all eyes will be fixated on the release at 2:15 PM.Today is all about the midterm elections. To make it easier on the networks there are no economic reports to get in the way. The only surprise awaiting the results will be how many seats are lost in the House and Senate by Democrats. Regardless the end result will leave all of the primary questions unanswered. But at least we can return to the normal mindless commercials on TV versus the mindless rambling about the “other” candidate. Should make for interesting headlines tomorrow.I do have one question that has been haunting me this entire election season…, why is it considered ‘extreme’ to call for a balanced budget act from Congress, but it is normal to pass a Congressional budget for 2011 that has a deficit of 1.3 trillion dollars? … ’

The Fed at Jekyll Island: 100 Years Later, They’re Baaack! EconomicPolicyJournal.com | Nothing good can come out of a conference of Fed members talking to each other after just launching QE2.

Bill Gross: “Bernanke Is Charles Ponzi” The Daily Bail | Gross is honest about Bernanke but then disavows any connection to natural intelligence with his statement that QE2 will work.

QE2 Is Not A Recovery Plan, It’s A Stealthy Scheme To Prepare For The Next Bank Bailout Pragmatic Capitalist | I’ve shown in rather elaborate detail in recent weeks that quantitative easing does not help the real economy generate a sustained recovery.

Irish Bonds Plunge: New Bund Spread Record As Euro Pushes Ever Higher; Ultraviolence To Follow? The market is once again getting plain retarded. One look at what is happening in Europe should be sufficient for every self-respecting investor to throw up all over this b***s*** and quit the business forever.

Dollar Death Bed: Aussie Beyond Parity For First Time In 28 Years The entire world is preparing to bury the dollar in advance of tomorrow’s QE2 currency suicide by the chairman. Exhibit A: the OZ dollar which is now trading north of parity for the first time in 28 years, as Australia decidedly puts its in chips in China’s basket, believing that no matter how high the OZ, China will have no problem with importing its exports.

Fed Easing May Mean 20% Dollar Drop: Bill Gross The dollar is in danger of losing 20 percent of its value over the next few years if the Federal Reserve continues unconventional monetary easing, Bill Gross, the manager of the world’s largest mutual fund, said on Monday.

Living Beyond Our Means: 3 Charts That Prove That We Are In The Biggest Debt Bubble In The History Of The World Do you want to see something truly frightening? Just check out the 3 charts posted further down in this article. These charts prove that we are now in the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world.

Catherine Austin Fitts: The Looting Of America Former Assistant Secretary of Housing under George H.W. Bush Catherine Austin Fitts blows the whistle on how the financial terrorists have deliberately imploded the US economy and transferred gargantuan amounts of wealth offshore as a means of sacrificing the American middle class. Fitts documents how trillions of dollars went missing from government coffers in the 90’s and how she was personally targeted for exposing the fraud.

National / World

Victories Suggest Wider Appeal of Tea Party; Republicans pick-up seats, Democrats may hold Senate NY Times | The Tea Party victories by Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida underscored the extent to which Republicans and Democrats alike may have underestimated the power of the Tea Party.

WSJ: Rand Paul victory ‘sends Fed critic to Senate’ Aaron Dykes | Rand Paul’s victory represents a blow to the establishment and renewed Senate support for an audit of the Federal Reserve.

Rand Paul Wins in Kentucky Fox Nation | Paul beat Kentucky state Attorney General Jack Conway after a bitter contest that delved into Paul’s religion and made for some tense debates.

Catherine Austin Fitts: The Looting Of America Paul Joseph Watson | Financial terrorism and the war on the middle class. - ‘Former Assistant Secretary of Housing under George H.W. Bush Catherine Austin Fitts blows the whistle on how the financial terrorists have deliberately imploded the US economy and transferred gargantuan amounts of wealth offshore as a means of sacrificing the American middle class. Fitts documents how trillions of dollars went missing from government coffers in the 90’s and how she was personally targeted for exposing the fraud. Fitts explains how every dollar of debt issued to service every war, building project, and government program since the American Revolution up to around 2 years ago – around $12 trillion – has been doubled again in just the last 18 months alone with the bank bailouts. “We’re literally witnessing the leveraged buyout of a country and that’s why I call it a financial coup d’état, and that’s what the bailout is for,” states Fitts…’

Commercial About The National Debt That Is Being Banned By Major Networks The American Dream | “Of course, we owned most of their debt, so now they work for us”.

Rand Paul Beats Conway To Become US Senator Rand Paul has beaten Jack Conway in Kentucky – AP, ABC, NBC, CNN and Fox are all projecting an easy Rand victory. This is a massive slap in the face to the establishment smear machine that tried – and woefully failed – to derail his campaign with an endless series of contrived smears that were parroted by the corporate media and the Soros borg hive blogs like Media Matters, Daily Kos, and Think Progress.

Angle Campaign Urges Last Minute Votes To Defeat Reid The bottom line is, media exit polls are showing this race is a dead heat right now. This election really is going to be decided in the next 4 hours. If you know ANYONE who has not gotten out and voted, you have to call them right now, and make sure they go vote for Sharron Angle.

Early Reports of Electronic Voting Machines Flipping Votes Early monitoring of voting around the country is raising concerns about electronic voting machines in key battleground states — especially in Pennsylvania, where machines are registering Democratic votes instead of Republican, and vice versa.

New Black Panther Seen At Polling Place Fox 29 News ran into a New Black Panther Party member outside as the same Philadelphia polling place where voter intimidation was reported two years ago. He was handing out a sample ballot for the Democrats.

Gore Lies About Air Travel, Leaving Car On Idle Our post is accurate. The bottom line is this: Al Gore continues to arrogantly refuse to make himself available to journalistic inquiry. Mr. Gore continues to make travel and lifestyle choices that reveal his belief that making do with less is for you and me, but not for him.

Ron Paul Can Beat Obama In 2012 When even uber-leftist Chris Matthews slams the President for being elitist and distant from the American people, you know that the cult of Obama is finished for good, and that Barry’s political career may not even survive long enough for him to run again in 2012, providing the perfect opportunity for Ron Paul to outstrip a similarly despised group of neo-con Republican candidates and become the people’s President in two years’ time.

France and UK plan unprecedented military cooperation Reuters | Britain and France will launch a broad defense partnership on Tuesday that includes setting up a joint force and sharing equipment and nuclear missile research centers, a French government source said.

‘Hated’ Sarkozy fears assassination amid strikes and protests across France Mail Online | Nicolas Sarkozy (Little Nicky: The Pepe Le Pew of French Politics - http://albertpeia.com/pepelepewoffrenchpolitics.htm ) fears he is so disliked by his country that he could be assassinated.

Greece intercepts parcel bomb addressed to Sarkozy Reuters | Greek police intercepted a booby-trapped parcel addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday.

World Series: San Fran fans reaction Fox Sports [ I became a fan of San Fran the minute I saw dumbya bush bumbling around and particularly when I saw poppy and dumbya on the mound as dumbya threw that ball … Congratulations, ‘Giants! ]

Drudgereport: REPUBLICANS WIN SENATE SEATS: AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, OH, OK, KY, KS, LA, MO, ND, NH, PA, SC, SD, WI...
DEMS WIN: CA, CT, DE, HI, MD, NY, WV...
TOO CLOSE TO CALL: NV...
REPUBLICAN WINS OBAMA'S OLD SENATE SEAT...
JERRY BROWN IN...
BOXER IN...
BARNEY FRANK IN...
RUSS FEINGOLD OUT...
GOP celebrates...
DETAILS, MAP: GOVERNOR RACES...
DETAILS, MAP: HOUSE RACES...

New Black Panther Returns to Same Polling Place? Jerry Jackson, the same New Black Panther member who intimidated voters in 2008 back at the same polling station, instructs voter to vote straight Democrat, then proceeds to threaten same voter.
Bernanke Faces More Congressional Scrutiny After Republican Election Gains...
PUMP: Fed Likely to Announce $500 Billion of Purchases...
'Biggest decision in decades'...
Fed easing may means 20% drop of dollar value...
'The end of dollar hegemony'...

Bombs more lethal than in Dec. 25 attempt (Washington Post) [ Truth be told, there’s no shortage of pre-election skepticism … ] The package bombs discovered on cargo flights last week contained far more explosive material than the device that the alleged underwear bomber planned to use last Christmas to down a Detroit-bound jetliner, officials said. [Did Obama Order British Authorities To Find Non-Existent Ink Bomb? Paul Joseph Watson | Only after President’s speech did East Midlands security officials reverse earlier announcement that suspicious device was a dud.. The Cult Of Obama Crashes And Burns Steve Watson | The hope has gone, the change never came – now people are just pissed off. Toner Bomb Plot Used to Empower CIA Kurt Nimmo | Absurd toner bomb plot provides excuse to rationalize the global reach of the CIA into Arabian peninsula. CIA Stooge Awlaki Prime Suspect Behind Plane Bomb Plot Paul Joseph Watson | Evidence screams “false flag” as authorities seek to crush resistance against invasive airport security measures, while Obama exploits event for domestic and geopolitical gain. Israel Knew About Toner Bomb Plot Before Devices Were Found Transportation minister hints state knew about mail terror plot before it was publicly revealed Friday. ‘Since Thursday Israeli representatives have been securing shipments to Israel from airports worldwide,’ he says. Did Obama Order British Authorities To Find Non-Existent Ink Bomb? After having examined the suspicious ink toner device for six hours and found it to be a dud, bomb experts at East Midlands Airport only reversed their decision after being ordered to re-inspect the package by US authorities following President Obama’s Friday afternoon speech in which he claimed that the devices did in fact contain explosives. No U.S. Commercial or Private Plane left Yemen to the U.S. over last 48 hours; Yemeni Official A Yemeni official told Yemen Post that no U.S. cargo aircraft of any American company flew out of Yemen over the last 48 hours. Yemen Insists No Packages Sent 48 Hours Prior to Toner Bomb Hysteria Kurt Nimmo | As usual, the government has not done a very good job of making the latest al-CIA-duh plot credible. Obama ‘Fake Terror’ Alert Story Hits #1 on Google Efforts to warn the population that the Obama Administration, like the Bush Administration before it, has engaged in issuing fake terror alerts has gone viral, with the search term “fake terror” reaching #1 on Google Trends. It is yet another success in the Infowar, initiated on the Alex Jones Show. Toner Bomb Plot Used to Empower CIA In addition to adding new urgency and a fresh dose of hysteria to the flagging war on manufactured terror, the toner bomb plot has provided an excuse to rationalize the global reach of the CIA. Obama Issues Fake Terror Alert On Eve Of Elections As we predicted on four separate occasions would happen, the Obama White House has deliberately contrived a fake terror scare on the eve of the mid-term elections in an effort to subdue the rampaging political appetite for anti-big government candidates that threatens to sweep aside establishment incumbents next week. ]

51 Iraqi worshipers, 7 troops killed in church siege (Washington Post) [ Yes, and even more sounds of silence … which of course smells like napalm in the morning … you know … that victory thing. ]

Federal applicants eye changes (Washington Post) [ How ‘bout real change that comports with the reality of that proverbial ‘blackhole’ / sinkhole called the federal bureaucracy, excepting law enforcement / prosecution. No new federal hiring / wasteful do-nothing / make-work / accomplish less jobs! Firing … that’s fine.] Officials back off Obama's hiring process overhaul deadline, saying only some agencies are ready.

AIG moves ahead with efforts to repay taxpayers (Washington Post) (Oh come on! … Wake up! … Are you really going to spin business reality in america into some magnanimous gesture on the part new york sinkhole-based aig … The Calm Before the Storm: Are We Approaching a Turning Point for the U.S. Economy? [ The essence of the current scam / fraud is succinctly set forth thusly, albeit tepidly … Snyder ‘…You see, the truth is that "quantitative easing" is not only just a way to stimulate the economy, it is also a way to give backdoor bailouts to the big banks without having to go through the U.S. Congress. In a previous article, I described how this works....

1) The big U.S. banks have massive quantities of junk mortgage-backed securities that are worth little to nothing that they desperately want to get rid of.

2) They convince the Federal Reserve (which the big banks are part-owners of) to buy up these "toxic assets" at significantly above market price.

3) The Federal Reserve creates massive amounts of money out of thin air to buy up all of these troubled assets. The public is told that all of this "quantitative easing" is necessary to stimulate the U.S. economy.

4) The big banks are re-capitalized and have gotten massive amounts of bad mortgage securities off their hands, the Federal Reserve has found a way to pump hundreds of billions (if not trillions) of dollars into the economy, and most of the American people are none the wiser…’ ] QE2 Is Not A Recovery Plan, It’s A Stealthy Scheme To Prepare For The Next Bank Bailout [ Next bailout? How ‘bout they’re still working on the last one … you know, that now ‘marked to anything’ multi-trillion dollar thing … I think people fail to recognize / realize / appreciate the magnitude of the last / continuing fraud by the criminally insane lunatics on wall street and accomplices. ] Pragmatic Capitalist | I’ve shown in rather elaborate detail in recent weeks that quantitative easing does not help the real economy generate a sustained recovery.) Insurance giant raises billions by selling of one of its crown jewels.

The Calm Before the Storm: Are We Approaching a Turning Point for the U.S. Economy? [ The essence of the current scam / fraud is succinctly set forth thusly, albeit tepidly … Snyder ‘…You see, the truth is that "quantitative easing" is not only just a way to stimulate the economy, it is also a way to give backdoor bailouts to the big banks without having to go through the U.S. Congress. In a previous article, I described how this works....

1) The big U.S. banks have massive quantities of junk mortgage-backed securities that are worth little to nothing that they desperately want to get rid of.

2) They convince the Federal Reserve (which the big banks are part-owners of) to buy up these "toxic assets" at significantly above market price.

3) The Federal Reserve creates massive amounts of money out of thin air to buy up all of these troubled assets. The public is told that all of this "quantitative easing" is necessary to stimulate the U.S. economy.

4) The big banks are re-capitalized and have gotten massive amounts of bad mortgage securities off their hands, the Federal Reserve has found a way to pump hundreds of billions (if not trillions) of dollars into the economy, and most of the American people are none the wiser…’ ] Snyder ‘An eerie calm has descended upon world financial markets as they await perhaps the two most important financial events of the year this week. On Tuesday, investors will be eagerly awaiting the results of one of the most anticipated midterm elections in U.S. history. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is expected to end months of speculation by formally announcing the details of a new round of quantitative easing. If either the election or the meeting of the Federal Reserve open market committee delivers a highly unexpected result, it could have a dramatic impact on world financial markets. In fact, many are looking at this week as a potential turning point for the U.S. economy. The decisions that are made or not made this week could set us down a road from which the U.S. economy may never recover.At this point, it looks like the Republicans will take control of the U.S. House of Representatives and will pick up a number of U.S. Senate seats as well.There are many in the financial world who already consider Barack Obama to be the most "anti-business" president in U.S. history, so a defeat for the Democrats on Tuesday would be greatly welcomed by many on Wall Street. Barack Obama's decline in popularity since he was elected has been absolutely stunning. According to Gallup, Barack Obama had an average approval rating of just 44.7% during the seventh quarter of his presidency, which was a brand new low. In fact, Obama's average approval rating has fallen during every single quarter since he took office. Things have gotten so bad for Obama that one new poll has found that 47% of Democrats now think that Barack Obama should be challenged for the 2012 Democratic presidential nomination. However, if the Democrats were able to do surprisingly well on Tuesday, it would not only shock the political pundits, but it would also likely put world financial markets in a very bad mood. If the Republicans do very well on Tuesday, it will likely mean that there will be no more extensions for those receiving long-term unemployment benefits. Some state governments are already anticipating this and are making preparations. For example, armed security guards are now being posted at all 36 full-service unemployment offices in the state of Indiana. It is estimated that approximately 2 million Americans will lose their unemployment insurance benefits during this upcoming holiday season if Congress does not authorize another emergency extension of benefits by the end of November. If the Republicans do very well on Tuesday, it would make it much more likely that the extension will not happen.But if millions of unemployed Americans suddenly find themselves without any unemployment checks, that is only going to cause anger and frustration to grow.Either way, the unfortunate truth is that this election is not going to change much.Over the past five elections, incumbents have been re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives at an average rate of 96 percent. This time will be a little different of course, but not that much different. The sad truth is that we are still likely to see about 80 percent of the exact same faces going back to the U.S. Congress for the next session.However, even if the American people could somehow vote out every single member of Congress, it would still not do much to fundamentally change our economic situation because the U.S. Congress does not run the economy ,and neither does the President.Of course both of those institutions can influence the U.S. economy, but it is actually the Federal Reserve that runs the economy.The Federal Reserve controls the money supply. The Federal Reserve controls our interest rates. If the U.S. government wants more money it has to go get it from the Federal Reserve. It is the Federal Reserve that is tasked with the mandate of keeping unemployment low while also keeping inflation at a "reasonable" level.But these days, Federal Reserve officials don't really seem to be that concerned about the dangers of inflation. In fact, several top Federal Reserve officials have come out in recent weeks and have made public statements not only advocating more quantitative easing, but also suggesting that inflation is not a danger because it is actually "too low" right now.In fact, there have been some rumblings that many officials at the Fed would actually welcome more inflation because they think that it would somehow stimulate the economy. In fact, a Federal Reserve paper that was released in September actually floated the idea that a spike in oil prices would be quite good for the U.S. economy.And these are the people running our economy?Are we all caught in an episode of The Twilight Zone?Well, as far as rising oil prices are concerned, the Fed will almost surely get its wish. As I have written about previously, the price of oil is almost certainly heading to 100 dollars a barrel. But if the price of oil shoots up, isn't that going to cause significant inflationary pressure on the prices of thousands of other goods and services? Of course. Unfortunately, very few of our leaders seem too concerned about inflation or about protecting the value of the U.S. dollar these days. In fact, now even the IMF is publicly proclaiming that the U.S. dollar is "overvalued". What a mess. But there is another aspect of a new round of "quantitative easing" that the American people really wouldn't like if they could actually figure out what is going on. You see, the truth is that "quantitative easing" is not only just a way to stimulate the economy, it is also a way to give backdoor bailouts to the big banks without having to go through the U.S. Congress. In a previous article, I described how this works....

1) The big U.S. banks have massive quantities of junk mortgage-backed securities that are worth little to nothing that they desperately want to get rid of.

2) They convince the Federal Reserve (which the big banks are part-owners of) to buy up these "toxic assets" at significantly above market price.

3) The Federal Reserve creates massive amounts of money out of thin air to buy up all of these troubled assets. The public is told that all of this "quantitative easing" is necessary to stimulate the U.S. economy.

4) The big banks are re-capitalized and have gotten massive amounts of bad mortgage securities off their hands, the Federal Reserve has found a way to pump hundreds of billions (if not trillions) of dollars into the economy, and most of the American people are none the wiser.

Now how do you think the American people would feel about "quantitative easing" if they really understood all this?But unfortunately, most Americans will be watching the election results on Tuesday night without having even a basic understanding of how our economy is really run.Already, there are a ton of signs that the U.S. economy is heading in a very bad direction, and dumping a handful of Congress critters out of office might feel good, but it isn't going to do much to really change our economic problems.The American people desperately need to be educated about how our financial system really works. But unfortunately, most Americans will likely not wake up until the whole house of cards comes crashing down.’

QE2 Is Not A Recovery Plan, It’s A Stealthy Scheme To Prepare For The Next Bank Bailout [ Next bailout? How ‘bout they’re still working on the last one … you know, that now ‘marked to anything’ multi-trillion dollar thing … I think people fail to recognize / realize / appreciate the magnitude of the last / continuing fraud by the criminally insane lunatics on wall street and accomplices. ] Pragmatic Capitalist | I’ve shown in rather elaborate detail in recent weeks that quantitative easing does not help the real economy generate a sustained recovery.

Expecting Weakness: Why the Market's Sugar High Is About to End

Sell the News … Long overdue?

Look Out Below - Reiterated

UPDATE 5-Ambac says may go bankrupt this year; shares sink

Fraud Caused the 1930s Depression and the Current Financial Crisis Robert Shiller – one of the top housing experts in the United States – says that the mortgage fraud is a lot like the fraud which occurred during the Great Depression.

The Founding Fathers’ Vision Of Prosperity Has Been Destroyed Everyone knows that the American colonists revolted largely because of taxation without representation and related forms of oppression by the British. But – according to Benjamin Franklin and others in the thick of the action – a little-known factor was actually the main reason for the revolution.

Not Just Stocks … High Frequency Traders Might Be Manipulating Futures, Options, Bonds, Currency and Commodities Markets As Well We know that high frequency trading is used to manipulate the stock market. The prevalence of high frequency trading in other markets means that it might be used to manipulate those markets – perhaps virtually all markets – as well.

Exclusive: 4 Dealers Respond With “$1+ Trillion” To Fed Reverse Inquiry Into How Much QE2 Is Necessary Yesterday we made a big stink over the Fed’s reverse inquiry into the PD community over how much QE2 it should launch. Today, we find out what the distribution is: as Merrill’s Harley Bassman points out: “Four dealers are predicting a $1+ Trillion buy program.” It is good to finally know what the bogey is.

Is The Fed TRYING To Force A Surge In Commodity Prices And Input Costs? Diapason Explains Why Hyperinflation Is Blackhawk Ben’s End Goal The Fed is hoping for not only mild inflation, but an outright surge in prices.

Michael Hudson: Debt Grows Exponentially, While the Economy Only Grows In An S-Curve Michael Hudson is a highly-regarded economist. He is a Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, who has advised the U.S., Canadian, Mexican and Latvian governments as well as the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. He is a former Wall Street economist at Chase Manhattan Bank who also helped establish the world’s first sovereign debt fund.

Expecting Weakness: Why the Market's Sugar High Is About to End

Sell the News … Long overdue?

Look Out Below - Reiterated

Is The Fed TRYING To Force A Surge In Commodity Prices And Input Costs? Diapason Explains Why Hyperinflation Is Blackhawk Ben’s End Goal The Fed is hoping for not only mild inflation, but an outright surge in prices.

Dollar sinks before ‘busiest week in decades’ The dollar hit a 15-year low point against the yen on Monday and sank against the euro ahead of “the busiest week in decades” during which the US Federal Reserve could announce fresh stimulus measures.

Red alert Metals Report: Silver Set To Explode Red Alert Metals Report: The biggest names in the precious metals world say the proce of silver is set to EXPLODE higher.

Iran Announces It Has Converted 15% Of Its $100 Billion+ In FX Reserves Into Gold As of today, one of the world’s top oil exporters announced that has exchanged about $15 billion of its FX reserves into gold.

The Calm Before The Storm An eerie calm has descended upon world financial markets as they await perhaps the two most important financial events of the year this week.

QE2 Is Not A Recovery Plan, It’s A Stealthy Scheme To Prepare For The Next Bank Bailout Pragmatic Capitalist | I’ve shown in rather elaborate detail in recent weeks that quantitative easing does not help the real economy generate a sustained recovery.

Dollar sinks before ‘busiest week in decades’ AFP | The dollar hit a 15-year low point against the yen and sank against the euro ahead of “the busiest week in decades” during which the US Federal Reserve could announce fresh stimulus measures.

Why Is Indiana Putting Armed Security Guards Into 36 Unemployment Offices Across The State? Economic Collapse | Did you ever think that things in America would get so bad that we would need to put armed guards into our unemployment offices?

QE2 Is Not A Recovery Plan, It’s A Stealthy Scheme To Prepare For The Next Bank Bailout [ Next bailout? How ‘bout they’re still working on the last one … you know, that now ‘marked to anything’ multi-trillion dollar thing … I think people fail to recognize / realize / appreciate the magnitude of the last / continuing fraud by the criminally insane lunatics on wall street and accomplices. ] Pragmatic Capitalist | I’ve shown in rather elaborate detail in recent weeks that quantitative easing does not help the real economy generate a sustained recovery.

National / World

Did Obama Order British Authorities To Find Non-Existent Ink Bomb? Paul Joseph Watson | Only after President’s speech did East Midlands security officials reverse earlier announcement that suspicious device was a dud.

State Elections: Where you can make a difference Rob Dew | Educate yourself on local and state elections and vote on Tuesday in Austin, Texas.

The Cult Of Obama Crashes And Burns Steve Watson | The hope has gone, the change never came – now people are just pissed off.

Toner Bomb Plot Used to Empower CIA Kurt Nimmo | Absurd toner bomb plot provides excuse to rationalize the global reach of the CIA into Arabian peninsula.

CIA Stooge Awlaki Prime Suspect Behind Plane Bomb Plot Paul Joseph Watson | Evidence screams “false flag” as authorities seek to crush resistance against invasive airport security measures, while Obama exploits event for domestic and geopolitical gain.

Israel Knew About Toner Bomb Plot Before Devices Were Found Transportation minister hints state knew about mail terror plot before it was publicly revealed Friday. ‘Since Thursday Israeli representatives have been securing shipments to Israel from airports worldwide,’ he says.

Did Obama Order British Authorities To Find Non-Existent Ink Bomb? After having examined the suspicious ink toner device for six hours and found it to be a dud, bomb experts at East Midlands Airport only reversed their decision after being ordered to re-inspect the package by US authorities following President Obama’s Friday afternoon speech in which he claimed that the devices did in fact contain explosives.

The Cult Of Obama Crashes And Burns The image of one man begging on his knees as Obama’s convoy pulls away from a restaurant in Chicago yesterday speaks volumes about how far the man’s status has fallen in the eyes of everyday Americans.

Toner Bomb Plot Used to Empower CIA In addition to adding new urgency and a fresh dose of hysteria to the flagging war on manufactured terror, the toner bomb plot has provided an excuse to rationalize the global reach of the CIA.

Barry May Not Run in 2012. Does It Matter? According to WorldNetDaily, an influential Democrat operative reports that some “senior personalities in the Democratic Party have discussed with President Obama’s advisers the possibility of him not running for re-election in 2012.” It would be best for the party if Obama did not seek re-election in 2012, and more than one discussion has been held on the matter with Obama’s top advisers, according to the party operative, writes Aaron Klein.

Half of Democrats Think Obama Should Face Primary An AP-Knowledge Networks poll finds that 47% of Democrats think Presidential Obama should be challenged for the 2012 Democratic presidential nomination while 51% say he should not be opposed.

Barry loses his cool: Angry Obama yells BACK at hecklers… as new poll shows his own party isn’t sure he should be President in 2012 The pressure is on Barack Obama – and it is starting to show.

US midterm elections: Barack Obama’s world turned upside down as Democrats face electoral disaster By abandoning his own rhetoric of bipartisanship, President Obama divided America and set the course for a heavy Democratic defeat in Tuesday’s midterm elections, argues Toby Harnden.

No U.S. Commercial or Private Plane left Yemen to the U.S. over last 48 hours; Yemeni Official A Yemeni official told Yemen Post that no U.S. cargo aircraft of any American company flew out of Yemen over the last 48 hours.

IMF Tax Tribunals Coming to America Soon? Kurt Nimmo | The plan is not to raise tax revenue. It is to destroy nations and usher in world government.

Yemen Insists No Packages Sent 48 Hours Prior to Toner Bomb Hysteria Kurt Nimmo | As usual, the government has not done a very good job of making the latest al-CIA-duh plot credible.

Why Is Indiana Putting Armed Security Guards Into 36 Unemployment Offices Across The State? The Economic Collapse | Could we soon see economic riots similar to what we have seen in Greece and France?

Toner Bomb Results in More Airport Molestation Infowars.com | The idea is to get you accustomed to physically submitting to government thugs at airports and soon enough at the post office and local mall.

Barry May Not Run in 2012. Does It Matter? Kurt Nimmo | The show will go on regardless.

No U.S. Commercial or Private Plane left Yemen to the U.S. over last 48 hours; Yemeni Official A Yemeni official told Yemen Post that no U.S. cargo aircraft of any American company flew out of Yemen over the last 48 hours.

Suspicious Package to U.S. not from Yemen; Yemenia Air Cargo Director Mohammed al-Shaibah, Air Cargo Director for Yemenia Airways said to Yemen Post, “No UPS cargo plane left Yemeni lands over the land 48 hours. These accusations are false and baseless.”

UAE rejects US claims on Flight 201 The United Arab Emirates’ Civil Aviation Authority has rejected claims that a US-bound Emirates’ flight from Dubai contained “suspicious” parcels from Yemen.

Pat-Downs May Soon Become Norm At Airports Friday’s UPS scare is prompting increased security measures at the nation’s airports. That could include newly introduced pat-down procedures.

Obama ‘Fake Terror’ Alert Story Hits #1 on Google Efforts to warn the population that the Obama Administration, like the Bush Administration before it, has engaged in issuing fake terror alerts has gone viral, with the search term “fake terror” reaching #1 on Google Trends. It is yet another success in the Infowar, initiated on the Alex Jones Show.

Obama Issues Fake Terror Alert On Eve Of Elections As we predicted on four separate occasions would happen, the Obama White House has deliberately contrived a fake terror scare on the eve of the mid-term elections in an effort to subdue the rampaging political appetite for anti-big government candidates that threatens to sweep aside establishment incumbents next week.

Toner Bomb Results in More Airport Molestation Infowars.com | The idea is to get you accustomed to physically submitting to government thugs at airports and soon enough at the post office and local mall.

Barry May Not Run in 2012. Does It Matter? Kurt Nimmo | The show will go on regardless.

Powerful EU Nations May Reform “Mission Impossible” Treaty in Secret Eric Blair | Institutions claiming to be unions like the EU are invariably based on hierarchy.

Mainstream Media Now Begins Reporting on BPA Dangers After Denying Previous Evidence Anthony Gucciardi | With mainstream media forced to report on this five-year study exposing BPA as a fertility killer, perhaps the result will be a nationwide ban of the toxic substance.

Union Mob Surrounds We Are Change Member for Heckling Clinton Aaron Dykes | A gang of union thugs in yellow shirts literally surround and intimidate a man who heckled Bill Clinton with questions about the Federal Reserve.

Drudgereport: NEW VILLAIN: Al-Qaeda bombmaker 'leading suspect' in Yemen parcel plot...
Female Suspect Released, No Charges...
LAWYER: Being set up...
FEAR: White House warns there could be more 'in the mail'...
Unemployment Offices To Add Armed Guards...
99 Weeks of Benefits Set To End...
USA faces first scrutiny by UN rights council...
Dem attacks Pelosi as 'authoritarian'...
Expresses 'heartbreak' over failure...

Suicide bomber in Iraq kills at least 26 people, many of them police (Washington Post) [ Ah, yes … those sounds of silence … the birthing of a new american-style democracy … like napalm in the morning … smells like victory … (lucky for them bush / bushies / neo-cons lied about those wmd’s) ]

Obama: Suspicious packages are a 'credible terrorist threat' (Washington Post) [October suprprise anyone … still October … trick or treat … there are skeptics … then there are some who’ll say … just jewish synagogues, no big deal … nothing of strategic value … healthy dose of skepticism … Obama ‘Fake Terror’ Alert Story Hits #1 on Google Aaron Dykes Infowars.com October 29, 2010 Efforts to warn the population that the Obama Administration, like the Bush Administration before it, has engaged in issuing fake terror alerts has gone viral, with the search term “fake terror” reaching #1 on Google Trends. It is yet another success in the Infowar, initiated on the Alex Jones Show. As we are just days out from the 2010 midterm elections, voters must realize that the establishment has willfully engaged in hyping up false alerts to scare the public into believing that we are under siege by potential terrorist acts at all moments. Various “officials” have been warning that an attack is likely to occur for weeks now, and it is no surprise to see the Obama Administration trying to use the fear to its advantage. Recall that Obama advisor and former top Clinton official, Robert Shapiro, alluded to the idea that only a terror attack could save Obama’s presidency earlier in the year.

“The bottom line here is that Americans don’t believe in President Obama’s leadership,” said Shapiro, adding, “He has to find some way between now and November of demonstrating that he is a leader who can command confidence and, short of a 9/11 event or an Oklahoma City bombing, I can’t think of how he could do that.”

Read the original story by Paul Joseph Watson here, as it has been updated.

The general scare of the fake terror alert is all the more alarming, as President Obama has gone on to contradict announcements from his own administration, claiming that the suspicious package “did apparently contain explosive material” in a press conference. This, after it was already admitted the suspicious package, which originated from the UK, was harmless and contained no explosives Obama Issues Fake Terror Alert On Eve Of Elections Paul Joseph Watson | Establishment media fearmongers about “mail bomb plot” despite no bombs being found. Corporate Media On High Alert Over “Manipulated” Toner Cartridge On UK Plane Kurt Nimmo | Officialdom and authorities jack up the scary pre-election rhetoric ]

Amid mortgage mess, some owners blindsided (Washington Post) [ Blindsided or just plain blind, the reality is amounts totaling more than all the mortgages in the nation have gone down and into that sinkhole / fraud called wall street (never disgorged) and more each day as the computerized high frequency programmed trade scam / fraud continues even as I believe they’ve received hard fiat Weimar dollar currency for worthless toxic paper / assets / securities now marked to anything. That money has to be made up and come from some real place and hence, the scrounging around we’re seeing by banks among others and which situation will worsen as problems engendered by the debased currency and fed pomo, etc., come home to roost. ] Homeowners are increasingly tripped up by mortgage lenders that press ahead with foreclosures regardless of any effort they make to provide borrowers with relief on unaffordable mortgages. Valarie Stovall had worked out payment plans with her lender, yet still received an eviction notice.

White House considering new strategy on tax cuts (Washington Post) [ Strategy? You’ve really got to worry when the pervasively corrupt, incompetent, defacto bankrupt u.s. government starts talking strategy … like perpetual wars, ie., Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.. Race to the bottom, who can get america more bankrupt faster? Not that I’m for the taxes used to fund these ‘strategies’. It’s really doing the same wasteful things with less. Then there are the private agendas. ] Sources say it would call for permanent extension of cuts that benefit families earning less than $250,000, and temporary extension of cuts on income above that.

GDP data show slow growth (Washington Post) [ What data … whose data … then there’s the ‘increased record deficit’ factor and is the insurmountable nature and service of same economically viable and worth the minutia for pre-election spin … I don’t think so! … ( The scary actual U.S. government debt Neil Reynolds | The amount is $200-trillion — 840 per cent of current GDP) .] Economy remains stuck, continuing a pattern of steady growth that's too slow to bring down joblessness.

U.S.A. - Home of Financial Absurdities Simon Maierhofer, On Friday October 29, 2010, 6:41 pm EDT Throughout mankind's history, scales have been a symbol of equality. As much as commoners rely on scales to be treated fairly, 'ueber commoners' try to escape the scales of justice and equality and want to be measured by different and better standards.In his Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln exhorted his listeners to ensure the survival of a government of the people, by the people, for the people. It seems like survival of the fittest like forces have turned a government of, by and for the people into a government of, for and by special interest groups.
No More Robin Hood
This week we read that even the Robin Hood of investors, creates his own rules. Warren Buffett - the only candidate to even remotely resemble a Robin Hood of Wall Street - had a friendly exchange with the SEC about the treatment of actual losses.Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway was sitting on $1.86 billion in losses caused by declining Kraft and US Bancorp stock. The losses were more than 12 months old and according to current accounting rules had to be written down. Perhaps Warren had seen how Wall Street is allowed to bend accounting rules to its favor (more about that in a moment) and thought: 'what they can do I can do better.' In short, Berkshire didn't write down the $1.86 billion in losses because ... drum roll ... as Berkshire's Chief Financial Officer Marc Hamburg's reasoned: ‘We believe it is reasonably possible that the market prices of Kraft Foods and U.S. Bancorp will recover to our cast within the next one to two years assuming that there are no material adverse events affecting these companies or the industries in which they operate.' In other words, Berkshire didn't want to write down losses, because under the right circumstances there's a fair chance that stock prices will recover.
Perfect Conditions - 100% Profitability
Of course, under the right conditions any loss could reverse itself. But, because we don't live in a perfect world, we have accounting rules. The final numbers are designed to help investors evaluate a company's current financial health. If the Doctor tells you that you have high cholesterol, do you tell him: 'Don't worry, under the perfect conditions I'll eat only raw vegetables,' when in reality you live on burgers and fries and should be on a double dose of cholesterol meds? Interestingly - and very smartly - Warren Buffett's new knight - Todd Combs - has stolen the headlight and absorbed the attention of what otherwise could turn into a full-fledged accounting scandal.
Further Implications
Courtesy of the post-2007 credit contraction, Wall Street Banksters, the administration, and reputable companies have become quite adept at the denial and cover up approach. Case in point, Fannie and Freddie. In 2008, management for the ailing housing giant denied financial trouble.  On Sunday, September 7, 2008, the government seized control of Fannie and Freddie. Nevertheless, stocks rallied on Monday the morning after. Despite stock's (NYSEArca: VTI - News) party mood, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter considered banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) and financial institutions (NYSEArca: XLF - News) a 'downward spiral with no stop-loss provision' and predicted Dow (DJI: ^DJI) 7,500 previously in September 2008. As stocks quickly tumbled to Dow 7,500, the government became desperate. Real estate related losses were piling up; investors lost confidence in the financial system and drove Washington Mutual out of business. The problem was too big to fix, so the administration forced the Financial Accounting Standards Board to change rule 157. Obviously, the fix is only topical. If it wasn't, why would Fannie and Freddie need an additional $215 billion in aid? The 'new and improved' rule 157 allowed Banksters to value assets at what they might be worth in the future. If bank A purchased a portfolio of real estate (NYSEArca: IYR - News) for $10 million in 2006 and lost $6 million because the assets turned toxic, bank A is allowed to value the portfolio just below $10 million. The very real loss is not included in the current earnings numbers.
Can You Trust Earnings
The real question is whether you can trust reported earnings? If Berkshire, along with most banks and financial conglomerates, has the legal right to fudge their earnings we may rightly wonder who else is employing this convenient accounting trick? Some would call them stupid if they didn't. Ironically, Citigroup's profits exceeded estimates because they reduced bad loan provisions. JPMorgan on the other hand expects mortgage buybacks (related to the foreclosure disaster) to cost lenders $120 billion. To emphasize, Citigroup reducing its bad loan reserves would be like an insurance company reducing its natural disaster fund right before hurricane season. Be that as it may, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), Dow Jones (NYSEArca: DIA - News), and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) continue to rally. The Nasdaq 100 (Nasdaq: QQQQ - News) has already shot past its April 2010 recovery high, while the Dow and S&P (NYSEArca: IVV - News) are within striking distance.
Expect the Unexpected Following a horrendous August, investors were expecting a terrible September and/or October. The opposite happened. As we approach November, we hear that this month usually kicks off the most profitable time of the year. Fourth quarter institutional cash inflows tend to result in the best consecutive three-month period. As we've discussed here in the past, institutions are not the only ones that provide liquidity right now. The Federal Reserve via its POMO purchases is another one (detailed analysis available in the November issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter). This extra liquidity is not to be underestimated.
An Extra Black Swan
As we've experienced many times, the market tends to surprise the investing masses - most of which are bullish right now. A decline from current prices would certainly be a surprise. To the average investor, who's betting on QE2 to lift the economy and personal investments, a decline would indeed represent a 'Black Swan.' As noted in any chart, this season of the year, sentiment, and the market's behavior indicates that the next couple of weeks are likely to be pivotal for the upcoming months. As of yet, the market has not given away its true intentions, but it's sending subtle clues. Some recent support/resistance points are likely to turn into trigger levels, which once activated should fuel a move into that direction. The semi-weekly Technical Forecast (part of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter) includes the latest technical analysis along with trigger, target, safety and stop-loss levels designed to navigate the current environment profitably. 

The scary actual U.S. government debt Neil Reynolds | The amount is $200-trillion — 840 per cent of current GDP.

The Fed Bought Fraud Greg Hunter | The Fed just spent the last 20 months buying a trillion dollars in mortgage fraud.

Worldwide Food Crisis Looms As Forecasters Predict Record High Prices PreventDisease | “World food price volatility remains significant and in some countries, the volatility is adding to already higher local food prices.”

Signs Hyperinflation Is Arriving Gonzalo Lira | The collapsing dollar will make 2012 the really really bad year of our Global Depression.

The Founding Fathers’ Vision Of Prosperity Has Been Destroyed Everyone knows that the American colonists revolted largely because of taxation without representation and related forms of oppression by the British. But – according to Benjamin Franklin and others in the thick of the action – a little-known factor was actually the main reason for the revolution.

Not Just Stocks … High Frequency Traders Might Be Manipulating Futures, Options, Bonds, Currency and Commodities Markets As Well We know that high frequency trading is used to manipulate the stock market. The prevalence of high frequency trading in other markets means that it might be used to manipulate those markets – perhaps virtually all markets – as well.

Exclusive: 4 Dealers Respond With “$1+ Trillion” To Fed Reverse Inquiry Into How Much QE2 Is Necessary Yesterday we made a big stink over the Fed’s reverse inquiry into the PD community over how much QE2 it should launch. Today, we find out what the distribution is: as Merrill’s Harley Bassman points out: “Four dealers are predicting a $1+ Trillion buy program.” It is good to finally know what the bogey is.

Gold Will Outlive Dollar Once Slaughter Comes The world’s monetary system is in the process of melting down. We have entered the endgame for the dollar as the dominant reserve currency, but most investors and policy makers are unaware of the implications.

Art Hogan of Jefferies, while being interviewed by Frank Motek indicated that next week will probably be a ‘sell on the news’ week, the absence of that rumor / b*** s*** story, viz., the election results, being the precipitating factor [come on …. Does anybody really believe that election results at this point in declining, defacto bankrupt america’s history means anything at all (bi-partisan corruption, perpetual war policy, incompetence, etc, in all three branches of government)]. He was promptly cut off [they probably used an att line ( corrupt jersey based att now owned by war criminal bushie bonkers Texas based sbc does the government bidding which impacts on service and privacy)].

[video] Weisberg: More Selling in Near Term

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally into the close to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression). Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from senile Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ] Wall St advances on dollar weakness, Fed bets (Reuters) – [ Look at the aforementioned headline. Isn’t anyone getting the sense of how totally preposterous this is? Then there’s the ‘market frothing’ used home foreclosure / distressed home sales number … previous wall street b*** s*** story, the election and consequent gridlock story … as if they’re substantially different …perpetual war, runaway nation-bankrupting record deficit spending, incompetence, corruption (still no prosecution of the wall street frauds), etc. What total b*** s***! ] U.S. stocks rose to a five-and-a-half month high on Monday as a falling dollar, partly driven by expectations of further stimulus by the Federal Reserve, prompted investors to buy riskier as... [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ Previous pre-crash: The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ‘The Fed's campaign to boost the risk-trade in equities by destroying the dollar has reached its limits. Now gravity will take hold as stocks enter a Long Decline.On Monday, Daily Finance published my article Is the Market Ready to Roll Over? These Signs Say Yes.

We've Already Had the Bang. The Bucks Are Yet to Come

Gold Soars as the Fed Contemplates More QE

In Investment Survey, Gold Shines Brightest in Five- and Ten-Year Studies

What We're Thinking About in This Market Environment. (And Where Is the Market Headed?)

Surprise!!! Cash for Clunkers Didn't Work, Say Economists A new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research by Atif Mian and Amir Sufi, titled "The Effects of Fiscal Stimulus: Evidence from the 2009 'Cash for Clunkers' Program," the authors make a crystal-clear case that the widely-derided Cash for Clunkers initiative didn't work.At all.In fact, it had the opposite effect than what was intended.Mian and Sufi write:"A key rationale for fiscal stimulus is to boost consumption when aggregate demand is perceived to be inefficiently low. We examine the ability of the government to increase consumption by evaluating the impact of the 2009 “Cash for Clunkers” program on short and medium run auto purchases. Our empirical strategy exploits variation across U.S. cities in ex-ante exposure to the program as measured by the number of “clunkers” in the city as of the summer of 2008. We find that the program induced the purchase of an additional 360,000 cars in July and August of 2009. However, almost all of the additional purchases under the program were pulled forward from the very near future; the effect of the program on auto purchases is almost completely reversed by as early as March 2010 – only seven months after the program ended. The effect of the program on auto purchases was significantly more short-lived than previously suggested. We also find no evidence of an effect on employment, house prices, or household default rates in cities with higher exposure to the program."

National / World

Union Mob Surrounds We Are Change Member for Heckling Clinton Aaron Dykes | A gang of union thugs in yellow shirts literally surround and intimidate a man who heckled Bill Clinton with questions about the Federal Reserve.

Obama ‘Fake Terror’ Alert Story Hits #1 on Google Aaron Dykes | Efforts to warn the population that the Obama Administration, like the Bush Administration before it, has engaged in issuing fake terror alerts has gone viral.

Obama Issues Fake Terror Alert On Eve Of Elections Paul Joseph Watson | Establishment media fearmongers about “mail bomb plot” despite no bombs being found.

Corporate Media On High Alert Over “Manipulated” Toner Cartridge On UK Plane Kurt Nimmo | Officialdom and authorities jack up the scary pre-election rhetoric.

Rand Paul Surges Ahead Of Conway Despite Stomp Smear Paul Joseph Watson | Latest poll shows Paul 9 points ahead, illustrating futility of establishment demonization campaign

Obama ‘Fake Terror’ Alert Story Hits #1 on Google Efforts to warn the population that the Obama Administration, like the Bush Administration before it, has engaged in issuing fake terror alerts has gone viral, with the search term “fake terror” reaching #1 on Google Trends. It is yet another success in the Infowar, initiated on the Alex Jones Show.

Obama Issues Fake Terror Alert On Eve Of Elections As we predicted on four separate occasions would happen, the Obama White House has deliberately contrived a fake terror scare on the eve of the mid-term elections in an effort to subdue the rampaging political appetite for anti-big government candidates that threatens to sweep aside establishment incumbents next week.

Hysteria Runs Rampant, Terrorists Win: NORAD escorting aircraft to New York’s JFK airport Shame NORAD wasn’t so alert on 9/11, allowing Flight 77 to fly half way across the country and back before it slammed into the Pentagon. They weren’t so keen to intercept airliners then.

James Cameron and Google CEO: Questioning Warming Science is “Criminal” Google CEO Eric Schmidt and film director James Cameron recently concurred that people who question the science of anthropogenic global warming are, in their opinions, “criminal”.

Bad Attitude Toward Officialdom? No Second Amendment in New York In New York, you may be denied your Second Amendment right to own a rifle if administrative officials decide you are not of good moral character.

Rand Paul Surges Ahead Of Conway Despite Stomp Smear Despite the Conway campaign shamelessly exploiting the notorious stomp on MoveOn activist Lauren Valle for political grist, while failing to mention that Valle herself attempted to assault Rand Paul before the fracas, Paul has surged ahead of his opponent in the latest poll, which shows the Kentucky candidate leading the race by nine points

Drudgereport: BUCHANAN: The country is up for grabs... ‘…Consider the critical issue facing America today – the budget and trade deficits, the soaring national debt, an unemployment near 10 percent for 14 straight months – and how neither party seems to have the cure. While George Bush's tax cuts did not cause this, they did not prevent it. And if Republicans believe that his deficits did cause it, why have those Republicans not addressed the causes of those deficits – Bush's (and wobama’s) wars, Bush's tax cuts and Bush's social spending on No Child Left Behind and Medicare drug benefits? Yet, if liberal Democrats are right and deficits are the correct Keynesian cure for recession, why have Obama deficits of $1.4 and $1.3 trillion failed so dismally? … The Federal Reserve, having used and broken every tool in its toolbox, including doubling the money supply and setting interest rates at near zero, will now bet the farm on inflation, starting Nov. 3. Both parties have lost the mandate of heaven, and neither knows if its economic philosophy even works anymore. We are in uncharted waters. The country is up for grabs.’
ROUBINI: A PRESIDENCY HEADED FOR A FISCAL TRAINWRECK...
Europe 'dismayed' as midterms highlight Obama's struggles...
POLL: 65% Would Vote to Replace Entire Congress...
POLL: Majority Wants Obama Fired In 2012...
Democrat predicts GOP takeover in the House...
Candidates use children to make final pitch...
Politicians use PIs to unearth their own skeletons...
JET INK BOMB ALERT...
SINISTER PACKAGES ON CARGO PLANES...
Al Qaeda suspected...
'Syringe, powder and cell phone components'...
BIG SIS: Expect Extensive Pat-Downs To Become The Norm...
MILBANK: Obama is the last laugh... (Washington Post) [ Quite right! Wobama’s so pathetic … I believe most would find even wobama’s post-office perks objectionable … he was given the benefit of every doubt and support following what has to be considered the easiest act in the world to follow (dumbya bush) and has failed miserably, marking the beginning of a long overdue reality check and national blackout in america. ] Milbank ’On Comedy Central, the joke was on President Obama Wednesday night. The president had come, on the eve of what will almost certainly be the loss of his governing majority, to plead his case before Jon Stewart, gatekeeper of the disillusioned left. But instead of displaying the sizzle that won him an army of youthful supporters two years ago, Obama had a Brownie moment. The Daily Show host was giving Obama a tough time about hiring the conventional and Clintonian Larry Summers as his top economic advisor. "In fairness," the president replied defensively, "Larry Summers did a heckuva job." "You don't want to use that phrase, dude," Stewart recommended with a laugh. Dude. The indignity of a comedy show host calling the commander in chief "dude" pretty well captured the moment for Obama. He was making this first-ever appearance by a president on the Daily Show as part of a long-shot effort to rekindle the spirit of '08. In the Daily Show, Obama had a friendly host and an even friendlier crowd…’

Vietnam jails bloggers, sentences activists (Washington Post) [ What is it about the allure of ‘everyone’s equal b*** s***’ inherent to pure, unadulterated totalitarian communism. Always the same story and quite a pathetic one at that. (Previous, infra.) As for cuban rhetoric, I don’t take anything they say seriously (I remind people that if you said something anti-government in cuba, you’d be dead or in jail), although I’m not hesitant to include a good point if made (ie., castro recently talking about nuclear holocaust risk, etc.). Disclaimer: I have been and continue to be opposed to an end to a trade embargo on cuba; not because of their communist system (I’m staunchly opposed to communism – ‘everybody’s equal except some bureaucrats are more equal than others’, etc.), but solely because of their grant of asylum to a black panther member who murdered a state trooper. ] In the run-up to a visit by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the actions have threatened the significant progress between the U.S. and Vietnam in recent months. Black Panther case reveals schism (Washington Post) [ I mean, really … You’d think a black president and black ag would have more sense … Drudgereport: WASHPOST: Black Panthers case taps deep racial divisions at Justice... Previous: UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ) Disclaimer: I have been and continue to be opposed to an end to a trade embargo on cuba; not because of their communist system (I’m staunchly opposed to communism – ‘everybody’s equal except some bureaucrats are more equal than others’, etc.), but solely because of their grant of asylum to a black panther member who murdered a state trooper: ‘Assata Shakur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Assata Olugbala Shakur (born July 16, 1947^[1] as JoAnne Deborah Byron, married name Chesimard^[2]) is an African-American activist and escaped convict who was a member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA). Between 1971 and 1973, Shakur was accused of several crimes, of which she would never be charged, and made the subject of a multi-state manhunt.^[3][4] In May 1973, Shakur was involved in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike, during which New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster and BLA member Zayd Malik Shakur were killed and Shakur and Trooper James Harper were wounded.^[5] Between 1973 and 1977, Shakur was indicted in relation to six other alleged criminal incidents—charged with murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, bank robbery, and kidnapping—resulting in three acquittals and three dismissals. In 1977, she was convicted of the first-degree murder of Foerster and of seven other felonies related to the shootout.^[6] Shakur was then incarcerated in several prisons, where her treatment drew criticism from some human rights groups. She escaped from prison in 1979 and has been living in Cuba in political asylum since 1984.’ - The black panthers are not a bunch of ‘warm and fuzzy’ people. As for cuban rhetoric, I don’t take anything they say seriously (I remind people that if you said something anti-government in cuba, you’d be dead or in jail), although I’m not hesitant to include a good point if made (ie., castro recently talking about nuclear holocaust risk, etc.). Suit over voter intimidation -- reported by poll-watcher Chris Hill, above -- roils Justice Dept.

In the Loop: Obama mentor Laurence Tribe unfiltered - and on paper (Washington Post) [ Let’s give him an S (for stupidity) for Courage in admitting to being connected to or a mentor of such a smashingly bad and failed president as wobama. I actually had to read a book by Tribe in law school and though my initial thoughts of the irrelevance of constitutional law to the actual practice of law as later confirmed in practice ( I worked full-time at a law firm during the day and attended law school in a 4 year program evenings – due process, rules of law, obstruction of justice, etc., mean almost absolutely nothing to these corrupt political hacks in deciding most cases as became chrystal clear in my own practice [  http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]  , etc.   ) , I was surprised that though irrelevant and taught by a pretty tough professor, by the second semester it had become interesting to me if only from a behavioral / historical perspective. An example was that seminal case best known for establishing judicial review criteria (among the branches of government, if my memory of this trivial point serves me) which was shrewdly decided by John Marshall. Indeed, he well knew that the executive branch would ignore his decision if adverse, so fashioned a rationale that comported with a favorable decision for the executive / legislative branch(es?) (I wouldn’t even waste my time to check this distinction though simple enough to google). The point is that today, a similar but far more self-interested dynamic is at work, ie., money, bribes, cover-up, more money, etc., and justice is the last thought / thing served by the now pervasively corrupt american judicial system. Moreover, that initial marshallian impotence has evolved to the point of equipping these pathetic figureheads with knee pads as an alternative to the monotony of constantly bending over.

Title insurers drop demands on lenders in foreclosure cases (Washington Post) [ Somewhat meaningless since, while nice to have from their perspective, their demands were somewhat redundant and unnecessary inasmuch as any litigation would include crossclaims for indemnity and / or third-party pleading (impleader) as a matter of standard practice / procedure. ] Mortgage servicers push back attempt to make them explicitly responsible for title problems resulting from handling of foreclosure paperwork.

Warren: Technology is key to new consumer bureau (Washington Post) [ No it is NOT! Talk is much too cheap and plentiful in america and certainly no deterrent to the massive frauds effected by these criminally insane lunatics on wall street along with accomplices (ie., all three branches of the u.s. government, fed, etc.) of a magnitude unprecedented in scope and size (shootin’ for that too big a fraud / scam to fail or be prosecuted … absolutely preposterous!) The key from attorneys general, federal and state, to the SEC, to individuals (RICO, etc.) are actions / prosecutions both criminal and civil ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ] Elizabeth Warren wants Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be a nimble, sophisticated watchdog.

Drudgereport: MILBANK: Obama is the last laugh... (Washington Post) [ Quite right! Wobama’s so pathetic and a total joke … I believe most would find even wobama’s post-office perks objectionable … he was given the benefit of every doubt and support following what has to be considered the easiest act in the world to follow (dumbya bush) and has failed miserably, marking the beginning of a long overdue reality check and national blackout (‘you know, the energy thing’) in america. ] Milbank ’On Comedy Central, the joke was on President Obama Wednesday night. The president had come, on the eve of what will almost certainly be the loss of his governing majority, to plead his case before Jon Stewart, gatekeeper of the disillusioned left. But instead of displaying the sizzle that won him an army of youthful supporters two years ago, Obama had a Brownie moment. The Daily Show host was giving Obama a tough time about hiring the conventional and Clintonian Larry Summers as his top economic advisor. "In fairness," the president replied defensively, "Larry Summers did a heckuva job." "You don't want to use that phrase, dude," Stewart recommended with a laugh. Dude. The indignity of a comedy show host calling the commander in chief "dude" pretty well captured the moment for Obama. He was making this first-ever appearance by a president on the Daily Show as part of a long-shot effort to rekindle the spirit of '08. In the Daily Show, Obama had a friendly host and an even friendlier crowd…’
BUCHANAN: The country is up for grabs... ‘…Consider the critical issue facing America today – the budget and trade deficits, the soaring national debt, an unemployment near 10 percent for 14 straight months – and how neither party seems to have the cure. While George Bush's tax cuts did not cause this, they did not prevent it. And if Republicans believe that his deficits did cause it, why have those Republicans not addressed the causes of those deficits – Bush's (and wobama’s) wars, Bush's tax cuts and Bush's social spending on No Child Left Behind and Medicare drug benefits? Yet, if liberal Democrats are right and deficits are the correct Keynesian cure for recession, why have Obama deficits of $1.4 and $1.3 trillion failed so dismally? … The Federal Reserve, having used and broken every tool in its toolbox, including doubling the money supply and setting interest rates at near zero, will now bet the farm on inflation, starting Nov. 3. Both parties have lost the mandate of heaven, and neither knows if its economic philosophy even works anymore. We are in uncharted waters. The country is up for grabs.’
ROUBINI: A PRESIDENCY HEADED FOR A FISCAL TRAINWRECK...
Europe 'dismayed' as midterms highlight Obama's struggles...
POLL: 65% Would Vote to Replace Entire Congress...
POLL: Majority Wants Obama Fired In 2012...
Democrat predicts GOP takeover in the House...
Candidates use children to make final pitch...
Politicians use PIs to unearth their own skeletons...

Govt. "Diverging from Reality", U.S. "At Risk of Downward Spiral," Sachs Warns Sachs ‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are under assault in this country as our political system has basically taken the American people hostage. That was a key tenet of an impassioned speech by Professor Jeffrey Sachs’s at The Economist’s Buttonwood Gathering earlier this week.“The U.S. is at risk of a downward spiral because we are diverging from reality," Sachs says, citing a "profound failure on many fronts." Sachs, who is director of The Earth Institute and author of several books, gave a laundry list of problems plaguing America that are being ignored: a crumbling infrastructure, severe poverty, debilitating budget deficits, failing education, climate change, energy policy…the list goes on. Despite these huge, structural challenges, America is obsessed with the short-term...and the next election, Sachs laments. “We are not looking at anything aside from who’s up, who’s down for November and we are only looking from that moment on [to] who is going to be up for 2012.”As a result of the two-year political cycle, Sachs argues that we’ve become way too shortsighted in our policymaking, or lack thereof.   “Strangely missing,” he says, are "government program and plans set before the American people. What we have is relentless backroom negotiations with interest groups.”The American people have essentially been forgotten as politicians continuously vie for the support of special interest groups. “It is staggering the vested interested and the large money pouring into the campaign,” he says.Recalling Rahm Emanuel's famous quip that a “crisis is a terrible thing to waste,” Sachs says leadership in Washington is key to getting us back on track. He feels the financial crisis could have been used to fix many of our long-term problems (see list above) but President Obama and his party fumbled the opportunity. Still, Sachs has no great faith in the GOP either…’

Street Sags As Earnings Outweigh Drop In Jobless Claims [ Come on! Days before the elections … do you really think those much better than expected unemployment claims numbers were real? ]

Bullish Sentiment Near 2-1/2 Year High [ As it was just before the last crash! ]

‘WASHINGTON (AP) -- The new Congress that begins in January will confront an economy and a job market that will improve only slightly next year, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists that found them gloomier than they were three months ago…’ [ Still way too optimistic! They’re all still dreamin’. ]

Art Hogan of Jefferies, while being interviewed by Frank Motek indicated that next week will probably be a ‘sell on the news’ week, the absence of that rumor / b*** s*** story, viz., the election results, being the precipitating factor [come on …. Does anybody really believe that election results at this point in declining, defacto bankrupt america’s history means anything at all (bi-partisan corruption, perpetual war policy, incompetence, etc, in all three branches of government)]. He was promptly cut off [they probably used an att line ( corrupt jersey based att now owned by war criminal bushie bonkers Texas based sbc does the government bidding which impacts on service and privacy)].

[video] Weisberg: More Selling in Near Term

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally into the close to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. Unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers continue decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression). Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from senile Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ] Wall St advances on dollar weakness, Fed bets (Reuters) – [ Look at the aforementioned headline. Isn’t anyone getting the sense of how totally preposterous this is? Then there’s the ‘market frothing’ used home foreclosure / distressed home sales number … previous wall street b*** s*** story, the election and consequent gridlock story … as if they’re substantially different …perpetual war, runaway nation-bankrupting record deficit spending, incompetence, corruption (still no prosecution of the wall street frauds), etc. What total b*** s***! ] U.S. stocks rose to a five-and-a-half month high on Monday as a falling dollar, partly driven by expectations of further stimulus by the Federal Reserve, prompted investors to buy riskier as... [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ Previous pre-crash: The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ‘The Fed's campaign to boost the risk-trade in equities by destroying the dollar has reached its limits. Now gravity will take hold as stocks enter a Long Decline.On Monday, Daily Finance published my article Is the Market Ready to Roll Over? These Signs Say Yes.

Dollar Crushed On QE2 Expectations The dollar weakened and Treasuries halted a six-day slide as the Federal Reserve sought input from bond dealers about the size of asset purchases, bolstering speculation policy makers remain open to a large round of quantitative easing. U.S. stocks declined.

McGrath: ‘Austerity Will Hit America Like An Eight Pound Sledgehammer’ Charlie McGrath of Wide Awake News warns that things are going to change after the election – for the worse. While the movement across America to stop an out of control Congress in its tracks will likely lead to Republican victories and control of at least the House, the idea that this will somehow change the economic outlook for the better is conjecture.

Why Did Banks Give Home Loans to People Who They KNEW Couldn’t Pay? William K. Black – professor of economics and law, and the senior regulator during the S & L crisis – explained last month before to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission why banks gave home loans to people who they knew couldn’t repay.

Fed Strategy The Wrong Way For Growth As the Friday Night Financial Follies continues regulators on Friday shut down two small banks in Florida and two in Georgia, lifting to 136 the number of U.S. banks that have fallen this year as soured loans have mounted and the economy has sputtered.

Is hard currency on its way out? Introducing the new virtual world currency. Christian Science Monitor | The new virtual world currency is an index of the world’s 15 largest economies, weighted by their gross domestic product, adjusted for purchasing power parity.

Fed-Induced Rally Makes Riskiest Debt Priciest: Credit Markets Bloomberg | The lowest-rated junk bonds are the most expensive corporate debt following a Federal Reserve- induced rally in high-risk assets, adding to concern fixed- income securities are overvalued.

American Job Loss Is Permanent Now that a few Democrats and the remnants of the AFL-CIO are waking up to the destructive impact of jobs offshoring on the US economy and millions of American lives, globalism’s advocates have resurrected Dartmouth economist Matthew Slaughter’s discredited finding of several years ago that jobs offshoring by US corporations increases employment and wages in the US.

JPMorgan, HSBC Accused of Manipulating Silver Futures HSBC Holdings Plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were accused in an investor’s lawsuit of placing “spoof” trading orders to manipulate silver futures and options prices in violation of U.S. antitrust law.

National / World

WeAreChange Assaulted by Daily Show Staff WeAreChange NY | With that in mind many people may scratch their heads wondering why comedic talk show host Jon Stewart would be the recipient of serious questions regarding his stance on the events of September 11, 2001.

Former Hitler Youth Whistleblower Warns Of America’s Nazi Future Paul Joseph Watson | Von Campe warns Obama administration more closely resembles Nazi Party than founding fathers.

Jack Conway Takes Money from Criminal Drug Company Kurt Nimmo | Reporter reveals Jack Conway accepted money from company that pushes OxyContin.

American Job Loss Is Permanent Paul Craig Roberts | The correct conclusion is that the U.S. trade deficit with China is the result of “globalism” or jobs offshoring, not Chinese currency manipulation.

New Video Shows MoveOn Activist Attempted To Assault Rand Paul Paul Joseph Watson | Valle shoved sign in Paul’s face before stomping incident in footage media refused to broadcast.

Obama visits India’s IT sector as U.S. jobs continue shrinking Reuters | An increase in U.S. visa fees, a ban on offshoring by the state of Ohio and the industry’s portrayal in campaign ads as a drain of U.S. jobs has set a frosty tone ahead of Obama’s visit to India in early November.

Military wants to scan communications to find internal threats The Pentagon wants computers to see into the future — and stop crimes before they happen.

Bush Thought Flight 93 Had Been Shot Down On 9/11 “The president reveals he gave the order to shoot down planes on September 11 — and at first thought the plane in PA had been shot down,” reports Matt Drudge in an exclusive story about George W. Bush’s upcoming book Decision Points, set to be released on November 9.

Jack Conway Takes Money from Criminal Drug Company The more you look at Jack Conway, the worse it gets. Yesterday we reported on Conway’s effort to obstruct justice in a criminal drug investigation of his brother. Today we report that Jack Conway accepts money from a company that pushes a dangerous drug, OxyContin.

Drudgereport: BUCHANAN: The country is up for grabs... ‘…Consider the critical issue facing America today – the budget and trade deficits, the soaring national debt, an unemployment near 10 percent for 14 straight months – and how neither party seems to have the cure. While George Bush's tax cuts did not cause this, they did not prevent it. And if Republicans believe that his deficits did cause it, why have those Republicans not addressed the causes of those deficits – Bush's (and wobama’s) wars, Bush's tax cuts and Bush's social spending on No Child Left Behind and Medicare drug benefits? Yet, if liberal Democrats are right and deficits are the correct Keynesian cure for recession, why have Obama deficits of $1.4 and $1.3 trillion failed so dismally? … The Federal Reserve, having used and broken every tool in its toolbox, including doubling the money supply and setting interest rates at near zero, will now bet the farm on inflation, starting Nov. 3. Both parties have lost the mandate of heaven, and neither knows if its economic philosophy even works anymore. We are in uncharted waters. The country is up for grabs.’
ROUBINI: A PRESIDENCY HEADED FOR A FISCAL TRAINWRECK...
Europe 'dismayed' as midterms highlight Obama's struggles...
POLL: 65% Would Vote to Replace Entire Congress...
POLL: Majority Wants Obama Fired In 2012...
Democrat predicts GOP takeover in the House...
Candidates use children to make final pitch...
Politicians use PIs to unearth their own skeletons...
MILBANK: Obama is the last laugh... (Washington Post) [ Quite right! Wobama’s so pathetic and a total joke … I believe most would find even wobama’s post-office perks objectionable … he was given the benefit of every doubt and support following what has to be considered the easiest act in the world to follow (dumbya bush) and has failed miserably, marking the beginning of a long overdue reality check and national blackout (‘you know, the energy thing’) in america. ] Milbank ’On Comedy Central, the joke was on President Obama Wednesday night. The president had come, on the eve of what will almost certainly be the loss of his governing majority, to plead his case before Jon Stewart, gatekeeper of the disillusioned left. But instead of displaying the sizzle that won him an army of youthful supporters two years ago, Obama had a Brownie moment. The Daily Show host was giving Obama a tough time about hiring the conventional and Clintonian Larry Summers as his top economic advisor. "In fairness," the president replied defensively, "Larry Summers did a heckuva job." "You don't want to use that phrase, dude," Stewart recommended with a laugh. Dude. The indignity of a comedy show host calling the commander in chief "dude" pretty well captured the moment for Obama. He was making this first-ever appearance by a president on the Daily Show as part of a long-shot effort to rekindle the spirit of '08. In the Daily Show, Obama had a friendly host and an even friendlier crowd…’

Comment on: U.S. military campaign to topple resilient Taliban hasn't succeeded at 10/28/2010 5:35 AM EDT

Afghanistan: U.S. military campaign to topple Taliban hasn't succeeded (Washington Post) [ The really tragic thing about all the death and destruction inflicted by america for no good reason is that one with even a modicum of sense of military strategy / history could have easily (as here warned on this site) predicted this failed outcome; and then, there’s america’s defacto bankruptcy, their greed for their resurgent heroin trade dollars which the Taliban had all but eradicated, and that in this as in most instances, america’s clearly the bad guy. ]

Comment on: E.U. rules let Iran import, export oil, creating possible split from U.S. policy at 10/28/2010 5:23 AM EDT

New E.U. rules let Iran import, export oil, gas (Washington Post) [ Probably too little, too late to save the eu from pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt american insanity, from mark to anything valuations, Weimar dollar type currencies, perpetual wars, etc., yet this is at least a step in the right direction for the eu.] The United States and Europe have worked cooperatively on Iran policy since President Obama took office, but a small crack might have begun to open over sanctions that are beginning to pinch ordinary Iranians. Iran connects U.S./israel to deadly blasts I believe Iran! ‘West, israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated “the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.

Comment on: Federal bailout oversight panel raises alarms over foreclosure crisis at 10/28/2010 5:15 AM EDT

Bailout panel raises alarms (Washington Post) [ Whew! Just in the nick of time … really dodged a bullet … NOT! …They’re as late as they’ve been complicit in every problem this nation has, particularly with their cozy relationship with the frauds on wall street (still unprosecuted) who’ve benefited mightily from these continuing scams / frauds at everyone’s expense. ] Repercussions of the foreclosure crisis worry lawmakers.

Comment on: Wells Fargo acknowledges problems in foreclosure paperwork at 10/28/2010 5:11 AM EDT

Bank finds paperwork flaws (Washington Post) [The obviousness of this headline brings to mind such rhetorical queries as ‘do bears s*** in the woods’ and ‘is the Pope Catholic’, etc.. This is pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america; home of the frauds, fleeced, and f*** ups! ] Lender has stood by its foreclosure paperwork for weeks as other banks discovered errors and halted sales.

Comment on: Most Americans worry about ability to pay mortgage or rent, poll finds at 10/28/2010 5:06 AM EDT

Are you like most Americans? (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! If mortgage payments were all americans had to worry about in this fraud-rampant, pervasively corrupt (all 3 branches of u.s. government), defacto bankrupt nation they’d have reason to jump for joy. ] A new Washington Post poll reveals that most Americans worry about making mortgage payments.

Bear Market Update: Environment Ripe for Some Damage Cadora ‘Since the last bear market update 10 days ago, stocks have broken and recovered their rally trend line, the dollar has begun its anticipated bounce, and the bond market continues to display ominous behavior. As Members know, the trend line break confirmed a decline into a daily cycle low while the recovery to new highs indicates the beginning of a new cycle. (chart) The problem (for bulls) with such a brief dip is that there was not enough price damage done to work off bullish sentiment, which according to sentimentrader.com, remains pegged near a sell-signal level. In fact, smart money confidence rests at a level that is outright bearish. Therefore, this current pop in equities likely won't have much juice to it. If stocks then roll over and penetrate the recent cycle low, as indicated by the blue, horizontal line above, we would be facing a failed cycle and the potential for 4-6 weeks of generally lower stock prices. I dare say few traders are anticipating more than a corrective decline at this point. Given sentiment levels, if a little fear were injected into this market, folks might be surprised how quickly we get back to SPX 1040. Sentiment in the dollar also supports such a move, as bearishness has been running rampant. Public opinion over the dollar is quite negative, and talking heads are still trying to guess how low the dollar can go. A bit more of a bounce should form from here to work off enough bearishness to set the buck up for the plunge into next year's major cycle low. (chart) The dollar's bounce certainly has the potential to knock stocks below SPX 1160. The question then becomes whether equities can continue to decline when the buck rolls over. There is certainly no guarantee they won't: (chart) Of course, the 2007-08 decline coincided with a burgeoning financial crisis, so some sort of event to generate fear over economic prospects would certainly add weight to the bearish outlook. Perhaps the Democrats will have a better showing at the polls than expected or perhaps a large bank will suddenly expire. I don't know. But the environment is certainly ripe for some price damage. Another ominous development has just taken hold of the bond market: (chart) The Treasury market may finally be set to enforce a bit of discipline on the FOMC for its malfeasances. Despite promises by the Fed to purchase trillions of dollars of Treasuries with more counterfeit money, bonds are heading lower. This action could certainly be a symptom of next year's anticipated crisis in the dollar, but one thing is for sure: Higher interest rates will not be good for stocks. Disclosure: None

Bulls Get Edgy: Dave's Daily ‘The dollar rallies, gold and commodities fall, stocks get wobbly, bonds get sold and frankly, investors just lose their nerve. Despite the obligatory end-of-day "stick save" today, perhaps investors wish to square-up before the election on Tuesday and the Fed decision Wednesday. Earnings from companies like DuPont continue to beat estimates while Durable Goods Orders, ex-airplanes and military, was weak. This means corporate investment in new stuff remains weak as well. But, hey, doesn't this more good news for those want a strenuous QE effort?  Oh, the mystery of it all! PIMCO's Bill Gross stated to clients that the Fed was running a Ponzi Scheme which he dubs a "Sammy Scheme". Also highly regarded market veteran Jeremy Grantham lambasted what the Fed was doing as "The Night of the Living Dead". Then we have the 25^th straight week of equity mutual fund outflows combined with another round of POMO tomorrow which might take up the slack. In the meantime, you may tune in to our video podcast with Dan Dolan, Director of Wealth Management Strategies for the Select Sector SPDR Trust. We discuss the many sector ETFs, the indexes they're linked to, and most importantly, where the positive or negative money-flow is whether from technology to financials. Volume increased in good two-way action today but breadth wound up the day negative…’

Hoping the Fed Will 'Disappoint' the Market and Say No to QE2 Goodman ‘Many people now believe that the Federal Reserve is composed of a group of persons who do the bidding of companies like Goldman Sachs (GS). Jan Hatzius, chief economist of Goldman Sachs, is spearheading the effort to insure heavy dollar debasement, claiming that the issuance of $4 trillion new counterfeit dollars will help the real economy. Reading Hatzius' justifications is like reading the ravings of a lunatic. If Hatzius were an imbecile, I would accept that. But, he is surely not. He is, instead, the living mouthpiece for a group of executives at Goldman Sachs, who are not satisfied with the amount of cash they have already managed to extract from the American public. They want yet more free counterfeit cash from the Fed to play with. It is not the first time this has happened. Firms similar to Goldman Sachs were also pressuring the Reichsbank of Weimar Germany from 1919-23 to engage in more and more quantitative easing. At that time, the German central bank obliged and the famous Weimar hyperinflation episode that scarred Germany for generations was the result.It is said that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which sets interest rates and orders official counterfeiting from time to time, will never disappoint the “market”. The term “market” seems to be defined as the big investment banks on Wall Street. Jan Hatzius has a lot of wants and desires that mirror the goal of his firm to make as much profit as possible in their role as speculators and brokers who service speculators. He and fellow Goldman Sachs’ alumnus, William Dudley, President of the New York Fed, claim that counterfeit dollars (QE-2) will help lower the unemployment rate. Yet, the first round of quantitative easing did absolutely nothing to lower the unemployment rate. QE-1 mostly juiced the stock and commodity markets with an unhealthy dose of speculative feel-good fever. It caused the price of many commodities to skyrocket. Higher commodity prices, fed by "counterfeit" QE cash, has put a great strain on the real economy. They have enriched many of our nation’s enemies in the Middle East, Venezuela and elsewhere. The reflation of commodity prices, especially at the supermarket and at the gas pump, is very unhealthy for American consumers who are strapped to begin with. Yet, in spite of this, the primary dealers tell us that the Fed must do more. QE-1 was essentially a huge stealth tax imposed by the Fed to save the big banks. Now, QE-2 will essentially be another huge stealth tax designed to make big banks richer, at the expense of the rest of society. Of course, the Fed is not supposed to have taxation power. Our Constitution reserved this for Congress. Indeed, taxation without representation was the rallying cry of the American Revolution. With the Fed and quantitative easing, however, we have reached the ultimate in taxation without representation. Americans must pay the tax, on food, fuel and other things, and no one in Congress can do anything about it. The tax has been imposed by the Fed, an organization controlled by the same banks that will benefit from taking this money from the American people.QE-1 was most effective in saving big banks from what appeared to be their inevitable demise in March 2007. The weak foundations of their income and assets caused many banks to be unwilling to lend money to other banks. Some of the biggest financial institutions in the world were unable to convert many of their assets, then thought to be worthless, into cash. Quantitative easing created a market for agency and mortgage backed bonds, for example, at a time that the private market wanted no part of them. It put cash in the pockets of the banks and bonuses in the hands of their bank executives. QE-1 was announced and carried out starting in March, 2009, a time of unusual dollar demand from foreign banks faced with billions in defaulting dollar denominated assets. The dollar had reached its highest level in years, and that fact helped the Fed get away with it. Dollar demand has drastically dropped since then, and the currency is floundering near its historic lows right now. The Fed won't get away with QE-2 without America paying heavy consequences.Some countries, like Brazil, are already erecting protective tariff barriers in order to exclude unwanted dollar denominated investment. Given this backdrop, during a time of unprecedented dollar weakness, we believe that QE-2 will eventually lead to a runaway selloff of the U.S. dollar in the real market, as opposed to merely in the leveraged currency markets. That would be devastating both to the American economy and that of the world.The world would have been better without QE-1. Insolvent banks should have been allowed to fail. That would have allowed us to nationalize them, fire all the incompetent executives, and sell off the pieces to more prudent management, leaving no golden parachutes and no rewards for failure. However, there was an argument, at that time, that doing this would send the world into a deep depression. It was a weak argument and I vehemently disagreed at the time. However, a lot of people believed it and it was used to justify the biggest counterfeiting and money debasement episode in history.No such financial crisis exists today, and no such justifications can be relied on. Bank profits are now quite high. Profits in the rest of corporate America are also high. Corporate cash hoards are also high. Corporations will only be inclined to spend that cash in America (as opposed to converting it into foreign currencies and/or gold), or engage in speculation like the banks, if they have confidence in the U.S. economy. Engaging in another round of quantitative easing decreases confidence.Some diseases weaken the host, but they allow the host to live. Others weaken and then kill the host. Guys like Jan Hatzius and William Dudley, as well as all the others who are pushing QE-2, are suffering from the second type of disease. They will not be satisfied with anything less than sucking all the life's blood from the nation’s economy, even if it means that the entire economy dies. They are willing and ready to destroy confidence in the U.S. dollar and the U.S. economy through more quantitative easing, at a time when no arguable justification for it exists. Once confidence is destroyed, it will be difficult or impossible to regain. Meanwhile, virtually all the primary dealers of the Federal Reserve are expressing certainty that the Fed will begin another round of official counterfeiting on November 3, 2010. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (BAC) says $500 billion at the next meeting with a total of $1 trillion. Deutsche Bank (DB) says $125 billion and then $50-100 billion for 6 months for a total of $500 billion. The Wall Street Journal has announced that the FOMC is poised to announce the printing of several hundred billion at its next meeting, without saying where it got that information. (See here.)It is troubling, to say the least, that private companies like Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and media outlets, like the Wall Street Journal, often seem to know what the Fed will do, before it does it. Where are they getting this information? Reuters recently exposed corruption at the Federal Reserve in the form of selective leaks of inside information to favored persons in private industry. (See here.) A special prosecutor's office should be established to investigate and determine the source of the inside information. The S&P office should aggressively prosecute all persons at the Fed who are identified as sources, no matter how high they may rank in the hierarchy, as well as those who received the information. In any case, this type of foreknowledge activity illustrates a high level of corruption at the Federal Reserve and why the organization has lost most of its credibility.For once in its lengthy existence, the FOMC should say “no” to the primary dealers. But, perhaps, that is impossible. Those who say that the FOMC, with one or two exceptions, is composed of financial whores and owned by various executives at the primary dealers, might be right. However, if they are wrong, given the circumstances, the FOMC will disappoint the "market" by announcing no further quantitative easing at this time. Disclosure: No positions in any company mentioned’

Art Hogan of Jefferies, while being interviewed by Frank Motek indicated that next week will probably be a ‘sell on the news’ week, the absence of that rumor / b*** s*** story, viz., the election results, being the precipitating factor [come on …. Does anybody really believe that election results at this point in declining, defacto bankrupt america’s history means anything at all (bi-partisan corruption, perpetual war policy, incompetence, etc, in all three branches of government)]. He was promptly cut off [they probably used an att line ( corrupt jersey based att now owned by war criminal bushie bonkers Texas based sbc does the government bidding which impacts on service and privacy)].

[video] Weisberg: More Selling in Near Term

Mike Shedlock on the Economy, Deflation and Where to Invest This Year [ I personally believe mish to be a lightweight, but correct in some respects albeit after the fact while providing a lot of historical data (which is interesting) … ie., he totally misses the computerized high-frequency programmed fraud (and consequent effects), the basic economic equation, the debasement of dollar / lower price earnings multiple dynamic / fraud, etc., and though bearish, is afraid to say it; ie., ‘It is far easier to make up for lost opportunities than lost cash’. Tell us something we don’t know mish.’ ] Martenson ‘… The Case Against the Fed What Has Government Done to Our Money?… Mish: I am a firm believer in peak oil. I don't know how anyone can deny it. Given peak oil, and given the demand from China for oil and other commodities, the world is on a crash course of demand that cannot be filled. China is growing at 8-10% a year (assuming you believe the stats). Can China keep growing at that rate forever? For even 10 more years? What about India? Brazil? …Fed will print and print and print. Let's look at a few examples. Zimbabwe Hyperinflation In the case of Zimbabwe, a loss of faith in currency occurred before the printing occurred. The Weimar Republic is a different story. In Zimbabwe, the Mugabe government initiated a "land reform" program intended to correct the inequitable land distribution created by colonial rule. Ultimately, Mugabe's attempt to bail out the poor at the expense of the wealthy is what triggered capital flight and loss of faith of the currency. His reforms not only caused a flight of capital and human capital (the wealthy), they also led to sanctions by the US and Europe. In response, Mugabe turned on the printing presses but the loss of faith in the currency had already occurred. Weimar Hyperinflation In Weimar Germany, printing for war reparations kicked off hyperinflation. War reparations were a political event. So was the invasion of Germany to enforce payment of those reparations. Argentina Hyperinflation Argentina based its currency on the US dollar, a political mistake. When Argentina could no longer hold the peg, its currency collapsed. Hyperinflation is a Political Event The commonality between Zimbabwe, Weimar, and Argentina is they are both political events. In Zimbabwe a political event triggered capital flight, in Weimar a political event started massive printing, and in Argentina everything collapsed when a foolish peg could not be sustained. In each case, a collapse of faith in currency (hyperinflation) led governments to massive printing campaigns, not the other way around. …’

Stocks Fall On Worries Over Fed's Strategy

Bill Gross Calls Fed “Most Brazen” Of All Ponzi Schemes, Says 30 Year Bond Market Is Ending, Compares US Economy To Black Hole They say a country gets the politicians it deserves or perhaps it deserves the politicians it gets. Whatever the order, America is next in line, and as we go to the polls in a few short days it’s incumbent upon a sleepy and befuddled electorate to at least ask ourselves, “What’s going on here?” Democrat or Republican, Elephant or Donkey, nothing much ever seems to change.

Ford Motor Company Is Making Record Profits – By Shipping Our Jobs Overseas On Tuesday, Ford Motor Company reported a record breaking profit for the third quarter. Ford earned 1.7 billion dollars during the quarter, which was way up from a profit of $997 million a year ago during the same time period.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Silver Market is Manipulated Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission … said he thinks “the public deserves some answers to their concerns that silver markets are being, and have been, manipulated.”

Gas prices rise, breaking pre-election pattern Gasoline prices haven’t gotten much attention amid all the other bad economic news for Democrats heading into a final week of campaigning, but the price per gallon has climbed nearly 15 cents since Labor Day – a surprising jump, given that prices usually plummet before an election.

Cato: Bernanke Is Not Printing Enough Money Economic Policy Journal | A commentary on monetary policy that can only be described as coming out of the playbook of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe has been published on the pages of the Cato Institute.

FDIC Head Sounds the Alarm on Foreclosure Litigation Reuters | Litigation arising from foreclosure paperwork problems could be “very damaging” to the housing market, a top U.S. banking regulator said Monday.

Dollar printing feeding China inflation: minister AFP | Rampant issuance of dollars by the United States is saddling China with “imported inflation”, Chinese commerce minister Chen Deming was quoted as saying.

China Retaliates Again, Accuses US Of “Out Of Control” Dollar Printing After taking heat from the White House for nearly a year for its currency peg, a fact that in itself will never get China to loosen its regime as it would be perceived as yielding to pressure from D.C., China has once again gone on the offensive, this time via its commerce minister who earlier today said that dollar issuance in the U.S. is “out of control” which in turn is leading to an inflation assault on China.

National / World

“Conway cover up” surges to #1 on Google Trends days before Kentucky Senate vote Aaron Dykes | While the controlled media has been busy dirtying Rand Paul’s name just days before the midterm elections, news of a real scandal has gone viral and #1 on Google trends concerning his opponent Jack Conway.

Conway Cover-Up: Media Ignores Admitted Obstruction Of Justice Paul Joseph Watson & Kurt Nimmo | Jack Conway’s financial supporters dropped drug trafficking case against Conway’s brother after Senatorial candidate had tipped him off.

“9/11 Cover-up” #1 Search Term on Google Aaron Dykes | “9/11 cover-up” has become the #1 search term on Google’s hot trends, following a special appearance by former Gov. Jesse Ventura on the Alex Jones Show today.

New Footage Implodes 9/11 Cover-up Steve Watson | Amazing video also shows city officials hurriedly leaving after South Tower collapse.

Special Free Live Video/Radio Simulcast with Jesse Ventura Infowars.com | Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura joins Alex Jones for a special live video and radio simulcast today to discuss the latest bombshell revelations surrounding the 9/11 cover-up.

“Conway Cover Up” Surges to #1 on Google Trends Days Before Kentucky Senate Vote While the controlled media has been busy dirtying Rand Paul’s name in the lead up to the midterm elections, news of a real scandal has gone viral concerning his opponent Jack Conway in the Kentucky Senate race.

Conway Cover-Up: Media Ignores Admitted Obstruction Of Justice While hyperventilating over the Lauren Valle stomping incident, the corporate media has ignored a far bigger scandal swirling around the Kentucky Senate race – the fact that financial contributors to Jack Conway’s campaign and Conway himself tipped off Conway’s brother to the fact that he was being investigated for trafficking drugs in an admitted obstruction of justice.

“9/11 Cover-up” #1 Search Term on Google Discussion of a “9/11 cover-up” has become the #1 search term on Google’s hot trends, following a prompt on the Alex Jones Show today. And not without good reason. Former Governor Jesse Ventura joined Alex in a special broadcast to unravel some of the latest smoking guns released on video reluctantly by NIST following a lawsuit.

EXCLUSIVE: Uncovered 9/11 Footage Shows FBI Director Asking Firefighters About “Secondary Hits” On WTC An intriguing video has appeared on You Tube that appears to show a FDNY film crew being interviewed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks by the the director of the FBI’s New York office, who has suspicions that one of the World Trade Center towers took a “secondary hit” before collapsing.

Jack Conway Promoted Neo-Con Iraq War in 2002 Jack Conway promoted Bush’s foreign policy without hesitation in 2002. He supported Barack Obama’s foreign policy in 2008 without hesitation. Supporting both of those positions left him looking like the hypocritical politician he is/was.

Conway Fails To Condemn Brutal Attack On Rand Paul Activist Two days after a Jack Conway supporter viciously stomped on an injured female Rand Paul activist and Conway has still failed to condemn the incident, while the establishment media has almost universally failed to even report on it, proving that their refusal to admit that there were two identical “stomping” incidents on the same night is part of the national smear campaign against Rand Paul.

MSNBC Morning Joe: ‘Jack Conway Is A Joke’ Today the race to fill Jim Bunning’s shoes took center stage on MSNBC’s Morning Joe show, as the pundits took notice of Rand Paul’s crushing defeat of Jack Conway in Kentucky’s final U.S. Senate debate.

Drudgereport: CBSNEWSNYT: Parts of Obama Coalition Drift Toward GOP...
GALLUP SEES TIDAL WAVE
CHICAGOLAND: Officials scramble to send out vote-by-mail ballots...
Daytona Beach Commissioner Charged With Absentee Ballot Fraud...
Nevada Secretary Of State Says 'No Evidence' Of Fraud...
Residents cry foul over ballots in PA...
Republicans Plan Budget Cuts Early If They Take Power ...
REALCLEAR WRAP: SENATE HOUSE...
ABCNEWS NOTE MIKE ALLEN PLAYBOOK MSNBC FIRST READ WASH POST FIX...
CHICAGO: 'Glitch' with vote-by-mail system; Hundreds of thousands of voters may be disenfranchised...
UPDATE: Tensions flare offstage at KY debate; Dem supporter steps on foot of woman wearing surgical boot...
ANTI-REPUBLICAN PROTESTER STOMPED...
Bill Clinton: 'It's What Happened To Me In 94'...
SHOCK POLL: OBAMA HITS 37 APPROVAL...
Dem candidates shun president...
Obama: My name's not on ballot, but my agenda is...
Fiorina Admitted to Hospital for Infection...
WH bristles over top Republicans remarks...
REALCLEAR WRAP: SENATE HOUSE...
ABCNEWS NOTE MIKE ALLEN PLAYBOOK MSNBC FIRST READ WASH POST RUNDOWN...
REID 'FREE FOOD' AT TURNOUT EVENTS
UNIONS 'GIFT CARDS' FOR VOTES
SOROS: LEGALIZE THE WEED... [ … In his opinion piece, Soros said that the nation’s marijuana laws "are clearly doing more harm than good" at a cost of billions of dollars a year "to enforce this unenforceable prohibition."Soros wrote that regulating and taxing marijuana would reduce the crime and violence linked to criminal drug gangs and violations of civil liberties "that occur when large numbers of otherwise law-abiding citizens are subject to arrest." He also noted that minorities are arrested at higher rates for marijuana crimes, creating arrest records that may follow them through life.Although he endorsed Proposition 19, noting that it would allow recreational use and small-scale cultivation, Soros also suggested "its deficiencies can be corrected on the basis of experience." Besides allowing adults 21 and older to grow and possess marijuana, the initiative would allow cities and counties to authorize commercial cultivation, sales and taxation … ( My position is similar but for the reason to take the profit from the gangs, criminals, and to tax it). ]
VEGAS: 'I WENT TO VOTE AND HARRY REID'S NAME WAS ALREADY CHECKED'...
Voting Machine Techs Are SEIU...
N CAROLINA: I VOTED REPUBLICAN AND MACHINE CHECKED DEMOCRAT...
[ Let’s get real … declining / fallen america’s a banana republic (pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt, gunboat diplomacy, etc.)]

Global extinction crisis looms, study says (Washington Post ) [ 90% of all species that have ever existed are now extinct. On this dying planet, extinction is not the exception but the rule! Approximately 3 extinctions per hour and humans are posited as the causative irritant (Niles Eldredge) and humans will be no exception (wars, etc.) ] One-fifth of all vertebrates and as many as a third of all sharks and rays are now threatened.

Russia most corrupt among global powers, study says (Washington Post) [ I would say that is a distinction without a significant difference and the direct result of a less capable (than the u.s.) propaganda machine, more transparency in the corruption itself (less effort to hide), and importantly, they’re not globe-trotting wars, death, and destruction as america. ]

Mortgage scandal aids argument of securities investors (Washington Post) [ Yet this boondoggle pales in comparison to the last bailout (on-going) where worthless paper held by the wall street frauds, having been commissioned and sold at premiums multiple times, now marked to anything as per legislated FASB rule change, is swapped for hard currency (sub-rosa fed pomo ops) at whose expense … guess! ] Reports of banks botching loan paperwork have breathed new life into efforts by investors to force big banks to buy back loans that went bad.

A new focus on government spending (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! … and just in time for the election … then maybe they could say could be that the nation will possibly be (but not really) slightly less defacto bankrupt. Then there’s the ever larger military industrial complex welfare program of perpetual war, wall street computerized high-frequency trade scams / frauds which are apparently immune from prosecution, etc. ] It is not clear whether GOP gains on Election Day would lead to a serious effort at deficit reduction.

In U.S., BMW gets skilled workers for less (Washington Post) [ Well, in all candor, I think the Germans are proceding on the presumption / truism that you get what you pay for, or conversely the reality as is apposite here, you pay for what you get. After all, based on my own experience with american workers whether they be in courts, politics / government, phone companies, (Utah workers excepted) etc., I personally and I believe most people would rather have a German car built by a native german than an american worker. The lower wage probably allows a cushion for recalls, strict liability lawsuits for defects, etc.. ] Workers at a South Carolina BMW plant line up for $15 an hour -- half of what German counterparts make.

Art Hogan of Jefferies, while being interviewed by Frank Motek indicated that next week will probably be a ‘sell on the news’ week, the absence of that rumor / b*** s*** story, viz., the election results, being the precipitating factor [Come on …. Does anybody really believe that election results at this point in declining, defacto bankrupt america’s history mean anything at all (bi-partisan corruption, perpetual war policy, incompetence, etc, in all three branches of government)]. He was promptly cut off [they probably used an att line ( corrupt jersey based att now owned by war criminal bushie bonkers Texas based sbc does the government bidding which impacts on service and privacy)]. Slusiewicz, as immediately follows the table sets forth the same cautionary note, and inter alia, I would add the following for prospective full moon cycles in addition to the numbers to help explain the fraudulent wall street lunacy (and yes, they are criminally insane lunatics on wall street):

Year	New Moon	First Quarter	Full Moon	Last Quarter
2010 Moon Phases dates
2010				Jan  7  10:40
	Nov  6  04:52	Nov 13  16:39	Nov 21  17:27	Nov 28  20:36
	Dec  5  17:36	Dec 13  13:59	Dec 21  08:13 t	Dec 28  04:18
Year	New Moon	First Quarter	Full Moon	Last Quarter
2011 Moon Phases dates
2011	Jan 04   09:03	Jan 12     11:31	Jan 19     21:21	Jan 26     12:57
	Feb 3     02:31	Feb 11     07:18	Feb 18    08:36	Feb 24     23:26
	Mar 4    20:46	Mar 12    23:45	Mar 19    18:10	Mar 26    12:07
	Apr 3    14:32	Apr 11    12:05	Apr 18    02:44	Apr 25    02:47
	May 3   06:51	May 10   20:33	May 17   11:09	May 24   18:52
	Jun 1    21:03	Jun 9    02:11	Jun 15  20:13	Jun 23   11:48

Nothing to Cheer About Slusiewicz ‘My daughter is a cheerleader at her school. As you know, cheerleaders have to cheer for their teams through good and bad times no matter what. It seems that investors today are acting as cheerleaders for the Federal Reserve. The current chant goes something like this; “Go Ben – Print more money – Buy more Bonds! Go Ben Go – Buy more Assets!” It doesn’t matter that this same Fed that back in the beginning of 2007, when New Century Financial (the first big time subprime lending company) failed, the Fed continued to talk about ‘excess liquidity.’ When the problems became worse the Fed said that the problems would be contained to only subprime loans. When the problems spread from subprime to prime loans - this same Fed clearly announced that the problems would be minor and not extend into the rest of the US economy. When the economy started into a full blown recession in 2008– Fed officials were saying it would only be a soft patch in a robust economy until it was too late. They were behind the curve ball all the way down. The first Quantitative Easing program, which had the Fed buying mortgage securities in an attempt to keep interest rates low to stimulate the housing market, was only partially successful. Because, while interest rates for mortgages stayed low, seniors on fixed incomes suffered and the housing market still remains vulnerable. So far Fed actions have not been too successful are reviving our economy on a widespread basis – just look at job growth or the lack thereof. Some will argue that without the Fed things would have been much worse. That is debatable. My contention is that we would have dropped farther and faster, but the recovery would have also been much quicker without the humongous debt burden we created that will likely last for generations. But that is not the point of discussion in this prose. The real concern is that if investors feel that America is on the road to recovery – what do we need to print another trillion dollars for (QE2)? Could it be that structurally we still have some issues? One would never know it judging from the complacency of investors. The VIX fear index is at extreme low levels. The AAII investors’ sentiment gauge also shows a high level of bullishness and an extreme low level of bears. The spread from bulls to bears is one that is normally associated with market tops. This could mean that investors either trust or fear the bearded one who wields a big printing press. Institutions are also very bullish as mutual funds are carrying near record low levels of cash today. Also adding to the mutual fund dilemma has been the record amount of redemptions by individual investors from stock funds over the preceding several months. From a technical perspective, I see a very extended rising bearish wedge pattern formed since the August 31st lows on the major indices. The market run up over that timeframe also has an eerie similarity to the run up from February to the April highs of this year. I observe a double top formation with the current and April highs and the markets are currently intersecting their respective 200 week declining moving averages, adding resistance to the uptrend. We have more volume on the down days than on the up days, signaling distribution. The High Frequency Traders that caused the flash crash in May still constitute the majority of the volume each trading day – which to me still demonstrates potential instability. The market set up is very similar to the April highs, but the only thing missing is a catalyst to get the market moving up or down from here. I am very concerned about the inverse relationship markets have with the US Dollar. Sentiment on the dollar is 100% bearish! The old adage is to invest opposite of everyone else – especially when everyone is all on one side. You cannot get more bearish on the dollar than what it is today. If the dollar reverses back up and the inverse relationship holds true to form – then the stock market could be in for a reversal. Now the dollar bears are going to see the QE2 that’s coming and state that the dollar is going to continue its slide. It wasn’t too long ago that many pundits were saying that the Euro would not only drop to par with the US dollar – but it would cease to exist as a currency. Look what has transpired since. The only certainty is change. Now is a time for caution! Some major events are coming soon. The election on November 2nd and the much anticipated Fed announcement the next day to name a few. Clearly investors are cheering, hoping, and waiting for the next move by the Fed. November 3rd cannot get here soon enough. Is this going to be one of those buy on rumor and sell on news events? Can the Fed live up to the expectations built into current market prices for another round of quantitative easing? Will the Fed’s action really spread to the overall economy and create jobs and boost our nation into a self sustaining recovery? I’ll keep my daughter cheering on Ben Bernanke and his friends – “Go Bernanke – the economy doesn’t want another spanky” – or something like that. Disclosure: Author maintains positions in GLL, ZSL, TBT, PCH, PCL, EUO and cash’

Flat Finish on Wall Street Midnight Trader Oct 26, 2010 --

• NYSE down 15.6 (-0.2%) to 7,530.80
• DJIA up 5.41 (+0.05%) to 11,169
• S&P 500 up 0.02 (flat) to 1,186
• Nasdaq up 6.44 (+0.3%) to 2,497

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

• Hang Seng down 0.11%
• Nikkei down -0.25%
• FTSE down 0.78%

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) NTRS gains as reports says HSBC may make a bid.

(+) JASO projects better-than-expected Q3.

(+) COH beats with Q1 results.

(+) SUPG continues evening gain after earnings top year-ago levels.

(+) MIPS continues strong evening upside in wake of earnings beat.

(+) F loses early bid that followed earnings beat.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) DD gives up early gain to turn just lower; beats with weaker earnings, raises guidance.

(-) TXN continues evening decline that followed Q3 estimates, Q4 guidance that straddles Street view.

(-) UBS investment side performance clouds earnings beat.

(-) RF misses loss expectations.

(-) TLAB guides for revenue miss.

(-) ARMH dented by Q3 results.

(-) X earnings disappoint.

(-) ZRAN warns for Q4 after Q3 revenue miss.

(-) VLTR downgraded.

MARKET DIRECTION

Stock averages end barely in positive territory. Mixed earnings, disappointing home price data and an improving dollar offset a report showing a rise in consumer confidence.Consolidation kept a lid on stock markets. The blue-chip DJIA has pushed up to score a fresh 2010 high a couple of times in recent sessions before edging back to close off that mark.Stocks turned positive at mid-day as a consumer sentiment report offered some support for the broader market.U.S. consumer confidence rose in October to 50.2, according to the Conference Board. Economists had expected a reading of 50, according to a MarketWatch poll. Confidence for September was revised up to 48.6, from a prior estimate of 48.5. The barometer on consumers' expectations rose to 67.8 in October from 65.5 in September, while consumers' assessment of current conditions rose to 23.9 from 23.3.The U.S. August Case-Shiller home price index, released before the bell, fell 0.2%, but is up 1.7% in the past year.Ford Motor Co. (F) and Coach (COH) were gainers after their respective results, while Texas Instruments (TXN) and US Steel Corp. (X) disappointed with their earnings and outlooks.

Wall St advances on dollar weakness, Fed bets (Reuters) – [ Look at the aforementioned headline. Isn’t anyone getting the sense of how totally preposterous this is? Then there’s the ‘market frothing’ used home foreclosure / distressed home sales number … previous wall street b*** s*** story, the election and consequent gridlock story … as if they’re substantially different …perpetual war, runaway nation-bankrupting record deficit spending, incompetence, corruption (still no prosecution of the wall street frauds), etc. What total b*** s***! ] U.S. stocks rose to a five-and-a-half month high on Monday as a falling dollar, partly driven by expectations of further stimulus by the Federal Reserve, prompted investors to buy riskier as... [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ Previous pre-crash: The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ‘The Fed's campaign to boost the risk-trade in equities by destroying the dollar has reached its limits. Now gravity will take hold as stocks enter a Long Decline.On Monday, Daily Finance published my article Is the Market Ready to Roll Over? These Signs Say Yes.

Don't Trust the Rally: "Its Just High-Speed Guys Chasing Each Other, Saluzzi Says ‘Major averages are hovering near their highest levels since September 2008, but retail investors continue to flee the market. Domestic equity funds have suffered outflows for 24 consecutive weeks through Friday, and over $81 billion has come out of domestic equity mutual funds year to date, according to Morningstar.At the risk of stating the obvious, several factors explain why investors simply don't trust the rally. Twice bitten, thrice shy: Having been burned by the bursting of the tech stock bubble in 2000, the housing bubble and the financial crisis of 2008, investors are understandably wary of getting sucked in again. A "lost decade" for index investors hasn't helped either. It's the Economy Stupid: With the "real" unemployment rate near 17%, millions of Americans simply have no money to put into the market; many are cashing out their 401(k) plans and otherwise raiding their nest eggs in an effort to stay afloat. Given the economic backdrop, it's no surprise many investors see the rally as being detached from reality and due only to the Fed's easy money policies...and the promise of more! "We're not seeing any sort of growth other than stimulus," says Joseph Saluzzi, co-founder of Themis Trading. "That is a very disturbing thing -- the constant stimulus that keeps on coming that really does nothing other than barely keep you above [breakeven] on the GDP print." In addition, Saluzzi says investors are rightfully worried about a market dominated by "high-speed guys just chasing each other up and down the price ladder." Unsafe at High Speeds As has been widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. Saluzzi isn't opposed to high-frequency trading per se, calling it a "byproduct of the market structure," as detailed in the accompanying video. But he believes that structure is broken, thanks to rules promoting computer-driven trading, most notably Reg NMS. As a result of regulatory changes and new technology, events like the May 6 ‘flash crash' "will happen again," he says. "There's not a doubt in my mind." Many retail investors feel the same way, another reason for the mistrust of the rally and why about $65 billion of the equity fund outflows this year have occurred in the five months since the "flash crash".’

Want to get away with murder? Become a bank Fortune | Even before the foreclosure problem appeared, the level of public distrust of our financial and political systems was approaching the pathological.

Food Prices Expected to Rise Sharply CNBC | In its most recent CPI report for food, the USDA reported that prices are expected to rise in 2011.

Potential AIG Bailout Loss Was Concealed By Treasury, Federal Auditor Says The U.S. Treasury concealed $40 billion in likely taxpayer losses on the bailout of American International Group (AIG.N), the New York Times said, citing a report by Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

How Did the Banks Get Away With Pledging Mortgages to Multiple Buyers? I’ve repeatedly documented that mortgages were pledged multiple times to different buyers. In response, some people (including one of the country’s top bankruptcy lawyers) have told me they don’t buy it.

Bill Black On Foreclosuregate: Calls For The Immediate Termination Of Bernanke, Geithner And Holder Bill Black, who will soon, together with Neil Barofsky, be a guaranteed shoe-in for the POTUS/VP position (both as independents, of course), was on the Ratigan show today, following on his op-ed from last week calling for the long-overdue nationalization of Bank of America, and discussing the rampant fraud at the heart of mortgage gate.

Greece Likely to Default By 2013 as Debts Remain, El-Erian Says Greece is likely to default over the next three years because budget-cutting won’t be enough to reduce the nation’s debt burden, Pacific Investment Management Co. Chief Executive Officer Mohamed A. El-Erian said.

National / World

White House Media Who**s Caught In Rand Paul “Stomping” Cover-Up Paul Joseph Watson | Media Matters and Think Progress – owned by group committed to “promoting the policies of Barack Obama,” completely fail to mention that Rand Paul supporter was also victim of assault.

Stomping of MoveOn Activist at Rand Paul Event: Staged Incident? Infowars.com | The corporate media will insinuate that Rand Paul’s supporters in Kentucky are jackbooted fascist thugs.

George Soros: Legalize Marijuana Kurt Nimmo | For Soros, marijuana legalization is about taxation, pure and simple.

Contrived Propaganda Tapes Reveal War On Terror Fraud Paul Joseph Watson | Pearlman and Awlaki videos released within 48 hours of major embarrassments for US military-industrial complex.

Millions Of Unemployed Americans Now Live As Paupers The Economic Collapse | This is national economic suicide, but our politicians have become so addicted to debt that there doesn’t seem to be much hope that things can be turned around any time soon.

Republicans Want Israeli Aid Transferred to Pentagon Ynetnews.com [ How pathetic and self-destructive! The nation’s defacto bankrupt and crumbling and they’re worried about securing an even larger stipend for war criminal nation and scofflaw israel. ] Disconnecting Israel from the foreign aid’s law will guarantee the continued support while also allowing the Republicans to take control of the foreign aid budget and the money flow to other countries.

Al Qaeda Leader Dined at the Pentagon Just Months After 9/11 Fox News | Anwar Al-Awlaki may atop the CIA’s kill or capture list, but he was also a lunch guest at the Pentagon within months of 9/11.

Election Fraud Worries Already Rampant: Widespread Reports Of Machines Flipping Votes Significant errors with voting machines have already begun to surface across the country, prompting fears that fraud could once again be a deciding factor in the elections this November.

Public Optimism in U.S. System of Government Hits a 36-year Low Optimism in the country’s system of government has dropped to a new low when measured against polls going back 36 years, and the public’s belief that America is the greatest nation on earth, while still high, has fallen significantly from its level a generation ago.

Congressional Report Casts Doubt on Constitutionality of Obamacare’s Individual Mandate A report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) casts doubt on the two main arguments used by the Obama administration to defend the individual insurance mandate that is the central component of the controversial health “reform” law.

Bernanke Asset Purchases Risk Unleashing 1970s Inflation Genie For the second time since he became chairman in 2006, Ben S. Bernanke is leading the Federal Reserve into uncharted monetary territory.

Contrived Propaganda Tapes Reveal War On Terror Fraud Just two days after it was revealed that Al-Qaeda mastermind Anwar Al-Awlaki had met with Pentagon top brass only a matter of months after 9/11, an organization founded by the daughter of a former Israeli military intelligence officer released a video tape of Awlaki re-affirming his commitment to global jihad. A group of second graders could probably have come up with a more sophisticated propaganda campaign than that concocted by the SITE group this past weekend.

‘West using Iranophibia to sell arms’ The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman says the West is spreading of Iranaphobia to revive the arms market and distract regional states from other threats.

Humiliate, strip, threaten: UK military interrogation manuals discovered The British military has been training interrogators in techniques that include threats, sensory deprivation and enforced nakedness in an apparent breach of the Geneva conventions, the Guardian has discovered.

Revealed: FBI investigated claim that group threatened de-icing equipment when probing crash that killed Senator Wellstone FBI files obtained by Minnesota Public Radio published Monday shed new light — and perhaps shadows — onto the life and death of former Democratic Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone, who was killed when his twin-engine plane crashed in 2002.

Karzai admits receiving ‘bags of money’ from Iran Afghan President Hamid Karzai admitted Monday that his chief of staff had received “bags of money” from Iran but insisted the payment was transparent and a form of aid from a friendly country.

War protester hurls shoes at ex-Australian prime minister John Howard on live television A man protesting against the Iraq war hurled his shoes at Australia’s former prime minister during a live TV show.

Drudgereport: CHICAGO: 'Glitch' with vote-by-mail system; Hundreds of thousands of voters may be disenfranchised...
UPDATE: Tensions flare offstage at KY debate; Dem supporter steps on foot of woman wearing surgical boot...
ANTI-REPUBLICAN PROTESTER STOMPED...
Bill Clinton: 'It's What Happened To Me In 94'...
SHOCK POLL: OBAMA HITS 37 APPROVAL...
Dem candidates shun president...
Obama: My name's not on ballot, but my agenda is...
Fiorina Admitted to Hospital for Infection...
WH bristles over top Republicans remarks...
REALCLEAR WRAP: SENATE HOUSE...
ABCNEWS NOTE MIKE ALLEN PLAYBOOK MSNBC FIRST READ WASH POST RUNDOWN...
REID 'FREE FOOD' AT TURNOUT EVENTS
UNIONS 'GIFT CARDS' FOR VOTES
SOROS: LEGALIZE THE WEED... [ … In his opinion piece, Soros said that the nation’s marijuana laws "are clearly doing more harm than good" at a cost of billions of dollars a year "to enforce this unenforceable prohibition."Soros wrote that regulating and taxing marijuana would reduce the crime and violence linked to criminal drug gangs and violations of civil liberties "that occur when large numbers of otherwise law-abiding citizens are subject to arrest." He also noted that minorities are arrested at higher rates for marijuana crimes, creating arrest records that may follow them through life.Although he endorsed Proposition 19, noting that it would allow recreational use and small-scale cultivation, Soros also suggested "its deficiencies can be corrected on the basis of experience." Besides allowing adults 21 and older to grow and possess marijuana, the initiative would allow cities and counties to authorize commercial cultivation, sales and taxation … ( My position is similar but for the reason to take the profit from the gangs, criminals, and to tax it). ]
VEGAS: 'I WENT TO VOTE AND HARRY REID'S NAME WAS ALREADY CHECKED'...
Voting Machine Techs Are SEIU...
N CAROLINA: I VOTED REPUBLICAN AND MACHINE CHECKED DEMOCRAT...
[ Let’s get real … declining / fallen america’s a banana republic (pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt, gunboat diplomacy, etc.)]

Bernanke on U.S. recovery, Federal Reserve policy (Washington Post) [ A credit to Mr. Irwin for his novel and imaginative approach to expressing well placed skepticism. He’s certainly come a long way from his glass half-full days! Ohio Congressional Candidate Calls for an Audit of Federal Reserve Constitution Party Candidate David Ryon, running for the 15th District of Ohio, called for an Audit of the Federal Reserve in an interview with Jerry Revish on WBNS-10tv. Dollar at Risk of Becoming ‘Toxic Waste’ The dollar’s slump could get far worse if the dollar index takes out last year’s low, Robin Griffiths, technical strategist at Cazenove Capital, told CNBC Monday. WIRE: Fed’s secretive $300B CITIBANK bailout The late Bloomberg News reporter Mark Pittman asked the U.S. Treasury in January 2009 to identify $301 billion of securities owned by Citigroup Inc. that the government had agreed to guarantee. He made the request on the grounds that taxpayers ought to know how their money was being used.] We wanted to do a Q&A with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke despite his press-shy tendencies.

U.S. operations in Kandahar push out Taliban (Washington Post) [ Break out the bubbly, victory at last! Riiiiight! Reality … defacto bankrupt american forces moved in, Taliban moved out. ]

Report: Treasury's AIG bailout loss estimate too optimistic (Washington Post) [ How could anyone with an IQ exceeding 100 believe anything they say? - Ohio Congressional Candidate Calls for an Audit of Federal Reserve Constitution Party Candidate David Ryon, running for the 15th District of Ohio, called for an Audit of the Federal Reserve in an interview with Jerry Revish on WBNS-10tv. WIRE: Fed’s secretive $300B CITIBANK bailout The late Bloomberg News reporter Mark Pittman asked the U.S. Treasury in January 2009 to identify $301 billion of securities owned by Citigroup Inc. that the government had agreed to guarantee. He made the request on the grounds that taxpayers ought to know how their money was being used. ]

Sales jump 10 percent in September for existing homes (Washington Post) [ Wall St advances on dollar weakness, Fed bets (Reuters) – [ Come on! Look at the aforementioned headline. Isn’t anyone getting the sense of how totally preposterous this is? Then there’s the ‘market frothing’ used home foreclosure / distressed home sales number … previous wall street b*** s*** story, the election and consequent gridlock story … as if they’re substantially different …perpetual war, runaway nation-bankrupting record deficit spending, incompetence, corruption (still no prosecution of the wall street frauds), etc. What total b*** s***! ] U.S. stocks rose to a five-and-a-half month high on Monday as a falling dollar, partly driven by expectations of further stimulus by the Federal Reserve, prompted investors to buy riskier as... [ Davis: ‘… all profits are inflated by 10% (from falling, debased dollar) and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY …’ Previous pre-crash: The bull market that never was / were  beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold     ] This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes ( widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. )’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ‘The Fed's campaign to boost the risk-trade in equities by destroying the dollar has reached its limits. Now gravity will take hold as stocks enter a Long Decline.On Monday, Daily Finance published my article Is the Market Ready to Roll Over? These Signs Say Yes. ]

FDIC chairman: Warnings signs ignored (Washington Post) [ The irrelevance of federal bureaucrats … I mean, really … tell us something we don’t know … or, realistically, precede the foregoing by ‘As now’, which of course is reality and relevant. Shoulda, coulda, woulda … isn’t everyone tired of paying money the nation doesn’t have for excuses and incompetence … the non-pros of the frauds on wall street and current fraud / scam is a glaring additional example. Fire them,abolish lifetime appointees, etc.. ]

Don't Trust the Rally: "Its Just High-Speed Guys Chasing Each Other, Saluzzi Says ‘Major averages are hovering near their highest levels since September 2008, but retail investors continue to flee the market. Domestic equity funds have suffered outflows for 24 consecutive weeks through Friday, and over $81 billion has come out of domestic equity mutual funds year to date, according to Morningstar.At the risk of stating the obvious, several factors explain why investors simply don't trust the rally. Twice bitten, thrice shy: Having been burned by the bursting of the tech stock bubble in 2000, the housing bubble and the financial crisis of 2008, investors are understandably wary of getting sucked in again. A "lost decade" for index investors hasn't helped either. It's the Economy Stupid: With the "real" unemployment rate near 17%, millions of Americans simply have no money to put into the market; many are cashing out their 401(k) plans and otherwise raiding their nest eggs in an effort to stay afloat. Given the economic backdrop, it's no surprise many investors see the rally as being detached from reality and due only to the Fed's easy money policies...and the promise of more! "We're not seeing any sort of growth other than stimulus," says Joseph Saluzzi, co-founder of Themis Trading. "That is a very disturbing thing -- the constant stimulus that keeps on coming that really does nothing other than barely keep you above [breakeven] on the GDP print." In addition, Saluzzi says investors are rightfully worried about a market dominated by "high-speed guys just chasing each other up and down the price ladder." Unsafe at High Speeds As has been widely reported, high-frequency trading routinely accounts for more than 50% of daily U.S. equity trading volume and regularly approaches 70%. Saluzzi isn't opposed to high-frequency trading per se, calling it a "byproduct of the market structure," as detailed in the accompanying video. But he believes that structure is broken, thanks to rules promoting computer-driven trading, most notably Reg NMS. As a result of regulatory changes and new technology, events like the May 6 ‘flash crash' "will happen again," he says. "There's not a doubt in my mind." Many retail investors feel the same way, another reason for the mistrust of the rally and why about $65 billion of the equity fund outflows this year have occurred in the five months since the "flash crash".’

Are TIPs a Gip?: Dave's Daily The story of the day was the Treasury's five-year TIP sale. I'm as shocked as Cosmo Kramer on this but shouldn't be since TIP yields were heading in this direction. Who would buy a bond with a negative yield? What's the message for investors? Hyperinflation and soon! If it goes that way the government will have to reconfigure the CPI to ex everything we do except the cost of government. Elsewhere there was news existing home sales were higher--big whoops! Markets rallied higher early mostly on the same old theme: a weak dollar is a good thing since not much was accomplished at the G-20. The USA is rapidly becoming the world's laughing stock ... [ Laughing stock indeed! ]

Hope Is Not a Strategy: Or Is It? Moenning ‘Anyone who has been around the investing game for any length of time is likely familiar with the old saw, “Hope is not a strategy.” This famous Wall Streetism reminds investors and traders alike that holding onto a losing position in the hope that it will come back to your purchase price is not a sound strategy. Nor is hoping that the stock in question will suddenly come through with blowout earnings, surprise with a new product, or be bought out by a competitor. No, the stock market game is about dealing with what is happening, not what you hope to see in the future. However, it appears to be quite clear that hope is indeed the singular driving factor in the stock market these days. For example, there is the hope that Bernanke and Co. will ride in on their white horses to save the economy with a little something they like to call QE II. There is hope that the elections will bring an end to the anti-business environment and perhaps remove some of the uncertainty surrounding taxes, regulations, etc.There is hope that the economy will continue to improve and that the Chinese will be able to walk the tightrope between avoiding bubbles and maintaining a strong economy. There is hope that the G20 gathering will put an end to the “competitive currency devaluations” (aka currency wars). There is hope that the American consumer will continue to avoid saving and return to spending everything they make (and then some). And there is a fair amount of hope that the PIGI’S acronym will quickly fade from people’s memories. It is my humble opinion that hope relating to any or all of the above has been responsible for pushing up the stock market indices since September 1st. At last check, the S&P sports a gain of nearly 13% over the last 38 trading days while the venerable DJIA is up 11.2% and the NASDAQ has climbed a nifty 17.3%. Not bad for a couple months work, eh?. Lots of people are comparing the current joyride to the upside to the February-April affair, during which S&P gained roughly 15% over a period of two and one-half months. Perhaps the comparisons are being made because of the similarities of the rallies in terms of breadth and duration. Perhaps the comparisons are being made because the Dow is now back to within a stone’s throw of the highs for this bull market cycle that were set on April 26th. And perhaps the comparisons have arisen from the idea that during the Feb-April jaunt, it was also hope that things would be better going forward that drove the action. However, I’d like to take exception with that last idea as the current rally’s brand of hope is a horse of a completely different color. You see, during the market’s spring fling, the economic data was coming in consistently better than expectations. If you will recall, this was before the public knew that the recession had ended (although we had been suggesting such since late summer). Thus, the hope at that time had to do with the idea that the economic recovery might actually be better than expected. And since no one in their right mind was overly optimistic about the outlook at that point in time, suddenly there was a lot of room for discounting the upside. Of course, the fun ended abruptly when the world started to fret over the idea that Greece’s financial woes were going to drag the world back into crisis. And then once that concept took hold, traders immediately tossed aside the rose colored glasses and started employing the “R” word with regularity. But, once it became clear that the “soft patch” had subsided, traders began to once again look ahead to blue skies. Which bring us back to hope. While I am a trend-follower at heart, I DO need to understand and accept the reasoning behind the move in order to be wholeheartedly onboard the train. And as such, I’m growing more than a little concerned that the hope trade may be setting us up for disappointment at some point in the near future. Unlike the Feb-April rally, which was based on data, this rally is based on hope and hope alone. (Well, okay, there have been some decent earnings numbers showing up now and again and the economic data hasn’t exactly been a disaster.) In short, the hope is that David Tepper is right – that stocks win regardless of whether or not the economy grows from here. Now toss in the idea that the Fed’s latest plan involves pushing rates that it normally doesn’t control lower and you’ve got a recipe for a declining dollar. And since traders have their fancy new computers set to buy “risk assets” (commodities, stocks, emerging markets) whenever the dollar falls, well, it’s been a good time to own equities. However, at some point, this “trade” is going to run its course. At some point, the dollar’s decline will end. At some point, reality will set in that the current economic growth rate (said to be in the 2% - 2.5% range for 2011) can only generate so much in terms of earnings power. And unless the Fed can magically engineer a recovery in jobs sooner rather than later, at some point, disappointment might rear its ugly head. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer on this first day of ski season (yes fans, Loveland ski area in Colorado once again takes home the prize as the first resort to crank up its lifts), but I’m of the mind that, at some point, traders will be reminded of the fact that hope is not a strong reason to keep buying stocks. But until then, I plan to continue to enjoy the view from these rose-colored glasses and ride the tide. Disclosure: No positions

Andy Xie: “If You Print A Trillion, I’ll Print A Trillion The Daily Bail | The world seems on course to another crisis in 2012.

The Great IMF Fire-Sale of the UK has Begun Phil Brennan | This is a fight against neo-feudalism, a fight for our very lives.

Germany Accuses US of Indirectly Manipulating Dollar Reuters | German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle took issue with what he called a U.S. policy of increasing liquidity, saying it indirectly manipulated exchange rates.

Ohio Congressional Candidate Calls for an Audit of Federal Reserve Constitution Party Candidate David Ryon, running for the 15th District of Ohio, called for an Audit of the Federal Reserve in an interview with Jerry Revish on WBNS-10tv.

Dollar at Risk of Becoming ‘Toxic Waste’ The dollar’s slump could get far worse if the dollar index takes out last year’s low, Robin Griffiths, technical strategist at Cazenove Capital, told CNBC Monday.

WIRE: Fed’s secretive $300B CITIBANK bailout The late Bloomberg News reporter Mark Pittman asked the U.S. Treasury in January 2009 to identify $301 billion of securities owned by Citigroup Inc. that the government had agreed to guarantee. He made the request on the grounds that taxpayers ought to know how their money was being used.

Goldman: The Fed Needs To Print $4 Trillion In New Money With just over a week left to the QE2 announcement, discussion over the amount, implications and effectiveness of QE2 are almost as prevalent (and moot) as those over the imminent collapse of the MBS system.

Peter Schiff: ‘US No.1 offender to blame for global imbalances’ A U.S. proposal to restrict how much countries should be allowed to borrow or export has run into opposition at a G20 meeting in South Korea. Japan, Germany and Russia have criticised the so-called “planned economy” thinking. Investment strategist Peter Schiff told RT that Washington is the one to blame for creating the global imbalances that threaten the world’s financial stability.

100 Dollar Oil Is Coming The price of oil has been hovering around 80 dollars a barrel for quite some time now, but get ready, because it is going to move significantly higher.

National / World

Gadahn Call To Attack Americans Comes From Israel “Israeli terrorist “clones” are responsible for most hard line rhetoric, threats and, if we investigated closely, have actually recruited terrorists and directly inspired, if not planned and executed, attacks on Americans…Gadahn is part of it, so is Wikileaks”

America Is Gone There is a whiff of anarchy in the air this morning. As I sit here writing, a conservative victory in the midterm elections looms. But I find no reason to be optimistic.

American People To Dems And GOP: Get Out Of Office, You Don’t Speak For Us Steve Watson | Public wants a third party, but sees problems with bastardized Tea Party.

Think Soros Leaks RINO Neocon Takeover Doc Kurt Nimmo | One faction of globalist tools outing another faction of globalist tools. That’s how we play politics in America today.

The two most dangerous words you’ve probably never heard of Adam Murdock, MD | It is within the free market that solutions should and can be found for every medical problem.

Welcome to the Greatest Depression: California’s Best and Brightest Face Homelessness, Poverty Kurt Nimmo | Intelligent people are spinning their wheels as they are systematically being pauperized and converted into the latest class of serfs by the banksters.

Cyberwarfare: US Seeks To Shut Down Enemy Power Grids Paul Joseph Watson | When an extremist group shuts down US infrastructure, it’s labeled a terrorist attack, but when the US does it to another country, it’s merely cybersecurity.

American People To Dems And GOP: Get Out Of Office, You Don’t Speak For Us A whopping majority of 62% of the American people believe it will be a good thing for the country if almost all incumbents from both parties were removed in the upcoming midterm election.

Minority Of Americans Now Have Faith In Two Party Scam Only a minority of American voters now have faith in either Democrats or Republicans according to a new Rasmussen poll out today, with favorability toward a third party surging amidst a wave of anti-incumbent success.

Think Soros Leaks RINO Neocon Takeover Doc One faction of globalist tools outing another faction of globalist tools. That’s how we play politics in America today.

Welcome to the Greatest Depression: California’s Best and Brightest Face Homelessness, Poverty I don’t know why CBS insists on calling what’s happening economically in this country the “Great Recession.” It’s the Greatest Depression. It is quickly shaping up to be worse than the first Great Depression.

Debt Has Increased $5 Trillion Since Speaker Pelosi Vowed, ‘No New Deficit Spending’ When Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gave her inaugural address as speaker of the House in 2007, she vowed there would be “no new deficit spending.” Since that day, the national debt has increased by $5 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Cyberwarfare: US Seeks To Shut Down Enemy Power Grids While proponents of cybersecurity continually emphasize the necessity of passing legislation that will hand the Obama administration the power to shut down the Internet in the name of defending critical infrastructure, every indication suggests that cybersecurity is nothing less than an offensive agenda to enable the US government to launch its own attacks against other groups and countries.

600 foreign troops killed in Afghanistan in 2010 The number of foreign troops to die this year in Afghanistan has reached 600, by far the highest annual toll in nine years of war despite tentative reconciliation efforts with the Taliban.

Former Chairman of Joint Chiefs Hugh Shelton: Bush officials pushed Iraq war ‘almost to the point of insubordination’ Gen. Hugh Shelton, who served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001, told ABC’s Christiane Amanpour on Sunday that top officials in the Bush Administration pushed for war in Iraq “almost to the point of insubordination.”

Julian Assange to RT: WikiLeaks gives ‘most accurate picture of war’ The shocking WikiLeaks release, which has revealed thousands of unreported civilian casualties in Iraq, is the most accurate picture of war ever made, and it is food for thought, says the website’s editor-in-chief. The report, condemned by the Pentagon, claims that US commanders in Iraq ignored evidence of torture and the murder of civilians.

Drudgereport: Dark clouds for Dems as Obama embarks on last push...
Dem Hopeful Says Obama Can 'Shove It'...
'He ignored us and now he's coming into Rhode Island treating us like ATM machine'...
Debt Has Increased $5 Trillion Since Speaker Pelosi Vowed, 'No New Deficit Spending'...
States Weigh Letting Noncitizens Vote...
REALCLEAR WRAP: SENATE HOUSE...
ABCNEWS NOTE MIKE ALLEN PLAYBOOK MSNBC FIRST READ WASH POST RUNDOWN...
REPUBLICANS 'GOTTA SIT IN THE BACK' [ The regressive veiled reference to ‘sit in the back of the bus dark-skinned freedom riders’, the already mentally trouble wobama has really lost it … he’s such a desperate and pathetic b*** s*** artist … who can take him seriously? I mean, really! What an insult to the so-called base of constituents he’s appealing to … and, haven’t his actions, ie., no-pros the wall street frauds, more war, etc., belied his words? He’s so pathetic! So typical! ]

REPORT: First lady 'likely' to meet 'commercial sex workers' in India!
Presidential entourage books all 570 rooms in 5-star Taj Mahal Hotel...
Teleprompter to debut at India's Parliament when Obama speaks...

Photos show Israeli troops 'abusing Palestinians'...

WIRE: Fed's secretive $300B CITIBANK bailout...

Dollar at Risk of Becoming 'Toxic Waste'...
Hits new 15-year low versus yen...
Inflation-Protected Securities Yield Goes Negative for First Time...
FDIC Head Sounds Alarm on Foreclosure Litigation...
China, India, Brazil, Turkey get more power at IMF...
Deficit Panel Targets Areas to Cut...
U-TURN: Obama 'to focus on deficit in next 2 years'...
CLINTON PLAYS TO HALF-EMPTY HIGH SCHOOL GYM

70% Of All Stock Market Trades Are Held for An Average of 11 SECONDS [ This is a scam / fraud of huge proportion; a scam / fraud of a magnitude that most people could neither imagine nor comprehend. ] In the stock market, program trading dominates volume. I heard recently that 70% of trade positions are held for an average of 11 seconds.

Regulators shut down 7 banks Bank regulators closed seven banks Friday, bringing the total of number of bank failures for the year to 139, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said.

Strauss-Kahn Says Officials at G-20 Agreed on `Biggest Reform Ever’ of IMF Group of 20 nations agreed on an overhaul of the International Monetary Fund that gives a larger voice to emerging market nations, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.

Las Vegas Unemployment Rate Hits 15 Percent While unemployment statewide remained unchanged in September, jobless numbers in Las Vegas rose to 15 percent, a new record.

Reid: ‘But For Me, We’d Be in World-Wide Depression’ [ Wow! … I’m sure it’s the water in D.C. … they’re all drinkin’ it! ] Where would the world be without Harry Reid?

WikiLeaks papers detail Iraq torture, US killings Al-Jazeera on Friday released what it called “startling new information” from US documents obtained by WikiLeaks, alleging state-sanctioned Iraqi torture and the killing of hundreds of civilians at US military checkpoints.

Spiegel: WikiLeaks logs may reveal war crimes In its early analysis of the Iraq war logs released by whistleblower site WikiLeaks on Friday, the German paper Der Spiegel pointed to several accounts of what it calls “dubious attacks” by US Apache helicopters that may have amounted to war crimes.

Issa: ‘Not a chance’ of Obama impeachment under GOP House If Republicans take control of the House, there is “not a chance at this point” that they will try to impeach President Obama, a top Republican lawmaker said this week.

Angle Targets Obama, Not Reid, in New Ad Republican challenger Sharron Angle rolled out a harsh welcome for President Obama, who dropped into Las Vegas last night in a desperate bid to save Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Democrats Behind Tea Party Cyber Attacks? Speculation is rife that Democrat activists or even the Obama administration itself may have been responsible for an attack which brought down a prominent Tea Party website right as the organization targeted was running a major fund-raising drive and on the day after Obama directed the Pentagon to attack “cyberthreats” within the United States.

Wikileaks: Secret Iraq War Death Toll Set at 285,000 In what is being described as the largest release of secret U.S. military documents ever, whistle-blowing web site WikiLeaks has released a trove of classified reports about the war in Iraq, including a secret U.S. government tally that put the Iraqi death toll at 285,000, according to news sources that received advanced copies of the documents

WikiLeaks papers detail Iraq torture, US killings Al-Jazeera on Friday released what it called “startling new information” from US documents obtained by WikiLeaks, alleging state-sanctioned Iraqi torture and the killing of hundreds of civilians at US military checkpoints.

Spiegel: WikiLeaks logs may reveal war crimes In its early analysis of the Iraq war logs released by whistleblower site WikiLeaks on Friday, the German paper Der Spiegel pointed to several accounts of what it calls “dubious attacks” by US Apache helicopters that may have amounted to war crimes.

Issa: ‘Not a chance’ of Obama impeachment under GOP House If Republicans take control of the House, there is “not a chance at this point” that they will try to impeach President Obama, a top Republican lawmaker said this week.

Angle Targets Obama, Not Reid, in New Ad Republican challenger Sharron Angle rolled out a harsh welcome for President Obama, who dropped into Las Vegas last night in a desperate bid to save Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Democrats Behind Tea Party Cyber Attacks? Speculation is rife that Democrat activists or even the Obama administration itself may have been responsible for an attack which brought down a prominent Tea Party website right as the organization targeted was running a major fund-raising drive and on the day after Obama directed the Pentagon to attack “cyberthreats” within the United States.

Wikileaks: Secret Iraq War Death Toll Set at 285,000 In what is being described as the largest release of secret U.S. military documents ever, whistle-blowing web site WikiLeaks has released a trove of classified reports about the war in Iraq, including a secret U.S. government tally that put the Iraqi death toll at 285,000, according to news sources that received advanced copies of the documents

2010 Is Just Deck Chair Politics on the USS Titanic Ron Holland | America today is a one-party state much like the Soviet Union, China or Nazi Germany.

Establishment Tea Party Moneybomb Hit by Denial-of-service Attack Kurt Nimmo | One week after Alex Jones’ Infowars Moneybomb, Fox News host Glenn Beck shilled a FreedomWorks moneybomb.

Fabian Society’s London School of Economics Predicts “Savage Austerity” in America Infowars.com | Quantitative easing by Federal Reserve will impose “savage austerity” on the American people.

What’s in WikiLeaks’ Iraq war logs? Pakistan News 24 | Whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks on Friday released nearly 400,000 classified US military files chronicling the Iraq war from 2004 through 2009, the largest leak of its kind in US military history.

Wikileaks Hacked By “Very Skilled” Attackers Prior To Iraq Doc Release Andy Greenberg | Source said attack represented the first breach in Wikileaks’ history.

Secret Iraq war records reveal grim new details (Washington Post) Logs released by WikiLeaks offer chilling insights about conflict's death toll and the tactics of Iraqi leaders who have taken over as U.S. troops exit. [ Now why did I think the u.s. military’s numbers were all wet? Poll: Does WikiLeaks put soldiers in danger? I haven’t looked at this poll, but my inner poll says needless wars in other people’s lands put soldiers at risk, particularly when your nation is defacto bankrupt. ] Previous: 77,000 Iraqis killed from 2004 to August 2008, U.S. military says (Washington Post) [ And you can take that to the fraudulent american bank … riiiiight! … Come on … americans lie about everything and certainly this … A conservative estimate from AP through only 2007: Study: 151,000 Iraqis died in conflict’s violence Surveyors face danger to count casualties from 2003 to 2006 The Associated Press - updated 1/9/2008 7:15:50 PM ET 2008-01-10T00:15:50 About 151,000 Iraqis died from violence in the first three years after the United States invaded, concludes the best effort yet to count deaths — one that still may not settle the fierce debate over the war's true toll on civilians and others … americans are just lying war criminal american scum. Obama’s Finest Hour: Killing Innocent People For “Made-Up Crap” Floyd Empire Burlesque Oct 22, 2010 If ever I am tempted by the siren songs of my tribal past as a deep-fried, yellow-dawg Democrat, and begin to feel any faint, atavistic stirrings of sympathy for the old gang, I simply think of things like the scenario below, sketched last week by Johann Hari, and those wispy ghosts of partisanship past go howling back to the depths:

Imagine if, an hour from now, a robot-plane swooped over your house and blasted it to pieces. The plane has no pilot. It is controlled with a joystick from 7,000 miles away, sent by the Pakistani military to kill you. It blows up all the houses in your street, and so barbecues your family and your neighbours until there is nothing left to bury but a few charred slops. Why? They refuse to comment. They don’t even admit the robot-planes belong to them. But they tell the Pakistani newspapers back home it is because one of you was planning to attack Pakistan. How do they know? Somebody told them. Who? You don’t know, and there are no appeals against the robot.Now imagine it doesn’t end there: these attacks are happening every week somewhere in your country. They blow up funerals and family dinners and children. The number of robot-planes in the sky is increasing every week. You discover they are named “Predators”, or “Reapers” – after the Grim Reaper. No matter how much you plead, no matter how much you make it clear you are a peaceful civilian getting on with your life, it won’t stop. What do you do? If there was a group arguing that Pakistan was an evil nation that deserved to be violently attacked, would you now start to listen?…[This] is in fact an accurate description of life in much of Pakistan today, with the sides flipped. The Predators and Reapers are being sent by Barack Obama’s CIA, with the support of other Western governments, and they killed more than 700 civilians in 2009 alone – 14 times the number killed in the 7/7 attacks in London. The floods were seen as an opportunity to increase the attacks, and last month saw the largest number of robot-plane bombings ever: 22. Over the next decade, spending on drones is set to increase by 700 per cent.

Friends, it’s very simple: if you support Barack Obama and the Democrats — even if reluctantly, even if you’re just being all sophisticatedly super-savvy and blogospherically strategic about it, playing the “long game” or eleven-dimensional chess or what have you — you are supporting the outright murder of innocent people who have never done anything against you or yours. You have walked into a house, battered down the bedroom door, put the barrel of a gun against the temple of a sleeping child, and pulled the trigger. That is what you are supporting, that is what you are complicit in, that is what you yourself are doing.

]

Black Panther case reveals schism (Washington Post) [ I mean, really … You’d think a black president and black ag would have more sense … Drudgereport: WASHPOST: Black Panthers case taps deep racial divisions at Justice... Previous: UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ) Disclaimer: I have been and continue to be opposed to an end to a trade embargo on cuba; not because of their communist system (I’m staunchly opposed to communism – ‘everybody’s equal except some bureaucrats are more equal than others’, etc.), but solely because of their grant of asylum to a black panther member who murdered a state trooper: ‘Assata Shakur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Assata Olugbala Shakur (born July 16, 1947^[1] as JoAnne Deborah Byron, married name Chesimard^[2]) is an African-American activist and escaped convict who was a member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA). Between 1971 and 1973, Shakur was accused of several crimes, of which she would never be charged, and made the subject of a multi-state manhunt.^[3][4] In May 1973, Shakur was involved in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike, during which New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster and BLA member Zayd Malik Shakur were killed and Shakur and Trooper James Harper were wounded.^[5] Between 1973 and 1977, Shakur was indicted in relation to six other alleged criminal incidents—charged with murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, bank robbery, and kidnapping—resulting in three acquittals and three dismissals. In 1977, she was convicted of the first-degree murder of Foerster and of seven other felonies related to the shootout.^[6] Shakur was then incarcerated in several prisons, where her treatment drew criticism from some human rights groups. She escaped from prison in 1979 and has been living in Cuba in political asylum since 1984.’ - The black panthers are not a bunch of ‘warm and fuzzy’ people. As for cuban rhetoric, I don’t take anything they say seriously (I remind people that if you said something anti-government in cuba, you’d be dead or in jail), although I’m not hesitant to include a good point if made (ie., castro recently talking about nuclear holocaust risk, etc.). Suit over voter intimidation -- reported by poll-watcher Chris Hill, above -- roils Justice Dept.

Title insurers seek insulation from foreclosure losses (Washington Post) The industry is maneuvering to protect itself from losses if courts rule that banks have played fast and loose with the foreclosure process. But people who buy foreclosed properties from banks may face some degree of loss despite having a title policy.

Foreclosure crisis puts Wall St. reform to the test (Washington Post) [ What reform? Those manipulated, high-frequency computerized churn-and-earn trades have never been … more frequent … and the churn and earn fraud never so lucrative … Previous: Survey: Half of Wall Street expects bigger bonus this year (Washington Post) [ This is nothing short of incredible … What they should be expecting, for the sake of the nation and the world, is an 8 by 10 jail cell! ] Bloomberg The percentage anticipating a bigger bonus increased from last year. Gerald Celente: “The selloff of America” Financial institutions on Wall Street are preparing to pay a shocking record $144 billion dollars in compensation & benefits. This amid spiraling foreclosures and an economic crisis that has devastated Americans, leaving many out in the street. Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute says that the gap between rich and poor in the US will continue to get larger because of the bank bailout that Washington shelled out in 2008. Meyerson: Wrong way for banks to get rich (Washington Post) [ Goldman Sachs Beats Estimates as Banking Revenue Rises Christine Harper (bloomberg.com) ...Oct. 19 – More unequivocal proof that crime in defacto bankrupt america pays … and pays well … especially with other peoples money … though many don’t realize that yet … no there’s no alchemy that produces real money out of thin air and the money for the wall street frauds, high-frequency computerized churn and earn must come from some place … guess … ]

Bernanke can't save the economy himself (Washington Post) What Bernanke needs to say [ … he resigns … yes, no-recession-helicopter ben shalom or b.s. for short, bernanke, with green shoots wilting on the vine, should resign … other than frothing that fraudulent wall street market with high-frequency programmed trades and debased dollars he can’t seem to print enough of, and for all but wall frauds churn and earn profits as they retain their fraudulent gains from the last debacle and this one, his policies are nothing short of disaster for this nation and the world. That money going into wall street pockets has to come from somewhere … guess. ] Another round of quantitative easing isn't enough. Congress needs to take action, too.

G-20 split over Geithner plan (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! When tiny tim ‘God bless us everyone’ talks, like that old defunct Hutton brokerage firm, people listen … then do the opposite … after all, defacto bankrupt american can hardly be said to be nothing short of disasterous for not only this nation, but the world as well. ]Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner urged G-20 powers to cap the amount of mismatch between what they produce and invest and how much they consume.

7 banks closed in Fla., Ga., Ill., Kan., Ariz. WASHINGTON (AP) – ‘Regulators on Friday shut down a total of seven banks in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas and Arizona, lifting to 139 the number of U.S. banks that have fallen this year as soured loans have mounted and the economy has sputtered …’

Three Outrageously Contrarian Predictions - Simon Maierhofer, On Friday October 22, 2010, 7:10 pm EDT If you've lost money over the past 10 years, this statement may seem like a personal assault: 'Timing the market is easy and profitable.' That's the implied conclusion from a recent TrimTabs study.What's the recipe? A recent Wall Street Journal article drew this lesson from the study: 'Over the past decade, it was actually quite simple to time the market. All you had to do was buy when the public was selling and sell when the public was buying.'Naturally, going against the crowd is easier said than done. That's why it's often said that successful investing is simple, but it isn't easy.Good investment opportunities come along only so often. Now seems to be the time. A good opportunity offers more profit potential than risk of losses. Do the Opposite 'Buy when the public was selling and sell when the public was buying,' was the Wall Street Journal's conclusion. So, what's the public doing right now? The public - this includes individual investors and Wall Street - is buying everything. Look around you, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC), small caps, mid caps, international stocks (NYSEArca: EFA - News), emerging markets (NYSEArca: EEM - News), bonds (NYSEArca: AGG - News), gold (NYSEArca: GLD - News), silver (NYSEArca: SLV - News), and many other commodities (NYSEArca: DBC - News) are up, up, up. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar (NYSEArca: UUP - News) is down. According to Wall Street and the media, the investment universe is full of profit sweet spots. Stocks right now are a win-win scenario, at least so they say. Any bad news is viewed to bring about more quantitative easing and is, therefore, good news and good news is good news anyway. Gold is another sweet spot. There's no need to worry about inflation or deflation. Gold is sure to profit either way, or so they say. From a fundamental point of view, gold is as sound an investment today as real estate was a few years ago. Of course with gold, this time is different. Isn't it always? The U.S. dollar is doomed because more quantitative easing (more dollars in circulation) will reduce the value of the current dollars in the system. The government doesn't care if the dollar falls to oblivion, so why should you? Engrained Opinions Actually, there's a good reason to watch what's going on with the dollar. All the assets mentioned above (stocks, bonds and commodities) are denominated in dollars. A cheap dollar means higher prices and vice versa. Over the past five months, the U.S. Dollar Index dropped as much as 15%. Interestingly, it's after a 15% slide that the greenback has become despised.  Investors dislike the dollar as much today as they did in late 2009 when it was about to lose its reserve currency status. At that time, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter went out on a limb and predicted a major U.S. dollar rally. From November 2009 to June 2010, the dollar soared as much as 20%, a diabolical move for currencies. In June, when fears about Europe and a crumbling euro currency made the rounds (and optimism surrounding the dollar was plentiful), the newsletter called for a dollar correction. Prediction #1 - The Dollar will Rally This correction has morphed into a decline pervasive enough to push dollar sentiment to an extreme that, historically, has foreshadowed significant turnarounds. The notion of a trend reversal is confirmed by technical indicators. Sunday night's Technical Forecast (part of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter) stated: 'Last week's dollar action was encouraging as the U.S. Dollar Index finished with a green candle low on Friday and since pushed above the lower acceleration band. That's what bottoms are made of.' Friday's green candle low was followed by two more green candles. On Tuesday (October 19), the U.S. Dollar Index closed above its middle acceleration band. [chart] As far as a candle formation goes, those are the initial stages of a trend reversal. Once again, a rising dollar is bad for stocks and commodities. Prediction #2 - Commodities (Including Gold and Silver) Will Decline Not only is the dollar way oversold, the commodity rally is stretched to a point where a sharp and prolonged reversal could happen any moment. Net speculative positions in many commodities are at record highs, as is the percentage of bullish traders. We've seen time and again that extreme optimism is unhealthy for any market. Albeit not a short-term timing tool, it's a big red flag. Once underway, the selling pressure should affect nearly all commodities, including oil (NYSEArca: USO - News) and agricultural commodities (NYSEArca: DBA - News). Prediction #3 - Nasdaq Should Lead Equity Decline It's been publicized surprisingly little that the Nasdaq 1000 (Nasdaq: QQQQ - News) has already moved above its April recovery high. This has largely been due to Apple's stellar performance.  The Nasdaq's performance from here will be very telling. If it's able to establish support above Monday's $51.52 high, the slide in equity prices may be halted temporarily. If it isn't, watch out for a Nasdaq-led decline across the board. Third One 'Free' - QE2 Won't Work If you took a poll on Wall Street, 8 out of 10 Ivy League educated, Armani wearing, Mercedes driving Wall Street Banksters would probably tell you that QE2 will work. The media agrees. When September's jobless numbers went public, the figures were much worse than expected, but stocks surged. Why? Associated Press headline: 'Faith in Fed pushes Dow past 11,000.' When stocks slid on October 14, hope of QE2 kept things from getting worse. AP headline: 'Stocks dip; Likely Fed move keeps losses in check.' QE2 may end up working for Wall Street, but it seems not to have worked for the economy. If it did work, why would we need QE2? Obviously, the rumor of QE2 was enough to drive up stocks. Will the actual news deliver the steak or just the sizzle? In POMO They Trust The fact is that the Federal Reserve's Permanent Open Market Operation (POMO) purchases of Treasuries have had a direct and delayed effect on the market's performance. Certain purchases translated into positive performance 89% of the time (a detailed performance analysis and schedule of future POMO purchases is available in the November issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter). Should You Fight the Fed? Will the Fed win the tug-of-war against sentiment, valuations, and technical analysis, all of which point towards a correction, perhaps a drastic one? If history is a guide, the market will win ... sooner or later. One way of navigating the current uncertainty is via support and resistance levels. A break through overhead resistance is likely to result in higher prices, while slicing through support may open the floodgates. The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter, along with the semi-weekly Technical Forecast, highlights the most recent and applicable support/resistance levels along with corresponding target levels.  

Wall St circuit breakers fail to ease market nerves [High frequency churn and earn in motion, and draining main street / the nation! ] Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – ‘Market circuit breakers put in place after the May 6 "flash crash" have not stopped large swings in U.S. stocks and traders remain wary of glitches in the trading system. The speed of trading, owing to high frequency strategies, means plenty of trades can take place even after a halt is put in place by circuit breakers. The last stock to be halted due to a circuit breaker, Progress Energy Inc, had more than 100 trades occur after the stock triggered a halt and resulted in nearly 60 canceled trades. "It's under the spotlight more now since May 6," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey. "I don't want to say it's knocking at confidence, but some people get frustrated about it." The circuit breakers were imposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to prevent the kind of turmoil seen on May 6 when the Dow Jones industrial average lost then recouped around 700 points in about 20 minutes. With the new regulations, head-scratching moves in individual issues are increasingly under the microscope. On Monday, nearly $500 million in trades in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust were cancelled. The trades occurred at a price of 106.46, several points below where the index was trading at that time. The NYSE Arca exchange attributed the trades being completed to an issue with a software release, causing the closing auction cycle to run at 4:15 p.m. and the trades to be ruled broken by NYSE Arca Market Management. Large orders filled on illiquid exchanges -- a practice known as "ripping the book" -- have resulted in halts of large stocks such as Nucor Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. "It shows you the fragmented market isn't necessarily working. When you had a central liquidity place when there was two dominant exchanges you didn't have that type of situation," added Saluzzi. Lately a handful of very small stocks have been the target of trading strategies that result in sharp upward moves, seemingly without news. LiveDeal, a company with a tiny market capitalization of $2.68 million, saw its share price more than triple to $14 a share on Thursday from $4.42 the day before. Shares fell to $9.89 on Friday …’

Trouble Comes in Threes: Dave's Daily

Putting an End to the 'Cash on the Sidelines' Myth Roche ‘We’ve highlighted the financial punditry’s obsession with “cash on the sidelines” over the course of the last year in attempts to show that there is really no such thing. The argument from an investment perspective is utterly absurd. In general, investors like to think that their cash is some sort of fuel for the market that will drive prices higher. This is easily debunked simply by looking at the transactions at work. When you buy stocks you are effectively swapping cash with the seller. It’s that simple. There is no change in net financial assets. You merely swapped cash for stock and the seller swapped stock for cash. The price you arrive at is merely a function of psychology. Who is the more eager buyer or seller? While there is technically “cash on the sidelines” this amount of cash on the sidelines is relatively stable in any given period. It’s not changing with every transaction as many would have you believe. Therefore, there is no fuel or pile of cash that is just waiting to be injected into the market and drive prices higher. In terms of corporate balance sheets the argument is equally misleading. You’ll often hear the financial punditry discuss the asset side of the balance sheet while ignoring the liability side. There’s all this “cash on the sidelines” just waiting to hire people, merge with other companies, etc. The only problem is, debt has been surging at the same time that cash levels rise. We’ve discussed this thoroughly in the past (see here), but Mish at Global Economic Analysis (with the help of Tableau Software) provided a great visual tool today that puts this reality into perspective. We can see from the following tool that corporate balance sheets aren’t nearly in the excellent condition that most people believe. CASH ON THE SIDELINES? DON’T BELIEVE IT. [CHART] TOTAL CASH $3,705.5 BILLION - TOTAL DEBT $4,455.1 BILLION = NET CASH (749.6 BILLION)’

Rallyin’ into the close to keep suckers suckered on top of bad news! The October Philadelphia Fed Index hit 1.0, below the 1.5 that had been widely forecast. Meanwhile, Leading Indicators for September increased 0.3%, as expected ( but based upon the ‘stock prices floating on air and b*** s***’ component of same – the ultimate ‘bootstrap’ ). This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ‘The Fed's campaign to boost the risk-trade in equities by destroying the dollar has reached its limits. Now gravity will take hold as stocks enter a Long Decline.On Monday, Daily Finance published my article Is the Market Ready to Roll Over? These Signs Say Yes.

QE2 Not Such a Slam-Dunk? Krasting The 100% certain sure thing in the market today is that QE-2 will come on November 3rd and that it will be decisive in its scope. Well I am not so sure any more.

• The Fed’s Beige Book from Wednesday did not make a case for an economy that needed emergency measures. Yes there was some discussion about the weak housing market and soft loan demand. But we know that QE-2 is not going to fix those problems.
• It is of significance to me (and should be to all) that Zero Hedge was featured in a Time/CNN article titled, Will the Federal Reserve Start a Civil War?

I am certain that the Fed reads Zero Hedge. But how much influence they have is a question. When it gets up to Time magazine however, it is another matter altogether. It is not possible for the Fed to avoid the collective roar that is coming from across the country at this point. If the Fed blunders with an unpopular QE-2 the results will be disastrous. Not only will the economy tank but the Fed will have lost a good chunk of its remaining credibility. The downside risks to Bernanke are enormous. I don’t think he believes he is in a popularity contest, but he does know he can’t run monetary policy with protesters outside his door. How much is he prepared to gamble given that he clearly does not have a consensus amongst his own board? He is an academic, not a gambler.

• Today St. Louis Fed Bullard made remarks to reporters that were a warning sign to me (and the market). He talked a much different game than what has been dished out of late. He made reference to a smaller program. Maybe less than $500billion (about half what is now in the street). He also threw out something that blew me away. He suggested that the 11/3 decision was in someway dependant on the Q3 GDP numbers that come out before the Fed meets. Bullard even “spun” the numbers on the hot side:

it may come in a little stronger than the second quarter. So we have to keep our eye on that.

Bond traders panicked and hit bids on long coupons. I like that read. Bullard gave us a hint that maybe this QE-2 is not such a slam-dunk. (See ZH story on Bullard)

• The WSJ had a market story about Bullard’s comments but their big gun on QE, Jon Hilsenrath, has been quiet. Should the press follow with the new question mark on the timing and scope of QE2 we may have an October surprise that is bigger than a SF-Texas series.

I started this with; “The 100% certain sure thing in the market today is that QE-2 will come on November 3rd and that it will be decisive in its scope.” If that certainty factor falls to 50% the S&P is going to take a big dump. That possibility was simply not in the print at the close.

The Unintended Consequences of QE2 Roche ‘It looks like the Fed is already beginning to worry about the unintended consequences of QE2. In a speech earlier this week Richard Fisher discussed an important consequence of QE. He said:

In my darkest moments, I have begun to wonder if the monetary accommodation we have already engineered might even be working in the wrong places.

It certainly is working in the wrong places. While the Fed creates paper profits in stocks and bonds QE appears to also be influencing the price of commodities. Commodity prices have surged in recent weeks as the Fed has driven the dollar lower. What’s so pernicious here is the margin compression that Gaius discussed the other day. This is crucial because the margin recovery has been the single most important component of the equity market recovery.

What’s so interesting here is that Ben Bernanke might actually be creating a double headwind for the economy in the coming quarters. Not only is he reducing margins for many corporations, but because quantitative easing is inherently deflationary (because it replaces interest bearing assets with non-interest bearing assets) it is not helping aggregate demand. From the perspective of a corporation this means stagnant revenues and higher input costs. That will only increase the reluctance to hire. Of course, the Fed thinks they can prop up particular markets and generate a “wealth effect” that is unsupported by the underlying fundamentals. Interestingly, in the long-run, Mr. Bernanke might be creating more damage than he even understands. But at least someone at the Fed is beginning to wonder if this strategy is viable.‘

Jim Rogers: “US will lose economic war” China has become the world’s fastest growing economy, what can the US be taught from the Chinese as the US economy continues to struggle? Jim Rogers, co-founder of the Quantum Fund says that US citizens should save and invest their money as their Chinese counter parts have. The Chinese are saving and investing an average of 35% of their income, taking an age old US principle and using it to their advantage.

Las Vegas Unemployment Rate Hits 15 Percent While unemployment statewide remained unchanged in September, jobless numbers in Las Vegas rose to 15 percent, a new record.

Reid: ‘But For Me, We’d Be in World-Wide Depression’ … Wow! …’

Stimulus Swindle: Los Angeles Spent $70 Million in Stimulus Funds to Create 7.76 Jobs A new piece of evidence has emerged in the debate over the effectiveness of President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package, and it’s not good for Democrats.

Strapped UK to pay for EU’s ‘fraud, waste & mismanagement’? The European Union is demanding an additional 900 million pounds from the UK. It comes as the largest public spending cuts since the Second World War was announced. Thousands of protestors took to the streets of London saying it will condemn the UK to years of brutal unemployment. For more on the topic RT talks to Robert Oulds – Director of think tank the Bruge Group.

Geithner’s Goal: Rebalanced World Economy Wall Street Journal | Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he would use weekend meetings of G-20 finance ministers to advance efforts to “rebalance” the world economy so it is less reliant on U.S. consumers.

The Big Wall Street Banks Have Found A New Way To Strangle The American People: Predatory Property Tax Collection The Economic Collapse | Today, millions of American families are barely hanging on to their homes by their fingernails.

Currency Wars: A Race to the Bottom of the Inflationary Barrel Ron Paul | Inflation fears are heating up this week as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech in Boston on Friday, causing further frantic flight into gold by those fearful of the coming “quantitative easing” the Fed is set to deliver in November.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac bailouts could hit $363 billion, report says The taxpayer bailouts of housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost as much as $363 billion through 2013, according to government projections released Thursday.

National / World

Democrats Behind Tea Party Cyber Attacks? Paul Joseph Watson | FreedomWorks hack was “politically motivated,” launched day after Obama instructed Pentagon to attack “cyberthreats” within U.S.

Democrats Behind Tea Party Cyber Attacks? Paul Joseph Watson | FreedomWorks hack was “politically motivated,” launched day after Obama instructed Pentagon to attack “cyberthreats” within U.S.

Alan Watt: The Neo-Eugenics War On Humanity Infowars.com | Alan Watt continues to divulge his fascinating in-depth insights.

Obama Tells Pentagon to Attack “Cyberthreats” On American Soil Kurt Nimmo | Government puts another nail in the coffin of Posse Comitatus.

Wikileaks: Secret Iraq War Death Toll Set at 285,000 In what is being described as the largest release of secret U.S. military documents ever, whistle-blowing web site WikiLeaks has released a trove of classified reports about the war in Iraq, including a secret U.S. government tally that put the Iraqi death toll at 285,000, according to news sources that received advanced copies of the documents.

Establishment Dispatches Clinton To Campaign Against Rand Paul The Democratic establishment is pulling out the big guns in an all out effort to prevent Rand Paul from becoming a Kentucky senator this November by dispatching former president Bill Clinton to campaign for Paul’s opponent Jack Conway on the eve of the election.

Obama Approval Rating Hits New All Time Low President Obama’s approval ratings continue to plummet according to national surveys, with the latest from Gallup showing a decline of more than two percentage points in the last quarter alone.

Republican congressional candidate says violent overthrow of government is ‘on the table’ Republican congressional candidate Stephen Broden stunned his party Thursday, saying he would not rule out violent overthrow of the government if elections did not produce a change in leadership.

Forced Abortion: Dream Of The Scientific Elite Today’s harrowing story about a pregnant woman in China who was brutally beaten and abducted by state goons before being forcibly injected with a drug to kill her unborn baby serves as a stark reminder that the current White House science czar, John P. Holdren, advocated the creation of a “planetary regime” that would carry out similar draconian measures in America as part of the eugenicist zeal to reduce world population.

French Senate Passes Controversial Pension Bill The French Senate has passed a controversial pension reform bill, which has caused a series of strikes and protests around France. The senators approved President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, and it could become law as early as next week.

WikiLeaks promises ‘major announcement’ Saturday in Europe The WikiLeaks website has promised a “major announcement” in Europe on Saturday, in a message on its Twitter feed, amid speculation it will release thousands of secret documents about the Iraq war.

France Introduces Petrol Rationing As Riots And Blockades Continue More than a quarter of the country’s 12,500 petrol stations are dry and some of them have now started limiting fill-ups to 30 litres for cars and 150 litres for lorries.

‘White House seeks to remove Obama’ Press TV ‘A US analyst says some officials in the White House and the administration are considering legal action to remove Barack Obama from presidency. Oct 22, 2010 A US analyst says some officials in the White House and the administration are considering legal action to remove Barack Obama from presidency. “Right now, there is discussion in Washington and within the government of using the 25th amendment to the US Constitution to remove Obama from office,” Edward Spannaus from Executive Intelligence Review said in an interview with Press TV on Friday. The amendment allows for removing the president if he/she has incapacity either physically or mentally. “In this case, Obama is mentally incapable of fulfilling the office of president,” Spannaus went on to say. Referring to Obama’s plummeting popularity, mostly due to the recent economic collapse in the US, Spannaus said, “There is no way that his presidency could be salvaged at this point and it does not really make any difference who wins the congressional elections.” “He was not qualified to be the president in the first place. He was put in there precisely because he would act as a puppet and they knew he would be a puppet for Wall Street, for the London financiers and for the British,” Spannaus added. A recent survey from Gallup has revealed that more than half of American voters would not support the incumbent US president’s re-election.A recent survey from Gallup has revealed that more than half of American voters would not support the re-election of President Barack Obama.

Obama’s Finest Hour: Killing Innocent People For “Made-Up Crap” Floyd Empire Burlesque Oct 22, 2010 If ever I am tempted by the siren songs of my tribal past as a deep-fried, yellow-dawg Democrat, and begin to feel any faint, atavistic stirrings of sympathy for the old gang, I simply think of things like the scenario below, sketched last week by Johann Hari, and those wispy ghosts of partisanship past go howling back to the depths:

Imagine if, an hour from now, a robot-plane swooped over your house and blasted it to pieces. The plane has no pilot. It is controlled with a joystick from 7,000 miles away, sent by the Pakistani military to kill you. It blows up all the houses in your street, and so barbecues your family and your neighbours until there is nothing left to bury but a few charred slops. Why? They refuse to comment. They don’t even admit the robot-planes belong to them. But they tell the Pakistani newspapers back home it is because one of you was planning to attack Pakistan. How do they know? Somebody told them. Who? You don’t know, and there are no appeals against the robot.Now imagine it doesn’t end there: these attacks are happening every week somewhere in your country. They blow up funerals and family dinners and children. The number of robot-planes in the sky is increasing every week. You discover they are named “Predators”, or “Reapers” – after the Grim Reaper. No matter how much you plead, no matter how much you make it clear you are a peaceful civilian getting on with your life, it won’t stop. What do you do? If there was a group arguing that Pakistan was an evil nation that deserved to be violently attacked, would you now start to listen?…[This] is in fact an accurate description of life in much of Pakistan today, with the sides flipped. The Predators and Reapers are being sent by Barack Obama’s CIA, with the support of other Western governments, and they killed more than 700 civilians in 2009 alone – 14 times the number killed in the 7/7 attacks in London. The floods were seen as an opportunity to increase the attacks, and last month saw the largest number of robot-plane bombings ever: 22. Over the next decade, spending on drones is set to increase by 700 per cent.

Friends, it’s very simple: if you support Barack Obama and the Democrats — even if reluctantly, even if you’re just being all sophisticatedly super-savvy and blogospherically strategic about it, playing the “long game” or eleven-dimensional chess or what have you — you are supporting the outright murder of innocent people who have never done anything against you or yours. You have walked into a house, battered down the bedroom door, put the barrel of a gun against the temple of a sleeping child, and pulled the trigger. That is what you are supporting, that is what you are complicit in, that is what you yourself are doing.

Drudgereport: REPORTS: Illegals canvassing for votes...
Angle to Reid: Man up, man up, man up...
Vegas: Record 15% Unemployment...
Reid defends million-dollar RITZ-CARLTON condo...
Obama T-shirt serves as voting 'dress code' reminder ...
NOONAN: 'Tea Party' saved GOP from Bush...
PELOSI CHALLENGED IN SAN FRAN...
Republican candidate: Violent overthrow of govt 'on table'...
'Our nation founded on violence'...
GREATEST DATA LEAK IN MILITARY HISTORY!
Feds shut 6 banks in FL, GA, IL, KS; 138 bank failures this year...
WASHPOST: Black Panthers case taps deep racial divisions at Justice...
'BUT FOR ME, WE'D BE IN WORLD-WIDE DEPRESSION’ … Wow! … '...
Water on the Moon: A Billion Gallons! ...may bolster case for manned [military] base [ May? Come on! … biggest boondoggle since wmd’s inIraq and the last fake appollo video? … ]

Britain plans $131B in spending cuts by 2015 (Washington Post) [ Defacto bankrupt america along with NATO war partners, just moving right along … and into the abyss. France Unrest: Street battles in Lyon, blocked Marseille airport, protests in Paris It’s another day of unrest in France, where Marseille’s airport has been blocked by protesters and further demonstrations are planned in Paris. It’s all part of the anger at proposals to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, which would still be one of the lowest in Europe. UK Unions Threaten French-Style Riots In Backlash To Draconian Austerity Measures Unions told the Government to brace itself for French-style street protests last night after the Chancellor confirmed that half a million public sector jobs will be axed.]

Treaty on weapons trafficking stays stalled (Washington Post ) [ No surprise there! I strongly recommend the well done, well researched film, ‘Lord of War’, which effectively captures in a relatively small amount of time the essential theme of creating the conflict, strife, conditions, bogeymen, etc., (ie., Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico, etc.,) to create need for the lucrative and deadly arms trade (lots of cash and bribes as well). Previous: Cartels beef up presence in U.S. (Washington Post) [ I strongly recommend the entertaining, albeit exaggerated for shock effects, films by the talented director Robert Rodriguez, ‘Machete’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’. The important point in the films is the manipulation and interwoven money connections, pieces of the action, bribes, etc. (see infra, RICO case, 10-15-10 letter to the FBI , ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ). While I assume he’s of Mexican-American descent, and only slightly biased as a consequence, realize that a real life american story, names, etc., wouldn’t get made / distributed. Those Cartels referenced in this article wouldn’t be here without inside american help, very, very high up and quite officially unofficial. ] When a major Mexican drug cartel opened a branch office in San Diego, U.S. authorities tapped into their cellphones -- then listened, watched and waited. ] ] The difficulty of passing the treaty in the United States offers a lesson in the political sensitivities of taking even modest legal steps to crack down on gun-smuggling to Mexico.

Crisis tests reform legislation (Washington Post) [ Well, there must be a will for there to be a way; and, the lack of prosecutions of the wall street frauds despite campaign promises is telling; viz., no real will ( the amounts stolen by the wall street frauds would pay for all mortgages in america and then some, just to emphasize the magnitude of their fraud accomplis). ]Recent foreclosure problems challenge financial regulators to respond more cohesively and aggressively to a problem than they did to the subprime crisis three years ago.

Fannie, Freddie bailout is likely to rise to $154B (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! They’re so good at projections; reasonable minds could / would differ … Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac bailouts could hit $363 billion, report says prisonplanet.com The taxpayer bailouts of housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost as much as $363 billion through 2013, according to government projections released Thursday. ] In addition to the existing price tag of $135B, the aid is likely to cost taxpayers extra $19B and may cost as much as $124B more if the economy starts shrinking again, according to a government projection.

U.S. pushes currency accord (Washington Post) [ Then what will be fraudulent wall street’s excuse for the air-ball bubble stocks. Come on! … Get real! They haven’t the slightest clue what they’re doing. The October Philadelphia Fed Index hit 1.0, (50%) below the 1.5 that had been widely forecast. Meanwhile, Leading Indicators for September increased 0.3%, as expected (but based upon the ‘stock prices floating on air and b*** s***’ component of same). This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ‘The Fed's campaign to boost the risk-trade in equities by destroying the dollar has reached its limits. Now gravity will take hold as stocks enter a Long Decline.On Monday, Daily Finance published my article Is the Market Ready to Roll Over? These Signs Say Yes. ] The move is conceived largely as a new tack in a dispute over China's policies, but it is poised to become a battle for the Group of 20 major economic powers.

Wednesdays Rebound Does Not Alter My Market Outlook Suttmeier The yield on the 10-Year note is between my monthly pivot at 2.555 and my quarterly and semiannual risky levels at 2.265 and 2.249. Gold is trading around my monthly pivot at $1343.7 between my quarterly value level at $1306.4 and weekly risky level at $1373.6. Crude oil is just above my weekly pivot at $82.38 with semiannual and monthly risky levels at $83.94 and $84.74. The euro is trying to rally to this week’s risky level at 1.4074. The major equity averages remain overbought with overhead risky levels. For the Dow my weekly risky level is 11,229, my annual risky level is 11,235, and my semiannual risky level is 11,296. I answer readers’ questions on the Dow Theory Buy Signal. I comment on the Fed’s Beige Book.

10-Year Note – (2.475) Weekly, annual and annual value levels are 2.620, 2.813 and 2.999 with monthly and daily pivots at 2.555 and 2.539, and quarterly and semiannual risky levels at 2.265 and 2.249. click to enlarge [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Comex Gold – ($1344.2) Quarterly, semiannual and annual value levels are $1306.4, $1260.8, $1218.7 and $1115.2 with my monthly pivot at $1343.7, and daily and weekly risky levels at $1369.0 and $1373.6. [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Nymex Crude Oil – ($82.54) My annual value level is $77.05 with daily and weekly pivots at $81.41 and $82.38, and semiannual and monthly risky levels at $83.94 and $84.74. [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

The Euro – (1.3964) My quarterly value level is 1.3318 with daily and weekly risky levels at 1.3948 and 1.4060. My monthly value level is 1.2342 with semiannual risky level at 1.4733. [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Daily Dow: (11,108) Monthly, semiannual, annual and quarterly value levels are 10,857, 10,558, 10,379 and 8,523 with daily, weekly, annual and semiannual risky levels at 11,132, 11,229, 11,235, 11,290 and 11,296. My annual risky level at 11,235 was tested at the April 26th high of 11,258.01. [chart] Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters

Reader Questions about Dow Theory

1. Do you think the Dow will close above 11,205.03 triggering a Dow Theory Buy Signal? First of all Dow Transports must also close above 4,806.1 to confirm a Dow Theory Buy. I am not betting that such a signal will occur, as my longer term forecast is “Dow 8,500 before Dow 11,500”.

2. If the get a Dow Theory Buy signal what is the upside target? If the Dow does not have a monthly close above 11,296 the Dow Theory Buy could become a false signal. I do not have a specific target above 11,296 as there are no higher risky levels. This happens when a market goes parabolic, in stocks called a “melt-up” as all shorts are forced to cover.

3. What would negate a Dow Theory Buy Signal? I will track the weekly chart as the Dow is overbought. A weekly close below the five-week modified moving average with declining MOJO would be the sell signal. The five-week modified moving average is at 10,727 this week and will move higher each week.

IN SUM, I STILL FORECAST “DOW 8,500 BEFORE DOW 11,500” …

The Beige Book Reflects Modest Economic Growth, but Let’s Focus on the Headwinds

· Housing markets remain weak with most Districts reporting sales below year-ago levels. Reports on prices suggested stability, however. Conditions in the commercial real estate sector were subdued, and construction was expected to remain weak. Lending activity was stable in most Districts.

· Bernanke is worried about deflation but that’s not evident in the Beige Book. Input costs, most notably for agricultural commodities and industrial metals, rose further. Shipping rates increased, and retailers in some Districts noted rising wholesale prices.

· Demand for transportation services appears to have slowed.

What’s Ahead for the Foreclosure Mess?

· The big banks are saying their paperwork is accurate so foreclosures should commence soon.

· The attorneys general in all states are investigating whether lenders violated state laws.

· Evicted homeowners are hiring lawyers for suits against the major lenders.

· Judges will scrutinize foreclosure documents with skepticism.

· Congress will hold hearings.

· All of this remains the fall-out of the Subprime Crisis.

Disclosure: No positions

It's Time to Take Some Profits

Are the Markets Headed for a Correction? Babak ‘The stock market has been in rally mode since the start of September. Since then the S&P 500 has gained 13%, very close to the ~15% it gained from the early February 2010 lows until mid-April 2010. With that has come a few breadth signals that the rally is getting tired and may need to rest or retrace before continuing.Earlier I mentioned the overbought breadth reading from the percentage of issues in the S&P 500 trading above their 50 day moving average. This was the highest since April’s top. That measure has backed away slightly from the peak (93%) and it now at 89%.But other measures of market internals are very elevated. For example, the daily advance decline statistics are very high and the McClellan Summation index, which is based on that raw data is reaching levels we haven’t seen since early May 2010, as the market was rolling over: Click to see a larger chart in a new tab: (chart) Usually when the McClellan Summation index peaks around this level, the stock market either corrects or treads water to digest its gains. The exception is when we have a very high velocity momentum market coming out of an incredibly oversold bear market condition. We saw this twice in the past 10 years: first in 2003 and then in 2009. I’ve drawn circles around those instances to mark them better. With those exceptions, however, the McClellan Summation index is a good measure of how ‘tired’ breadth is. By the way, I use the Nasdaq McClellan Summation index instead of the NYSE variation due to the pollution of non-operating company issues trading on the big board which skew the breadth data significantly. Click to see a larger chart in a new tab: (chart) The other breadth measure I refer to repeatedly is the analysis of the number of new highs relative to new lows. The High-Low index is basically a ratio of the number of new 52 week highs divided by the number of new 52 week lows added to the new highs. Since it can be rather jittery, I’ve smoothed it with a 10 day (or 2 trading week) moving average. You can see the same two periods of extreme momentum when the needle got stuck almost consistently to 90-100%. Excluding those, a reading this high corresponds to a market top: Click to see a larger chart in a new tab: (chart) Fibonacci Target Moving away from market internals, we can take a look at the charts based on simple resistance and support. With such a rally in place, it is normal for the market to consolidate the gains before moving forward, especially with the April highs so close and acting as resistance. (chart) A 61.8% Fibonacci retracement between the low in early July (1010.91) to the ‘top’ from Monday (1185.53) gives a target area at 1118. This also dovetails nicely with the previous resistance which pushed back the S&P 500 in mid June and early August. So as a previous resistance level, this is a natural support area for the market to retest.’

Fundamentals Always Matter The Housing Time Bomb ‘What a wacky couple days in the market eh? Whoa! Volatility is back! None of this helps from a confidence standpoint of course. The dollar trade the past few days was absolutely ridiculous (click to enlarge): [chart] Crazy isn't it? Moves like this on the dollar just are not supposed to happen. Stocks and other commodities caught fire once the dollar started collapsing yesterday morning. We sold off later in the day to close up around 1%. What was interesting yesterday was watching the bond market. Take a look at the 10 year (click to enlarge): [chart] As you can see, bonds actually moved higher despite the sharp rally in stocks. We should have seen bonds move in the other direction as the market soared higher. This pretty much tells you that there wasn't much conviction behind the rally. Most investors remain scared and prefer to sit in bonds. The move higher was all about the falling dollar yesterday. Why this is a good thing for stocks is beyond me. I also think that all of the money the Fed is creating is one of the reasons why we are seeing both stocks and bonds rising at the same time. We had another POMO from the Fed yesterday, much like we saw on Monday so yesterday's move makes a little more sense from a "funny money" standpoint. Fundamentally of course none of this makes any sense, but we all know that's have gone out the window for the time being. Just keep one thing in the back of your mind: The fundamentals always matter. Just ask anyone that leveraged themselves into the tech bubble. Let me finish up with a great video of Jim Rogers aired on CNBC Asia last night. Jim hits the cover off the ball as he slams CNBC, and rips into the artificial book values of the banks that the analysts feed the bulltards on Bubblevision. Enjoy!

Investor Bullishness, Low Fear Level Hint At Market Top Harding As all investors and traders are aware, investor sentiment is a ‘contrary’ indicator, always at high levels of bullishness and complacency at market tops, and at extreme levels of bearishness and fear at market bottoms. Because sentiment can remain at extreme levels for quite some time it cannot be used to time the market, but when it reaches those extremes it does serve as a warning to keep an eye on other conditions and signals. The results of the weekly member poll of by the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) were released last night, and showed bullishness at 49.6% and bearishness at 25.2%, for a spread of 24.4. The poll reached 50.9% bullish a month ago, so it remains in its warning zone around 50% bullish. It reached only 48.5% bullish, 29.7% bearish at the April top this year.The VIX Index (aka the Fear Index) is also showing a low level of fear (high level of bullishness and complacency), bouncing around 20, in the area associated with rally tops since the last bull market ended in 2007, as marked by the vertical red lines in the chart below. (Chart) And the October 12 Investors Intelligence Sentiment poll showed 47.2% bulls, only 22.5% bears. So, it might be wise to at least be aware of the sentiment situation at this point, particularly with the Dow’s internal strength, as measured by its Relative Strength Index, in negative divergence with the Dow’s last high (its RSI made lower highs). That was also the situation at the tops of the previous rallies of this year, as marked by the short-red lines on the chart. (Chart)

Initial Claims Fall More Than Expected (Two weeks to election – desperation mode) NEW YORK (TheStreet) – ‘The number of Americans filing unemployment claims for the first time fell more than expected last week according to a labor department report released early Thursday.

More from Shanthi Venkataraman

· Dow Posts Modest Gain Amid Choppy Trading

· Will QE2 Work?

· Economic Indicators Up in September

Market Activity

• SPDR S&P 500 ETF| SPY
• SPDR Dow Jones Indus Avg| DIA
• PowerShares QQQ Trust 1| QQQQ

Initial weekly claims fell by 23,000 to 452,000 in the week ended Oct. 16, from the previous week. But the magnitude of the drop was exaggerated by the Labor Department's upward revision of the previous week's figure to 475,000 from 462,000. Still, analysts were expecting initial claims to drop by 7,000 to 452,000, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com…’

Geithner’s Goal: Rebalanced World Economy Wall Street Journal | Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he would use weekend meetings of G-20 finance ministers to advance efforts to “rebalance” the world economy so it is less reliant on U.S. consumers.

The Big Wall Street Banks Have Found A New Way To Strangle The American People: Predatory Property Tax Collection The Economic Collapse | Today, millions of American families are barely hanging on to their homes by their fingernails.

Currency Wars: A Race to the Bottom of the Inflationary Barrel Ron Paul | Inflation fears are heating up this week as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech in Boston on Friday, causing further frantic flight into gold by those fearful of the coming “quantitative easing” the Fed is set to deliver in November.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac bailouts could hit $363 billion, report says The taxpayer bailouts of housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost as much as $363 billion through 2013, according to government projections released Thursday.

While Americans’ Taxes Are Jacked Up, Google Pays Just 2.4% Google Inc. cut its taxes by $3.1 billion in the last three years using a technique that moves most of its foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands to Bermuda.

While UK Hits Public With Massive Austerity Measures, Government Sends Extra £900 Million To EU The European Parliament voted through a budget rise yesterday that will cost Britain an extra £900 million next year – on the day George Osborne announced deep cuts to public spending.

We See Totally Surreal Markets As we write, the US dollar is in the process of trying to find at least a temporary bottom at 76.50 and to launch a countertrend rally. We would think a rally back to 80 is achievable, but we do not believe it’s sustainable – only some stabilization through the election. Japan drew a line in the sand at 82 and finished last Friday trading at 81.37. That does not smack of success, but we see improvement over the next two weeks.

SocGen’s Albert Edwards: The U.S. Public Is About To Revolt Albert Edwards of Societe Generale thinks U.S. citizens are on the brink of a political revolt, based on a declining standard of living brought on by an inefficient economic relationship with China.

National / World

Deathbed Globalist “Spills Gut” On Plan to Destroy America Kurt Nimmo | Pastor Lindsey Williams provided further details on the ongoing plan by the global elite to consolidate financial power and usher in world government.

States of Emergency Cassandra Anderson | Regionalism is a trick that uses re-zoning to establish new jurisdictional authority.

Ratigan Slams Tea Party Borg Hive Kurt Nimmo | Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

Obama’s Approval Rating at New Low in Most Recent Quarter Barack Obama averaged 44.7% job approval during the seventh quarter of his presidency. His average approval rating has declined each quarter since he took office, falling by more than two percentage points in the most recent quarter to establish a new low.

9/11 Mastermind Invited to Pentagon Paul Joseph Watson | American-born cleric who had key role in Fort Hood, Christmas Day, and Times Square attacks met with US officials months after inspiring alleged 9/11 hijackers.

We See Totally Surreal Markets Bob Chapman | We see totally surreal markets because the US government has been manipulating them under the fascist model for years.

Rand Paul Maintains Lead In Kentucky Despite Continued Smears Rand Paul has maintained his lead in the race for the Kentucky Senate seat over political rival Jack Conway, despite Conway’s attempts to smear him in campaign ads and corporate media hit pieces that continue to promulgate rumours and outright lies about the libertarian candidate.

Al-Qaeda Is A Front Group For The US Military-Industrial Complex American-born Al-Qaeda terror leader Anwar Al-Awlaki, who met with Pentagon officials months after 9/11, is by no means the only patsy handler the Central Intelligence Agency has used over the years to oversee false flag attacks in America and around the world. In fact, just about every major terror attack has been run by an operative with direct ties to the US military-industrial complex.

Ratigan Slams Tea Party Borg Hive Less than two weeks out from the dog and pony show called mid-term elections and Dylan Ratigan wants to know what happened to the Tea Party. He correctly observes that the hitherto grassroots movement was sold down the river and absorbed by the Republican Party.

John Taylor Parallels Current Situation To World War 2, Predicts Global Debt Structure Could Collapse This war will not be fought for territory, but for markets and wealth, and when tariff walls are raised the destruction of livelihoods and property will be almost as dramatic as in the old fashioned shooting wars. With the loss of economic value, the global debt structure must collapse and entitlement promises will not survive.

France Grinds To Literal Halt As Authorities Impose Fuel Consumption Restrictions The strike that was supposed to be over two weeks ago refuses to go away. In the meantime, we get the following headline: “Local French Authorities say have imposed fuel consumption restrictions for the public in Normandy due to shortages.”

Al-Qaeda Mastermind Invited To Pentagon After 9/11 Al-Qaeda terror mastermind Anwar Al-Awlaki, the man who helped plot the aborted Christmas Day bombing, the Fort Hood shooting, the Times Square bombing attempt, and who also preached to the alleged September 11 hijackers, dined at the Pentagon just months after 9/11 documents obtained by Fox News show.

France Unrest: Street battles in Lyon, blocked Marseille airport, protests in Paris It’s another day of unrest in France, where Marseille’s airport has been blocked by protesters and further demonstrations are planned in Paris. It’s all part of the anger at proposals to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, which would still be one of the lowest in Europe.

UK Unions Threaten French-Style Riots In Backlash To Draconian Austerity Measures Unions told the Government to brace itself for French-style street protests last night after the Chancellor confirmed that half a million public sector jobs will be axed.

Bill Clinton ‘lost vital White House nuclear codes’ For several months during Bill Clinton’s administration, a former top military officer says the White House lost the card with a set of numbers for opening the briefcase containing the codes for a nuclear attack.

French Union Calls for ‘Massive’ Strikes Next Week A French union leader called on Thursday for further “massive” strike action next week against pension reforms that have triggered the biggest and most sustained anti-austerity protests in Europe.

US foes seek ‘new world order’ Venezuela and Iran denounce US imperialism as they flex their economic muscles by signing a raft of energy deals.

SocGen’s Albert Edwards: The U.S. Public Is About To Revolt Albert Edwards of Societe Generale thinks U.S. citizens are on the brink of a political revolt, based on a declining standard of living brought on by an inefficient economic relationship with China.

Drudgereport: 264 HOURS: Key Senate Battles Tighten...
NOONAN: 'Tea party' saved GOP from Bush...
Axelrod Suggests Dem Upset: 'Stay Up For The Full Night'...
ELECTION MONTH: Millions of early voters...
GALLUP: Obama's Approval Rating at New Low...
Wall St mogul picked for State Dept post...
FANNIE/GOLDMAN lobbyist tapped as National Security Advisor… (Wow!)...
FANNIE, FREDDIE bailout could double...
French union calls for massive new pension protest...
DAY 9: Chaos as airports are blockaded...
'Birthright' of privileges...
Fuel short as port, refinery strikes drag on...
Sarkozy lashes out...
Connecticut law firm opens drive-thru window … [ This doesn’t surprise me a bit based upon experience with such connecticut liars as coan et als, etc. ] ...

SHOWDOWN: French Strikes Intensify...

BROKE UK SLASHES 500,000 GOV'T JOBS...

SHOWDOWN: French Strikes Grow ...
Tourists warned to stay away as violence spirals...
'Birthright' of privileges...
Will Americans Follow Mass Civil Unrest?
Will the Federal Reserve Cause a Civil War?
NJ Toll Worker Earns $321,985... [Such is life in the multi-ethnic mob-infested / controlled, pervasively corrupt, garbage state (ny, northeast, dc metro/ va, cal, not far behind) … could you imagine the figures for pols / judges, etc., if bribes and drug money, etc., were included. ] ‘…It took place as tolls were being increased. The biggest expense uncovered in the audit was $30 million in unjustified bonuses to employees and management in 2008 and 2009 without consideration of performance…’
Sarkozy vows crack down...
DAY 6: Violent turn...
Thousands protest against looming cuts in London...
SHOWDOWN: China halting key minerals to USA...
ANGER...
HAS THE FED RUN OUT OF IDEAS? [ Quite some time ago, actually. ]
THE 'INFLATION' OPTION...
Dollar Declines for Fifth Week...
Support for Afghanistan war at all-time low...
17 SOLDIERS KILLED IN PAST 3 DAYS...
Limbaugh: Obama looks 'demonic' in new photos … and limbaugh knows demonic, himself and relative wobama ... [Obama Distant Cousins with Palin, Limbaugh, Bush | CNSnews.com Obama Distant Cousins with Palin, Limbaugh, Bush. Obama's Related to Palin. Wednesday, October 13, 2010. By Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press ... www.cnsnews.com/news/.../obama-distant-cousins-palin-limbaugh-bushes (wobama, palin, limbaugh, bush distant cousins … I knew there were some dark secrets there … hillbilly heroin, etc.. – Wow! Talk about the nation-declining dangers of inbreeding! Poor defacto bankrupt, pervasively corrupt america never had a chance! ) ]
ABCNEWS: 63 Dem House Seats in 'Serious Danger'...
Barone: Dems find careers threatened by ObamaCare votes...
GALLUP: Unemployment at 10.0% in Mid-October...

Fed survey finds economy continues to rise modestly (Washington Post) [ It’s truly a pleasure to see Mr. Irwin cured of the ‘perpetual glass-half-full syndrome’ , even if somewhat tepidly so, and particularly with but two weeks to election-time what would we expect as Mr. Irwin reminds us, ‘That conclusion contrasted with that of the previous beige book, released in early September, which reported "widespread signs of deceleration compared with previous periods."…’] Data contrast with that of September's "beige book," which said "widespread signs of deceleration compared with previous periods." [See infra, This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ‘The Fed's campaign to boost the risk-trade in equities by destroying the dollar has reached its limits. Now gravity will take hold as stocks enter a Long Decline.On Monday, Daily Finance published my article Is the Market Ready to Roll Over? These Signs Say Yes.

DoD plans weapons sale to Saudi Arabia (Washington Post ) [ I strongly recommend the well done, well researched film, ‘Lord of War’, which effectively captures in a relatively small amount of time the essential theme of creating the conflict, strife, conditions, bogeymen, etc., (ie., Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.,) to create need for the lucrative and deadly arms trade (lots of cash and bribes as well). ] The proposed $60B sale will be the largest arms deal to another country in U.S. history if the sale goes through and all purchases are made

British budget cuts to include nearly 500,000 job losses (Washington Post) Historic $131M cuts, aimed at reducing the country's deficit, will cost the public sector half a million jobs. [infowars.com / prisonplanet.com - Broke UK Slashes 500,000 Government Jobs [ I highly recommend the prescient film, ‘V for Vendetta’ (underplayed to audiences here and thar’), which, in portraying the Orwellian English society of a not too distant future (the adoption of nazi-like ways is not lost on the fact that the so-called ‘royal family’ are Germans, and don’t forget the queen’s gift to wobama of Orwell’s ‘1984’) , factors in the fait accomplis of american civil war which has begun and is inevitable in light of the pervasive greed, corruption, and incompetence of american leadership, publicly and privately, as well as inherent criminality, government / non-government. ] Up to 500,000 public sector jobs could go by 2014-15 as a result of the cuts programme, according to the Office for Budgetary Responsibility. Time Magazine: Prospect Of Civil War In U.S. “Doesn’t Seem That Far Fetched” With protesters in France entering a seventh day of strikes and demonstrations against draconian austerity measures, many political observers in the U.S. are now wondering how long it will be before similar scenes unfold on American streets, with even Time Magazine now conceding that the prospect of a civil war in the States “doesn’t seem that far fetched”.

Foreclosure freeze could put security clearances at risk (Washington Post) [ How ‘bout solving the problem by just eliminating the superfluous, over-priced (including lifetime appointees) federal jobs which are fraught with corruption of all kinds in addition to being boondoggles for the incompetent! ]

Activists read between the lines on paperwork (Washington Post) [ True enough! Attention to problems with proper title for foreclosure had already shown up in some courts and had been referenced here on this site in the context of the wall street fraud / debacle in re-bundling (for re-commissioning) the worthless toxic paper over and over again …see also, ie., Foreclosure Expert Confirms Mortgages Pledged Multiple Times, Not Actually Securitized, Document Problem Is Really a System of “Push-Button Fraud” infowars.com / prisonplanet.com -Yesterday, I showed that mortgages were fraudulently pledged to multiple buyers at the same time. ]

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits (these lower dollar, hyperinflationary currency manipulations / translations to froth paper stocks will end quite badly as in last crash)! This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up moves were manipulated bull (s***) cycles (at best) in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street ‘programmed computerized high-frequency churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

The Stock Market's Long Decline Has Begun Smith ‘The Fed's campaign to boost the risk-trade in equities by destroying the dollar has reached its limits. Now gravity will take hold as stocks enter a Long Decline.On Monday, Daily Finance published my article Is the Market Ready to Roll Over? These Signs Say Yes. On Tuesday, October 19, the market did roll over.Is this merely a brief hiccup on the way to S&P500 1,500 and Dow 15,000, or the first stages in a Long Decline? Here is the evidence to support the idea that stocks are entering a Long Decline.Back on October 8 I looked at some of these issues in Look Out Below (I've got a bad feeling about this).As always, please note this is not investment advice, it is merely the musings of an amateur observer; please review the HUGE GIANT BIG FAT DISCLAIMER below.First up, the U.S. dollar, which the Fed has been destroying to prop up equities before the election: (Chart) Alas, there is pushback from various forces against this destruction of the dollar, and as the dollar climbs then the see-saw tips and equities decline. Those predicting the continued destruction of the dollar see a double-top pattern suggesting "the top is in;" I see a long-term uptrend line and a line of resistance around 90 that will eventually be broken to the upside. Time will tell who is right, the dollar Bears or the dollar Bulls. Mr. VIX is waving the yellow flag of "crash ahead." Complacency in the face of sobering financial realities is not just unreal but completely deranged. To note but a few:

1. A Eurozone debt crisis which has not been resolved, despite the propaganda.

2. A massive credit/real estate bubble in China which will burst, just like every other bubble in history, despite the many voices claiming "there is no bubble in Chinese real estate."

3. A foreclosure/MBS/bank insolvency structural crisis in the U.S. which has barely started.

Note that the VIX is marking out a long-term uptrend of higher lows, meaning increasing volatility is the backdrop against which the market acts out its various dramatics. (Chart) The broad-based S&P 500 (SPX) is looking toppy and vulnerable on the weekly chart. Note the declining volume as retail investors continue pulling tens of billions of dollars out of the pump-and-dump charade known as the U.S. stock market. Also note the bearish cross of the 20-day MA dipping below the 50-day MA, signaling the start of a downtrend, and the weakening MACD trend. Kissing the resistance of the 200-day moving average and then rolling over is a classic market move. (Chart) Beneath the new high notched by the NADAQ 100 (NDX) we see marked weakness.Now that Apple has rolled over, then who's left to keep the tech-heavy NDX afloat? Google (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN) and Priceline (PCLN)? Three companies out of 100 is a very narrow market, and one vulnerable to just the sort of rollover we are now witnessing. (Chart) The other "market leader" sector, the financials, are running a high fever. Bogus "earnings" from the money-center banks (reduce your reserves against losses by $6 billion and surprise, you "booked a profit" on paper) have lifted the financial ETF XLF off the crumbling edge of meltdown, but at some point the flag/wedge pattern here will break big up or down. Does anyone with skin in the game seriously think banks are poised to reap vast new profits? Really? From where? Enough to offset the tens of billions they will be losing as the MBS/foreclosure fraud bills come due? (Chart) There is very little support in this chart once it breaks below $12.50: next stop, $7.50 and then $5. Disclosure: I am short the XLF via puts and long FAZ. HUGE GIANT BIG FAT DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site should be construed as investment advice or guidance. It is not intended as investment advice or guidance, nor is it offered as such. It is solely the opinion of the writer, who is NOT an investment counselor/professional. All the content of this website is solely an expression of his personal interests and is posted as free-of-charge opinion and commentary. If you seek investment advice, consult a registered, qualified investment counselor (As with any other professional service, confirm their track record and referrals).’

We Are Heading Into a Hyperinflationary Storm? Summers ‘In the last month and a half, stocks have COMPLETELY returned to the atmosphere of March-April 2010: an atmosphere in which stocks are overbought, overstretched, and yet KEEP rallying. [chart] As you can see, the daily RSI has just touched “overbought” status at 70. From a strictly technical standpoint, the next lines of resistance are 1,180, then 1,205 on the S&P 500. We’ve now got layers upon layers of support as well: [chart] Most market analysts would look at this set-up and say that we’re in a new bull market. I do not think that is the case. Instead, I think the market is discounting major inflation and possibly hyperinflation. Indeed, if stocks are overbought and overextended, their performance is nothing compared to that of Gold: [chart] As you can see, the precious metal has erupted higher since mid-August. As I write this, bullion is up 23% since March 2010. Compare this to the S&P 500’s performance of 1.3% over the same time period, and it’s clear which asset class is the one to own. Indeed, priced in Gold, stocks have done nothing since April. [chart] This final chart is key to understanding what’s happening in the markets. In plain terms, stocks are NOT creating wealth, they are rallying based on Dollar devaluation, If you price them in non-paper currency (Gold), they are LOSING purchasing power. This is also clear when you compare the S&P 500’s performance to that of the US Dollar over the last few months. [chart] As you can see, we have a near perfect inverse correlation here, with stocks rallying as the US Dollar falls. With that in mind, we need to focus on the US currency, since its drop is what’s fueling this rampant speculation in stocks and commodities. [chart] The US Dollar is now oversold and nearing its multi-year trendline. If we DO NOT bounce here, then the next line of support is at 74. After that, it’s the 2008 low (also the 20 year low) of 71. I have to be blunt here: if the US Dollar DOES NOT bounce soon, a hyper-inflationary scenario is INCREASINGLY likely in the US. Indeed on a weekly basis a break down past 74 on the US Dollar would trigger a MASSIVE Head and Shoulders pattern which has a downside target of 40 or so (roughly 50% lower than where the US Dollar is today). If this collapse were to occur, you would see hyperinflation erupt in the US similar to that of Weimar Germany. Precious metals would erupt higher and the US Dollar would no longer be the reserve currency of the world. [chart] What’s truly worrisome is that the Fed is hell bent on enacting the exact same policies that have created the Dollar collapse (and the rally in stocks) over the last few months, namely, additional Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO) ramp jobs. The name sounds clever, but it really just consists of the Fed buying US debt from the large private banks, which in turn take the Fed’s money and buy stocks. Indeed, the Fed just announced it will be monetizing an additional $32 billion worth of US debt in the next few weeks. The schedule for these ramp jobs is as follows:
-October 15:
-October 18:
-October 20:-
-October 22:
-October 26:
-October 28:
-November 1:
-November 4:
-November 8:
In plain terms, the Fed is going to keep doing what it’s been doing: trashing the US Dollar to pump stocks. And it’s going to do this to the tune of some $10 billion per week over the next month. Thus, as ridiculous as it sounds, the stocks up/ US Dollar down trend of the last two months is likely to continue into early November. But if the US Dollar doesn’t bounce soon and start rallying with force, we’re heading into a VERY nasty period. Disclosure: None’

Markets Thrust Headlong Into the Maelstrom of Correction Now that Apple (AAPL) earnings have come and gone, the market has likely commenced its topping process and investors should expect choppy sessions ahead. Tops come in two forms. Markets either set a conclusive top, which is followed by 10-15 sessions of straight down (much like we saw in late June), or they tend to consolidate through a series of huge up and down moves (like we saw in January, April and July). Given the velocity of this move up, the bulls will simply not give up that easily. This 170-point whacking will be swiftly answered by the bulls. But don't get too complacent or think that we're headed much higher from here as we limp into the mid-term elections and QE2. We'll see a good fight from the bulls, much like we did for 10 sessions before topping in late April. But the bears will win this battle and we'll get a much needed correction. It's healthy for the markets after a move like we've had. Yet, unlike these past few corrections since April, this correction could very likely present us with a good buying opportunity. In fact, I think that this correction could be the last we'll see in a very long time. What I suspect will happen is that we'll see a very severe sell-off followed by another 2009-type leg up in the markets. There's a very large number of reasons why we're set to sell-off. But seeing as how the vast majority (>99%) of market participants simply misconstrue the difference between the weight of evidence and conclusion, I won't be surprised to see the idiocy that usually comes with the writing of these types of articles. Yet, because I like to take on tasks which are obviously futile, I'll give it a shot nonetheless. Here are the reasons why we're probably going to see a significant sell-off very shortly, if we haven't started already. The vast majority of these reasons come by way of Cobra's Market View. I'm just summarizing what he has already said over the past few weeks. But the evidence has now gotten overwhelmingly bearish.
1. Commercial Hedges are far too net short the NASDAQ-100. Whenever commercial traders get this short the NDX, there is a very high likelihood for a correction. And seeing as how the NASDAQ led this move higher; as goes the NASDAQ-100, so goes the market. Commercial hedgers took record short positions in October. More than double what we saw ahead of the 2008 top. This chart is courtesy of SentimentTrader and annotations are courtesy of Cobra's Market View. See here.
2. The AAII Bull Ratio (4-week average) is way too high. There's a very strong correlation between market tops and bullish sentiment getting over-extended. Notice the strong correlation between market tops and extreme levels in AAII (click). Again, this chart is courtesy of SentimentTrader, the find and annotations courtesy of Cobra's Market View.
3. Too many Reversals. Peter (Yong) Pan, the author of Cobra's Market View, noticed a strong correlation between market tops and multiple reversal days. We've had far too many reversal days now. In fact, this is the highest number of reversal days recorded for any rally without a correction since 2008. Good game? We've had 4 actual bearish reversals into the red and 8 or more reversals that while didn't close red, were deep reversals nonetheless. Again, notice the correlation between tops and reversals.
4. Institutional selling divergence from the market getting high. Though the market continued to rise through October, institutional selling starting to pick up. This also has a high correlation to tops in the market. See Cobra's Market View chart here.
5. VIX at 1-Month Low in October. Here's a table outlining the S&P 500's performance in the 2-3 weeks after the VIX hits a one-month low in the month of October. The odds highly favor the bears under these circumstances. See here.
6. Up Big on Off-Season. Whenever the S&P 500 is up in the off-earnings season, the tendency has been to sell the market during earnings season. The last three times the S&P 500 has been up 5% or more in the off-season, the average sell-off during earnings season has been about 5%. See here.
7. ISEE Index & ETF Only hitting too many extremes. There's also a very high correlation to tops in the market whenever, on multiple days, we see a reading of over 100 on the call-put ratio on the indices (Index & ETF Only ISEE). Whenever we start to see a lot of hedging or outright shorting near the end of a big rally like we've had, its been a pretty big sign that we're headed lower. This chart is courtesy of Cobra's Market View and the International Securities Exchange. Note the high correlation between tops in the market, and multiple days of high ISEE index readings.
8. Broken Rising Wedge. We have a confirmed broken rising wedge on the SPY as of Tuesday. That is pretty bearish. Rising wedges are by their nature bearish formations to begin with as nearly 70% of the cases will usually end with a breakout to the downside.
9. Lower Trend Line Failure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) broke its lower trend line Tuesday. The DJIA tends to lead the market. Tuesday's failure is just another piece of evidence suggesting we're headed lower.
10. Apple Weakening. Now for the grand finale. Apple is the unequivocal market leader and was the market leader in this huge September rally. Now just because Apple sold off on earnings doesn't mean that this particular move up is over. In fact, there are cases where Apple has reversed out of its sell-off to make new highs days later. But those cases are very few. If Apple closes under $300 a share, it will be a very bad sign for this market, and particularly for the QQQQ (given the fact that it's nearly 20% of the weighting of the NASDAQ-100).
There's some strong evidence that Apple is very overextended. You can see the arguments making a case for an intermediate term top in Apple (2-3 months) here. Now for the big disclaimer. This is the part that 99% of the people who are in the financial industry have difficulty comprehending: Just because the evidence overwhelmingly favors the bear case, just because the correlations are very high that we've either topped or are approaching a top to this rally, just because commercial traders are super net short, doesn't mean that we are going to sell off with 100% certainty! This is just evidence! Evidence needs to be weighed against other considerations. Right now the balance of the evidence supports a conclusion that the market is about to undergo a correction. If the market doesn't happen to sell-off from here, it doesn't make the conclusion or the evidence any less valid. Just because an indicator doesn't work one time, doesn't mean that the entire sample of cases becomes invalidated. Most of the indicators above have such a high level of reliability that any one of them individually can suggest we're topping when at extremes. We have several indicators at extremes. Yet, in the end, what moves this market higher is a willing buyer and a willing seller. If the supply of buyers continues to outstrip the supply of sellers, then despite the hard evidence, we're going higher. But the only common sense thing for traders and investors to do is to bet with the probability. Right now, the odds favor the bears. That's all that can be said here. But given that QE2 is right around the corner, given that the mid-term elections are right around the corner, and given that Ben Bernanke has made it painfully obvious that the Federal Reserve will do everything in its power to backstop the equities market, anything is possible. If Bernanke wants it, we can rally 100 straight days from here with every single indicator in the market hitting extremes. One more thing: These were just a selection of some of the indicators suggesting that we're at extreme levels. Good luck! Disclosure: Net long Apple with a fully hedged call-spread. Heavy puts on the QQQQ.Disclaimer: The information contained in this blog is not to be taken as either an investment or trading recommendation, and serious traders or investors should consult with their own professional financial advisors before acting on any thoughts expressed in this publication. This blog is for intellectual and educational purposes only.

Stock Market Thrill Ride: Dave's Daily - ‘You could take any image put up above here and whatever the image message conveys do the opposite the next day. Let's see, down 165, up 129 and it isn't any wonder retail is in its 23^rd week of equity mutual fund redemptions. I don't want to sound unhappy since we're overwhelmingly long markets but trading against this machine-driven affair becomes more difficult with each day. Basically, everything reversed from yesterday and we might just end this tale there. Materials, industrials, energy and airlines led markets higher. Commodities did an about face rising as the dollar fell which accelerated upon release of the Fed Beige Book showing slow growth. Who knew?! (It's that "win-win" stuff again.) A consequence of low interest rates is companies like EBay and IBM are or have sold bonds at low interest rates to buy back their own stock. This is just financial engineering versus innovation and growth one of the things wrong with ultra low interest rates. And, by the way, the Fed did a small POMO operation today just to let us know they're around. Volume was lighter on the reversal higher which has been the case forever it seems. Breadth was positive…’

Currency Wars: A Race to the Bottom of the Inflationary Barrel Ron Paul | Inflation fears are heating up this week as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech in Boston on Friday, causing further frantic flight into gold by those fearful of the coming “quantitative easing” the Fed is set to deliver in November.

From Global Depression to Global Governance Andrew Gavin Marshall | We now stand at the edge of the ‘Great Global Debt Depression,’ where nations are beginning to implement ‘fiscal austerity’ measures to reduce their deficits.

Why California is About to Fall Off Into an Ocean of Unpayable Debt EconomicPolicyJournal.com | By around 2012 or 2013, the three major state pensions’ obligations will be more than five times as large as total state tax revenue.

Fed Wants Banks to Buy Back Some Bad Mortgages To the long list of those picking fights with banks over bad mortgages, add the Federal Reserve.

The U.S. May Have To Sell Some Assets To Get Out Of Its Debt Mess Check the national debt clock: Our federal debt is $13.3 trillion, next year’s budget is $1 trillion in the red, and we have unfunded commitments for Social Security, health care and other programs as far as the eye can see. [ How about additionally ending the endless war / military industrial complex / defense runaway spending. ]

Foreclosure Expert Confirms Mortgages Pledged Multiple Times, Not Actually Securitized, Document Problem Is Really a System of “Push-Button Fraud” Yesterday, I showed that mortgages were fraudulently pledged to multiple buyers at the same time.

National / World

As Mid-Term Election Nears, NAACP Declares Tea Party Rife with Racists Kurt Nimmo | It appears the NAACP is drinking the SPLC and ADL kool-aid.

Violent Anarchists Help French Authorities Crush Pension Protests Paul Joseph Watson | Pointless rioting, burning of cars and smashing shop windows has “shot the protest movement in the foot.”

Alex Jones: EU Dictators Plan Fresh Looting Of Tax Slaves Infowars.com | EU is trying to fill its coffers at a time when everyone else is being told they must tighten their belts and accept draconian austerity measures.

Time Magazine: Prospect Of Civil War In U.S. “Doesn’t Seem That Far Fetched” Paul Joseph Watson | Even establishment mouthpiece entertains notion of mass civil unrest as backlash to economic collapse.

Four men railroaded in plot to bomb synagogues Jerry Mazza | If you smell rat, trust it’s our friends in Intel and Law Enforcement land, looking for their Christmas bonuses, and some more blood.

Gen. Hugh Shelton: Clinton Official Suggested Letting U.S. Plane Be Shot Down To Provoke War With Iraq Huffington Post | “A high-ranking cabinet member suggests intentionally flying an American airplane on a low pass over Baghdad so as to guarantee it will be shot down, thus creating a natural excuse to reltaliate and go to war.”

War, What is it Good For? Activist Post | Videos represent more than 75 years of separation between Smedley Butler and Michael Prysner: two military men with a conscience.

Report Shows Drones Strikes Based on Scant Evidence Gareth Porter | A new report on civilian casualties in the war in Pakistan has revealed direct evidence that a house was targeted for a drone attack merely because it had been visited by a group of Taliban soldiers.

EU Leader To Dissenter: “How Dare You Say I Was Not Elected, I Was Elected By The Commission In Secret” In democratic politics there is a distinct difference between selection and election. However, according to European Commission President, José Barroso, the two are interchangeable.

TIME Asks “Will Bankers go to Jail for Foreclosure-gate?” “The real blood on the Street would be if the Feds are looking into the some of the more salacious charges that are coming out about the securitization of mortgage bonds.”

White House officials block Obama visit to India’s Sikh Golden Temple over fears it will strengthen belief he is a Muslim White House officials have stopped President Barack Obama from visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, over concerns that coverage could strengthen a belief he is a secret Muslim.

Time Magazine: Prospect Of Civil War In U.S. “Doesn’t Seem That Far Fetched” With protesters in France entering a seventh day of strikes and demonstrations against draconian austerity measures, many political observers in the U.S. are now wondering how long it will be before similar scenes unfold on American streets, with even Time Magazine now conceding that the prospect of a civil war in the States “doesn’t seem that far fetched”. Broke UK Slashes 500,000 Government Jobs [ I highly recommend the prescient film, ‘V for Vendetta’ (underplayed to audiences here and thar’), which in portraying the Orwellian English society of a not too distant future factors in the fait accomplis of american civil war which has begun and is inevitable in light of the pervasive greed, corruption, and incompetence of american leadership, publicly and privately, as well as inherent criminality, government / non-government. ] Up to 500,000 public sector jobs could go by 2014-15 as a result of the cuts programme, according to the Office for Budgetary Responsibility.

Under pressure David Cameron faces calls for a new EU vote David Cameron was under fresh pressure to hold a referendum on Europe last night – as France and Germany called for the controversial Lisbon Treaty to be redrawn.

US Chamber of Commerce lobbyist moderated panel on outsourcing American jobs: report The US Chamber of Commerce has become the latest enemy of American liberals.

CIA ‘was warned about bomber of Afghan base’ A CIA officer was warned that the Jordanian double-agent who blew himself up at a US base in Afghanistan, killing seven Americans, might have been working for al-Qaeda, yet did not tell his bosses.

Trades Hall president Kevin Bracken calls 9/11 ‘conspiracy’ THE president of the Victorian Trades Hall has sparked outrage after controversially claiming the September 11 2001 World Trade Centre attacks were a conspiracy, not the result of terrorist activity.

Unfair Trade: 10 Questions About Our Globalized Economy That Neither Conservative Or Liberal Supporters Of Current U.S. Trade Policies Can Answer Most Americans still seem to be convinced that “free trade” is “fair trade” and that to be against current U.S. trade policies and globalization means that you are anti-business, anti-free enterprise and anti-American.

Feds press mortgage lenders to fix documents (Washington Post) [ Fix documents? In matters involving far more serious crimes of far more significance longer term to the nation, I’d be content with mere adherence to clear law applied to the documented facts, no matter where and to whom the crimes lead … see infra… ] White House says Obama will not sign foreclosure bill [ Oooooh, whoops … Sounds like a plan!] Consumer advocates and state officials argue legislation would make it difficult for homeowners to challenge documents prepared in other states. [When talking about the pervasively corrupt american legal / judicial system, you’re truly talking about tips of the iceberg! Judges rule without title, lenders can't foreclose (Washington Post) [ Rules of law? I didn’t think they cared. That’s certainly the direct experience I’ve had with the pervasively corrupt american legal / judicial system (along with the other two branches of the u.s. government and defact bankrupt america generally). Court decisions could call into doubt the ownership of mortgages, raising urgent challenges for both the real estate market, wider financial system. Connecticut, California join probe of Ally (Washington Post) [I’d be much more impressed if they initiated a probe of more readily discernible criminal offenses in violation of the RICO Act http://albertpeia.com Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers)Covering Up for Other Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). In Productive Societies as China, Japan, etc., Fraudulent Liars (sic-lawyers) and the Fraudulent u.s. System They're a Part of Are Unheard Of/Non-existent. List of Files Regarding Filed Attorney Grievance Against Fraud coan et als Or Here For A Clearer View Of Filed Grievance Complaint, Response, Exhibits, and Related RICO Filings Note the Committee of Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). Included are DOJ Rep., State Court Rep., State Atty. General Office Rep., and even a Vegetable Garden yale law prof who probably never practiced law in his life. How Pathetic! http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ] Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally.

October 15, 2010 (*see infra)

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include 1 copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’). The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ].

The correspondence I received from the Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

13. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
14. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
15. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
16. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
17. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
18. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) 219-**** (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

----------

*The foregoing and as indicated therein was previously send 9-14-10 but delivery confirmation was flawed as set forth below and my inquiries to the u.s. postal service rebuffed (I believe tampered with inasmuch as your office could not locate same). This cover letter (9-13-10) is on the 3 disks with navigable hyperlinks to the subject files for ease of reference, including the files in the RICO action as indicated. (10-15-10) I spoke with Rose, FBI, ADIC Secretary, who indicates once again that your office has not received the aforesaid and which can reasonably be presumed to have been tampered with, and hence, a violation of the federal statute concerning same.

-----

Label/Receipt Number: 0310 1230 0000 0862 8183

Expected Delivery Date: September 15, 2010

Class: Priority Mail®

Service(s): Delivery Confirmation™

Status: Delivered

Your item was delivered at 10:14 am on September 15, 2010 in LOS ANGELES, CA 90024.

Track and Confirm

Enter Label/Receipt Number.

Enter Label / Receipt Number.

Detailed Results:

Bullet Delivered, September 15, 2010, 10:14 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Bullet Arrival at Post Office, September 15, 2010, 4:12 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Bullet Processed through Sort Facility, September 14, 2010, 8:29 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90052

Bullet Acceptance, September 14, 2010, 4:04 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

----

Sent Postage Prepaid: United States Mail - VIA Priority Mail, Delivery Confirmation and VIA Certified Mail this ___ day of October, 2010.

Signed: ___________________________________

Albert L. Peia

-------------

Label/Receipt Number: 7009 2250 0002 1116 5915
Expected Delivery Date: October 6, 2010
Class: Priority Mail^®
Service(s): Certified Mail^™
Status: Delivered

Your item was delivered at 11:42 am on October 06, 2010 in LOS ANGELES, CA 90024.

  Detailed Results:

Delivered, October 06, 2010, 11:42 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Arrival at Unit, October 06, 2010, 4:15 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Acceptance, October 05, 2010, 11:12 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

---------------------------

Label/Receipt Number: 0309 3220 0000 4028 9039
Expected Delivery Date: October 6, 2010
Class: Priority Mail^®
Service(s): Delivery Confirmation^™
Status: Delivered

Your item was delivered at 9:03 am on October 06, 2010 in LOS ANGELES, CA 90024.

  Detailed Results:

Delivered, October 06, 2010, 9:03 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Arrival at Post Office, October 06, 2010, 6:10 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Acceptance, October 05, 2010, 11:11 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

-------

Sent VIA UPS Courier this 15th day of October, 2010.

Signed: Albert L. Peia

------------

] Federal regulators seek to prevent the growing furor over improper foreclosures from escalating, pressing mortgage lenders to replace flawed and fraudulent court documents while insisting that foreclosures continue apace. But advocates say the policy is soft on banks and may have little effect, because many lenders are already taking such steps.

Survey: Half of Wall Street expects bigger bonus this year (Washington Post) [ This is nothing short of incredible … What they should be expecting, for the sake of the nation and the world, is an 8 by 10 jail cell! ] Bloomberg The percentage anticipating a bigger bonus increased from last year.

Gerald Celente: “The selloff of America” Financial institutions on Wall Street are preparing to pay a shocking record $144 billion dollars in compensation & benefits. This amid spiraling foreclosures and an economic crisis that has devastated Americans, leaving many out in the street. Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute says that the gap between rich and poor in the US will continue to get larger because of the bank bailout that Washington shelled out in 2008.

'Systemic failures' led to attack, CIA says (Washington Post) [Riiiiight! And if the cia says it, it must be true … NOT! … what a hapless bunch of criminals / frauds … CIA sues former agent for publishing book... Gertz [ Suit filed in virginia, near Langley and D.C., you don’t have to be a clairvoyant to know how that suit turns out … which is always great for the court hearing the case since ‘bonus money’ is invariably involved ... such an outcome is a real tragedy for this defacto bankrupt and pervasively corrupt nation and the world. ] ‘The CIA has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against a former deep-cover agent who published a book critical of the agency without allowing CIA censors to remove large portions of the manuscript before publication. Ishmael Jones, pen name for the 20-year CIA veteran and Arabic speaker who said he sought to expose corruption in the agency, is facing a civil lawsuit over his 2008 book, "The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture."The book is a detailed account of his career inside the CIA's clandestine service and his work as a "nonofficial cover" operative in the Middle East and Europe."The book contains no classified information and I do not profit from it," Mr. Jones told The Washington Times. "CIA censors attack this book because it exposes the CIA as a place to get rich, with billions of taxpayer dollars wasted or stolen in espionage programs that produce nothing …’ ] The CIA was cautioned last year that a self-proclaimed al-Qaeda turncoat might be luring the agency into an ambush, a warning that came weeks before the man killed seven agency operatives in a suicide attack in Afghanistan, an internal investigation finds.

Federal Reserve moves to close credit card loophole (Washington Post) [ How ‘bout moving to close the ‘fed fraud loophole’ … abolish the fed … the country’s gone totally downhill with the fed’s incompetence, protected frauds and wall street collaboration, etc.. I mean at this point in the nations decline, what’s to lose? The fed has a track record of failure and wall street’s ever larger frauds. ] The proposal is aimed at "fee-harvester cards" that carry interest rates as high as 79 percent

N.Y. Fed joins cry for mortgage buybacks (Washington Post) [ How about the new york fed first account for the missing $4+ trillions at said bank before demanding B of A do anything, just as a matter of chronology, common sense, and reality. ]The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has joined a group of investors demanding that Bank of America buy back billions of dollars worth of mortgage securities that are plagued with shoddy documentation and lending standards, according to sources.

Taking Down The FED With RICO - Margot B World NewsThe Federal Reserve Bank of New York is the official depository of the United States government. ... Catherine Austin Fitts was the Deputy Secretary at HUD under the first ... This video is about the missing trillions from the DOD ...margotbworldnews.com/archives/2008/Nov/.../FEDdanfey.htm - Cached

Meyerson: Wrong way for banks to get rich (Washington Post) [ Goldman Sachs Beats Estimates as Banking Revenue Rises Christine Harper (bloomberg.com) ...Oct. 19 – More unequivocal proof that crime in defacto bankrupt america pays … and pays well … especially with other peoples money … though many don’t realize that yet … no there’s no alchemy that produces real money out of thin air and the money for the wall street frauds, high-frequency computerized churn and earn must come from some place … guess … ]

U.S. investigating criminal violations in foreclosure crisis (Washington Post) [ Still ‘no touchey de frauds on wall street’ , among other proected american criminals… Cartels beef up presence in U.S. (Washington Post) [ I strongly recommend the entertaining, albeit exaggerated for shock effects, films by the talented director Robert Rodriguez, ‘Machete’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’. The important point in the films is the manipulation and interwoven money connections, pieces of the action, bribes, etc. (see infra, RICO case, 10-15-10 letter to the FBI , ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ). While I assume he’s of Mexican-American descent, and only slightly biased as a consequence, realize that a real life american story, names, etc., wouldn’t get made / distributed. Those Cartels referenced in this article wouldn’t be here without inside american help, very, very high up and quite officially unofficial. ] When a major Mexican drug cartel opened a branch office in San Diego, U.S. authorities tapped into their cellphones -- then listened, watched and waited. ] The administration seeks to send a public message that banks will be held accountable.

N.Y. Fed joins cry for mortgage buybacks (Washington Post) [ How about the new york fed first account for the missing $4+ trillions at said bank before demanding B of A do anything, just as a matter of chronology, common sense, and reality. ]The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has joined a group of investors demanding that Bank of America buy back billions of dollars worth of mortgage securities that are plagued with shoddy documentation and lending standards, according to sources.

Taking Down The FED With RICO - Margot B World NewsThe Federal Reserve Bank of New York is the official depository of the United States government. ... Catherine Austin Fitts was the Deputy Secretary at HUD under the first ... This video is about the missing trillions from the DOD ...margotbworldnews.com/archives/2008/Nov/.../FEDdanfey.htm - Cached

Narco News Publishes Part III of C.A. Fitts on Narco DollarsThe potential capital gains are in the trillions of dollars. ... CRA$HMAKER: A Federal Affaire, a novel of love, death and the Federal Reserve, Victor Sperandeo & Alvaro Almeida, ... "Albert Vincent Carone: The Missing Link Between Iran-Contra Cocaine ... Has Dirty Money Polluted Bank of New York? Kelly O'Meara, ...www.narconews.com/narcodollars3.html - Cached - Similar

Catherine Austin Fitts: What can anyone do? A lot! | Gold Anti ...Apr 27, 2008 ... We have seen leading members of the New York Fed and other Federal Reserve banks ... trillions of dollars missing from the U.S. Treasury, ...gata.org/node/6257 - Cached

The Real Deal: Saving Tennessee, by Catherine Austin Fitts, 7/4/02U.S.'s Missing $Trillions Make Mainstream At Last, Scoop, 5/26/03 ...... New York Federal Reserve (US Treasury Depository, www.ny.frb.org) (+) ... www.ratical.org/co-globalize/savingTenn.html - Cached - Similar

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The Precious Metals Market is Manipulated: Gold, GATA and the Turn ...Apr 22, 2008 ... The following is Catherine Austin Fitts' presentation at the “GATA Goes to .... We have seen leading members of the New York Fed and other Federal Reserve banks ... trillions of dollars missing from the U.S. Treasury, ...www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va... - Cached - Similar

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Look Closer - It's a Giant House of Cards Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday October 19, 2010, 7:14 pm Call me a hopeless 'free market' romantic, but I believe that the natural forces of supply and demand (and cause and effect) will eventually trump the Federal Reserve's underhanded, yet obvious, efforts to pump up the market. If you are curious to know how the Fed massages the stock (NYSEArca: VTI - News) and commodity markets (NYSEArca: DBC - News) in an effort to keep the economy from collapsing, keep reading. But before we get there, let's take a look at a problem that is as obvious as it is ignored.
Bad News is Good News and Good News is Good News If you've ever been asked: 'Honey, does this skirt look too tight,' you know there's only one response that won't have negative consequences. Right now, the market - at least according to Wall Street and the media - is in a win-win position. Any commentary to the contrary is met with disdain. Good news means the economy is improving. Bad news means more quantitative easing is on the way. Any news is good news. But what about the foreclosure debacle or mortgage bust 2.0? It seems like investors have not even begun to price in the eventual ramifications. Without going into too much detail, courtesy of faulty foreclosure procedures, many mortgage payers may have the legal right to walk away from their debt. Banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) and other financial institutions (NYSEArca: XLF - News) on the other hand have no recourse of getting their money back. The plot for the financial sector continues to thicken ... and continues to be ignored.
Obvious and Ignored Simultaneously, Bloomberg featured the following two headlines on Monday: 'Citigroup profits exceeds estimates on decline in provision for bad loans' 'Mortgage buybacks may cost lenders $120 billion, JPMorgan says' In case the irony of the headlines isn't obvious, here it is again: Citigroup rallied over 5% because profit increased due to a reduction of bad loan provisions, while a fellow banking giant sees a $120 billion future liability caused by bad loans. Is this a problem that can be hidden via another round of accounting rule changes? As I look at the performance of stocks, I wonder how long it will take for investors to realize the magnitude of the problem. Stocks don't care, which means investors don't care - at least not yet. Overall, the market reminds me a lot of April 2010. For a period of weeks, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) and Dow (DJI: ^DJI) kept inching higher, making incremental new recovery highs and thereby pushing sentiment readings to an extreme. It seemed like the rally would never end, but it did. On April 16, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter took note of this unhealthy behavior and stated that: 'The message conveyed by the composite bullishness is unmistakable bearish.' Note the reason for investors' bullishness in April and compare it to today. The newsletter continued: 'Most bulls have no clue why they are bullish except for the fact that they feel the need to play the momentum game. It doesn't take an economist to see how fragile the economy really is.' Have things improved since April? Let's see; unemployment has gone up, GDP has been revised down, banks are struggling, real estate (NYSEArca: IYR - News) continues to slide, Europe has been patched although hit with more downgrades and the foreclosure landslide has hit the fan. Things have gotten worse, yet stocks have come back to revisit the April highs. How come? There's an explanation with an 89% accuracy ratio; more in a moment. Crushed by an Elephant You can't write an article right now without commenting on Apples earnings. In case you haven't heard, they were outstanding. Apple has a variety of great products. After countless crashes, I switched from a PC to Mac and haven't regretted the move. I'm the proud owner of the 'iTriple' (iPod, iPad and iPhone) and have no complaints. But investors are a fickle and insatiable bunch. No matter how good things are, they want better. How much better can it get for Apple? More iPhone sales through Verizon, is huge.  Christmas season is big, but hasn't that already been priced in? The entire technology sector (NYSEArca: XLK - News) collapsed in 2000. Busts are always a surprise and they always occur at the top. AAPL (NasdaqGS: AAPL - News) accounts for 20.93% of the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC), as much as Google, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon and Cisco combined. As Apple goes, so goes the Nasdaq. In Monday's after hours trading, Apple is down over 5%.
More than a 'Rotten Apple' Apple is not the only liability to the market. Complacency is another. The VIX (Chicago Options: ^VIX) is trading at the lowest level since April and small option trades are about as hopeful as they were in April. Small option traders are one of the purest real-money sentiment gauges as they aren't clouded by institutional hedging cross currents.
Rising Prices, How and Why? Since the Fed has been unable to create consumer inflation (why else would we need QE2?) it has shifted its focus to another type of inflation - asset inflation. As the administrations attempts to propel the economy have failed, it realizes that the stock markets role as a nation's mood barometer is crucial to the economy's survival. A declining stock market would surely deliver a depression.
Monetizing Debt Monetizing debt was the buzzword in early 2009, when the Federal Reserve agreed to buy $1.2 trillion of government and government agency debt (such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). By so doing, the Federal Reserve exchanged crisp new dollar bills against toxic debt. This also meant that the U.S. dollar was not only backed by U.S. Treasuries, it was also backed by toxic mortgages. Quite a departure from the gold (NYSEArca: GLD - News) standard. The chart below shows the soaring balance sheet of the Federal Reserve. [chart]

In POMO They Trust Who are 'they?' POMO is the Federal Reserve's Permanent Market Operations. Via POMO, the Fed buys back T-Bonds from banks and financial institutions. 'They' are banks. Banks sell the T-Bonds at a profit and invest the additional funds in stocks and commodities. A rising stock market - even if devoid of any fundament reason - is what the government wants. It doesn't matter that the same banks that started the financial wreckage now make money with the clean up. The chart below illustrates this process. Entire books have been written to explain the unethical role of the Federal Reserve. The November issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter explains the process concisely and understandably in a few pages. [chart]


POMO vs. Free Market As mentioned above, I am a free stock market romantic and believe that normal market forces will drag the market down as swiftly as it's come up. But, POMO should not be underestimated. It's success rate in lifting the market is in some instances higher than 80% and the Fed is holding a lot of POMO purchases before the November 2nd elections, probably in an attempt to keep prices up (a detailed analysis of the POMO effects on the S&P and schedule of future POMO purchases is available in the November ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter). Whether you are bullish, bearish or confused, the coming days/weeks seem to be pivotal in determining whether POMO will drive prices up, or market forces will push prices down. The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a forecast for the days, week, and month ahead, along with safety and target levels that help navigate the market and stay on the right side of the trade. 

Will Floating QE2 Sink the Economy? McMorris In 2007, savers in America actually were "dis-saving" or saving at negative rates of about -2%, according to the Federal Reserve. But now that Americans understand the need to cut debt, savings rates have rebounded correspondingly to over 6%. Question: If we view the 8% swing as a one-time step down to a new baseline, could we grow GDP at a 3-4% desired rate from that baseline and maintain a 6% savings rate? My answer? No! The 8% change in savings behaviour has a significant impact on aggregate consumption. What is saved is not spent. With 70% of the American GDP dependent on Consumption, such a significant impact will necessarily have a negative impact to GDP.To better understand this secular (generational) change in behaviour, here is the formula for GDP:

GDP = Consumption (Private) + Investment + Govt Spending + Net Trade (where imports are negative)

For GDP to grow, one or all of those elements must grow. Consumption is said to have a 70% weighting ($10.3T of $14.6T in Q1 2010), so its growth is most important (at an 8% delta in consumption, the impact to GDP is 5.6%). Exports are negative, and no matter how much we depreciate the dollar, X will probably not turn positive, so no help there. Government spending subtracts from Consumption and Investment in reality, since it is not productive. So, though it has been 15% of the equation historically, it has moved toward 25% as Consumption has declined. Government Spending must be reduced for a healthy economy, so no growth there, but contraction. Investment does not include Savings, Bond or Share Purchases, so what has been lost in Consumption to Savings is lost to GDP growth. So, while the step function towards savings brought GDP down to 1%, what will happen to move it back up, and therefore allow profits to continue to expand and eventually for businesses to re-employ? Got me. We are in a classic "liquidity trap", just like Japan. I think our population is inherently more biased to consumption, so I don't think we stay trapped for as long. But it won't be easy to get out. By component: Consumption has been impacted by both unemployment increases and savings increases. It may not continue to shrink, but it won't grow much either (therefore the PIMCO-inspired label "New Normal"). We do have the benefit in this country of an annual population increase of around 1%. That helps as compared to Japan which has no immigration. Considering the consumer commitment to debt reduction and static unemployment, I think another 2% of growth, on top of population, is probably all that can be asked for. So, 3% x .70 weighting = 2.1% contribution. But Savings will continue to subtract from GDP (since it reduces Consumption). Savings does not turn into investment until businesses conduct capital expansion projects, and replacement does not count. For the same reason, equity ownership of businesses does not count either as it is mostly a matter of trading existing shares. An IPO or secondary offeirng would contribute to GDP if the proceeds were used for capital purchases. I don't think govt financed "Infrastructure Projects" count either, as they are mostly replacement or repair of existing public capital (roads and sewers). Businesses sitting on big piles of cash detracts from GDP as the money is not Invested in the GDP sense. 1% contribution, best case? Government spending continues to contract (especially state and local). No help here for GDP growth and instead it is likely to subtract from GDP over the coming years by 2-3% as pension and other government benefit programs undergo a squeeze. The real estate tax base is not coming back anytime soon and so spending must also be contracted. Net Exports may become less negative with a dollar devaluation policy. But the impact will be small. Most other exporting economies are depreciating their currencies in kind so as to not lose competitive advantage. The only beneficiary are commodities and precious metals. Maybe we go from -2% to -1%. No real help. Bottom line: where do we get GDP growth? I show (2.1 + 1 - 2 - 1) = 0.1%. This is the a normal that is different than in the past and a wise investor will consider if this is the economic environment that will lift the value of equity markets. Author's Disclosure: No positions in stock discussed in this article

Homebuilders Remain Pessimistic


Nicholas Perna: Downside Risks Are Greatest in Coming Year

From Global Depression to Global Governance Andrew Gavin Marshall | We now stand at the edge of the ‘Great Global Debt Depression,’ where nations are beginning to implement ‘fiscal austerity’ measures to reduce their deficits.

Why California is About to Fall Off Into an Ocean of Unpayable Debt EconomicPolicyJournal.com | By around 2012 or 2013, the three major state pensions’ obligations will be more than five times as large as total state tax revenue.

Dollar Declines for Fifth Week on Prospects of More Monetary Easing by Fed Bloomberg | The dollar fell for a fifth week against the euro as traders speculated the Federal Reserve will further ease monetary policy, debasing the greenback.

Leaked Budget Reveals UK Plan To Fire 1% Of The National Population The UK austerity measures are starting to go from bad to worse.Photographers snapped photos of Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander holding an open copy of the unreleased Strategic Defence and Security Review, according to Daily Mail. Now British are going crazy guessing whether or not this was an intentional leak to the press.

The New Tax Man: Big Banks and Hedge Funds Nearly a dozen major banks and hedge funds, anticipating quick profits from homeowners who fall behind on property taxes, are quietly plowing hundreds of millions of dollars into businesses that collect the debts, tack on escalating fees and threaten to foreclose on the homes of those who fail to pay.

Here Is The Real Reason Why The Fed Is Delaying The New $100 Bill A few weeks ago, the Fed announced that the new $100 dollar note has been delayed, and will not make broad circulation by the February 2011 scheduled date.

Mortgages Were Fraudulently Pledged to Multiple Buyers at the Same Time April Charney – a consumer lawyer with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid – and CNBC’s Dennis Kneale noted in February 2009 that courts have found that some mortgages have been sold again and again to different trusts, when they should have only been sold once.

National / World

Whistleblower Speaks On Fraudclosure Zero Hedge has been approached by an individual who participated directly in the various aspects of what is now broadly known as Fraudclosure.

The Biggest Bank Robbery In History? More Quantitative Easing = Backdoor Bailouts The U.S. Federal Reserve is getting ready to conduct another gigantic bailout of the big banks, but this time virtually nobody in the mainstream media will use the term “bailout” and the American people are going to get a lot less upset about it.

U.S. Debt Woes Expose Hidden Austerity and Looting of Public Assets The austerity sharks are circling their wounded prey. The U.S. economy continues to collapse amid dwindling stimulus funds, while states are barely able to keep their heads above water.

Democrats Announce Plan to Bribe Seniors with $250 Check as Election Nears Kurt Nimmo | Democrats insist the bribe is meant to make up for a second year without a cost-of-living increase.

Analysts And Democrats Slam Attack On Rand Paul, Washington Post Persists With Smear Steve Watson | Paul hits back with his own campaign ad, may boycott final debate with Conway.

EU Dictators Plan Fresh Looting Of Tax Slaves Paul Joseph Watson | Brussels bastards want to impose direct tax on already destitute Europeans laboring under draconian austerity measures.

Establishment Republicans Poised to Take Control of House from Establishment Democrats Kurt Nimmo | Every four years or so one party replaces the other and the same basic policies are pursued with new vigor.

Will Americans Follow French Example Of Mass Civil Unrest? Paul Joseph Watson | Or will the sleeping middle classes continue to scratch their butts and watch Dancing with the Stars?

Terrorists storm Chechen parliament killing 3, security repels raid A group of militants who broke into the parliament of Russia’s Republic of Chechnya have all been killed in a shootout with special forces. At least three other people died after the gunmen stormed into the building in the capital Grozny.

China Raises Benchmark Rate By 25 bps Undoubtedly, this is its response to not being labeled a currency manipulator. However, as the US will most likely never raise rates again, and with the Yuan still pegged to the dollar, unlike in a typical recovery, where this would signal the elimination of excess liquidity in an attempt to prevent inflation, this time it is a largely symbolic move.

Foreign worker numbers surge to a record 2.4m as Eastern Europeans return to Britain The number of foreigners working in Britain has hit an all-time high despite the fragile state of the recovery. This summer, the total topped 2.4million for the first time after thousands arrived from abroad in the spring.

As French Strikes Continue, Country Runs Out Of Gas As the ongoing strikes in France against austerity continue, and see increasingly more participation, the latest development is all too familiar to all those who travelled through Athens in the summer: huge lines for gas.

Violent French Protests Show Why A New Debt Crisis Is Inevitable French protests continue to rock France, with marchers throwing Molotov cocktails and blocking fuel supplies.

CIA sues former agent for publishing book... Gertz [ Suit filed in virginia, near Langley and D.C., you don’t have to be a clairvoyant to know how that suit turns out … which is always great for the court hearing the case since ‘bonus money’ is invariably involved ... such an outcome is a real tragedy for this defacto bankrupt and pervasively corrupt nation and the world. ] ‘The CIA has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against a former deep-cover agent who published a book critical of the agency without allowing CIA censors to remove large portions of the manuscript before publication. Ishmael Jones, pen name for the 20-year CIA veteran and Arabic speaker who said he sought to expose corruption in the agency, is facing a civil lawsuit over his 2008 book, "The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture."The book is a detailed account of his career inside the CIA's clandestine service and his work as a "nonofficial cover" operative in the Middle East and Europe."The book contains no classified information and I do not profit from it," Mr. Jones told The Washington Times. "CIA censors attack this book because it exposes the CIA as a place to get rich, with billions of taxpayer dollars wasted or stolen in espionage programs that produce nothing …’

Cartels beef up presence in U.S. (Washington Post) [ I strongly recommend the entertaining, albeit exaggerated for shock effects, films by the talented director Robert Rodriguez, ‘Machete’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’. The important point in the films is the manipulation and interwoven money connections, pieces of the action, bribes, etc. (see infra, RICO case, 10-15-10 letter to the FBI , ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ). While I assume he’s of Mexican-American descent, and only slightly biased as a consequence, realize that a real life american story, names, etc., wouldn’t get made / distributed. Those Cartels referenced in this article wouldn’t be here without inside american help, very, very high up and quite officially unofficial. ] When a major Mexican drug cartel opened a branch office in San Diego, U.S. authorities tapped into their cellphones -- then listened, watched and waited.

Previous: Large U.S. paramilitary presence in Afghanistan (Washington Post) [ Yeah … defacto bankrupt america can really afford it … you know, to protect (and participate in) their resurgent heroin trade to the benefit of the few ‘insiders’. ] Existence of covert CIA teams, operating near the Pakistan border, is revealed in a new book by Bob Woodward and documents released by WikiLeaks.

U.S. (accidently on purpose) says Chinese bypassing sanctions (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! ‘Johnny-on-the-spot’ defacto bankrupt america all over this one … Riiiiight! Come on … what’s defacto bankrupt america gonna’ do … threaten not to let China buy ever more worthless american paper … not let Apple produce their computers, ipods, ipads, iphones, components there, etc., among other so-called american companies. ]

Majority says federal workers are overpaid for work they do (Washington Post) [ A glaring instance where the majority is clearly right, and accurate polls as those done by the Washington Post are welcomed! ‘A new Post poll finds negativity toward federal workers.’ Previously posted: GOP targets federal workers' pay (Washington Post) Issue becomes midterm flash point in wake of high unemployment, stagnant private-sector wages. Poll: Are federal government salaries too high? The obviousness of the answer to this question brings to mind such rhetorical queries as ‘do bears s*** in the woods’ and ‘is the Pope Catholic’, etc.. Of course, unequivocally responding in the affirmative does not do justice either to the obvious response or to the preposterousness of the sense of importance attached to these so-called employees who have to be considered the most over-paid, incompetent, and most cases corrupt (all 3 branches of the u.s. government included, along with the fed, etc., … and what about those lifetime appointments … abolish them! ) and lazy employees anywhere, anytime. Indeed, given the damage they’ve done, they should be paying the taxpayers! ]

The ugly truth about the economy (Washington Post) [ Well, Mr. Sloan is quite right to be talking about the ugly truth about the economy; except, it’s far uglier than even he dares to imagine or put down in writing, particularly for defacto bankrupt, pervasively corrupt america … Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:

I’ve had a couple of conversations lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two comforting delusions still out there.

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

But it’s not at all true. GDP is growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the current track, the answer is forever.

Delusion #2 is the belief that the stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds unspent. I tried to deal with this last year. The level of GDP depends not on total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds are being spent, which has already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in the rate at which funds are being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all downhill from here.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.
Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Survey: Half of Wall Street expects bigger bonus this year (Washington Post) [ This is nothing short of incredible … What they should be expecting, for the sake of the nation and the world, is an 8 by 10 jail cell! ] Bloomberg The percentage anticipating a bigger bonus increased from last year.

Gerald Celente: “The selloff of America” Financial institutions on Wall Street are preparing to pay a shocking record $144 billion dollars in compensation & benefits. This amid spiraling foreclosures and an economic crisis that has devastated Americans, leaving many out in the street. Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute says that the gap between rich and poor in the US will continue to get larger because of the bank bailout that Washington shelled out in 2008.

] If you look at things rationally rather than politically, you'll see that Washington has far less power over the economy, and far less maneuvering room, than people think.

Housing sales paralyzed by foreclosure crisis (Washington Post) [ If it were only the Sunshine State, there’d at least be a modicum of light at the end of defacto bankrupt america’s tunnel to h***; as with stocks (infra, Weisenthal) there’s still plenty of room to fall! ]Few places are feeling the impact of the sudden halt to transactions related to mortgage foreclosures more than the Sunshine State, where foreclosures and short sales account for more than one out of every three home sales.

Feds press mortgage lenders to fix documents (Washington Post) [ Fix documents? In matters involving far more serious crimes of far more significance longer term to the nation, I’d be content with mere adherence to clear law applied to the documented facts, no matter where and to whom the crimes lead … see infra… ] White House says Obama will not sign foreclosure bill [ Oooooh, whoops … Sounds like a plan!] Consumer advocates and state officials argue legislation would make it difficult for homeowners to challenge documents prepared in other states. [When talking about the pervasively corrupt american legal / judicial system, you’re truly talking about tips of the iceberg! Judges rule without title, lenders can't foreclose (Washington Post) [ Rules of law? I didn’t think they cared. That’s certainly the direct experience I’ve had with the pervasively corrupt american legal / judicial system (along with the other two branches of the u.s. government and defact bankrupt america generally). Court decisions could call into doubt the ownership of mortgages, raising urgent challenges for both the real estate market, wider financial system. Connecticut, California join probe of Ally (Washington Post) [I’d be much more impressed if they initiated a probe of more readily discernible criminal offenses in violation of the RICO Act http://albertpeia.com Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers)Covering Up for Other Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). In Productive Societies as China, Japan, etc., Fraudulent Liars (sic-lawyers) and the Fraudulent u.s. System They're a Part of Are Unheard Of/Non-existent. List of Files Regarding Filed Attorney Grievance Against Fraud coan et als Or Here For A Clearer View Of Filed Grievance Complaint, Response, Exhibits, and Related RICO Filings Note the Committee of Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). Included are DOJ Rep., State Court Rep., State Atty. General Office Rep., and even a Vegetable Garden yale law prof who probably never practiced law in his life. How Pathetic! http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ] Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally.

October 15, 2010 (*see infra)

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include 1 copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’). The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ].

The correspondence I received from the Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

19. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
20. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
21. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
22. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
23. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
24. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) 219-**** (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

----------

*The foregoing and as indicated therein was previously send 9-14-10 but delivery confirmation was flawed as set forth below and my inquiries to the u.s. postal service rebuffed (I believe tampered with inasmuch as your office could not locate same). This cover letter (9-13-10) is on the 3 disks with navigable hyperlinks to the subject files for ease of reference, including the files in the RICO action as indicated. (10-15-10) I spoke with Rose, FBI, ADIC Secretary, who indicates once again that your office has not received the aforesaid and which can reasonably be presumed to have been tampered with, and hence, a violation of the federal statute concerning same.

-----

Label/Receipt Number: 0310 1230 0000 0862 8183

Expected Delivery Date: September 15, 2010

Class: Priority Mail®

Service(s): Delivery Confirmation™

Status: Delivered

Your item was delivered at 10:14 am on September 15, 2010 in LOS ANGELES, CA 90024.

Track and Confirm

Enter Label/Receipt Number.

Enter Label / Receipt Number.

Detailed Results:

Bullet Delivered, September 15, 2010, 10:14 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Bullet Arrival at Post Office, September 15, 2010, 4:12 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Bullet Processed through Sort Facility, September 14, 2010, 8:29 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90052

Bullet Acceptance, September 14, 2010, 4:04 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

----

Sent Postage Prepaid: United States Mail - VIA Priority Mail, Delivery Confirmation and VIA Certified Mail this ___ day of October, 2010.

Signed: ___________________________________

Albert L. Peia

-------------

Label/Receipt Number: 7009 2250 0002 1116 5915
Expected Delivery Date: October 6, 2010
Class: Priority Mail^®
Service(s): Certified Mail^™
Status: Delivered

Your item was delivered at 11:42 am on October 06, 2010 in LOS ANGELES, CA 90024.

  Detailed Results:

	Delivered, October 06, 2010, 11:42 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024
	Arrival at Unit, October 06, 2010, 4:15 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024
	Acceptance, October 05, 2010, 11:12 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

---------------------------

Label/Receipt Number: 0309 3220 0000 4028 9039
Expected Delivery Date: October 6, 2010
Class: Priority Mail^®
Service(s): Delivery Confirmation^™
Status: Delivered

Your item was delivered at 9:03 am on October 06, 2010 in LOS ANGELES, CA 90024.

  Detailed Results:

	Delivered, October 06, 2010, 9:03 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024
	Arrival at Post Office, October 06, 2010, 6:10 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024
	Acceptance, October 05, 2010, 11:11 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

-------

Sent VIA UPS Courier this 15th day of October, 2010.

Signed: Albert L. Peia

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] Federal regulators seek to prevent the growing furor over improper foreclosures from escalating, pressing mortgage lenders to replace flawed and fraudulent court documents while insisting that foreclosures continue apace. But advocates say the policy is soft on banks and may have little effect, because many lenders are already taking such steps.

REMINDER: There's Been A Huge Global Market Boom, And There Is Plenty Of Room To Fall Weisenthal, On Monday October 18, 2010, 5:17 pm EDT ‘We discussed this this morning, but in light of the mediocre Apple and IBM earnings it's worth revisiting this. The markets have been on an epic run all around the world, with all kinds of "risk" assets from stocks, to commodities, to emerging market bonds soaring towards nosebleed heights. And at least for the moment, it seems the air is about to let out as stocks are tanking after hours. Bear in mind too that in the conventional sense, both IBM and Apple reported "good" earnings, but with the selloff in full effect, investors will start to ask: what other "good" news is priced in? The election? QE? Look out below.’

S&P 500 index futures dip after Apple, IBM (Reuters) - 1 hour ago Reuters - S&P 500 index futures slipped lower on Monday after quarterly results from Apple Inc and IBM . NEW YORK (Reuters) – S&P 500 index futures slipped lower on Monday after quarterly results from Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and IBM (IBM.N). S&P 500 futures dipped 3.6 points, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 17 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 17 points. Apple shares were halted in extended trade and IBM shares fell 3.6 percent to $137.70. [ And don’t forget, that includes the ongoing currency manipulation / translation to inflate earnings per share (and artificially lower p/e multiples).]

Why There Is Currently a Sizeable Air Pocket Beneath Risk Assets Roche / Pragmatic Capitalism ’…Currently, I view the market as excessively risky from the long side (which is why I am net short for the first time since before the flash crash earlier this year). Aside from several exogenous risks (the foreclosure mess, a strong Euro sparking sovereign debt fears in Europe, currency war, etc) there is also the risk that all three of the themes above disappoint investors in the coming weeks as a massive “sell the news event unfolds” in the final weeks of October and in early November. On a slightly different note – I ran some numbers over the weekend and pulled up a few factoids that readers might find interesting with regards to the indicator I use called “quantified disequilibrium”. As I’ve previously mentioned, this program quantifies what I call the disequilibrium in the market – it quantifies hundreds of inputs to output a real-time measurable risk level. Using this algorithm without leverage in a long/short 100% equity strategy has generated a 25.67% annualized return since inception (January 2006) with a Sharpe ratio of 2.29 and a max monthly drawdown of -5.22% in one of the most challenging market environments ever. The risk component has only been at current levels (or higher) twice in the last 5 years. The first instance was September 24th, 2007 at S&P 1526. Just shy of the all-time high and prior to a multi-month decline of almost 20%. The second instance was January 5th, 2009 at S&P 890. We had rallied 11% off the October 2008 lows and we all know what happened next. The market took a nose dive down to the March 2009 lows for an epic two month collapse of 25%…’

And Now, Here's The First 11 State Pensions Funds That Will Run Out Of Money Provided by The Business Insider, October, 18, 2010:Here's a shocker: The most immediate state pension crises aren't in New York or California. They're in Middle America.When it comes to state pensions in the most trouble, do places like New Hampshire come to mind? Probably not, unless you live there, and maybe not even then. After all, it makes sense that the biggest, most populous members of the union, where budget follies are fairly common, would be facing the most urgently needed fixes. The truth is considerably different. The Granite State claims the No. 11 slot, and it's not the only unexpected name facing pension woes. Hawaii, Kansas and others made their way on to the list. Now, these pension plans aren't going to be obliterated tomorrow -- New Hampshire, for instance, is estimated to see its plan run out of money in 2022, so they've got 12 years to rectify the situation. For some other states, the matter is more pressing, and no more so than for the Land of Lincoln.Illinois is just 8 years away from exhausting its pension fund and creating a yearly $14 billion hole, according to data from Joshua Ruah an associate professor of finance at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.That's a projected 32 percent of the state's revenue going to fill a pension hole. Every year.Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Colorado are among the next pension funds to fall. The rest of the union is just around the corner.But wait. Just to make sure the list is not a complete surprise, know that the New York City suburbs of Connecticut and New Jersey made it on board. They have until 2019 to sort it out. And Now, 11 State Pension Funds That May Run of Out Money 

#1 Illinois

Year pension fund runs out: 2018

Bill in the following year: $13.6 billion

Share of state revenue: 32%

#2 Connecticut

Year pension fund runs out: 2019

Bill in the following year: $4.9 billion

Share of state revenue: 27%

#3 Indiana

Year pension fund runs out: 2019

Bill in the following year: $3.6 billion

Share of state revenue: 17%

#4 New Jersey

Year pension fund runs out: 2019

Bill in the following year: $14.4 billion

Share of state revenue: 34%

#5 Hawaii

Year pension fund runs out: 2020

Bill in the following year: $1.7 billion

Share of state revenue: 24%

#6 Louisiana

Year pension fund runs out: 2020

Bill in the following year: $4.3 billion

Share of state revenue: 27%

#7 Oklahoma

Year pension fund runs out: 2020

Bill in the following year: $3.7 billion

Share of state revenue: 30%

#8 Colorado

Year pension fund runs out: 2022

Bill in the following year: $7.8 billion

Share of state revenue: 54%

#9 Kansas

Year pension fund runs out: 2022

Bill in the following year: $2.5 billion

Share of state revenue: 23%

#10 Kentucky

Year pension fund runs out: 2022

Bill in the following year: $5.3 billion

Share of state revenue: 35%

#11 New Hampshire

Year pension fund runs out: 2022

Bill in the following year: $1.0 billion
Share of state revenue: 30%

Countrywide's Mozilo will settle fraud claims (Washington Post) [ This should be policy across the board, particularly on the criminal prosecution side, for which long overdue fines and disgorgement will substantially eat into the record deficits of defacto bankrupt america. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ] The firm's former CEO will pay millions to settle allegations that he misled investors.

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button). Keep in mind, the totally mindless blather from the ‘cottage industries’ of and fraudulent wall street itself in talking up lower P/E multiples when the same is a direct result of the debasement of the dollar and the consequent manipulation / translation (not real, see Davis, infra) which preceded the financial crisis / last crash. The unemployment, trade, deficit, etc., numbers again came in decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression). Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from senile Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ]

Bank stocks fall again amid fears about mortgage issuers (Washington Post) [ If that was all the banks had to worry about, they’d be sittin’ pretty … well, still pretty bad, but the reality in light of the trillions of ‘mark to anything’ but worthless toxic assets/securities/paper from the last / ongoing fraud makes this additional nail in their coffins nothing short of disaster! ]The price of Bank of America, the nation's largest bank, fell 9.1 percent over the past week to close at a low for the year, as analysts said it may have set aside aside too little money to meet coming costs.

Feds To Push Inflation As Economic Fix [ This is really quite incredible … and, you can’t make this stuff up … they haven’t the slightest idea what they’re doing (except as to purposeful complicity in helping the continued wall street frauds) … not even a clue! ] Two top Federal Reserve officials argued for further aggressive action by the central bank, with one saying the economy needs “much more” help and the other pointing to Japan’s painful lessons.

Broke and Jobless: 85% of College Grads Moving Home Mac Slavo | In yet another sign of the times, 85% of college graduates surveyed have reported that they will be moving home after they get their degrees.

US Financial Imperialism: Why the IMF Meetings Failed Michael Hudson | The outflow of dollar credit into foreign markets in pursuit of this financial strategy has bid up asset prices and foreign currencies, enabling speculators to pay off their U.S. positions in cheaper dollars.

Will the New Debt Commission Back a VAT? Fox Business | Some fear they smell a VAT, akin to a new national sales tax within the federal debt commission’s upcoming report on how to cut the U.S. deficit.

Is The Economy Recovering, Or Is Bernanke Blowing The Mother Of All Global Bubbles? If you haven’t been paying attention, or are only paying attention to the US market you may have missed something: markets are screaming higher all over the world, with many risk assets hitting all-time historical highs.

Investors bet Fed action will bring inflation US inflation expectations have jumped sharply in the past two weeks as investors bet that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to boost the economy by pumping in more money will succeed.

The Number One U.S. Export To China: Waste Paper And Scrap Metal Historians tell us that by the very end of the Roman Empire, goods were pouring into Rome from all over the known world, but about the only thing being sent out of Rome was human waste and garbage.

The Last Resort Of A Dying Economic System: From “Beggar Thy Neighbor” To “Beggar Thyself” The phrase of the week comes from The Privateer’s Bill Buckler, who has coined the one term that best describes the lunacy that has gripped the world: “Beggar Thyself.”

ECB: No Really, We’re Going To Keep Printing Euros Like Crazy, Too! Euro leaders continue to fret that they’re losing the currency war — with the euro trading still at around $1.40 — and are desperate to convince the world that they’re happy to devalue their currency like everyone else.

Is The Congress About To Pass A Bailout, And Save The Banks From The Mortgage-Putback Crisis? It was a depressingly news-filled week for bankers on the mortgage front.

Treasury 30-Year Yields Rise Most in 14 Months on Prospects for Inflation Treasury 30-year bonds tumbled, pushing yields to the biggest weekly increase since August 2009, on speculation that Federal Reserve efforts to spur the economy will reignite inflation.

Gerald Celente: We’re Living on Borrowed Time Gerald Celente has been forecasting trends worldwide since 1980, delivering concise, deployable success strategies and publishing the Trends Journal.

National / World

Exclusive Paul Craig Roberts Interview: Decline of The American Empire Prisonplanet.TV | A special never before seen interview with economic expert Paul Craig Roberts.

Americans Buying Guns In Preparation For Civil Unrest Paul Joseph Watson | Interest in purchasing silver and food stamps also skyrockets in anticipation of economic collapse.

The War On Terror Paul Craig Roberts | Does anyone remember the “cakewalk war” that would last six weeks, cost $50-$60 billion, and be paid for out of Iraqi oil revenues?

Enemy Of The State The Alex Jones Channel | The latest documentary from William Lewis and Gary Franchi further exposes the secret agenda of FEMA camps and the specter of martial law which looms over us all.

Tea Party Express Senate Candidate Has Critic Muzzled Kurt Nimmo | Security guards attached to Joe Miller in Alaska handcuff journalist, prevent him from asking question at public event.

Scientific American: Kill More Babies To Save Earth Paul Joseph Watson | Eugenicists push discredited overpopulation myth in pursuit of elite agenda to reduce global living standards.

Doomsday Denial: Collapse 2.0 looms as UK calm before storm RT | The UK is bracing itself to hear about public spending cuts worth tens of billions of pounds.

Merkel says German multi-cultural society has failed AFP | Germany’s attempt to create a multi-cultural society has failed completely, Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the weekend, calling on the country’s immigrants to learn German and adopt Christian values.

G20 ‘Officer Bubbles’ sues YouTube and users over cartoons Toronto Star | Const. Adam Josephs seeks to compel the Google-owned YouTube to reveal the identity of the person who created and posted the videos as well as any information it has on the 24 other users who made allegedly defamatory remarks.

Americans Buying Guns In Preparation For Civil Unrest Americans are acquiring guns, silver and going on food stamps at record levels in reaction to the crumbling economy, trends indicative of a fearful public who are struggling financially and preparing for potential mass civil unrest in the aftermath of a total economic collapse.

Defiant Rand Paul Slams “Disgraceful” Opponent In Kentucky Debate Would be Kentucky Senator Rand Paul refused to shake the hand of his opponent last night in response to a new campaign ad that Democrat Jack Conway is running, repeating already thoroughly debunked lies in an attempt to smear the Tea Party favourite.

W.Va. Sen candidate questions 911 account “The two chairs of the commission say clearly that they were obstructed, that there is more to be learned . . . and much more damning things than I am saying right now,” Johnson said.

Mumbai Terror Suspect Worked for U.S. Government Last week U.S. officialdom declared there was still a threat from unsubstantiated terrorists in Europe while New York City police conducted a drill simulating a Mumbai-style attack on civilians in Manhattan’s financial district.

No Wikileaks release Monday: spokesman An Icelandic spokesman for WikiLeaks said the whistleblowing website would not publish some 400,000 secret military reports on the Iraq war on Monday, but would make new documents public “very soon.”

‘US fearing exposure of Iraq war truth’ As the whistleblower website WikiLeaks plans to release 400,000 more classified documents on the US war in Iraq, an activist says Washington fears that the truth may eventually see the light of day.

77,000 Iraqis killed from 2004 to August 2008, U.S. military says (Washington Post) [ And you can take that to the fraudulent american bank … riiiiight! … Come on … americans lie about everything and certainly this … A conservative estimate from AP through only 2007: Study: 151,000 Iraqis died in conflict’s violence Surveyors face danger to count casualties from 2003 to 2006 The Associated Press - updated 1/9/2008 7:15:50 PM ET 2008-01-10T00:15:50 About 151,000 Iraqis died from violence in the first three years after the United States invaded, concludes the best effort yet to count deaths — one that still may not settle the fierce debate over the war's true toll on civilians and others … americans are just lying war criminal american scum. ]

Exclusive Interview: Lord Monckton Talks About NWO Master Plan Prisonplanet.TV | Special interiview with Lord Christopher Monckton about Al Gore’s climate gate hoax, and the hidden Nwo objective behind it all.

Obama-Goldman Sachs Administration Sides with Banks on Foreclosure Moratorium Kurt Nimmo | Bring on the robo-signers.

Zardari says he has proof of US terror against Paksitan Pakistan Patriot | Pakistani sycophantic secularists are in cahoots with the war mongering Neocons and Neolibs in the US and both blame the local Pakistanis for terror attacks.

Gen. Hugh Shelton: Clinton Official Suggested Letting U.S. Plane Be Shot Down To Provoke War With Iraq In the publicity sheet that St. Martin’s Press has been sending out to spur interest in General Hugh Shelton’s new memoir, Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior, the last highlight is a doozy: “A high-ranking cabinet member suggests intentionally flying an American airplane on a low pass over Baghdad so as to guarantee it will be shot down, thus creating a natural excuse to reltaliate and go to war.”

WikiLeaks and 9/11: What if? Frustrated investigators might have chosen to leak information that their superiors bottled up, perhaps averting the terrorism attacks.

Support For War In Afghanistan At All Time Low American support for the war in Afghanistan has never been lower, according to the latest CNN polling. The low numbers just the latest figure in the complex math being calculated to determine how the US should proceed in the ten year war.

Drudgereport: HAS THE FED RUN OUT OF IDEAS? [ Quite some time ago, actually. ]
THE 'INFLATION' OPTION...
Dollar Declines for Fifth Week...
Support for Afghanistan war at all-time low...
17 SOLDIERS KILLED IN PAST 3 DAYS...
Limbaugh: Obama looks 'demonic' in new photos … and limbaugh knows demonic, himself and relative wobama ... [Obama Distant Cousins with Palin, Limbaugh, Bush | CNSnews.com Obama Distant Cousins with Palin, Limbaugh, Bush. Obama's Related to Palin. Wednesday, October 13, 2010. By Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press ... www.cnsnews.com/news/.../obama-distant-cousins-palin-limbaugh-bushes (wobama, palin, limbaugh, bush distant cousins … I knew there were some dark secrets there … hillbilly heroin, etc.. – Wow! Talk about the nation-declining dangers of inbreeding! Poor defacto bankrupt, pervasively corrupt america never had a chance! ) ]
ABCNEWS: 63 Dem House Seats in 'Serious Danger'...
Barone: Dems find careers threatened by ObamaCare votes...
GALLUP: Unemployment at 10.0% in Mid-October...

Thrill Ride Thursday: Can the Dollar Drop Fast Enough to Keep the Markets Up? Davis [ The following from Davis is really the key to understanding the scam / fraud which also preceded the ‘financial crisis’ (which continues) and consequent market crash ]: ‘…our market "rally" is ALL about the declining dollar. We are not used to inflation in this country - it hasn’t been much of an issue for the past generation but that’s what we’re seeing here as we are experiencing lower wages, lower demand and flat prices - THAT IS INFLATION or, as we used to say in the 70s - STAGFLATION … In fact, I had been getting bearish because I thought corporate profits weren’t going to be so good this quarter, what with the lack of sales and all, but I was wrong. I was wrong because corporate profits are priced in dollars and dollars are worth 10% less than they were the last time corporations reported. So silly me - all profits are inflated by 10% and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY and, as I said yesterday - they may as well because Lord knows it’s utter foolishness to leave your money in a bank and just watch it lose 2.5% of its buying power EVERY MONTH. Isn’t the declining dollar good for exports? That’s what they keep telling us, isn’t it? Well, it’s not. What do you think - that AAPL is making iPhones in China and then shipping them to Cupertino and then shipping them back to Hong Kong and Tokyo to sell? No, that would be silly. AAPL is a big multi-national corporation that has an office in Cupertino but manufactures almost everything overseas. And why wouldn’t they? Despite a 20% pay raise at FoxConn (and it’s nice to have a 3rd party employ 100,000 workers for you so you can still claim your 34,000 person work-force is mainly American) Apple’s labor cost of producing an iPad only rose from 2.3% to 3% but that’s in Yuan, which have declined 12.5% with the dollar since May so even-Steven for AAPL! Oh yes, exports (sorry, I went off track): So, exports were up just 0.2% as the dollar crashed. Why? Because we don’t make anything here - there’s nothing to export. As Eddy Elfenbein points out in his excellent "24 Statistics about the US Economy that are Almost too Embarrassing to Admit," despite inventing the television in 1927 (Philo Farnsworth for you trivia buffs), NOT ONE (ZERO) of the 211 MILLION televisions sold in the World in 2009 was made in America. In fact, overall manufacturing is down 60% in the past 40 years and the US has lost over 30M factory jobs since Al Gore lost his. Only 12M Americans, not even 10% of our workforce, now work in Manufacturing so EVEN IF a 10% decline in the dollar boosted manufacturing by 10% and EVEN IF making 10% more stuff got US Corporations to hire 10% more staff - that would add just 1.2M workers. That’s not very likely when FoxConn is happy to ramp up with workers who make less money per day than a US worker pays for lunch at a roach coach…’

Fed preparing for new action Bernanke: Fed prepared to act to boost economy (Washington Post) [ Yes … I do believe they’re goin’ to act … they call it a soft shoe … you know, song and dance … they haven’t the slightest idea what they’re doing other than to print more Weimar fiat currency debasing same for a favorable (but not real as measured, ie., against gold, etc.) currency translation inflating profits, inflating a bubble for the wall street frauds to commission and sell into; namely, crash as in prior crashes preceded by the same or similar manipulations. Abolish the fed! Throw the frauds in jail! ]

In foreclosure process, speed equaled money (Washington Post) [ Yeah … we all know how effective bank speed (fraud) strategies have been … in losing money … equaled money lost … the sorry story of a defacto bankrupt nation, fraught with fraud and b*** s*** , in intractable decline ]Banks seized millions of homes through a mass production system in which firms were paid to move cases quickly through the pipeline.

The Root of the Problem The Inflation Trader [ I think it unfortunate that most fail to properly weight in their analysis the irrevocable structural shift that has occurred in the defacto bankrupt u.s. and which cannot be undone. The ‘powers that be’ literally gave up (sold out) the american store (ie., technology transfers for money, protracted treasury depleting and geopolitically unwise wars, perma-frauds on wall street without prosecution, pervasive corruption at all levels including all three branches of the u.s. government, etc., covered elsewhere on this site.) Then of course there’s the insurmountable debt and interest thereon which is now eating into real (not fake / falsified ) GDP along with other unserviceable promises exacerbating the magnitude of the nations defacto insolvency. ] See infra.

Recovery Concerns Resurface Mody / Bondsquawk ‘Stocks declined as increased jobless numbers and a widened trade deficit spiked concerns about the recovery. Investor’s confidence in betting that the Fed will take action increased after prices of wholesale goods rose at a very sluggish rate in September. Treasuries continued to slide and yields ended higher across the spectrum. Economic Data Initial jobless in the week ended Oct 9 increased by 13,000 to 462K after the claims filed for the previous week were revised upwards by 4000. Continuous claims declined to the lowest level in a year, now at 4399K. The trade deficit for August widened more than forecast to $46.3 billion as cheaper import prices and increased demand for foreign autos and capital equipment overshadowed the gains by exports. Exports gained 0.2% compared to 2% in July, surpassed by a 2.1% increase in imports in August. Goods and services imported grew by 2.4% and 0.5% respectively, and while exports of goods remained flat, services exported gained 0.7%. The trade deficit can be narrowed only when the U.S., whose economy is mainly service oriented, starts meeting its own demands for goods and increases export of services. In other reports, the wholesale price of goods excluding food and energy showed a sluggish 0.1% growth for a second month as inflationary pressure decreases. The Producer Price Index excluding food and energy prices grew by merely 0.1% in September, reported the Labor Department. The Fed expressed in its last meeting that is will aim its monetary policy at, among other things, increasing inflation expectations. The economy seems to be in a lull, where neither inflationary nor deflationary pressures are strong enough to cause any change in its current state. Interest Rates Treasuries continued to slide on increased supply, pushing yields higher across the curve (click on chart to enlarge). Long termed Treasuries fell the most as seen in the 10 bp increase In the yield on the 30-Yr, which ended at 3.92%. The benchmark bond fell as its yield pushed 7 bp higher to 2.51%. The belly of the curve rose as the 5-Yr ended 7 bp higher at 1.18%. The 2-Yr yield fell 2 bp to .38% to push the front end of the curve slightly higher. (chart ) Inflation expectations, as indicated by the yield differential between the 10-Yr Treasury and an equal maturity inflation indexed bond (TIPS), widened 8 bp to 2.14%. (click on chart to enlarge) (chart ) Yields were mixed across the Atlantic. France’s benchmark 5-Y bond ended flat at 1.65%. Germany’s 5-Yr bonds slipped slightly as its yield ended a basis point higher at 1.43%. Yields were mixed among the peripherals nations. Yield on Portugal’s benchmark bond tightened 10 bp to 4.65%. Ireland’s 5-Yr bond yield gained and pushed its yield 21 bp lower at 4.91%. Greece bond ended its rally as its yield gained 24 bp to 8.78%. Spain’s 5-Yr bond cut its losses from Wednesday as its yield slipped 4 bp to 2.91%. Across The Capital Markets Stocks slipped on poor economic data. The S&P retreated 0.45 to 1173.81. NASDAQ ended 0.3% lower at 2435.38. The VIX index gained higher to 19.88. The DXY dollar index weakened further to 76.542. Euro advanced against the dollar to 1.4084. The cable (GBP/USD) gained to 1.6011. Gold continued to scale new heights as it ended at 1381.15.’

Why I'm Concerned About a Near Term Pullback in Stock Prices Soos Global Capitalist [ The following is coming from a market optimist who talks earnings but fails to account for quality as Davis infra; that of itself means he’s not the brightest bulb on the planet, but he at least recognizes the lack of rationality here which, by the way, preceded the last several crashes. ] ‘John Lipsky, the current First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, taught me something many years ago when we were colleagues at Salomon Brothers in a conversation then about various countries in Europe that were part of the “Euro Convergence” process. Regarding the extremely high marginal tax rates at that time in some of the socialist economies, for example in Sweden where I believe it was in the 80% range, I recall discussing the seeming disincentive for people to work when only 20 cents on the ‘dollar’ would stay in their pocket while the rest would go to the government. I suggested that such a situation would likely lead to high levels of unemployment….to which I recall John adding that not only could it lead to higher levels of unemployment currently, but that the longer people stay unemployed the more unemployable they become due to lost job skills, lack of training for new types of work and the like - a potentially economically crippling process known as “hysteresis”. That conversation parachuted back into my mind in recent days, partly due to the recent awful Non-Farm Payroll data, and partly in reaction to the ongoing stratospheric levels of Jobless Claims and related unemployment numbers. But beyond that, it’s also partly attributable to some considerations I've had about the overall market activity which has been largely euphoric of late based on hopes for Fed QE2, lower interest rates, more economic growth, weaker USD and higher commodity prices. Specifically, while I have been, and remain, optimistic on equities for medium and longer horizon portfolios, largely driven by my view of global economic growth in emerged and emerging countries around the world especially in the context of infrastructure build up, I have become much more cautious in putting additional cash to work, and in fact am concerned near term about a meaningful pullback in stock prices. Why? For one, increased global market risk and uncertainty. As I wrote last week in “Positioning for the Week Ahead: Navigating the Risks and Opportunities in Choppy Market Waters”, the lack of a globally integrated response to the quickly developing global ‘currency war’ presents the markets with, if nothing else, a significant increase in risk…..risk of unilateral action by countries in defense of their economies a la:

· Japan’s intervention several weeks ago to devalue the Yen and last week’s announcement of lower rates and of a ‘QE’ type fund, and

· Korea’s inaction this week by not hiking rates despite inflationary signs thereby choosing to accept a bit of inflation rather than fight it with higher rates which would likely strengthen their currency and hurt exports, and

· the US's Fed whose minutes from the September meeting that we got a glimpse of this week clearly showed the Fed team standing on the dock ready to christen the QE2 as it’s about to set sail.

Second, my perception that markets have allowed corporate earnings to provide a disguising shadow on the underlying economic weakness that prevails in the US. With little in the way of new economic data this week, most market participants have been rightfully focused on the earnings parade….and some parade it’s been. From Alcoa (AA), to Intel (INTC), to CSX, the news both in the rearview mirror and ahead through the windshield has been quite good. And that’s perhaps one of the strongest supportive factoids for my still cautiously, patient optimism. But when one considers the depth and breadth of the US economic slump, and when one contemplates the risks of “hysteresis” despite the remarkable flexibility of the US labor force, it doesn’t take long to aggressively question the soundness of the logic that has driven current market valuations, the arguably flawed causal relationship of QE>>lower interest rates>>more domestic economic growth>> higher equity prices. Hysteresis could put a serious kibosh on the economic growth link in that chain.

Third, next week’s data calendar will probably not provide much news on the economic front to alter the perception of just how deep of a hole the US economy is in. We do get Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization, which together is unlikely to show much improvement especially when you have a look at where we are now vs where we’re coming from:

(Source: ChartFacts.com) click to enlarge (chart) We’ll also get Housing Starts and Permits…and there too, look at the reality of what “improvement” has to mean in order to make a dent in what is an awful situation. (chart) Compounding that, of course, has been this week’s leap-frogging of the foreclosure fiasco to the front pages. Banks across the land have been freezing foreclosure proceedings, cries are being heard from DC and beyond for full blown investigations of banks that could result in large penalties, and one likely result could be a protracted major headwind for any improvement in the ailing housing industry. What now? In the context of open kimono, I’ve been adding equity exposure for the past several months with a “buy on dip” tactical approach, focusing on companies involved in global businesses with strong balance sheets, good dividend payouts, aggressive expansions into Emerging Markets countries, and in industries that are less likely to fall subject to intense new regulatory regimes. The higher markets have gone, though, the slower I’ve been to invest on any dips. And at these levels, I’m considering not just a pause in buying, but possibly some profit-taking with the goal of re-entering at lower levels. Bear in mind, this article is in no way meant to be considered personalized investment advice, but rather a thought-provoking note on issues that investors ought to consider in determining their own investment decisions that are uniquely appropriate for their financial profiles and risk tolerances. It’s meant to broaden the dialogue in terms of what should drive investment decisions beyond a simple reflex reaction to QE, whether it will or won’t happen, and in terms of including the broader landscape of US economic travails in addition to the global currency and policy tensions. In sum, despite my longer term optimism, current events have raised my “concern-ometer”. To put it colloquially, perhaps next to “Hysteresis” in the dictionary, a simplified, figurative definition could read: the needle that popped the bubble. Look for updates as things evolve.

Disclaimer: Soos Global Capital Advisors, LLC (“Soos Global”) is a New York state registered investment adviser located in Harrison, New York. Soos Global may only transact business in those states in which it is registered, or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. The publication of Soos Global’s opinions on the Internet should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Soos Global’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the Internet. Any subsequent, direct communication by Soos Global with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. For information pertaining to the registration status of Soos Global, please contact the state securities regulators for those states in which Soos Global maintains a registration filing. A copy of Soos Global's current written disclosure statement discussing Soos Global’s business operations, services, and fees is available from Soos Global upon written request. Soos Global does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Soos Global's opinions or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility therefor. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Therefore, no current or prospective client should assume that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Soos Global) made reference to directly or indirectly by Soos Global in its opinion, or indirectly via a link to an unaffiliated third party web site, will be profitable or equal the corresponding indicated performance level(s). Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that any specific investment will either be suitable or profitable for a client or prospective client’s investment portfolio. Historical performance results for investment indices and/or categories generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges, the deduction of an investment management fee, nor the impact of taxes, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results. Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Soos Global), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s). Disclosure: LONG: INTC, AA and various ETFs and stocks in S&P, Europe, Asia and Latin America.’

Market Outlook: Will This Party Continue? [ Here’s another weak sister who recognizes something amiss; viz., market iinsanity / scam / fraud, etc., as we’ve seen in prior manipulations preceding crashes. ] Ramsden ‘If the last month or so in the market has been something of a party, we would like, for good reason, the party to never end. If the last twelve months of the economy has been something of a revival, we want that revival, soft as it may be, to continue. The past week has shown the collective’s desire most clearly. While the Fed’s facial expressions have hinted at a willingness to keep the party going, the market has read into these messages and celebrated without pause. While the broader economy will manifest its disposition in upcoming reports, there are early glimpses offered by quarterly corporate earnings, now trickling in with intelligence from the trenches. The markets have taken in these reports, mixed them with the remembered images of a smiling Fed, and decided that the party continues. But the festivity seems based on hopes that are not altogether wholesome, and such parties all too often don’t end on a high note. That quantitative easing is on its own unlikely to provide a substantial economic boost has been reported and analyzed at length, including here, and the market probably recognizes the risk. No matter, more than in anticipation of economic lift the market seems to be trading on dollar devaluation, (also associated with QE2). We of course realize, but perhaps turn a blind eye to the fact that the Fed is not acting in isolation, and that a cheaper dollar necessarily must be cheap in relation to some other currency. Few if any central banks seem nowadays happy to sacrifice theirs for the benefit of ours, and a point will come when the declining dollar will no longer suffice to prop up stocks. When this occurs, we will likely become more focused on fundamentals, and coming on the heels of a “Great Recession” and two years of cost-cutting to the bone, such analysis should lead us to revenues head-on. With this in mind, we can have a peak at what may lie ahead for revenues and the economy, watching for signals that the early bellwethers of quarterly reporting season have to offer. Let’s take, for example, JP Morgan (JPM) (see earnings call transcript here): On a 15% revenue decline from a period that was to begin with not particularly stellar, the company managed to somehow still increase earnings and still beat analyst estimates. Cutting compensation helped, no doubt, but what helped even more was an (arbitrary) reduction of loan loss reserves… Pause to consider: Is it not a contradiction of perspectives when, on one hand, corporate revenues for a diversified financial organization decline substantially, while on the other hand, the company feels good enough about economic prospects to deem its loan portfolio quality substantially improved? Does anyone see the irony? It’s ironic, isn’t it? The broader market didn’t get it: Up strongly all day, post-announcement, while JP Morgan shares themselves traded down. Such bumping and grinding and disoriented stuttered-steps are bound to occur in the wee hours, when the group gets all pointless and sloppy. When a stock that is driving the market up concurrently moves in the opposite direction, the party is beginning to get unruly. Disclosure: No positions.

BUSINESS / NATIONAL / WORLD HEADLINES [ The news is rapidly unfolding in such a way as to merge all three. ]

Will the New Debt Commission Back a VAT? Fox Business | Some fear they smell a VAT, akin to a new national sales tax within the federal debt commission’s upcoming report on how to cut the U.S. deficit.

US Dollar Plunges, Gold Soars To New Record, Sold With $200+ Mark Ups Steve Watson | The US dollar plunged once again today as the currency continues to be battered by rumours that the Federal Reserve will announce plans to buy $1 trillion of government debt in the form of “monetary easing”.

Has Bernanke Gone Too Far? Nicholas Santiago | If the Federal Reserve Bank is going to keep printing money, traders will take advantage of the one asset class that will be directly affected. That asset class is the precious metals– GOLD, that is.

Peter Schiff: “Wall Street writes US law” Financial institutions on Wall Street are preparing to pay a shocking record $144 billion dollars in compensation & benefits according to the WSJ.

Russia to build nuclear power station in Venezuela Russia agreed on Friday to build Venezuela’s first nuclear power station after talks between Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Hugo Chavez in the Kremlin.

France on brink of fuel shortage as strike bites: Sarkozy sends in police to break fuel blockade Strikes spread to all France’s refineries today, raising the prospect of a nationwide fuel shortage.

Trillions In Debt: Will The Real Cost Of ‘TARP’ Soar Into Quasrillions? The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) ended in September. Since then, Washington has been trying to prove that bailing out Wall Street with taxpayers’ money prevented the total collapse of the economy.

Pachy stays It’s a win-win for us, with the climate guru staying in place as head of the IPCC.

Dollar fall sparks stability warnings The dollar tumbled against most major currencies on Thursday, prompting warnings that the weakness of the world’s reserve currency could destabilise the global economy and push other countries into retaliatory devaluations to underwrite their exports.

The Real Danger From the Foreclosure Crisis The foreclosure scandal will likely depress the real estate market, as clear title for millions of homeowners comes into question.

Deliberately Engineered Economic Collapse in USA Leading to Martial Law Phil Brennan | As the Crisis phase swings into full economic melt down, the US Military will take over more and more of the infrastructure as cities can no longer afford to employ staff.

Celente: Bankster Bailout Made Banks Bigger Infowars.com | The gap between the rich and the poor is the widest in the US over any industrialized nation, Gerald Celente points out.

CBS Report On 9/11: Ground Level Explosion Caused WTC To Collapse Paul Joseph Watson | Yet another video describing bombs in the World Trade Center suppressed by NIST.

New FDA regulations to destroy small organic farms David Gutierrez | A proposed law to bring farms more directly under FDA supervision could be the death of small organic

Irish Family Baby Returned Kurt Nimmo | Jonathan Irish appeared on the Alex Jones Show this evening and said his infant daughter, Cheyenne, was returned to him and his fiancé, Stephanie Taylor.

Nearly Half of All Americans Believe “The Federal Government Poses An Immediate Threat To The Rights And Freedoms Of Ordinary Citizens” Washington’s Blog | A new Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans view the government as too powerful and obtrusive.

Drudge: First Lady Campaigns Inside Polling Place Drudge Report | First lady Michelle Obama appears to have violated Illinois law — when she engaged in political discussion at a polling place!

Judicial Watch: Pelosi took 85 trips on military aircraft, cost taxpayers $2.1 million Washington Examiner | Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her family, staff took 85 tax-paid trips on military aircraft between March 2009 and June 2010, according to new documents uncovered by Judicial Watch.

WTC Collapse Under Fresh Scrutiny After Explosive Dust Samples Found Evidence indicating that the collapse of the World Trade Center was a controlled demolition has been propelled back under the national spotlight following the University of Copenhagen’s announcement that dust obtained from the rubble of the twin towers contains evidence of highly explosive material.

Full 27-Hour Money Bomb Special Now Available For Prison Planet.tv Subscribers! The jam-packed 27-hour Money Bomb special featuring never before seen interviews with Paul Craig Roberts, Katherine Austin Fitts, Lord Christopher Monckton, Sherri Tenpenny, Jeffrey Smith, Rev. Clenard Childress, Alan Watt, and others is now available for Prison Planet.tv subscribers for download.

Ventura In heated 9/11 Truth Debate: WTC “Didn’t Collapse, It Exploded” Former Governor of Minnesota, ex-Navy SEAL and retired pro-wrestler Jesse Ventura raised some important unanswered questions regarding the 9/11 attacks in a heated exchange on national television yesterday.

Ron Paul: Government Prevents the Correction On Thursday, Congressman Paul was interviewed on Fox Business concerning government spending and waste.

CBS Report On 9/11: Ground Level Explosion Caused WTC To Collapse Yet another 9/11 video that NIST tried to block from being released has emerged discussing bombs in the World Trade Center that led to the collapse of the twin towers, indicating once more that the organization attempted to preside over a cover-up to hide evidence of secondary explosives.

Drudgereport: Bernanke: Economy growing too slowly to reduce unemployment...
'Further Action' With Too-Low Inflation...
Federal deficit tops $1 trillion - again...
Consumer Sentiment Falls...
Damage From Mortgages Spreads...
BANK OF AMERICA shares fall up to 6.5%...

China to USA: We are not to blame for your problems...
Dollar fall sparks stability warnings...
Currency tensions persist...

Support for Afghanistan war at all-time low...
17 TROOPS KILLED IN PAST 3 DAYS...

BANK OF AMERICA Downgraded by Bond Market...
Stock Selloff Adds to Pressure on Banks...
Washington Policy Makers Resist Calls for a Big Fix in Foreclosure Crisis...
Fuel pipeline to Paris cut as protests escalate...
NEW NORMAL: Long Recovery Looks Like a Recession (Depression) ...
Applications for jobless benefits rise to 462,000...
'Higher-than-expected'...
September home foreclosures top 100,000 for first time...
Inflation, Trade Deficit Surge Higher...
Dollar tanks as Bernanke speech looms...
Afghans allege abuse at secret US jail...
13 troops killed in Afghanistan -- in two days...
Fed Mulls Raising Inflation Expectations to Boost Economy...
Gold Hits Another Record...
Pension protests escalate in France...
Sarkozy stands firm...
Strikes shut Eiffel Tower...
Blankley: The White House Bunker So Soon?

Comment on: The O'Donnell-Coons debate and survival of the fittest at 10/14/2010 10:07 PM EDT

O'Donnell, evolved The O'Donnell-Coons debate and survival of the fittest (Washington Post) [ Or might that be ‘sh******, or flittest, … says Stromberg: O'Donnell is... wow … I second that emotion … Wow!
Test yourself to find out how much you know about Sarah Palin. Take the quiz and after, check out The Washington Post's 'Five Myths about Palin.' (Washington Post) [ Geeh! I scoured the quiz / 5 myths and nowhere did I see the obvious myth; viz., that she really had a brain. Maybe gal pal pol protégé o’donnell can help her out … a few mysterious words, a slimy newt (gingrich) in a caldron of b*** s*** , and voila … a new reality which is what o’donnell herself is sorely in need of … O'Donnell, evolved Milbank: She didn't mention mice with human brains in Wednesday's debate. But she said silly things. Stromberg: O'Donnell is... wow The CNN host, moderating the long awaited Delaware senatorial debate Wednesday night, was trying to get the Republican nominee to talk about her 1998 statement on the Bill Maher show that "evolution is a myth."
"Do you believe evolution is a myth?" Blitzer asked.
"I believe that the local ... " O'Donnell began, then started anew. "I was talking about what a local school taught, and that should be taught, that should be decided on the local community."
"Do you believe evolution is a myth?" the moderator repeated.
"Local schools should make that decision."
"What do you believe?"
"What I believe is irrelevant."
"Why is it irrelevant? Voters want to know."
"What I will support in Washington, D.C. is the ability of the local school system to decide what is taught in their classrooms," O'Donnell repeated.
The answer, though, was obvious: Of course she believes in evolution; she is a product of evolution herself. She has evolved from a very odd woman who spoke about the evils of masturbation and of mice with fully functioning human brains and of her experience in sorcery (but she didn't join a coven!). …]

Comment on: U.S.-led forces aiding reconciliation talks between Afghan government, Taliban at 10/14/2010 9:57 PM EDT

U.S.-led forces aiding reconciliation talks between Afghan government, Taliban (Washington Post) [ Yeah! I think quite a few people are saying none too soon, and then there’s the american defacto bankruptcy thing … and then when america can gracefully or ungracefully vacate other peoples lands … sounds like a plan! Drudgereport: 13 troops killed in Afghanistan -- in two days... ]
Afghan spending faces scrutiny (Washington Post) Wow! Talk about a little bit late for that. Oh, right … they were busy spending money the nation doesn’t have on other things. Congress extends war funding for Afghanistan Baltimore Co. Independent Examiner | Congress voted to extend funding for the war in Afghanistan by an additional $59 billion late on Tuesday. Disappearing Act: $8.7 Billion of Iraq Development Money Missing Kurt Nimmo | Government says it is all the fault of shoddy accounting practices. 3 U.S. troops die in Afghan war's deadliest month (Washington Post 7-30-10) World News Digest: a Worth it? 4 U.S. troops die in bomb blast in south Afghanistan (AP, July 24, 2010) ‘There will be blood’ … whoops, that’s oil, wrong movie theme. This one’s about heroin trade. 2 More Americans killed in copter crash in Afghanistan (AP) Not so much, unless they rename Tony Montana, to To Mon el Swahili and recut ‘Scarface’ to reflect an Aghanistan Heroin connection, or similarly change ‘Hurt Locker’. It’s a good thing for the military that IQ tests aren’t required. Three U.S. Embassy guards killed in rocket attack in Baghdad's Green Zone (Washington Post) Big yes there since ‘The Green Zone’ got Hollywood movie status. Bomb near Iraq mosque kills 15; U.S. soldier dies in road blast (Washington Post, July 22, 2010) But guess what … none of that’s worth it; even for volunteer soldiers whose suicide rate is unprecedented owing to this pointless, meaningless conflagration for the sake of the military industrial complex and the enrichment of the few; and, to which Pat Tillman was to attest which got him fragged.

Comment on: Lack of proper mortgage paper trail could leave big banks reeling again at 10/14/2010 9:13 PM EDT

Debacle threatens economy - Lack of proper mortgage paper trail could leave big banks reeling again
oy (Washington Post) [ Could? Kind of brings to mind the old wives’ tale that ghosts are spirits that don’t realize they’re already dead … I mean, let’s get real! ]

Comment on: Worries over fast-tracked foreclosures send bank stocks plummeting at 10/14/2010 9:04 PM EDT

Foreclosure worries shock bank stocks (Washington Post) [ Come on! If it was only that, they’d be jumpin’ for joy. The fact is the economic realities are far more dire than the pre-election spin; and then there are the toxic assets / paper / securities now marked to ‘anything’ as per legislated FASB rule change. The last debacle has never really ended and Davis explains, infra, how these stock rallies are all hot air. ]

Thrill Ride Thursday: Can the Dollar Drop Fast Enough to Keep the Markets Up? Davis [ The following from Davis is really the key to understanding the scam / fraud which also preceded the ‘financial crisis’ (which continues) and consequent market crash ]: ‘…our market "rally" is ALL about the declining dollar. We are not used to inflation in this country - it hasn’t been much of an issue for the past generation but that’s what we’re seeing here as we are experiencing lower wages, lower demand and flat prices - THAT IS INFLATION or, as we used to say in the 70s - STAGFLATION … In fact, I had been getting bearish because I thought corporate profits weren’t going to be so good this quarter, what with the lack of sales and all, but I was wrong. I was wrong because corporate profits are priced in dollars and dollars are worth 10% less than they were the last time corporations reported. So silly me - all profits are inflated by 10% and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY and, as I said yesterday - they may as well because Lord knows it’s utter foolishness to leave your money in a bank and just watch it lose 2.5% of its buying power EVERY MONTH. Isn’t the declining dollar good for exports? That’s what they keep telling us, isn’t it? Well, it’s not. What do you think - that AAPL is making iPhones in China and then shipping them to Cupertino and then shipping them back to Hong Kong and Tokyo to sell? No, that would be silly. AAPL is a big multi-national corporation that has an office in Cupertino but manufactures almost everything overseas. And why wouldn’t they? Despite a 20% pay raise at FoxConn (and it’s nice to have a 3rd party employ 100,000 workers for you so you can still claim your 34,000 person work-force is mainly American) Apple’s labor cost of producing an iPad only rose from 2.3% to 3% but that’s in Yuan, which have declined 12.5% with the dollar since May so even-Steven for AAPL! Oh yes, exports (sorry, I went off track): So, exports were up just 0.2% as the dollar crashed. Why? Because we don’t make anything here - there’s nothing to export. As Eddy Elfenbein points out in his excellent "24 Statistics about the US Economy that are Almost too Embarrassing to Admit," despite inventing the television in 1927 (Philo Farnsworth for you trivia buffs), NOT ONE (ZERO) of the 211 MILLION televisions sold in the World in 2009 was made in America. In fact, overall manufacturing is down 60% in the past 40 years and the US has lost over 30M factory jobs since Al Gore lost his. Only 12M Americans, not even 10% of our workforce, now work in Manufacturing so EVEN IF a 10% decline in the dollar boosted manufacturing by 10% and EVEN IF making 10% more stuff got US Corporations to hire 10% more staff - that would add just 1.2M workers. That’s not very likely when FoxConn is happy to ramp up with workers who make less money per day than a US worker pays for lunch at a roach coach…’

The Shape of Market Bubbles, Including Gold [ In addition to the frauds on wall street, the fed’s ‘forever blowing bubbles’ … you’ve heard that song before … I’m sure of it! ] (Short Note: On June 23rd technical analyst and CNBC contributor Daryl Guppy made this prediction: Shanghai Index to Fall to 2,300 & 'Rapidly' Rebound. Click the prediction link to read his rationale. In retrospect we see that Guppy's forecast wasn't far off. The index hit its recent low of 2363.95 on July 5th and gained 20.02% as of yesterday's close. A 20% gain in a little over three months definitely qualifies as a rapid rebound.) Short: ‘In my recent reviews of major worlds markets, I included a chart of the amazing bubble in the Shanghai Composite Index. In this post we'll build an overlay of four major bubbles across market history to see the variety of shapes a bubble can take. But first let's take a long view of the index. Incidentally, the index's latest close was 2586.21. So a fall to the area Guppy mentioned is about a 10% correction from this point. [chart] The next chart centers the Shanghai Composite. The peak is the center of a 3000-market day timeline. Markets are open approximately 250 days per year, so this is a snapshot of a little over eight-and-a-half years with plenty of room left to track the future behavior. The dramatic rise took place over about one year with a dramatic collapse of about the same duration. The symmetry of this these two years is astonishing and, as we'll see, not necessarily characteristic of bubbles.[chart] Now we'll add the Nasdaq Tech Bubble. The Nasdaq was a bit less aggressive in the early stages of bubble formation, but the collapses are remarkably similar.[chart] The next chart adds the Dow of the late Roaring Twenties and Crash of 1929. Here we see a more gradual bull market over the first five years with a major acceleration occurring in the 12-13 months prior to the peak. The 1929 Crash took the Dow to the legendary lows that the Nasdaq nearly equaled 70 years later. But the Dow decline lasted a good six months longer before beginning a sustained bear-market rally. [chart] The Nikkei 225 bubble is one I periodically feature in an overlay with the S&P 500, where it looks amazingly steep as the central pattern of a 40+ year timeframe. But in the context of this series, the Nikkei peak on the last market day of 1989 was far more gradual in both the making and unwinding. The first year of the decline, however, was as savage as the other three. [chart] Bubbles happen, and they usually go unrecognized by the majority of market participants until the late stages. The left side of the bubble is usually more gradual than the collapse, although the incredible rise of the Shanghai market is a notable exception. People often use alphabet metaphors for recoveries: V-shaped, W-shaped and L-shaped. It's too soon to characterize the Shanghai Index, but the others most closely resemble an "L" over the timeframe of these charts. Footnote: Is Gold a Bubble? It doesn't appear to be. While the rise somewhat resembles the Nikkei leading up to the 1989 peak, Gold doesn't come anywhere close to the bubble shape of the Nasdaq and Shanghai examples we've reviewed. [chart] Is Gold cheap? No. Can it continue higher from here? Theoretically, yes. In reality, only time will tell. Disclosure: No positions’

The 'Rubber Band Rule' Proves Pretty Effective TraderMark ‘On Wednesday I noted that the market was approaching levels above the 13-day moving average where it typically corrected from during this rally. There was still a bit of room to the upside (about 0.3%-0.7%) but the rubber band was being pulled quite strongly. Effectively this is a simplistic way to speak of 'mean reversion.' For now the pattern continues.... buying comes in on the pullbacks to the 13 day, and then the market rallies and gets 2-3% above the 13 day, and that is where selling and/or consolidation occurs. It is nothing if not mechanically (silicon) consistent. One time this will be wrong. The pattern is the pattern... until it is not. Then you get havoc, and finally the bulls will get trapped. Of course, you never know which time will be the change. I thought it would have happened by now, but we are not operating under normal quasi-free market rules (rarely have we the past 3 years but now its a level of extreme beyond compare). So historical rule books are not working as well in 2008-2010. (Chart) As of now, S&P 1158 is the 13 day and it should move up tomorrow a few points. At some point QE is priced into the market, and I also have thought it would have happened by now, incorrectly. So each time we have an event like Bernanke talking tomorrow morning, we have to see if the market shrugs it off. There *have* been some divergences the past 24 hours - yesterday I noted the bond market (longer duration) reversing, and today even as the dollar is bludgeoned yet again we are not getting the "buy anything that moves" trade. Are those warnings signs or irrelevant? Obviously in 2 weeks it will be easier to tell you. I can print a litany of warning signs ... 93% of stocks in S&P 500 over 50 day moving average, rampant speculation in (pardon my french) s*** stocks, lack of leadership from former generals (the cloud computing stocks), and now rumors planted by banksters that Yahoo is going to be bought out (congrats to the CEO for $37M pay day for accomplishing no value add for shareholders by the way), or the latest buyout rumor: EMC Computer which is a fine $40B+ company. Surely Oracle will be happy to spit out $50B+ to buy it... after all, it's only money and we're printing more every second. But lots of those signs have been around for a while, and QE has overwhelmed everything. We need to see an event such as the speech tomorrow in which the market does not bid up risk assets on news EVERYONE already knows to mark any serious selling point... combined with a break of this 13 day MA (in my opinion). When the QE2 meme loses its potency, we finally have a change. As an aside, let me keep repeating - so it is not lost in the day to day - this will end badly. Frankly almost every 'solution' of the past 3 years brings with it terrible consequences - because we refuse to take our medicine. We just don't know when "it" happens... all we are doing is repeating the same policies that got us NASDAQ 99 and real estate 2005, and commodities 2007. We are just making the bets bigger and more dangerous, and kicking the can of yarn (which each time it rolls, it grows). I've written many times when we look back in a decade Bernanke will be viewed in the same harsh light as Greenspan... even though "the market" worshiped Greenspan when he was doing those things, just as "the market" worships Bernanke. Look at these PE firms borrowing money to reward themselves as if its 2006 again, look at the hedgies bidding up risk assets with free money, look at the banks cost of capital near zilch (and they still can't get out of their own way). Everyone is getting 'rich' off the risk assets (woo hoo) - why would "the market" not love central bankers like this? Why am I talking like this? I should be celebrating like a good ole Wall Streeter! But as a common American - you should be anywhere from disgusted to fearful of what these people are doing. Just as Greenspan refused to allow a real (cleansing) recession under his watch, and instead created a pressure valve that once blown brought down the entire U.S. financial system - Bernanke is painting the exact same portrait. But like good Romans, we are supposed to enjoy the orgy while it happens and let tomorrow worry about itself - Cramerican style. Just don't lose sight of the long run - the consequences of this 'recovery' are going to be debilitating. My only shock is as we repeat the same Fed induced bubbles now on 5-8 year cycles, no one questions those who bring us these issues repeatedly - instead we give them even more power. Quite amazing really. Disclosure: None’

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:

I’ve had a couple of conversations lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two comforting delusions still out there.

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

But it’s not at all true. GDP is growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the current track, the answer is forever.

Delusion #2 is the belief that the stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds unspent. I tried to deal with this last year. The level of GDP depends not on total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds are being spent, which has already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in the rate at which funds are being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all downhill from here.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.
Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Survey: Half of Wall Street expects bigger bonus this year (Washington Post) [ This is nothing short of incredible … What they should be expecting, for the sake of the nation and the world, is an 8 by 10 jail cell! ] Bloomberg The percentage anticipating a bigger bonus increased from last year.

Gerald Celente: “The selloff of America” Financial institutions on Wall Street are preparing to pay a shocking record $144 billion dollars in compensation & benefits. This amid spiraling foreclosures and an economic crisis that has devastated Americans, leaving many out in the street. Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute says that the gap between rich and poor in the US will continue to get larger because of the bank bailout that Washington shelled out in 2008.

Wall Street: The Speed Traders - 60 Minutes - CBS NewsOct 10, 2010 ... 60 Minutes on CBS News: Wall Street: The Speed Traders - Steve Kroft gets a rare look inside the secretive world of "high-frequency trading ... www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6945451n [ CBS 60 minutes should be lauded for ‘daring to go where no man dare to go before’, particularly pre-election. Video Robot Traders of the NYSE ‘In a secret new building in new jersey ‘( meaningfully lawless, pervasively corrupt, multi-ethnic mob-infested/controlled jersey / http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      / , the perfect venue for this fraud )’, high-speed computers decide which stocks to buy and sell. Could this kind of automated "trading floor" lead to Wall Street's next "flash crash"?’ ( I’ve included this web site archived file of the transcript of the segment with links to the CBS videos, here http://albertpeia.com/highfrequencytradingcbs60minutes.htm ) I add the following personal observation with regard to a comment made by the only ‘high frequency trader’ who agreed to be interviewed; viz., that the ’process’ was all ‘math’. Unfortunately, investing, investments, security analysis / valuation, is not just math. Indeed, in my MBA Finance ( NYU GBA, eve program which included professors actually successfully working on the street ) I can attest to the complexity of the math / algorithms underlying the financial theory of investing for which there were no ‘short-cuts’ to understanding (Modigliani / Miller, Nobel Prize Winners , for example, were a royal ‘pain in the a** ’, the material being far more complex than the far more voluminous but much more easily synthesized law school fare.) The problem with said theory is that it’s just not how it’s done on wall street but rather, geared to being descriptive after the fact because invariably, if used as an investing approach you would find yourself a loser or at best, a tandem market performer (‘Random Walk Down Wall Street’, the ‘Random Monkey’, etc.). Day to day, week to week, the ‘random stroll’ is hard to dispute; yet, behind the scenes a different story of manipulation unfolds; which manipulation has become extremely efficient via lightning speed computerized churn and earn trades, and hence, very lucrative but debilitating to the nation. The churning and earning (commissions) is the end in itself. The math for streams of payments and alternatively receipts, and present values thereof is indeed math, and an actual application of same would be the insolvency, for example, of social security, etc.. I had the fortunate experience to have met with a successful wall street executive (chairman, executive committee, institutional research / brokerage house) who was talking up a career for me on wall street and whom I thought highly of owing to his accomplishments and candor, ie., what you read in , for example, the wall street journal, was total b*** s***, etc.. ( In his world there were few if any grey areas; ie., among others, there were only two kinds of people; viz., people with money, and people who want money. Of course, I knew this to be false based upon such individuals as my Pastor who Confirmed me and who easily could have been a lawyer, uncorrupt judge, etc., and of times past in the u.s. and no longer apposite a career soldier, law enforcers, teachers, artists, etc.). The point is, wall street wasn’t straight then, and far worse, certainly not today. No, the high frequency trades are a scam of great modern day proportion, which eat into the productive capabilities and value of the nation which is set forth elsewhere on my site and evidenced by this continuing debacle and national decline today. A good programmer can easily mask and obfuscate the scam with seemingly lightning fast moves which purport to be rational, but are but symptomatic of an economically (self-)destructive exercise for all but the greedy criminally insane on wall street today. As, if not more, important for civilized society is an unwillingness to do anything for money (ie., fraudulent wall street, mob, drug cartels, criminals, etc.; which of course is the problem confronting america particularly, and the world generally. ]

Palestinians counter israeli offer on settlements (Washington Post) [ The Palestinians, unlike the lawless israelis are cognizant of u.n. resolutions, prior accords, international law, etc., in their proposal. ]

Parker: The economic crisis was an 'inside job' (Washington Post) [ And even worse, the f***-up is still a continuing ‘work-in-progress’ … really … they haven’t a clue … not even the slightest idea what they’re doing. … Alex Jones: Total Economic Implosion and Bondage by Design It’s here where I part ways with Jones et als inasmuch as, though they will attempt to have same serve their typically nefarious ends, these ‘so-called elites’ (there really is no such thing in this worldly reality except in their own warped minds) are but incompetent vegetables (Jones gives them much too much credit, although their incompetence does play a significant role in this pathetic state of the world), but indeed many of them criminally insane and who should be incarcerated for real crimes. ] Infowars.com | The global elite have engineered a total economic collapse. ] Trying to assign blame to either Democrats or Republicans is pointless. Everyone is culpable.

Thrill Ride Thursday: Can the Dollar Drop Fast Enough to Keep the Markets Up? Davis [ The following from Davis is really the key to understanding the scam / fraud which also preceded the ‘financial crisis’ (which continues) and consequent market crash ]: ‘…our market "rally" is ALL about the declining dollar. We are not used to inflation in this country - it hasn’t been much of an issue for the past generation but that’s what we’re seeing here as we are experiencing lower wages, lower demand and flat prices - THAT IS INFLATION or, as we used to say in the 70s - STAGFLATION … In fact, I had been getting bearish because I thought corporate profits weren’t going to be so good this quarter, what with the lack of sales and all, but I was wrong. I was wrong because corporate profits are priced in dollars and dollars are worth 10% less than they were the last time corporations reported. So silly me - all profits are inflated by 10% and that 10% is the E that gets divided from the P and gives us a much better price/multiple to hang our hats on and that gets investors to BUYBUYBUY and, as I said yesterday - they may as well because Lord knows it’s utter foolishness to leave your money in a bank and just watch it lose 2.5% of its buying power EVERY MONTH. Isn’t the declining dollar good for exports? That’s what they keep telling us, isn’t it? Well, it’s not. What do you think - that AAPL is making iPhones in China and then shipping them to Cupertino and then shipping them back to Hong Kong and Tokyo to sell? No, that would be silly. AAPL is a big multi-national corporation that has an office in Cupertino but manufactures almost everything overseas. And why wouldn’t they? Despite a 20% pay raise at FoxConn (and it’s nice to have a 3rd party employ 100,000 workers for you so you can still claim your 34,000 person work-force is mainly American) Apple’s labor cost of producing an iPad only rose from 2.3% to 3% but that’s in Yuan, which have declined 12.5% with the dollar since May so even-Steven for AAPL! Oh yes, exports (sorry, I went off track): So, exports were up just 0.2% as the dollar crashed. Why? Because we don’t make anything here - there’s nothing to export. As Eddy Elfenbein points out in his excellent "24 Statistics about the US Economy that are Almost too Embarrassing to Admit," despite inventing the television in 1927 (Philo Farnsworth for you trivia buffs), NOT ONE (ZERO) of the 211 MILLION televisions sold in the World in 2009 was made in America. In fact, overall manufacturing is down 60% in the past 40 years and the US has lost over 30M factory jobs since Al Gore lost his. Only 12M Americans, not even 10% of our workforce, now work in Manufacturing so EVEN IF a 10% decline in the dollar boosted manufacturing by 10% and EVEN IF making 10% more stuff got US Corporations to hire 10% more staff - that would add just 1.2M workers. That’s not very likely when FoxConn is happy to ramp up with workers who make less money per day than a US worker pays for lunch at a roach coach…’

The Shape of Market Bubbles, Including Gold [ In addition to the frauds on wall street, the fed’s ‘forever blowing bubbles’ … you’ve heard that song before … I’m sure of it! ] (Short Note: On June 23rd technical analyst and CNBC contributor Daryl Guppy made this prediction: Shanghai Index to Fall to 2,300 & 'Rapidly' Rebound. Click the prediction link to read his rationale. In retrospect we see that Guppy's forecast wasn't far off. The index hit its recent low of 2363.95 on July 5th and gained 20.02% as of yesterday's close. A 20% gain in a little over three months definitely qualifies as a rapid rebound.) Short: ‘In my recent reviews of major worlds markets, I included a chart of the amazing bubble in the Shanghai Composite Index. In this post we'll build an overlay of four major bubbles across market history to see the variety of shapes a bubble can take. But first let's take a long view of the index. Incidentally, the index's latest close was 2586.21. So a fall to the area Guppy mentioned is about a 10% correction from this point. [chart] The next chart centers the Shanghai Composite. The peak is the center of a 3000-market day timeline. Markets are open approximately 250 days per year, so this is a snapshot of a little over eight-and-a-half years with plenty of room left to track the future behavior. The dramatic rise took place over about one year with a dramatic collapse of about the same duration. The symmetry of this these two years is astonishing and, as we'll see, not necessarily characteristic of bubbles.[chart] Now we'll add the Nasdaq Tech Bubble. The Nasdaq was a bit less aggressive in the early stages of bubble formation, but the collapses are remarkably similar.[chart] The next chart adds the Dow of the late Roaring Twenties and Crash of 1929. Here we see a more gradual bull market over the first five years with a major acceleration occurring in the 12-13 months prior to the peak. The 1929 Crash took the Dow to the legendary lows that the Nasdaq nearly equaled 70 years later. But the Dow decline lasted a good six months longer before beginning a sustained bear-market rally. [chart] The Nikkei 225 bubble is one I periodically feature in an overlay with the S&P 500, where it looks amazingly steep as the central pattern of a 40+ year timeframe. But in the context of this series, the Nikkei peak on the last market day of 1989 was far more gradual in both the making and unwinding. The first year of the decline, however, was as savage as the other three. [chart] Bubbles happen, and they usually go unrecognized by the majority of market participants until the late stages. The left side of the bubble is usually more gradual than the collapse, although the incredible rise of the Shanghai market is a notable exception. People often use alphabet metaphors for recoveries: V-shaped, W-shaped and L-shaped. It's too soon to characterize the Shanghai Index, but the others most closely resemble an "L" over the timeframe of these charts. Footnote: Is Gold a Bubble? It doesn't appear to be. While the rise somewhat resembles the Nikkei leading up to the 1989 peak, Gold doesn't come anywhere close to the bubble shape of the Nasdaq and Shanghai examples we've reviewed. [chart] Is Gold cheap? No. Can it continue higher from here? Theoretically, yes. In reality, only time will tell. Disclosure: No positions’

This is still an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! Suckers’ rally into the close to keep suckers suckered (easy for the wall street frauds to do with just a mouse click / push of the button). The unemployment numbers again came in decidedly worse than expected along with other negative data (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales, though abated owing to ‘foreclosuregate’, the other ‘heralded’ good news. Moreover, the dumbo lemmings of Europe have jumped on the fraudulent defacto bankrupt american crazy train propelled to the precipice also as if no tomorrow. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in with the help of a market-frothing pre-election debased dollar for favorable currency translation and paper (but not real when measured in, ie., gold, etc.) profits which preceded the last crisis, inflating a bubble as in the last crisis to facilitate the churn-and-earn, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill, the senile Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression). Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from senile Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ]

The Root of the Problem The Inflation Trader [ I think it unfortunate that most fail to properly weight in their analysis the irrevocable structural shift that has occurred in the defacto bankrupt u.s. and which cannot be undone. The ‘powers that be’ literally gave up (sold out) the american store (ie., technology transfers for money, protracted treasury depleting and geopolitically unwise wars, perma-frauds on wall street without prosecution, pervasive corruption at all levels including all three branches of the u.s. government, etc., covered elsewhere on this site.) Then of course there’s the insurmountable debt and interest thereon which is now eating into real (not fake / falsified ) GDP along with other unserviceable promises exacerbating the magnitude of the nations defacto insolvency. ] See infra.

The 'Rubber Band Rule' Proves Pretty Effective TraderMark ‘On Wednesday I noted that the market was approaching levels above the 13-day moving average where it typically corrected from during this rally. There was still a bit of room to the upside (about 0.3%-0.7%) but the rubber band was being pulled quite strongly. Effectively this is a simplistic way to speak of 'mean reversion.' For now the pattern continues.... buying comes in on the pullbacks to the 13 day, and then the market rallies and gets 2-3% above the 13 day, and that is where selling and/or consolidation occurs. It is nothing if not mechanically (silicon) consistent. One time this will be wrong. The pattern is the pattern... until it is not. Then you get havoc, and finally the bulls will get trapped. Of course, you never know which time will be the change. I thought it would have happened by now, but we are not operating under normal quasi-free market rules (rarely have we the past 3 years but now its a level of extreme beyond compare). So historical rule books are not working as well in 2008-2010. (Chart) As of now, S&P 1158 is the 13 day and it should move up tomorrow a few points. At some point QE is priced into the market, and I also have thought it would have happened by now, incorrectly. So each time we have an event like Bernanke talking tomorrow morning, we have to see if the market shrugs it off. There *have* been some divergences the past 24 hours - yesterday I noted the bond market (longer duration) reversing, and today even as the dollar is bludgeoned yet again we are not getting the "buy anything that moves" trade. Are those warnings signs or irrelevant? Obviously in 2 weeks it will be easier to tell you. I can print a litany of warning signs ... 93% of stocks in S&P 500 over 50 day moving average, rampant speculation in (pardon my french) s*** stocks, lack of leadership from former generals (the cloud computing stocks), and now rumors planted by banksters that Yahoo is going to be bought out (congrats to the CEO for $37M pay day for accomplishing no value add for shareholders by the way), or the latest buyout rumor: EMC Computer which is a fine $40B+ company. Surely Oracle will be happy to spit out $50B+ to buy it... after all, it's only money and we're printing more every second. But lots of those signs have been around for a while, and QE has overwhelmed everything. We need to see an event such as the speech tomorrow in which the market does not bid up risk assets on news EVERYONE already knows to mark any serious selling point... combined with a break of this 13 day MA (in my opinion). When the QE2 meme loses its potency, we finally have a change. As an aside, let me keep repeating - so it is not lost in the day to day - this will end badly. Frankly almost every 'solution' of the past 3 years brings with it terrible consequences - because we refuse to take our medicine. We just don't know when "it" happens... all we are doing is repeating the same policies that got us NASDAQ 99 and real estate 2005, and commodities 2007. We are just making the bets bigger and more dangerous, and kicking the can of yarn (which each time it rolls, it grows). I've written many times when we look back in a decade Bernanke will be viewed in the same harsh light as Greenspan... even though "the market" worshiped Greenspan when he was doing those things, just as "the market" worships Bernanke. Look at these PE firms borrowing money to reward themselves as if its 2006 again, look at the hedgies bidding up risk assets with free money, look at the banks cost of capital near zilch (and they still can't get out of their own way). Everyone is getting 'rich' off the risk assets (woo hoo) - why would "the market" not love central bankers like this? Why am I talking like this? I should be celebrating like a good ole Wall Streeter! But as a common American - you should be anywhere from disgusted to fearful of what these people are doing. Just as Greenspan refused to allow a real (cleansing) recession under his watch, and instead created a pressure valve that once blown brought down the entire U.S. financial system - Bernanke is painting the exact same portrait. But like good Romans, we are supposed to enjoy the orgy while it happens and let tomorrow worry about itself - Cramerican style. Just don't lose sight of the long run - the consequences of this 'recovery' are going to be debilitating. My only shock is as we repeat the same Fed induced bubbles now on 5-8 year cycles, no one questions those who bring us these issues repeatedly - instead we give them even more power. Quite amazing really. Disclosure: None’

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:

I’ve had a couple of conversations lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two comforting delusions still out there.

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

But it’s not at all true. GDP is growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the current track, the answer is forever.

Delusion #2 is the belief that the stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds unspent. I tried to deal with this last year. The level of GDP depends not on total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds are being spent, which has already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in the rate at which funds are being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all downhill from here.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.
Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Survey: Half of Wall Street expects bigger bonus this year (Washington Post) [ This is nothing short of incredible … What they should be expecting, for the sake of the nation and the world, is an 8 by 10 jail cell! ] Bloomberg The percentage anticipating a bigger bonus increased from last year.

Gerald Celente: “The selloff of America” Financial institutions on Wall Street are preparing to pay a shocking record $144 billion dollars in compensation & benefits. This amid spiraling foreclosures and an economic crisis that has devastated Americans, leaving many out in the street. Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute says that the gap between rich and poor in the US will continue to get larger because of the bank bailout that Washington shelled out in 2008.

Wall Street: The Speed Traders - 60 Minutes - CBS NewsOct 10, 2010 ... 60 Minutes on CBS News: Wall Street: The Speed Traders - Steve Kroft gets a rare look inside the secretive world of "high-frequency trading ... www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6945451n [ CBS 60 minutes should be lauded for ‘daring to go where no man dare to go before’, particularly pre-election. Video Robot Traders of the NYSE ‘In a secret new building in new jersey ‘( meaningfully lawless, pervasively corrupt, multi-ethnic mob-infested/controlled jersey / http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      / , the perfect venue for this fraud )’, high-speed computers decide which stocks to buy and sell. Could this kind of automated "trading floor" lead to Wall Street's next "flash crash"?’ ( I’ve included this web site archived file of the transcript of the segment with links to the CBS videos, here http://albertpeia.com/highfrequencytradingcbs60minutes.htm ) I add the following personal observation with regard to a comment made by the only ‘high frequency trader’ who agreed to be interviewed; viz., that the ’process’ was all ‘math’. Unfortunately, investing, investments, security analysis / valuation, is not just math. Indeed, in my MBA Finance ( NYU GBA, eve program which included professors actually successfully working on the street ) I can attest to the complexity of the math / algorithms underlying the financial theory of investing for which there were no ‘short-cuts’ to understanding (Modigliani / Miller, Nobel Prize Winners , for example, were a royal ‘pain in the a** ’, the material being far more complex than the far more voluminous but much more easily synthesized law school fare.) The problem with said theory is that it’s just not how it’s done on wall street but rather, geared to being descriptive after the fact because invariably, if used as an investing approach you would find yourself a loser or at best, a tandem market performer (‘Random Walk Down Wall Street’, the ‘Random Monkey’, etc.). Day to day, week to week, the ‘random stroll’ is hard to dispute; yet, behind the scenes a different story of manipulation unfolds; which manipulation has become extremely efficient via lightning speed computerized churn and earn trades, and hence, very lucrative but debilitating to the nation. The churning and earning (commissions) is the end in itself. The math for streams of payments and alternatively receipts, and present values thereof is indeed math, and an actual application of same would be the insolvency, for example, of social security, etc.. I had the fortunate experience to have met with a successful wall street executive (chairman, executive committee, institutional research / brokerage house) who was talking up a career for me on wall street and whom I thought highly of owing to his accomplishments and candor, ie., what you read in , for example, the wall street journal, was total b*** s***, etc.. ( In his world there were few if any grey areas; ie., among others, there were only two kinds of people; viz., people with money, and people who want money. Of course, I knew this to be false based upon such individuals as my Pastor who Confirmed me and who easily could have been a lawyer, uncorrupt judge, etc., and of times past in the u.s. and no longer apposite a career soldier, law enforcers, teachers, artists, etc.). The point is, wall street wasn’t straight then, and far worse, certainly not today. No, the high frequency trades are a scam of great modern day proportion, which eat into the productive capabilities and value of the nation which is set forth elsewhere on my site and evidenced by this continuing debacle and national decline today. A good programmer can easily mask and obfuscate the scam with seemingly lightning fast moves which purport to be rational, but are but symptomatic of an economically (self-)destructive exercise for all but the greedy criminally insane on wall street today. As, if not more, important for civilized society is an unwillingness to do anything for money (ie., fraudulent wall street, mob, drug cartels, criminals, etc.; which of course is the problem confronting america particularly, and the world generally. ]

Palestinians counter israeli offer on settlements (Washington Post) [ The Palestinians, unlike the lawless israelis are cognizant of u.n. resolutions, prior accords, international law, etc., in their proposal. ]

Parker: The economic crisis was an 'inside job' (Washington Post) [ And even worse, the f***-up is still a continuing ‘work-in-progress’ … really … they haven’t a clue … not even the slightest idea what they’re doing. … Alex Jones: Total Economic Implosion and Bondage by Design It’s here where I part ways with Jones et als inasmuch as, though they will attempt to have same serve their typically nefarious ends, these ‘so-called elites’ (there really is no such thing in this worldly reality except in their own warped minds) are but incompetent vegetables (Jones gives them much too much credit, although their incompetence does play a significant role in this pathetic state of the world), but indeed many of them criminally insane and who should be incarcerated for real crimes. ] Infowars.com | The global elite have engineered a total economic collapse. ] Trying to assign blame to either Democrats or Republicans is pointless. Everyone is culpable.

Feds press mortgage lenders to fix documents (Washington Post) [ Fix documents? In matters involving far more serious crimes of far more significance longer term to the nation, I’d be content with mere adherence to clear law applied to the documented facts, no matter where and to whom the crimes lead … see infra… ] White House says Obama will not sign foreclosure bill [ Oooooh, whoops … Sounds like a plan!] Consumer advocates and state officials argue legislation would make it difficult for homeowners to challenge documents prepared in other states. [When talking about the pervasively corrupt american legal / judicial system, you’re truly talking about tips of the iceberg! Judges rule without title, lenders can't foreclose (Washington Post) [ Rules of law? I didn’t think they cared. That’s certainly the direct experience I’ve had with the pervasively corrupt american legal / judicial system (along with the other two branches of the u.s. government and defact bankrupt america generally). Court decisions could call into doubt the ownership of mortgages, raising urgent challenges for both the real estate market, wider financial system. Connecticut, California join probe of Ally (Washington Post) [I’d be much more impressed if they initiated a probe of more readily discernible criminal offenses in violation of the RICO Act http://albertpeia.com Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers)Covering Up for Other Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). In Productive Societies as China, Japan, etc., Fraudulent Liars (sic-lawyers) and the Fraudulent u.s. System They're a Part of Are Unheard Of/Non-existent. List of Files Regarding Filed Attorney Grievance Against Fraud coan et als Or Here For A Clearer View Of Filed Grievance Complaint, Response, Exhibits, and Related RICO Filings Note the Committee of Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). Included are DOJ Rep., State Court Rep., State Atty. General Office Rep., and even a Vegetable Garden yale law prof who probably never practiced law in his life. How Pathetic! http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ] Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally.

October 5, 2010 (*see infra)

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include 1 copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’). The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ].

The correspondence I received from the Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

25. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
26. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
27. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
28. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
29. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
30. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******* (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

----------

*The foregoing and as indicated therein was previously send 9-14-10 but delivery confirmation was flawed as set forth below and my inquiries to the u.s. postal service rebuffed (I believe tampered with inasmuch as your office could not locate same). This cover letter (9-13-10) is on the 3 disks with navigable hyperlinks to the subject files for ease of reference, including the files in the RICO action as indicated.

-----

Label/Receipt Number: 0310 1230 0000 0862 8183

Expected Delivery Date: September 15, 2010

Class: Priority Mail®

Service(s): Delivery Confirmation™

Status: Delivered

Your item was delivered at 10:14 am on September 15, 2010 in LOS ANGELES, CA 90024.

Track and Confirm

Enter Label/Receipt Number.

Enter Label / Receipt Number.

Detailed Results:

Bullet Delivered, September 15, 2010, 10:14 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Bullet Arrival at Post Office, September 15, 2010, 4:12 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Bullet Processed through Sort Facility, September 14, 2010, 8:29 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90052

Bullet Acceptance, September 14, 2010, 4:04 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

----

Sent Postage Prepaid: United States Mail - VIA Priority Mail, Delivery Confirmation and VIA Certified Mail this 5th day of October, 2010.

Signed: ___________________________________

Albert L. Peia

]

] Federal regulators seek to prevent the growing furor over improper foreclosures from escalating, pressing mortgage lenders to replace flawed and fraudulent court documents while insisting that foreclosures continue apace. But advocates say the policy is soft on banks and may have little effect, because many lenders are already taking such steps.

Market's optimism, earning data push stocks (Federal Reserve will take steps to help economy, investors predict ) and push them higher (Washington Post) [ Now if the article headline said ‘fed will take steps to help wall street’, I’d say spot-on, but help the economy? … I don’t think so, and neither do other astute analysts! ] infra:

US Dollar Plunges, Gold Soars To New Record, Sold With $200+ Mark Ups Steve Watson | The US dollar plunged once again today as the currency continues to be battered by rumours that the Federal Reserve will announce plans to buy $1 trillion of government debt in the form of “monetary easing”.

Has Bernanke Gone Too Far? Nicholas Santiago | If the Federal Reserve Bank is going to keep printing money, traders will take advantage of the one asset class that will be directly affected. That asset class is the precious metals– GOLD, that is.

Jobless Claims, Inflation, Trade Deficit Each Surge Higher Reuters | New U.S. claims for jobless benefits rose last week, hardening the view the central bank will pump more money into the economy, and keeping pressure on Democrats poised to lose congressional seats in Nov. 2 polls.

Gerald Celente: “The selloff of America” Financial institutions on Wall Street are preparing to pay a shocking record $144 billion dollars in compensation & benefits. This amid spiraling foreclosures and an economic crisis that has devastated Americans, leaving many out in the street. Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute says that the gap between rich and poor in the US will continue to get larger because of the bank bailout that Washington shelled out in 2008.

US Dollar Plunges, Gold Soars To New Record, Sold With $200+ Mark Ups The US dollar plunged once again today as the currency continues to be battered by increasingly substantial rumours that the Federal Reserve will announce, within the next three weeks, plans to buy $1 trillion of government debt in the form of “monetary easing”.

Meet Danielle And Jim Plus 9: The Squatters Who “Reclaimed” Their Foreclosed Home Over The Weekend Unfortunately, surreal stories like this will very soon become daily news. As was pointed out yesterday, Simi Valley has just seen the first case of a forced reclamation of a foreclosed home, after Jim and Danielle Earl took their nine (9!) children, ages 9-23, and a locksmith and broke into the six-bedroom house that had been foreclosed upon for lack of payment, and on which the couple owed $880,000!

Dollar Falls to 15-Year Low Versus Yen on Fed Policy Outlook The dollar depreciated below 81 yen, a 15-year low, and reached its weakest since January against the euro before reports likely to fuel speculation the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy further.

The Questions That Swirl Around The Fed The question keeps swirling around regarding the Fed and just how much Treasury paper they can buy from the market under current rules. Our guess is about $1.7 trillion.

RealtyTrac Reports Q3 Foreclosures Hit All Time Record… Just In Time For The Plunge Looks like someone may have had a little advance notice on October’s foreclosure semi-moratorium festivities. According to RealtyTrac, September foreclosures marked a 5 month high of 347,420, jumping 3% from the previous month and 1% from September 2009, even as the 3rd quarters marked the highest foreclosure activity on record.

Report From Europe: Rise in Jobless Claims Takes Shine Off Stocks The Mole The QE trade is alive and well and risk assets are firing on all cylinders. Gains in stocks and commodities, in particular, are now accelerating. It seemed to me that QE2 talk would prove bullish for risk assets. And the lack of a cooperative stance within the G20 on currency matters – as the IMF meetings over the weekend showed – is now adding fuel to the fire. To recap U.S. stocks rose Weds, sending benchmark indexes to five-month highs (but failed to close above the key 1175 level), as better-than-estimated results at CSX Corp. (CSX) and China’s record currency reserves boosted optimism in the economic recovery. CSX, the second-largest publicly traded U.S. railroad, rallied 4.2 percent after also saying it’s seeing improvements across almost all markets, Alcoa added 1.3 percent and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) advanced 3.8 percent leading a measure of raw materials producers to the biggest gain among 10 industries in the S&P’s 500 Index, amid speculation that Chinese demand will improve after the world’s fastest-growing major economy announced $2.65 trillion in currency reserves. But JP Morgan (JPM), which had opened up 2 percent after beating the Street by 13 percent, later turned offered as on second glance the figures were flattered by a higher reserve release and lower provisions and finished the day down 1.5 percent. I think those Chilean miners have become too mainstream…I preferred them when they were underground!
Today’s Market Moving Stories

• The seemingly friendless USD slid across the board overnight following the decision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore to widen the band of the Singapore Dollar and thus allow more strength against the USD. So they have effectively tightened policy by slightly raising the speed of
  SGD appreciation against a trade weighted basket and widening the managed band. This in response to an economy which has eaten into all its spare capacity and is at risk of inflation. Clearly Singapore is at the opposite end of the economic spectrum to the US. And the move contrasted with the recent attempts by Emerging Markets central banks to prevent further appreciation of their currencies. Importantly, there was also little to suggest that other central banks in the region are following suit in the immediate aftermath of the MAS decision. The fact that freely floating currencies like EUR and SEK were among the top performers against USD overnight also indicates that there was little to suggests that investors are anticipating more burden sharing and less unilateral FX interventions to come going forward.
• Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker said a Fed policy devoted primarily to reducing unemployment risks damaging the central bank’s credibility in containing inflation. “With inflation reasonably close to any plausible definition of price stability, and all expectations measures pointing in the right direction, making unemployment a policy imperative poses clear risks to the credibility of our long run inflation goals,” Lacker said yesterday in a speech in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Fed is considering the purchase of more Treasury securities and efforts to boost inflation expectations to stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment persisting near 10 percent, according to minutes of the Sept. 21 meeting of policy makers released this week. The central bank was prepared to ease monetary policy “before long,” the minutes said. “Inflation is now on target, as far as I’m concerned,” Lacker told business leaders in the region. “I do not see a material risk of deflation — that is, an outright decline in the price level.”
• More than 100,000 U.S. homes were seized by lenders in September, a record number that probably will decline in coming months as major banks halt repossessions and review their foreclosure practices. Lenders took over 102,134 properties last month, RealtyTrac Inc. said in a report today. That was the highest monthly tally since the company began tracking the data in 2005, surpassing the August record of 95,364. Foreclosure filings, including default and auction notices, rose 3 percent from the prior month to 347,420. One out of every 371 households received a notice. Sales of properties in the foreclosure process accounted for almost a third of all U.S. transactions in the month, a sign that a prolonged delay in repossessions may hurt the housing market, RealtyTrac said.
• The Bank of England must combat inflation if it is to remain credible, senior policy-maker and resident hawk Andrew Sentance has warned. Mr Sentance, an external member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has repeatedly voted for the base rate to be raised, but has been overruled by his other committee members who want to keep it at the current record low of 0.5pc. Maintaining such a low rate could damage confidence in the Bank’s ability to steer the economy and lead to “self-fulfilling” expectations of above target inflation, he argued in a speech in London on Wednesday. In recent years monetary policy and the MPC’s actions have created confidence that stable inflation will be maintained, he said. He also said somewhat curiously that the record drop shown in the Halifax house-price gauge last month may show “volatility” instead of heralding a renewed property-market slump.
• Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker said he is “more balanced’ than he expected to be about inflation and removing expansionary policies, the Daily Mail reported, citing an interview. Until recently Tucker regarded inflation as being ‘‘uncomfortably high,’’ the newspaper said. The key is the labour market, which is ‘‘a slight amber light’’ while the decline in house prices isn’t ‘‘terribly surprising,’’ Tucker said, the Mail reported.
• In other comments, the BOE MPC member Adam Posen said the global economy needs more monetary stimulus and restraint in deficit reduction to avert a repeat of mistakes made by European policy makers in the 1930s. Monetary policy that doesn’t do enough to stimulate the economy risks provoking low growth and deflation if governments at the same time execute strict spending cuts, Posen said in a commentary published in Handelsblatt newspaper.
• According to the FT two Norwegian day traders have been handed suspended prison sentences for market manipulation after outwitting the automated trading system of a big US broker. The two men worked out how the computerised system would react to certain trading patterns – allowing them to influence the price of low-volume stocks. The case, involving Timber Hill, a unit of US-based Interactive Brokers, comes amid -growing scrutiny of automated trading systems after the so-called “flash crash” in May, when a single algorithm triggered a plunge in US stocks. Svend Egil Larsen and Peder Veiby had won admiration from many Norwegians ahead of the court case for their apparent victory for man over machine. Prosecutors said Mr Larsen and Mr Veiby “gave false and misleading signals about supply, demand and prices” by manipulating several Norwegian stocks through Timber Hill’s online trading platform. Anders Brosveet, lawyer for Mr Veiby, acknowledged that his client had learnt how Timber Hill’s trading algorithm would behave in response to certain trades but denied this amounted to market manipulation. “They had an idea of how the computer would change the prices but that does not make them responsible for what the computer did,” he told the Financial Times. Both men have vowed to appeal against their convictions. Messages posted on Norwegian internet forums on Wednesday indicated widespread sympathy for the defendants. “It is the trading robots that should be brought to justice when it is them that cause so much wild volatility in the markets,” said one post. Mr Veiby, who made the most trades, was sentenced to 120 days in prison, suspended for two years, and fined NKr165,000 ($28,500). Mr Larsen received a 90-day suspended sentence and a fine of NKr105,000. The fines were about equal to the profits made by each man from the illegal trades. Christian Stenberg, the Norwegian police attorney responsible for the case, said any admiration for the men was misplaced. “This is a new kind of manipulation but it is still at the expense of other investors in the market,” he said. Interactive Brokers declined to comment. Irregular trading patterns were first spotted by the Oslo stock exchange and referred to Norway’s financial regulator.
• The earnings season so far has been broadly positive. S&P 500 companies’ earnings are expected to rise 23.6 percent from a year ago and according to Thompson Reuters data, 81 percent of the S&P 500 companies that have already reported have surpassed expectations. According to Thomson Reuters, the long-term average for beats for an entire reporting period is 61 percent.
• Datawise today we’ve just had the US weekly jobless claims numbers & they have disappointed rising to 462k against expectations from them to stand pat at 445k and the PPI numbers have come out with a higher print than expected & taken some of the early doors shine off the S&P futures.
• There was a rumour in the market this morning that the US and China have agreed a deal on Chinese Renmimbi (yuan) valuation higher, in turn US will hold back QE2? This may not be as far fetched as it seems as though the earnings season has got off to a good start with both JP Morgan and Intel beating market expectations. But the broader QE theme is what continues to drive risk higher and the USD lower. Gold has made fresh highs; and the AUD is approaching parity with the Greenback; EUR traded through 1.41, while CAD finally broke the 1.00 level in Europe. However the QE theme is providing Asian policymakers with an increasing headache. Intervention to stem currency appreciation has added over USD 250bn to Asian FX reserves over the past quarter, with about 120bn of that in September alone. Diversification flows continue to push the EUR higher. But as interest rates rise in Asia, so too do the costs of sterilisation. Chinese PBOC 3m bills yield over 1.5 percent; for a similar yield from US Treasuries, the central bank must go out beyond six years. As such the market pressure on Asian Central Banks to allow currency appreciation continues to mount. In response, Singapore’s MAS has signalled a steeper pace of currency appreciation over the next six months. In a different approach, the Bank of Korea has refrained from raising rates, willing to risk higher inflation to avoid further yield-chasing inflows. And China continues to allow slow appreciation of the Renminbi, but at a cost of increased inflows of hot money as evidenced by the USD 100bn jump in reserves in September. In this environment, I watch for triggers that might shift market expectations for QE. While inflation is a key input for the Fed, tomorrow’s US CPI is unlikely to change the outlook. More important will be Bernanke’s Boston Fed speech, also tomorrow – it will be watched for potential discussion of more unorthodox measures. But at this stage I believe the major risk is that markets are overpricing QE. Today’s trade balance numbers from the US may augment the current anti-China sentiment. The Chairman of the Senate finance committee said that the US Senate is poised to follow the House in passing legislation on China. The compromise for China and the US would be less aggressive QE from the US in return for RMB appreciation. The currency implication would be a stronger Asia, and a fall in EUR/ USD.
• Meanwhile the USD /JPY cross has marked a new 15-year low despite further official jawboning. While there remains some nervousness as we approach key levels at 80.65 and the all-time lows of 79.75, markets see Japanese condemnation of Korean intervention as raising the bar to further intervention, particularly ahead of the G20 finance ministers’ meeting at the end of next week. Intervention looks unlikely while the move is a broad USD one, and while yen crosses remain relatively elevated. Accordingly a drift lower towards the 80 level looks likely.

Company / Equity News

• Today in Europe the fallout from the surprise rights issue by Standard Chartered (SCBFF.PK) continues to cause ripples. The FTSE 350 Banks Index has lost 4.5 percent since the beginning of August amid concern that new requirements under the Basel III accord will require banks to raise more capital, diluting shareholder value. And Barclays (BCS) lost 3.1 percent today partially down to a broker downgrade at Execution Noble who downgraded the shares to “neutral” from “buy.” French bank Societe Generale (SCGLY.PK) was also feeling the chill down 2.3 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) fell 3.2 percent again reflecting the nervousness amongst investors to financials.
• Other notable movers included African Barrick which has shed 8.3 percent Thursday on news that the company suspended about 40 percent of employees in the site’s mining department due to allegations of widespread theft & infiltration by criminal gangs . The miner will produce about 30,000 ounces less this year as a result of the theft. The company had already cut production by 10,000 ounces in the third quarter.
• Vodafone (VOD) has risen 1.3 percent to 166.1 pence. Nomura lifted its recommendation on the world’s second-largest mobile-phone company by market capitalization to “buy” from “neutral.” Separately, hedge-fund manager David Einhorn said that analysts may have undervalued Vodafone shares by disregarding the U.K. company’s 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless because it doesn’t pay a dividend.
• WH Smith Plc advanced 5.4 percent this morning after the U.K.’s biggest seller of magazines said it will return as much as £50 million of cash to investors through a “rolling share buyback.” WH Smith said full-year profit before tax and exceptional items rose 9 percent to £89 million in the 12 months through August.
• In Germany, preferred shares of Hugo Boss have advanced 4.4 percent after Germany’s largest clothing maker raised its sales and profit forecasts. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and one-time items will rise about 20 percent for the year, according to the Metzingen-based company, which previously forecast growth of 10 percent to 12 percent.
• French luxury goods company LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMUY.PK) Thursday expressed confidence for this year as it reported a 23 percent jump in third-quarter sales with all divisions growing at a double-digit rate. Sales for the third quarter were €5.11 billion, compared with €4.14 billion a year earlier, beating analysts’ expectations of €4.83 billion, according to a Dow Jones Newswires poll. The group’s performance so far this year has “confirmed its confidence for 2010,” the company said in a statement, signalling that the owner of fashion house Fendi and jewelry brand Chaumet is entering the all important end-of-the year period with new-found assurance. Luxury goods executives have been cautious in calling a return to their sector’s growth after the economic crisis abruptly ended years of fast growth. LVMH shares have risen 23 percent over the past six months, largely outpacing the Paris CAC-40 index, which declined 6 percent over the same period. Investor confidence in the sector has gathered speed in recent months.
• Germany’s Demag Cranes may be open to a takeover bid if it involves a comprehensive offer that benefits all parties, the Financial Times Deutschland reported Thursday, citing people close to the company. Last week, the crane builder rejected overtures from rivals Konecranes Oyj of Finland and Terex Corp. of the U.S., although no concrete bids were made, the report said. Demag has said its strategy centres on independence, the report said.
• There is current news focus on the foreclosure process by the big US banks. Loan document procedures in particular are under scrutiny. Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC), JP Morgan (JPM) are probably most exposed in this story. JP Morgan has set aside $1.3 billion in litigation reserves, a chunk of which is for potential cases in mortgages. In the meantime it has halted foreclosures. BoA also stopped foreclosing from last week while it reviews the accuracy of its docs. Wells and BoA took some beating in CDS yesterday although the share prices were not really punished. This is one of those shadows on the banks that they could do without, certainly in the current bank-bashing society we are in and will probably cost them to some extent (e.g. litigation reserves).
• Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA), the world’s biggest payment networks, climbed in New York trading yesterday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported a 6.6 percent increase in credit-card spending. Visa advanced 3.6 percent and MasterCard, rose 3.9 percent.
• Bloomberg reports that AOL Inc. (AOL) and several private-equity investors are exploring a mega deal for Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO), the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Yahoo isn’t involved in the deal yet, the Journal said. Silver Lake Partners and Blackstone Group LP are among the firms interested in a potential deal, the newspaper said. Unidentified spokespeople for AOL, Yahoo and Blackstone declined to comment, the Journal said, adding that Silver Lake didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Elsewhere Yahoo is reported to have hired Goldman Sachs to advise it on how to fight any potential takeover.
• Clearwire Corp. (CLWR), the high-speed wireless carrier, is seeking to raise $2.5 billion to $5 billion in a wireless-spectrum auction that has attracted telephone and cable companies, said people with direct knowledge of the sale. AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Wireless (VZ), Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY.PK), Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) and Clearwire’s majority owner, Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), are among potential buyers of the spectrum, said the people, who declined to be identified because the process isn’t public. The bidding is in its second round and being managed by Deutsche Bank AG, they said. Clearwire shares surged as much as 11 percent.
• Vodafone Group Plc’s shares may be undervalued as analysts are disregarding the U.K. company’s 45 percent ownership in Verizon Wireless because it doesn’t pay a dividend, according to hedge fund manager David Einhorn. “We have a lot excitement relating to Vodafone,” Einhorn, who profited from bets against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008, said today at the Value Investing Congress in New York. “Eventually they will begin to collect a dividend, perhaps as early as next year, and then we will get a revaluation of that stock from there.” Vodafone, the world’s biggest wireless operator, hasn’t received a dividend since 2005 from its stake in Verizon Wireless, whose head Lowell McAdam was promoted to president and chief operating officer of New York-based Verizon Communications Inc. in September.
• Iraq is in the final stages of agreeing on a draft of its $12 billion gas contract with Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A), the country’s oil minister said Wednesday, allaying fears the project was mired in a legal dispute. Speaking upon his arrival in Vienna for a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, Hussein al-Shahristani also said a planned bidding round for three major gas fields would go ahead as planned on Oct. 20 after being delayed twice before. Asked about the reported delay of the Shell deal, Shahristani said: “We are in the final stages of agreeing on the draft before we take it on the cabinet again,” adding “There has been no dispute” over the deal.
• Rio Tinto Group (RTP), the world’s third- largest mining company, said third-quarter iron ore production rose to a record. Output rose to 47.6 million metric tons in three months ended Sept. 30, from 47.0 million tons a year earlier, the London-based company said today in a statement. Rio, the world’s second-biggest exporter of iron ore, approved $1.3 billion of spending on expansions at its Australian iron ore assets in the quarter. The company also set production records for alumina and coking coal.
• Where the first round of 3Q10 corporate earnings reports overall build on the strong 2Q10 earnings trend, the 7 percent YoY 3Q10 revenue decline reported by Roche Holding this morning confirms the challenges facing the pharmaceutical sector. The virtual cessation in demand for Tamiflu, that was boosted last year due to the swine flu pandemic, was the main reason for the negative revenue growth. In the meantime patent expirations and the consequent M&A activity remain the order of the day in pharmaceuticals. Pfizer’s AA- rating was put on a negative outlook at Fitch at the beginning of October as patent expirations are expected to erode revenues, according to that rating agency. Earlier this week Pfizer (PFE) also announced its acquisition of King Pharmaceuticals for $3.6bn in cash, which is just a fraction of the $62bn linked to the company’s acquisition of Wyeth in 2009. According to S&P, the acquisition will be negligible in terms of the company’s leverage, and therefore Pfizer’s AA rating remains unaffected by the acquisition. Also Moody’s and Fitch do not expect that Pfizer’s rating will be affected by the acquisition. Pfizer will report its 3Q10 earnings on 2 November. Disclosure: None

National / World

Moneybomb Search Terms Skyrocket to Top of Google Trends Infowars.com | Once again, Infowars search terms have blitzed Google Trends.

U.S. Troops To Deal With Rioting Americans Paul Joseph Watson | U.S. troops are being readied to oversee a post-collapse America in which riots are met with a militarized police state.

Watch the Moneybomb Video Feed Free! Infowars.com | Alex takes to the air in a marathon effort to fund in Infowars operation. Watch the video stream for free over the internet.

MSNBC Teleprompter Reader Attempts to Ambush Ron Paul Kurt Nimmo | Ron Paul ventured into enemy territory when he agreed to appear on the Lawrence O’Donnell show on MSNBC, the same network that ambushed his son.

Government Trains Troops To Run American Cities Paul Joseph Watson | Program re-ignites fears that active duty military are being primed to deal with civil unrest in aftermath of economic turmoil.

wobama, palin, limbaugh distant cousins … I knew there were some dark secrets there … hillbilly heroin, etc..

Riot police storm the Acropolis Reuters | Police in Athens moved in to the Acropolis to break up a blockade by workers protesting over back pay who had locked themselves in to the site and were refusing to let in tourists

Drudgereport: NEW NORMAL: Long Recovery Looks Like a Recession (Depression) ...
Applications for jobless benefits rise to 462,000...
'Higher-than-expected'...
September home foreclosures top 100,000 for first time...
Inflation, Trade Deficit Surge Higher...
Dollar tanks as Bernanke speech looms...
Afghans allege abuse at secret US jail...
13 troops killed in Afghanistan -- in two days...
Fed Mulls Raising Inflation Expectations to Boost Economy...
Gold Hits Another Record...
Pension protests escalate in France...
Sarkozy stands firm...
Strikes shut Eiffel Tower...
Blankley: The White House Bunker So Soon?

Palestinians counter israeli offer on settlements (Washington Post) [ The Palestinians, unlike the lawless israelis are cognizant of u.n. resolutions, prior accords, international law, etc., in their proposal. ]

The Root of the Problem The Inflation Trader [ I think it unfortunate that most fail to properly weight in their analysis the irrevocable structural shift that has occurred in the defacto bankrupt u.s. and which cannot be undone. The ‘powers that be’ literally gave up (sold out) the american store (ie., technology transfers for money, protracted treasury depleting and geopolitically unwise wars, perma-frauds on wall street without prosecution, pervasive corruption at all levels including all three branches of the u.s. government, etc., covered elsewhere on this site.) Then of course there’s the insurmountable debt and interest thereon which is now eating into real (not fake) GDP along with other unserviceable promises exacerbating the magnitude of the nations defacto insolvency. ] ‘Your view of something often depends on the position from which you view it. I don’t mean this in the Theory-Of-Relativity sense that a moving observer perceives time differently from the stationary observer, although it is true there too of course. I mean it in the more prosaic sense that a tightrope seems higher when you are standing on it than when you are looking at it from below. As observers of the economy, our initial position – our ‘null hypothesis,’ as I sometimes refer to it – will very much drive our response to economic data; our market position may, if we are not very careful about it, affect our view of the likely future direction of the market. The Federal Reserve yesterday released the minutes of their most-recent meeting, and it looks to me as if their perspective about the necessity of quantitative easing is more biased than we had previously believed. While the minutes reflected (as they often have, especially over the last two years) a diversity of opinion, the following notation grabbed my attention:

Several members noted that unless the pace of economic recovery strengthened or underlying inflation moved back toward a level consistent with the Committee’s mandate, they would consider it appropriate to take action soon.

Notice the subtle difference between this and what actually was agreed to be released as the FOMC’s statement for that meeting:

Measures of underlying inflation are currently at levels somewhat below those the Committee judges most consistent, over the longer run, with its mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability.

“Longer run” in the second phrase seems to conflict with “soon” in the first phrase, making it appear that the official statement was a compromise with at least several members pushing for action “soon.” But that cadre also sets the bar quite low. They aren’t saying the Fed should ease further if things get worse, but that they should ease if things don’t get better quickly enough.That’s a very activist slant. While this group appears to be in the minority, we know from the various speeches that it isn’t a minority of one. QE certainly appears more likely every day that we don’t get positive blow-out economic news.

What is the justification for easing on the basis of a too-slow improvement? I imagine much of this concerns a fairly obscure debate about whether economic growth is “unit root” or not. Stay with me here. This sounds esoteric, but it matters.

It isn’t important to understand the mathematics behind determining whether a time series is generated by a process with a unit root; if you’re interested, you can read the Wikipedia article on ‘unit root.’ * For our purposes, what is important to understand is this: if economic output is not unit root but is rather trend-stationary, then over time the economy will tend to return to the trend level of output. If economic output is unit root, then a shock to the economy such as we have experienced will not naturally be followed by a return to the prior level of output. Actually, the Wikipedia chart is pretty helpful at understanding this – see below (chart). This picture taken from the Wikipedia article on "unit root" (see above for link)

So, the red line is what we have experienced the last few years (stylistically, not literally). If growth is “unit root” then the trend basically picks up from where output is in the immediate aftermath of the shock; if growth is trend-stationary then the recovery should see a period of faster-than-trend growth to get output back to the prior trend level. Note that in both cases, we are assuming no specific contribution from monetary policy. If you believe that growth is trend-stationary, then monetary policy merely serves to get growth back to trend more quickly, thereby minimizing the welfare loss from the output gap (schematically, the area between the dotted line and the “actual” red/blue line). Thereafter, monetary policy takes the pedal off the metal and lets growth converge with trend. If, on the other hand, you believe that growth is unit root, then monetary policy is either trying to arrest the decline in the red line to put the economy back on the green line, or it is (dangerously) trying to accelerate growth back to a “trend” that is not really a trend. I expect this is the substance of Hoenig’s objection – if we’re back near the green line, and output is unit root, then goosing the economy more “will lead to future imbalances that undermine stable long-run growth” (the phrase from the FOMC statement where Hoenig’s dissent was noted).

Clearly, most of the Committee doesn’t believe that output is unit root, because if it did then it would tend to be more suspicious of the ability of Fed policy to reduce that welfare loss. It is true that it is difficult to reject the unit root hypothesis for many economic time series – the ratio of noise to signal in economic data means it tends to be pretty hard to reject many hypotheses that are in the ballpark of being reasonable. But it matters. Problems like this, where the downside to being incorrect are possibly quite large compared to the upside to being right, argue against dramatic Fed action. However, the sense of heroism inculcated in us at a young age by Superman’s exploits argue in favor of heroic measures. Most of us, though, aren’t actually bulletproof. I will make one final observation about this that throws another wrench in the works. What if we don’t know where the dotted line in the picture above actually lies? Long-term economic growth has changed over time as the economy has matured, as population growth changed, and for other reasons. Suppose the unobservable dotted line actually intersects the right-end of the red line? In that case, the current debate takes a totally different patina. If trend growth has actually slowed down in the last decade, then arguably the economic and financial crisis may just have been returning us down to the real trend. In that case, further aggressive Fed action would be essentially trying to restore those dangerous imbalances. This, too, could be part of Hoenig’s argument. And this possibility, too, argues for conservative policy actions.

In economics, unfortunately, we don’t have a map we can look at where a bright red dot indicates You Are Here. But wherever we are, it seems that an increasingly influential minority at the Fed wants to be somewhere else. They are likely to get their wish. The markets responded to all of this yesterday in sleepy fashion, with one exception. The VIX plunged, dropping not only below 20 for the first time since April but also dropping below 19. The degree of confidence being expressed by the stock market here, heading into earnings season followed by a difficult holiday sales season, is chilling. It is hard to let go of suddenly-performing equities, but I am making sales here of some of my lower-yielding and less-conservative equity holdings. Other than some import price data today, there is little on the calendar. Chairman Bernanke is giving a speech on business innovation, but be alert for Q&A.

*Wikipedia: ‘Economists debate whether various economic statistics, especially output, have a unit root or are trend stationary. The issue is particularly popular in the literature on business cycles. Research on the subject began with Nelson and Plosser (1982) ^[1] whose paper on GNP and other output aggregates failed to reject the unit root hypothesis for these series. Since then, a debate—entwined with technical disputes on statistical methods—has ensued. Some economists^[2] argue that GDP has a unit root or structural break, implying that economic downturns result in permanently lower GDP levels in the long run. Other economists argue that GDP is trend-stationary: That is, when GDP dips below trend during a downturn it later returns to the level implied by the trend so that there is no permanent decrease in output. While the literature on the unit root hypothesis may consist of arcane debate on statistical methods, the implications of the hypothesis can have concrete implications for economic forecasts and policies.’

The Coming Bomb From Helicopter Ben Epeneter ‘At the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on November 2nd and 3rd, the Federal Reserve may be ready to buy anywhere from $500 billion to $1 trillion of US Treasuries and mortgages from banks, financial institutions, and the open market, an operation generally known as printing money. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernancke, New York Fed President William Dudley, Chicago President Charles Evans, the Boston President, and others are targeting a 2% inflation rate (the CPI is now about 1%). Their hope is that unemployment will be substantially reduced, gross domestic product will increase, and hope and happiness will return. We think the size of this money-printing operation qualifies as a "bomb" to the markets. Here's five reasons why it's a bomb and won't work as planned.
An increase in the inflation rate quite possibly already in the pipeline. Since Chairman (Helicopter Ben) Bernancke announced his intentions at the August Jackson Hole Wyoming conference, prices for gold, oil, copper, steel, platinum and other precious commodities have risen substantially. These price increases will eventually find their way into the final cost of goods and services you and I buy. An inflation rate of 2% could happen without any further action by the Federal Reserve.
Limited inflation targeting will not work as shown by history. Former Federal Reserve Chairman William McChesney Martin retired in 1970, but during his tenure, he testified before the Senate Finance Committee, "There is no validity whatever in the idea that any inflation, once accepted, can be confined to moderate proportions." The experience of the 70's seems to support his statement. During the 50's and 60's it was thought that some inflation was good for the economy. Looks those who forgot history are putting forth again the idea that limited inflation is good.
Businesses won't borrow until they have confidence that other costs won't go up. The real problem that Federal Reserve money printing doesn't address is the reluctance of business owners to hire more workers and expand business until they know what the costs are going to be (such as health insurance) and what the income tax rate will be (such as the Bush tax cut extension). In addition, owners are struggling with new regulations imposed upon them
Banks won't lend. Banks are building their capital bases and their lending standards have increased. Lending activity is down because of those reasons and providing more cash will not affect lending activity much if any.
The cost/benefit analysis doesn't support it. The Federal Reserve has modeled what would happen if they printed $500 billion of new money. The interest rate on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note would decrease by .15% or 15 basis points. Unemployment would decrease by 0.2%. GDP would increase by 0.2%. We would ask whether the cost of inflation to the United States as a whole is worth the benefits as modeled by the Fed…’

California governor debate turns into verbal brawl (Reuters) [ California, like the rest of the nation, is such a disaster that I’m disinclined to even comment upon the political scyllas and charybdises nationwide, except in the most glaring instances. Meg Whitman’s membership on the Goldman Sachs board, her $120 million payment to herself then laying off 10% of the company’s workforce, is such an instance. Come on! This is a no-brainer for California … Congratulations Governor Brown! ]

Gold hits record as Fed signal sinks dollar Vancouver Sun | Gold surged to a record high at $1,367.65 an ounce on Wednesday and silver to a 30-year peak.

85% of Americans Angry About Economy, Fuels Republican Advantage ABC News | All told, 85 percent of Americans are either angry about the economy or at least dissatisfied with it, according to the survey, produced for ABC and Yahoo! News by Langer Research Associates.

Fed declares it MUST create inflation! Uncommon Wisdom | Exactly one month ago today, I wrote that Fed Chief Ben Bernanke would soon “pull out nuclear-sized bombs to try and destroy the debt crisis that is affecting the world.”

Gold sets a new record; silver hits 30yr high Gold surged nearly 2% to a record high near $1,375 an ounce yesterday, boosted by worries over dollar depreciation after the Federal Reserve signalled it would start buying government debt again to stimulate the economy.

Gold Surges After Japan Says It Is Considering New QE And Geithner Guarantees Currency Wars A quick look at gold price action demonstrates that someone somewhere is actively debasing currencies. An even quicker scan of headlines confirms this to be the case: per Reuters “Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Wednesday the central bank will consider expanding a new scheme for buying assets ranging from government bonds to exchange-traded funds when deemed necessary.”

Gold futures rise above $1,360 as dollar falls Gold futures resumed their run higher, hitting an intraday high of $1,362 an ounce on Wednesday, as weakness in the U.S. dollar spurred demand for the precious metal.

White House rejects foreclosure moratorium The Obama administration rejected calls for a nationwide moratorium on housing foreclosures amid fears that such a move could cripple an already slow recovery of the U.S. housing market.

National / World

New 9/11 Footage Reveals WTC 7 Explosions Paul Joseph Watson | Video clip NIST fought tooth and nail to keep secret contains clear audible booms as eyewitness describes “continuing explosions” from direction of Building 7.

We’re Under Attack: Support Alternative Media in the Infowar Alex Jones & Aaron Dykes | Make no mistake, the Infowar is under attack. The establishment is alerted to the work that Infowarriors everywhere have done. Now, to continue fighting back in full force, we need your help.

Head of Investigator in Falcon Lake Case Delivered to Mexican Military Kurt Nimmo | The murder of Rolando Armando Flores Villegas points to involvement of drug cartel in the slaying of David Michael Hartley.

Ron Paul: Dollar Collapse Will Spur 2012 Presidential Run Paul Joseph Watson | Congressman indicates that worsening financial picture will re-ignite the Revolution.

New 9/11 Footage Reveals WTC 7 Explosions Newly obtained 9/11 eyewitness footage that NIST fought tooth and nail to keep secret contains what appears to be the sound of explosions coming from the vicinity of WTC 7 after the collapse of the twin towers, offering yet more startling evidence that the building, which was not hit by a plane yet collapsed demolition style, was deliberately imploded.

Jesse Ventura: US should abolish inherently corrupt political parties A dozen years after shocking the nation with an upset win as an Independent candidate in the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election, former wrestler Jesse Ventura doesn’t support third parties anymore.

Gallup: 46 Percent Say Federal Gov’t ‘Poses Immediate Threat’ to Rights and Freedoms of Ordinary Citizens; Only 51 Percent Say It Does Not The percentage of Americans who think the federal government poses “an immediate threat” to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens has increased significantly over the last seven years, rising from 30 percent to 46 percent, according to a Gallup poll conducted Sept. 13-16 and released today.

We’re Under Attack: Support Alternative Media in the Infowar This video is a chronicle of everything we’ve done here in the Infowar. We ask that you help get it out to everyone you know and tell them to join us live this Thursday, October 14th for an historic 24-hour broadcast to generate support and get out the word as far as we can.

Goldman Sachs Predicts Gold To Hit $1650 Within 12 Months Goldman Sachs expects the dollar to plummet following another round of quantitative easing and has raised its forecast for the gold price to $1,650 per ounce within the next 12 months.

3.5 Million On The Streets And Rising: As French Strikes Escalate, Just How Serious Is The Situation? Even as everyone in America seems to have anywhere between 2 and 4 opinions on Fraudclosure now that the topic is firmly planted in the MSM newsflow, things in Europe are not looking any better, even though most people there shun McMansions for their grandmothers’ houses.

Chicago Reporters Work as Rahm’s Press Thugs; Threaten Radio Host Asking Tough Questions We’ve often said that the media “protects” President Obama but this video from WIND radio host and Big Blogs contributor William Kelly shows this allegation literally.

‘Intl. lobby supports Israel’s crimes’ Former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney says a strongly-financed lobby throughout the world has helped Israel violate international law.

Drudgereport: NEW NORMAL: Long Recovery Looks Like a Recession (Depression) ...
Fed Mulls Raising Inflation Expectations to Boost Economy...
Gold Hits Another Record...
Pension protests escalate in France...
Sarkozy stands firm...
Strikes shut Eiffel Tower...
Blankley: The White House Bunker So Soon?

French protestors vow to continue strike (Washington Post) [ Hey … wake up … it’s not just in France … and, you’ll see unrest here also as coddling the frauds on wall street will make blood boil! ]Air and rail service throughout the country was disrupted by the protests -- the fourth in a month.

FDIC may seek $1 billion from failed-bank executives (Washington Post) [ Isn’t this exactly what the DOJ should be doing vis-à-vis the frauds on wall street; and additionally, the wall street frauds et als should as well be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.] The agency has authorized lawsuits against more than 50 officers and directors of failed banks across the country.

Obama and oil: How politics spilled into policy (Washington Post) [ There are many reasons to fault wobama for his flawed, failed presidency; but this is not one of them; he gets a pass here. It was all BP. ]Fundamental questions weren't pursued because top administration officials generally accepted the conventional view of the industry's safety record.

Families remember USS Cole 10 years later (Washington Post) [ If only Americans remembered the USS LIBERTY, they’d understand the israeli albatross strangling and bleeding the life out of america as they have since that fateful day.] In the Middle East, it's still 1947 (Washington Post) [ Indeed it should be! Among the few times the cia was correct, and they’ve been trying to put square pegs in round holes ever since, to america’s substantial detriment. I wonder what what those american sailors of the US Liberty killed by the israelis would say? USS Liberty Survivor Threatened by Unknown Israeli This is what happened to Phillip F. Tourney, decorated war hero and survivor of Israel’s premeditated attack on the USS Liberty 43 years ago. On the evening of Aug. 6, Tourney was verbally threatened by a foreign national claiming to work for the government of israel. As for the purported disdain shown for war mongerer netanayahu, if only wobama’s actions matched his words, the same would represent a major plus for him and the nation of america, so sorely in need of pluses whether the same be budgetary or economic or geopolitical. In fact, for America to abrogate 1948 would guarantee America’s survival, prosperity, and global hegemony in the most positive sense. ]

Attorneys general to initiate foreclosure probe (Washington Post) [Wow! Sounds like a plan! … The only thing certain in defacto bankrupt america today is uncertainty! Government Prepares To Seize Private Pensions Paul Joseph Watson | ‘Massive wealth confiscation program would replace 401(k) system with Social Security-run ponzi scheme. … US Drops From First To Seventh In Average Wealth Per Adult, Behind Singapore, Sweden, And… France As if we needed more warnings that the US is rapidly losing its position as the world’s superpower and wealth aggregator, is the following chart from Credit Suisse, which ranks the top 10 countries in the world in terms of average wealth per adult.] Attorneys general from dozens of states are set to announce Wednesday a joint investigation into the nation's biggest lenders, but will stop short of calling for a moratorium on foreclosures in their jurisdictions, officials said.

Fed leaning toward more stimulus, meeting minutes show (Washington Post) [ Most U.S. Stocks Gain on Bets Fed Will Act to Stimulate Economy [ The problem here is that stimulating stock prices and fraudulent wall street is quite the opposite of stimulating the economy. ] Survey: Half of Wall Street expects bigger bonus this year (Washington Post) [ This is nothing short of incredible … What they should be expecting, for the sake of the nation and the world, is an 8 by 10 jail cell! ] Bloomberg The percentage anticipating a bigger bonus increased from last year. For Markets, Bad News Seems to Be Good News which of course was the scenario just before the last crash when stocks were floating on air and b*** s***.

Last Time VIX Got This Low Stocks Had Problems Wiggin ‘Fear is looking cheap again. The Volatility Index fell Monday to 18.98, its lowest level since April 29. That date happens to fall a few days after the Dow and the S&P hit their post-2007 highs, and a few days before the May 6 “flash crash.” If you’re not familiar with the VIX, it’s a measure of fear in the market, based on what people are paying for options on the S&P 500 Index. (chart) Today, even as fear rises ever so slightly, the VIX struggles to break through 20. “We are getting close to extreme territory,” said Chris Mayer on April 12, when the VIX sat below 16. “We are near the limits of what that great rubber band of life will absorb before it snaps back. The VIX usually hovers between 10-20. So we are not quite there yet, but the tension is building.” He went on to cite some of the factors: “The financial system is still a rather creaky affair. Leverage is still high. Banks remain under-capitalized. The credit cycle has not yet run its full course, as there are still significant credit losses hiding in the cupboards of banks. “Then there are the governments of the world. The US has awful credit metrics. It is bleeding money and owes huge debts. The states are also bleeding money and have large debts, including giant gaps in unfunded pension liabilities. They are perhaps worse off, because unlike the US government, the states cannot print their own money. Then there is the EU. And Japan.” How much of this has changed, six months later to the day?’ ]Many Federal Reserve policymakers were leaning toward new action to boost the economy at their last meeting, but decided to gather additional information and more carefully analyze their strategy before making any moves, according to minutes of the meeting.

A Look at Small Business Sentiment, Cautious Consumers and the Stealth Recession Short ‘The latest issue of the NFIB Small Business Economic Trends is out today (download PDF). The heavily watched Small Business Optimism Index rose fractionally from 88.8 to 89.0. Here's a comment from the opening of the report:

The increase is certainly not a significant move, but at least it did not fall. Still, the Index remains in recession territory. The downturn may be officially over, but small business owners have for the most part seen no evidence of it.

The first chart below taken from the report with a line at 100 and some highlights added to help us visualize that dramatic change in small-business sentiment that accompanied the Great Financial Crisis. Compare, for example the Optimism Index of the past three years with the readings in 2000-2003 with the collapse of the Tech Bubble. (chart) The next chart is an overlay of the Optimism Index since 2005 with a 91-day moving average of the Consumer Metrics Institute's Weighted Composite Index, which I regularly monitor here. (chart) The chart suggests that the government's stimulus measures had a temporary impact consumer discretionary spending but little or no impact on small business sentiment. To paraphrase the new NFIB report, the recession may officially be over, but the Small Business Optimism Index is still in recession territory. Disclosure: No positions’

Wall Street: The Speed Traders - 60 Minutes - CBS NewsOct 10, 2010 ... 60 Minutes on CBS News: Wall Street: The Speed Traders - Steve Kroft gets a rare look inside the secretive world of "high-frequency trading ... www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6945451n [ CBS 60 minutes should be lauded for ‘daring to go where no man dare to go before’, particularly pre-election. Video Robot Traders of the NYSE ‘In a secret new building in new jersey ‘( meaningfully lawless, pervasively corrupt, multi-ethnic mob-infested/controlled jersey / http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      / , the perfect venue for this fraud )’, high-speed computers decide which stocks to buy and sell. Could this kind of automated "trading floor" lead to Wall Street's next "flash crash"?’ ( I’ve included this web site archived file of the transcript of the segment with links to the CBS videos, here http://albertpeia.com/highfrequencytradingcbs60minutes.htm ) I add the following personal observation with regard to a comment made by the only ‘high frequency trader’ who agreed to be interviewed; viz., that the ’process’ was all ‘math’. Unfortunately, investing, investments, security analysis / valuation, is not just math. Indeed, in my MBA Finance ( NYU GBA, eve program which included professors actually successfully working on the street ) I can attest to the complexity of the math / algorithms underlying the financial theory of investing for which there were no ‘short-cuts’ to understanding (Modigliani / Miller, Nobel Prize Winners , for example, were a royal ‘pain in the a** ’, the material being far more complex than the far more voluminous but much more easily synthesized law school fare.) The problem with said theory is that it’s just not how it’s done on wall street but rather, geared to being descriptive after the fact because invariably, if used as an investing approach you would find yourself a loser or at best, a tandem market performer (‘Random Walk Down Wall Street’, the ‘Random Monkey’, etc.). Day to day, week to week, the ‘random stroll’ is hard to dispute; yet, behind the scenes a different story of manipulation unfolds; which manipulation has become extremely efficient via lightning speed computerized churn and earn trades, and hence, very lucrative but debilitating to the nation. The churning and earning (commissions) is the end in itself. The math for streams of payments and alternatively receipts, and present values thereof is indeed math, and an actual application of same would be the insolvency, for example, of social security, etc.. I had the fortunate experience to have met with a successful wall street executive (chairman, executive committee, institutional research / brokerage house) who was talking up a career for me on wall street and whom I thought highly of owing to his accomplishments and candor, ie., what you read in , for example, the wall street journal, was total b*** s***, etc.. ( In his world there were few if any grey areas; ie., among others, there were only two kinds of people; viz., people with money, and people who want money. Of course, I knew this to be false based upon such individuals as my Pastor who Confirmed me and who easily could have been a lawyer, uncorrupt judge, etc., and of times past in the u.s. and no longer apposite a career soldier, law enforcers, teachers, artists, etc.). The point is, wall street wasn’t straight then, and far worse, certainly not today. No, the high frequency trades are a scam of great modern day proportion, which eat into the productive capabilities and value of the nation which is set forth elsewhere on my site and evidenced by this continuing debacle and national decline today. A good programmer can easily mask and obfuscate the scam with seemingly lightning fast moves which purport to be rational, but are but symptomatic of an economically (self-)destructive exercise for all but the greedy criminally insane on wall street today. As, if not more, important for civilized society is an unwillingness to do anything for money (ie., fraudulent wall street, mob, drug cartels, criminals, etc.; which of course is the problem confronting america particularly, and the world generally. ]

Dr. Doom Is Gloomy Once Again

Buying High, Selling Low Still Popular After All These Years

Report: Price tag for 'basic economic security' rising (Washington Post) [ Yeah … my mistake for not including virginia in the corrupt ‘national sinkhole’ category, from direct personal experience! The glaring problem is also the multi-ethnic mob-infested, corrupt, overly extravagant and costly ny-nj-ct metropolitan area (but particularly new york / wall street and new jersey) sinkhole / drain for the rest of the nation. [  http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]    The study grew out of research in which people were asked what would make them feel financially safe.

Government Prepares To Seize Private Pensions Paul Joseph Watson | ‘Massive wealth confiscation program would replace 401(k) system with Social Security-run ponzi scheme. The government is preparing to seize the private 401(k) pensions of millions of Americans while enforcing an additional 5 per cent payroll tax as part of a new bailout program that will empower the Social Security Administration to redistribute pension funds in a frightening example of big government gone wild. Public pension plans have been so aggressively looted already by the government that cities and counties face a $574 billion funding gap, according to a CNBC report. That black hole is set to be filled by a new proposal that will “fairly” distribute taxpayer-funded pensions to everyone, by confiscating the private wealth of millions of Americans. Its proponents express staggering arrogance in thinking that they can just steal money people have worked for decades to accrue as if it’s their own. Not only would the government confiscate 401(k) pensions, it would also impose a mandatory 5 per cent payroll tax payable by everyone, according to a hearing chaired last week by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. “This would, of course, be a sister government ponzi scheme working in tandem with Social Security, the primary purpose being to give big government politicians additional taxpayer funds to raid to pay for their out-of-control spending,” writes Connie Hair. The hearing was a platform for advocates of Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs), a program authored by Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York. Back in November 2008, Ghilarducci testified to Congress that 401(k)s and IRAs should be confiscated and converted into universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration. “You don’t hold hearings on something you don’t intend to do,” points out the Market Ticker blog. “I hate it when I’m right. I hate it even more when tens of millions of Americans are going to get reamed to pay for the crimes of the handful on Wall Street, and their crony enablers in Washington DC.”…’

Obama calls for $50 billion infrastructure initiative (Washington Post) [ Talk about late to the game and election-time politicking. Down the tubes / sinkholes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, even still Iraq, etc., went the u.s. treasury. What was he thinking … certainly not of his campaign promises which would have made all the difference in the world if he did. ]The president says the strategy would not only improve the economy in the long run but also create good jobs now.

Obama intensifies attack on Chamber (Washington Post) [ Wow! I’d call this a glass-house story if there ever was one! Drudgereport: GOP Leaders Slam Obama Over Foreign Contributions 'Lie'... FLASHBACK: Obama Accepting Untraceable Donations... ] The president continues attacks on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for its alleged foreign influence within the Republican caucus, whether through support for outsourcing jobs by major U.S. corporations or through overseas money making its way into the coffers of GOP-leaning interest groups.

Prospects for national foreclosure moratorium dim (Washington Post) [ For ya, agin’ ya … it’s hard to keep up … that spinning head of their’s, not yours. ] Administration officials worry that a moratorium could have a significant impact on the economic recovery.

More Bad News: 10 Things You Should Know About The Latest Economic Numbers The Economic Collapse | We are in such a rapid decline that it is hard for most Americans to even comprehend it.

We Are Looking at Trillion-Dollar Plus Annual Interest Payments on U.S. Debt Owens Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt. Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent ( Prechter and many others are also in this camp although I believe he does not factor in sufficiently the debasement of the u.s. currency / dollar in arriving at his numbers which do however, at 1,000 on the DOW reflect real, as opposed to inflated values of 3-4,000 owing to the ever more worthless Weimar dollars which provides ‘spin material’ for the wall street frauds but is really quite ominous going forward, and very detrimental in real economic terms.) [This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.] [ The reason for the necessity of prosecution is founded in the circumstances surrounding and the mindset of what one would deem ‘antisocial personalities’ (disorders) ( I prefer the prior descriptor of such as psychopathic; the euphemistic ‘sociopathic’ was ‘far too understanding’ in my view of the social / environmental factors allegedly giving rise to such negative / destructive behaviors. I don’t buy it.) Specifically, accepted studies / findings have concluded that the essential defect in those with antisocial (psychopathic) personality disorders is an inability to respond normally to fear-inducing stimuli, leading in turn to an inability to inhibit responses that should, but, as with wall street, have not resulted in punishment. Thus, while I think most on wall street have proven themselves criminally insane (for the money, ie., Stewart, ‘Den of Thieves’ / ‘Liar’s Poker’, the most recent financial debacle / crisis, which continues to this day); at the least, owing to a lack of fear of prosecution / punishment, they have become defacto sociopathic / psychopathic. ] Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Obama and oil: How politics spilled into policy (Washington Post) [ There are many reasons to fault wobama for his flawed, failed presidency; but this is not one of them; he gets a pass here. It was all BP. ]Fundamental questions weren't pursued because top administration officials generally accepted the conventional view of the industry's safety record.

Three Horrifying Facts About the US Debt “Situation” Phoenix Capital Research | The US Fed is now the second largest owner of US Treasuries.

Dollar Tumbles as Fed Prepares to Print More Money Reuters | The Fed may lead the way into more aggressive quantitative easing, which is seen knocking the dollar lower.

Marc Faber Says World Heading for `Major Inflection Point’ Global markets are heading for an “important turning point” as interest rates begin to rise within about three months and the U.S. dollar gains, according to investor Marc Faber.

A Detailed Look At Global Wealth Distribution By now it should be common knowledge to everyone that in American society, the top wealthiest 1 percentile controls all the political power, holds half the wealth, and pays what is claimed to be the bulk of the taxes (despite mile wide tax loopholes and Swiss bank accounts).

Max Keiser: They Are Going To Take The U.S Economy Down Max Keiser reports on how the “failing US Economy is going off-line”.

Government Prepares To Seize Private Pensions Paul Joseph Watson | ‘Massive wealth confiscation program would replace 401(k) system with Social Security-run ponzi scheme. … US Drops From First To Seventh In Average Wealth Per Adult, Behind Singapore, Sweden, And… France As if we needed more warnings that the US is rapidly losing its position as the world’s superpower and wealth aggregator, is the following chart from Credit Suisse, which ranks the top 10 countries in the world in terms of average wealth per adult.

Ron Paul Says a 2012 Run Depends On Fall of U.S. Dollar Hot on Call | Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R) told reporters Saturday that the bulk of the economic crisis is yet to come, and that a White House ’12 bid largely hinges on his anticipated fall of the U.S. dollar.

Obama will not ban home repossessions ‘fraud’ BBC | The White House has ruled out a temporary ban on the repossession of homes, despite a growing row over alleged malpractice.

The Fed’s QE2 — Speeding Our Demise America’s Faltering Empire | The Federal Reserve would like to return to the Glory Days of the Bubble Era (1995-2007).

National / World

French Workers Threaten General Strike in Response to Austerity Kurt Nimmo | In France, workers and students may soon revisit May, 1968, when a general strike shut down the country.

Update on New Hampshire Thugs Snatching Baby Girl Infowars.com | Story is now national news.

Obama Has Lost Almost Half Of Former Supporters With just three weeks to go until the midterm elections, a significant national poll indicates that Barack Obama has lost almost half of his support base since taking office, and while voters are turning away from the Democrats, they are also still turning away from Republicans.

Update on New Hampshire Thugs Snatching Baby Girl: Oath Keepers plans rally Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and John Irish confirm that court used Irish’s association with the group in order to snatch newborn baby.

French Workers Threaten General Strike in Response to Austerity In France, workers and students may soon revisit May, 1968. French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the French unions are locking horns over pension reforms.

Government Prepares To Seize Private Pensions The government is preparing to seize the private 401(k) pensions of millions of Americans while enforcing an additional 5 per cent payroll tax as part of a new bailout program that will empower the Social Security Administration to redistribute pension funds in a frightening example of big government gone wild.

Israeli MP: Shoot child rock throwers An Israeli lawmaker has backed the shooting of Palestinians that throw rocks at settler cars, saying even children should also be targeted.

Israeli prime minister offers conditional settlements freeze (Washington Post ) [ Déjà vu all over again? Now why is there a familiar ring to this story … maybe ‘cause of the ‘been there done that ‘ reality. It’s really quite incredible since israel’s in violation of u.n. resolutions (242, 338, etc.), international law, nuclear proliferation treaty, a drain on the the u.s. globally / domestically, etc.. The u.s. / international community should impose a resolution. ]

Hostage accidently killed by rescuers? (Washington Post) [ Winning hearts and minds … riiiiight! ]

Drudgereport: RASMUSSEN: 63% Angry at Policies of Federal Government; 43% Very Angry...
America on 'brink of a Second Revolution'... [ This is more real than most people can imagine! ]
SHE'S A WHAT?
BROWN CAMP CALLS HER A 'W**RE'...
SHOCK AUDIO...
Biden: 'If We Lose, We're Going To Play Hell'..
POLL: BUSH PULLS EVEN WITH OBAMA [ WOW! THE ULTIMATE INSULT … WELL, AS I’VE BEEN SAYING, THERE’S VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE … YET, WOBAMA HAD THE EASIEST ACT IN THE WORLD TO FOLLOW AND BLEW IT … OR THEM, BY NOT DOING WHAT HE CAMPAIGNED AND WON ON … BUT STILL, BUSH THE WAR CRIMINAL, MORON, INCOMPETENT, ETC., DOESN’T EVEN WARRANT A MENTION, SO DUMB AND PATHETIC WAS HE … POOR WOBAMA]
JOBLESS RATE TOPS 9.5% FOR 14 STRAIGHT MONTHS...
USA Won't Recover Lost Jobs 'Until March 2020' At Current Pace … (and they’re still dreamin’) ...
Buchanan: Food Stamp Nation...
WSJ: Dem unleash IRS and Justice on donors to political opponents … ( but still no wall street fraud prosecutions … they must be payin’ the big bucks ) ....
GOP Leaders Slam Obama Over Foreign Contributions 'Lie'...
FLASHBACK: Obama Accepting Untraceable Donations...
Dem attack ad sets 'new low for mud'...

REPORT: Brown's wife, not campaign aide, called Whitman a 'w****' … [ I’d be more concerned with the rudy giuliani kiss of death endorsement and the folowing seemingly indefensible actions ... Brown Lays Out Sharp Contrast with Billionaire Opponent in Two New ... Oct 1, 2010 ... The first ad highlights Jerry Brown's fiscal prudence and job creation ... when she paid herself $120 million right before the company laid off 10% of its workers.]

Dollar continues plunge as 'currency war' concerns linger...
Putin Selling First EURO Bonds...
China Reserves May Hit $2.5 Trillion...
Regulators planning worldwide rules for large firms...
420 banks demand 1-world currency...

FDIC may seek $1 billion from failed-bank executives (Washington Post) [ Isn’t this exactly what the DOJ should be doing vis-à-vis the frauds on wall street; and additionally, the wall street frauds et als should as well be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.] The agency has authorized lawsuits against more than 50 officers and directors of failed banks across the country.

MICROSOFT issues its biggest-ever security fix... Tue Oct 12, 2010 5:36pm EDT
* Microsoft addresses record 49 flaws in its software
* Affects Windows, Internet Explorer, Office
* Fixes vulnerability exploited by Stuxnet virus (Adds details on Stuxnet virus, comments from researcher)
By Jim Finkle BOSTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) issued its biggest-ever security fix on Tuesday, including repairs to its ubiquitous Windows operating system and Internet browser for flaws that could let hackers take control of a PC.The new patches aim to fix a number of vulnerabilities including the notorious Stuxnet virus that attacked an Iranian nuclear power plant and other industrial control systems around the world.Microsoft said four of the new patches -- software updates that write over glitches -- were of the highest priority and should be deployed immediately to protect users from potential criminal attacks on the Windows operating systems.Microsoft said it also repaired other less serious security weaknesses in Windows, along with security problems in its widely used Office software for PCs and Microsoft Server software for business computers.Microsoft released 16 security patches to address 49 problems in its products, many of which were discovered by outside researchers who seek out such vulnerabilities to win cash bounties as well as notoriety for their technical prowess."This is a huge jump," said Amol Sarwate, a research manager with computer security provider Qualys Inc. "I think the reason for it is that more and more people are out there looking for vulnerabilities."The geeks who report such vulnerabilities to software makers are known as "white hat" hackers. Sarwate warned that there are also plenty of "black hats," or criminal hackers who look for vulnerabilities in software that they can exploit to launch attacks on computer systems.Indeed, the world's biggest software maker said that the patches released on Tuesday include software to fix a vulnerability exploited by the Stuxnet virus -- a malicious program that attacks PCs used to run power plants and other infrastructure running Siemens (SIEGn.DE) industrial control systems.The virus, which infected computers at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, was discovered over the summer. Security research Symantec said that it detected the highest concentration of the virus on computer systems in Iran, though it was also spotted in Indonesia, India, the United States, Australia, Britain, Malaysia and Pakistan.So far Microsoft has patched three of the four vulnerabilities exploited by Stuxnet's unknown creators.The total of 49 vulnerabilities exceeds the previous record of 34, which was set in October 2009 and matched in June and August of this year.The constant patching of PCs is a time-consuming process for corporate users, who need to test the fixes before they deploy them to make sure they do not cause machines to crash because of compatibility problems with existing software. (Reporting by Jim Finkle. Editing by Robert MacMillan, Gary Hill)

The Two Parties in a Race to the Fiscal Bottom The Daily Bail ‘Polticians lie. The national debt clock tells the truth. Brand new David Stockman interview with the Fiscal Times.

---

David Stockman, the former budget director during Ronald Reagan’s first term, speaks out on the Obama presidency, the state of the economy, the Bush tax cuts, and what the midterm results might do to the Democratic agenda.

The Bush tax cuts are “unaffordable,’’ he says. Extending them would be a “travesty.” President Obama’s stimulus program was “futile.” Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, is undermining the whole economy.

Today, Stockman says,

• “I invest in anything that Bernanke can’t destroy, including gold, canned beans, bottled water and flashlight batteries.”

Stockman, Reagan’s budget director from 1981 to 1985, initially became famous for his zeal in slashing government spending on almost everything except defense. Less government and lower taxes, he fervently believed, would ultimately mean more prosperity for everyone. But he will be best remembered for confessing, in an interview with William Greider for The Atlantic Monthly, his disillusionment with the “supply-side” economic policies that led to soaring deficits under Reagan. “None of us really understands what’s going on with all these numbers,’’ he declared, along with many other criticisms that nearly got him fired.

The Fiscal Times [TFT]: What should the president and Congress do about the Bush tax cuts this year?

David Stockman [DS]:

• The two parties are in a race to the fiscal bottom to see which one can bury our children and grandchildren deeper in debt. The Republicans were utterly untruthful when they recently pledged no tax increases for anyone, anytime, ever. The Democrats are just as bad — running their usual campaign of political terror on social security and other entitlements while loudly exempting all except the top 2 percent of taxpayers from paying more for the massively underfunded government they insist we need.

• In effect, we undertook a national leveraged buyout, raising total credit market debt to $52 trillion, which represented a 3.6X leverage ratio against national income or GDP.

The fact is, the Bush tax cuts were unaffordable when enacted a decade ago. Now, two unfinanced wars later, and after a massive Wall Street bailout and trillion-dollar stimulus spending spree, it is nothing less than a fiscal travesty to continue adding $300 billion per year to the national debt. This is especially true since these tax cuts go to the top 50 percent of households, which can get by, if need be, with the surfeit of consumption goods they accumulated during the bubble years. So Congress should allow the Bush tax cuts to expire for everyone. By doing nothing, the government would be committing its first act of fiscal truth-telling in decades.

TFT: Should the government provide more stimulus for the economy, or cut spending to bring the deficit down?

DS: We are not in a conventional business cycle recovery, so stimulus is futile and just adds needlessly to the $9 trillion of Treasury paper already floating dangerously around world financial markets. Instead, after 40 years of profligate accumulation of public and private debt, and reckless money-printing by the Fed, we had an economic crash landing, which left us with an enduring structural breakdown, not just a cyclical downturn.

• The only solution is a long period of debt deflation, downsizing and economic rehabilitation, including a sustained downshift in consumption and corresponding rise in national savings.

• Continue reading the Stockman interview at the Fiscal Times

Author's Disclosure: None’

My Weekly Market Forecast: Currency Pairs Edition Summers ‘… On this side of the pond, some 43 million Americans (13% of the total population) are officially living in poverty. The jobs numbers are a joke and all talk of recovery has been manufactured via accounting gimmicks or full-scale fraud. I’m detailing more of this in tomorrow’s article, but for the sake of this week’s forecast, I’m simply trying to point out that the US economy is on the brink of full-scale disaster and at some point (possibly this week) this reality could (will) hit the stock market…’

Markets Continue to Rise Despite Poor Data Equedia Network Corporation‘…It doesn't matter what economic data is being thrown at us. The markets have continued to soar despite poor economic numbers, growth, and scandals. But eventually, these numbers will catch up with the markets.It's no secret that the Obama administration is doing whatever it can to help fuel the growth in the stock market ahead of the midterm elections in November. He has to. The stock market has become a leading indicator for confidence in our economy and judging by Obama's approval rating, the Democrats could easily lose their power in the Senate. That's why they have continuously pumped money into the markets …’

Meaningless Monday: Rethinking That Round Earth Idea Davis ‘… As I mentioned, because other countries aren’t as stupid as we imagine, we need to create 3 dollars in order to borrow 1. That gives us $1 more debt (out of 10) and $2 less value to our remaining pile. How long can that go on? One reason our currency creation is so inefficient is because the people we are giving the money to, the Banks, aren’t willing to invest it in America either. They have their own debt holes to fill and most of the money we give them goes into a derivatives ($200Tn and rising) juggling scheme that makes them look solvent and masks their very, very questionable asset bases.

The banks take the money the Fed is dumping on them and speculate in commodities and foreign currencies and THEN they buy some TBills in order to keep the treadmill running. This forces asset bubbles in things like gold and oil but they too are a complete illusion because it’s only the idiots with dollars that are buying them - the rest of the World stopped chasing shiny metals in June but the flat-Earthers in the US just didn’t seem to get the message. Here’s gold priced in Euros, which is DOWN 8% in 3 months! (chart)

Our stock markets, of course, look just even worse - down 10% to the Euro in the last 3 months, but that won’t stop the MSM from engaging in the Grand Delusion that they are feeding to the voters this month - that everything is somehow going according to plan (what plan?) and happy days are just around the corner - as long as Americans can keep pretending the World is not round at all but a neat little square with our great nation on top and in the center.

Well, there’s a lot to be said for getting out while you’re on top - or at least while there are still enough people fooled into believing you are on top. As the Joker says in the "what plan?" link above - Nobody panics when things go according to plan, EVEN WHEN THE PLAN IS HORRIFYING!

That’s what we have now, a horrifying plan to prop up the US Economy based on the belief that the US is the center of the universe and that the rest of the World will be fooled by our fiscal nonsense. As you can see from the gold chart and the S&P chart - we stopped fooling them a long time ago. What will happen when we can no longer fool ourselves?

It’s a meaningless semi-holiday in America - a day the bulls can only pray will be quiet, because all my charting indicates that real activity is very likely to come to the downside this week.’

Bad News Is Still Good News Nyaradi ‘Last week was all about “bad news being good” and the Fed and QE2. The news was almost uniformly bad, and regarding QE2 the questions were about how much and when and how much is already priced into the markets?

Everything else including mixed earnings reports, “Foreclosure Gate” and an almost unbelievably bad employment report on Friday was overshadowed by the promise of more “punch in the punchbowl” from Dr. Bernanke and his cohorts at the Federal Reserve.

In a continuation of the “bad news is good news” theme, markets were able to rally up to significant resistance and remain vastly overbought while gold continued its tear and the dollar remained under attack.

The only question that seems to remain is whether or not Dr. Bernanke will be able to offset the ongoing torrent of negative news and keep our economic ship afloat.

Looking At My Screens

On the technical front, markets certainly remain in dangerous territory. RSI is at levels that typically precede significant corrections and prices are up against the May highs and significant resistance there. We also see stochastic at overbought levels and investor sentiment at excessively bullish levels.

Contrary to prevailing popular opinion, stock prices can go down as well as up.

The View from 35,000 Feet

On a fundamental level, “bad news continued to be good” as the unemployment report was a disaster and “Foreclosuregate” threatens to freeze the entire real estate market and even threaten the financial system for some unknown period of time.

On the employment front, the economy shed 95,000 jobs instead of a projected small gain and this fact alone has led to the market expecting a new round of quantitative easing coming out of the Feds next meeting. The decline in non farm payrolls wasn’t the only bad news as U6 rose to 17.1% from 16.7%, indicating a higher level of underemployment than last month even as the overall unemployment rate remained static at 9.6%.

There are now fewer people working in America than there were two years ago and for those working, the average workweek remained flat at about 32 hours, indicating no imminent change in hiring by companies.

The other piece of almost unbelievable news was the announcement that many foreclosures are in jeopardy because they may not have been carried out correctly. Allegations of fraud are flying and in response to the flap, foreclosures have been halted in many states including the suspension of foreclosure activities by Bank of America in all 50 states. The crisis seems to be set to widen with the announcement that 40 states attorneys general are joining forces to launch an investigation into these allegations as early as Tuesday.

This is a complex and murky issue but basically it seems to throw into question the validity of thousands of foreclosures that have taken place and present the possibility that this situation could literally freeze the foreclosure process for some unknown period of time.

The ramifications go beyond a frozen real estate market in that it also could spread to big banks like Bank of America (BAC), JP Morgan (JPM) and Citigroup (C) which are highly active in this field and by preventing them from offloading these non performing loans from their balance sheets for some unknown period of time.

Estimates of potential fines could range as high as $10 Billion in Ohio alone for one company being targeted by the Ohio Attorney General and one can only guess about how deep and black this hole might be.

And finally, a couple of notes regarding QE 2 came from the President of the St. Louis Fed who said that its quite possible they could wait until the December meeting to initiate QE2 and a word of warning from the IMF’s chief economist who said on CNBC, “I don’t think we should fool ourselves. We have used most of the monetary ammunition we have.”

What It All Means

So, all in all, this is a fine kettle of fish.

The entire global equities market is betting that “Big Ben” can save the world yet again and that he’ll start in November. Meanwhile we have a dramatically slowing economy that can’t generate even a small level of job growth and the potential for a massive implosion in the real estate and credit world involving a gigantic asset class, Residential Mortgage Backed Securities.

I’ve said before that you can’t make this kind of stuff up and, unfortunately, that’s still true today as we face the beginning of what could be an almost irrelevant earnings season.’

Fed's Yellen: Possible that low rates feed bubbles (Reuters) [ Another one of those daah! moments as if the ‘senile greenspun / no-recession helicopter ben’ debacle, along with other missteps, isn’t testament to that. ]

America’s Third World Economy Paul Craig Roberts | The latest jobs report issued shows that America’s transformation into a third world economy continues.

More Bad News: 10 Things You Should Know About The Latest Economic Numbers The Economic Collapse | We are in such a rapid decline that it is hard for most Americans to even comprehend it.

Foreclosure Freeze: JPMorgan Chase, GMAC Deny “Robo-Signers” Led to Inappropriate Foreclosures Carlo Gabriel Simbajon | “Robo-signers,” a termed coined by Iowa assistant attorney general, Patrick Madigan, refer to bank employees or contractors who signed off on mortgage documents without reading or checking them.

Worldwide Hyperinflation Race FSK’s Guide to Reality | Aiming for stable exchange rates, other countries are also inflating their money.

Gold Rises as Bankster Currency War Gains Momentum Globalist loan sharks feign worry. Unemployment is so bad in the United States, the government is thinking about slapping tariffs on cheap Chinese slave labor products.

Dollar falls as ‘currency war’ concerns linger The dollar fell against the euro and yen on Monday after the world’s top finance officials failed to reach a consensus on measures to head off what some see as a looming “currency war”, analysts said.

Foreclosuregate If you work in the mortgage industry or for a title insurer, you might not want to make any plans for the next six months. Foreclosuregate is about to explode. It is being alleged that many prominent mortgage lenders have been using materially flawed paperwork to evict homeowners.

Fed Intervention Could Lead to ‘Flash Crash’: Strategist The stock market is at risk of another flash crash because of the Federal Reserve’s liquidity-boosting measures, Robin Griffiths, technical strategist at Cazenove Capital, told CNBC Monday.

National / World

Confirmed: Court Did Rely on Oath Keeper Association to Take Baby Stewart Rhodes | Either you defend the Constitution for everyone, or we may as well just scrap it and let government agencies and judges do whatever they want to those they deem bad.

Gold Rises as Bankster Currency War Gains Momentum Kurt Nimmo | A global currency war will crash national economies and foment social chaos of the sort the globalists will exploit in order to sell their world government agenda.

Feds Treat Baby-Snatch Protesters Like Terrorists Paul Joseph Watson | FBI brings bomb dogs to hospital demonstration in effort to smear dissent against state kidnapping of children on political grounds as domestic extremism

Inflation to Make All Americans Billionaires By 2020 National Inflation Association | When our government creates inflation with the goal of generating higher incomes, the real incomes of Americans always decline dramatically.

7/7 Investigation Day One: “All Conspiracy Theories Have No Basis” Over five years after the London bombings of July 7, 2005 took place, an inquest set up to explore the attacks has declared on day one that any deviations from the official version of events has no basis in evidence.

CONFIRMED: Court Did Rely on Oath Keeper Association to Take Baby There has been some confusion about this case, leading some commentators to believe that the reference to John Irish’s “association” with Oath Keepers was in some other document, rather than in the affidavit relied on by the Court’s Order. Alex Jones’ site, in an effort to protect the privacy of the family, posted excerpts from two different documents, leading some to question where the reference actually was.

Holdren 1969 : The Science Is Settled – Everyone Starving Before The Year 2000 Turns out we have all been dead for over a decade. So what are we arguing about? Holdren wrote this in 1969. Real Science Oct 11, 2010 Turns out we have all been dead for over a decade. So what are we arguing about? Holdren wrote this in 1969.

World food production must double in the period 1965-2000 to stay even; it must triple if nutrition is to be brought up to minimum requirements. That there is insufficient additional, good quality agricultural land available in the world to meet these needs is so well documented (Borgstrom, 1965) that we will not belabor the point here.

Then he went into a long diatribe about how we are going to run out of water, energy, food, land – and that the heat from nuclear power plants is going to destroy the climate. 

A more easily evaluated problem is the tremendous quantity of waste heat generated at nuclear installations (to say nothing of the usable power output, which, as with power from whatever source, must also ultimately be dissipated as heat). Both have potentially disastrous effects on the local and world ecological and climatological balance.

This guy must be the life of the party. After a dozen pages of psychotic disaster prediction, he gets to the punch line. He wants to snip men’s private parts.

If we may safely rule out circumvention of the Second Law or the divorce of energy requirements from population size, this suggests that, whatever science and technology may accomplish, population growth must be stopped.

But it cannot be emphasized enough that if the population control measures are not initiated immediately and effectively, all the technology man can bring to bear will not fend off the misery to come.’0 Therefore, confronted as we are with limited resources of time and money, we must consider carefully what fraction of our effort should be applied to the cure of the disease itself instead of to the  temporary relief of the symptoms. We should ask, for example, how many vasectomies could be performed by a program funded with the 1.8 billion dollars required to build a single nuclear agro-industrial complex, and what the relative impact on the problem would be in both the short and long terms. The decision for population control will be opposed by growth-minded economists and businessmen, by nationalistic statesmen, by zealous religious leaders, and by the myopic and well-fed of every description. It is therefore incumbent on all who  sense the limitations of technology and the fragility of the environmental balance to make themselves heard above the hollow, optimistic chorus-to convince society  and its leaders that there is no alternative but the cessation of our irresponsible,  all-demanding, and all-consuming population growth.

In other words, he proposed forced sterilization based on his hair-brained theories. His reward for being dangerous, wrong and anti-democratic? Obama made him his science advisor.

FDIC may seek $1 billion from failed-bank executives (Washington Post) [ Isn’t this exactly what the DOJ should be doing vis-à-vis the frauds on wall street; and additionally, the wall street frauds et als should as well be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.] The agency has authorized lawsuits against more than 50 officers and directors of failed banks across the country.

Jobless numbers pose challenge for Obama, Democrats (Washington Post) [ My God! You can’t make this stuff up. The lunatics are running the asylum; even the senile ones like the co-architect of the current debacle, greenspun. Challenge? I’d say Gordian Knot. And, importantly, no swords allowed … they’re all in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, etc… ]The latest report, showing the unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent, is the last before crucial midterm elections in which the troubled job market has emerged as a paramount issue.

Chorus builds for foreclosure moratorium (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! After all, foreclosures and recoveries, like oil and water (golly, I must still have BP / gulf spill on the brain), they don’t mix. And, we all know as per no-recession helicopter ben, we’re in recovery mode, green shoots and all! ] Pressure for a nationwide moratorium mounted Friday when Bank of America, the nation's largest bank, halted evictions in all 50 states and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who is locked in a tight reelection campaign, called on other major lenders to follow suit.

Buyer anxiety mounts as foreclosure deals freeze / Homeowners' dreams in limbo (Washington Post) [ Ah! That’s not so bad … you know … being in limbo, that is … after all, as the lobotomized VP Biden has warned, ‘Drudgereport: Biden: 'If We Lose, We're Going To Play Hell'..’ … so that place between heaven and hell (limbo) ain’t lookin’ so bad … compared to hell that is.] While impact of halted sales has been worse in regions where lenders need court orders to seize homes, D.C. area market has also been affected.

Arab League backs Palestinian refusal on talks unless Israel halts West Bank settlements (Washington Post) [ Lots of backslappin’ in israel mission accomplished … yeah, another fine mess they’ve gotten the world into … another set of peace talks down the drain, again sabotaged by the israelis … not that the israelis had anything in mind other than literally … to talk … out of both sides of the mouths. ]

Bulls Celebrate Bad News: Dave's Daily ‘The unemployment report came in "worse than expected" but in this Orwellian environment when the mantra is: "good news is good and bad news is better", well then, that's the way we roll. Bulls like the notion of more QE, zero interest rates and Washington gridlock. As to the latter, distrust of government competence and fiscal discipline has never been more universal. So we rallied... However, things weren't all peaches and cream since chip equipment maker Novellus (NVLS) issued a warning pulling down its shares and dragging others down with it. And, while it may seem nice that many banks are halting foreclosure procedures it really just postpones the inevitable and makes things harder for shareholders--unless another bailout is in the works. Markets are "forward-looking" and if the current theory holds, there must be a lot of bad news ahead! …’

The Real World vs. the Stock Market Reitmeister ‘September's Employment Situation was worse than expected Friday morning. Yet bad news is good news these days for those who think a second round of Fed quantitative easing (QE2) will bolster the markets. So stocks bolted into positive territory on the day, pushing up to Dow 11,000.

It’s an odd dichotomy. We have a somewhat improving economy. Yet the average person does not feel better about the situation. That’s because either they or someone close to them is out of work. (The classic economic joke is that a Recession is when your neighbor is out of work. A Depression is when you are.)

Along these lines I noticed something odd today. I drove to my children’s school for Parent-Teacher conferences. The school is 14 miles away along fairly busy roads. On the route are three McDonalds. That sounds fairly normal. But then I saw five Cash for Gold locations. Two of them are brand new; the other three came around just over the past couple years.

Yes, gold prices are high… but the real reason for the existence of these places is for people to trade in family heirlooms for cash because they are going broke. Then throw in all the vacant stores and it’s hard to get a sense that things are truly getting better.

So why are corporate profits going higher? Three main reasons:

1) Major cost cutting. Mostly on the staffing side of the equation. So each dollar in revenue produces more profit.

2) Modestly improving US economy moves up revenue a bit. Combine that with #1 above and it creates attractive year over year profit growth.

3) About half of US corporate profits these days come from overseas. Europe may be weak, but growth in China, India, Brazil etc. more than makes up for that shortfall.

This is why healthy corporate profits and a rising stock market seem to be disconnected from the realities in our own backyards. The good news is that conditions in the US should keep modestly improving, which certainly bolsters the case for the stock market going forward. Combine this with the alternatives to the stock market right now are not attractive.

Holding cash? No thanks.

Treasuries? That bubble is going to pop sometime (and yes I would recommend buying TBF or TBT for when that party takes place).

Gold? That is getting frothy right now. I might be tempted to pick up some on a pull back. But my history of trading gold is poor. In my long term account I’ve been riding the bull rally since 2002 when prices were around $300 per ounce. Still have plenty of shares on hand, mostly GDX (gold miners ETF).

There is lots in store next week when earnings season heats up. If good results combine with healthy guidance for the future, then the market will move to the recent highs of Dow 11,300. If the results are poor, then we'll probably see a retrace to the 50/200 day moving averages which are converged at around 10,500. My bet is that we do make it to 11,300. I'm not expecting much beyond that til next year.

My Two Cents

During the day I read many other investment articles of interest. Here are links to some new ones with my two cents added underneath.

Rail Traffic Maintains Year High Levels (Todd Sullivan)

There are a lot of estimate increases recently for the major rails. This is a very positive sign going into earnings season. I recently picked up some UNP because of it. But no shame in CSX Corp. (CSX), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC) etc.

Gaining Traction with Caterpillar? (Ray Merola)

All the fundamentals are going right for them including the recent drop in the US dollar making their exports more attractive. I personally prefer Cummins (CMI) and Joy Global (JOYG). But no shame in owning CAT.

We Don't Need QE2 (Calafia Beach Pundit)

Agreed. No shortage of money. And no person in their right mind would hold cash right now if they felt there wasn't a better way to get a return. So if they are not risking that money it's because the reward isn't there. That is the problem.

Disclosure: I own shares in JOYG, CMI and UNP

Bank of America halting all foreclosure sales The Washington Post | Bank of America said Friday it is halting all foreclosure sales and foreclosure proceedings nationwide while it reviews the documents being used to justify homeowner evictions.

Three Horrifying Facts About the US Debt “Situation” Phoenix Capital Research | The US Fed is now the second largest owner of US Treasuries.

Dollar Tumbles as Fed Prepares to Print More Money Reuters | The Fed may lead the way into more aggressive quantitative easing, which is seen knocking the dollar lower.

Federal Reserve Officials: Americans Are Saving Too Much Money So We Need To Purposely Generate More Inflation To Get Them Spending Again Some top Federal Reserve officials have come up with a really bizarre proposal for stimulating the U.S. economy. As unbelievable as it sounds, what they actually propose to do is to purposely raise the rate of inflation so that Americans will stop saving so much money and will start spending wildly again.

World Risks Greater Depression if Currency Tensions Escalate: Mobius Rising tensions amid an escalating global currency war has sparked talk of capital controls, but such a move would be dire for markets, warned Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group on CNBC Friday.

Grayson Sends Letter To Geithner, Bernanke Demanding Foreclosure Freeze, Warns Of Systemic Bank Failure Risk Alan Grayson is back on the scene, having sent a letter to Financial Stability Oversight Council which includes pretty much all of Wall Street’s pawns, including Bernanke, Geithner, Bair, Gensler, Walsh, and DeMarco, in which he asks the FSOC to “suspend foreclosures until this problem is understood and its ramifications dealt with.”

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The news was bad on the jobs front, but stocks rally anyway. The new b*** s*** story, things so bad that more fiat Weimar dollar currency will be injected into ‘the system’ (QE, etc.) and presumably find their way to stocks for the old ‘churn-and-earn’. This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits since, beyond the ‘anything goes’ pre-election spin, market-frothing, etc., there’s much, much worse to come. Previously: This is so owing to the irrevocable structural shift (discussed many times on this site) that has occurred in the most negative sense for the defacto bankrupt u.s.. The ol’ days are done! It’s a whole new ballgame. The following is a pragmatic summary explanation of the short-term that is not, nor ever has been sustainable since the money for the churn-and-earn worth less paper movement has to come from some real place which is downside all the way for solid and real economic growth (don’t forget; the so-called minds that brought on this continued debacle for which frauds they’ve not been prosecuted are, with the help of legislated mark to anything accounting rule changes and churn-and-earn high frequency programmed trading, now flush with the proceeds of their multi-trillion dollar fraud / scam. Indeed, they’re shootin’ for 500 dollar loaves of bread and 1 dollar stocks selling for like amount

THE NEW WALL STREET FRAUD / SCAM- An easy to understand, illustrative, simple (if not simplistic) analogy, though not perfect, to wall street’s current scam / fraud with corrupt fed / government cooperation is as follows:

(These Amounts Are Not Real But Illustrative)	$1 share of stock	$1 paper dollar	$1 piece of gold	$1 loaf of bread	$1 bond	$1 cd
Valuation after doubling amount of money (printing, QE, etc.) in dollars	$2 (but the very temporary spike less than that accorded hard assets)	$1	$2	$2	$1	$1

It is axiomatic that inflation bankrupts the lender (as a simplistic rule). Indeed, the bond and cd (both loans, your assets) are still worth the debased $1 though they buy but half the real, hard assets ie., gold, precious metals, commodities, etc. (hence, the appreciation we’ve seen). The share of stock, though paper, seems to enjoy an advantage over the aforesaid debt instruments particularly in light of the artificial demand that the computerized buy programs along with the QE funds made available to stimulate demand for these paper shares and the spin accorded same. The problem is, while the churn and earn commissions are also eating away at the surplus funds which are artificially enhancing demand for the paper shares of stock, the quality of earnings and the stability of the earnings (higher costs, etc.) of the companies of said paper shares are negatively impacted which historically has ended quite badly for all but the frauds on wall street. Moreover, unless they’re complete fools, who would buy debt instruments in such an environment, least of all those from defacto bankrupt america. There has never, nor could there be an exception to this bad outcome since no new value is created by increasing the amount of money by printing more and the debasement thereof, particularly where there has been an irrevocable structural shift in real economic terms precluding same and now as well, a deficit scenario that is insurmountable and has begun to eat into GDP. The foregoing also is an attempt to drive / herd investors into stocks which enables the insiders to sell high as well as to churn and commission the artificial bubble, however ephemeral.

The glaring problem is also the multi-ethnic mob-infested, corrupt, overly extravagant and costly ny-nj-ct metropolitan area (but particularly new york / wall street and new jersey) sinkhole / drain for the rest of the nation.

We Are Looking at Trillion-Dollar Plus Annual Interest Payments on U.S. Debt Owens Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt. Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent ( Prechter and many others are also in this camp although I believe he does not factor in sufficiently the debasement of the u.s. currency / dollar in arriving at his numbers which do however, at 1,000 on the DOW reflect real, as opposed to inflated values of 3-4,000 owing to the ever more worthless Weimar dollars which provides ‘spin material’ for the wall street frauds but is really quite ominous going forward, and very detrimental in real economic terms.) [This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.] [ The reason for the necessity of prosecution is founded in the circumstances surrounding and the mindset of what one would deem ‘antisocial personalities’ (disorders) ( I prefer the prior descriptor of such as psychopathic; the euphemistic ‘sociopathic’ was ‘far too understanding’ in my view of the social / environmental factors allegedly giving rise to such negative / destructive behaviors. I don’t buy it.) Specifically, accepted studies / findings have concluded that the essential defect in those with antisocial (psychopathic) personality disorders is an inability to respond normally to fear-inducing stimuli, leading in turn to an inability to inhibit responses that should, but, as with wall street, have not resulted in punishment. Thus, while I think most on wall street have proven themselves criminally insane (for the money, ie., Stewart, ‘Den of Thieves’ / ‘Liar’s Poker’, the most recent financial debacle / crisis, which continues to this day); at the least, owing to a lack of fear of prosecution / punishment, they have become defacto sociopathic / psychopathic. ] Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

_{Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a Depression by 2011}

_{The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012 Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest. Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation Interest Rates will Increase U.S. Dollar will Decline Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012).}

Just a push of the computer programmed trade button and off we go, reality / valuation / economics be damned. In real security analysis (very simplified / summarized), as opposed to the continued frauds on wall street, one must begin with the largest and most significant aggregate (a simple word picture / analogy: ‘rising tide lifts all boats’). If you get this right, the probabilities in your favor are substantially enhanced. From there, you want leading industries, and leading companies within said leading industries (again, larger aggregates then picks, to enhance probabilities, not guarantees, in your favor). Your time frame, 1-3-5 yrs tops for projections, (including income statement/EPS, balance sheet, and applying an appropriate P/E – a detailed, multi-faceted approach beyond what could be described in this summary); and, that’s all they are, projections. Beyond that time frame, your guess. On fraudulent wall street, every day, though already discounted in large part (6-8 mos, approx.), the market spins, churns, and with lightning fast computerized high-frequency trade programs commissions in huge volumes like no other time in financial history when real valuation meant something, with no net economic value added, but very lucrative to the frauds on wall street, which ultimately is a net detriment to the economy / the nation /and other industries as we’ve seen and as described elsewhere on this site and in these posts http://albertpeia.com . Preposterously, they even sometimes refer to seasonal factors as if hearing them for the first time and ‘explaining’ an up move (almost invariably already discounted). Today, they shrugged off the deepening economic reality despite the election year frothing / manipulations.

UNDERSTANDING THE ( LAST BUT ONGOING SINCE WORTHLESS TOXIC ASSETS / PAPER, THE PRODUCTS OF THEIR FRAUD, NOW MARKED TO ANYTHING AS PER LEGISLATED FASB RULE CHANGE STILL OUT THERE IN THE MANY TRILLIONS) GREAT WALL STREET FRAUD (summarized - as posted on this site on the dates as indicated)
*(12-30-07) The best and easiest to understand analogy, though not perfect, to the wall street markets is the kiting of checks at lightning computerized trading speed on which commissions are taken although there is nothing of real value underlying their fraudulent scheme. (10-10-08) Now to bring this analogy closer to the current crisis, assume as is the case of the worthless sub-prime securities, there is no charge off/debit as is ordinarily the case with a cleared check and the worthless 'collateralized sub-prime security' is repackaged, resold, recommissioned based upon as collateral the original worthless security which is in turn repackaged, resold, recommissioned based upon as collateral the subsequent worthless security, and so on to the tune of (hundreds of) trillions of this worthless, fraudulent paper (blatent securities fraud which must be prosecuted and fraudulently derived profits disgorged).
*(12-31-07) HIGH FREQUENCY PROGRAMMED TRADING: The ubiquitous computerization of wall street functions, the enhancement/advance/integration of the said computer equipment/peripherals in terms of computing power and speed, along with the concomitant advance/sophistication of the programming concerning same has enhanced the ability of the frauds on wall street to effect their frauds with blinding speed vis-à-vis the funds entrusted to their care by way of programmed trades, ie., buy, sell, stop limits, etc.. An example (though not perfect) is illustrative:  Dow drops 200 points as programmed sell orders kick in with some not so fudged negative news. Nothing changes but the following day the market rises 205 points on programmed buy orders (a little higher despite the absence of any positive news). Hence, the huge swings which have become ever so more prevalent. Though nothing has changed, hundreds of millions of dollars without relation to any value added (in economic terms, service, etc.) is taken in commissions (percentages, points, spreads) by the frauds on wall street on huge computerized trading volume (hence, the multi-billion dollar bonuses on top of huge salaries, etc.). The fact is that these funds entrusted to them are so large that such computerized “buys” can simulate other than rational demand causing prices to rise solely to generate huge commissions to them and new funds coming in (as in a ponzi scheme). The corrupt government has been complicit in terms of false economic reports, legislation protecting the fraud (ie., exemption from RICO accountability, etc.), while the courts are also corrupt facilitators (ie., new york, new jersey, california, etc., and similarly don’t count on arbitration panels).  There was a time when transaction costs mattered in financial investment decisions. The trades/commissions are not a net positive for the economy but are indeed of great benefit to the recipients of same (who like termites eat away at other peoples’ money, and whose marginal propensity to consume is less than those allocating their monies /pensions /401ks/savings etc.; hence, the mess to follow). Finally, the NASDAQ/tech has become the “safe haven” but in reality as in the dot.com bust days are just the great story without much fundamental understanding that keeps the fraudulent ball rolling.
(1-01-08) Remember: more contrived wasteful commissions to the wall street frauds, the level and percentage of which should be examined in light of computerization and decreased costs attendant to same especially since only A Very Small Fraction Of What wall street Does Is A Net Positive For The Economy (New Investment Capital via, ie., ipo’S), The Rest Is Tantamount To A (Economically) "Wasteful Tax" (On The Economy) via 'churn and earn' computerized programmed trades.
*(1-3-08) $14 billion ($21 billion in 2006) in bonuses to the lunatic/frauds on wall street for a commissionable (sub prime bundled) fraud well done, inflation up, dollar down, oil prices up, manufacturing down; one analyst/reporter/journalist from inside sources pegs the sub-prime dollar value of the shilled worthless paper at $516 TRILLION (even a percentage of same renders the problem unfixable-hence, culpable parties must be held accountable and disgorge their ill-gotten gains from, ie., commissioning worthless paper, taking a point here or there and fraudulently passing same on, ad infinitum, etc.). Of course there are also a plethora of garden-variety frauds as always, ie., 10-B-5, insider trading, etc..

*(10-10-08) Now to bring the initial check-kiting analogy closer to the current crisis, realize as is the case of the worthless sub-prime securities, there is no charge-off/debit as is ordinarily the case with a cleared check and the worthless 'collateralized sub-prime security' is repackaged, resold, recommissioned based upon (collateralized by) as collateral the original worthless security which is in turn repackaged, resold, recommissioned based upon as collateral the subsequent worthless security, and so on (a geometric progression)  to the tune of (hundreds of) trillions of this worthless, fraudulent paper (blatent/flagrant  securities fraud which must be prosecuted and fraudulently derived profits disgorged).

THE BAILOUT FRAUD/SCAM

This is not brain surgery and the fraud, bonuses/compensation (mortgages, subprime and otherwise, are only a relatively small portion of the fraud / scam providing “cover / collateral” for the worthless but heavily commissioned paper over and over again in a multiplicity of different forms of worthless paper) in the mega-billions should first be disgorged before taxpayers are forced to pony up and pay the frauds again for their fraud which caused the problem in the first instance, must be prosecuted. It should also be noted that despite the rhetoric, the wall street bailout will NOT solve the crisis or eliminate the economic pain except to make permanent the fraudulent wealth transfer to the most well healed heals/frauds/criminals in the nation who caused the so-called crisis by their greed/corruption/fraud.

Stocks surge to highest level in nearly five months (Washington Post) [ Come on! The service sector? That non-productive morass of paper pushin’, commissionin’, make-work sector, in an election year no less, the impetus for a market rally along with Japan’s zero interest rate prep for yet another lost decade … I don’t think so! What total b*** s***.

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Jobless numbers pose challenge for Obama, Democrats (Washington Post) [ My God! You can’t make this stuff up. The lunatics are running the asylum; even the senile ones like the co-architect of the current debacle, greenspun. Challenge? I’d say Gordian Knot. And, importantly, no swords allowed … they’re all in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, etc… ]The latest report, showing the unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent, is the last before crucial midterm elections in which the troubled job market has emerged as a paramount issue.

Chorus builds for foreclosure moratorium (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! After all, foreclosures and recoveries, like oil and water (golly, I must still have BP / gulf spill on the brain), they don’t mix. And, we all know as per no-recession helicopter ben, we’re in recovery mode, green shoots and all! ] Pressure for a nationwide moratorium mounted Friday when Bank of America, the nation's largest bank, halted evictions in all 50 states and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who is locked in a tight reelection campaign, called on other major lenders to follow suit.

Buyer anxiety mounts as foreclosure deals freeze / Homeowners' dreams in limbo (Washington Post) [ Ah! That’s not so bad … you know … being in limbo, that is … after all, as the lobotomized VP Biden has warned, ‘Drudgereport: Biden: 'If We Lose, We're Going To Play Hell'..’ … so that place between heaven and hell (limbo) ain’t lookin’ so bad … compared to hell that is.] While impact of halted sales has been worse in regions where lenders need court orders to seize homes, D.C. area market has also been affected.

Arab League backs Palestinian refusal on talks unless Israel halts West Bank settlements (Washington Post) [ Lots of backslappin’ in israel mission accomplished … yeah, another fine mess they’ve gotten the world into … another set of peace talks down the drain, again sabotaged by the israelis … not that the israelis had anything in mind other than literally … to talk … out of both sides of the mouths. ]

Bulls Celebrate Bad News: Dave's Daily ‘The unemployment report came in "worse than expected" but in this Orwellian environment when the mantra is: "good news is good and bad news is better", well then, that's the way we roll. Bulls like the notion of more QE, zero interest rates and Washington gridlock. As to the latter, distrust of government competence and fiscal discipline has never been more universal. So we rallied... However, things weren't all peaches and cream since chip equipment maker Novellus (NVLS) issued a warning pulling down its shares and dragging others down with it. And, while it may seem nice that many banks are halting foreclosure procedures it really just postpones the inevitable and makes things harder for shareholders--unless another bailout is in the works. Markets are "forward-looking" and if the current theory holds, there must be a lot of bad news ahead! …’

The Real World vs. the Stock Market Reitmeister ‘September's Employment Situation was worse than expected Friday morning. Yet bad news is good news these days for those who think a second round of Fed quantitative easing (QE2) will bolster the markets. So stocks bolted into positive territory on the day, pushing up to Dow 11,000.

It’s an odd dichotomy. We have a somewhat improving economy. Yet the average person does not feel better about the situation. That’s because either they or someone close to them is out of work. (The classic economic joke is that a Recession is when your neighbor is out of work. A Depression is when you are.)

Along these lines I noticed something odd today. I drove to my children’s school for Parent-Teacher conferences. The school is 14 miles away along fairly busy roads. On the route are three McDonalds. That sounds fairly normal. But then I saw five Cash for Gold locations. Two of them are brand new; the other three came around just over the past couple years.

Yes, gold prices are high… but the real reason for the existence of these places is for people to trade in family heirlooms for cash because they are going broke. Then throw in all the vacant stores and it’s hard to get a sense that things are truly getting better.

So why are corporate profits going higher? Three main reasons:

1) Major cost cutting. Mostly on the staffing side of the equation. So each dollar in revenue produces more profit.

2) Modestly improving US economy moves up revenue a bit. Combine that with #1 above and it creates attractive year over year profit growth.

3) About half of US corporate profits these days come from overseas. Europe may be weak, but growth in China, India, Brazil etc. more than makes up for that shortfall.

This is why healthy corporate profits and a rising stock market seem to be disconnected from the realities in our own backyards. The good news is that conditions in the US should keep modestly improving, which certainly bolsters the case for the stock market going forward. Combine this with the alternatives to the stock market right now are not attractive.

Holding cash? No thanks.

Treasuries? That bubble is going to pop sometime (and yes I would recommend buying TBF or TBT for when that party takes place).

Gold? That is getting frothy right now. I might be tempted to pick up some on a pull back. But my history of trading gold is poor. In my long term account I’ve been riding the bull rally since 2002 when prices were around $300 per ounce. Still have plenty of shares on hand, mostly GDX (gold miners ETF).

There is lots in store next week when earnings season heats up. If good results combine with healthy guidance for the future, then the market will move to the recent highs of Dow 11,300. If the results are poor, then we'll probably see a retrace to the 50/200 day moving averages which are converged at around 10,500. My bet is that we do make it to 11,300. I'm not expecting much beyond that til next year.

My Two Cents

During the day I read many other investment articles of interest. Here are links to some new ones with my two cents added underneath.

Rail Traffic Maintains Year High Levels (Todd Sullivan)

There are a lot of estimate increases recently for the major rails. This is a very positive sign going into earnings season. I recently picked up some UNP because of it. But no shame in CSX Corp. (CSX), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC) etc.

Gaining Traction with Caterpillar? (Ray Merola)

All the fundamentals are going right for them including the recent drop in the US dollar making their exports more attractive. I personally prefer Cummins (CMI) and Joy Global (JOYG). But no shame in owning CAT.

We Don't Need QE2 (Calafia Beach Pundit)

Agreed. No shortage of money. And no person in their right mind would hold cash right now if they felt there wasn't a better way to get a return. So if they are not risking that money it's because the reward isn't there. That is the problem.

Disclosure: I own shares in JOYG, CMI and UNP

Bank of America halting all foreclosure sales The Washington Post | Bank of America said Friday it is halting all foreclosure sales and foreclosure proceedings nationwide while it reviews the documents being used to justify homeowner evictions.

Three Horrifying Facts About the US Debt “Situation” Phoenix Capital Research | The US Fed is now the second largest owner of US Treasuries.

Dollar Tumbles as Fed Prepares to Print More Money Reuters | The Fed may lead the way into more aggressive quantitative easing, which is seen knocking the dollar lower.

Federal Reserve Officials: Americans Are Saving Too Much Money So We Need To Purposely Generate More Inflation To Get Them Spending Again Some top Federal Reserve officials have come up with a really bizarre proposal for stimulating the U.S. economy. As unbelievable as it sounds, what they actually propose to do is to purposely raise the rate of inflation so that Americans will stop saving so much money and will start spending wildly again.

World Risks Greater Depression if Currency Tensions Escalate: Mobius Rising tensions amid an escalating global currency war has sparked talk of capital controls, but such a move would be dire for markets, warned Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group on CNBC Friday.

Grayson Sends Letter To Geithner, Bernanke Demanding Foreclosure Freeze, Warns Of Systemic Bank Failure Risk Alan Grayson is back on the scene, having sent a letter to Financial Stability Oversight Council which includes pretty much all of Wall Street’s pawns, including Bernanke, Geithner, Bair, Gensler, Walsh, and DeMarco, in which he asks the FSOC to “suspend foreclosures until this problem is understood and its ramifications dealt with.”

Fed weighs a more focused response (Washington Post) [ Yeah! And, they better be quick about it because, when it comes to the fed, the plethora of rumors of their imminent demise are NOT greatly exaggerated. Drudgereport: America on 'brink of a Second Revolution'... [This is more real than most people can imagine! ] The Fed is dead, maybe by 2012 Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) — ‘OK, so Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the “Black Swan” author, actually said: “The Fed won’t exist in 25 years.” Warning: It’ll happen much sooner, fallout of the coming Second American Revolution. It’s inevitable: Wall Street banks control the Federal Reserve system , it’s their personal piggy bank. They’ve already done so much damage, yet have more control than ever. Tea-party activists in their own words Tea-party activists talk to Russ Britt on what their movement represents. Warning: That’s a set-up. They will eventually destroy capitalism, democracy, and the dollar’s global reserve-currency status. They will self-destruct before 2035 … maybe as early as 2012 … most likely by 2020. Last week we cheered the Tea Party for starting the countdown to the Second American Revolution. Our timeline is crucial to understanding the historic implications of Taleb’s prediction that the Fed is dying, that it’s only a matter of time before a revolution triggers class warfare forcing America to dump capitalism, eliminate our corrupt system of lobbying, come up with a new workable form of government, and create a new economy without a banking system ruled by Wall Street. Read 'America on the brink of a Second Revolution.' …’ ]As the Federal Reserve considers what steps it might take to try to boost growth, attention has focused on whether the Fed might buy an enormous quantity of bonds to flood the economy with some specific amount of money.

IMF official by day, author of financial thriller by night (Washington Post) [ Because you can’t make this stuff up, if he sticks to reality (truth stranger than fiction), ie., magnitude of the extant fraud, debacle, etc., it will be a doozy! ]The chief of the agency's policy review division has written a book that's not for the faint of heart.

Afghanistan:  U.S. and Afghans at odds over Kabul Bank reform (Washington Post) [ Wow! Given defacto bankrupt america’s continued and covered-up financial debacle, any Afghan resistance to the american model / modus operandi is tantamount to ‘proof of life (rationality)’. ]

Firms use record piles of cash to buy back stock, not create jobs (Washington Post) [ And just when we thought that fake government pre-election labor reports (expected by fraudulent wallstreet, ie., 10-8-10, etc.) was the only market frothing fixed game in town. ] Plus these companies are buying back their stock in droves.

ADP Offered a Clear Warning for Friday's Jobs Report Kaminis ‘ADP offered its estimate of private nonfarm payrolls Wednesday, but due to the proximity of the data to Friday's Labor Department truth, and given recent comfort with the service sector, I think the market overlooked a glaring warning signal.

ADP Employment Services reported its data on September's private labor market Wednesday, and the news was not good. The report covering the net change in the private labor force serves as a precursor and predictor (for some) for the Labor Department's Employment Situation Report.

September's release showed a net decrease of 39,000 private nonfarm payrolls. The data only offers an estimate really of a section of the Labor Market's aggregate data, which will also contain public payroll changes.

There is no economists' consensus forecast for the ADP report, and so less impetus for market reaction on a higher or lower result. That said, September's news compared against an increase of 10K jobs in August, revised from the initially reported decrease of 10K. Also, it represented a change in direction (despite August's initial negative), and followed seven consecutive months of positive change in the private job market.

ADP rightly notes that those last seven months of growth were negligible, but errs in its determination that this change is therefore insignificant. Rather, the change supports the market's worst fear, that the economy is paralyzed and impotent without government stimulus.

ADP also noted broad-based declines across industry sectors. There was one bright spot, and it should be appreciated, because the dominant service-providing sector showed an increase in payrolls of 6,000 in September, marking the eighth consecutive monthly gain for the important segment. However, it was not enough to offset an employment decline in the goods-producing sector of 45,000.

I was first to point toward slippage in manufacturing, before there were any signs of it, as I anticipated that panic induced production cuts and capacity concentration would lead to a counter reaction to restock bare shelves (a bounce before normalization to still poor sales levels); and I noted emerging market demand continued. ADP estimates manufacturing employment declined by 17,000, the third consecutive monthly drop, and now the majority of gurus are on board with my forecast for segment concentration.

ADP says construction employment likely dropped by 28,000 during September, and since there have been few projects underway in the residential arena, beware commercial real estate investors. The financial services sector lost 13K jobs in September; perhaps pre-bonus firings played a role here. The environment favors the employer these days, and so few bonuses are secure… and fewer jobs.

Jobs also dropped across all sizes of firms, marking an -11K change in large firms; -14K in medium; and -14K in small firms. ADP's chart also seems to clearly depict a double-dip, and though employment has been historically labeled a lagging indicator, I continue to expect it to act as an anchor this time around, due to the depth and degree of cuts. Further, advances in technology have driven permanent job elimination, with the recession only applying catalyst for the eventual reductions to efficient capacity.

I reiterate (from my weekly copy) that since this estimate from ADP only precedes the more important report by two days, it is limited in its impact potential and rendered mute by the Labor Department's pending truth. Traders are waiting the 48 hours before banking cash or putting it to work, as evidenced by the Dow's fractional move Wednesday. However, if this data point was reported in isolation, it would have weighed heavily on stocks Wednesday. In fact, I expect confirmation of weakness by the Labor Department, barring weird changes in the size of the labor force, will drive home this same message on Friday. To spell it out, I think it's a short-term sell signal, and see the slight Tuesday uptick in the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index (with confirmation for services here) too weak to hold against this weight of labor. Disclosure: No positions

Market Outlook: It's Not, NOT a Growth Story Goldman ‘Yesterday’s miserable ADP data blew up NASDAQ while the Dow eked out a small gain. The lesson? The recent rally was driven BOTH by fundamentals (strong corporate cash flows and balance sheets that benefit from low long-term interest rates) as well as the vain hope that the economy would start growing again. The tech sector’s improvement reflected the latter view. I don’t believe it, so I am staying away from tech stocks, financials, retailers and so forth.

Quantitative easing, once again, won’t create economic growth. It will just reprice assets. In the Keynesian model, it is supposed to drive money out of safe-haven refuges (which have a negative real return) and into brick-and-mortar and, presumably job creation. What it does, in fact, is turn gold into a safe haven, and force an increase in the savings rate! That’s because prospective pensioners who thought they could retire with a 7% annuity are looking at a 4% annuity instead. They simply have to save more, and that’s bad for consumption. The cost of money isn’t the main obstacle to job creation. Obamacare and associated regulatory burdens are the big problem.

The trouble is that the Fed is run by people who think that jobs are produced by mathematical equations, when they are in fact created by skill, guile, risk, and sleepless nights …’

U.S. funds go to Taliban, warlords, report finds (Washington Post) [ Well, defacto bankrupt america can afford it; after all, how much more defacto bankrupt can the nation get? Well, then again, despite the headline, a lot of those hundreds of billions are finding their way back into american hands, albeit dirty ones, like, for example the 360 tons of hundred dollar bills flown into Iraq and still unaccounted for, etc.. ]Military has minimal knowledge of and virtually no control over thousands of Afghans it pays to guard operating bases, bipartisan report finds.

We Are Looking at Trillion-Dollar Plus Annual Interest Payments on U.S. Debt Owens Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt. Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent ( Prechter and many others are also in this camp although I believe he does not factor in sufficiently the debasement of the u.s. currency / dollar in arriving at his numbers which do however, at 1,000 on the DOW reflect real, as opposed to inflated values of 3-4,000 owing to the ever more worthless Weimar dollars which provides ‘spin material’ for the wall street frauds but is really quite ominous going forward, and very detrimental in real economic terms.) [This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.] [ The reason for the necessity of prosecution is founded in the circumstances surrounding and the mindset of what one would deem ‘antisocial personalities’ (disorders) ( I prefer the prior descriptor of such as psychopathic; the euphemistic ‘sociopathic’ was ‘far too understanding’ in my view of the social / environmental factors allegedly giving rise to such negative / destructive behaviors. I don’t buy it.) Specifically, accepted studies / findings have concluded that the essential defect in those with antisocial (psychopathic) personality disorders is an inability to respond normally to fear-inducing stimuli, leading in turn to an inability to inhibit responses that should, but, as with wall street, have not resulted in punishment. Thus, while I think most on wall street have proven themselves criminally insane (for the money, ie., Stewart, ‘Den of Thieves’ / ‘Liar’s Poker’, the most recent financial debacle / crisis, which continues to this day); at the least, owing to a lack of fear of prosecution / punishment, they have become defacto sociopathic / psychopathic. ] Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Three Horrifying Facts About the US Debt “Situation” Phoenix Capital Research | The US Fed is now the second largest owner of US Treasuries.

Dollar Tumbles as Fed Prepares to Print More Money Reuters | The Fed may lead the way into more aggressive quantitative easing, which is seen knocking the dollar lower.

Dollar set for sharp decline, Goldman forecasts The dollar will embark on a sharp decline over the next 12 months, Goldman Sachs forecast on Wednesday, as policy makers in Washington look poised to press the trigger on another round of printing money.

Currency War? Why Countries Are Rushing to Devalue The global race to the bottom in currencies may be less a war than it is an inevitable reaction to the growth of developing countries and the need for export-driven economies to stay competitive.

Gold hits record, set for best week in six months Gold rose to a third successive record high on Thursday, putting it on track for its strongest weekly performance in six months, as expectations for the Federal Reserve to prop up the economy undermined the dollar.

Norcini, Sinclair – Financial Hurricane To Collapse the System King World News conducted an interview today that included comments from Jim Sinclair and Dan Norcini regarding incredibly important events that are unfolding in both the financial system and the gold and silver markets. This interview describes what may very well bring the financial system to its knees.

National / World

Microsoft (the non-performing monopolist dinosaur and government shill) Proposes Government Licensing Internet Access Paul Joseph Watson | State should have power to block individual computers from connecting to world wide web, claims Charney

Los Angeles Pushes Mandatory Biometric Identification On Students to Condition Children Anthony Gucciardi | Installing mandatory biometric stations in schools serves only to prepare students for a lifetime of living on the control grid.

San Antonio Radio Station Gets Man Fired for Sharing Truth Infowars.com | Radio host calls Larry Hood “truther idiot” for sharing Infowars.com with bowling customers.

Top Fed Repeats Ominous ‘Absorb Terror’ Rhetoric Paul Joseph Watson | Attack on U.S. soil would reinvigorate Obama’s collapsing approval figures.

Please Support Alternative News Activist Post | We are at the crossroads of a very important time in history.

Microsoft (the dying government monopoly company / shill consisting of a bunch of slugs) Proposal Opens Door For Government Licensing To Access Internet A new proposal by a top Microsoft executive would open the door for government licensing to access the Internet, with authorities being empowered to block individual computers from connecting to the world wide web under the pretext of preventing malware attacks.

Pink Floyd Frontman Targeted By ADL For Criticizing Globalist Military Industrial Complex Legendary Rock group Pink Floyd’s main creative force, Roger Waters, is locked in a fierce battle with the Anti-Defamation League, after the group accused Waters of using anti-semitic imagery in his stage show.

Dollar tumbles to fresh 15-year low against yen The dollar tumbled to a fresh 15-year low at 82.22 against the yen in Tokyo trading hours on Thursday on persistent fears over the US economic outlook.

Fed Officials Mull Inflation as a Fix The Federal Reserve spent the past three decades getting inflation low and keeping it there. But as the U.S. economy struggles and flirts with the prospect of deflation, some central bank officials are publicly broaching a controversial idea: lifting inflation above the Fed’s informal target.

Top Fed Repeats Ominous ‘Absorb Terror’ Rhetoric Having already demonized Americans as the primary domestic terror threat, National Counterterrorism Center head Michael Leiter is now ominously parroting Barack Obama’s rhetoric, by indicating that America could absorb a terror attack, another indication that the threat of a false flag event to reinvigorate Obama’s collapsing approval numbers is higher than ever.

First Amendment Ruling Destined to Kill Internet Free Speech It now appears certain the Supreme Court will rule against the First Amendment. “The justices appeared inclined to set a limit to freedom of speech when ordinary citizens are targeted with especially personal and hurtful attacks.

Unauthorized US strike kills 4 Pakistanis A non-UN-sanctioned US strike on a house in Pakistan’s tribal region of North Waziristan has killed four civilians and injured two others.

Drudgereport: America on 'brink of a Second Revolution'...
GALLUP: UNEMPLOYMENT ACTUALLY AT 10.1% … ( not counting the huge ‘stopped looking fudge factor which brings same to 20 plus percent )...
Government 'likely to understate' final report before midterms...
Election workers could skew job stats...
Job losses in 2009 likely bigger than thought...
UN warns of global unrest over unemployment...
GOLDMAN SACHS: Economy 'fairly bad' or 'very bad' over next 6 – 9 months (years) ...
Food Stamp Recipients at Record 41.8 Million Americans...
TIME MAG: Anguish and Anxiety...
Fed Officials Mull Inflation as a Fix… Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! ..
Dollar slide continues...
89,000 stimulus payments went to dead people, prisoners...
OBAMA: GOP takeover of Congress would mean 'hand-to-hand combat' … [ Ooooh! The fear factor … Well, if wobama the b (for b*** s***) said it, it must be true … riiiiight!] ...
DOZENS FALL ILL AT OBAMA RALLY … [ Having Swallowed too Much Wobama B*** S*** … THAT’S WHY]

Airstrike probe finds poor coordination between Pakistan, U.S. (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That coordination thing underlying those unfriendly-fire incidents and civilian deaths wherever american storm troopers happen to be … Eureka! And all this while everyone was thinking that the same was just typical americana! ]

Mourning the D.C. burrito man (Washington Post) [ Ah! A sad story. But shake it off … they’ll be many more burrito carts, and apple carts too, so vibrant the american economy is now, and prospectively. And, at least he died here and not in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.. Private sector sheds 39,000 jobs in September Reuters | The August figure was originally reported as a loss of 10,000. (Yeah! That better than expected 10,000 number was a rally point for stocks … but on fraudulent wall street, they rallied the DOW anyway. ]Residents and working folks in downtown made street cart a part of their routine, suddenly realizing that the vendor had found his way into their hearts.

Geithner stokes world pressure on China over currency (Washington Post) [ I say, ‘Look Inward Hell’s Angels’! Is America Under Attack … Or Are the Barbarians Inside the Gates? Infowars.com Congress and American economists are blaming China for America’s economic woes. / Good advice from Farrel (infra) ‘Warning: Never trust the American Treasury Secretary …Remember Hank Paulson, Wall Street’s Trojan Horse inside Washington? Earlier he had made over half a billion as Goldman’s CEO. Back in July 2007 before the meltdown he bragged to Fortune that this is “the strongest global economy I’ve seen in my business lifetime.” Never trust anything “leaders” like him say. Never.’ ( I don’t believe anything they say! ) ]The U.S. is trying to escalate international pressure on China to change how it manages its currency, casting a global focus on what U.S. officials say has become a major risk to the economic recovery.

Forecast dire for local economies dealing with recession (Washington Post) [ There should be no surprise here. That’s the way things are in depressions! Drudgereport: GOLDMAN SACHS: Economy 'fairly bad' or 'very bad' over next 6 – 9 months ( translation: 6 - 9 years) ... This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ]The fiscal condition of the nation's cities is growing more dire this year as local governments continue to grapple with the fallout from the recession, study finds

We Are Looking at Trillion-Dollar Annual Interest Payments on U.S. Debt Owens ‘Last night I was reviewing the Congressional Budget Office's recent outlook to get a handle on their assumptions (I know, an exciting Monday night!) One of our astute readers kicked off this exercise by taking a look at the government's debt and interest rate projections out to 2015. The reader concluded that the call (by many) that higher interest rates is an inevitability is incorrect. The reason being that debt payments at higher interest rates would not be possible with debt levels of this magnitude. As has been the case in Japan, rates HAVE to stay low, or it'd be game over. More on this below. For starters, I'd like to review some of the assumptions laid out by the CBO (whose projections are historically inaccurate - usually comically so) to see how much risk and probability we have to the downside. That is, both in terms of total debt, and interest payments on that debt.

First up - revenues and expenditures. The CBO says right now is as "bad as it's gonna get" in terms of yearly deficits. From here we close the gap to "more manageable" levels: (chart) This assumes low rates until 2012, and rate hikes through 2015, that would bring the 3-month rate to 4.9%, and the 10-year rate to 5.9%: (chart) Source: Congressional Budget Office One glaring problem with top-line estimates above is that the CBO is projecting 4.1% GDP growth annually from 2012 through 2014:

Given its assumptions about fiscal policy, CBO projects that real (inflation adjusted) gross domestic product will increase by 2.8 percent between the fourth quarters of 2009 and 2010 and by 2.0 percent in 2011 (see Table 2-1). After 2011, the projected growth of real GDP picks up, averaging 4.1 percent annually from 2012 through 2014 and closing the gap between GDP and its potential level (the amount of production that corresponds to a high rate of use of labor and capital resources) by the end of 2014 (see Figure 2-1).

Anyone want to take the other side of that trade?

And here's my favorite:

The modest growth in output projected for the next two years points to sluggish growth in employment during the remainder of this year and next. Consequently, the unemployment rate in CBO’s projections declines slowly, falling to 9.3 percent at the end of 2010 and 8.8 percent at the end of 2011 (see Figure 2-2 on page 32). After 2011, growth in employment picks up along with growth in output, and the unemployment rate declines more rapidly, reaching 5.1 percent at the end of 2014.

Be sure you view the projections below with rose-colored glasses - otherwise, they may seem preposterous!

(chart) Source: Congressional Budget Office

Nevermind the legions of "underemployed" though - apparently even the CBO didn't have the stomach to spin the future of this disastrous runaway train: (chart) If we, for sake of argument, accept the above projections at face-value, then we are looking at annual interest payments that will head towards $1 trillion dollars by the end of the decade: (chart) Source: NPR.org Which is ugly, but not "end of the world" ugly. The debt holds at approximately 67% of GDP - which is not quite in "default red-zone" territory. Though you can see, a few tweaks to the formula, and we're likely right there.

For a good expert perspective, NPR article quotes Kenneth Rogoff of This Time is Different fame - who concurs with our questioning of these assumptions:

CBO's projections actually rest on fairly optimistic assumptions about growth and interest. Under not particularly fanciful alternative scenarios, annual debt payments could turn out to be more like $1.5 trillion, says Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard University economist.

Rogoff, whose work on the history of financial crises is widely cited, doesn't think the U.S. would face a crisis akin to the one currently ravaging Greece and threatening to spread across Europe. Still, it won't be pretty.

"In Greece, it's happening faster than you can blink," he says. "In the U.S., it would be interest rates rising painfully and slowly over several years. We would adjust, but that doesn't mean it's not going to be painful and slow our growth."

Rates rising "painfully and slowly" is certainly a departure from the bond vigilantes of the 1970's riding back into town to extract pain and misery from the irresponsible spending Federal government. Then again, as mentioned above, it probably must be a slower feast, otherwise the entire host would be killed if interest rates spiked severely, which would signify GAME OVER In conclusion, we can probably figure that government assumptions are too rosy - debt levels are going to be greater than advertised. Which means that capping interest rates is going to be extremely important to the Federal government.

Can they do it - or at least kick the can way down the road, like Japan's been able to do (so far)?

Big hat tip to our correspondent Dr. Evil for contributing to this story! Disclosure: No position’

The Fed is dead, maybe by 2012 Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) — ‘OK, so Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the “Black Swan” author, actually said: “The Fed won’t exist in 25 years.” Warning: It’ll happen much sooner, fallout of the coming Second American Revolution. It’s inevitable: Wall Street banks control the Federal Reserve system , it’s their personal piggy bank. They’ve already done so much damage, yet have more control than ever.

Tea-party activists in their own words

Tea-party activists talk to Russ Britt on what their movement represents. Warning: That’s a set-up. They will eventually destroy capitalism, democracy, and the dollar’s global reserve-currency status. They will self-destruct before 2035 … maybe as early as 2012 … most likely by 2020. Last week we cheered the Tea Party for starting the countdown to the Second American Revolution. Our timeline is crucial to understanding the historic implications of Taleb’s prediction that the Fed is dying, that it’s only a matter of time before a revolution triggers class warfare forcing America to dump capitalism, eliminate our corrupt system of lobbying, come up with a new workable form of government, and create a new economy without a banking system ruled by Wall Street.

Read 'America on the brink of a Second Revolution.'

Let’s reexamine the timeline closely:

Stage 1: The Democrats just put the nail in their coffin confirming they’re wimps when they refused to force the GOP to filibuster Bush tax cuts for billionaires.

Stage 2: In the elections the GOP takes over the House, expanding its strategic war to destroy Obama with its policy of “complete gridlock” and “shutting down government.”

Stage 3: Post-election Obama goes lame-duck, buried in subpoenas and vetoes.

Stage 4: In 2012, the GOP wins back the White House and Senate. Health care returns to insurers. Free-market financial deregulation returns. Lobbyists intensify their anarchy.

Stage 5: Before the end of the second term of the new GOP president, Washington is totally corrupted by unlimited, anonymous donations from billionaires and lobbyists. Wall Street’s Happy Conspiracy triggers the third catastrophic meltdown of the 21st century that Robert Shiller of “Irrational Exuberance” fame predicts, resulting in defaults of dollar-denominated debt and the dollar’s demise as the world’s reserve currency.

Stage 6: The Second American Revolution explodes into a brutal full-scale class war with the middle class leading a widespread rebellion against the out-of-touch, out-of-control Happy Conspiracy sabotaging America from within.

Stage 7: The domestic class warfare is exaggerated as the Pentagon’s global warnings play out: That by 2020 “an ancient pattern of desperate, all-out wars over food, water, and energy supplies would emerge” worldwide and “warfare is defining human life.”

In this rapidly unfolding scenario, the Fed cannot survive. Why? Not because the Fed is at the center of America’s economic problems, beyond repair, a dying institution. But because the Fed is a pawn of Wall Street’s Happy Conspiracy, which is incapable of seeing the train wreck that it set up. This out-of-control, conspiracy of greedy Wall Street bankers, corporate CEOs, corrupt politicians and Forbes 400 billionaires will, in the near future, trigger the third catastrophic meltdown of the 21st century, a collapse that paradoxically can transform America into a new, stronger post-capitalist economy … but only after a revolution and brutal class warfare. But few will talk about what’s coming.

Warning: Never trust the American Treasury Secretary

So who can you trust to tell us the truth? Taleb says it’s very simple. His “simple metric” was made clear at a recent “Washington Ideas Forum” in a piece by Atlantic editor Nicole Allan: Unfortunately most fail Taleb’s test. Most get it wrong. Many lie, exaggerate, speak half-truths or, worse, say nothing. Here’s Taleb’s “simple metric for judging whose economic opinions are worth his time: ‘Did someone predict the crisis before it happened” in the past? “If the answer is no, I don’t want to hear what the person says. If the person saw the crisis coming then I want to hear what they have to say” about future crises. Taleb target No. 1: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who spoke just before Taleb at the forum. Of course, experience tells us you really can’t trust anyone in government. All politicians fudge the numbers, cherry-pick data to suit their personal goals, biases and political rhetoric. Remember Hank Paulson, Wall Street’s Trojan Horse inside Washington? Earlier he had made over half a billion as Goldman’s CEO. Back in July 2007 before the meltdown he bragged to Fortune that this is “the strongest global economy I’ve seen in my business lifetime.” Never trust anything “leaders” like him say. Never.’ [ I don’t believe anything any of them says! ]

Jobs Growth Stalled and New Fed Polices Wont Help

Goldman Sachs Says U.S. Economy May Be `Fairly Bad’ Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the U.S. economy is likely to be “fairly bad” or “very bad” over the next six to nine months.

Rally Stalls As Private Payrolls Dip

Market Warning: Danger, Will Robinson! Cam Hui ‘I have learned over the years that my underlying investment outlook has a Value bias and that I suffer from the curse of Value investors everywhere by being too early. Often, I have found myself fighting the trend and underperforming as a result. One of the tools that I have used to mitigate that effect is to look for inflection points in sentiment and momentum.
First of all, I agree with John Hussman that the US economy appears to be deteriorating (and he writes much more eloquently than I do). So far, the stock market hasn't paid much attention to those risks and is in fact probing new highs as I write this. However, the inflection point may be arriving. Bloomberg reports that the Street is now cutting S&P 500 earnings estimates:

For the first time in more than a year analysts are cutting their forecasts for Standard & Poor’s 500 Index earnings, jeopardizing gains from the biggest September rally since World War II.

Estimates for S&P 500 companies’ combined 2011 profit fell as low as $95.17 last month from an August high of $96.16 and posted the first quarterly reduction since the three months ended June 2009, according to more than 8,500 analyst forecasts tracked by Bloomberg. The revision came as the benchmark gauge for U.S. equities rose 8.8 percent last month, the largest September advance since 1939.

Moreover, the number of new highs aren't expanding despite the strength in the averages: (chart) Just as the bulls appear to be taking control, I am put in the position of the robot in the old TV series Lost in Space as I warn: "Danger! Will Robinson! Danger!" ‘

Private sector sheds 39,000 jobs in September Reuters | The August figure was originally reported as a loss of 10,000.

Bernanke Finally Tells the Truth [in sugar-coated, euphemistic fashion] : The United States is on the Brink of Financial Disaster EconomicPolicyJournal | This is as close as you are ever going to see a central banker admit that his country’s financial situation is so dire that it could breakup at any time.

Middle Class Slams Brakes on Spending Middle-class Americans made their deepest spending cuts in more than two decades, slashing spending on such discretionary items as restaurant meals and alcohol during the recession.

Food Stamp Recipients at Record 41.8 Million Americans in July, U.S. Says The number of Americans receiving food stamps rose to a record 41.8 million in July as the jobless rate hovered near a 27-year high, the government said.

Is America Under Attack … Or Are the Barbarians Inside the Gates? Congress and American economists are blaming China for America’s economic woes.

12 Ominous Signs For World Financial Markets Can anyone explain the very strange behavior that we are seeing in world financial markets right now? Corporate insiders are bailing out of the U.S. stock market at a very alarming rate.

National / World

One Out Of Every Six U.S. Taxpayers Will Be Hit By A Tax Increase Averaging $3,900 This Year And Most Of Them Don’t Even Realize It Would you be able to sit down and write a check for an extra four thousand dollars this upcoming April? So where in the world did this insane alternate tax system come from anyway?

Alex Jones Talks About Huge Explosions, Fire Fighter Testimony: Video The Alex Jones Channel | Alex Jones discusses video newly released by NIST following a lawsuit that clearly shows firefighters discussing secondary explosions which occurred just prior to the collapses on 9/11.

9/11 Firefighters Reveailing “Huge Explosions” In WTC Tops Google Trends Paul Joseph Watson | Infowarriors have achieved another coup in the mission to educate millions about 9/11 truth, with the search term “huge explosions” soaring to the top of Google Trends.

Justices Signal Intent to Dismantle First Amendment Matt Ryan | The Supreme Court, including Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Stephen G. Breyer, sound ready to rule in favor of this new limit.

Video: 9/11 Firefighters Reveal Huge Explosions Before Towers Collapsed Paul Joseph Watson | Secondary explosions caused lobby of World Trade Center to implode.

Globalist Mockingbird Media Attacks RT, Press TV as “Enemies” Kurt Nimmo | Rockefeller Aspen Institute boss makes speech before the CIA’s Radio Free Europe.

New Yorkers’ Income Falls for 1st Time in 70 Years The recession put a 3.1 percent dent in the personal incomes of New York state residents, who endured their first full-year decline in more than 70 years, according to a report released Tuesday.

IMF Calls for Huge New Round of Bank Bailouts This is amusing, given that it was the last round of bailouts which caused the sovereign debt crisis in the first place. Specifically, the Bank for International Settlements – often described as a central bank for central banks (BIS) – slammed the failure of the Fed and other central banks to force companies to write off bad debts years ago.

The War Addicts Sometimes it’s the little things in the big stories that catch your eye. On Monday, theWashington Post ran the first of three pieces adapted from Bob Woodward’s new book Obama’s Wars, a vivid account of the way the U.S. high command boxed the Commander-in-Chief into the smallest of Afghan corners.

Gold Rises to Record, Silver Extends Gains on Currency Declines Gold rose to a record in London and New York, and silver extended gains to a 30-year high, on speculation that government spending and low interest rates to revive economic growth will weaken currencies and boost demand for precious metals as an alternative asset.

Another Domino Falls: UK’s Leading Scientific Body Retreats on Climate Change Patrick Henningsen | It’s the latest in a series of high-profile set-backs suffered by global warming theorists.

Drudgereport: Private Sector Hiring in Sept. Falls 39,000...
POLL: Working-class whites shun Dems...
Middle Class Slams Brakes on Spending...
Food Stamp Recipients at Record 41.8 Million Americans...
GOLDMAN SACHS: Economy 'fairly bad' or 'very bad' over next 6 – 9 months (years) ...
New Yorkers' Income Falls for 1st Time in 70 Years...
Greek debt and deficit figures 'to shoot up'...
Ireland's debt ratings cut...

Judges rule without title, lenders can't foreclose (Washington Post) [ Rules of law? I didn’t think they cared. That’s certainly the direct experience I’ve had with the pervasively corrupt american legal / judicial system (along with the other two branches of the u.s. government and defact bankrupt america generally). Court decisions could call into doubt the ownership of mortgages, raising urgent challenges for both the real estate market, wider financial system. Connecticut, California join probe of Ally (Washington Post) [I’d be much more impressed if they initiated a probe of more readily discernible criminal offenses in violation of the RICO Act http://albertpeia.com Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers)Covering Up for Other Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). In Productive Societies as China, Japan, etc., Fraudulent Liars (sic-lawyers) and the Fraudulent u.s. System They're a Part of Are Unheard Of/Non-existent. List of Files Regarding Filed Attorney Grievance Against Fraud coan et als Or Here For A Clearer View Of Filed Grievance Complaint, Response, Exhibits, and Related RICO Filings Note the Committee of Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). Included are DOJ Rep., State Court Rep., State Atty. General Office Rep., and even a Vegetable Garden yale law prof who probably never practiced law in his life. How Pathetic! http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ] Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally.

October 5, 2010 (*see infra)

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include 1 copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’). The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ].

The correspondence I received from the Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

1. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
2. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
3. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
4. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
5. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
6. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******* (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

----------

*The foregoing and as indicated therein was previously send 9-14-10 but delivery confirmation was flawed as set forth below and my inquiries to the u.s. postal service rebuffed (I believe tampered with inasmuch as your office could not locate same). This cover letter (9-13-10) is on the 3 disks with navigable hyperlinks to the subject files for ease of reference, including the files in the RICO action as indicated.

-----

Label/Receipt Number: 0310 1230 0000 0862 8183

Expected Delivery Date: September 15, 2010

Class: Priority Mail®

Service(s): Delivery Confirmation™

Status: Delivered

Your item was delivered at 10:14 am on September 15, 2010 in LOS ANGELES, CA 90024.

Track and Confirm

Enter Label/Receipt Number.

Enter Label / Receipt Number.

Detailed Results:

Bullet Delivered, September 15, 2010, 10:14 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Bullet Arrival at Post Office, September 15, 2010, 4:12 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Bullet Processed through Sort Facility, September 14, 2010, 8:29 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90052

Bullet Acceptance, September 14, 2010, 4:04 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

----

Sent Postage Prepaid: United States Mail - VIA Priority Mail, Delivery Confirmation and VIA Certified Mail this 5th day of October, 2010.

Signed: ___________________________________

Albert L. Peia

Part 2: Woodward's 'Obama's Wars' Don't get 'locked into Vietnam,' Biden warns (Washington Post) [ Yeah, when you have a lobotomized VP you tend not to trust their opinion; but, I think they just cover their bases … you know, that Kerryish both sides of all issues thing. In any event, wobama bought this continued debacle and bears fault with the other zionist war mongers. Previously (on Iraq and Afghanistan, infra): Obama: 'It is time to turn the page' on Iraq war (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! How patronizing to have wobama spew his b*** s*** which b.s. has become synonomous with wobama; ‘to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future’… Iraq’s been destroyed, covered in cancer-causing depleted uranium, america’s defacto bankrupt, etc. If only teleprompters had a brain of their own. ] He says the U.S. "has paid a huge price" to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future -- a price that now includes more than 4,400 U.S. dead. ) On Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, Vice President Biden counsels President Obama about sending more troops to Afghanistan.

• Full coverage: 'Obama's Wars'

• Audio: Obama on length of the war

• Audio: Obama on attack possibility

• Audio: Obama on terrorism tactics

A subtler tack to fight Afghan corruption? (Washington Post) [ How about a not so subtler tack to fight corruption starting right here in the u.s. of a. where corruption and crime are pervasive and in fact, at the root of the Afghanistan problems, from american reinvigorated heroin trade to bribery attendant thereto to killing civilians, etc.. Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless, War Criminal Nation america, the leader of nations … in crime:

Though having but 5% of the world’s population, america can boast 76% of the world’s serial killers, followed by Europe with England/UK then Germany leading the way for the eu [excerpt, 6 minute video, Serial Killers: Real Life Hannibal Lechters http://www.albertpeia.com/realifeamericaserialkillers.mpg (as is consistent with crime generally, see infra)]. Defacto bankrupt, fraudulent america also spends more on offensive (defensive a misnomer / propaganda) military spending than all the nations of the world combined, and by a large margin at that. Do you see a pattern emerging here [ I unfortunately only belatedly did, and the feds, fed employees, cia, all 3 branches of the u.s. government, etc., are included in this evolved american trait of inherent criminality in the most nefarious sense ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      )   ]:

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	11,877,218
# 2	United Kingdom:	6,523,706
# 3	Germany:	6,507,394

… ]

Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.scribd.com/alpeia
http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

Dennis Ross acts as a key channel between White House and Israeli government (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Key channel. Sounds impressive. So official and authoritative! Time to impose a solution consistent with prior accords, u.n. resolutions, international law, etc.. White House offers israel a carrot for peace talks (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! This familiar dog and pony show is getting old fast while america’s dying and america could in a day precipitate a peace consistent with international law, prior u.s. resolutions (i.e., 242, 338, etc.), (Oslo) accords, civilized behavior, etc., despite and in contravention of israel’s militant intransigence, to stem the hemorrhaging of american blood and treasure for israel’s sake. ] Middle East:  Arsonists set fire to mosque in West Bank town (Washington Post) [ Eh, … what the heck … they’re loving america-aligned terrorists … and they’re jewish … the laws don’t apply to them … Yeah, that’s about it ! … In a nutshell … and perfect timing to sabotage the ‘peace talks’. ]

Middle East:  Arsonists set fire to mosque in West Bank town (Washington Post) [ Eh, … what the heck … they’re loving america-aligned terrorists … and they’re jewish … the laws don’t apply to them … Yeah, that’s about it ! … In a nutshell … and perfect timing to sabotage the ‘peace talks’. ]

The rising economic inequality (Washington Post) [ I’m sorry to say … you ain’t seen nottin’ yet … predictions of revolution in america as well as abroad are rife! Drudgereport: America on 'brink of a Second Revolution'... UN warns of global unrest over unemployment... Super-rich investors buy gold by ton... GALLUP RACE DIVIDE: OBAMA APPROVAL 91% WITH BLACKS, 36% WITH WHITES AND EVERYBODY ELSE ... World Economy 'Decoupling From USA'... IMF admits West stuck in near-depression... ]The Republican's "A Pledge to America" glosses over some inconvenient facts about income disparity.

Political Economy: More on the output gap (Washington Post) [ Great point and charts by Mr. Irwin and I would just add that there’s no mystery here, and that the structural shift, lamentably, is irrevocable and quite permanent, and unforgiveably, quite deliberate by those american geniuses, so-called titans of industry, politicians, strategists at the cia, nsa, etc.. See infra: ]

Pelosi, other Dems call for federal foreclosure probe (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! Great soundbite, pre-election.‘ Guess these dudes don’t have the juice (as in cash, lobbies, etc.) that the wall street frauds had in not only evading probes or prosecution, by request or otherwise, but also in getting even valuation rules changed to ‘mark to anything’ so that the worthless paper, the rotten fruit of their frauds would remain sub rosa and off the radar, so to speak! ] Group of Democrats seeks federal probe, citing irregularities in processing foreclosures of thousands of homes at some U.S. mortgage firms. Stocks surge to highest level in nearly five months (Washington Post) [ Come on! The service sector? That non-productive morass of paper pushin’, commissionin’, make-work sector, in an election year no less, the impetus for a market rally along with Japan’s zero interest rate prep for yet another lost decade … I don’t think so! What total b*** s***. This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits since, beyond the ‘anything goes’ pre-election spin, market-frothing, etc., there’s much worse to come. This is so owing to the irrevocable structural shift (discussed many times on this site) that has occurred in the most negative sense for the defacto bankrupt u.s.. The ol’ days are done! It’s a whole new ballgame. The following is a pragmatic summary explanation of the short-term that is not, nor ever has been sustainable (the reality follows this astute summary) since the money for the churn-and-earn worth less paper movement has to come from some real place which is downside all the way for solid and real economic growth (don’t forget; the so-called minds that brought on this continued debacle for which frauds they’ve not been prosecuted are, with the help of legislated mark to anything accounting rule changes and churn-and-earn high frequency programmed trading, now flush with the proceeds of their multi-trillion dollar fraud / scam. Indeed, they’re shootin’ for 500 dollar loaves of bread and 1 dollar stocks selling for like amounts):

Political Economy: More on the output gap (Washington Post) [ Great point and charts by Mr. Irwin and I would just add that there’s no mystery here, and that the structural shift, lamentably, is irrevocable and quite permanent, and unforgiveably, quite deliberate by those american geniuses, so-called titans of industry, politicians, strategists at the cia, nsa, etc.. See infra: ]

Pelosi, other Dems call for federal foreclosure probe (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! Great soundbite, pre-election.‘ Guess these dudes don’t have the juice (as in cash, lobbies, etc.) that the wall street frauds had in not only evading probes or prosecution, by request or otherwise, but also in getting even valuation rules changed to ‘mark to anything’ so that the worthless paper, the rotten fruit of their frauds would remain sub rosa and off the radar, so to speak! ] Group of Democrats seeks federal probe, citing irregularities in processing foreclosures of thousands of homes at some U.S. mortgage firms. Stocks surge to highest level in nearly five months (Washington Post) [ Come on! The service sector? That non-productive morass of paper pushin’, commissionin’, make-work sector, in an election year no less, the impetus for a market rally along with Japan’s zero interest rate prep for yet another lost decade … I don’t think so! What total b*** s***. This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits since, beyond the ‘anything goes’ pre-election spin, market-frothing, etc., there’s much worse to come. This is so owing to the irrevocable structural shift (discussed many times on this site) that has occurred in the most negative sense for the defacto bankrupt u.s.. The ol’ days are done! It’s a whole new ballgame. The following is a pragmatic summary explanation of the short-term that is not, nor ever has been sustainable (the reality follows this astute summary) since the money for the churn-and-earn worth less paper movement has to come from some real place which is downside all the way for solid and real economic growth (don’t forget; the so-called minds that brought on this continued debacle for which frauds they’ve not been prosecuted are, with the help of legislated mark to anything accounting rule changes and churn-and-earn high frequency programmed trading, now flush with the proceeds of their multi-trillion dollar fraud / scam. Indeed, they’re shootin’ for 500 dollar loaves of bread and 1 dollar stocks selling for like amounts):

Good Economic News Is OK, Bad News Is Better for the Market By Adam Sharp ‘Markets have reached a point where fundamentals don't matter much. These days, when nasty economic data comes out, stocks are more likely to rise than they are to fall. Why? Because ugly data means the Fed is likely to "ease" further — i.e. pump more cash into the economy. That money inevitably finds its way into the markets. The logic is perverse; but to be a successful investor today, you need to focus more on what the Fed is up to than anything fundamental. Morgan Stanley's Jim Caron summed it up nicely in a recent note to clients:

Investment decisions across many asset classes today are tantamount to an educated guess on what the Fed decides to do regarding QE. In the near-term this trumps fundamentals, valuations and almost everything else.

If you believe in any sort of free market, it's all very frustrating to watch. This market is dependent on a few bank-biased individuals — not ideal, to say the least. But there is a bright spot in this mess: precious metals, of course. Gold, silver, palladium, and platinum have all benefited from the Fed's quantitative easing (QE) experiment. The rationale for owning these assets is simple: If you believe the Fed will print more money, you should buy physical PMs and miners.Major inflation doesn't even need to occur for gold to rise. As long as the Feds keep eroding the dollar's purchasing power and running huge deficits, gold and other metals should perform well. Back in December of 2009 — in a piece called "Why I'm Buying the Gold Dips" — I wrote, "There's simply no way the Fed can stop propping up the market." Gold was trading around $1065 then, and it's over $1300 today. The long-PM strategy has worked for years, and I don't see that changing in the near future. Budget woes and financial uncertainty aren't going away any time soon, so precious metals should continue to outperform. Especially now that QE 2.0 is beginning to be accepted as inevitable. Analysts are finally realizing that deflation will not be allowed to occur. The Fed printing presses are just warming up... They will continue to devalue the dollar, goose the stock market, and monetize America's debt for as long as they can get away with it. Like I said, it's not ideal. But it's the hand we've been dealt. Precious metals remain a great way to play it.’

Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt. Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent ( Prechter and many others are also in this camp although I believe he does not factor in sufficiently the debasement of the u.s. currency / dollar in arriving at his numbers which do however, at 1,000 on the DOW reflect real, as opposed to inflated values of 3-4,000 owing to the ever more worthless Weimar dollars which provides ‘spin material’ for the wall street frauds but is really quite ominous going forward, and very detrimental in real economic terms.) [This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. [ The reason for the necessity of prosecution is steeped in the circumstances surrounding and mindset of what one would deem ‘antisocial personalities’ (disorders) ( I prefer the prior descriptor of such as psychopathic; the euphemistic ‘sociopathic’ was ‘far too understanding’ in my view of the social / environmental factors allegedly giving rise to such negative / destructive behaviors. I don’t buy it.) Specifically, accepted studies / findings have concluded that the essential defect in those with antisocial (psychopathic) personality disorders is an inability to respond normally to fear-inducing stimuli, leading in turn to an inability to inhibit responses that should, but, as with wall street, have not resulted in punishment. Thus, while I think most on wall street have proven themselves criminally insane (for the money, ie., Stewart, ‘Den of Thieves’ / ‘Liar’s Poker’, the most recent financial debacle / crisis, which continues to this day); at the least, owing to a lack of fear of prosecution / punishment, they have become defacto sociopathic / psychopathic. ] Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Fed, ECB throwing world into chaos: Stiglitz (Reuters) By Walter Brandimarte NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ultra-loose monetary policies by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are throwing the world into "chaos" rather than helping the global economic recovery, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said on Tuesday.A "flood of liquidity" from the Fed and the ECB is bringing instability to foreign-exchange markets, forcing countries such as Japan and Brazil to defend its exporters, Stiglitz told reporters in a conference at Columbia University."The irony is that the Fed is creating all this liquidity with the hope that it will revive the American economy," Stiglitz said. "It's doing nothing for the American economy, but it's causing chaos over the rest of the world. It's a very strange policy that they are pursuing."The U.S. dollar has weakened about 6.5 percent against a basket of major currencies since the beginning of September as prospects for further monetary easing by the Fed have led investors to seek higher returns elsewhere.That flow of dollars caused currencies to appreciate in many emerging market countries such as Brazil, which offers strong growth prospects. The Japanese yen has also hit record highs against the dollar on expectation of additional greenback weakness.Recent actions by those countries to curb the strength of their currency were "necessary," Stiglitz added."It's natural in that context for them to say -- we can't just let our exchange rates appreciate and destroy our exports," he said.On Monday, Brazil doubled a tax on foreign investment into local government bonds, while Japan lowered the target for its benchmark interest rate to a range between zero and 0.1 percent.The Bank of Japan also pledged to buy 5 trillion yen ($60 billion) worth of assets, in a strategy similar to the one adopted by the Fed to pump funds into the economy.But additional monetary stimulus will "clearly" not solve the problems caused by lack of global aggregate demand, Stiglitz said."Lowering the interest rates may help a little bit, but that's much too weak to address the problems facing the United States and Europe," Stiglitz said. "We need fiscal stimulus."(Reporting by Walter Brandimarte; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Bernanke Tells the Truth: The United States is on the Brink of Financial Disaster EconomicPolicyJournal | This is as close as you are ever going to see a central banker admit that his country’s financial situation is so dire that it could breakup at any time.

Gold hits record above $1,340 as dollar slides Reuters | Gold jumped nearly 2 percent on Tuesday, its biggest one-day rise since May, resuming its march to record highs as the dollar tumbled and currency market volatility ignited safe-haven buying.

Call for new global currencies deal FT | The world’s leading countries should agree a new currency pact to help rebalance the global economy.

Paul Farrell Explains Why The Fed-Wall Street Complex Will Self Destruct By 2012 They will eventually destroy capitalism, democracy, and the dollar’s global reserve-currency status. They will self-destruct before 2035 … maybe as early as 2012 … most likely by 2020.

Legendary Investor: “It’s A Given” That Gold Will Exceed $2000 Billionaire financier Jim Rogers tells CNBC that the Federal Reserve’s continuing decimation of the economy means that it’s a dead cert that gold will continue to surge, irrespective of any possible temporary recovery.

What China Is Thinking We all have a sense of what the Chinese are thinking about the rest of the world—but we don’t really know. Of course, they tell us what they’re thinking—but that’s as polite and meaningless as when you ask your dinner guests how’s the food: They might look green around the gills, but they’ll invariably say, “Why, it’s wonderful—thank you!”

Super-rich investors buy gold by ton The world’s wealthiest people have responded to economic worries by buying gold by the bar — and sometimes by the ton — and by moving assets out of the financial system, bankers catering to the very rich said on Monday.

Gold Goes Berserk, As Japan Unveils The Mother Of All Quantitative Easing Schemes The Bank of Japan just put Bernanke to shame with its latest announcement regarding quantitative easing.

Is A 90 Day “Mortgage Meltdown” Foreclosure Moratorium Imminent As The RoboSigning Scandal Goes Mainstream? The Massive Mortgage Mess as we affectionately call it seems to be getting new names with each passing day – the latest one is, quite appropriately, RoboSigning Scandal (funny how after the stock market, “robotic” technology will soon becoming equated with the biggest mortgage scam in history).

National / World

Sharron Angle Takes Lead Over Harry Reid In Latest Poll In the latest Fox News battleground state poll of likely voters, Angle drew 49 percent to Reid’s 46 percent. As voters make up their mind with four weeks to go until Election Day, Angle seems to have the edge.

Gov’t-Run Health Care Death Sentence in AZ: No More Liver Transplants for Hep-C Patients Arizona’s Medicaid agency will no longer cover some non-experimental organ transplants for its adult members, including liver transplants for patients with Hepatitis C, a move blasted as “a death sentence” by one patient advocacy group.

Government Exploits CIA Patsy to Hype Police State “Surge” Exercise On Amtrak Routes As the mid-term elections rapidly approach and Barry Obama’s popularity numbers continue down the tubes, the government is pulling out all the stops to hype the possibility of a “Mumbai-style” terror attack on Europe and the homeland.

The Health Ranger: Big Pharma’s Secret Agenda Exposed Prison Planet.tv | The Health Ranger Mike Adams gives a special presentation Big Pharma’s agenda to make sure you die broke.

Government Exploits CIA Patsy to Hype Police State “Surge” Exercise On Amtrak Routes Kurt Nimmo | Key player in hyped threat is linked to CIA, German and Saudi intelligence, and the shadowy Safari Club.

iPhone Game Slaughters Humans To Defend “Mother Earth” Paul Joseph Watson | A popular new game for the iPhone depicts a giant worm slaughtering humans and knocking airplanes out of the sky to save “mother earth” in another shocking example of how the eco-fascists that have taken over the environmental movement are obsessed with mass genocide and gory death.

Glenn Beck repackages Alex Jones’ ideas Russia Today | Jones explained that Glenn Beck uses his ideas and repackages them in a way that pulls away from true libertarianism and the constitution.

Government collusion in human medical experiments no longer just a conspiracy theory Mike Adams | It is now an admitted fact that the U.S. government conspired with the pharmaceutical industry to conduct medical experiments on innocent victims.

Drudgereport: America on 'brink of a Second Revolution'...
UN warns of global unrest over unemployment...
Manhattan Office Vacancy Rate Hits Six-Year High...
Super-rich investors buy gold by ton... Per ounce price tops $1,340...
Mondale: Obama's teleprompters are 'idiot boards'... Video...
GALLUP RACE DIVIDE: OBAMA APPROVAL 91% WITH BLACKS, 36% WITH WHITES AND EVERYBODY ELSE ...
Christine O'Donnell Ad: 'I Am Not A Witch' … [ just a crazy b**ch ] ...
World Economy 'Decoupling From USA'...
IMF admits West stuck in near-depression...

Anthropologists adopt a more favorable view of Neanderthals (Washington Post) [ Well, I’m a bit surprised and somewhat disappointed that with a little more effort, rather than rely upon inference, they could have taken a trip to the new york / new jersey / connecticut metropolitan area (etc.) and observed directly these lower italian modern-day archaic humans! Then there are the other modern day archaics / ape-like creatures that warrant greater scrutiny. ]

Afghanistan:  Afghan ally vital to U.S. despite graft allegations (Washington Post) [ Wow! As if we didn’t see that rationalization coming in light of the fact that they learned their pervasively corrupt american lessons well; even beyond america’s reinvigoration of the heroin trade which the Taliban had all but eradicated. ]

Revisiting foreclosure cases may clog market (Washington Post) [ And just when we though things couldn’t get any worse or more economically uncertain as per no-recession-helicopter ben shalom or b.s. for short, bernanke. ]Judges are beginning to re-examine old cases and dismiss pending ones. The trend could lead to overturned evictions, and it could stall foreclosure cases for years and scare away buyers of millions of seized properties clogging the real estate market.

Bernanke warns of high deficits (Washington Post) [ One of those ‘daaah moments’! Prescient admonitions from that economic seer, no-recession ben … ‘beware the now insurmountable debt!’ Right ben … thanks for the timely ‘heads up’ , ben … What a joker! Ah, yes, again! ‘Ahead of the curve’, greenshoots, no-recession and all from ( no-recession-helicopter) Ben (b.s. for b*** s*** shalom) Bernanke (oj the juice man) fed courtesy of my favorite ‘glass-perpetually-half-full (though empty)’ wall street shill, Mr. Irwin. ] The nation's economic future would be endangered if the government does not rein in budget deficits in the years ahead, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke says, and Congress should consider new budgeting rules to try to make that happen.

World leaders at impasse over proposals for financial reform (Washington Post) [ Impasse? How ‘bout a realization that they, like lemmings, have followed defacto bankrupt america to the precipice and are hanging on by a thread! I mean, what reform … they’ve covered up the debacle as best they can according to the fraudulent american model including no prosecution of the perps and mark to anything valuation of still many trillions in worthless paper, etc.] International Monetary Fund and World Bank officials worry about the loss of momentum, and analysts warn that national interests could undermine further reform.

The Calm Before the Stock Market Storm Wall Street Sector Selector ‘ … What It All Means In three words, “more pain ahead.” We unfortunately have a long road ahead as a country and as investors and try as they might, the best the powers that be can hope to do is kick the can down the road, as the old saying goes. Herbert Hoover, “the father” of the Great Depression learned this lesson and our current leaders should listen to his voice of experience: “Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body – the producers and consumers themselves.” We will heal but it’s going to take some time and much more pain. Over the last few weeks we’ve been in the “calm before the storm.” The storm is about to hit and will either take us to higher ground and safety or into a vortex of volatility and asset destruction. Wall Street Sector Selector remains in the “red flag” mode, expecting stormy weather and lower prices ahead. …’

The Claim That This Was the Best September Since 1939 Is False Short ‘… Here are some questions you might ask if you want to thoroughly understand what has been repeated on TV and in the print media during the last couple of days that is absolutely false and purposely designed to make you feel bullish. Why is anyone claiming September gained more than any other September since 1939, especially since that claim is not only technically false and very misleading, but constitutes disinformation when they learn the actual facts? …’

Nouriel Roubinis Talk at Googles Zeitgeistminds Harrison ‘Chrystia Freedland introduces Dr. Roubini, reminding him that he is still known as Dr. Doom. She quips he should wear the name with pride because he was "one of the very few economists who was actually right about the crisis." This reminds me of Nassim Taleb who said recently that we shouldn’t listen to anything Tim Geithner and Paul Krugman have to say since they were blind-sided by the crisis. PBS’ Paul Solman once called Taleb and Roubini collectively "The Bon Vivants of Doom And Gloom."I kind of like that one better. P.S. Irving Fisher never called the Great Crash and Depression. In fact, he is famous for talking about a "permanently high plateau" just before things fell apart. But Fisher still made a positive contribution to our understanding of the situation with his Debt-Deflation Theory of Great Depressions. Just sayin’. In any event, here is Nouriel Roubini’s talk. If you’ve heard his economic forecasts before, there is nothing new here. But the clip runs just over 20 minutes and gives you a more expansive understanding of why he sees the global economy as still in a world of hurt …’

Dick Bové: Run For Your Lives ‘Absolutely certain usa will have another economic meltdown requiring another TARP-like solution (bailout)’

NY Times: Expect More Bailouts THE government is pulling a sheet over TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program created during the panic of 2008 to bail out the nation’s financial institutions. With the program’s expiration on Sunday, we can expect to hear lots of claims from the folks at the Treasury that it was a great success.

Rampant Inflation In 2011? The Monetary Base Is Exploding, Commodity Prices Are Skyrocketing And The Fed Wants To Print Lots More Money Are you ready for rampant inflation? Well, unfortunately it looks like it might be headed our way. The U.S. monetary base has absolutely exploded over the last couple of years, and all that money is starting to filter through into the hands of consumers.

Volcker: “The Financial System is Broken” and “the Mortgage Market Has Become a Subsidiary of the U.S. Government” Paul Volcker spoke at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank on September 23rd, as part of a symposium co-sponsored by the IMF.

Today’s Gold Myth “Its Topped, There Is No Inflation, Get Out Now While You Still Can” I am starting to hear this mantra parroted through ‘internet rumor’ that because there is no inflation, gold has hit its high, and you’re better off selling now while you still can, and certainly not buying any.

Wall Street Sees World Economy Decoupling From U.S. Bloomberg | Underpinning their analysis is the view that international reliance on U.S. trade has diminished and is too small to spread the lingering effects of America’s housing bust.

FDIC: Failed Banks Jun 22, 2010 ... For banks that have failed since October 1, 2000, search for the latest dividend information. Historical Statistics on Banking - Failures ... http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed 2010 Bank Failures Outpace 2009 - Kym McNicholas - Kym's Faces Of ... Oct 1, 2010 ... After Hours: October 1, 2010 Microsoft sues Motorola * Microsoft, ... And the list of bank failures this year has grown to 128, ... blogs.forbes.com/kymmcnicholas/2010/.../2010-bank-failures-outpace-2009/

Excuse Me If I Come On Too Strong Larry Edelson | Gold’s continued strong price rise is a resounding warning shot.

Rampant Inflation In 2011? The Economic Collapse | The U.S. monetary base has absolutely exploded over the last couple of years.

Wall Street Sees World Economy Decoupling From U.S. Bloomberg | Underpinning their analysis is the view that international reliance on U.S. trade has diminished and is too small to spread the lingering effects of America’s housing bust.

Volcker: “The Financial System is Broken” and “the Mortgage Market Has Become a Subsidiary of the U.S. Government” Washington’s Blog | Paul Volcker spoke at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank on September 23rd, as part of a symposium co-sponsored by the IMF.

Waiting for the Next Financial Meltdown Infowars.com | “Inside Job” director Charles Ferguson takes an in-depth look at how banksters brought the nation to the brink of a collapse.

Who Owns The Media? The 6 Monolithic Corporations That Control Almost Everything We Watch, Hear And Read Back in 1983, approximately 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the United States. Today, ownership of the news media has been concentrated in the hands of just six incredibly powerful media corporations. These corporate behemoths control most of what we watch, hear and read every single day.

Guatemalan STD medical experiments were just one crime in a long history of medical-government collusion to use humans as guinea pigs It has now been widely revealed that the United States conducted medical experiments on prisoners and mental health patients in Guatemala in the 1940’s.

Bernanke Knew Back in 1988 that Quantitative Easing Doesn’t Work Bernanke knew back in 1988 that quantitative easing doesn’t work. Yet, in recent years, he has been one of the biggest proponents of the notion that if all else fails to revive economic growth and avert deflation, QE will work.

IMF admits that the West is stuck in depression If you strip away the political correctness, Chapter Three of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook more or less condemns Southern Europe to death by slow suffocation and leaves little doubt that fiscal tightening will trap North Europe, Britain and America in slump for a long time.

National / World

Britain held secret war talks with U.S. general 11 months before Iraq invasion America’s most senior general flew into Britain for top secret talks on the invasion of Iraq 11 months before the attack on Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Fresh Attacks: More NATO oil trucks blaze in Pakistan Militants have set fire to at least 20 NATO oil tankers in northern Pakistan, killing at least 3 people in the process. Authorities say about a dozen attackers stormed the depot where the trucks were preparing for departure. This is the second such attack in the past few days. It comes amid strained relations between NATO and Pakistan, stemming from a cross-border raid that left 3 Pakistani soldiers dead.

‘Terror Hysteria’ and ‘October Surprise Terror’ Dominate Google Trends Matt Ryan | On today’s Alex Jones Show, Alex called for everyone to Google two phrases, “Terror Hysteria” and “October Surprise Terror” which quickly dominated the top two spots on Google’s powerful trend tracking system, Google Trends.

DOJ Urges Citizens to Report “Extremists” Handing Out Literature Kurt Nimmo | If you posted an Obama Joker poster or Tea Party literature on a public bulletin board, the Justice Department is warning you are a possible terrorist.

Google Trend Searches to Expose an October Surprise False Flag Attack Infowars.com | It is imperative that we expose a possible October surprise designed to cast a pall over the coming mid-term election and the success of forces arrayed against the establishment.

October Surprise: Terror Hysteria Recycled In Election Ploy Paul Joseph Watson | Cynical stunt to frighten angry Americans into placing their trust back in government

The Government Has An Appetite For Your Blood Paul Joseph Watson | State finds yet another way to jab Americans with needles in pursuit of monolithic DNA database.

October Surprise: Terror Hysteria Recycled In Election Ploy The establishment media is giving full court press to announcements from US and European authorities that airport lobbies are being targeted for terror attacks in a recycled version of the laughable 2007 incident in which two mental deficients set fire to a jeep outside Glasgow airport, a non-event that authorities hyped beyond all recognition amidst a similar wave of hysteria to that which we’re witnessing now.

US Government, Corporate Media Hatch “Irritating” And Unfounded Terror Plot Despite frothing headlines about European airports and train stations about to be attacked by machine gun wielding muslim terrorists, British intelligence officials have admitted that there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that a significant terror plot is imminent.

Google CEO: “We Know Where You Are. We Know Where You’ve Been. We Can More Or Less Know What You’re Thinking About.” Google CEO Eric Schmidt really has a knack for expressing relatively benign ideas in a way that makes him and his company look incredibly creepy.

Mike Adams In-Studio: FDA, The Most Dangerous Agency in Government Infowars.com | Adams talks with Alex about Big Pharma and the danger posed by the FDA to the American people.

Army embeds active-duty PSYOPS soldiers at local TV stations John Cook | The U.S. Army has used local television stations in the U.S. as training posts for some of its psychological-operations personnel.

Feds deploy mobile X-ray fleet to radiate, scan Americans Ethan A. Huff | U.S. law enforcement officials have already deployed many of these machines in cities across the country, including in a recent operation near Atlanta.

US Government’s Human Experimentation Apology: They’re Only Sorry They Were Caught Steve Watson | Countless examples prove atrocious experiments are routine.

Absurd Terror Threat Arises in Mid-term Home Stretch Kurt Nimmo | Intelligence agencies claim dead CIA asset Osama bin Laden will pull of a Mumbai-style attack.

Local news stations training psychological ops soldiers: report Two CBS affiliates have been helping train US Army psychological operations soldiers, says an investigative report at Yahoo! News.

Feds deploy mobile X-ray fleet to radiate, scan Americans The encroaching Big Brother nightmare has escalated even further with a recent announcement that the U.S. government has purchased mobile X-ray vans to scan people and vehicles at sporting events, road stops and even at random.

CIA backed by drones in Pakistan The CIA is using an arsenal of armed drones and other equipment provided by the U.S. military to secretly escalate its operations in Pakistan by striking targets beyond the reach of American forces based in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.

U.S. Issues Terrorism Alert for Travel to Europe The State Department issued an alert on Sunday urging Americans traveling to Europe to be vigilant about possible terrorist attacks in a statement that specifically cites the potential involvement of Al Qaida.

Al Gore Confronted in Tampa about Global Warming Again!! Al Gore shows up for Kendrick Meek Rally in Tampa. Starts talking about the environment. He had to be confronted again about the Global Warming Hoax.

US quietly testing ‘scary new war in Pakistan’ Since President Barack Obama took office, the US has increased the number of airstrikes in Pakistan by unmanned aerial vehicles.

Kissinger: A free war criminal Hillary Clinton has been very vocal in her criticism of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s foreign policies. Kissinger, who served under President Richard Nixon, was introduced yesterday by Clinton at a conference on Indo-China hosted by the State Department. Will Secretary Clinton learn from the mistakes made by Kissinger from the Vietnam War?

U.S. struggles to counter Taliban's propaganda (Washington Post) [ Propaganda? Really? Come on! The Taliban doesn’t need propaganda, the facts will do just fine! ]Militant group grows more deft at portraying the West as on the brink of defeat, shoring up support on home front for an increasingly unpopular war. [Photos show US soldiers posing with Afghan corpses – Nothing like those publicity photos for winning ‘hearts and minds’ in Afghanistan and throughout the world, and just before committing suicide themselves, and lending creedence to the proscription against illegal drug use as causative of strange, savage, illegal, bizarre, etc., behavior … consistent with that notoriously infamous query, ‘What were they smoking?’. How pathetic war-mongering, defacto bankrupt america has become! (AP)

Israel:  Defining 'Jewish state': For many, term has different meanings (Washington Post) [ Well ain’t that the truth! As per Forrestal’s warning (infra), it meant new york, pennsylvania, and California … for the greedy zionist israelis it means anything they want it to mean, borders, laws, u.n. resolutions, civilized behavior, etc., be damned! ]

Bank of America puts hold on foreclosures (Washington Post) [ Connecticut halts all foreclosures (Washington Post) [ Geeh! If only Connecticut was as diligent about clear law applied to clear facts, including adnerence to Orders of the Federal Court’s Chief Judge in said district and the enforcement of judgments entered in said district, they’d undoubtedly have a more vibrant and more certain economy, see infra … ] In radical action on document irregularities, the state halts all foreclosures by all banks for 60 days Poll: Were Connecticut's actions too drastic? ] The nation's largest bank becomes the latest lender to put foreclosures on hold in 23 states because of concerns that court documents it submitted were improperly prepared.

Connecticut, California join probe of Ally (Washington Post) [I’d be much more impressed if they initiated a probe of more readily discernible criminal offenses in violation of the RICO Act http://albertpeia.com Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers)Covering Up for Other Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). In Productive Societies as China, Japan, etc., Fraudulent Liars (sic-lawyers) and the Fraudulent u.s. System They're a Part of Are Unheard Of/Non-existent. List of Files Regarding Filed Attorney Grievance Against Fraud coan et als Or Here For A Clearer View Of Filed Grievance Complaint, Response, Exhibits, and Related RICO Filings Note the Committee of Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). Included are DOJ Rep., State Court Rep., State Atty. General Office Rep., and even a Vegetable Garden yale law prof who probably never practiced law in his life. How Pathetic! http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ] Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally ] .

9-13-10

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include a copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’)…

The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ http://albertpeia.com/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ( http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ) ].

The correspondence I received from the Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

1. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
2. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
3. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
4. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
5. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
6. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******** (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

Part 2: Woodward's 'Obama's Wars' Don't get 'locked into Vietnam,' Biden warns (Washington Post) [ Yeah, when you have a lobotomized VP you tend not to trust their opinion; but, I think they just cover their bases … you know, that Kerryish both sides of all issues thing. In any event, wobama bought this continued debacle and bears fault with the other Zionist war mongers. Previously (on Iraq and Afghanistan, infra): Obama: 'It is time to turn the page' on Iraq war (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! How patronizing to have wobama spew his b*** s*** which b.s. has become synonomous with wobama; ‘to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future’… Iraq’s been destroyed, covered in cancer-causing depleted uranium, america’s defacto bankrupt, etc. If only teleprompters had a brain of their own. ] He says the U.S. "has paid a huge price" to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future -- a price that now includes more than 4,400 U.S. dead. ]On Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, Vice President Biden counsels President Obama about sending more troops to Afghanistan.

• Full coverage: 'Obama's Wars'

• Audio: Obama on length of the war

• Audio: Obama on attack possibility

• Audio: Obama on terrorism tactics

A subtler tack to fight Afghan corruption? (Washington Post) [ How about a not so subtler tack to fight corruption starting right here in the u.s. of a. where corruption and crime are pervasive and in fact, at the root of the Afghanistan problems, from american reinvigorated heroin trade to bribery attendant thereto to killing civilians, etc.. Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless, War Criminal Nation america, the leader of nations … in crime:

Though having but 5% of the world’s population, america can boast 76% of the world’s serial killers, followed by Europe with England/UK then Germany leading the way for the eu [excerpt, 6 minute video, Serial Killers: Real Life Hannibal Lechters http://www.albertpeia.com/realifeamericaserialkillers.mpg (as is consistent with crime generally, see infra)]. Defacto bankrupt, fraudulent america also spends more on offensive (defensive a misnomer / propaganda) military spending than all the nations of the world combined, and by a large margin at that. Do you see a pattern emerging here [ I unfortunately only belatedly did, and the feds, fed employees, cia, all 3 branches of the u.s. government, etc., are included in this evolved american trait of inherent criminality in the most nefarious sense ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      )   ]:

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	11,877,218
# 2	United Kingdom:	6,523,706
# 3	Germany:	6,507,394

… ]

Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.scribd.com/alpeia
http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

White House offers israel a carrot for peace talks (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! This dog and pony show is getting old fast while america’s dying and america could in a day precipitate a peace consistent with international law, prior u.n. resolutions (i.e., 242, 338, etc.), (Oslo) accords, civilized behavior, etc., despite and in contravention of israel’s militant intransigence, to stem the hemorrhaging of american blood and treasure for israel’s sake. ]

]

Momentum builds at Fed to take new steps on economy (Washington Post) [ Ah, yes! My favorite ‘glass-perpetually-half-full (though empty)’ wall street shill, Mr. Irwin, looks to rosy times ahead when happy days are here again, greenshoots, no-recession and all from ( no-recession-helicopter) Ben (b.s. for b*** s*** shalom) Bernanke (oj the juice man) fed; and all the while I thought he’d be talking up the lower foreclosure sales owing to flaws / fraud in the process (but ignoring the negative impact on the used home sales). ] Two presidents of influential Fed banks cite poor economic growth and a inflation level that is lower than what Fed economists consider desirable.

Report: One trader spurred 'flash crash' | User Poll (Washington Post) [ Come on! No one who understands financial markets really believes this ‘back to the future of subterfuge as usual’ explanation. This is not to say they don’t have very high-priced programmers perfecting the ‘high-frequency-churn-and-earn’ technique to turn such into commissionable opportunities … This Has To Be A Joke: SEC About To Blame Entire Flash Crash On Waddell And Reed’s E-Mini Trades Infowars.com / Prisonplanet.com Bloomberg has just released something which if true, will wipe out every last ounce of credibility left in the market. As readers will recall, the initial scapegoat that CNBC and everyone else, who has no clue what really happens in the market decided to pin the flash crash on, was small Kansas-based trading firm Waddell & Reed, which traded a few extra contracts of E-Mini futures in the hours preceding the flash crash. ]

October Topples The 'New Bull Market?' Simon Maierhofer, On Friday October 1, 2010, 7:58 pm

‘Talk about a two-faced month. On one hand, October has a nasty reputation of delivering market crashes, like in 1929, 1987 and 2008. On the other hand, October ushers in the sweet spot of the presidential election year cycle. Gains starting in the mid-term fourth quarter (2010) lasting until the pre-election first quarter (2011) have averaged around 15% since 1950.

Since the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) declared the 'Great Recession' to have ended in June 2009, we'll use some of NBER's criteria to examine the market's risks and potential.

What's a Recession?

Here's how NBER defines recession: 'A recession is a period between a peak and a trough. During a recession, a significant decline in economic activity spreads across the economy and can last from a few months to more than a year.'

Aha, so economic activity is the key to declaring the onset and end of a recession. So what is the definition of economic activity? Again, this excerpt is directly from the NBER website:

'The Committee does not have a fixed definition of economic activity. It examines and compares the behavior of various measures of broad activity: real GDP measured on the product and income sides, economy-wide employment, and real income. The Committee also may consider indicators that do not cover the entire economy, such as real sales and the Federal Reserve's index of industrial production.'

Recession Over - Really?

Ok, so let's look at a few of the indictors NBER uses to determine economic activity:

Unemployment: In June 2009, 16.5% of American were jobless. In August 2010, 16.7% of Americans were jobless. If the candor of those numbers surprises you, it's based on the U-6 figures published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even the more commonly known U-3 number increased from 9.5% in June 2009 to 9.6% in August 2010.

Real income: According to a new study released by the Census Bureau, 1 in 7 Americans lives in poverty. The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3% or 43.6 million people, the highest since the 1960s. The poverty level for 2009 was set at $21,954 for a family of four.  Imagine what the poverty rate would be if these households weren't receiving continually extended unemployment checks.

GDP: Just a few weeks ago, the government revised - in this context revised means lowered - the GDP numbers for 2007, 2008 and 2009. GDP for 2007 was revised down from 2.5% growth to 2.3%. The 2008 decrease was lowered from 1.9% to 2.8% and 2009 growth was revised up from a 0.1% to a 0.2% increase.

If you feel that a 0.2% year-over-year 'bounce' in GDP is enough to usher in a new bull market, a revisit in economics 101 is advised.

The chart below plots the S&P 500 against various economic indicators. The grey line marks the post-June 2009 recession period. [chart]

Dare to be Different

For obvious reasons, the government and Wall Street would like us to believe that the stock market rally is a reflection of an economy gathering steam. Even most of the media is convinced that's the case and we are encouraged not to doubt them.

So, dare we consider facts and developments that might derail this post-recession bull market? Yes, even at the risk of being considered party poopers, dare we do!

Change of Perception

Perception is probably the most persuasive and least reliable force to influence our decisions. Like a caterpillar, perception morphs from its humble beginning as a disrespected and misunderstood line of reasoning to a popular and crowd-pleasing mass movement.

For example, the March 2, 2009 buy alert by the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter was met with mockery and disbelief. A year later, this once scorned idea had morphed into a movement with mass appeal.

By April 2010, there was no question that the bull market was over. In fact, by many measures, investors were more optimistic about American's future prospects than in the year 2000 or 2007.

Two weeks before the April 2010 high watermark was reached, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned: 'The message conveyed by the composite bullishness is unmistakable bearish.' Since the May 6 'Flash Crash' we've been caught up in a roller coaster of emotions as the market zigzagged from support to resistance.

The final jury is still out on what's next, but we know that perception can change at a whim. Don't misinterpret the current bullishness as a reliable buy signal.

A Dangerous Apple

Apple might very well be the most influential company on the planet today. Why?

Apple has a 20.32% weighting in the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: QQQQ - News) and 12% weighting in tech sector ETFs (NYSEArca: IYW - News).

As Apple goes, so goes the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC). If the high beta Nasdaq is up, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), Russell 2000 (Chicago Options: ^RUT), and others often follow.

Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - News) has a market cap of $264 billion, 20% bigger than Microsoft. Yet, Apple carries a 5x bigger weight in the Nasdaq than Microsoft.

This lack of 'weight management' is due to an oddity that goes back to the late 1990s when the QQQs were launched. Back then a mechanism was put into place to keep Microsoft, which often accounted for 30 - 35% of the Nasdaq, below the 25% threshold (important for tax purposes).

Since then, Microsoft's weighting has been systematically and consistently reduced, while Apple has yet to reach the 25% level before experiencing a similar fate.

Regardless, if Apple sneezes, the market gets a cold. Since its 2009 low, Apple has rallied nearly 300%. The advance since late August is the steepest leg of the rally.  The stock has been trading above its upper acceleration band for over three weeks and is extremely overbought.

A Rotten Bunch of Apples?

Apple moved from the status of underdog to top dog. The problem with being the top dog is that expectations become higher and higher. There comes a saturation point where expectations simply can't be met anymore. At that point, the stock price has nowhere to go but down.

After selling more than several million new iPhones and iPads, one has to wonder if Apple can keep up this pace of sales in an obviously deteriorating economy. And, if and when Apple sneezes ...

Of course a spoiled Apple is not the only danger than may befall Wall Street. A return of reality would be enough to pummel stocks.

In fact, knowing that NBER likes to take its time when declaring the beginning and end of recessions, we might already be in the next recession and not even know it.

Over the next few months investors will have to navigate through a maze of conflicting currents. October for example, is one of the best months of the year. October, however, has also a reputation of ushering in bear markets.

The fourth quarter of the mid-term election year is the sweet spot of the Presidential Election year cycle, while the still looming Hindenburg Omen and other prominent sell signals contradict this long-standing bullish seasonality.

To navigate such treacherous waters, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter provides safety and target levels that help narrow down the market's path, along with the ultimate target range and semi-weekly updates.’ 

It's October: Should We Be Scared? [ In this over-priced, over-valued, over-bought market, be scared … be very scared! ] Slusiewicz ‘The month of October conjures up thoughts of market crashes and other frightful events. As we start the fourth quarter investors are wondering about the near term direction for the markets – are we dressed as bulls or bears? There are many factors that will come in play, that should clear up that picture very shortly. Make no mistake about it, regardless of whether you are a bull or a bear -we are extended and extended big time right here and now. I believe we will have some sort of correction in the near term. Its how deep and what follows that correction that matters most.

The markets staged a big run-up for the month of September. It was the best September since 1939. What happened after that run-up in 1939? Well it took until January 1945 to get back to those levels. If you recall your history – World War II may have had something to do with declines over that duration and I’m not predicting the next world war. However, there does appear to be a contest that is going on between countries across the globe to see who can devalue their currency the most and the fastest.

It appears that the US is winning the race to devalue its dollar. The stock market seems to leading the cheer for this catastrophe to happen. As the dollar declines the goods manufactured by US multinational companies are more competitive overseas. Also repatriation of foreign currencies back into US dollars can be a profitable endeavor, enhancing corporate profits as our money weakens. Oil back over $80 a barrel is another by product of a weak currency. The US consumes half the gasoline in the world. We’re pretty much a captive market for the foreign oil producing nations. As our money’s purchasing power declines – they demand more dollars to make up the shortfall – because they can! Is higher oil and a weaker dollar good for the average American?

According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission the bullish sentiment for the US dollar is close to 0%. We, as Americans, can only hope that sentiment acts as a contrary indicator and the dollar starts to rally soon. Gold is giving all global currencies a thumbs down. Central Banks across the globe are trying to devalue their own currency, by printing more green, red, or orange dollars in their own countries flavor and using their freshly minted currency as bailout money. With the US Dollar as the global reserve currency – we seem to be winning the race currently, but is this really what we want to do?? I think not, but others are rejoicing.

As far as our markets are concerned, we have entered into one of the seasonally weakest periods of the year. Mutual Fund cash levels are at an all time low. Gold set yet another all time high Friday. Silver is at a new rally high as well. Gold and silver are fear trades. It seems contradictory that a weak dollar would drive the price of precious metals to new highs and indicate that the US business machine (as measured by the stock indices) would do well at the same time.

Technically, stock prices are at the upper boundary of a channel trend. Some markets like the NASDAQ 100 have formed an almost parabolic chart pattern since September 1st. Parabolas’ generally end and reverse into a mirror image. Daily stochastics are on a sell signal and the weekly stochastics are in nosebleed territory ready for a turn. Bearish divergence is occurring on the NYSE, RUT, S&P, and the NASDAQ Advance Decline lines. Advance / Decline divergence is a very reliable signal seen near market turns.

Fundamentally new home sales the last two months were the worst ever and second worst on record. The jobless claim numbers remain very high and sentiment seems to be getting worse. Make no mistake we are in a zone where a healthy sell off could occur. It's the magnitude of that sell off that we want to watch. Do we stop at 1122, 1105, or do we retest 1040 or more?

The real test will be what happens after we pullback and have a rally attempt. It will be interesting to watch and maybe worth a revisit. I believe the US dollar will be the key!

Disclosure: Positions in GLD, SDS, SH and SLV’

The Q Ratio Indicates a Significantly Overvalued Market: A Comprehensive Look Short ‘The Q Ratio is a popular method of estimating the fair value of the stock market developed by Nobel Laureate James Tobin. It's a fairly simple concept, but laborious to calculate. The Q Ratio is the total price of the market divided by the replacement cost of all its companies. The data for making the calculation comes from the Federal Reserve Z.1 Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States, which is released quarterly for data that is already over two months old. The first chart shows Q Ratio from 1900 through the first quarter of 2010. I've also extrapolated the ratio since June based on the price of VTI, the Vanguard Total Market ETF, to give a more up-to-date estimate. (chart)

Interpreting the Ratio

The data since 1945 is a simple calculation using data from the Federal Reserve Z.1 Statistical Release, section B.102., Balance Sheet and Reconciliation Tables for Nonfinancial Corporate Business. Specifically it is the ratio of Line 35 (Market Value) divided by Line 32 (Replacement Cost). It might seem logical that fair value would be a 1:1 ratio. But that has not historically been the case. The explanation, according to Smithers & Co. (more about them later) is:

The replacement cost of company assets is overstated. This is because the long-term real return on corporate equity, according to the published data, is only 4.8%, while the long-term real return to investors is around 6.0%. Over the long-term and in equilibrium, the two must be the same.

The average (arithmetic mean) Q ratio is about 0.70. In the chart below I've adjusted the Q Ratio to an arithmetic mean of 1 (i.e., divided the ratio data points by the average). This gives a more intuitive sense to the numbers. For example, the all-time Q Ratio high at the peak of the Tech Bubble was 1.82 — which suggests that the market price was 158% above the historic average of the replacement cost. The all-time lows in 1921, 1932 and 1982 were around 0.43, which is 57% below replacement cost. That's quite a range. (chart)

Another Means to an End

Smithers & Co., an investment firm in London, incorporates the Q Ratio in their analysis. In fact, CEO Andrew Smithers and economist Stephen Wright of the University of London coauthored a book on the Q Ratio, Valuing Wall Street. They prefer the geometric mean for standardizing the ratio, which has the effect of weighting the numbers toward the mean. The chart below is adjusted to the geometric mean, which, based on the same data as the two charts above, is 0.65. This analysis makes the Tech Bubble an even more dramatic outlier at 179% above the (geometric) mean.(chart)

The More Complicated Calculation of Tobin's Q

John Mihaljevic, who was Dr. Tobin's research assistant at Yale and collaborated with Tobin in revising the ratio formula, uses a more complex formula based on the Flow of Funds data for calculating Q. The formula is explained in detail at Mihaljevic's Manual of Ideas website. The chart below uses the Mihaljevic/Tobin formula for the Q calculation. (chart)

I would make two points about the more intricate formula. First it produces results that are remarkably similar to the simple calculation (first chart above. Also, the chart here differs somewhat from the version posted at the Manual of Ideas website (reproduced here), even though my chart uses the Manual of Ideas calculation formula. I've corresponded with John about the differences, and he explained them as an artifact of undocumented revisions to the government's Flow of Funds data. The Manual of Ideas Q Ratio is updated quarterly when the latest Z.1 numbers are released, and no changes are made to the ratio for previous quarters. My charts were built from scratch with the historic Z.1 data with any undocumented revisions included.

Note: My calculations with the last two Z.1 releases confirm John's explanation of undocumented Fed tinkering with the older data. The changes are relatively minor, but they have resulted in over a dozen quarterly Q modifications ranging from -0.01 to +0.02, with the upward adjustments clustered toward the recent quarters.

Extrapolating Q

Unfortunately, the Q Ratio isn't a very timely metric. The Flow of Funds data is over two months old when it's released, and three months will pass before the next release. To address this problem, I've been making extrapolations for the more recent months based on changes in the market value of the VTI, the Vanguard Total Market ETF, which essentially becomes a surrogate for line 32 in the data. The last two Z.1 releases have validated this approach. The extrapolated ratios for July, August and September (to date) are 0.97, 0.92, 0.99 respectively.

Bottom Line: The Message of Q

The mean-adjusted charts above indicate that the market remains significantly overvalued by historical standards — by about 41% in the arithmetic-adjusted version and 52% in the geometric-adjusted version. Of course periods of over- and under-valuation can last for many years at a time.

Disclosure: No positions’

Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt. Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent ( Prechter and many others are also in this camp although I believe he does not factor in sufficiently the debasement of the u.s. currency / dollar in arriving at his numbers which do however, at 1,000 on the DOW reflect real, as opposed to inflated values of 3-4,000 owing to the ever more worthless Weimar dollars which provides ‘spin material’ for the wall street frauds but is really quite ominous going forward, and very detrimental in real economic terms.) [This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression.]

Race to the Bottom Long ago, before economic models developed their current levels of sophistication, it used to be that the goal of a government’s economic policy was to bring prosperity to its citizens; in other words, to raise the general level of material comfort, while at the same time reducing the amount of toil required to attain that end.

M2 Update: 11th Consecutive Weekly Increase M2 continues its inexorable rise higher, and while by all indications the various shadow components of M3 are declining, the Fed and the banking system sure are doing everything in their power to reflate traditional monetary liabilities.

Waiting for the Next Financial Meltdown Infowars.com | “Inside Job” director Charles Ferguson takes an in-depth look at how banksters brought the nation to the brink of a collapse.

Gold Gains Above $1,320 Reuters | Gold prices rallied to record highs above $1,320 an ounce on Friday as the dollar weakened further on soft U.S. manufacturing data.

Protests Against Austerity Sweep Europe Mail Online | Strikes and demonstrations caused chaos across Europe yesterday as rioters clashed with police and cities were brought to a standstill.

National / World

Climate Film Depicts Children Assassinated For Not Reducing Carbon Footprint Paul Joseph Watson | Vulgar video pulled by global warming organization proposes ‘final solution’ for AGW skeptics.

Background Checks Required to Visit Your Kids at School Matt Ryan | Over 3,700 schools in Texas and 7,000 nationwide have implemented a system requiring parents visiting their children to undergo a background check upon arrival to the school.

Fox News Boss Murdoch Calls For Legalizing 40 Million Illegals Kurt Nimmo | Murdoch claims legalization will increase the tax base and protecting the border is cost prohibitive.

Bill Gates says vaccines can help reduce world population Mike Adams | Bill Gates’ statement implies that vaccines are a method of population reduction.

Feds Use Pre-Crime To Target Disgruntled Veterans Paul Joseph Watson | Mind Machine Project purports to find domestic terrorists by building psychological profiles from illegally wiretapped phone and email conversations.

Climate Cult Indoctrinating Our Kids With Depraved Death Wish 10:10 Global’s revolting and macabre climate change infomercial, for which the organization has already been forced to apologize for and remove, in which children who refuse to lower their carbon emissions are brutally liquidated in a bloody gorefest, unveils one of the primary goals behind the global warming cult movement – to encourage children to kill themselves in the name of saving the planet.

Climate Film Depicts Children Assassinated For Not Reducing Carbon Footprint A new climate change infomercial released by a prominent global warming activist organization depicts children being assassinated for not reducing their carbon footprint, as AGW skeptics are grotesquely blown up with innards and blood splattering everywhere, a frightening reminder of the fact that the environmental agenda is merely a veil for a hideous religion of death, and that the vehemently discredited and increasingly desperate global warming movement is in the last death throws of its existence.

The 10:10 movement: all skeptical kids and adults will be detonated on 10/10 Yes, they will simply kill all people who are openly skeptical. No pressure. Just a little bit of pressure that is needed to press a red button and all skeptics in the world will explode in bloodbath. It was their choice – and the alarmist killers will continue smiling.

US Government’s Human Experimentation Apology: They’re Only Sorry They Were Caught The US government has today apologised for intentionally infecting almost 700 people in Guatemala with sexually transmitted diseases in the 1940s, however, it has not apologised for countless other similar atrocious experiments and programs that it has engaged in and continues to engage in, amounting to an all out biological and chemical warfare attack on humanity.

Merkel calls for calm as rail protest turns ugly Chancellor Angela Merkel called for calm Friday after riot police used what critics called “Rambo” tactics to disperse thousands of opponents of a contentious rail project.

Militants Destroy 27 Nato Oil Tankers in Southern Pakistan After Supply Route to Afghanistan Closed Suspected militants in southern Pakistan have destroyed at least 27 tankers carrying fuel for foreign troops in Afghanistan. The incident came the day after the Pakistan government blocked supply routes to its neighbour in an apparent protest at a Nato air raid which killed three Pakistani troops.

Deadliest September Yet for U.S. Troops in Afghanistan; More Than One U.S. Soldier Dying Per Day on Obama’s Watch September 2010 has been the deadliest September yet for U.S. troops in the 9-year-long war in Afghanistan as U.S. troops continued to be killed at a pace of slightly higher than one a day during the Obama presidency.

Computer worm attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities ‘includes Biblical link to Israel’ Israel has been linked to a complex worm currently attacking computers in Iran, which experts claim may have been designed to target the country’s nuclear facilities.

Royal Dutch Shell among host of international companies quit Iran oil field project to escape U.S. sanctions Royal Dutch Shell and a host of other international oil companies have ended operations in Iran to avoid U.S. sanctions aimed at halting its nuclear enrichment programme.

Drudgereport: America on 'brink of a Second Revolution'...
UN warns of global unrest over unemployment...
Merkel calls for calm as rail protest turns ugly...
Photos show US soldiers posing with Afghan corpses...
US apologizes for '40s syphilis study in Guatemala … Unconflicted psychopaths! ...
'One In 10' Americans Depressed...
Gore fails to mention Obama during Dem rally...
VIDEO: Crowd Chants 'You Are a Fraud!' -- 'Global Warming is Hoax!'...
AZ Sheriff: Obama's 'Got His Hands Wrapped Around Our Throats'...

Photos show US soldiers posing with Afghan corpses – Nothing like those publicity photos for winning ‘hearts and minds’ in Afghanistan and throughout the world, and just before committing suicide themselves, and lending creedence to the proscription against illegal drug use as causative of strange, savage, illegal, bizarre, etc., behavior … consistent with that notoriously infamous query, ‘What were they smoking?’. How pathetic war-mongering, defacto bankrupt america has become! (AP)

Cats vs. birds (Washington Post) Poll | Bird lovers are worried about feline attacks on their feathered friends. Whose side are you on? [ Birds (I don’t hate them … I like hawks, owls, and hummingbirds(their aerodynamics), for example) are but feathered remnants of dinosaurs (extinct); while felines are the only hopeful creatures in the most positive sense for the planet and Cats should roam free! ]

Lawmakers urge Geithner to retain U.S. voting rights at IMF (Washington Post) [ Somehow incredulous, coming from a defacto bankrupt nation, engaged in perpetual war based on lies and fraught with war crimes and the nation whose fraudulent worthless paper (still out there in the many trillions) has tanked the world economy, and one must wonder who in the world still takes america seriously at their peril. ] Senate panel backs Treasury Department?s goal of reshuffling the International Monetary Fund, but urges the agency not to barter away any U.S. authority.

Report gives stimulus package high marks (Washington Post) [ What do you expect them to say? Particularly, a month before elections. Every economist who is not invested, governmentally, financially (stocks), politically, by reputation or otherwise, has (though only vaguely and very sparingly if at all, reported) unequivocally deemed the stimulus as straight ‘F’s’; viz., failure. After all, the nation’s defacto bankrupt and Nobel Prize Winning Economist Paul Krugman says we’re in a Depression and the u.s. will default on her debt! Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt. Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression.]Coming barely a month before November's midterm elections, the White House report challenges public perceptions of the stimulus aid as slow-moving and wasteful - an image that has fueled voter anger with the dominant party. Even some former skeptics who predicted that the money would lead to rampant abuse now acknowledge that the program could serve as a model for improving efficiency in government.

Officials assess TARP (Washington Post) [ I don’t buy it! … that, ‘things would be much worse garbage, rhetoric’ … for who … the perps whose frauds caused this financial debacle yet remain unprosecuted and flush in part with the cash used to bail out and cover-up the frauds, including mark to anything (FASB legislative) help though the worthless paper from the last fraud’s still out there… Come on! Wake up! ]Despite initial fears that taxpayers could lose hundreds of billions of dollars, the estimated cost of $700B aid has decreased steadily as banks have repaid money and as the Treasury has received interests on investments and sold stakes in firms it helped rescue.

U.S., AIG finalize payment plan (Washington Post) [ Does not anyone see the ‘devil in the details’ here, where though defacto bankrupt and pervasively corrupt, the government being desperate in so many ways, the quid pro quo’s already so rampant and detrimental to the nation would become almost obligatory making common stock ownership of non-governmental public corporations a system destroyer and beyond the pale. Where does this end, or begin to end for that matter, and, how? ] Deal aimed at restoring the troubled insurance firm to independence and repaying the massive taxpayer aid.

'Not more than 30 seconds' to sign each foreclosure document (Washington Post) [ Well, the fraudulent wall street glass-half-full (though empty) camp say … ‘good for used home sales numbers’ as an excuse to push those computerized programmed trade buttons higher’. Mr. Denninger expounds, see infra. Market Outlook: Warning Signs Karl Denninger (Yes, Karl … true as the night follows the day … Reality Does Bite! ) Anyone following the markets knows the drill by now. A bad economic report comes out (e.g. consumer confidence) and the market plunges 1%. An hour later, there's a magical reversal and suddenly, we go to new highs for the day, which "sticks" until the close. ] A OneWest Bank employee says she and her team of seven others have signed 6,000 documents a week, or about 24,000 a month, without reading all of them.

Market Outlook: Warning Signs Karl Denninger [ Yes, Karl … true as the night follows the day … Reality Does Bite! ] Anyone following the markets knows the drill by now.

A bad economic report comes out (e.g. consumer confidence) and the market plunges 1%. An hour later, there's a magical reversal and suddenly, we go to new highs for the day, which "sticks" until the close.

A huge IPO gets pulled (Liberty Mutual) due to bad conditions - the market sells off at the open, and goes down about 3/4%. Then there's a magical reversal and we go to new highs for the day.

Trucking volumes collapse and are reported. The market sells off, and then suddenly, there's a magical reversal and the market goes to new daily highs.

Merideth Whitney comes on the air and says that regional banks are cooked - their revenue model is broken and the collapsing yield curve will crush them. In addition, trading volumes are down at the major investment banks, so that will cream their earnings. BANK, the Nasdaq Bank index, takes off on a literal vertical tear as soon as she says this, rising by more than FORTY POINTS in an hour.

David Tepper says that if the economy is good, the market will go up. If the economy is bad, The Fed will print more money and devalue the currency, and the market will go up. Nobody questions the obvious disconnect (since when can you borrow your way to prosperity, or debase your way there - and in what instance in history has this ever worked?) but the magical buy-fairy shows up and the markets scream higher, rising nearly 3%.

Does anyone remember 2007 or early 2008?

Bear Stearns blew up and the overnight futures were essentially lock-limit down. What happened right after that? The magical buy fairy showed up and we went to recovery highs - nearly 200 handles above where we were when Bear exploded. (chart)

Anyone remember "Buffett will buy the world"? Was anyone ever prosecuted for all the false rumors that moved the market 1 or even 2% in the last hour of trade - those rumors always seemed to hit CNBS when the market was down 1% or more and threatening to break some key technical level. Suddenly, an outright lie would be "disseminated" and the market would violently reverse.

How about Dick "I'm gonna burn the shorts" Fuld? The market roared, right? For how long? And was he right - or was it Lehman that burned?

Look, you can blame manipulation, you can blame The Fed, you can blame whatever you want.

But what I know from more than 10 years of trading is this:

When the market starts to act like this - when there's this "invisible hand" that magically levitates things, when people resort to disseminating outright lies about the market or specific companies and do so to counteract actual bad news that would otherwise result in moves down, it is a sign of desperation - there are people with money and power who are on the wrong side of the bet and they are willing to deceive you and rip you off outright to avoid being the one with the bag.

Do with that information what you will.’

THE POP LOOKS LIKE A TOP - Harry Schiller ‘This morning's explosive pop to multi-month highs had many bulls excited about the much-anticipated breakout above resistance at the 1150 level of the S&P 500 (SPX) and the next big bull leg. But a simple look at the daily charts might have dispelled some of this bullish hoopla, as the morning gap-up opening not only served as a catalyst for this brief frenzy about a breakout, but also satisfied (or almost satisfied) some important overhead objectives. Here's the rule, folks: If the market surges at the opening, leaving big opening gaps and returning to the tops of previously unfilled gaps -- especially gaps that the market has been working on for several days -- DON'T BUY IT. It's that simple. In fact, I'd take it a step further: Look for spots to sell and sell short, but use tight stops above the tops of those gaps. This is,...’

The Stock Market Crash of the '00s Lounsbury ‘Here is a graph of the stock market crash over the past ten years, from Business Insider Clusterstock:

[ chart ]

The S&P 500 has declined approximately 85% from the 2000 high. This rivals the 1929-32 crash where the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 89%. These two declines are the worst U.S. stock market declines in history, when looked at with respect to the value of gold. A review of the secular market cycles since 1900 can be found here.

A more detailed analysis of the market decline from 2000 was published in January and contained this chart for DJIA data:

[ chart ]

With gold now over $1,300 an ounce, a return to the March 2009 lows would establish a valuation very close to the 89% loss line. If gold were to rise to the $1,500 mark, a Dow value a little above $7,000 would constitute an 89% loss from the year 2000. The inflation adjusted high from the early 1980s corresponds to a price for gold between $2,100 and $2,200 today. If that price were achieved the current market value for stocks would be an 89% loss from the top.’

Protests Against Austerity Sweep Europe Mail Online | Strikes and demonstrations caused chaos across Europe yesterday as rioters clashed with police and cities were brought to a standstill.

Dollar Set for Biggest Monthly Loss Since 2008 Bloomberg | The dollar headed for its biggest monthly loss since 2008 versus the euro as signs the U.S. economy is slowing damped demand for the nation’s assets.

Is Government About to Make Mortgage Market Even Worse? CNBC | Mortgage-purchase applications are 32 percent lower than they were last year.

Is Spain Is Faking Its GDP Data? An anonymous email making the rounds in Europe points out some disturbing discrepancies in Spanish economic data. In short, the report’s author asks why Spain’s massive surge in unemployment during the recession did not yield a commensurate drop in GDP, as was the trend across Europe.

Distressed Homes Sell at 26% Discount in U.S. as Supply Swells Homes in the foreclosure process sold at an average 26 percent discount in the second quarter as almost one-fourth of all U.S. transactions involved properties in some stage of mortgage distress, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Distrust In US Media Hits Record High, As CNBC (And Especially Mad Money) Viewership Drops To Multi-Year Low In today’s “less than surprising data point” category, the clear winner is Gallup’s analysis of people’s ever increasing distrust in the mass media.

Cheapening Currency Also Has Risks It is interesting to watch Wall Street defy reality. This is a scene we’ve observed since the early 1960s, the effect of debt on the economy and the nation and in turn on its currency.

National / World

‘Resentment Toward Government’ Number 1 Google Hot Topic Matt Ryan | On today’s Alex Jones Show, Alex called for everyone to Google the phrase, “Resentment Toward Government” and once again, the the term given on the show reached the top spot on Google Trends.

New Infowars Search Term: Resentment Toward Government Kurt Nimmo | We need to draw attention to this criminal effort by the government to violate the Fourth Amendment and trash our founding ideals.

Authorities Plan To Trawl Phone Calls And E Mails For Signs Of “Resentment Toward Government” Paul Joseph Watson | Facecrime: Orwellian technology seeks to identify disgrunted Americans as terrorists.

UN Policy Paper Describes Incremental Steps Toward World Government Jurriaan Maessen | The IMF and World Bank will always have final say in the construction of any international system.

The Next Stage: Global Naked Body Scanners Kurt Nimmo | DHS boss Napolitano will urge 190 nations to adopt the dangerous machines.

Ultra Elitist Environmental Group Forced To Admit Doubts On Global Warming Science Ultra elitist environmental group The Royal Society has conceded that it has “uncertainties” over the science behind global warming, and admits that the planet is currently no longer heating up – a development that constitutes another significant blow to the idea that there is a scientific consensus on the matter.

Gold Buffalo Sells For $200 Above Spot As US Mint Runs Out One ounce gold American Buffalo coins are selling for nearly $200 dollars above spot on eBay following the US Mint’s announcement that it had run out of the highly sought after coin and would not restock supplies amidst soaring gold prices.

Authorities Plan To Trawl Phone Calls And E Mails For Signs Of “Resentment Toward Government” Do you resent the government for enforcing Obamacare or raising your taxes? Write about it in an email or talk about it on the phone and you could be placed under surveillance as a potential terrorist, if frightening new technology being shopped to law enforcement agencies is implemented.

Pakistan Blocks NATO Supplies After Deadly Air Strike Pakistan blocked the passage of supplies for NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan after an air strike killed three of its soldiers, government officials in its northwestern border region said.

Russia denounces West’s beefed up Iran sanctions Russia Wednesday called on Iran to heighten cooperation with the UN atomic watchdog, but also criticized the United States and European Union for imposing extra nuclear sanctions outside the United Nations.

Drudgereport: [ Wow! Things and wobama are getting, in the immortal words of Lewis Carroll, curiouser and curiouser! And more desperate! ] HIP HOP BARACK!
VIDEO: 'IT TOOK TIME TO FREE THE SLAVES'...
Democratic National Committee enlisted artist B.o.B to perform...
Lyrics: 'I'm Dat ******'...

’Im Dat Nigga Lyrics
Im that ni**a X3
and im clean, that machine,
super cool, super mean
(T.I.)
You Already know,
im the hottest ni**a you heard in a long time,
introducin you to the hottest n**a you heard in a long time..
mega pimp, super clean, the coolest in the universe. Ni**as hatin on what he doin, just mad cause they aint do it first.
his name pop up when you hit "playa" on ya google search. Bit**es bow they heads and bend they knees, just like they do in church.
drop dough into a purse, before you get into a skirt.
she agree to do the work, before she get into the purp.
till my pine box drop down into the dirt, ima be by far the hottest ni**a known to the earth. in the air i fly cant compare, my swagger to another rapper dont you dare try, anybody wit a pair of eyes can look and see, no licorcy, will ever be, next to me. or nothin near by. tho i invite you all to try, aye, ima a fair guy. just approach with caution, be aware, cause i dont share my..thrown. my crown i own, hottest flo on any song. im on im gone...ni**a!
B.o.B you up next baby,
GRAND HUSTLE NI**A!
if i aint the hottest ni**a on the mutha f***in universe, i guess ill just have to do till he get here ni**a!
(B.o.B)
Here i go...
Im that ni**a that you heard about thru word of mouth,
they prolly said i change the music in the dirty south,
now that the word is out,
the timing is perfect now,
to take all these hypicritical rumors and burn em down.
if you observe the doubt you would see what they worried bout,
they say i sound like dre when im rappin bout virgins now,
honestly, i could give a fu** wut you blurtin out.
point blank, im in the game..rockin my jerseys now.
so just accept me or dont pay me no mind,
either way you gonna be hearin me all the time,
wether on greg street, or 107.9,
or on yo favorite rap blog, on yo rap website,
and if that aint right, then show me straight to the judge.
just like bryan nichols i aint spittin, nuthin but slugs,
venomous blood in my vains,
chemicals up in my brain,
yes i resemble a criminal,
B.o. Bizzle, you aint fu**in wit mane!
ahhh!’
PUMP UP THE BASE: 'IT TOOK TIME TO FREE THE SLAVES' [ How ‘bout freein’ them by putting them in jail! Do people really listen to that s**t? How totally regressive! Enough to make you want to vomit! ]
USA 'Practically Owned' by China...
Irish Deficit to hit 32% of GDP!

House slaps China over currency (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Facetime / soundbites galore … and near the election no less … yet, reality says the structural shift is a fait accomplis and this is just more ‘too little / too late, meaningless grandstanding’. ] Vote allows tariffs to be imposed on countries that chronically undervalue their currencies to gain trade edge. Experts warn that the move could prompt retaliation. Previous: Trade legislation to advance (Washington Post) [ Riiiight! That evil Chinese currency, ‘the juan dragon’, and those sneaky communist Chinese practicing capitalism (how dare they – but they’ve already lost hundreds of billions on american paper) with the technological transfers from america along with those short-run economic / financial blasts from the past including contraindicated (for defacto bankrupt america) congressional / executive trade legislation (NAFTA, etc.) as america fades to red. Sounds like a plan … of too little, too late in light of the irrevocable structural shift; and, the inevitable blowback and there will be blowback. ] House leaders are moving forward with bill to combat China's currency policies, adding to pressure from the administration and giving lawmakers an election-year chance to vote on a sensitive trade issue.

U.S. pressures Iranian officials (Washington Post) [ Boy! You just can’t make this stuff up! Defacto bankrupt america (and their terrorist client state israel) has engaged in war crimes, including murders of civilians, among other literal killing, raping and plundering of nations, based literally in some instances on lies, etc., violating international laws, u.n. resolutions (ie., 242, 338, etc.), torture, kidnapping/torture and they’re talking about … Iran? What parallel universe do they purport to reside in …? I’d say a suitable place called he*l. ]The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on Iran with a fresh set of penalties against eight senior officials for alleged human rights abuses.

Four key questions for the Fed (Washington Post) [ ‘Mr. wall street-glass-half-full-Irwin’, wall street’s behind the curve apologist who tries to make sense of nonsense; albeit spoonfed by media shills as Mr. Irwin to make manipulation seem to have a semblance of rationality. More Federal Reserve action: How would it work? (Washington Post) Here is a guide to the range of technical and strategic questions that Fed leaders will need to resolve, should they choose to act, on how to stimulate growth ( Wow! Talk about Mr. Glass Half-full Irwin being behind the curve. Who do you think’s been juicin’ the market. Graham Summers explains:

The Only Reason Stocks Have Rallied This Month Graham Summers The Fed generally claims that it stopped its first Quantitative Easing (QE) program back in March 2010 and that there were no additional debt monetizations between then and the announcement of its QE lite program in August.

Yet, as I’ve proven time and again, the Fed has continued to monetize Wall Street’s debts EVERY options expiration week since QE 1 ended… proving beyond a doubt that the Fed’s QE program did NOT actually end in March.

Here’s the chart of the Fed’s recent actions for those of you who haven’t seen this before. Options expiration weeks are in bold… ‘Unbeknownst to most investors, last week ( no-recession-helicopter) Ben (b.s. for b*** s*** shalom) Bernanke (oj the juice man) pumped an additional $11.05 BILLION into the system ON TOP of the $11.15 pumped via the POMOs. In plain terms, THE FED JUICED THE SYSTEM BY $20+ BILLION IN A SINGLE WEEK, BRINGING ITS LIQUIDITY PUMPS RIGHT BACK QE 1 LEVELS… ’

Dow 1000? Robert Prechter Thinks So) ]Key questions that the central bank will need to resolve if it decides to stimulate the economy.

Postal Service close to going broke (Washington Post) [ No surprise here! My most recent experience with the USPS regarding a very simple request, their dereliction, and email: Monday, September 27, 2010 5:07 PM

From:

"albert peia" <[email protected]>

View contact details

To:

"United States Postal Service"

you still haven't provided the requested information. I'm astounded you're still in business. Don't contact me about this again. You're service is pathetic as one would typically expect in a corrupt, defacto bankrupt, third-world country.

--- On Mon, 9/27/10, United States Postal Service wrote:

From: United States Postal Service <[email protected]>
Subject: Your recent experience with www.usps.com
To: [email protected]
Date: Monday, September 27, 2010, 1:46 PM

To [email protected]:

Recently you received an E-mail inviting you to participate in a Web-based survey from the United States Postal Service (USPS). If you have not already taken the opportunity to access the survey, we again invite you to provide your opinions. The survey is regarding your recent E-mail to the USPS customer service department. Your opinions are very important to the USPS as we continually monitor and improve the service provided to customers.

You can provide your feedback by completing a brief 5 minute survey. To participate in the survey, click on the Web address below. If that does not launch the survey, copy the Web address into your browser's address/location line. Please copy the entire Web address or the survey will not work correctly.

http://survey1.sendyouropinions.com/survey.aspx?I.project=w8177&id=148126&password=kkccv

If that does not launch the survey, please type in the following web address:

] Americans can still send and receive mail, but the U.S. Postal Service may not have much left in the bank after this week, as it's set to announce billions of dollars in losses as early as Thursday.

J.P. Morgan freezes foreclosures (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Sounds like a plan! … a typical fraudulent wall street plan … always after the fact by a long shot! ] ]Decision will affect 56,000 borrowers in 23 states where allegations of forged documents and signatures are being used to try to overturn evictions.

Rethinking a Dollar-Heavy Asset Allocation Picerno "Like it or not, significant dollar depreciation is more probable than most now suppose," writes Simon Johnson, a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, in a Bloomberg column today. The market seems to be discounting no less. Certainly the gold market is roaring higher in part because the odds that the dollar will fall in the months (years?) ahead look quite a bit better than even. Johnson, co-author of 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, sees three reasons why the dollar will trend lower: 1) worries over political gridlock in Washington as the country grapples with a huge budget deficit; 2) sluggish U.S. economic growth, which will compel the Fed to focus on lowering long-term interest rates, a.k.a., a new round of quantitative easing; and 3) the growing appetite of emerging market nations to diversify their large and growing foreign exchange reserves into currencies other than the greenback. "The dollar is, therefore, likely to depreciate against all floating currencies," Johnson predicts. That's hardly a radical idea these days, considering that the buck has been more or less weakening since June. The previous rebound in the dollar that prevailed in the first half of this year now appears to be over. One reason is because of an increased appetite for risk in the global economy in recent months. When macro anxiety rises, liquidity tends to gravitate into dollars, the world's reserve currency. But as investors and governments have become convinced recently that the economic challenges aren't quite so acute, particularly outside of the developed economies, the appeal of non-dollar assets and currencies has taken flight once more. (Chart) "The safe bet is to keep selling the dollar, especially given reasonably supportive data from the euro," Peter Frank, currency analyst at Societe Generale, tells Reuters today.Safe? Well, that's going too far. But certainly it's prudent for U.S. investors to hold some amount of non-dollar allocations in their portfolios. There are several options, including broad commodity funds. Commodities, which are generally priced in dollars, tend to move in the opposite direction of the buck. Two of the more popular exchange traded products in this corner: iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) and iPath DJ-UBS Commodity Index TR ETN (DJP). The underlying index designs are energy heavy, however. For a lesser emphasis on oil and gas, take a look at ELEMENTS Rogers Intl Commodity ETN (RJI) and GreenHaven Continuous Commodity Index (GCC).Gold in particular is the leading commodity alternative to the dollar. The world generally sees the precious metal as the antidote to Washington's fiat currency, which is why the pair generally share a negative correlation. Two leading gold ETFs: SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU).Foreign stocks and bonds priced in local currencies are another option, although each must be analyzed in concert with the underlying fundamentals of their respective markets along with the forex outlook. Although most non-U.S. stock ETFs and mutual funds don't hedge forex, foreign currency exposure is a bit tougher to find in foreign bond products. Harder, but not impossible. A small but growing list includes SPDR Barclays Capital International Treasury Bond (BWX) and iShares S&P/Citigroup Int'l Treasury Bond (IGOV) Meanwhile, consider too the first local currency emerging market bond ETF: Van Eck Market Vectors Emerging Markets (EMLC). Keep in mind that the forex factor tends to be much larger for bonds vs. stocks. Why? Bonds generally have a relatively low expected return vs. equities, which means that the forex factor can easily overwhelm the risk/return profile for foreign bond portfolios.If you can stomach the volatility and have a taste for speculation, there's also a wide choice of foreign currency ETFs to capitalize on a weakening dollar, ranging from the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bearish (UDN), which is primarily a euro and yen play, to the emerging-market focused choices )WisdomTree Dreyfus Emerging Currency Fund (CEW)) as well as individual country targets (WisdomTree Dreyfus Brazilian Real Fund (BZF) and WisdomTree Dreyfus Chinese Yuan Fund (CYB)).Investing in currencies comes with a high risk, of course, and so it's not for the faint of heart. Caveat emptor.But even if you're a conservative investor with a long-term outlook, and your portfolio is missing equity and/or bond allocations denominated in foreign currencies, it's time to rethink what amounts to a huge bet in favor of everything going well in the U.S. I wouldn't discount the possibility, but neither would I bet the farm on that scenario either. Disclosure: None

The Seven Lean Years Scenario Is Still Intact Cam Hui ‘The was some recent buzz in the blogosphere when Jeffrey Hirsch of the Stock Traders' Alamanac forecast that the Dow would go on an eight-year tear with a target of 38,820 (see the full comment here). Most commentators focused on the maginitude of the gain. Lost in the noise of the forecast was that the start of the bull market would begin in 2017. I have written about this in the past. A lot of long-term analysis is pointing toward the 2017-8 as the start of a new bull, meaning that we would have to endure seven lean years. On September 7, 2010, I wrote that:\\

Jeremy Grantham revisited his “seven lean years” scenario in his July quarterly letter. About a year ago, Art Cashin highlighted the 17.6 year stock market cycle, which pointed to a bottom around 2017. I also wrote about an academic study that correlated demographic trends to P/E ratios, which pointed to a long-term bottom around 2018. I also suggested that while markets are likely to be flat longer term, they are going to be volatile and experience huge intermediate term swings.

Now Hirsch has bought a ticket on the 2017 train and that ticket is looking more and more interesting. In that kind of low-return environment, I would reiterate my thesis that buy-and-hold strategies are likely to disappoint, especially in an era of uncertain equity risk premiums. Investors need to look to new strategies to raise their returns.’

Daily State of Markets: A Complete Contradiction? Moenning ‘Good morning. If you don't mind, please take a moment and put your thinking caps on for me. Now, let's put the following data into our crowded brains and see what we come up with. First, we learned yesterday that The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index took a dive in September as all the bad economic news finally caught up to the public. Next, we learned that the Richmond Fed also took a pretty big hit and continued its downtrend trend in September, falling to -2 from +11 in August (and for the record, here's the recent data: July +16, June +23, May +26, April +30). This was on top of the surprisingly weak data from Monday's Chicago Fed National Business Activity Index. Finally, let's toss in the fact that bond yields plunged with the yield on the 10-year falling to its lowest level of this cycle (2.456%).So, given the above inputs, what should we expect stocks to do? Let's review: Weak economic data plus falling bond yields equals... Yep, that's right, a Dow rally of nearly 50 points! Huh?As a trader, we should be applauding the bulls for pulling off a nice gain in what would appear to be a complete contradiction in terms. By definition, bond yields fall on bad news and stocks tend to follow suit. But as the saying goes, it ain't the news, but how the market reacts to the news that matters. So, traders everywhere could be heard cheering the bulls' big accomplishment on Tuesday. And putting all sarcasm aside, we will admit that our heroes in horns are to be commended for their efforts.But as a card carrying member of the There Has To Be a Reason Behind the Big Moves Club, I'm a little befuddled. While I can give you several reasons why stocks may move up on what would appear to be bad news, none of them are really great explanations. For example, we've got the end-of-the quarter window dressing rationale, which sometimes seems to be a factor in the market and sometimes not. And while I could go on, the most likely excuse for stocks to rally on bad news and falling bond yields (and rising gold prices) is the Tepper Trade.As you may recall, big-time hedge fund manager David Tepper told CNBC recently that stocks win whether the economy goes up or down. Mr. Tepper opined that if the economy tanks from here, the Fed would launch QE II (to froth the market) …’

Economic Data -- Que Sera Sera: Dave's Daily ‘Thursday and Friday bring more important data with GDP estimate, Jobless Claims (all estimates "locked" at 450K), Chicago PMI, Personal Income & Spending, U of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, Construction Spending and the ISM Index. These, taken together, should give investors plenty to think about. The current theme of both good and bad data as good things will be tested. But, let's remember, Thursday marks the end of the quarter while Friday's the start of a new month. With the former, expect some window dressing where possible and the latter might mean who gives a rip. As trading volume shrinks layoffs in the financial sector are, and will be the result. Fearless heretic and analyst Meredith Whitney estimated yesterday 80K Wall Street types will lose their jobs in 2011. ICI (Investment Company Institute) has just noted domestic equity mutual funds saw a 21st sequential outflow of $2.5 billion, bringing the total year-to-date to over $70 billion. Volume has told us another thing; the only folks trading are HFTs and hedge funds. Some might suggest a few banks with their POMO from heaven but how will we ever know? There's no transparency from the most transparent....oh nevermind. Wednesday's volume was especially light as tension builds before the economic news onslaught. Breadth was mixed. ‘

Things are coming apart before our eyes Fred Cederholm | Do you feel this first downturn of the 21st century is behind us? I sure don’t.

World gripped by ‘international currency war’ Guardian | The world is in the midst of an “international currency war” according to Brazil’s finance minister as governments force down the value of their currencies to boost their struggling economies.

Dollar Trades Near Five-Month Low Bloomberg | The dollar traded at almost a five-month low against the euro after U.S. home prices rose at a slower pace in July, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy.

Dollar tumbles to record lows, gold hits record high The dollar sank against the euro and hit a record low point against the Swiss franc on Wednesday while gold struck a new all-time peak, as traders mulled possible US moves to boost its ailing economy.

Communists living the American Dream Amid the raging financial crisis, many in the US are left doubting the wisdom behind the American way of life. And in one enclave in the US state of Virginia, an increasing number of people are dropping the dollar and picking up a hammer and a sickle. RTs Priya Sridhar reports from a commune that is adopting a revolutionary way of life.

Gold Prices Not In A Bubble – Deutsche Bank Until prices hit $2,000 an ounce, the gold market is still “some way” from displaying the characteristics of a bubble, according to major bank research note.

Gold Fluctuates in London After Advancing to a Record; Silver Reaches $22 Gold fluctuated in London after climbing to a record for a fourth day on demand for an alternative to a weakening dollar. Silver reached the highest price since 1980.

Pentagon’s ‘Burn a Book Day’: War memoir destroyed as ’security threat’ The Pentagon has ordered the destruction of almost ten thousand copies of memoirs by a former intelligence officer involved in the Afghanistan campaign. The Defence Department called the book a threat to America’s national security.

European cities hit by anti-austerity protests Tens of thousands of protesters from around Europe have been marching across Brussels in a protest against spending cuts by some EU governments. Other protests against austerity measures are being held in Greece, Italy, the Irish Republic and Latvia.

Internet’s creator slams ‘blight’ of web disconnection laws Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with inventing the world wide web, warned Tuesday of the “blight” of new laws being introduced across the globe allowing people to be cut off from the Internet.

World gripped by ‘international currency war’ The world is in the midst of an “international currency war” according to Brazil’s finance minister as governments force down the value of their currencies to boost their struggling economies.

Who Really Runs the New World Order Exposed Alex Jones extends his remarks on Glenn Beck, the co-opting of the Tea Party movement and who really runs the New World Order in a follow-up video address to “Is Glenn Beck for Real?” Despite what figures like Beck have portrayed, this global system is not run by Marxist ideologues or Communist revolutionaries; those groups and others are controlled by a psychopathic, offshore, corporate elite cabal who have sophisticated control over most of the world’s resources, peoples and territories.

‘Feds Radiating Americans’ Becomes Number 1 Google Trend On today’s Alex Jones Show, Alex called for everyone to Google the phrase, “Feds Radiating Americans” and the response was outstanding. Once again, the the term given on the show reached the top spot on Google Trends. This is yet another example of united action on the part of freedom-loving patriots.

American People To Corporate Media: We Don’t Trust Anything You Say A Gallup poll has revealed that a record majority of Americans fundamentally do not trust the mass media and believe it to be politically biased.

Iraqi Security Forces Target Journalists With Car Bombings, Shootings Reporters Without Borders deplores a targeted attack on Alaa Mohsen, the host of the programme “Liqa Sakhen” on state-run Al-Iraqiya television, who was badly injured by a bomb placed underneath his car as he was about to leave his home in the Baghdad suburb of Saydiya on the morning of 27 September to go to work.

Feds Radiating Americans At Internal Checkpoints Federal authorities do not concern themselves about the flood of illegal immigrants and drugs crossing the border every day, they’re more worried about radiating American truck drivers at internal checkpoints with mobile scanners that shoot dangerous x-rays through both vehicles and passengers.

Terrorist Fearmongering About “Mumbai-Style Attacks” Is An Election Ploy The terrorists are up to their old tricks again – using the threat of violence as a psychological ploy to intimidate voters before an election. But these terrorists don’t live in caves in central Asia, they head up federal agencies, governments, and Hollywood production studios.

‘Feds Radiating Americans’ Becomes Number 1 Google Trend Matt Ryan | On today’s Alex Jones Show, Alex called for everyone to Google the phrase, “Feds Radiating Americans” and the response was outstanding.

Mission Creep: TSA to Implement “Secure Flight” On November 1 Kurt Nimmo | “Secure Flight” may appear innocuous, but is designed to get citizens accustomed to government officials micromanaging every aspect of their daily lives, be it at the airport or at the local mall.

Who Really Runs the New World Order Exposed Alex Jones & Aaron Dykes | Despite what figures like Beck have portrayed, this New World Order is run by an offshore, corporate elite cabal with sophisticated control over most of the world’s resources, peoples and territories.

UPDATE: Is Glenn Beck for Real? Alex Jones & Aaron Dykes | Glenn Beck, as a national media figure, has never been consistent. He’s played many parts, but what Glenn Beck has never done, until now, is come so close to telling the truth.

Feds Radiating Americans At Internal Checkpoints Paul Joseph Watson | While illegals and hardcore drugs flood into the country from across the border, authorities target truck drivers in Atlanta.

Drudgereport: Paladino alleges Cuomo affair … former Kennedy wife Kerry backs Cuomo … Kennedys officially extinct ...
Wobama Struggles to Reconnect With Voters … hoping they’ll believe his lies again ...
MESSAGE: GOP lying to americans … look who’s talkin’ wobama … (wobama’s such total b*** s***) ...
UPDATE: Obama, Biden, Kerry Lash Out at Electorate...
And she's (pelosi) as unpopular as BP... ...ethics pledge falters
Maine guv candidate: 'I'd tell Obama to go to hell'...
Fort Hood: Four soldiers 'killed themselves' in last week...
Gates’ Revelation: Military (nation) faces strains after decade(s) of war...
Troop Suicides On Pentagon's 'Emergency' List...

'We need to make clear ... the cancer is in Pakistan' (Washington Post) [ How ‘bout the reality that the cancer is in Washington and tel aviv! I mean, come on! … This from a guy who’s failed presidency speaks volumes about his own inability to govern. After all, wasn’t he elected based on campaign promises to end perpetual war as geopolitical strategy, particularly in light of the reality of america’s defacto bankruptcy and that ‘opposite effect / blowback thing’? Wobama is so full of s*** as indeed they all are, all three branches of the failed, corrupt u.s. government and those mini mini black / grey areas that purport to be patriotic americentric while enriching themselves, only. Anti-americanism has never been so real and globally popular.] The reason to create a secure, self-governing Afghanistan, President Obama told his aides last year, was "so the cancer doesn't spread there."

Pearlstein: Can business afford Jim DeMint? (Washington Post) [ At this point, given the structural shift in the most negative sense, the real question is whether the defacto bankrupt nation america can afford business, along with the costly over-priced / over-valued / pervasively corrupt and incompetent three branches of the u.s. government along with the corporate welfare programs, particularly involving the military industrial complex. The answer, obvious of course, is no! ]

Senate Republicans block outsourcing bill (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That election year, market-frothing ‘change of heart thing! That previous clintonian democrat, bushee republican ‘NAFTA’ / transfer technology to China thing, etc., no longer in vogue for the sake of soundbites (didn’t Perot warn of this?). Do they even have the slightest clue as to what they’re doing? After all, america’s defacto bankrupt! ]

Economy may cause cable subscriptions to slide (Washington Post) [ Wow! If that’s the only thing sliding in this depression they’d be breakin’ out the bubbly!].

A bumpy ride for Southwest and AirTran (Washington Post) [ From personal experience, Southwest is a well managed airline in every respect! ] Leaders of the industry's other quickly consolidating carriers are suddenly faced with a much bigger and more powerful low-cost rival. But the leader who has the most to worry about may be Southwest CEO Gary Kelly. His company's unique culture and business model will be tested like never before.

Household income plunged in 2009 for the second year in a row (Washington Post) D.C., suburbs show disturbing increases in childhood poverty. Fewer families earned over $100,000 a year and the ranks of the poor rose, according to census statistics. This is nationwide, black and white, transcending race as one would expect in a depression.

Week	Fed Action
July 22	-$8 billion
July 15	+$8.6 billion
July 8 2010	+$1 billion
July 1 2010	-$13 billion
June 24 2010	+$175 million
June 17 2010	+$12 billion
June 10 2010	-$4 billion
June 3 2010	+$2 billion
May 27 2010	-$16 billion
May 20 2010	+$14 billion
May 13 2010	+$10 billion
May 6 2010	-$4 billion
April 29 2010	-$1 billion
April 15 2010	+$31 billion
April 8 2010	+$420 million
April 1 2010	-$6 billion

You’ll note that the Fed ALWAYS made its largest capital contributions during options expiration weeks. Heck it pumped $31 BILLION into the system in April 2010, just ONE MONTH after it claimed QE 1 ended!

However, since that time the Fed has pumped a total of over $65 billion into Wall Street on options expiration weeks. On non-expiration weeks the Fed either withdraws money or makes small money pumps.

This pattern finally ended in August 2010 when the Fed failed to pump the system on options expiration week. But then again, why bother? The Fed was about to announce its QE lite program in which it would use the interest on maturing securities to purchase Treasuries from Wall Street Primary Dealers via its Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO).

I realize that last sentence is a lot to take in. So let me explain how this new QE Lite Program works before we continue.

During Treasury auctions there are 18 banks, called Primary Dealers, who are given unprecedented access to US Debt (Treasuries) in terms of pricing and control. These are the BIG BOYS of finance including firms like Goldman Sachs (GS), JP Morgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Credit Suisse (CS), and others.

During its QE 1 Program, the Fed bought over $1.0 trillion in securities from these firms. Its new QE lite program consists of it using the interest and proceeds from the securities in its portfolio that are maturing to buy Treasuries from the Primary Dealers via Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO).

In simple terms, the POMO actions allow the Fed to pump money into Wall Street (by buying Treasuries from the Primary Dealers) without DIRECTLY monetizing Treasury debt (the Treasuries had already been issued). The Primary Dealers then take this fresh capital from the Fed and plow into stocks, forcing the sort of ramp job we saw last week on Friday. (chart)

All told, the Fed has bought $20 billion worth of Treasuries in this fashion, $11.15 of which it purchased last week alone. With this kind of weekly money pumping in place, Bernanke and pals don’t need to continue their “behind the scenes” games (like the options expiration week money pumps).

Or do they?

Unbeknownst to most investors, last week ( no-recession-helicopter) Ben (b.s. for b*** s*** shalom) Bernanke (oj the juice man) pumped an additional $11.05 BILLION into the system ON TOP of the $11.15 pumped via the POMOs. In plain terms, THE FED JUICED THE SYSTEM BY $20+ BILLION IN A SINGLE WEEK, BRINGING ITS LIQUIDITY PUMPS RIGHT BACK QE 1 LEVELS.

If you want to know why stocks have rallied in the last month, this is THE reason. The economy isn’t improving and the European Crisis isn’t over. Nothing has improved. All that has happened is the Fed funneled money into the Primary Dealers who ramped the market.

This is also the reason why the latest rally has almost entirely consisted of gap ups: the Primary Dealers ramp the market and then the computer trading programs take care of the rest. (chart)

In plain terms, the market is being juiced higher, plain and simple. There is no fundamental reason for stocks to be rallying. Moreover, we have numerous signs of a top forming (mutual fund cash levels, insider selling to buying ratios, negative divergence, etc). Those who choose to buy into the farce of a rally are going to get what’s coming to them. And when they do, it won’t be pretty.

Disclosure: None ]

Consumer confidence drops to lowest since Feb. (Washington Post)

A Candid Appraisal of the Recovery John Browne Over the last two weeks, seemingly good economic news offered some shreds of optimism to a stock market that was desperate for a pick-me-up.

The week before last, the National Bureau of Economic Research declared that the US recession had ended back in June 2009. At the beginning of last week, news came in that month-on-month retail sales had risen by 0.4 percent. Combined with successful government debt auctions in the eurozone, increasing expectations that Republicans will take back the House (thereby blunting the leftward drift of Washington), and hopes that a new round of quantitative easing will pump up growth, mainstream analysts are developing a feeling of near-euphoria.

Although it hard to begrudge the punch drunk for grasping at a little hope, investing is a dispassionate endeavor that calls for close and realistic analysis. In that spirit, let's dig deeper into the recent 'good news.'

First, the single month's rise in retail sales was a blip on what has been a long-term downtrend. Furthermore, retail sales in August typically get a large boost from seasonal 'back to school' spending. This year, retail sales were boosted further by temporary tax incentives and vendor discounts.

Second, the successful auction of debt from worrisome eurozone countries, like Ireland, only served to further camouflage the ongoing risk of sovereign default by these states. None of them have committed to a comprehensive program of austerity and market liberalization - Ireland maintains a 'too big to fail' doctrine while Greece is on the verge of riots from its so-far modest efforts at privatization. None of the PIIGS would have had successful bond sales if Germany hadn't been pressured into becoming a 'sovereign of last resort' for the whole currency area.

Apart from health of the weakest nations, a more important issue is understanding how sovereign debt is analyzed by investors in the first place. Those who consider buying government debt have for many years relied on backward-looking measurements such as debt-to-GDP to analyze the investment quality.

But that's only half the picture, and oftentimes it's even less than that. It does not include off-balance sheet items such as unfunded pensions, social security payments, or health obligations. For the US, I estimate this total debt amounts to some $134 trillion - nearly ten times the 'official' figure.

On a deeper level, using the public debt-to-GDP ratio to assess sovereign solvency implies that governments have access to the entire annual production of their economies. In reality, they have access only to that portion which is taxable. As taxes increase, there are natural limits imposed by increasing inefficiency and avoidance behaviors. Therefore, 'net GDP,' the portion available to the government for debt service, is significantly smaller than the gross GDP of the nation.

With real government debts, including off-balance sheet items, far larger than officially recognized and net GDPs far smaller that top-line GDP, the solvency of many sovereigns should be considered dubious at best.

For example, the debt-to-GDP ratio of the United States is currently 65 percent, which puts the country towards the solvent end of the debt spectrum among developed Western nations. However, the real debt-to-net GDP ratio is a staggering 358 percent, making the US the most insolvent nation in the group, behind even Greece!

In the interest of brevity, I will only touch on the fact that the above number is actually still an underestimate. It does not account for the portion of gross GDP claimed by state and municipal governments to service their debts. After all, all levels of government tax the same base. So, the effective portion of GDP available to the federal government is even smaller still.

The third problem with the late round of 'good news' is that while a GOP sweep of House races looks likely, it is unlikely to make a large impact on policy. It is doubtful that the small number of freshman GOP Representatives will be able to win over their more mature, big government-minded colleagues. Any pending GOP 'small government' revolution will be heavy on talk and short on accomplishments.

It should come as no surprise that the Republicans' "Pledge to America" lacked specific commitments for cost-cutting. Republicans are terrified of becoming the party of austerity, and the next Republican President will want to avoid being seen as 'Hoover 2.0'. Therefore, any structural changes will come slowly - and perhaps too late.

Finally, whatever actions the Fed takes in the name of further stimulus will have the same unintended consequences as all previous stimulus efforts. Long-term sustainability will be sacrificed in favor of a short-term boom. Since World War II, the underlying strength of the US economy has allowed the central bank to get away with this strategy, as the economy simply outgrew the inefficiencies caused by monetary manipulation. But what happens when we are in a period of secular decline?

So we see that Wall Street is again playing the part of Pangloss. Unfortunately, their purported inklings of a renewed rally in the US markets do not stand up to candid appraisal.

Bad Data Rescues Stocks: Dave's Daily ‘Bad economic data (Consumer Confidence 48.5 vs 53 consensus) and more worries from Europe regarding Irish banks drove markets sharply lower early. But, then the Fed showed up with a small POMO operation reminding bulls that bad data keeps the Fed as their friend. The smokescreen for the day was deal-making. The new deal or theme taking root in markets is good news is good and bad news is even better…’

Report From Europe: Ireland's Bonds in More Trouble

Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt.

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! There’s an old axiom that remains as true today as ever; viz., ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’, that is of course unless you’re of the ‘buy and hold’ mentality. Specifically, if you recall the recent market rally on the better than expected unemployment numbers from the government, albeit false data based on estimates that of course were as true as ‘bernie madoff is a reliable, trustworthy, seasoned professional with whom to entrust your money for investment’. The unemployment numbers just came in decidedly worse than expected (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has this day rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales the other ‘heralded’ good news. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in for now, and window dressing for the month and the 3rd quarter which can be and is manipulated, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ]

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:

I’ve had a couple of conversations lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two comforting delusions still out there.

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

But it’s not at all true. GDP is growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the current track, the answer is forever.

Delusion #2 is the belief that the stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds unspent. I tried to deal with this last year. The level of GDP depends not on total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds are being spent, which has already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in the rate at which funds are being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all downhill from here.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.
Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Dow 1000? Robert Prechter Thinks So

Marc Faber: The Fed Is Creating Dangerous Bubbles Around The World, And Stocks Will Tank In October The original merchant of doom Marc Faber has a good, wide-ranging interview with the Economic Times of India.

Dollar Trades Near Five-Month Low Before U.S. Housing, Sentiment Reports The dollar traded at almost a five- month low against the euro after U.S. home prices rose at a slower pace in July, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy.

Get Ready For The Fixed Income Bloodbath Fixed income desks are going to be subject to severe layoffs, according to a highly placed Wall Street insider with information about the plans of his firm and the plans of rivals.

Prechter Reiterrates Call For Dow 1,000, Even As Surging Gold And Plunging Dollar Leave Much Credibility To Be Desired One has to wonder by now just what is so magical about the Dow 1,000 that Prechter has been so infatuated with since time immemorial.

Things are coming apart before our eyes Fred Cederholm | Do you feel this first downturn of the 21st century is behind us? I sure don’t.

World gripped by ‘international currency war’ Guardian | The world is in the midst of an “international currency war” according to Brazil’s finance minister as governments force down the value of their currencies to boost their struggling economies.

Dollar Trades Near Five-Month Low Bloomberg | The dollar traded at almost a five-month low against the euro after U.S. home prices rose at a slower pace in July, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy.

Another Record For Gold As Investors Forecast More Huge Gains Gold futures have once again surged to a new record high, with experts across the board forecasting that gold’s bull run has a long way to go.

Shut Down the Fed (Part II) All those hillsmen in Idaho, with their Colt 45s and boxes of krugerrands, who sent furious emails to the Telegraph accusing me of defending a hyperinflating establishment cabal were right all along. The Fed is indeed out of control.

National / World

Concealed Carry Event Coincides With University of Texas Shooting Infowars.com | Infowars.com has learned that an open carry event was scheduled on the UT campus today.

Glenn Beck Channels Alex Jones to Sell Globalist Snake Oil Kurt Nimmo | Glenn Beck is not a patriot, but he plays one on television.

New Cybersecurity Bill Gives Obama ‘Power To Shut Down Companies’ Paul Joseph Watson | Businesses who don’t follow government orders would be suspended for at least 90 days with no congressional oversight.

Healthcare Reform: A Huge Misdiagnosis Ron Paul | Central planning never increases choices and quality or cuts costs as promised.

Amazing “Coincidence”: UT Shooting Cancels Pro-Gun Speech A shooting at the University of Texas campus that was initially blamed on a lone nut took on a political aspect after it emerged that the incident coincided with a speech by second amendment expert John Lott about the right to concealed carry that was due to take place tonight but has since been cancelled.

Big Sis Tries To Force Body Scanners On Other Countries Amidst Backlash Amidst a global backlash against naked airport body scanners, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is attempting to corral 190 nations into signing a binding agreement that will force them to adopt the increasingly unpopular devices which have been slammed on both health and privacy grounds.

CIA Strikes Intensify in Pakistan In an effort to foil a suspected terrorist plot against European targets, the Central Intelligence Agency has ramped up missile strikes against militants in Pakistan’s tribal regions, current and former officials say.

Kim Jong-un appointed general in first official hint he will be next leader of North Korea North Korea’s ailing dictator Kim Jong-il appointed his youngest son a four-star general on Tuesday, giving his country the first official hint that he will be their next leader.

Drugged soldier recorded describing the killing of Afghan civilians One of five soldiers accused by the Army of involvement in the premeditated killings of Afghan civilians is scheduled to appear before a military judge today — on the same day ABC News aired tapes that show his confession to investigators about his own involvement and the involvement of several other soldiers in the slayings.

Drudgereport: Consumer confidence drops to lowest since Feb...
Bush aide: Economy 'Close to Destructive Tipping Point'...
CEOs' view of economy darkens...

Afghan President Hamid Karzai breaks down in tears over state of country...

CIA INTENSIFIES DRONE AIRSTRIKES WITHIN PAKISTAN...
GOLD NEW HIGH: $1311...

Murky waters for D.C.'s 'boat people' (Washington Post) [ Murky waters? Boat people? Yeah, sounds like the third world defacto bankrupt america of present and future. Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman seems to think so! Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt. Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:

I’ve had a couple of conversations lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two comforting delusions still out there.

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

But it’s not at all true. GDP is growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the current track, the answer is forever.

Delusion #2 is the belief that the stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds unspent. I tried to deal with this last year. The level of GDP depends not on total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds are being spent, which has already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in the rate at which funds are being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all downhill from here.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.
Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

] Developers plan to unveil a revised master plan for a massive collection of hotels, apartment buildings and ground-level restaurants and stores even as the fate of more than a dozen businesses and hundreds of residents along Water Street and Maine Avenue SW are being debated.

Treasury developing plan to recoup AIG investment (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! … fraught with fraud, or fraud with which it’s fraught; but a great way to do that typical Washington ‘bribe / quid pro quo’ thing that’s done ‘wonders’ for pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america. ]Federal officials are finalizing a plan aimed at recouping the massive taxpayer investment in American International Group and returning the bailed-out insurance giant to financial independence, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Connecticut, California join probe of Ally (Washington Post) [ Well, I’d be much more impressed if they initiated a probe of more readily discernible criminal offenses in violation of the RICO Act among other statutes and damaging their respective states and citizens thereof. http://albertpeia.com Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers)Covering Up for Other Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). In Productive Societies as China, Japan, etc., Fraudulent Liars (sic-lawyers) and the Fraudulent u.s. System They're a Part of Are Unheard Of/Non-existent. List of Files Regarding Filed Attorney Grievance Against Fraud coan et als Or Here For A Clearer View Of Filed Grievance Complaint, Response, Exhibits, and Related RICO Filings Note the Committee of Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). Included are DOJ Rep., State Court Rep., State Atty. General Office Rep., and even a Vegetable Garden yale law prof who probably never practiced law in his life. How Pathetic! http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ] Attorneys general in both states ordered Ally Financial's GMAC mortgage unit to freeze all foreclosures within their borders, joining a growing list of states investigating whether the firm and other lenders improperly kicked people out of their homes. Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ Well, I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally ] .

9-13-10

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include a copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’)…

The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ http://albertpeia.com/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ( http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ) ].

The correspondence I received from Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

1. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
2. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
3. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
4. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
5. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
6. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******** (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

Part 2: Woodward's 'Obama's Wars' Don't get 'locked into Vietnam,' Biden warns (Washington Post) [ Yeah, when you have a lobotomized VP you tend not to trust their opinion; but, I think they just cover their bases … you know, that Kerryish both sides of all issues thing. In any event, wobama bought this continued debacle and bears fault with the other Zionist war mongers. Previously (on Iraq and Afghanistan, infra): Obama: 'It is time to turn the page' on Iraq war (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! How patronizing to have wobama spew his b*** s*** which b.s. has become synonomous with wobama; ‘to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future’… Iraq’s been destroyed, covered in cancer-causing depleted uranium, america’s defacto bankrupt, etc. If only teleprompters had a brain of their own. ] He says the U.S. "has paid a huge price" to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future -- a price that now includes more than 4,400 U.S. dead. ]On Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, Vice President Biden counsels President Obama about sending more troops to Afghanistan.

• Full coverage: 'Obama's Wars'

• Audio: Obama on length of the war

• Audio: Obama on attack possibility

• Audio: Obama on terrorism tactics

A subtler tack to fight Afghan corruption? (Washington Post) [ How about a not so subtler tack to fight corruption starting right here in the u.s. of a. where corruption and crime are pervasive and in fact, at the root of the Afghanistan problems, from american reinvigorated heroin trade to bribery attendant thereto to killing civilians, etc.. Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless, War Criminal Nation america, the leader of nations … in crime:

Though having but 5% of the world’s population, america can boast 76% of the world’s serial killers, followed by Europe with England/UK then Germany leading the way for the eu [excerpt, 6 minute video, Serial Killers: Real Life Hannibal Lechters http://www.albertpeia.com/realifeamericaserialkillers.mpg (as is consistent with crime generally, see infra)]. Defacto bankrupt, fraudulent america also spends more on offensive (defensive a misnomer / propaganda) military spending than all the nations of the world combined, and by a large margin at that. Do you see a pattern emerging here [ I unfortunately only belatedly did, and the feds, fed employees, cia, all 3 branches of the u.s. government, etc., are included in this evolved american trait of inherent criminality in the most nefarious sense ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      )   ]:

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	11,877,218
# 2	United Kingdom:	6,523,706
# 3	Germany:	6,507,394

… ]

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Hussman: Not Out of the Woods Yet Roche There are clear signs that the recovery has started to fade and the debate over a double dip continues to rage. The NBER thinks the recession is over, but John Hussman is concerned that just as the last recession ends the next one is already beginning. Dr. Hussman says we’re not out of the woods yet as the NBER’s own indicators appear to be pointing to another downturn just as they announce the end of the previous one:

Below, I’ve combined the long-term Stock and Watson data with the ECRI Weekly Leading Index growth rate to give a picture of how fluctuations in these measures have correlated with past recessions (shaded orange) identified by the NBER. Given the upward spike in growth that we observed in mid-2009, the choice of a June 2009 turning point is consistent with historical precedent. The Committee typically dates the beginning of a recovery at the point where the growth rates of underlying measures of economic growth clearly spike from negative to positive. What is of immediate concern though, is the trajectory that growth rates have taken since then. (chart) . Again, the graph presented here is as of June 30, 2010. While we know the ECRI data has deteriorated further since June, we won’t have GDP figures for a while yet. Given the data in hand, it’s clear that past growth downturns of the same extent have often gone on to become recessions. However, there are a few exceptions where these growth rates dipped below zero and then recovered. If we had good reason to expect positive economic tailwinds, we would be less concerned about the present deterioration. Unfortunately, my impression is that the bulk of the growth that we did observe coming off of the June 2009 economic low was driven by a burst of stimulus spending coupled with a variety of programs to pull economic activity forward. My concern is that these synthetic factors are now trailing off, with little intrinsic economic activity to carry a recovery forward. Suffice it to say that we’re not yet out of the woods.

Of course, the NBER (and most economists and most market participants) won’t acknowledge a new recession until long after it has become obvious. According to the NBER’s own indicators it looks like the next recession could very well be in its infancy. As always, I highly recommend Dr. Hussman’s full weekly letter which can be found here. Source: Hussman Funds

My Weekly Market Forecast Graham Summers ‘Last week I forecast that we would see a reversal in stocks. The market did indeed show signs of breaking down on Wednesday and Thursday, however, the Fed’s juice managed to keep stocks afloat and closing in the green for the week. (chart) All told, the Fed injected more than $10 billion into the market directly via its three Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO) pumps. However, Bailout Ben wasn’t content with mere open market juicing, so he pumped another $10 billion into the system “behind the scenes.” I’m going to address this activity in depth in Tuesday’s article, but for now I simply wanted to stress that more than $20 billion in Fed money pumps hit the market last week. This should clear up ANY questions as to why stocks are holding up, let alone rallying. Another way of looking at this, is that the Fed is trashing the US Dollar to prop up stocks. Indeed, the US currency has broken down below both its 50- and its 200-DMAs. Even worse, it has broken critical support at 80, which has served as a MAJOR line of importance over the last 20 years (the Dollar has only broken below this line twice: once during the 2008 lows and during the 2009 QE-induced collapse). (chart) This breakdown could turn out to be a bearish head-fake. However, if it is, the US Dollar needs to start rallying hard soon. Indeed, we are nearing a “death” cross pattern here: when the 50-DMA falls below the 200-DMA. These patterns typically are harbingers of further weakness. Combined with the fact the Dollar is below 80 for only the third time in 20 years, this is a MAJOR warning that unless we get a reversal soon, the Dollar is in VERY serious trouble. Indeed, we have the makings of a massive Head and Shoulders pattern here. As I write, we’re sitting just on the neckline of this pattern. Multiple closings below this line would confirm that the US Dollar is headed lower with a downside target around 71 or so. This would very likely mean stocks re-testing the April highs (1,220) and Gold exploding to $1,350 or even higher. (chart) This is certainly one outcome, however, I don’t think it will prove to be the case. Stocks are overbought and the US Dollar is oversold. At the least we need to see a retrenchment or consolidation in the former and a bounce in the latter. Big Picture: stocks have come up against MAJOR resistance at 1,150. This is occurring right as the S&P 500 reaches an overbought RSI reading (70) and on dwindling volume. (chart) Furthermore, stocks have risen to test the upper trend-line of their trading channel dating back to early May 2010. This line, which coincides with long-term resistance at 1,150, adds to the likelihood of a reversal here. (chart) The first line of support is 1,123 or so. We actually fell to test this last week, but Friday’s POMO-induced ramp job stopped the breakdown. So for now overhead resistance is 1,150 and support is 1,123 or so. A break above the one sets the stage for a rally to 1,170 or even 1,180… a breakdown below the other (1,123) and the next real line of support is 1,100 then 1,080. We have POMOs this week on Tuesday and Thursday. In light of this, I think we might see a final impulse push in stocks above 1,150. However, this effort will fail and we’ll see a retrenchment back to 1,123 or so. And if we take out support a 1,123 on a closing basis then the rally is likely over and we’re heading back down in a major way. When that happens selling pressure should pick up INTENSELY and stocks should absolutely collapse. This rally has occurred on nothing but fumes and short-covering. The only thing holding back the sellers is the Fed’s OBVIOUS intervention. But at some point, even this will prove irrelevant just as it did in 2008. Disclosure: None’

Brace Yourselves For Disappointing Quarterly Earnings Harding Nucor's Daniel DiMicco is one of many CEOs with unpleasant news about third-quarter earnings With only a few more days to the end of the quarter the market’s attention will turn ahead to the third quarter earnings reporting season, which traditionally begins with Alcoa’s earnings, due out on October 7. In what has appeared to be a conundrum for several months, Wall Street has been raising its earnings estimates for the third quarter while at the same time economists and even the Federal Reserve have been bringing down their estimates of economic growth quite dramatically. While we will have to wait awhile to see how those seemingly opposite outlooks actually reconcile, the third quarter earnings “warning” period is already underway and seems to be providing clues. Typically, only 20% to 25% of companies pre-announce results, and according to Thomson Reuters, so far 112 of the 500 companies in the S&P 500 have already issued pre-announcements. Of those, only 34 have said their third-quarter earnings will beat Wall Street’s estimates, while 78 have warned they will not. That 2.3 to 1 ratio is running considerably more negative than the second quarter earnings warning period when the ratio of positive and negative preannouncements was 1 to 1. Special Offer: Dividends don’t lie the way corporate earnings surely can.  Click here for dozens of undervalued blue chips with superior financial stability, growth prospects and yields..in Investment Quality Trends.

Confused and Conflicted Markets Nyaradi “If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.” -- Tom Peters Certainly, management guru Tom Peters’ quote could apply to last week’s market action as we saw significant moves in both directions only to end up at about where we started the week when the markets closed on Friday. The markets do seem confused and conflicted as we see gold, bonds and stocks all rising in unison. One or more of these markets has gotten it wrong and sooner or later we’re going to find out which one it is. Sooner could be as soon as this week with significant economic reports coming our way. Looking At My Screens As always, the chart tells the story: chart courtesy of StockCharts.com In this chart of the S&P 500 we see RSI at overbought levels and if you look back to early August and early April, you’ll find similar levels soon followed by significant declines. In “normal” market conditions you don’t see RSI at extreme overbought/oversold levels as often as we have lately, but typically, this is a very reliable indicator when these situations occur. Resistance marked by the horizontal red line is at the 1150 level and a break above here would indicate higher prices ahead. In the bottom display, the Full Stochastic is on a “sell” signal and in Overbought territory, and while this can be a choppy indicator, looking back to April, June and August, we can see similar levels followed by significant declines. To make matters even more interesting, one needs to consider these tantalizing facts:

• Dow Theory, the oldest technical trading program in use today, will go on a “buy” signal when the Transports break the August high of 4516.35. Friday’s close was 4515.01, just one point away from this significant line in the sand.
• Seasonality points to the fact that many significant stock market declines have occurred after the autumn equinox and in the month of October. In fact over the last 13 years, there have been 11 significant declines during this time frame for a probability of 85%.
• Three significant crashes have occurred in the month of October; October 29, 1929, October 19, 1987 and “black week” starting on October 6, 2008 during which the Dow lost 18% or 1874 points in five trading days.
• The AAII Investor Sentiment Index is at 45% bullishness which is similar to levels seen prior to several major market corrections.

The View from 35,000 Feet

On a fundamental level, the news remained dismal last week with weekly unemployment rising and Rite Aid (RAD) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) not reaching earnings expectations. The Senate postponed voting on extending the “Bush Tax Cuts” until after the election which adds uncertainty to the picture and Ireland slipped into a double dip recession with a contraction in its 2nd Quarter GDP. Existing home prices declined in July by -0.5% and the FOMC said it stands ready with more quantitative easing, effectively telegraphing a move in that direction at their next meeting. August Durable goods orders declined -1.3% from the previous +0.7% and August New Home sales rose, although this was the second worst report on record and so offers small comfort to the beleaguered real estate market. But stocks rallied on Friday on the hope of the “Bernanke Put” which says that the Fed will not let asset prices decline even if it means trashing the U.S. dollar for the rest of our lifetimes. That possibility, of course, is why gold is rallying through the psychologically important $1300 level. While a record, gold still stands far below its all time inflation adjusted high of $2318 and so could still have lots of room left to run.

Household net worth declined $1.5 Trillion in the 2nd Quarter and now stands 15% below its 2006 peak.

What It All Means

It’s now the Federal Reserve and the central banks of the world marshaled against a growing tide of deflation and economic deceleration. The record of success of quantitative easing is spotty at best and so we can only wait to find out if “things are different this time.”

The Week Ahead

As I mentioned at the outset, today’s markets are conflicted and confused, however, it’s likely we’ll soon gain some clarity with significant economic reports coming at us all week.

Pay particular attention to the Q2 GDP revision and Chicago PMI on Thursday and the blizzard of reports on Friday that include income, spending, consumer sentiment, construction spending and the all important ISM, Institute of Supply Manufacturing September report.

These data points should be significant enough to push markets higher or lower in a meaningful way and so by next weekend the way forward should be in sharper focus.

Wall Street Sector Selector remains in the “Red Flag” mode, expecting lower prices ahead.

Economic Reports:

Tuesday:

0900: July Case/Shiller Home Index

1000: September Consumer Confidence

Thursday:

0830: Q2 GDP Revision

0830: Initial Unemployment Claims, Continuing Unemployment Claims

0945: September Chicago PMI

Friday:

0830: August Personal Income

0830: August Personal Spending

0955: September University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Final Report

1000: August Construction Spending

1000: September ISM

1400: September Car/Truck Sales

Sector Spotlight:

Leaders: Bonds, Thailand, Peru

Laggards: Regional Banks, Real Estate, Financial Services

Disclosure: SEF, SH, VXX, SPY Put Option

This is still an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! There’s an old axiom that remains as true today as ever; viz., ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’, that is of course unless you’re of the ‘buy and hold’ mentality. Specifically, if you recall the recent market rally on the better than expected unemployment numbers from the government, albeit false data based on estimates that of course were as true as ‘bernie madoff is a reliable, trustworthy, seasoned professional with whom to entrust your money for investment’. The unemployment numbers just came in decidedly worse than expected (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has this day rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales the other ‘heralded’ good news. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in for now, and window dressing for the month and the 3rd quarter which can be and is manipulated, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ]

Credit Collapse and the Shadow Banking System Ellen Brown | What went wrong in September 2008 was not that the existing Basel II capital requirements were too low but that banks found a way around the rules.

Credit Unions Bailed Out Wall Street Journal | Friday’s moves include the seizure of three wholesale credit unions, plus an unusual plan by government officials to manage $50 billion of troubled assets inherited from failed institutions.

US Is ‘Practically Owned’ by China: Analyst The US supremacy as the top world economy will end sooner than many people believe, so gold is a better investment than the dollar despite it hitting a new record, Tom Winnifrith, CEO at financial services firm New Rivington Street Holdings, told CNBC.com Monday.

Obama’s Internet Wiretap Move: Just One Small Facet Of Total Domination Project Steve Watson | Experts warn that Internet is being centralized under government control.

It’s the Dollar, Stupid Kurt Nimmo | For the sixth day in a row, the price of gold has skyrocketed.

Stuxnet False Flag Launched For Web Takeover Paul Joseph Watson | False flag to rush passage of draconian cybersecurity legislation?

Banksters Inflate Speculative Food Bubble, U.N. Offers Global Governance Solution Eric Blair | Never let a good crisis go to waste.

European Central Banks Halt Gold Sales Europe’s central banks have all but halted sales of their gold reserves, ending a run of large disposals each year for more than a decade.

‘Euro is nonsense, Greek bailout illegal’ A currency expert protesting against Greece’s bailout says the bailout mechanism violates the provisions of the Treaty on European Union, and it may be a better option to stop the euro experiment instead.

Central Banks No Longer Selling Gold (Duh Factor: 10/10) Something funny (and quite revolutionary) happened during the CBGA’s (Central Bank Gold Agreement) year ending this Sunday – the group of 15 signatory banks sold a mere 6.2 tonnes of gold, a massive 96% decline from the year earlier, according to provisional data.

On the Secret Committee to Save the Euro, a Dangerous Divide Two months after Lehman Brothers collapsed in the fall of 2008, a small group of European leaders set up a secret task force—one so secret that they dubbed it “the group that doesn’t exist.”

Credit Unions Bailed Out Two years after the peak of the financial crisis, the federal government swooped in to stabilize a crucial part of the credit-union sector battered by losses on subprime mortgages.

Obama Stimulus Made Economic Crisis Worse, `Black Swan’ Author Taleb Says U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration weakened the country’s economy by seeking to foster growth instead of paying down the federal debt, said Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of “The Black Swan.”

David Rosenberg: Forget Gold $1300, It’s Going To $3000 It may be overbought on a near-term technical basis, but gold — now on the precipice of breaking above $1,300/oz — is likely to remain in this secular uptrend for quite a while longer. We’re talking years. We’re still talking $3,000/oz.

19 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind The United States is rapidly becoming the very first “post-industrial” nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing.

Downhill With the GOP New York Times ‘Once upon a time, a Latin American political party promised to help motorists save money on gasoline. How? By building highways that ran only downhill.’
Paul Krugman
’I’ve always liked that story, but the truth is that the party received hardly any votes. And that means that the joke is really on us. For these days one of America’s two great political parties routinely makes equally nonsensical promises. Never mind the war on terror, the party’s main concern seems to be the war on arithmetic. And this party has a better than even chance of retaking at least one house of Congress this November.
Banana republic, here we come.
On Thursday, House Republicans released their “Pledge to America,” supposedly outlining their policy agenda. In essence, what they say is, “Deficits are a terrible thing. Let’s make them much bigger.” The document repeatedly condemns federal debt — 16 times, by my count. But the main substantive policy proposal is to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which independent estimates say would add about $3.7 trillion to the debt over the next decade — about $700 billion more than the Obama administration’s tax proposals…’

National / World

‘US, Mossad played roles in 9/11 event’ Following the Iranian president’s doubts on the 9/11 event, a top military adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution says the CIA and Mossad were involved in the attacks.

9/11: Where Are All The Whistleblowers? A common tactic used to debunk questions surrounding the official 9/11 story is to claim that if there was inside involvement in the plot, whistleblowers would have gone public and exposed the conspiracy.

Obama’s Internet Wiretap Move: Just One Small Facet Of Total Domination Project The Obama administration is drafting legislation that will see all internet providers and other online communication services, including email clients and social networks, be forced to allow the intelligence agencies unfettered backdoor access.

New Poll Confirms Massive Re-Election Crisis For Obama The midterms aren’t even here yet, but already the story is quickly turning to 2012, and whether Obama can win re-election.

Gold Could ‘Easily’ Exceed $1,500: Top Gold Miner Barrick Gold, the world’s number one miner of the precious metal, said on Monday gold prices could “easily” outperform recent record highs to rise above $1,500 an ounce in the next year.

Help Us Take the Infowar to the Next Level Millions of people are now awake and acutely aware of the private central mega-bank plan to meltdown the global economy and pitch humanity into a condition of groveling serfdom under the scientific control of a one-world government with its high-tech police state.

Iran struggling to contain computer virus (Washington Post) Iran suspects that a foreign organization or nation designed the "Stuxnet" computer worm. [ Look westward (plus israel) , but not homeward, Angel … Riiiiight! Riiiiight! Riiiiight! Stuxnet False Flag Launched For Web Takeover Israel and the United States have emerged as the prime suspects behind the Stuxnet worm attack, which has infected the Iranian nuclear plant at Bushehr, following the discovery that a “wealthy group or nation” must have been responsible for the malware assault. Drudgereport: WORM HITS IRAN NUKE PLANT... ...new versions of virus spreading Pentagon silent... ]

Sordid Details About Killings of 3 Civilians New York Times JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - An American soldier accused of killing three Afghan civilians was under multiple prescription medications at the time of the killings and serving in a unit in which the use of hashish and other drugs ... Cpl. Jeremy Morlock's chilling description of how US soldiers killed Afghan ... New York Daily News Soldiers Charged in Afghan Thrill Kills Blame 'Crazy' Sergeant Calvin Gibbs ABC News

Army censors photos of Afghan corpses in ‘kill-for-sport’ trial Evidently worried about a repeat of the anger aimed at US forces over photos of torture at Abu Ghraib prison, the US military is restricting access to photos of Afghan corpses in the “kill-for-sport” trial of five US soldiers.

Will Stuxnet Malware Be Used In False Flag Attack? Iran has admitted today that Stuxnet malware has infected its industrial computer system.

Intelligence Report Envisions “Designing Humans With Unique Abilities” Under Global Governance Regime Recently a document was disclosed by the grace of the Freedom of Information Act entitled Global Governance 2025: At a Critical Juncture.

Rothschild and CIA Publications Attack “Constitution-worshipers” The editors of the Economist have declared constitutionalists mentally ill. “Indeed, there is something infantile in the belief of the constitution-worshipers that the complex political arguments of today can be settled by simple fidelity to a document written in the 18th century,” the editors wrote on September 23. “When history is turned into scripture and men into deities, truth is the victim.”

Obama health care reform imposes 3.8% tax on all income from home sales and home rental income The news about Obama’s health care reform just keeps getting worse — and we only find these things long after the bill has passed, of course.

GM food battle moves to fish as super-salmon nears US approval Buried in a prospectus inviting investors to buy shares in a fledgling biotech company is an arresting claim attributed to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.

It Is Official: The US Is a Police State “Violent extremism” is one of those undefined police state terms that will mean whatever the government wants it to mean. In this morning’s FBI’s foray into the homes of American citizens of conscience, it means antiwar activists, whose activities are equated with “the material support of terrorism,” just as conservatives equated Vietnam era anti-war protesters with giving material support to communism.

Drudgereport: KRUGMAN: BRING ON THE DEFAULTS...
Banks Keep Failing, No End in Sight...
PILOTS SHOCK CLAIM: Aliens have deactivated nuke missiles...
Confession Video: US Soldier Describes Thrill Kill of Innocent Afghans...
UN to appoint space ambassador to greet aliens...

Lawmakers question Fannie Mae on use of 'foreclosure mills' (Washington Post) [ Methinks they probably underestimate the magnitude of the ‘undertaking’. If they were really serious, they’d bring in their big gun, to confuse and throw off balance the questionees through the alice-in-wonderland surreal scene created by his mammalian rodent-like presence (yet he loves facetime, but that $12 billion in $100 dollar bills flown into Iraq is still missing) of that incompetent in the semblance of some beaver-toothed woodland creature as, ie., hedgehog, gopher, etc., viz., henry waxman of, yeah dudes, California fame (no tobacco smoking, just marijuana (actually, even more carcinogenic than tobacco and still, to deny the criminals/dealers the profit should be decriminalized if not legalized and taxed – and, no Sheriff Baca, pot’s not a gateway drug but a statistical correlation of that along with other drug use probably exists- , etc.) amidst characters that would rival the famed mad tea party, mad-hatters all. ]

GOP targets federal workers' pay (Washington Post) Issue becomes midterm flash point in wake of high unemployment, stagnant private-sector wages. Poll: Are federal government salaries too high? [ The obviousness of the answer to this question brings to mind such rhetorical queries as ‘do bears s*** in the woods’ and ‘is the Pope Catholic’, etc.. Of course, unequivocally responding in the affirmative does not do justice either to the obvious response or to the preposterousness of the sense of importance attached to these so-called employees who have to be considered the most over-paid, incompetent, and most cases corrupt (all 3 branches of the u.s. government included, along with the fed, etc.) and lazy employees anywhere, anytime. Indeed, given the damage they’ve done, they should be paying the taxpayers! ]

Pearlstein: It may be time to get back into stocks (Washington Post) [ Wow! With all the documented criminality, manipulation, computerized high-frquency programmed trades and fundamentals that make each uptick a walk through Alice’s Wonderland, one may only scratch their head and ask of Mr. Pearlstein, will you be the one left holding the hot potato in musical-chairs-like fashion and hence, making ‘roughly wrong or precisely wrong’ distinctions without a difference. There is nothing underpinning this overbought / overvalued stock market but hot air, outright lies / fraud, and a déjà vu scenario that once again as consistent with George Santayana’s admonition ("Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.") has eluded the masses (wall streets a**es).]

Stocks reignite a rally as economic woes fade (Washington Post) [Reitmeister and Slusiewicz (infra) … It is sheer folly ‘to believe that the negative, but less bad durable goods order number and the second worst ever, but still improved from July’s all time low, new home sales drove the markets up 2% on Friday…’ ]Stocks rose sharply on Friday, giving the market its fourth straight week of gains.

Obama reaches out to Iran with multiple messages (Washington Post) [ This is closer to the correct approach, conciliatory, especially in light of israel’s summarily and haughtily dismissing even the suggestion of or adherence to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as not in israel’s interest, the war crimes, violation of u.n. resolutions, flotilla murders, sinking of uss liberty/sailor murders, etc.. However, truth be told, I was dismayed and somewhat disheartened by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s confusion ( evincing a lack of understanding ) and hope the same a slip of tongue and correct him as follows: ‘9-11 was that ‘pearl harbor event’ heralded and sought by the neo-cons (don’t forget, there were orders for NORAD to stand down that day, symmetrical implosion, 9-11 truth, etc.) that facilitated a huge abrogation of rights (ie., Patriot Act, etc.), a diversion of funds to the military industrial complex among other lunatics, ie., cia, nsa, etc., but was not intended to nor did it help the u.s. economy; but helping the militant zionist israeli regime was indeed a goal and the cheers of the mossad agents on the banks of the Hudson in Weehawken, n.j. viewing the burning towers are testament to the truth of that part of his statement. ]

The Bulls Are Looking Tired by John Nyaradi ‘Today's Indicators:

• Red Flag: We Expect Lower Prices Ahead
• Daily Technical Sentiment Indicators: Optimistic (Bearish)
• Short Term Market Condition: Overbought (short term bearish)
• Short Term Trend: Down
• Medium Term Trend: Down
• Long Term Trend: Down

Negative action in the U.S. markets and around the world yesterday left me with the distinct impression that the bulls are getting tired.

On a fundamental basis, the bad news was headlined by that pesky unemployment problem just won’t go away with a rise in weekly claims yesterday, while on the corporate front, Rite Aid (RAD) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) got whacked for not meeting earnings expectations and Blockbuster (BBI) filed for bankruptcy.

The Senate decided they didn’t want to deal with the soon to expire “Bush Tax Cuts” until after the election which inserts more than a hint of uncertainty as well as a “ticking clock” into this all important situation.

Overseas storm clouds continued gathering (yet again) as Ireland is in a confirmed double dip with its 2nd Quarter GDP contracting while Germany’s growth slowed more than expected.

Finally, battle scarred veteran Paul Volcker summed it all up by saying that “the financial system is broken” and that it is “so difficult to get out of this recession because of the basic disequilibrium in the real economy.” (Mr. Volcker obviously doesn’t watch financial television.)

On the technical front, the S&P sliced right back down through the 1130-1135 level that had provided such strong resistance and now was supposed to be support and thus broke the upwards trend line in place since the beginning of the early September rally.

Yesterday’s close at 1124 leaves the index 8 points above its 200 Day Moving Average, the widely accepted demarcation line of bull and bear markets.

Internals continue to weaken in terms of breadth, Advance/Decline line, and Up/Down Volume, all indicating lack of strength in the upwards direction.

Today we get Durable Goods and New Home Sales but looming ever larger next week are some huge reports that we’ll discuss in detail on the weekend report.

For today, Wall Street Sector Selector remains in the “Red Flag” mode, expecting lower prices ahead.

Disclosure: SH, SEF, EFZ, VXX, SPY Put Option’

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! There’s an old axiom that remains as true today as ever; viz., ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’, that is of course unless you’re of the ‘buy and hold’ mentality. Specifically, if you recall the recent market rally on the better than expected unemployment numbers from the government, albeit false data based on estimates that of course were as true as ‘bernie madoff is a reliable, trustworthy, seasoned professional with whom to entrust your money for investment’. The unemployment numbers just came in decidedly worse than expected (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has this day rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure sales the other ‘heralded’ good news. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in for now, and window dressing for the month and the 3rd quarter which can be and is manipulated, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ] … Then of course there’s been the full-moon-effect which enhances the lunacy already typical of the frauds on wall street.

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:

I’ve had a couple of conversations lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two comforting delusions still out there.

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

But it’s not at all true. GDP is growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the current track, the answer is forever.

Delusion #2 is the belief that the stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds unspent. I tried to deal with this last year. The level of GDP depends not on total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds are being spent, which has already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in the rate at which funds are being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all downhill from here.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.
Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Examining the Current Market: No Fear Slusiewicz ‘…On Friday 98% of the S&P 500 companies were up. Generally fast run ups like the one we’ve just gone through, followed by exponential blow offs like what we witnessed on Friday causes me to take a more cautious point of view. It seems that the Fed is attempting to juice the markets with their Permanent Open Market Operations. This week alone the Federal Reserve purchased $11.15 Billion worth of various US Treasury securities from the seven primary banks. What the banks did what that immediate boatload of cash is unknown, but one would suspect that a portion of those founds found its way into the stock market. The alternative is to believe that the negative, but less bad durable goods order number and the second worst ever, but still improved from July’s all time low, new home sales drove the markets up 2% on Friday…’

Fridays Rally Makes No Sense at All Reitmeister ‘Thursday Reity Says: “For now, let’s just assume a healthy little pullback is in store and we’ll take the rest as it comes.“

Friday Reity enjoys foot in mouth sandwich for lunch.Why did the market explode higher on Friday? Maybe because it often does the exact opposite of what makes sense.Yes, you might read articles that say the Durable Goods report was the reason for the market to roar higher. Hey folks, it wasn’t that good, or durable, of a report to make investors feel like our economy is in great shape.

Some other experts may point out that this is a short covering rally. Meaning the hedge funds and traders are taking their money out of recent shorts that are now going awry and that creates additionally buying pressure that moves up the market in the short run. Perhaps that has some validity.And some other experts will talk about how we have gone above key technical levels that are bullish indicators. (Hey, weren’t these same technicians boo-hooing about the Hindenburg Cross just a few weeks ago and how that spelled doom for the market?)

Add it all up and we see why investing is so tricky. And why it’s hard to be 100% bullish or 100% bearish sometimes. The key is to strike a good balance between the possibilities of what might happen. Meaning that when you invest you have to realize there are good odds you can be wrong. So best to hedge your bets a little to realize that the other side of the argument may have some credence.

My Two Cents

(During the day I read many other investment articles of interest. Here are links to some new ones with my 2 cents added underneath).
Most (And Least) Valuable Global Brand NamesWhat's funny is that there is very little correlation between a highly respected brand and share price appreciation. Probably because most of these brands are former growth stories that are now much larger and the PE keeps getting compacted to get in line with current growth expectations. Certainly true for MSFT over the last several years. And for GOOG's underperformance this year (by the way, I think that move is way overdone and time to buy GOOG which is now a nice large cap GARP stock).

Goldman's 10 Stocks for Dividend Growth

Is this the best set of 10 dividend yielding stocks? Probably not.

The more important issue is that probably any combination of 10 high yielding stocks will outperform the low yielding 10 year Treasury over that 10 year stretch.

Warren Buffett: The Recession Is Not Over

Its a recognition that corporations can quickly cut costs and improve profitability making it seem like "alls well". However, John & Joan Q. Public are the "cost that gets cut" and for them the recession is alive and kicking.

News for bank failures september 24, 2010 Regulators close banks in Florida, Washington Ryan Holeywell | September 24, 2010 8:59 PM Regulators closed banks in Florida and Washington Friday night, bringing the total number of bank failures to 127 ... Bank Failure Friday - September 24, 2010 - Happy Failure Friday Everyone! With the approach of the election season, Barry and his "crack" financial team (those who haven't announced ... FDIC: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Bank Closing Information - September 24, 2010 ... Complete Failed Bank List · Failed Financial Institution Contact Search · Bank Failures in Brief ...

Get more discussion results

Housing and Jobs and Leading Economic Indicators...Oh My!

European Debt Worries Resurface

Buffett to taxpayers: Get over your anger Bloomberg News | Au contraire - ‘Taxpayer anger against Obama and Congress …’ is appropriate; after all, it’s your money!

Jobless Claims Up 1st Time in 5 Weeks Zacks | Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance climbed by 12,000 last week to 465,000. That is the first increase in five weeks.

New U.S. Home Sales Hold at Second-Lowest Level Ever Purchases were unchanged at a 288,000 annual pace, matching July as the second-lowest in data going back to 1963, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median price fell to the lowest level in more than six years.

Gold Climbs to $1,300 on Dollar Concern; Silver at 30-Year High Gold futures rose to a record $1,300 an ounce in New York as investors sought a protection of wealth and an alternative to a weakening dollar. Bullion traded at an all-time in London and silver reached the highest price since 1980.

Lauderdale man’s home sold out from under him in foreclosure mistake When Jason Grodensky bought his modest Fort Lauderdale home in December, he paid cash. But seven months later, he was surprised to learn that Bank of America had foreclosed on the house, even though Grodensky did not have a mortgage.

BOJ Intervenes For Second Time In A Week, Fails The half-life of central bank interventions is getting shorter and shorter.

Look Out Below! Harding ‘…And at a time when last week’s weekly AAII investor sentiment poll showed 50.9% bullish? That’s the highest level of bullishness and complacency since it reached 54.6% bullish in October, 2007 near the October, 2007 top of the 2003-2007 bull market. The other higher reading was 53.3% bullish on May 1, 2008, as the market ended a bear market rally and plunged into its unfavorable season leg down of 2008. Other readings not quite as high, but at interesting times: The poll reached 49.2% bullish just prior to the Jan/Feb correction this year, and 48.5% bullish at the April top this year …’

Nation / World

Feds Expand War On Terror, Raid Communist Antiwar Activists Kurt Nimmo | It will not be long before the government raids members of the patriot movement.

There Must Be Something More Daniel Taylor | Take a step back and look at the big picture.

Gold Breaks Psychological Barrier Kurt Nimmo | Gold has continued its astronomical ascent, reaching a new record-breaking high of $1,300 an ounce today.

Establishment Feigns Outrage At Ahmadinejad’s 9/11 Rant Paul Joseph Watson | Neo-Cons still embrace the official explanation behind the event that tripled the size of government and led to the feds targeting conservative Americans as domestic terrorists.

Killing Off the Small Farm: Alex Jones Talks with Judith McGeary Infowars.com | Alex talks with Judith McGeary, the Executive Director of FARFA, about the government plan to replace small family farms with large corporate factory farms.

Obamacare is even worse than critics thought Washington Examiner | Obamacare won’t decrease health care costs for the government.

The Choice Between Two Americas Scott Lazarowitz | The current America is one of Keynesian, socialist centralized economic social and defense planning, in which the government directs everything by force of gunpoint.

Why America Cannot Win in Afghanistan Infowars.com | An interview with Hamid Gul, the former director of Pakistan’s ISI.

Why an Underwear Bomber Trial with an Entrapment Defense Would be One of the Greatest Events in U.S. History Kurt Haskell | Such a trial could possibly wake up the millions of American citizens that fail to even consider that its government is corrupt, dishonest, and working for those who only seek to consolidate their power and wealth.

Establishment Reacts To Ahmadinejad 9/11 Controversy Like Kid Caught With Hand In Cookie Jar The reaction of establishment politicians and their corporate media mouthpieces to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comments about 9/11 is akin to that of a guilty child caught with his hand in the cookie jar and chocolate smeared all over his face.

Establishment Feigns Outrage At Ahmadinejad’s 9/11 Rant The spectacle of a minority of UN diplomats walking out on a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he questioned the official story behind 9/11 was instantaneously seized upon by the establishment media and exploited as a way of demonizing any inquiry into the terror attacks.

David Rosenberg: Forget Gold $1300, It’s Going To $3000 It may be overbought on a near-term technical basis, but gold — now on the precipice of breaking above $1,300/oz — is likely to remain in this secular uptrend for quite a while longer. We’re talking years. We’re still talking $3,000/oz.

Dollar Hits All Time Low Against Swiss Franc The USDCHD just printed at 0.9780, the lowest ever in history. The dollar obliteration, and the rush to safety away from the psychopaths of the Federal Reserve continues.

Buffett to taxpayers: Get over your anger Taxpayer anger against President Barack Obama and Congress is counterproductive because policy makers took measures including deficit spending to stimulate the economy, billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC.

Gold Breaks Psychological $1,300 Barrier Gold has continued its astronomical ascent, reaching a new record-breaking high of $1,300 an ounce today. This is the fourth day of record high gold prices. Earlier in the week, the precious metal surged after Federal Reserve boss Bernanke said the banksters will provide extra “monetary stimulus” to boost the collapsing economy.

Bono’s ONE foundation under fire for giving little over 1% of funds to charity Daily Mail | The non-profit organisation set up by the U2 frontman received almost £9.6million in donations in 2008 but handed out only £118,000 to good causes (1.2 per cent).

Drudgereport: FBI Serves 'Terrorism' Warrants in Chicago, Minneapolis...
...raids homes of war protesters
Justice Official Calls Dismissal of Black Panther Case 'Travesty'...
...Says Dept. Discourages 'Race Neutral' Enforcement of Laws...
PAPER: QUEEN TRIED TO USE STATE POVERTY FUND TO HEAT BUCKINGHAM PALACE...

'We need to trust each other' (Washington Post ) [ Yeah! That’s leader of nations Turkey ‘talking turkey’ while the israelis, with a plethora of illegal nukes, casually as if by some unbenounced entitlement, say that they won’t sign the Non-proliferation Treaty because it’s not in their interest to do so. You can’t make this stuff up; yet, there’s bewilderment as to why the u.s., mid-east, and world are in such a deplorable and chaotic state. ]A23 (Post) ...with the United States, Israel and Iran. Excerpts: Q...is also party to the [Non-Proliferation...

Milbank: A broken pledge The GOP breaks its 'Pledge to America' (Washington Post ) [ Oh, come on! No surprise here. A cliché remains true and the bipartisan reality is that, quite simply, there’s no honor among thieves (and gutless scoundrels) ] It took the Republicans just three minutes to violate their Pledge to America.

Blockbuster goes bust (Washington Post ) [ Sounds like a plan! … The new america plan … Drudgereport: Zuckerman: The American Dream Has Become a Nightmare... Buffett: 'We're still in a recession'... ] The video retailer filed for bankruptcy after it failed to stand up to competition from the likes of Netflix.

Chaos in the nation's foreclosure system (Washington Post ) [ Is that all? If only the chaos was only in the defacto bankrupt nation’s foreclosure system; that would be something to cheer. Unfortunately, corruption in america is pervasive, systemic, structural and the chaos is a growth factor in the most negative sense ]Ally Financial's decision to halt home evictions in 23 states brought to light troubles in the overburdened foreclosure system including faked documents, forged signatures and lenders who take shortcuts.

Obama focuses on human rights [Washington Post ] At U.N., president urges nations to "not stand idly by" when those values, democracy are threatened [ except when defacto bankrupt america is doing the threatening, which is usually the case, and if you’re white … ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ) ] .

Recession is far from over for many Americans (Washington Post ) [ Many? How ‘bout most all! Beyond the election / incumbent desperation act / rhetoric. ] Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ]

We need another yardstick to measure how bad off we are, because the one we have now isn't good enough. The recession may be declared over, but the hole we've dug is too deep to be measured only by the macroeconomic factors considered by the bureau.

Look Out Below! Harding ‘…And at a time when last week’s weekly AAII investor sentiment poll showed 50.9% bullish? That’s the highest level of bullishness and complacency since it reached 54.6% bullish in October, 2007 near the October, 2007 top of the 2003-2007 bull market. The other higher reading was 53.3% bullish on May 1, 2008, as the market ended a bear market rally and plunged into its unfavorable season leg down of 2008. Other readings not quite as high, but at interesting times: The poll reached 49.2% bullish just prior to the Jan/Feb correction this year, and 48.5% bullish at the April top this year …’

Thursday Market Outlook: Listening to Herbert Hoover

‘Red Flag: We Expect Lower Prices Ahead
Daily Technical Sentiment Indicators: Optimistic (Bearish)
Short Term Market Condition: Overbought (short term bearish)
Short Term Trend: Up
Medium Term Trend: Down
Long Term Trend: Down

So far, this week’s news and market action looks decidedly deflationary and even depression-like and so I went back in time to see what President Herbert Hoover, often blamed for the Great Depression, had to say about his times and to see what we might be able to learn from him about the times we live in.

Some of his most prescient and applicable quotes were:

“Let me remind you that credit is the lifeblood of business, the lifeblood of prices and jobs.” (Certainly an issue today and our money center banks should pay heed)

“It is just as important that business keep out of government as that government keep out of business.” (No doubt about it. Every policy maker in America needs to understand this.)

I’m the only person of distinction who has ever had a depression named for him.” (President Obama might be the second.)

“Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body – the producers and consumers themselves.”

(Dr. Bernanke and his colleagues really need to “get” this one, and judging from what I’m reading this week, I’m not sure they do.)

And, finally, old Herb had a morbid sense of humor when he said, “Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt.” (Unfortunately still too true today.)

So apparently as the old saying goes: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

This week so far has been more than a little spooky and reminiscent of Herbert Hoover’s times as we listened to Dr. Bernanke and the FOMC warn of deflation and further quantitative easing and then read today’s housing report which indicated that home prices declined in July by -0.5%.

The FOMC said that “the pace of recovery in output and employment has slowed in recent months…and that “employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls. Housing starts are at a depressed level. Bank lending has continued to contract, but at a reduced rate in recent months.”

“Measures of underlying inflation are currently at levels somewhat below those the Committee judges most consistent, over the longer run, with its mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability…..the Committee will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and is prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed to support economic recovery and to return inflation, over time, to levels consistent with its mandate.”

So in a nutshell, deflation is a major concern, the $1.5 Trillion the Fed has thrown on this fire has failed to work and now they stand ready to throw more money at this problem in hopes of keeping our economic ship from sinking.

It’s clear what the market thinks of all of this as Treasury bonds continue to rally and gold heads for the stratosphere. Equities cheered Dr. Bernanke’s comments at first but then, realizing that deflation is a bad thing, settled back down to well below the top of the recent range.

One only needs to look at history to see that government efforts have little impact on ending depressions and deflation. The Great Depression didn’t end until the onset of World War II and Japan is a prime example of the ongoing failure of quantitative easing policies as they enter their second “lost decade.”

Today comes the jobs report, home sales and leading economic indicators and we’ll see if any light shines from this most recent data.

Technically, markets remain overbought and due for a correction and so from a fundamental, technical and seasonal perspective, we are in treacherous waters for sure.

We need to learn from Herbert Hoover’s words and experience or fall victim to George Santayana’s famous warning, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Wall Street Sector Selector remains positioned to the “short” side of the market, expecting choppy to lower prices ahead.

Disclosure: SH, EFZ, SEF, SPY put option’

Am I Too Bearish? [ In a word, No! ] Cullen Roche ‘1) Am I too bearish? Some commenters have noted that I seem a bit too bearish all the time. Some have even gone so far as to imply that I am a permabear. These are fair comments, but require some clarification. The other day I mentioned my top down approach to the markets. Most of what I write about here at Pragmatic Capitalism is a macro view. Therefore, you get a heavy dose of macro with a dollop of micro. I am of the belief that we are in a secular bear and a balance sheet recession. Therefore, you get a pretty heavy dose of bearish arguments thrown at you. Nonetheless, I try to balance the site out with some of the more reasonable bullish arguments. What I am not, however, is a permabear. Within this macro outlook I have been bullish at many of the most opportune moments in the last few years. Most notable was my bottom call on March 8th when everyone in the universe was negative and I said the government was about to engage in an unprecedented market intervention that would be bullish for stocks. More recently on September 1st I was asked specifically if I was shorting the market. My response:

Ideally I would, however, I think it’s dangerous to build shorts right now. If the market is about to collapse then it’s about the most widely known collapse ever. Markets don’t tank when everyone is this bearish unless there is some sort of extreme event (which isn’t occurring currently). I think the April period when I was very negative (and short) is a great example.

I have actually been looking for a spot to get long even though my macro outlook is negative (which it has been for several years)…

Now, in fairness, I did not buy for my macro equity strategy so don’t take this as some form of revisionist history where I am patting myself on the back for a trade that never occurred. On September 2nd I got what I later referred to as a “soft buy signal” as opposed to a conviction buy signal (more on this below). In hindsight it’s easy to say that I should have had more conviction in the signal and simply bought stocks, but that’s not my modus operandi. As I have previously explained, I have rules within my micro outlook that guide my various strategies and approaches. I trade the indicators (in this case a proprietary algorithm) and not the market. My rules tell me when to buy, sell and short. If my strict rules are not met I do not act.I have often referred to myself as a lion in the grass. The lion is not greedy. She does not just run wildly across the plains chasing antelope (thinking of day traders here). Instead, she devises a plan and lies in wait as the plan unfolds to her liking. If the environment is not right she does not act. There is too much at stake for her to make mistakes and risk losing a meal that might feed an entire pride for weeks or months. My mentality is no different. I am not frantically trading therefore you get a small dose of my trading perspective. Instead, I am measuring the risk environment day by day waiting for the antelope to step just close enough so I can react in a way that gives me very good odds of being right, fat and well fed for many months.

2) Quantifying the disequilibrium. As I previously mentioned, I use several strategies. One of these is global macro, however, it has never been my strong suit. It never has been, but it is an approach I have grown increasingly confident about in recent years (a little luck in a tough market environment apparently results in a bit of hubris). Within this strategy I have an equity component. I use dozens of different indicators that measure the markets on a daily basis. These indicators are best summed in an indicator I call quantified disequilibrium. It is a short-term indicator that measures whether the market is excessively risky or not. It combines fundamental analysis with behavioral finance in an attempt to measure the disequilibrium in the market. Since its inception in 2008 it has resulted in 74% total returns vs -22% for the S&P 500. Trade win rate is 84%. I have not calculated risk adjusted returns for the index, but I am certain that they are impressive. Some of its more notable calls include shorting the market crash of 2008, shorting the flash crash of 2009 and buying in early March 2009. After issuing a soft buy signal on September 2nd the index is now flashing the warning signal (but not a short signal). This does not mean the market is necessarily about to decline, but merely means that the risk/reward profile has deteriorated substantially in recent weeks. (chart)

3) Revisiting Swedish models. Some people in this country have a big problem with Swedish models. I certainly don’t. Throughout much of 2008 I mentioned that there were two historical approaches to tackling a debt crisis – the Japan model and the Swedish model. The results were dramatically different. In essence, the Swedes took their medicine. They bit the bullet, forced the banks to take losses and helped stem a panic from occurring. The Japan outcome, as we all know, has not been quite so successful. They allowed zombie banks to earn their way out of the crisis and largely avoided taking their medicine. On the consumer front the U.S. has implemented similar strategies. In general cash for clunkers, homebuyers tax credits, bank bailouts, etc have all been attempts to paper over he debt problem. It clearly hasn’t worked. We have attempted to create capitalism without losers. There is no such thing. In September of 2008 I wrote a letter to the Federal Reserve. It said:

I am writing this letter with regards to the current banking crisis. As you likely know there is precedent for the issues we are currently facing. Not only did Japan enter a similar deflationary period in 1991, but Scandinavia entered an even more similar period around the same time. I have attached the contact info and a paper with a descriptive response to the issue by Arne Berggren. I hope you will forward this message to the appropriate sources as it contains brilliant insight into a situation that is very similar to our current predicament. And please thank the board for their hard work during these trying times. http://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/managing/sym1-09.pdf

I wonder how different the world would be today if we had allowed more banks to be nationalized (or failed) while focusing our time and energy on the real crux of this crisis – Main Street. Instead, we listened to men who were either misguided and/or had a vested interest in saving the banks (Buffett, Paulson, Geithner, Bernanke, etc). It would be humorous if it hadn’t hurt so many millions of people. My guess is the long-term outlook for the U.S. economy would be far better than it is today if we had not repeated the mistakes of the past.’

Thursday: Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble [ As is obvious, things are getting quite dicey on fraudulent wall street and there’s a typical plethora of insanity in the air (of wall street).] ‘

"I’m forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air,
They fly so high, nearly reach the sky,
Then like my dreams they fade and die.
Fortune’s always hiding,
I’ve looked everywhere,
I’m forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air."

Gold, Treasuries, Junk Bonds, Netflix (NFLX) (we shorted them yesterday), Priceline (PCLN) (we shorted them Monday), Credit Default Swaps - take your pick of what is going to be the next bubble to burst.

We shorted TLT again yesterday ($105) as I sure wouldn’t lend the US money at those rates and neither, it seems, will the "smart money" guys anymore. The cost to hedge against losses on U.S. government debt rose to the most in six weeks as investors bet the Federal Reserve will put more cash into the economy. Credit-default swaps on U.S. Treasuries climbed 1.7 basis points, the biggest increase in more than three weeks, to 49.4, according to data provider CMA. The Fed said Tuesday that slowing inflation and sluggish growth may require further action. The statement positioned the central bank to expand its near-record $2.3 trillion balance sheet as soon as their November meeting - just in time for a Santa Clause boost for the markets.

So why does this not make us bullish? Well, as I said to Members on Tuesday, it was an anticipated statement with no immediate action and we’re at the top of a 10% run for September so, as I said in yesterday’s post, we anticipate a pullback of 2%, back to our 4% line (see post). Also in yesterday’s post, I mentioned our IWM 9/30 $67 puts ($1.10) and the DIA Oct $105 puts (.89) both of which were good for a reload on yesterday’s silly spike, where I said to Members in the 9:56 Alert:

I like the same IWM and DIA puts as yesterday as we test 10,800 on the Dow - I don’t think it’s going to last. Tomorrow we lose the usual 450,000 jobs for the week and we have Existing Home Sales at 10, which can now disappoint as Building Permits were a big upside surprise yesterday. We also get Leading Economic Indicators at 10 but they are expected up just 0.1% and I doubt they go negative. Friday we have Durable Goods, which should be down 2% and New Home Sales at 10, also now set up to disappoint even the very low 291,000 expected. So caution, caution, caution PLEASE!

I had already mentioned in the morning post that "bear is the word" and this is where the free readers tend to get confused because I was all bullish for the beginning of the month but, as I say often enough and as our Members know very well - I am not bullish, I am RANGEISH - which is a very different thing. 10,700 is the top of our range and with the Russell failing to confirm our 5% line at 666 (they hit it but didn’t hold it) kept us cautious and then we turn to the news flow to see if we’re going to have the gas to get past our major resistance lines and, so far, no - we do not.

Right in yesterday’s morning post I said: "The weak dollar will mask a weak market this morning and that will support commodities and the commodity pushers in early trading but watch that dollar, which will likely get bought up by the BOJ at some point and that will send oil and copper down and those strong sectors will pull back and likely lead us back down to test our 4% levels at Dow 10,608, S&P 1,112, Nas 2,288, NYSE 7,072 and Russell 660." Just to be clear, I don’t MAKE the markets do these things - I can only tell you what the market is going to do and how to make money trading it but I’m not the guy with his hand on the switch, so don’t blame me. We flip-flop when we have to because the market changes every day and whether you are a bull or a bear, you are likely to be wrong soon.

Speaking of being wrong, that’s what we were about gold at the beginning of the week when we looked at GLL for a short position at $1,280. We are scaling in, of course but, as I said about gold in yesterday’s chat:

"It’s a bubble. The same statements they are making now were made about housing and oil and tulips. Just keep in mind that that doesn’t stop gold from going to $3,000, just like oil went to $147, up 47% in the last Quarter before it crashed and it ended up all the way at $35 yet "that time is was different" and 1,000 experts told me I was wrong for all of ‘07 and ‘08 and, for 75% of that time - THEY WERE RIGHT!"

Even as gold flies up to $1,299 and copper tags $3.594 in overnight trading, commodities under management dropped 2.3% last month from a record $300Bn to $293Bn. This was the first pullback since January as investors withdrew $5Bn from commodity index swaps - the first monthly decline in 5 years! “There was concern about the U.S. and concern about China that spooked the market,” according to Barclays Capital.

There’s even some in-fighting within the Gang of 12 as Morgan Stanley says investors should buy the lowest-rated corporate debt, while Goldman Sachs says stay away. Bonds graded CCC in the U.S. are the “cheapest” high- yield securities with “economic data once again beginning to surprise to the upside,” Morgan Stanley told clients yesterday in a report. Goldman Sachs says higher-rated speculative-grade debt is the way to go as the economy decelerates.

And what should we do when mommy and daddy are fighting like this? Cash out and go stay at a friend’s house is my advice. The September move may not be over but it sure does look fake at this point and making 10% in a month is plenty for most people’s year so I’m leaning towards quitting while we’re ahead and getting prepared to flip aggressively bearish if our 4% levels don’t hold.

Of course, this is just the follow-through of the pattern we expected post-Fed (see charts in Tuesday’s chat) so we’re just going to enjoy the ride down and we reserve the right to get bullish again (and this does not affect our long-term, hedged trades, just our directional short-term bets) - pending earnings reports, of course.

As we expected, jobs are a bust with weekly unemployment up 12K to 465,000, that’s dipping the US futures about 1% and we still have Existing Home Sales and Leading Economic Indicators at 10, which were already reasons we took bearish positions yesterday. The key is going to be what kind of volume we get on the way down and what levels hold up to give us a clue of whether we are still at the top of our 10,200, 1,070 range or whether we indeed can call our former mid-range new floor. Oil broke yesterday, as we expected (very nice for the OIH puts) and today’s natural gas report at 10:30 is not likely to cheer them up and $73.50 would be a shame to fail. We’ve been tracking the barrel counts over at the NYMEX in member chat and there is still quite a stockpile that needs to be worked off - another bearish factor that’s kept us on our toes as we approached our upside goals.

Asia was mixed this morning but mostly closed for holidays with the BSE posting yet another decline. We looked at some BRIC shorts yesterday, including India but I favored BGZ (ultra-short emerging markets) to shorting IFN (India ETF), which gives fantastic bang for the bearish buck.

The shine is coming off India as they’ve butchered their chance to impress people by hosting the 54-nation Commonwealth Games, with some countries threatening to pull out just weeks before training begins. Work for the Games has been plagued by construction delays, allegations of corruption and friction between officials of the Games Federation and the local organizing committee. A heavier-than-usual monsoon season made finishing the work harder. Some completed venues sprouted bad leaks.

Ireland’s GDP also sprang a bad leak in Q2 as an unexpected 1.2% decline casts serious doubts on the country’s ability to cut the deficit by 3%, feeding concerns over Dublin’s ability to repay it’s debts without outside help. Although "economists" called it wrong, the report is pretty much in-line with the IMF’s expectations, which were far more bearish so not a huge event but worth watching as a sentiment changer, nonetheless. Private sector growth dropped 5% throughout the Euro-zone to 53.8, down from 56.2 in August. Above 50 is still growing but, like Ireland’s GDP, these little set-backs can add up to a change in investor sentiment very quickly.

An appreciation of 20 percent in China’s currency would cause widespread bankruptcies in China’s export sector, where firms operate on thin margins, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Wednesday. "The conditions for a major appreciation of the renminbi do not exist," Wen said in a speech to U.S. businessmen in New York. He said the appreciation of China’s currency demanded by U.S. lawmakers would not bring jobs back to the United States because U.S. firms no longer make such labor-intensive products.

The Premier is in New York to get his ass kissed by Obama while we pretend to get tough on Chinese currency. As I mentioned last week, China has stopped bying US Treasuries and, for the moment, Japan is filling the gap - but how long will that last as Japan is pressured to apply more stimulus at home?

We’ll be on our toes as we test each of our levels on the way down. Hopefully those 4% lines will hold, which would be impressive with all this negative noise. Durable Goods is ahead of the bell tomorrow morning and it’s very unlikely that report is good and we also get record-low New Home Sales at 10 so there’s nothing to be bullish about into tomorrow’s open and next week we see our own GDP along with Case-Shiller, Consumer Confidence, Personal Income & Spending, ISM and Auto Sales so busy, busy into earnings.

Disclosure: None’

A Warning for the Bulls Cam Hui ‘As NBER has declared the recession over and with the SPX decisively rallied through technical resistance at 1130, traders should be tilting towards the bullish side, right?Not necessarily. Barry Ritholz posted on the 10 things that make him nervous about the market. I generally agree with Barry's assesssments and I would like to add a few more of my own. While I don't have ten items, here is what is bothering me about stocks at the current levels.

Technicals pointing to economic deterioration
Analyzing relative charts, sectors/industries relative to the market, can tell you a lot about what the consensus is thinking. Here is the relative chart of the Morgan Stanley Cyclicals Index: (chart)The chart looks like an inverted saucer to me - which is bearish. The cyclicals deteriorated through a relative uptrend in May and are now in a relative downtrend. This is not the picture of a robust economic recovery.What's more, when I look at housing, as proxied by XHB against the market, it isn't signalling a rip roaring recovery either. (chart)As well, the Banking Index looks terrible against the market. This picture looks a lot like the relative chart of the cyclicals - a relative downtrend within an inverted saucer top formation. Without leadership from the Financials, can a new upleg be launched?(chart)For the followers of my Inflation-Deflation Timer mode, I refer to my latest comment indicating that I am getting very mixed signals. The model has moved to a technical "inflation" signal. I would tend to discount that signal and remain in "neutral" because of the anomolous condition of strong commodity prices and falling bond yields.

Watch out for the double-tip talk
John Hussman has been writing in the last several weeks about impending deterioration in economic indicators [emphasis added]:

As I've emphasized in recent weeks, the U.S. economy is still in a normal "lag window" between deterioration in leading measures of economic activity and (probable) deterioration in coincident measures. Though the lags are sometimes variable, as we saw in 1974 and 2008, normal lags would suggest an abrupt softening in the September ISM report (due in the beginning of October), with new claims for unemployment softening beginning somewhere around mid-October. It's possible that the historically tight relationships that we've reviewed iin recent weeks will not hold in this particular instance, but we have no reasonable basis to expect that. Indeed, if we look at the drivers of economic growth outside of the now fading impact of government stimulus spending, we continue to observe little intrinsic activity.

Already, the employment picture is ominous:

• IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has warned about a jobless recovery.
• The New York Times reports that older Americans are worrying that they will be permanently locked out of employment. Even if that isn't true, these concerns will serve to put a lid on their spending.
• Polls show that unemployment is rising again.
• At a local level, Gregor Macdonald reports that California employment is falling again.’

Jobless Claims Up 1st Time in 5 Weeks Zacks | Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance climbed by 12,000 last week to 465,000. That is the first increase in five weeks.

Is the Economy as Broke as Lehman Was? Michael Hudson | American homeowners are victims, not crooks.

State unemployment: Jobs picture gets worse in 27 states CNNMoney | On a state-by-state basis, the jobs picture continues to look a lot more grim in places like Nevada, Michigan and California.

Obama Administration Is ‘Anti-Business’: Jack Welch High unemployment may last for a long time because of the sluggish economy, bad politics and advances in technology, Jack Welch, author of “Straight from the Gut,” told CNBC Thursday.

Did the Fed Really Say Inflation Isn’t High Enough? Get ready everybody. Things are about to get a lot more expensive.

Manufacturing’s decline threatens national security, House panel hears The hollowing-out of the US’s industrial base means the country is risking its national security by being dependent on foreign contractors, experts told a congressional panel Wednesday.

Euro Survival ‘Silly’ Question: Ex-ECB Board Member The question whether the single European currency will survive the current crisis is a “silly” one because the present situation created opportunities to actually make the monetary union stronger, Otmar Issing, president of the Center for Financial Studies and a former ECB board member told CNBC Thursday.

Delaware Sends Infowars.com “First Offense Warning” for Sign Kurt Nimmo | The government of Delaware either is unaware that Alex Jones is not responsible for the sign, or is engaged in harassment.

Obama Admin predicts small scale terror… in time for elections, again? Aaron Dykes | “Terrorism” concerns necessarily hinge on fear, and it is now completely predictable that an otherwise unpopular Obama Administration would roll out the threat of terror to bolster support for the 2010 elections.

Proposed Law Would Allow Justice Department to Shut Down Websites Kurt Nimmo | Law is the latest effort by the government to control and eventually roll back the free and open internet under the guise of protecting copyright.

Alex Jones: ‘UN a Nazi movement’ Russia Today | A growing number of Americans are increasingly frustrated with international groups like the UN, IMF and World Bank.

The Globalists Plan for a Coming World Currency Mark Matheny | “Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes her laws.”

Proposed Law Would Allow Justice Department to Shut Down Websites The Senate Committee on the Judiciary will consider action today on a bill entitled Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, ostensibly designed to allow the Justice Department to combat copyright infringement.

Obama Admin predicts small scale terror… in time for elections, again? “Terrorism” concerns necessarily hinge on fear, and it is now completely predictable that an otherwise unpopular Obama Administration would roll out the threat of terror to bolster support for the 2010 elections.

Establishment Upset We’re Not Discussing Mindless Drivel Tom Krazit of CNet News is apparently upset that someone would attempt to create talking points of national interest that are not focused around the moronic behavior of vacuous celebrities like Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and whatever other mindless drivel the corporate media serves up on a daily basis.

Congressman Wants Overpopulation Myth To Be Taught In Schools A Democratic Congressman has called for schools and centres of education to “promote the agenda” of climate change and the idea that unfettered population growth is killing the planet.

Google’s Eric Schmidt: “when you post something, the computers remember forever” Google CEO Eric Schmidt went head-to-head with Stephen Colbert yesterday evening to discuss everything from data-mining to China to Schmidt’s “joke” about privacy.

Feds Target Americans As Terrorists In Effort To Break Back Of Big Government Resistance The feds are up to their old tricks once again – demonizing American citizens who are politically engaged and use the Internet as domestic terrorists in a transparent ploy to chill free speech and immobilize resistance to big government – when in actual fact every major terror plot in the United States was provocateured, contrived or directly facilitated by the federal government itself.

US walks out on Ahmadinejad's UN speech (AP) - The U.S. delegation walked out of the U.N. speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday after he said some in the world have speculated that Americans were behind the Sept. 11 terror attacks, staged in an attempt to assure Israel's survival.

Drudgereport: Spitzer: Cuomo 'Dirtiest, Nastiest' Of Politicians … but he made mob’s man cuomo his Cujo / consiglieri attorney general anyway … how pathetic is new york .....
Dead in Afghan chopper crash were all American...
Jobless claims rise again...
Welch: Administration Is 'Anti-Business'...
Zuckerman: The American Dream Has Become a Nightmare...
Buffett: 'We're still in a recession'...

Military toughest on Obama (Washington Post) [ Almost hard to believe since wobama foolishly, in contravention of campaign pledges and sound judgment, has given the ‘sullen mullen militants’, also contrary to reason, everything they’ve asked for and more; kind of a dumbya bush in disguise (but I believe Woodward). Credit must be given to the three officers - retired Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, retired Gen. James L. Jones and Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the generals tapped for key positions that are traditionally filled by civilians, for their astute but ignored analysis and courage for standing up to the darkly dysfunctional sullen mullenights who got their ill-found way. ) ] Bob Woodward's new book presents three generals in civilian posts as his most skeptical critics.

Large U.S. paramilitary presence in Afghanistan (Washington Post) [ Yeah … defacto bankrupt america can really afford it … you know, to protect (and participate in) their resurgent heroin trade to the benefit of the few ‘insiders’. ] Existence of covert CIA teams, operating near the Pakistan border, is revealed in a new book by Bob Woodward and documents released by WikiLeaks.

GOP to call for spending freeze (Washington Post) [ Presumably because in defacto bankrupt america you can’t spend what you don’t have (or can you) which of course hasn’t stopped them in the past and certainly didn’t stop war criminal dumbya bush, et als. I don’t believe anything they say; and that’s a bipartisan statement. ]"Pledge to America" illustrates how party would govern if it wins control of Congress in Nov.

Trade legislation to advance (Washington Post) [ Riiiight! That evil Chinese currency, ‘the juan dragon’, and those sneaky communist Chinese practicing capitalism (how dare they – but they’ve already lost hundreds of billions on american paper) with the technological transfers from america along with those short-run economic / financial blasts from the past including contraindicated (for defacto bankrupt america) congressional / executive trade legislation (NAFTA, etc.) as america fades to red. Sounds like a plan … of too little, too late in light of the irrevocable structural shift; and, the inevitable blowback and there will be blowback. ] House leaders are moving forward with bill to combat China's currency policies, adding to pressure from the administration and giving lawmakers an election-year chance to vote on a sensitive trade issue.

Mourning in America (Washington Post) [ More like, ‘mourning america’ while the rest of the world, in light of america’s fabricated, illegal wars and war crimes is saying, ‘good mourning america’.]

Sucker's Rally? Reitmeister ‘Why am I trimming profits when the market seems to be rallying?

1. Are economic conditions really better than a few weeks ago when we were pressed down on Dow 10,000? No. It's just that it’s not as bad as some double dippers thought and so we rallied higher in the range.
2. Why should we go higher right now? Yes, there does seem to be some “technical momentum”… but I am not a technician. I am a fundamental investor. Plain and simple, the fundamentals don’t support us going much higher until there is more proof of economic growth…
3. I am a contrarian by nature as I think most investors will guess wrong given how fear and greed leads to “less than rational” decision making. So I said buy when everyone said to sell. And I was right. Now with many former sellers becoming buyers they are pushing the market above where it should be and thus I say sell...
4. Bond investors waving a yellow flag: We have a breakdown once again between bond and stock investors. The rates on Treasuries went down yesterday when the stock market raged higher. Why is there more flight to safety into government bonds on a day stocks are at the highest level in months? Probably because stock investors are wrong…’

Shortcuts, forgeries mar foreclosure process (Washington Post) [ Wake up everyone! Defacto bankrupt america’s financial, legal, judicial, etc., processes are so flawed and pervasively corrupt that illegal becomes legal to give the appearance of a working though broken system throughout … and, then there’s the cover-up, which ‘dog don’t hunt no more’.] The nation's overburdened foreclosure system is riddled with faked documents, forged signatures and lenders who take shortcuts reviewing borrower's files, according to court documents and interviews with attorneys, housing advocates and company officials.

Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ Well, I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally ] .

9-13-10

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge

Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include a copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’). The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ http://albertpeia.com/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ( http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ) ].

The correspondence I received from Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

1. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
2. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
3. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
4. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
5. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
6. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******** (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

A subtler tack to fight Afghan corruption? (Washington Post) [ How about a not so subtler tack to fight corruption starting right here in the u.s. of a. where corruption and crime are pervasive and in fact, at the root of the Afghanistan problems, from american reinvigorated heroin trade to bribery attendant thereto to killing civilians, etc.. Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless, War Criminal Nation america, the leader of nations … in crime:

Though having but 5% of the world’s population, america can boast 76% of the world’s serial killers, followed by Europe with England/UK then Germany leading the way for the eu [excerpt, 6 minute video, Serial Killers: Real Life Hannibal Lechters http://www.albertpeia.com/realifeamericaserialkillers.mpg (as is consistent with crime generally, see infra)]. Defacto bankrupt, fraudulent america also spends more on offensive (defensive a misnomer / propaganda) military spending than all the nations of the world combined, and by a large margin at that. Do you see a pattern emerging here [ I unfortunately only belatedly did, and the feds, fed employees, cia, all 3 branches of the u.s. government, etc., are included in this evolved american trait of inherent criminality in the most nefarious sense ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      )   ]:

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	11,877,218
# 2	United Kingdom:	6,523,706
# 3	Germany:	6,507,394

… ]

A quandary in Afghan corruption fight (Washington Post) [ Come on! Is this some cruel joke? Corruption, lawlessness is now synonomous with america. Afghans question U.S.-style corruption/capitalism (Washington Post) [ As indeed they should inasmuch as the same is neither capitalism nor american style in the traditional sense referenced here. Defacto bankrupt, in decline, and pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless america is a nation unworthy of emulation! ] Kabul Bank became the pride of Afghanistan's financial system by offering the conveniences and thrills of 21st-century capitalism. But the scene outside the bank's headquarters Wednesday was far from that modern ideal.U.S.-backed investigative teams have assembled evidence of rampant corruption in Afghanistan, and the findings have had unintended consequences.

Trade legislation to advance (Washington Post) [ Riiiight! That evil Chinese currency, ‘the juan dragon’, and those sneaky communist Chinese practicing capitalism (how dare they – but they’ve already lost hundreds of billions on american paper) with the technological transfers from america along with those short-run economic / financial blasts from the past including contraindicated (for defacto bankrupt america) congressional / executive trade legislation (NAFTA, etc.) as america fades to red. Sounds like a plan … of too little, too late in light of the irrevocable structural shift; and, the inevitable blowback and there will be blowback. ] House leaders are moving forward with bill to combat China's currency policies, adding to pressure from the administration and giving lawmakers an election-year chance to vote on a sensitive trade issue.

Mourning in America (Washington Post) [ More like, ‘mourning america’ while the rest of the world, in light of america’s fabricated, illegal wars and war crimes is saying, ‘good mourning america’.]

Sucker's Rally? Reitmeister ‘Why am I trimming profits when the market seems to be rallying?

5. Are economic conditions really better than a few weeks ago when we were pressed down on Dow 10,000? No. It's just that it’s not as bad as some double dippers thought and so we rallied higher in the range.
6. Why should we go higher right now? Yes, there does seem to be some “technical momentum”… but I am not a technician. I am a fundamental investor. Plain and simple, the fundamentals don’t support us going much higher until there is more proof of economic growth…not just proof of no double dip.
7. I am a contrarian by nature as I think most investors will guess wrong given how fear and greed leads to “less than rational” decision making. So I said buy when everyone said to sell. And I was right. Now with many former sellers becoming buyers they are pushing the market above where it should be and thus I say sell. But not an outright sell. Just trim profits and be a bit more defensive until the fundamentals can provide support for a greater advance.
8. Bond investors waving a yellow flag: We have a breakdown once again between bond and stock investors. The rates on Treasuries went down yesterday when the stock market raged higher. Why is there more flight to safety into government bonds on a day stocks are at the highest level in months? Probably because stock investors are wrong…’

Market Rallies on 'Recession End': Is This a Joke? Satwaves ‘We learned Monday that the recession that has gripped this country for the last two and a half years actually ended in June of 2009. The markets rallied on the news, yet left a lot of my readers asking what it meant. One of our members whom happens to own over thirty wireless phone stores for example, explained that before the recession, a great month meant 150 to 200 activations per store. A good month resulted in 100 to 150 activations per store, while a not-so-good month came in between 80 to 100 activations per store. Since the recession took hold, this subscriber considers himself lucky to acheive 50 to 65 activations per store, per month. Not wanting to let go of employees with families, this member continues to pay his employees out of his own pocket in the hope that things will get better. Is the recession really over for him? The answer will surprise you. The short answer is yes. Economists define a recession as two quarters of negative GDP growth. In layman's terms, it means only that things stopped getting worse as of June 2009. It does not signify that anything has improved. Think of a receding hairline if you will. Just because it has stopped receding does not mean new hair has grown back. For my friend, and millions of small business owners like him nationwide, things stopped getting worse back in June of 2009. A bottom had been established. Unfortunately, this is where most Americans find themselves living these days. The question going forward is how to fix it. Economists are looking for moderate growth of about 2.6% as we climb out of the recession. Let's apply this factor to the gentleman in the example above. Instead of 50 to 65 activations per month, my friend can look forward to that number increasing to 52 to 67 activations per month over the coming year. This is not something my friend is happy about, and needless to say he gets quite upset when he hears people touting the end of the recession. This will not create jobs. This will not end foreclosures. This will not put an end to the record number of poverty stricken Americans this country now has to contend with. There is a solution however, but unfortunately it would require the politicians on Capital Hill to put aside their differences and actually work for the benefit of the people they represent. It would require a sitting Democratic President to accept an idea from his former Republican rival. Americans want jobs, not unemployment checks and certainly not government programs designed to acclimate people to a life of poverty. The government can and should create those jobs, by building nuclear power plants across the country. Just as job creation in infrastructure lead us out of the great depression, so too can it lead the country now. By now everyone knows about the troubled electrical grid our country faces. Oil and coal generate most of the power we use today. Still, on a hot summer day air conditioning usage results in blackouts in cities and towns across the nation. A new movement is now underway which will test our capacities like never before, in the way of the electric automobile. Where will the power needed come from? I know of one non-public company for instance that has ordered 6000 such cars. Although the idea was first presented by a Republican, a Democrat has the ability to say today that it is a good idea whose time has come. Let both take credit and let America and its people prosper. Nuclear power plants will create jobs in every field from architecture and engineering to food service. It will put to work thousands of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, drywall installers, roofers, landscapers, excavators and the like who will purchase everything from groceries to shoes and yes....even that brand new Droid along with a two year activation. Disclosure: No positions

Investor 'Sugar High' Becomes 'Sugar Crash' Reitmeister … I am highly amused by the different reactions that took place after the FOMC Meeting Announcement. In particular day traders acted like hyperactive children at a birthday party. Instead of screaming for more cake, candy and cola they pounded the table for more stimulus. So when they saw the Fed leaning more in that direction they pushed up the Dow by 100 points in just minutes. Investors came in a bit later to find the traders crashing from the “sugar high”. You could say that the investors were like the parents who needed to clean up after the children’s mess. What investors heard from the announcement was “if the Fed is ready to use more stimulus, then economy must be a LOT worse off than we suspected”. From there the traders rally was deflated and the market ended the day in the red. It will be interesting to see which sentiment prevails going forward …’

The Great Recession is Over. Long Live the Great Deleveraging Marta ‘… The NBER declared that the recession that began in December 2007 ended in June 2009. The 18-month recession represents the longest since the end of WWII. The problem with declaring the recession over is that it suggests an end to the Great Recession. The term Great Recession relies on a misguided concept of the latest period of negative growth as a normal downturn in the business cycle, even if on a global scale. Furthermore, in circumscribing the situation within an 18-month period, the term fails to appreciate the breadth, depth and enormity of the recent - and ongoing - crisis. Think back on the Great Depression. At least that phrase contains the word, “depression,” which carries with it the stigma of a really, really bad, multi-year, economic downturn. However, even that term proves inadequate … What is happening right now, and what has been happening in fits and starts since 2000, is the Great Deleveraging, which in many ways parallels the origins and path of the Great Depression. From 1991 to 2000, just as from 1918 to 1929, the world enjoyed the benefits of The End of History (end of the Cold War), known in the former period as The War to End All Wars. The benefits showed up in the period of “Irrational Exuberance”, known in the earlier period as the “Roaring ‘20’s.” The “Crash of ‘29” was mirrored by implosion of the Internet Bubble in 2000. However, a Depression did not ensue in the ‘00’s because the Fed and the Federal government responded in exactly the opposite way that they did in 1929 and the early-‘30’s. In 2001-2003, the Fed cut interest rates and the Federal government cut taxes. An economic recovery ensued. However, just as growth during the ‘30’s proved ephemeral and sporadic, the recovery of the early- to mid-‘00’s proved unsustainable. In fact, the above-mentioned policies during the early-‘00’s, in concert with other government initiatives like “a home for every American”, increased leverage for large banks, and a failure to regulate hedge funds, actually caused something of another “roaring ‘20’s” that ended in tears in 2007 with the collapse of home lending and then hedge funds. The financial system continued to teeter through 2007, before the start of the Great Recession, and nearly collapsed in 2008. To those who believe that the financial collapse is complete and that the end of the Great Recession marks the end of an economic cycle, if not all our economic woes, you are likely to be surprised when you look back in 10 to 15 years and discover that the term Great Recession spans a much longer period than originally thought; just as the term "Great Depression" has been expanded to an indeterminate end date. There are several reasons that the Great Deleveraging will continue. First, the toxins have not been fully purged from the international banking system, and so financial intermediation will remain significantly impaired. Second, private citizens have yet to fully delever. For example, in the US, many individuals and families are slowly bleeding out financially, trying to offset underemployment in jobs paying considerably less than those lost in the past two years by slowly draining savings to pay for houses that cannot be sold. Third, the governments of several nations, as well as the ECB, the Fed and the IMF, have onboarded or underwritten many of the toxins from the private financial system. These bailouts, combined with the excesses of government forays into excessive social welfare programs, will lead to crises in the future. For example, in the US, government leaders still fail to act on the insolvencies of social security, Medicare and Medicaid. Instead, they outrageously create even more healthcare entitlements and promise that there will be no extra cost. Fourth, some governments, like the U.S. and Japan, have engaged in fruitless Keynesian stimulus projects that have worsened the countries’ fiscal situations without providing the hoped-for growth. In fact, the situation is becoming dire enough that we are beginning to see competitive quantitative easing, which presents Japan with the specter of yet another recession, deflation and a third lost decade. As they try to save their own economy, they will put more pressure on the economies of their trading partners and competitors. At some point, all the balance sheets, those of individuals, banks, governments, central banks and extra-national entities like the IMF, will need to be purged in order to right the global economy. This is the Great Deleveraging, and it’s got years to run before it finally burns out.’

State unemployment: Jobs picture gets worse in 27 states CNNMoney | On a state-by-state basis, the jobs picture continues to look a lot more grim in places like Nevada, Michigan and California.

U.S. household net worth drops Reuters | U.S. household wealth fell by $1.5 trillion in the second quarter.

More Forensic Evidence of Gold & Silver Price Manipulation In this article I have unearthed even more forensic evidence in the form of a correlation between the gold and the silver price which again could not happen by random chance. It is necessarily a result of deliberate market intervention and what’s more it occurs on a continuous basis.

The Dollar Is Just Getting Crushed, And It’s Fallen Through Its August Lows Oof. The dollar is still getting hammered, and it’s not like equities are rallying to make up for it.

Albert Edwards On Terminal Competitive Devaluation, The Nuclear Option, And How The Fed’s Policies May Start An All Out War The recent intervention by the BOJ has quickly become the most contentious decision in global economic circles, with many wondering now that the world economy is off on a course of radical currency devaluation, who will be next, and how far will this game continue?

Israel again makes case for Iran’s Need for Nukes by refuses to join nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty It is against Israel’s interests to join a global anti-nuclear arms treaty and the UN atomic watchdog is overstepping its mandate in demanding it to do so, its nuclear chief said on Tuesday.

Gold Hits Another Record as Dollar Tumbles On Fed Announcement It is yet another example of the indispensability of gold as a hedge against the bankster engineered economic implosion.

National / World

US official confirms CIA has 3,000-man ‘covert army’ in Afghanistan A security professional in Kabul familiar with the operation says the 3,000-strong force was set up in 2002 to capture targets for CIA interrogation and handle / enforce the american initiated resurgent heroin trade. Both sources spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.

US House puts oceans, coasts under UN: Senate vote will seal the deal “It’s too late; it’ll just have to be stopped in the Senate,” Tom, the young male answering the phone in U.S. Rep. John Boehner’s (R-Ohio)Washington D.C. office, said about HR 3534 (CLEAR Act).

Israel again refuses to join nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty It is against Israel’s interests to join a global anti-nuclear arms treaty and the UN atomic watchdog is overstepping its mandate in demanding it to do so, its nuclear chief said on Tuesday.

“Progressive” Washington Think Tank Censors All Independent 9/11 Research The director of a prominent investigative journalism group has told reporters that the organisation’s work is being censored because it continues to highlight stories surrounding questions over the official explanation of events on the 11th of September 2001.

Orwellian Doublethink: Collapse Is Recovery When the National Bureau of Economic Research announced, after much deliberation apparently, that the economic recession ended in June, 2009, it was as if the news were broadcast from some other planet.

CNN Declares the Constitution Racist In a discussion about Texas governor Rick Perry, CNN’s Rick Sanchez told Wayne Slater of the Dallas Morning News that “people of color” consider the Constitution — in particular the Tenth amendment — racist.

Forget $1,300, Gold Is Heading To $11,000 On Dollar Collapse In light of gold hitting a new all time record high today, Omnis senior managing director James Rickards’ forecast that the precious metal will soar to anything up to $11,00 in the aftermath of a dollar collapse makes the current $1,300 level look tame in comparison.

Google Trends #1 Hot Search ‘Save His Presidency’ Matt Ryan | Today on the Alex Jones Show, Alex asked listeners to Google ‘save his presidency’ in an effort to get the word out about a powerful article by Paul Joseph Watson outlining President Obama’s claim that America can “absorb” a terror attack.

9/11 research to be censored from ‘Project Censored’ Steve Watson | According to its directors, ‘Project Censored’ is facing censorship due to its ongoing commitment to cover 9/11 Truth stories.

Will Obama Force America To “Absorb A Terror Attack” To Save His Presidency? Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones | Ominous words suggest desperate administration could turn to false flag in bid to crush resistance against big government.

Alex Jones Talks About Humanity’s Struggle & Future Potential Steve Watson & Alex Jones | Or die before you physically perish.

Economic Collapse Leading to Privatized Police and Corporate Mercenaries Eric Blair | As America continues to implode, it appears that security will go to the highest bidder, leaving average citizens to fend for themselves.

Foreclosure snag could hit other lenders (Washington Post) [ As if banks, etc., didn’t need even more uncertainty. After all, even from the fed’s standpoint the economic outlook is ‘uncertain’; then there’s the even more uncertain that for them is absolutely certain; viz., that those now marked to anything toxic assets / paper / securities are not now and won’t ever be what they’re currently valued at under the new FASB rules that allowed them to inflate there balance sheet positions. ] Some of the nation's largest mortgage companies used a single document processor who said he signed off on foreclosures without having read the paperwork -- an admission that may open the door for homeowners across the country to challenge foreclosure proceedings.

Fed statement sets table for possible action in autumn (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a prescient ‘no-plan’ without the prescience from ‘no-recession-helicopter-ben b.s. bernanke’ who we all know is not prescient. Yeah … ‘open-door policies’ which can kill 3 birds with 1 stone, so to speak; viz., the economy, illegal immigration, and China’s trade dominance in one fell swoop giving new meaning to that historical ‘open door policy’ vis-à-vis China. A soldier of fortune is that man called ben shalom bernanke (he looks a little bit like Paladin / Ricard Boone … maybe not).] Federal Reserve policymakers Tuesday ‘OPENED THE DOOR’ (emphasis/quotes added) to new action to try to boost the economy. They just didn't step on in.

In new aid policy, Obama seeks to boost promising economies (Washington Post) [ Wow! Just make sure defacto bankrupt america’s on the list and at the very top at that, wobama, which means you’ll have to leave out that ‘promising’ part / criteria. Talk about out of touch and disconnected! You can’t make this stuff up! ] President Obama will roll out his long-awaited policy on foreign aid Wednesday, pledging to target U.S. assistance at a select group of countries to help transform them into the next generation of emerging economies, officials said.

Top economic adviser is leaving White House for Harvard (Washington Post) [ Back to the league ivy filled vegetable gardens for you … dear Larry … Riiiiight! … Sounds like a plan … for the other ivy vegetable leagers to step up … and do a soft shoe or two … and back to the fold … as does the nation … fold … I mean, really … when you look at the results of their failed tenures … one has to start wondering about basic, general competence … (evidencing a lack thereof, viz., dumbya bush, ‘no recession helicopter ben b.s. bernanke, wobama the ‘changemeister’(riiiiight!), etc.. ] The departure of Lawrence H. Summers will complete the turnover of three of President Obama's four top economic advisers as the administration struggles with the political fallout of a stubbornly weak economy.

Bob Woodward book details Obama battles with advisers over exit plan for Afghan war (Washington Post) Drudgereport: WOODWARD DOES OBAMA: KISS OR DISS? [ What strategy? … toward what end? … why, other than the newly cultivated heroin trade, which of course is great for cash money sub-rosa, which is great for the few, and of course, the war’s great for the military complex but bad for the u.s. economy generally (resources literally blown up). Win what? You see; for the defacto bankrupt american nation, this is one of those lose, lose scenarios regardless of so-called outcome. Then there the ‘what did wobama expect’ in keeping bush appointees, gates, et als, etc., but there’s no question at this point that wobama’s bought this war and has none to blame but his fool self.] WASHINGTON — Some of the critical players in President Obama’s national security team doubt his strategy in Afghanistan will succeed and have spent much of the last 20 months quarreling with one another over policy, personalities and turf, according to a new book. The book, “Obama’s Wars,” by the journalist Bob Woodward, depicts an administration deeply torn over the war in Afghanistan even as the president agreed to triple troop levels there amid suspicion that he was being boxed in by the military. Mr. Obama’s top White House adviser on Afghanistan and his special envoy for the region are described as believing the strategy will not work …’
Professorial president assigned 'homework' to advisers...
Critical players in national security team 'doubt strategy in Afghanistan will succeed'...
Axelrod 'complete spin doctor'...
President of Afghanistan suffers from 'manic-depression' … [Wow! No wonder he’s aligned with the u.s. … fits right in, one nutcase to another ] ...
Rahm cheers drone attacks: 'Who did we get today?'...
Mob’s man cuomo undecided on debating … how embarrassing for new york … and their cuomo coma … ask cuomo how many mob prosecutions he’s brought ...
Cuomo Caught Lying About Voting For Bloomberg... Developing...
POLL: USA Loses No. 1 to Brazil-China-India Market...
HOUSEHOLD NET WORTH DROPS...

IS THE RECESSION REALLY OVER? SIMON MAIERHOFER, ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2010, 12:29 PM EDT ( link to all charts used in this article )

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - a panel of economists entrusted with the responsibility to officially declare the beginning and end of recessions - declared the end of this recession. But wait, amidst the sound of popping champagne corks, the snore of complacency and a cheer leading media, you can hear the economy's distress signals.

THE GOOD NEWS

But who likes to hear about gloom and doom. Let's focus on the good news. As per NBER, the longest recession the country has endured since World War II officially ended in June 2009 (see chart below). During this recession, the economy has lost over 7 million jobs while the major market indexes a la Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC), and Russell 2000 (Chicago Options: ^RUT) lost well over 50% of their value. By declaring that the recession ended 14 months ago, NBER takes advantage of the much-coveted privilege of evaluating the economy in hindsight, as it did in December 2008 when it declared that the recession had started 12 month earlier. (chart)

Investors don't have the luxury of placing trades based on hindsight and need to rely on forward looking data, not the rear view mirror. Based purely on forward looking indicators, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter predicted the biggest counter trend rally since the October all-time highs on March 2, 2009 and recommended buying long and leveraged long ETFs, such as the Financial Select Sector SPDRS (NYSEArca: XLF - News), Technology Select Sector SPDRs (NYSEArca: XLK - News), Ultra S&P ProShares (NYSEArca: SSO - News), Ultra Financial ProShares (NYSEArca: UYG - News) and many others. Are forward looking indicators now in line with NBER?

THE BAD NEWS

What does the NBER base its decisions on? To make its determination, the NBER looks at figures that make up the nation's gross domestic product, incomes, employment, and industrial activity.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT

Obviously, recent downward revisions to the GDP did not prevent NBER from its assessment that the recession had ended. The chart below shows recent revisions to GDP. (chart)

Telling the 15 million unemployed Americans that the recession has ended is like telling a homeless person that real estate prices (NYSEArca: IYR - News) are about to pick up. It's ironic at best and cruel at worst.

UNEMPLOYMENT

The chart below shows the real percentage of unemployed Americans expressed by the U-6 unemployment data, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With unemployment near an all-time high, can the recession really be over? (chart)

CONSUMER SENTIMENT

It is said that consumer spending makes up about two thirds to three quarters of the economy. What causes consumer spending? Money flow and confidence in future growth are often the catalysts. Judging by the unemployment numbers, money flow is limited. This no doubt has had an effect on consumer confidence. The chart below shows the Consumer Confidence Index. If the recession is over, why is confidence near an all-time low? (chart)

Friday's release of the University of Michigan's Confidence Index was another blow against the economy. Based on this report, Americans planning to buy a home have fallen to a five-month low.  Also, Americans planning to buy a car have dropped to the lowest level since December 2008, and 20% of Americans incomes are at risk of deflating. Not only is the lack of spending power a practical threat to any economy, it is also a statistical threat to future GDP numbers. A piece of statistical news that fits into the picture of falling consumer confidence is that the nation's poverty rate jumped to 14.3%

(datasource: U.S. Census Bureau). Poverty in the U.S. is defined by a family of four living on less than $21,954 a year. Currently, 43.6 million Americans fall into this category. But perhaps this doesn't make a difference, as the government is counting on the faithful flock of economists that don't see their own demise and the few thousand Wall Streeters' that cashed in on multi-billion dollar bonuses to lift the economy.

THE SILVER LINING

Even though the NBER declared this recession over, it doesn't preclude the occurrence of another recession. According to NBER, if the economy starts shrinking again, it could mark the onset of a much feared but unexpected double-dip recession. As the first chart shows, this happened in the early 1980s.

NO DOUBLE DIP

To Wall Street's cheerleaders, the worst-case scenario is that the economy is stuck between a rock and a hard place as illustrated by this Bloomberg headline: 'Escaping double dip still means no relief for jobless.' As for investors, they seem not to care much. Monday saw U.S. stocks (NYSEArca: VTI - News) rally by 1.5%. International stocks (NYSEArca: EFA - News) and emerging markets (NYSEArca: EEM - News) were up 1.5 -1.7%. Even European stocks (NYSEArca: FEZ - News) were up, although the European Central Bank had to intervene to stabilize the Irish bond markets on Friday. In other words, the ECB had to prevent another Greece-style default. In fact, does not the emergence of yet another European country defaulting, remind us of the February - April 2010 rally. This rally occurred on ultra-low volume and against a backdrop of bad news. It then stopped all of a sudden for seemingly no specific reason. On April 16, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned: 'the pieces are in place for a major decline. We are simply waiting for the proverbial domino to fall over and set off a chain reaction.' The situation is similar right now. Even though stocks have broken out of the 1,040 - 1,130 trading range, they have done so on low volume and increased investor optimism. Within the past three weeks, the percentage of bullish investors tracked by AAII has soared by 30.15%, to the highest level in over a year. This doesn't mean that stocks can't inch up a bit further, just as they did earlier in April, but a look at all pieces of the puzzle doesn't paint the picture of a new bull market. The October issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter evaluates the bullish and bearish potential of the market with a unique approach, along with corresponding target levels and profit strategies. 

Bulls Go to Extremes: Don't Buy the "Breakout", Sell It, Prechter Says Stocks jumped Monday with the Dow rising 1.4% to 10,753 and the S&P gaining 1.5% to 1143, its highest close in four months. The S&P eclipsing 1130 for the first time since late June would seem to confirm the long-awaited technical breakout for the index, and could pull many reluctant investors off the sidelines. "Many automatic buy and sell orders are set around market milestones such as these, and investors watch those levels closely for clues about which way the market may go next," the AP reports. But the wise move now is to sell this recent rally, says Robert Prechter, president of Elliott Wave International. "I think we're getting ready for another leg on the downside," Prechter says, citing evidence of what he says are extreme levels of optimism, including:

• -- The most-recent AAII poll shows bearish sentiment at 24%, less than at the Dow's peak in October 2007.
• Mutual fund cash positions being at record lows, which Prechter says should be taken at "face value" rather than the result of massive redemptions from equity mutual funds.
• The TRIN Index (a breadth indicator) at one of its lowest levels in recent years, indicating extreme buying pressure of stocks at 52-week highs, i.e. investors chasing momentum/performance.

In addition, Prechter notes volume has been punk during the rally in recent weeks a sign, to him, that buyers lack conviction. The veteran market-watcher says the current environment is similar to the 1930-31 period. "The market can make its high while optimism makes a peak despite the fact you're going stair-step lower," he says. "What we had in May with the ‘flash crash' was the first wave down." Prechter predicts these periods of downturns sandwiched around 4-5 months of recovery "where people think we've hit the bottom" is likely to "go one for quite a long time" until a true bottom is reached well below the March 2009 lows, much less today's levels.

Macro Insights From Seth Klarman Seth Klarman, the legendary hedge fund manager at Baupost is increasingly concerned about the macro investing environment. With the retirements of several prominent hedge fund managers in recent months he’s clearly not alone in his thinking. In a recent interview (see here for the entire interview) Klarman provides some excellent macro insights and explains why he is more worried about the world than he has been in his entire career. Klarman echoes comments I have often made here. In effect, the recovery has been almost entirely artificial and will result in unquantifiable future threats. Klarman calls the current market a “Hostess Twinkie”:

A Hostess Twinkie is a confection that has made many childhoods slightly happier, but it is composed of totally artificial ingredients. My context, of about 6–12 months ago, was that virtually everything was being manipulated by the government. Nothing was natural in the markets. Interest rates were held at zero, the government was buying all kinds of securities—notably, mortgage securities—and who knows what else has ended up on the Fed’s balance sheet.

We have had lending programs—Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Cash for Clunkers, and even Cash for Caulkers. We just don’t know the full extent to which investors have been manipulated. But certainly, the government wants people to buy equities, to invest so that the market will move higher, creating a wealth effect or at least eliminating the negative wealth effect in order to make people feel better about their situation, to restore a degree of optimism so that the economy might recover.

I am worried to this day about what would happen to the markets, to the economy if, in the midst of all these manipulations, we realized that they are, in fact, a Twinkie. I think the answer is that no one knows, including those in Washington. Will the economy continue to recover and grow at a healthy rate or will we sink into a double-dip recession? As we can all see, the high degree of government involvement continues.

Of course, the USA isn’t the only country kicking the can. Klarman cites the European bailout as another game of government kick the can:

The European bailout is gargantuan. I doubt it will work because it kicks the can further down the road and is yet one more manipulation that encourages people to own securities. It is almost as if our government is in the business of giving people bad advice: “We are going to hold rates at zero. Please buy stocks or junk bonds that will yield [an inadequate] 5 or 6 percent.” In effect, it forces unsophisticated investors to speculate wildly on securities that are too overvalued.

All of this has Klarman more concerned than he has ever been. That’s a mouthful from a legend like Klarman who has seen more than his fair share of cycles:

I am more worried about the world, more broadly, than I have ever been in my career.

Like myself, Klarman believes there are unquantifiable repercussions from the bailouts:

I am also troubled that we didn’t get the value out of this crisis that we should have. The Great Depression led us to a generation—or even two generations—of changed behavior. I grew up hearing about how our grandparents had a “depression mentality.” It’s awful to have a depression, but it’s a great thing to have a depression mentality because it means that we are not speculating, we are not living beyond our means, we don’t quit our job to take a big risk because we know we might not get another job. There is something stable about a country, a society built on those values.

In some sense, from the recent crisis we have developed a “really bad couple of weeks” mentality, and that’s not enough to tide us through, teach us to avoid future bubbles, and ensure a strong recovery.

Klarman isn’t a macro expert (he’s a bottom up investor), but something just doesn’t pass the sniff test with all these bailouts. How can the global economy continually bailout the losers without ever allowing these excesses to truly pass from the system? Klarman says we will eventually reach a tipping point:

A tipping point is invisible, as we just saw in Greece. In most situations, everything appears fine until it’s not fine, until, for example, no one shows up at a Treasury auction. In the meantime, we can be lulled into thinking all is well, that the United States will always be rated triple-A. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner speaks as if—at least in his public statements—he has been lulled into thinking that the United States will always be triple-A. That kind of thinking guarantees that someday the United States will no longer be triple-A. A sovereign deserves to be rated triple-A only if it has valuable assets, a good education system, a great infrastructure, and the rule of law, all of which are called into question by an eroding infrastructure, a government that changes the law or violates it whenever there is a crisis, and a legislature that shows no fiscal responsibility. There is an old saying, “How did you go bankrupt?” And the answer is, “Gradually, and then suddenly.” The impending fiscal crisis in the United States will make its appearance in the same way.

Klarman finds the current environment particularly difficult because many of the hedges that have been working are more speculative in nature. He finds little value in most commodities (with the exception of land) because commodities offer no real cash flow and instead rely almost entirely on some future “greater fool” buying the asset from you. Klarman makes an exception with gold, however:

Gold is unique because it has the age-old aspect of being viewed as a store of value. Nevertheless, it’s still a commodity and has no tangible value, and so I would say that gold is a speculation. But because of my fear about the potential debasing of paper money and about paper money not being a store of value, I want some exposure to gold.

Klarman sees all of this government intervention resulting in higher rates of inflation:

I think the odds are low that such high inflation will happen in the near future, but looking ahead five years, it becomes more likely, although certainly not a 50/50 chance. With a very limited initial outlay, I think a hedge like ours is a reasonable protection.

Ultimately, the downside of the current bailout fever comes in the form of an intangible risk. Capitalism without losers is like Catholocism without hell. Klarman sees no way of avoiding future collapses given that we’ve never actually been forced to learn from our past collapses:

Essentially, the problem is that government intervention interfered with the lessons investors needed to learn. Those who stared into the metaphorical abyss are right back at it, with the possible exception of college endowments, for whom the pain has been long lasting because of their spend rate. Almost everybody else is drinking the Kool Aid again, and it is very troubling. We could have another serious collapse, and people would again not be prepared for it.

Secular Bear Market Myths, Part 2 Claassen In yesterday's Secular Bear Market Myths Part 1 we debunked the myth that a secular bear market requires poor earnings growth. In part two, we illustrate the typical price pattern of a thirteen to sixteen year secular bear market and use that pattern to provide a near term and long term Market Outlook. The market may be nearing a critical juncture. If you want to know what to expect, read on ….

A Secular Pattern

Inflation Adjusted (Real) S&P 500 Index 1953-1991 (chart)

After adjusting for inflation, both the high inflation driven secular bear markets and the deflation driven secular bear markets take on a more similar form. This is especially true when a secular bear market is defined as the period between the peak and trough of the average P/E ratio. Using the numbers on the above chart we see that from the 1966 peak in the P/E ratio [1] (see chart of Shiller’s CAPE in first report) to the 1982 low [4] was sixteen years. Both the nominal and real price peak was in late 1968, thirteen years from the 1982 low. This is indicative of the typical secular bear market; a period of sixteen to thirteen years.

There are seven years between the two peaks [1] and [2] along with two major declines [3]. After the second major decline, there is a relief rally [R], then a multi-month trading range as a period of distribution, followed by a multi-year decline to complete the bear market [4].
S&P Composite 1917-1951 with Present S&P 500 (chart)

We can see a similar pattern of behavior in the deflationary bear market of the 1930’s. Yes, the market overlay in orange is our present S&P 500. We will get to that next.

Like the inflation adjusted 1970’s (and 1900-1921) the major highs and lows follow a pattern. The entire period from 1929 to 1942 encompasses thirteen years. The two major tops [1] and [2] are seven years apart. There are two major declines [3], a relief rally [R] followed by a prolonged sideways period, and finally a decline to complete the bear market [4].

The 2000 - 2016? Bear Market

Overlaid in orange on the above chart is the current S&P 500 with the P/E ratio peak in 2000 lined up with the P/E ratio peak in 1929. Not surprisingly, the peak [2] and troughs [3] all line up within a couple of months of their 1930’s counterparts. It appears the rally from the March ’09 low was the relief rally [R]. If our current S&P 500 follows the same path as these previous bear markets, we should expect a prolonged sideways period and decline to final low of the bear market sometime in-between 2013 and 2016. As illustrated in the historical chart of the S&P Composite, when this secular bear market is complete the trailing Shiller CAPE ratios should be under ten. The higher the earnings from now until that time, the less the market will need to decline to complete this period and move into the next secular bull market. Conversely, the lower the earnings, the more the market averages would need to decline to meet their sub 10 trough in the index P/E ratio.
Inflation Adjusted (Real) S&P 500 1959-1983 with Current Inflation Adjusted S&P 500 (chart)

As nicely as the current bear market has fit within the profile of the past, the chart above and the chart below should serve as signs of caution not to expect too tight a correlation between past markets and the present. The patterns of past market behavior are a good guide; they help us understand the environment we are in and keep our expectations in check. But the turning points that look so perfect on the monthly charts have still been accurate only within a +/- of several months. In hind sight that does not seem like much, in real time two or three months can feel like an eternity.

Also, each secular period is unique, and the market will respond to that uniqueness in a manner different than what our past market roadmaps might lead us to expect. For example, when we line up the current market with the 1966 P/E ratio peak (above), although the major turning points line up, there is a unique rally peak in 1968 (see above chart). That difference can be explained by the difference between inflation and deflation based bear markets. But, for now, the current environment is not completely identical to either the pure inflation or deflation periods.

Obviously, current inflation is not the least bit similar to the 1970’s and despite deflationary pressures; this is not the Great Depression. We do believe that this cycle will have more in common with deflationary cycles than inflation. If we look back again at the P/E chart on (reposted below) we can see that secular bear markets have cycled between a falling interest rate and falling P/E environment, and a rising interest rate falling P/E environment. The current economic background is more similar to the deflationary period. In previous Market Updates we have illustrated how, since 1998, the intermarket correlations have been indicative of a market that fears deflation more than inflation, which fits very well with this cycle.
P/E Ratio (CAPE) for US Equities and Long Term Interest Rates: source RJ Shiller (chart)

NASDAQ Composite Aligned with Nikkei 225 1984-2010 (chart)

Japan is another example of a deflationary bear market. We have shown the above chart before, with the overlay of the NASDAQ Composite matching the year 2000 peak of the NASDAQ and the 1990 (December 1989) peak of the Nikkei 225. The major turning points fit very well with the pattern, but the volatility between the turning points is very different. For example, where our S&P Composite model suggest a modest decline followed by a sideways period (after [R]), the Nikkei 225 collapsed without pause. It is very unlikely that the NASDAQ Composite will decline at same rate with which the Nikkei 225 declined at this stage of their bear market. It is more likely that the sharpness of the Nikkei’s decline from 2000 [R] to 2003 [4] will be a feature unique to their bear market. We should also note that it is apparent from our model that Japan’s bear market should have been complete in 2003 [4]. The Nikkei’s rally from the 2003 low to 2007 high was an astounding 140%! But, the decline that followed, and the current persistent deflation shows they have not yet pulled themselves out of their economic bear market. Is this because of incorrect monetary or fiscal policy decisions? Have we made similar policy mistakes? We don’t know and won’t know until after the fact.

Thus, while we have a good road map to follow, we must still diligently monitor our indicators and market conditions. It is more important to follow what the market is doing, than what it should do relative to any predictive model.

Short Term Outlook

The above pages were originally written in June, 2010. The addendum below is a short term outlook as of September 19, 2010. (chart)
Current Dow Jones Industrial Average Daily with NASDAQ 100 Year 2000 Overlay

…’

Homebuilder Confidence Remains in the Dump

U.S. household net worth drops Reuters | U.S. household wealth fell by $1.5 trillion in the second quarter.

For the Unemployed Over 50, Fears of Never Working Again New York Times | A growing number of people in their 50s and 60s are starting to worry that they may be discarded from the work force — forever.

Gold Hits Another Record as Dollar Tumbles On Fed Announcement Kurt Nimmo | Another example of the indispensability of gold as a hedge against the bankster engineered economic implosion.

Fed Responds To Allegations Of POMO-based Stock Market Manipulation It is no secret that the Federal Reserve, and its now semi-daily interventions in market liquidity via ever increasing Permanent Open Market Operations (aka POMOs, next on deck – Wednesday and Friday for a total of about $7-8 billion), is rather hell bent on creating the impression that the economy is alive and well.

For Sale: Welcome to United States of Tent Cities As the mortgage crisis cuts deep, real estate firms say over a million Americans may lose their homes to foreclosure this year.

Gold Is Not Going Up: The Dollar Is Collapsing Jim Rickards on CNBC talks about gold, the dollar and their relationship.

America Is Today In Worse Shape Than Japan During Its Lost Decade? BIS – the central banks’ central bank – agrees that Americans are in worse shape than the Japanese.

National / World

Biocratic Solution to Poverty and Disease? Eradicate the Human Jurriaan Maessen | This is the religion of the scientific dictatorship in a nutshell.

Second Amendment Group Made Terror Threat List in Pennsylvania Kurt Nimmo | Israeli company said violent militias would be at peaceful event held at the Pennsylvania capitol.

Global Tax Scam Shifts From Climate Change To Poverty Paul Joseph Watson | The elite are determined to rob the American people blind while creating a slush fund for world government by any means possible.

Latest Vaccine Propaganda: It Prevents Heart Attacks Kurt Nimmo | Government and Big Pharma are desperate to convince you to take their toxic vaccines.

American People To Congress: Shut Up And Get The Hell Out Of Office Americans are sending a pretty clear message to Congress members who have continually pushed hugely unpopular legislation this election year – shut up and get the hell out of office.

Israeli Company Listed Second Amendment Group As Terror Threat Last week it was reported that Tea Party activists had made the Pennsylvania terror threat list generated by an Israeli company. Now we learn that Second Amendment as well as anti-tax activists were also snooped by the state with the assistance of he Institute of Terrorism Research and Response.

Discover Your Humanity And Live Forever In a deeply considered and impassioned call for the re-energisation of humanity, Alex describes how our species is still only in a pre-embryonic stage, and that our intellect is being shaped and limited by force fed distractions.

Average American Works 231 Days To Support Government With Taxes “The average American worked 231 days just to support government, which consumes 63.41 percent of national income.” Yow! The government consumes two-thirds of income! We’re freaking doomed!

Jimmy Carter Says US More Polarized Than During Civil War “This country has become so polarized that its almost astonishing…. Not only with the red and blue states… President Obama suffers from the most polarized situation in Washington that we have ever seen – even maybe than the time of Abraham Lincoln and the initiation of the war between the states.”

Global Tax Scam Shifts From Climate Change To Poverty As the science behind global warming becomes increasingly discredited and its proponents are exposed as eugenics-obsessed control freaks who care only about destroying freedom, the effort to make Americans pay a global tax has shifted from the justification of climate change to that of poverty.

President Ahmedinejad Threatens U.S. With War ‘Without Boundaries’ Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad warned the Obama administration today that if Iran’s nuclear facilities are attacked, the U.S. will face a war that “would know no boundaries.”

China tells U.S. to keep out of South China Sea dispute China told the United States not to interfere in a regional dispute over claims to the South China Sea, saying it would only complicate the matter. China has been increasingly strident in asserting its territorial claims, especially maritime ones.

Gulf States Order $123 Billion of U.S. Weaponry to Counter Iran, FT Says [ See, say the neocons / military industrial complex, who says that war, rumors of war, and threats of war don’t pay dividends they say … riiiiight! The guns v. butter argument. Sounds like a plan … for continued national bankruptcy and conflagration. Bad economics. ] Arab states around the Persian Gulf have ordered U.S. weapons systems worth a total of $123 billion “to counter Iran’s military power,” the Financial Times reported.

Riot Police On Standby, As Greek Truckers Form Massive Protest Blockade The news out of Greece continues to suggest that every attempt to reform the economy and liberalize key sectors is being met with serious resistance.

Nato helicopter crash kills nine in Afghanistan’s bloodiest year Telegraph | The crash early on Tuesday in Zabul province brought this year’s death toll to at least 529.

Sen. DeMint champions 'tea party' candidates (Washington Post) Bill Maher digs up O'Donnell 'witchcraft' clip (AP) [ She’s done! There’s no excuse for that! None! ] ‘… "I dabbled into witchcraft. I never joined a coven," she said. " ... I hung around people who were doing these things. I'm not making this stuff up. I know what they told me they do," she said. "... One of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar, and I didn't know it. I mean, there's little blood there and stuff like that," she said. "We went to a movie and then had a little midnight picnic on a satanic altar." …’ Occult Obsessed Elite Claim Christine O’Donnell is a Witch Kurt Nimmo | The corporate media, the propaganda organ of the global elite, sets its sites on Delaware’s Christine O’Donnell. … Sorry kurt … there’s no excuse for that … she’s done! An O'Donnell repeat is unlikely (Washington Post) There are at least three reasons to be skeptical of Del. Senate candidate's ability to win. OPINION: O'Donnell's forgivable sin? | Politerati Rough Sketch: 10 reasons O'Donnell may be a witch

Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ Well, I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally ] .

September 13, 2010

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include a copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’). The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ http://albertpeia.com/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ( http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ) ].

The correspondence I received from Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

1. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
2. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
3. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
4. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
5. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
6. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******** (cell phone)
(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

The ritual of sound-bite economics (Washington Post) Samuelson | Opinion ‘The right's sweeping indictment of Obama for the sluggish recovery is wildly exaggerated. It is not, however, entirely misplaced … Rhetorical claims grow more partisan and self-serving. We are now deep in this process. President Obama's policies either averted another Great Depression -- or have crippled the recovery.’ [ How ‘bout neither is correct: We’re still in what some have even referred to as ‘hyperinflationary (to come from over-printing of currency) depression; and, incurring insurmountable debt / debt service to give a better feel pre-elections, is a far cry from economic recovery, particularly owing to the irrevocable structural shift that has occurred. ]

That nest egg is feeling fragile (Washington Post) [ Fragile indeed! And, much more fragile than most realize owing to obfuscation, manipulation, and outright fraud in the this continuing year of desperation; politically, economically, financially, and legally. YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: ‘The S&P 500 pushed through technical resistance to set a fresh four-month high on Monday. There were no catalysts or headlines to account for the climb. Only a bullish bias among market participants underpinned the move. Stocks made only modest gains in the early going. Most traders took their cues from Europe, where the major bourses staged strong gains as concerns about sovereign debt subsided. Early action was generally consistent with the relatively cautious trade that typically precedes an FOMC announcement, the latest of which will be released tomorrow afternoon. Though no rate actions are expected tomorrow, many will look for changes in the verbiage of the actual the FOMC statement to give clues about where policy might be headed …’ Riiiiight … changes in VERBIAGE … in other words, b*** s*** alone … Come on! … you just can’t make this stuff up … again! (the no-recession fed, then nation-bankrupting spending, then just before election ‘recession over’ … the recession that’s a depression that never ended and there’s desperation in the air … and the the frauds on wall street are taking advantage of the pre-election b*** s***) … the new ‘churn and earn fraud they’ll get their commissions again on the way down’ … THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SELL / TAKE PROFITS SINCE THERE’S MUCH, MUCH WORSE TO COME! ]Discouraging returns over the past decade and a sputtering economy that shows few signs of reviving soon are leaving many families confused and frustrated over how to secure their financial future.

Recession ends, anxiety lingers (Washington Post) Come on! This is typical, pre-election, fraudulent wall street, full moon b*** s*** ; you know, like the no recession … just more defacto bankruptcy of the nation to tide / smooth things over! Obama confronts deepening angst from Americans who have little faith that the recovery is for real.

I finally saw ‘Avatar (2009)’ and felt compelled to put this on the ‘record of posts’. A previous post (infra) referenced that well proportioned, comely, oscar-winning giant of a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, who did the timely oscar-winning piece, ‘Hurt Locker’, which from my longstanding opposition to the Iraq, now Afghanistan, etc., illegal debacles further bankrupting this already defacto bankrupt nation, was laudable from my perspective if only to point out and emphasize the insanity of same (much like ie., the masterful works ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Platoon’ vis-à-vis Vietnam, albeit after the fact). I was disappointed to hear James Cameron talk up NASA as if it wasn’t the antithesis of his theme as written in ‘Avatar’ inasmuch as NASA is but a CIA / Military / Industrial complex boondoggle, fraud, and ultimately that militarization of space vehicle/thing for the lunatics at ie., the CIA, NSA, Pentagon, some halls of congress, etc. [http://www.albertpeia.com/UFOetryWeNeverWentToTheMoonPNTV.wmv http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm   ] . I know he’s intelligent, so one may infer he’s one of those ‘do as I say but not as I do’ types in reverse; or, a hypocrite. I’ve seen so many films that I comfortably say without boast or exaggeration that I’ve probably seen all the films in the history (excepting a very few foreign language films) of film worth seeing and then some, and including those by the greatest directors. I previously wrote on my site, ‘I happen to like and respect film as a rich medium which presents large amounts of audio, visual, and thematic information which can be processed in relatively small amounts of time, etc..’ My hat’s off to Kathryn Bigelow; but that said, I must ask what the ‘Academy’ was thinking, or smoking, in overlooking what I believe to be the greatest film ever made thus far in the history of film. Imaginative like no other before it, visually, audibly, and uniquely spectacular while profound in thematic message, and superbly directed, it is disheartening that one might only explain this misstep by the ‘Academy’ which belittles and questions the Academy’s credibility, very existence and prestige as a reluctance to grant Mr. Cameron a second great cinematic achievement of epic proportion (which of course, in reality, they cannot do). Gasoline prices hit 8-month low (Washington Post) [ Strange days indeed. There was a time not long ago that the same news would engender a ‘glass-half-full’ spin for a fraudulent wall street rallying point. At the same time, higher oil prices one of those reasons for selling into the bubble. Today, higher oil prices day to day provide a ‘glass-half-full’ spin for a fraudulent wall street rallying point that drives the oils (stocks) higher. Yes, that’s how bad the economy really is. (Not a reference to ‘Strange Days’ the interesting film from that impressive oscar-winning giant (amazon) of a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, which sported a cast that included Tom Sizemore which of itself meant strange indeed.) ].

Yes! It is a full moon with predictable lunacy from the lunatic frauds on wall street!

Gerald Celente: US Economy = Depression Famous investor and billionaire George Soros referred to the US economy as “blah,” saying he expects a further slowdown. US President Barack Obama has insisted however that the US economy is heading in the right direction. Gerald Celente, the director of the Trends Research Institute said the economy is not just blah, it’s in a depression. It’s the summer of the greatest recession,” he said.

Too Much Liquidity Creating New Investment Bubbles … Again?

20 Signs That The Economic Collapse Has Already Begun For One Out Of Every Seven Americans The Economic Collapse | This year, millions more Americans will discover that the music has stopped playing and they are left without a seat at the table. ‘ … The following are 20 signs that the economic collapse has already begun for one out of every seven Americans…..

#1 The Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor Americans in 51 years of record-keeping.

#2 In the year 2000, 11.3 percent of Americans were living in poverty.  In 2008, 13.2 percent of Americans were living in poverty.  In 2009, 14.3 percent of Americans were living in poverty.  Needless to say the trend is moving in the wrong direction.

#3 In 2009 alone, approximately 4 million more Americans joined the ranks of the poor.

#4 According to the Associated Press, experts believe that 2009 saw the largest single year increase in the U.S. poverty rate since the U.S. government began calculating poverty figures back in 1959.

#5 The U.S. poverty rate is now the third worst among the developed nations tracked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

#6 Today the United States has approximately 4 million fewer wage earners than it did in 2007.

#7 Nearly 10 million Americans now receive unemployment insurance, which is almost four times as many as were receiving it in 2007.

#8 U.S. banks repossessed 25 percent more homes in August 2010 than they did in August 2009.

#9 One out of every seven mortgages in the United States was either delinquent or in foreclosure during the first quarter of 2010.

#10 There are now 50.7 million Americans who do not have health insurance.  One trip to the emergency room would be all it would take to bankrupt a significant percentage of them.

#11 More than 50 million Americans are now on Medicaid, the U.S. government health care program designed principally to help the poor.

#12 There are now over 41 million Americans on food stamps.

#13 The number of Americans enrolled in the food stamp program increased a whopping 55 percent from December 2007 to June 2010.

#14 One out of every six Americans is now being served by at least one government anti-poverty program.

#15 California’s poverty rate soared to 15.3 percent in 2009, which was the highest in 11 years.

#16 According to an analysis by Isabel Sawhill and Emily Monea of the Brookings Institution, 10 million more Americans (including 6 million more children) will slip into poverty over the next decade.

#17 According to a recently released Federal Reserve report, Americans experienced a $1.5 trillion loss in combined household net worth in the second quarter of 2010.

#18 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.

#19 Median U.S. household income is down 5 percent from its peak of more than $52,000 in 1999.

#20 A study recently released by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College University found that Americans are $6.6 trillion short of what they need for retirement … ‘

Black September Postponed, New Month Yet To Be Determined Shell ‘… US markets have to assimilate notes from the FOMC meeting and various housing reports this week. Today, the National Association of Home Builders Index came in at 13, unchanged from the previous month. With 50 a neutral number, there was no optimism here. Tomorrow US building permits and housing starts will be announced. With US home seizures and bank foreclosures rising to records, and banks offering these home in competition with new homes, new home builders may be relying upon divine intervention to assist with their sales…’

Major Indices Up Against the Wall ‘ … Bad News:

Oil dropped to a two week low on concerns for global growth.

Ireland and Portugal were back in the news with the Irish/German Bund spread reaching record highs along with the cost of insurance on their debt; the story was the same in Portugal and these developments helped to drive the Euro down against the dollar.

Barclays Bank (BCS) issued a memo saying that Ireland may need IMF help, a view that was promptly and vigorously denied by the Irish government, but the markets seemed to rebuff those denials as gold reached a new record high.

On the home front, Fed Ex (FDX) reported seeing slower growth ahead and on Friday we saw our 125th bank failure for the year.

The New York Empire Manufacturing Index posted a huge miss for September, coming in at 4.1, down from a previous 7.1 and consensus estimate of 6.4

Industrial production declined in August to +0.2% from +0.6%.

On Friday, an unexpected drop in the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index to 66.6 for September took that index to its lowest level in more than a year.

Unemployment remains at a quarter century high while in 2009, the U.S. poverty rate was the highest since 1994, with 14% of Americans living below the poverty line.

In the all important real estate market, Realty Trac reported that bank repossessions hit a record high in August and now one out of every 380 homes in America are in some phase of the foreclosure process. There is now a three year supply of distressed homes on the market and this comes against the backdrop of household wealth declining 2.8% in the second quarter and the lowest median household income since 1997.

The lumber industry is an important facet of the U.S. economy and is reflective of the state of the housing industry. This week the Western Wood Products Association reports that 2009 was its worst year on record and that 2010 timber sales and production could be even worse. In 2005, the U.S. had a record 2.1 million housing starts that dropped to 555,000 in 2009, the lowest number of starts since World War II.

All of this would lead to the obvious conclusion that we could expect still lower home prices ahead.

What It All Means

From a technical standpoint, the markets are poised for a significant decline and from a macro standpoint; significant risks are inherent in the slowing economy and problems in Europe heating up yet again. Seasonality also points to increasing danger as September and October tend to be treacherous months for market declines.

Furthermore, mutual fund cash levels are at record lows and this phenomenon was also in play before both the 2000 and 2008 market meltdowns. With not much gas left in the tank and an ominous macro environment, it’s hard to make a bullish case in the weeks ahead.

However there’s always the possibility for upside surprises from resilient earnings reports and ever present, not so invisible hand of government intervention here and abroad.

A sustained breakout higher will likely lead to a significant rally while failure here will likely lead to a significant correction to test recent lows.

The most likely probability is for a move lower and Wall Street Sector Selector remains in the “Red Flag” mode, expecting lower prices ahead.’

How Wall Street Manipulates the News...And Investors Shaefer Wall Street’s business model depends upon two factors:

(1) Keeping you interested enough in the markets to leave your cash with them so they can float it, make a return on it higher than the one they pay you, and use your cash to convince the regulators that they have enough in “assets” to borrow money to expand their own proprietary trading, and...

(2) Keeping you trading. The easiest way for them to do this is to slant the news favorably for a few weeks to a few months, then slant the same or similar news unfavorably for a few weeks to a few months. This way, they get you to buy on their alleged good news, then sell when the news “turns bad” and hopes are dashed. That gives them two commissions instead of one. Done over the course of a year, it gives them dozens rather than one or two.

A recent case in point is the current rally based upon the fact that the ISM Manufacturing index rose from 55.5 to 56.3, an inconsequential amount not much bigger than a rounding error, from July to August of 2010, an inconsequential time frame too short to measure anything meaningful. The following week, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index (“services” rather than manufacturing) fell a rather more consequential 54.3 to 51.5, its lowest reading since January, a rather more consequential time frame. Since Services comprise three-quarters of US economic activity, one might think this would have been cause for concern. But the news was buried on page 16 because Wall Street wants us buying now, not selling. Once they have their shorts in place (today? tomorrow?) so they can profit both from their short positions and from retail investors’ panic selling and the commissions that flow only from activity, you’ll find “the news” has magically turned bad again. Then, after they have your commission dollars and their profits from short-selling, they'll spin the news positively again. It’s a classic example of Lucy van Pelt whisking the football away from Charlie Brown every time he gets th-i-i-s close to actually kicking it through the uprights. But you don’t have to play along! Stand back from the daily barrage of data and “commentary” on the data and you’ll see the entire process more clearly. And if you agree, you might take a look at selling into euphoria and buying into despair, as we try to do. The current outlook is supposedly nothing but lollipops and rainbows, so we are now short via ProShares' inverse ETFs: S&P 500 (SH), Emerging Markets (EUM), and Russell 2000 (RWM). I expect a rally based upon real, versus manufactured, slanted and spun, news, this fall. Throwing out the current crop of ne’er-do-wells in Congress alone should be good for a few hundred points on the Dow. But, personally, I don’t see that rally mounting from 10,600. No, Wall Street needs to terrify the public one more time, so they can cover their short positions and buy cheaply as the public sells. A decline below 10,000, possibly well below 10,000, is in their interest before the next big rally. Do your own due diligence – stand aside and watch the manipulation of the silliest sorts of news like: “Only 450,000 newly-unemployed this month in America! Economists had predicted 460,000!! Buy!!! Buy!!!!” And if you agree, take a look at the above and other inverse ETFs. I imagine they’ll be very good to us over the next few weeks or couple months…

Author's Disclosure: We and those clients for whom it is appropriate own or are purchasing SH, EUM, and RWM.

The Fine Print: As Registered Investment Advisors, we see it as our responsibility to advise the following: we do not know your personal financial situation, so the information contained in this communiqué represents the opinions of the staff of Stanford Wealth Management, and should not be construed as personalized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, rather an obvious statement but clearly too often unheeded judging by the number of investors who buy the current #1 mutual fund only to watch it plummet next month! We encourage you to do your own research on individual issues we recommend for your analysis to see if they might be of value in your own investing. We take our responsibility to proffer intelligent commentary seriously, but it should not be assumed that investing in any securities we are investing in will always be profitable. We do our best to get it right, and we “eat our own cooking,” but we could be wrong, hence our full disclosure as to whether we own or are buying the investments we write about.’

The Mega-Bear Quartet and L-Shaped 'Recoveries' Doug Short I retired this chart series in early August in deference to my preferred inflation-adjusted series that aligns the S&P 500 2000 high with the Nikkei peak in 1989. Here's an update of the retired series by special request.

This chart series overlays the current S&P 500 with the L-shaped "recoveries" after the Dow Crash of 1929, the Nikkei 225 after Japan's 1989 bubble, and the post Tech Bubble NASDAQ. Click the chart below for a larger version and use the links to see various comparisons. [chart]

I've also included an updated two-decade inflation-adjusted chart, which gives us a fascinating visualization of the impact of inflation on long-term market prices. The higher the rate of inflation during a bear market, the greater the real decline. Compare, for example, the peak of the Dow rally in year seven with the same peak in the two-decade nominal chart. The difference is the result of deflation during the Great Depression.

It's rather stunning to see the real (inflation-adjusted) decline of the Nikkei, two decades years after its crash. The recent lows rival the traumatic Dow bottom in 1932, less than 3 years after its peak.

These charts remind us that bear markets can last a long time. And it's not necessary to go back to the Great Depression for an example.

[See also my preferred version, which puts the start of the current secular bear in 2000 with the popping of the Tech Bubble. In inflation-adjusted terms, the S&P 500 reached its all-time high in March 2000. Although the nominal high in October 2007 was higher, the "real" high was not.]

Note: These charts are not intended as a forecast but rather as a way to study the today's market in relation to historic market cycles.

The Analysts Are Starting to Get Silly Moenning In doing my weekend research, I came across a couple of items that reminded me why I am such a cynic:

First, beware of "Conventional Wisdom": I believe it is safe to say that it is widely accepted that Merger & Acquisition (M&A) activity is generally viewed as a positive. That it reflects a view that "stocks are cheap" and that the act of buying represents a source of demand. While true to some degree, I found the following points from an opposing view to be interesting:

• M&A activity is not a sign that corporate managements are becoming more positive regarding the future. It is, in fact, an indication that those same managements are viewing the growth prospects of their existing markets as diminished if not minimal.
• Many studies have shown that mergers, more often than not, do not work out as expected and do not achieve the results touted by the acquiring managements at the time they are concluded.
• Mergers almost always result in "duplications of effort" and thus lead to layoffs of personnel. More people losing their jobs in the midst of the current recession is certainly not going to be helpful to the economy.

Here are some interesting points; I'm sure you'll agree:

Second, in this week's Barron's I came across the following excerpt from "The Weekly Speculator" (date tagged Sept. 16) in the Market Watch Section. I use this only as an example, and not as a general criticism of this newsletter. The excerpt reads in part as follows:

...but it is our belief that recent months have seen a data cycle play out, rather than a genuine moderation of economic activity. Support for this view has certainly been delivered in recent weeks by a sudden firming of US economic data, which has consistently been above consensus since late August.

Really?

It seems to me that housing sales have collapsed since the the "Home Buyer Credit" ended. Automobile sales cratered after the "Cash for Clunkers" program finished. Inventories are building again, which may very well not be a sign of confidence, but simply overstocking. Consumer credit continues to contract. Consumer sentiment is falling. I could go on.

Certainly there have been some positive reports, mostly it seems relating to layoffs, jobless claims, etc. But in general, I read the data as bottom-bouncing at best, and a re-intensifying contraction as a fair possibility. Examine the below table of recent economic reports which I have compiled. It is by no means complete, but hopefully will give a fair representation of recent economic reports. You be the judge:

Recent Economic Data

Date	Report	Actual	Reuters Estimate	Reuters Actual	Evaluation
9/17	UofM Conf	66.6	70.0	68.9	Worse
9/16	Philly Fed	-0.70	3.8	-7.7	Missed
9/16	Jobless Claims	450K	455K	451K	Better
9/16	Producer Price Index	+0.4%	+0.3%	+0.2%	Worst
9/15	Industrial Production	+0.2%	+0.2%	+1.0%	Worst
9/15	Empire Manuf Survey	4.14	5.00	7.10	Weakening
9/14	Business Inventories	+1.0%	+0.6%	+0.3%	Improving
9/14	Retail Sales	+0.4%	+0.3%	+0.4%	Better?
9/10	Wholesale Inventories	+1.3%	N/A	+0.1%	Improving
9/8	Consumer Credit	-$3.6 billion	-$3.5 billion	-$1.3 billion	Weakening
9/8	Beige Book	Widespread Signs of Deceleration	N/A	N/A	Weakening
9/3	Non-Farm Payroll	-54K	-90K	-131K	Better
9/3	Unemployment Rate	9.6%	9.6%	9.5%	Flat/Worsening
9/2	Factory Orders	+0.1%	+0.3%	-0.6%	Weak
9/1	Domestic Car Sales	8.3M	8.7M	8.9M	Weaker
8/25	New Home Sales	276K	340K	330K	Record Low
8/24	Existing Home Sales	3.83M	4.65M	5.37M	15 year low

Relating to the decline in outstanding consumer credit, I believe that this is part of the consumer getting their house in order. I feel that it will help build a solid foundation from which a secular (long-term) economic advance could begin such as the 50s and 60s and the 80s and 90s.

For the immediate future however, I am of the opinion that declining consumer credit reflects an attitude by the consumer to spend less, and this will be a damper to the economy in the short run.

Inventory build-ups are more of an iffy situation. If the reflect an unintended accumulation of unsold merchandise, then a period of inventory reduction may be forth-coming. It is this inventory reduction that concerns me and would be one more near term negative.

So, what do take away from this? Just because it's written or spoken doesn't make it true, even my statements. Take very little on faith, especially when it is regarding the markets.

"Trust no one" - Walter Donovan to Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Disclosure: No positions

Ron Paul “This Is Much Bigger Than The Great Depression!” Congressman Ron Paul recently appeared on Fox Business’ The Tom Sullivan Show to discuss the Tea Party, where real change comes from, how he began his study of economics, and where he sees the economy going.

Worst U.S. Recession Since 1930s Ended in June 2009, Group Says Newsmax | The worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression ended in June 2009, the National Bureau of Economic Research said.

US Government ‘hiding true amount of debt’ News.com.au | The actual figure of the US’ national debt is much higher than the official sum of $US13.4 trillion given by the Congressional Budget Office.

U.S. Debt Actually $200 Trillion? News.com.au | The actual figure of the US’ national debt is much higher than the official sum of $US13.4 trillion ($14.3 trillion) given by the Congressional Budget Office.

The Banks Still Win On Friday, Congressman Ron Paul issued the following statement about Obama’s appointment of Elizabeth Warren to head up the creation of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

UK Proposes All Paychecks Go to the State First The UK’s tax collection agency is putting forth a proposal that all employers send employee paychecks to the government, after which the government would deduct what it deems as the appropriate tax and the pay the employee’s by bank transfer.

Is China Starting To Cave? Yuan Hits New Record Against The Dollar Could China be weakening its stance, a little, regarding the yuan?

Third world America In February, the board of commissioners of Ohio’s Ashtabula County faced a scene familiar to local governments across America: a budget shortfall.

US economy fears as consumer confidence plunges American consumers do not expect to be feeling any more confident in six months’ time, a widely-watched index revealed today, underlining the hurdles facing a recovery in the world’s biggest economy.

Wall Street ‘casino’ spooks small American investors Michael McCaslin is wary of investing his retirement funds in Wall Street. Its volatility and cryptic trading techniques make him feel lost and unsafe, he says.

The Secret List Of 10 States With Soaring Poverty Rates The Government Doesn’t Want You To See This is only half of the story though. Despite all these methodological weaknesses I was curious enough to look for the list of states with the worst and best poverty rates. I skimmed through their 88 page report but I could not find a single table breaking down their flawed results by state. This must be top secret information, I said to myself.

The poor and impoverished turn to the forest RT’s Anastasia Churkina re-visits Tent City – a homeless camp tucked away in the woods of New Jersey, where over 40 people have been forced to live, with nowhere else to go.

Foreclosures and Poverty Across the Country, and DC Yawns Firedoglake | Too bad people in poverty aren’t seen as much of a political constituency.

Global climate change industry is now worth more than $528bn THE global climate change industry is now worth more than $528bn, powered by China’s rise as one of the top nations for climate revenues.

American Businesses and Consumers are NOT Deleveraging … They Are Going On One Last Binge

National / World

Globalists Plan to Dismantle Middle Class With UN Tax Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones | Final move for world government and destruction of middle class begins.

Fed Issues More Debt as Gold Rises Bob Chapman | What has happened to America is that the private sector only is allowed to exist to keep banking in business and to supply funds for government, bureaucrats, other criminals and the elitists who actually run your country.

Pennsylvania Homeland Security Targeted Tea Parties Kurt Nimmo | Pennsylvania’s Homeland Security said that two Tea Party rallies against illegal immigration might attract “white nationalists.”

Government Prepares To Seize Paychecks As Statist Cancer Explodes Forget big government – the same elite whose policies caused the financial collapse are now ready to launch the next phase of their fascist takeover of the economy – by forcing businesses to send employee paychecks straight to the government, who would then deduct the “appropriate tax” before the employee receives their wage, as the statist cancer of collectivism grows.

Alex Jones On What We Really Are Alex Jones explains how humanity has become completely disconnected from its primitive survival instinct because of modern consumerist culture, and how this is creating generations of nihilistic, depressed, soulless people who have a death wish and are being brainwashed to hate everything that is good and wholesome.

“Moderate” RINO Colin Powell Calls for Tidal Wave of Illegal Students Kurt Nimmo | Establishment politico admits he has illegal immigrants working on his house.

Most Influential Environmentalists Share Mass-Murder Advocating Green Nazi’s Philosophy Our detailed report today on the now openly active and growing eco-fascism movement, and in particular Finnish “philosopher” Pentti Linkola, exposes a savage and despotic side to the environmental agenda.

Global Warming Alarmist Calls For Eco-Gulags To Re-Educate Climate Deniers A Finnish environmentalist guru has gone further than any other global warming alarmist in openly calling for fascism as a necessary step to save the planet from ecological destruction, demanding that climate change deniers be “re-educated” in eco-gulags and that the vast majority of humans be killed with the rest enslaved and controlled by a green police state, with people forcibly sterilized, cars confiscated and travel restricted to members of the elite.

NY Times edits Tea Party article after White House complains The Bush administration spent years feuding with The New York Times but the Grey Lady hardly ever backed down.

Global ‘internet treaty’ proposed The proposal was presented at the Internet Governance Forum in Lithuania last week, and outlined 12 “principles of internet governance”, including a commitment from countries to sustain the technological foundations that underpin the web’s infrastructure.

British Government to Seize All Paychecks Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones | Fresh round of economic fascism is about forcing us to beg big government for handouts in return for our own enslavement.

Shut Up! You’re Disturbing the Elite Keith Johnson | Both the establishment left and right working are in concert to stifle the steadfast American tradition of dissent.

Global Warming Alarmist Calls For Eco-Gulags To Re-Educate Climate Deniers Paul Joseph Watson | “Any dictatorship would be better than modern democracy,” says Finnish philosopher Pentti Linkola.

Obama Administration Financially Supports China’s Population Policies Through UN Population Fund Jurriaan Maessen | Only days after his inauguration, President Barack Obama announced he would resume funding for the UNFPA and its ‘family planning’ activities in China and elsewhere around the globe.

Historian: Mao Greatest Mass Murderer in World History Independent | Mr Dikötter is the only author to have delved into the Chinese archives since they were reopened four years ago.

Globalists Push World Transaction Tax At UN Summit Globalists representing 60 nations will meet at the UN this coming week to push a tax on world financial transactions in the name of solving poverty and climate change, formally launching a massive program to bankrupt the middle class and enrich the coffers of global government.

Pennsylvania Homeland Security Targeted Tea Parties In November, Pennsylvania’s Homeland Security issued a bulletin stating that two Tea Party rallies against illegal immigration might attract “white nationalists.” The report was issued by the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, an Israeli company.

Members of U.S. platoon in Afghanistan accused of killing civilians for sport The U.S. soldiers hatched a plan as simple as it was savage: to randomly target and kill an Afghan civilian, and to get away with it.

FDA won’t allow food to be labeled free of genetic modification: report That the Food and Drug Administration is opposed to labeling foods that are genetically modified is no surprise anymore, but a report in the Washington Post indicates the FDA won’t even allow food producers to label their foods as being free of genetic modification.

58% Of Americans Want A Third Party Americans’ desires for a third political party are as high as they have been in seven years.

Poll: Vast majority opposes attack on Iran Fewer than one in five Americans would support a US military strike on Iran if the Middle Eastern country continued to pursue its nuclear program in the face of international sanctions, a new poll indicates.

Defaults - Not Frugality - Account for Debt Decline ‘If you think that American consumers have found religion when it comes to debt, you might be surprised by what really is happening. From the WSJ:

First, consider household debt. Over the two years ending June 2010, the total value of home-mortgage debt and consumer credit outstanding has fallen by about $610 billion, to $12.6 trillion, according to theFederal Reserve. That’s an annualized decline of about 2.3%, which is pretty impressive given the fact that such debts grew at an annualized rate in excess of 10% over the previous decade.

There are two ways, though, that the debts can decline: People can pay off existing loans, or they can renege on the loans, forcing the lender to charge them off. As it happens, the latter accounted for almost all the decline. Over the two years ending June 2010, banks and other lenders charged off a total of about $588 billion in mortgage and consumer loans, according to data from the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

That means consumers managed to shave off only $22 billion in debt through the kind of belt-tightening we typically envision. In other words, in the absence of defaults, they would have achieved an annualized decline of only 0.08%…’

Drudgereport: GREAT ESCAPE: HOUSE MAY ADJOURN '3 WEEKS EARLY’ [ Two views: 1) Despite the rhetoric, spin, fake data, etc., the country is defacto bankrupt and ashambles 2) At least they won’t be able to do more damage ] '
Prince Charles: 'I happily talk to plants, trees' … yeah, inbreeding eventually takes its toll ...
UK Proposes All Paychecks Go to the State First… Wow! ...

Many businesses facing tax hike are too big to be labeled 'small' (Washington Post) [ I almost hate to have to acknowledge the following as true given the dire fiscal circumstances of this defacto bankrupt nation in light of the profligate war spending and other pork, etc., but as was once said and remains true, ‘you can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time’.]

Obama ignores critics, appoints Warren to set up agency (Washington Post) [ There are a lot of reasons to be down on wobama’s failed presidency, viz., contrary to campaign rhetoric the continued wars / war spending, no prosecutions of the the wall street frauds, etc., Warren’s appointment is not one of them, assuming her actions match ofr exceed her words. ] In naming Elizabeth Warren to set up a new consumer protection agency on Friday, he swiftly delighted the liberal base of his party after months of disenchantment.

How a touch of inflation could help economy (Washington Post) [ Wow! Just as I began to think I’ve been too harsh on ‘Mr. wall street-glass-half-full-Irwin’, he jars me from such complacency with the foregoing article. Mind you, such is the balderdash that’s being spun these days since, whether desired or not, hyperinflation is a-comin’ in a very big way and the so-called spin-doctors, economy-destroyers are just posturing for a full-fledged swallowing of such total b*** s*** (the over-printing of the evermore worthless fiat Weimar dollaro currency assures that – I also believe the same has been used to bail out holders of the still extant worthless toxic assets in the multi-trillions and now marked to anything, ie., wall street frauds, insiders, etc.). Some of the astute are saying ‘hyperinflationary depression’. Either way, the outlook’s disasterous. I leave ‘Mr. wall street-glass-half-full-Irwin’ with the following simple to remember axiom to guide his thoughts: ‘inflation bankrupts the lender’ and all that such entails. ]Inflation would make the heavy debt that Americans carry a bit more manageable as wages rise but the amount owed stays the same. And it would create more incentive for businesses to invest their cash rather than sit on it.

WHAT YOU SAID:  WHAT YOU SAID (Washington Post) ‘ Ralph Novak Lincoln, Calif. I retired in 1983 after 24 years as an Air Force officer and retired again from DoD as a GS-15 in early 2005 after 20 years of service and moved to Northern California in 2006’. … ‘Yeah, I'm not rich, but my out-of-work neighbors who used to have household incomes of $300K to $500K and house payments of $5K to $8K a month look at me with a lot of envy. I worked hard, saved the TSP max and am thankful that my wife took the long view and pressed me to stay with the federal government. It's hard to see what monetary value there is in spending an entire career as a GS employee when you are working long, stress-filled days and years. But the first thing you should do after retirement is to go to your next high school/college reunion and see how the rest of the world is doing.’ [What a typical pathetic loser this guy is; and typifies that government employee attitude of indispensability when in fact they are not only superfluous and expendable, but actually a substantial drag on the nation but are a positive in one respect … adding to the nations insurmountable debt; ‘long, stress-filled days and years’ … don’t make me laugh! He forgot to say that incompetent (and corrupt, etc.) government types like him, living off the ever expanding bureaucratic t*t (bushes are a great example as well, etc.) have played a huge role in creating the deplorable conditions and debacle the defacto bankrupt nation is now facing. ]

Secretary of stand-up: Corny Washington jokes? Robert Gates has a million of 'em. (Washington Post) [ Could it be that’s because he is a joke. Certainly his prognosticating continues to be … a joke. Aw, well, what the heck, he’s an affable killer from the CIA and he has resuscitated the heroin trade in Afghanistan, along with protracted war, etc., after all … eh … cut him some slack … riiiiight! ]

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position, Nobel Prize Winner Krugman’s, and that of demographer Dent … This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed … Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:

I’ve had a couple of conversations lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two comforting delusions still out there.

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

But it’s not at all true. GDP is growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the current track, the answer is forever.

Delusion #2 is the belief that the stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds unspent. I tried to deal with this last year. The level of GDP depends not on total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds are being spent, which has already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in the rate at which funds are being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all downhill from here.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.
Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Our Best Minds Are Failing Us Newsweek | Policy and political debates still driven by outdated economic theory have been racing out of control.

The Emerging Global Fed New American | The Federal Reserve has been a nightmare for the American people. It inflates the money supply, thereby devaluing already-existing money and placing a massive hidden tax on the people via rising prices.

US ‘sees world influence declining’ amid economic woe BBC | There has been a sharp rise in the number of Americans who believe the US role as a world leader is on the decline, a survey suggests.

Accumulating Incongruities [ Bottom line in this article is that the author (and me) doesn’t buy the labor / unemployment stats which have been skewed / guesstimated to the up side which probably is no surprise given the abounding desperation and proximity to the elections ]

Household Net Worth Plunges By Most Since Q4 2008, As Government Borrowing Surges In other words, the net wealth of the US household continues to track the performance of the stock market tick for tick. And one wonders why the Fed, per Alan Greenspan’s admission, is only focused on ramping stocks up to all time highs.

The Secret List Of 10 States With Soaring Poverty Rates The Government Doesn’t Want You To See

This is only half of the story though. Despite all these methodological weaknesses I was curious enough to look for the list of states with the worst and best poverty rates. I skimmed through their 88 page report but I could not find a single table breaking down their flawed results by state. This must be top secret information, I said to myself.

The poor and impoverished turn to the forest RT’s Anastasia Churkina re-visits Tent City – a homeless camp tucked away in the woods of New Jersey, where over 40 people have been forced to live, with nowhere else to go.

Roubini Turns Bearish On Gold (Again), Suggests Taking Profits And Buying Puts… Much Like He Did In December 2009 Rouibini has never been much of a fan of gold. Which is why we were not too surprised when we read RGE’s latest recommendation on the precious metal, which, as expected was to take profits.

More Than a Third Say It’s Okay to Walk Away from Mortgage More than a third (36%) of respondents believe “walking away” from the mortgage is acceptable, according to a Pew Research Center survey released today.

9/11 Truth: Direct Engagement to Incite Public Inquiry Travis Crank | Too many Americans now seem all too willing to forget, to allow the events surrounding 9/11 to fall down the memory hole and just go on about their daily business after nine years.

Take a Second Look at Christine O’Donnell Keith Johnson | Those who are serious about ending the Fed must be just as serious about ending these wars.

Geo-Engineering: Killing Off The Useless Eaters Paul Joseph Watson | Injecting the atmosphere with sulfate aerosols is a completely insane, untested and dangerous proposal.

Pennsylvania Homeland Security Employed Israeli Company to Suppress American Political Dissent Kurt Nimmo | Pittsburgh cops may have employed Israeli company to squash dissent during the G20.

8-year-old expelled from two years of school for bringing toy gun in backpack NBC Miami | The 8-year-old boy hasn’t been in school for a year and will likely miss another year if the Broward County School Board has its way.

Drudgereport: Doomsday warnings of US apocalypse gain ground...
Audit: $2 million per stimulus job...
1 in 7 Americans lives in poverty...
50-year high...
Foreclosures Rise; Repossessions Set Record...
Gold hits new high...
US poverty on track to post record gain under Obama...
Last minute aid helps city dodge default...
MICHELLE IN 'HELL': 'CAN'T STAND' FIRST LADY JOB … (at least there’s some reciprocity) ...
BREITBART Shock Audio: Facing 'Obligations' From Leadership, Democrat Congresswoman Leaves Voicemail for Lobbyist Cash...
RASMUSSEN: First Post-Primary Poll, Coons winning in Delaware
Coons (D) 53% O’Donnell (R)  42%

Senators grill Geithner on China trade policy (Washington Post) [ When tiny tim talks, God bless us everyone, people listen … Where did I here that slogan? … Ah, that now defunct wall street brokerage … Careful tiny tim … you know how easily offended the Chinese are … (Taiwan, Taiwan, Taiwan) … And who’s going to buy the worthless american paper denominated in ever more worthless Weimar dollaros, and what if they cash out now having already lost hundreds of billions on same which cost their comrade / overseer his job … etc. ]The Treasury Secretary signaled a tougher line on China as both parties have expressed frustration with the administration's reliance on negotiation in dealing with China's currency and trade policies.

Will light bulb manufacturing stay in the U.S.? [ Methinks it’s a bit late to be asking that question. In fact, meknows it’s too late to be asking that question in light of the irrevocable structural shift precipitated by those geniuses in Washington, including among other helmsmen of this now titanic of a nation, those ‘strategists’ in those hallowed halls of, ie., the cia, nsa, think tanks, sink tanks, etc., and of course, those vaunted trade deals which include essentially all branches of the corrupt u.s. government with complicit titans / ceos of american industry with a time horizon defined by their latest compensation package / stock option expirations as cheered by the wall street frauds who sold off / transferred the technological capacity to do so; and, of course, the coup de grace, viz., that thing called NAFTA that Ross Perot was vilified for opposing and warning against. There is really nothing in america that can’t be produced cheaper elsewhere. Then there’s the defacto bankruptcy of the nation when even more corporate welfare / subsidies would be necessary to make such even remotely possible. As for prospective purported technological advances / innovations, from my view there’s only so much utility that can derived / squeezed from ‘hula hoops’. ]

Bank got even more special help (Washington Post) [ Special help? … Talk about euphemisms … LA, yes dudes, way (as they say in the valley! ] OneUnited, now at the center of a House ethics probe, received TARP aid despite its poor health. Warren to be tapped as adviser (Washington Post) [ Well, that about does it … slam-dunk for the administration … yet another ivy leaguer who at least to her credit has talked tough; but, show us the prosecutions … show us the money (they took) ! Show them the jail walls! Handcuffs For Wall Street, Not Happy Talk Zach Carter | The fraud allegations that have emerged over the past year are not restricted to a few bad apples at shady companies — they involve some of the largest players in global finance. ] Obama plans to tap Harvard law professor to a special advisory role so she can help stand up a new consumer financial protection bureau while avoiding a potentially vicious Senate confirmation fight. Senate passes small business credit measure (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That should do the trick! Besides … It’s an election year … time to celebrate … you know, don’t worry, be happy … and what’s a paltry amount like that anyway for defacto bankrupt america, an interest payment on the insurmountable debt anyway … what the heck! (Economists Herald New Great Depression , see infra) ]The bill creates a $30 billion government fund to help open lending for credit-starved small businesses, cut their taxes and boost federal loan programs for them.

1 in 7 Americans live in poverty, Census says (Washington Post) [ Wow! Sounds like a plan! Carry on wayward ‘no recession helicopter ben b.s. bernanke, and mr. guns instead of butter as promised wobama’, et als. Workin’ like … a plan! Census Reveals 45m Americans Living in Poverty One in seven Americans is living below the poverty line, it was revealed yesterday. With 45mn Americans officially designated as poor, the US census figures reflect the worst decline in living standards for more than half a century. ] Number of people living in poverty and lacking health insurance rises; ranks of working-age poor last year reaches highest level since at least 1965. (Economists Herald New Great Depression , see infra)

Clinton wraps up Israeli, Palestinian talks - for now (Washington Post) [ That’s a wrap (Hollywood speak), or just a lot of crap (reality). Well some celluloid facetime (hill, I said celluloid, not cellulite), appearance of doing something (not). U.S. urges Arab states to drop israel nuclear treaty demand Reuters Oooooh! Wow! Sounds like a plan! … For world conflagration … Another step toward nuclear prone middle east … israel should be exempt because ….. ‘US – Israel’s partner in crime, not a referee’ … You really can’t make this stuff up; the preposterous s*** coming out of america! ]The U.S. envoy to the UN atomic watchdog urged Arab states to withdraw a resolution calling on Israel to sign an anti-nuclear arms treaty, warning it would send a negative signal to Middle East peace talks. Israelis, Palestinians already broaching tough topics in talks, envoy says (Washington Post) ‘US – Israel’s partner in crime, not a referee’ (Infowars.com) Israeli and Palestinian leaders are holding a new round of direct talks. Bombshell: Barack Obama conclusively outed as CIA creation Wayne Madsen | Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen has discovered CIA files that document the agency’s connections to the lives of Barack Obama and his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather. ] RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday wrapped up three days of intense Middle East diplomacy that produced good atmospherics but no sign that an impasse over Israeli settlement construction has been resolved. (Alex Brandon - AP)

Leading Economic Indicators Continue to Suggest Return to Contraction Is Likely

U.S. Economy "Gradually Deteriorating," Levy Says: Recession Likely in 2011

Philadelphia Manufacturing Index Falls

Foreclosures Rise; Repossessions Set Record CNBC | US foreclosure activity rose in August from the previous month, and banks and lenders took ownership from homeowners at a record pace.

Ten Reasons This Rally Is Ultimately Toast Wachtel ‘Here are 10 reasons why risk assets (stocks, riskier forex pairs, industrial commodities) have a very high probability of a pullback very soon.

Technical Indicators: High Risk Of Downturn
The S&P 500 is the best single representative of overall risk appetite. It is telling us that a pullback is coming very soon. (chart)
1. Coming Bounce Off Of Upper Bollinger Band (standard 2, 20 default settings):

Once the index starts to pull back from its upper Bollinger band, it usually pulls back to at least its 50 day SMA, often lower. Since the end of the most recent rally in late April, this rule has worked flawlessly in both mid-June and mid-August. The index is now once again at its upper Bollinger Band.

Up Against Multiple Reinforcing Layers Of Strong Resistance Around 1120.

2. Upper Bollinger Band (noted above).

3. 200 day SMA (purple line).

4. 61.8% Fibonacci retracement from the February 2010 low (which has held up well as support, only violated for a few sessions in July and August).

5. Neckline (red horizontal line around 1125) of the big bearish Head-And-Shoulders pattern dating all the way back to the beginning of 2010. Left shoulder in January, head in April, and right shoulder in June.

6. This same resistance at 1125 is reinforced by another bearish chart pattern- a bearish double top (that may soon become a triple top if the above indicators prove correct).

7. Recent Rally On Low Volume: The rally that began in late August has been on very low volume, which suggests lack of conviction and thus less durability.

Fundamentals Don’t Support A Rally

8. We are heading into the second half of the month, which is lighter on significant news data than would be needed to justify a push past the above strong resistance layers

In addition, there is the overwhelmingly bearish fundamental backdrop:

9. US economic slowdown in every meaningful category: housing prices (where the bear market began), jobs, spending, etc. Even manufacturing, until recently a rare bright spot, has been slowing since the prior Philly Fed report.

10. The ongoing and utterly unsolved EU sovereign debt/banking crisis, with its now periodic eruptions. While we have no major eruptions reported recently, PIIGS sovereign and bank yields and CDS rates remain at May’s crisis levels, a clear indication that markets are very nervous and ready to sell off, as they have over the past weeks on news of Ireland’s latest bank bailout and a Wall Street Journal article on how the EU bank stress tests understated PIIGS bond exposure.

Despite Range Trading - Prominent Sell Signals Still Alive Simon Maierhofer, On Thursday September 16, 2010, 12:35 pm EDT About a month ago, news about the ominous Hindenburg Omen, terrible September/October and other prominent sell signals were the big buzz around Wall Street. Has the recent rally and range bound trading neutralized or even eliminated the bearish undercurrents? A look at current sentiment would make you think so. Sentiment surveys show that bullishness has soared and optimists are back in control (see chart below).But are the optimists generally right? No. In fact, unfounded optimism is one of the biggest investment traps and most effective bear market tricks. On April 16, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned that: 'The message conveyed by the composite bullishness is unmistakably bearish. Most bulls have no clue why they are bullish except for the fact that they feel the need to play the momentum game. Sounds like 2000 and 2007 all over again.' When it comes to investing, emotions tend to get in the way of making money. It takes an opportunistic, yet realistic approach to profit in this market.
Parallels Between 2000, 2007, and Today
From a purely analytical point of view, the April ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter examined the 2000 and 2007 market tops and compared them with the 2010 price action, at a time when optimism was soaring sky-high. The parallels between the 2000, 2007 and forming 2010 tops were striking, that's why the newsletter concluded that: 'A comparison between the 2000 and 2007 double tops to the current constellations shows that the market may roll over at any time.' Similar to the January/April 2000 and July/October 2007 double tops, the April 2010 highs were preceded by a lower January top. But the parallels didn't stop there.
Major Tops Followed by Decoy Rallies
Following the initial 2007 decline, the April, May 2008 rally rekindled new hope and pushed the major indexes a la Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) briefly above their 200-day moving average (MA). Following the initial April 2010 decline, the July/August rally also pushed the S&P briefly above the 200-day MA.  Both, in 2008 and 2010, the indexes were rebuffed by the 200-day MA. The failure to stay above the 200-day MA in May 2008 was followed by a 53.75% decline in the S&P 500. Former performance leaders like the Financial Select Sector SPDRs (NYSEArca: XLF - News) and KBW Bank ETF (NYSEArca: KBE - News) tumbled 79%, the Technology Sector SPDRs (NYSEArca: XLK - News) dropped 49%. Even conservative sectors such as utilities (NYSEArca: XLU - News) and healthcare (NYSEArca: XLV - News) dropped another 35 - 45%. Like a free diver who comes up for air, the market tends to rally to keep investors engaged before the next leg down.  The chart below - which plots bullish advisor sentiment against the price of the S&P 500 from June 2007 - September 2010, illustrates the market's cruel habit of spreading hope just before the hammer drops. [chart]
It Happened Before
Since we are talking about prior market tops, we can't help but mention the mother of all sucker rallies, which occurred in 1929/1930. Following the initial 1929 meltdown, the 1930 rally recouped 50% of the previously lost points. Ironically, the 1930 rally ended on April 16. The 2010 counter trend rally ran its course on April 26. In addition to a near identical termination date, the two rallies rekindled the same kind of bullish sentiment. Below are a few headlines and statement from April 1930. Keep in mind that the Dow went on to decline more than 80% thereafter. 'For the immediate future, the outlook is bright' - Irving Fisher, Ph. D. in Economics 'I see nothing in the present situation that is either menacing or warrants pessimism.' - Andrew W. Mellon, U. S. Secretary of the Treasury 'The depression is over' - Herbert Hoover, President If you escaped the market in time, you might be able to read the following April 2010 headlines with a fair shot of humor and realize the irony: 'As job worries ease, will anything stop the stock market?' – CNBC 'Dow 11,000 is only the beginning' - Wall Street Journal 'Check the real estate: It is time to delve in' - Wall Street Journal
It Happened Recently
It's easy to dismiss any parallels to the Great Depression simply because it happened 80 years ago. However, an 80% drop is nothing unusual and has been seen recently. The Nasdaq (Nasdaq: QQQQ - News) peaked in 2000 and tumbled 78.4% within less than two years. Much evidence suggests that the Nasdaq's woes are not yet over with more losses and lower lows on the horizon. Oil prices tumbled 77% after topping at $147.3 a barrel in 2008. Both, the Nasdaq and oil prices topped at a time when higher prices were a foregone conclusion. With regards to oil, the expectation for higher fuel prices moved all major car manufacturers to advertise and build low MPG cars. As soon as their commercials hit TVs, radios, and newspapers across the country, oil and fuel prices started to drop like a rock. Some still dismiss those declines as sector bubbles, not broad market declines.
It Happened to an Entire Country
The Nikkei is Japan's version of the S&P 500 and covers hundreds of stocks. In 1989, the Nikkei topped at 38,946. Since then, it has dropped over 80% to below 8,000 (see chart below, published in the April 2010 ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter). [chart] Throughout this 20-year decline, the Nikkei had eleven rallies of 20% or more and four that were 50% or more. In total, the Nikkei rallied well over 250,000 rally points, yet it remains 76% below its 1989 peak. The decline of Japan's stock market (NYSEArca: EWJ - News) and economy happened amidst a global bull market. Imagine what can happen to the U.S. stock market during a global recession spurred by European (NYSEArca: FEZ - News) debt woes and global stock market (NYSEArca: EFA - News) weakness. It's human nature to rationalize and invent reasons why something can't happen. It's the stock market's nature to prove investors wrong. Based on parallels that aren't farfetched by any means, a follow through of the post 2007 U.S. equity meltdown is more than just a possibility.
Fundamentals, Technicals, Valuations, and History in Agreement
Investing is about putting the odds in your favor. There is no such thing as a 100% certain profit opportunity. However, there are high probability profit opportunities where the odds of having a winning trade are high and the potential reward is much higher than the potential risk. Such high probability profit opportunities occur when as many indicators as possible point in the same direction. Right now, there is a near unanimous consent between fundamental and technical indicators, along with valuations and historic patterns. The latest ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed analysis of various market forecasting tools, along with a short, mid, and long-term outlook for the U.S. stock market and a target range for the ultimate market bottom. Even though the economic outlook is dim, realistic investors can feel optimistic about the opportunities in the months and years ahead.

Gold Rises to Record on Increased Demand for Wealth Protection

Yen hits 15-year high vs dollar

Regional Manufacturing Still Deteriorating

Census Reveals 45m Americans Living in Poverty One in seven Americans is living below the poverty line, it was revealed yesterday. With 45mn Americans officially designated as poor, the US census figures reflect the worst decline in living standards for more than half a century.

Gold to Surge 50% to ‘Real’ Record?

Fed Issues More Debt Than It Needs On Friday, September 10, 2010, Horizon Bank, Bradenton, FL was closed by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.

August Foreclosures Highest on Record RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure sale site, will release its monthly numbers on Thursday, but sources there confirm the number of repossessions will come in just shy of 100,000 for the month.

Eco-Fascists Call For Tyranny To Enforce Draconian Agenda Paul Joseph Watson | The ugly face of eugenics peers from behind the mask of environmentalism.

Gold And Silver Hit New Highs For Second Time In One Week Steve Watson | Gold and Silver have once again risen to new highs, with bullion futures soaring close to a record $1,280 an ounce as the dollar fell to a five week low against the euro.

Globalist Foundation Exploits Angry Child to Blame Adults for Fake Climate Change Kurt Nimmo | Boy donning a gangbanger hoodie warns that adults have had their chance to save the earth and now it will be the responsibility of the next generation.

Protest Group Demands Investigation Into Homeland Security Spying Paul Joseph Watson | Latest case follows multi-year trend of authorities being trained to treat peaceful, patriotic Americans as domestic terrorists.

O’Reilly (bill the perve) Says 9/11 Truth Activists Are Dangerous Radicals Kurt Nimmo | Links Muslim scholar and first responder to Ground Zero imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.

White House Science Czar Says He Would Use ‘Free Market’ to ‘De-Develop the United States’ In a video interview this week, White House Office of Science and Technology Director John P. Holdren told CNSNews.com that he would use the “free market economy” to implement the “massive campaign” he advocated along with Population Bomb author Paul Ehrlich to “de-develop the United States.”

Shock Audio: DC Congresswoman Leaves Voicemail Asking For Lobbyist Cash Delegate to Congress for the District of Columbia Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton leaves voice mail citing her seniority and stimulus-based projects in lobbyist’s “sector”.

U.S. urges Arab states to drop israel nuclear treaty demand Reuters [ Oooooh! Wow! Sounds like a plan! … For world conflagration … Another step toward nuclear prone middle east … israel should be exempt because ….. ‘US – Israel’s partner in crime, not a referee’ … You really can’t make this stuff up; the preposterous s*** coming out of america! ]The U.S. envoy to the UN atomic watchdog urged Arab states to withdraw a resolution calling on Israel to sign an anti-nuclear arms treaty, warning it would send a negative signal to Middle East peace talks. Israelis, Palestinians already broaching tough topics in talks, envoy says (Washington Post) ‘US – Israel’s partner in crime, not a referee’ (Infowars.com) Israeli and Palestinian leaders are holding a new round of direct talks. Bombshell: Barack Obama conclusively outed as CIA creation Wayne Madsen | Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen has discovered CIA files that document the agency’s connections to the lives of Barack Obama and his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather.

O'Donnell's win throws a challenge at the GOP (Washington Post) [ Aw shucks! Change just around the corner say the bipartisan incumbents… change afoot, like wobama’s foot in his mouth / a** change … Let’s get real … no real change is a-coming … but ‘hopium’ (previously discussed) is a powerfully addictive drug. Let’s all awake from this hopium induced stupor and read these government frauds the riot act! Defacto bankrupt american politics are getting downright nasty (AP). Ask nancy pelosi, ‘the wicked witch of the west’ ( only a minute, this political ad by John Dennis is well done and very funny) http://albertpeia.com/nancypelosiwickedwitchofthewest.flv . ] By beating their candidate for the Senate seat in Delaware, the tea party sends a message to the Republican establishment: You are not in charge. Frustration with GOP pushed win O'Donnell's win in the Delaware Senate primary reflects voter sentiment toward party elders.

Fed faces tough choices (Washington Post) [ Wow! Mr. ‘wall street-glass-half-full’ has in a phrase ended the financial crisis, though many sure have been fooled into thinking otherwise by that thing called reality … Yes, ‘no-recession helicopter ben b.s. bernanke’ also in a phrase must decide, ‘to print, or not to print much, or much much, or much much much, etc., more worthless Weimar currency colloquially known as the american dollaro. Well, we really know where that one’s going. Shocking CNBC Headline: “Home Price Double Dip Begins” Diana Olick, by far the best reporter at CNBC, and not merely an anchored regurgitator of propaganda bullet points, let one slip today, by posting an article on CNBC titled: “Home Price Double Dip Begins”. Are poll workers being used to inflate jobs totals? Workers at polling places for today’s primary and November’s general election are being required to file tax withholding forms for the first time ever in a move that could be aimed at inflating the nation’s employment numbers. ] Agency is facing its biggest decision since the end of the financial crisis, confronting a fateful choice this fall whether to take new steps to boost the economy.

U.S. sharpens criticism of China (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight, tiny tim … blame the Chinese for your failed policies, though not exclusively your failed policies … might be good for a 1/32 point shaved from the interest on the gargantuan debt defacto bankrupt america owes them which is still many billons over time so large is the debt. ]Treasury Secretary Tiny TimGeithner signals a tougher line toward China's economic policies, saying that he plans to persuade China to change how it manages its currency and to treat U.S. businesses more fairly.

Stocks' rise defies record (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! The record’s not all that’s being defied; try reason, rationality, etc.. Underestimating the Risks of the Stock Market Keep in mind, this is an election year and as good as it gets, as bad as it is beyond the spun / fake market-frothing data ] [Babak ‘If you spend enough time trading and studying the markets you realize viscerally that markets tend to fall and fall hard much more than they rise. We got a very good example of this in the 2008 bear market where the S&P 500 index gave back in about 18 months all the gains that had taken it almost 5 years to accumulate (March 2003 to October 2007). The theoretical framework that many people use and that which is still taught in finance classes across the globe continues to assume that returns fall into a normal distribution. While it is useful to know that modern portfolio theory and EMH are flimsy theories with no real world applications, it doesn’t help us to recalibrate our instruments to just how asymmetrical stock returns really are. To get at that answer, the research team at Welton Investments compared the actual distribution of returns from the S&P 500 index over the past 50 years with the expected risk based on a Monte Carlo simulation. The results are shown in the chart below: [ chart Source: Tail Risk ] This study shows that investors continuously and severely underestimated negative returns. In fact, going by rolling quarterly losses of 20% or more, investors experienced 5.3 times more of these “fat tail” events than that accounted for by the expectations based on a normal distribution. That difference is huge! Knowing this historical reality, investors have two choices: either don’t play the game (get out of stocks) or play but have a safety net handy for the inevitable fall …’ ] Defying September's track record of being unkind to investors, the stock market has shot up for the past two weeks as investors have grown less fearful the economy will slip into another recession.

O'Donnell's win throws a challenge at the GOP (Washington Post) [ Aw shucks! Change just around the corner say the bipartisan incumbents… change afoot, like wobama’s foot in his mouth / a** change … Let’s get real … no real change is a-coming … but ‘hopium’ (previously discussed) is a powerfully addictive drug. Let’s all awake from this hopium induced stupor and read these government frauds the riot act! Defacto bankrupt american politics are getting downright nasty (AP). Ask nancy pelosi, ‘the wicked witch of the west’ ( only a minute, this political ad by John Dennis is well done and very funny) http://albertpeia.com/nancypelosiwickedwitchofthewest.flv . ] By beating their candidate for the Senate seat in Delaware, the tea party sends a message to the Republican establishment: You are not in charge. Frustration with GOP pushed win O'Donnell's win in the Delaware Senate primary reflects voter sentiment toward party elders.

Fed faces tough choices (Washington Post) [ Wow! Mr. ‘wall street-glass-half-full’ has in a phrase ended the financial crisis, though many sure have been fooled into thinking otherwise by that thing called reality … Yes, ‘no-recession helicopter ben b.s. bernanke’ also in a phrase must decide, ‘to print, or not to print much, or much much, or much much much, etc., more worthless Weimar currency colloquially known as the american dollaro. Well, we really know where that one’s going. Shocking CNBC Headline: “Home Price Double Dip Begins” Diana Olick, by far the best reporter at CNBC, and not merely an anchored regurgitator of propaganda bullet points, let one slip today, by posting an article on CNBC titled: “Home Price Double Dip Begins”. Are poll workers being used to inflate jobs totals? Workers at polling places for today’s primary and November’s general election are being required to file tax withholding forms for the first time ever in a move that could be aimed at inflating the nation’s employment numbers. ] Agency is facing its biggest decision since the end of the financial crisis, confronting a fateful choice this fall whether to take new steps to boost the economy.

U.S. sharpens criticism of China (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight, tiny tim … blame the Chinese for your failed policies, though not exclusively your failed policies … might be good for a 1/32 point shaved from the interest on the gargantuan debt defacto bankrupt america owes them which is still many billons over time so large is the debt. ]Treasury Secretary Tiny TimGeithner signals a tougher line toward China's economic policies, saying that he plans to persuade China to change how it manages its currency and to treat U.S. businesses more fairly.

Stocks' rise defies record (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! The record’s not all that’s being defied; try reason, rationality, etc.. Underestimating the Risks of the Stock Market Keep in mind, this is an election year and as good as it gets, as bad as it is beyond the spun / fake market-frothing data ] [Babak ‘If you spend enough time trading and studying the markets you realize viscerally that markets tend to fall and fall hard much more than they rise. We got a very good example of this in the 2008 bear market where the S&P 500 index gave back in about 18 months all the gains that had taken it almost 5 years to accumulate (March 2003 to October 2007). The theoretical framework that many people use and that which is still taught in finance classes across the globe continues to assume that returns fall into a normal distribution. While it is useful to know that modern portfolio theory and EMH are flimsy theories with no real world applications, it doesn’t help us to recalibrate our instruments to just how asymmetrical stock returns really are. To get at that answer, the research team at Welton Investments compared the actual distribution of returns from the S&P 500 index over the past 50 years with the expected risk based on a Monte Carlo simulation. The results are shown in the chart below: [ chart Source: Tail Risk ] This study shows that investors continuously and severely underestimated negative returns. In fact, going by rolling quarterly losses of 20% or more, investors experienced 5.3 times more of these “fat tail” events than that accounted for by the expectations based on a normal distribution. That difference is huge! Knowing this historical reality, investors have two choices: either don’t play the game (get out of stocks) or play but have a safety net handy for the inevitable fall …’ ] Defying September's track record of being unkind to investors, the stock market has shot up for the past two weeks as investors have grown less fearful the economy will slip into another recession.

Israelis, Palestinians already broaching tough topics in talks, envoy says (Washington Post) ‘US – Israel’s partner in crime, not a referee’ (Infowars.com) Israeli and Palestinian leaders are holding a new round of direct talks. Bombshell: Barack Obama conclusively outed as CIA creation Wayne Madsen | Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen has discovered CIA files that document the agency’s connections to the lives of Barack Obama and his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather.

Where Are The Jobs? Most Americans don’t really care about the economic minutiae that many of us who study the U.S. economy love to pour over.

‘US – Israel’s partner in crime, not a referee’ Israeli and Palestinian leaders are holding a new round of direct talks.

Justice Breyer Suggests “Globalization” Trumps First Amendment Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer was indecisive when answering a question about whether or not Pastor Terry Jones’ proposed Koran burning was protected by free speech, suggesting that “globalization” now trumps the First Amendment in the eyes of lawmakers.

Let’s Raise Taxes, Greenspan Tells CFR “I am in favor for the first time in my memory [What memory? Incompetent greenspun is senile! ] of raising taxes,” Greenspan told an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Government Bans Tea Party From Celebrating U.S. Constitution Local government representatives in an Ohio town have taken it upon themselves to prohibit a Tea Party celebration of the US Constitution, prompting a lawsuit over restrictions on First Amendment rights.

Empire State Manufacturing Falls in September

Technical Resistance: Here We Go Again Hui ‘…The odds seem to favor another downleg for a couple of reasons.
First of all, investor sentiment has gotten incredibly bullish in the space of a couple of weeks, which is contrarian bearish.
More important for the intermediate term, the market is facing a number of macro headwinds of economic weakness starting in 4Q. John Hussman noted in his latest weekly comment [emphasis added]: As I've noted frequently in recent commentaries, the typical lag between deterioration in say, the ECRI Weekly Leading Index and the ISM Purchasing Managers Index is about 13 weeks, and sometimes longer. The typical lag with respect to new claims for unemployment is about 23-26 weeks (which puts the likely window of deterioration at about the October - November time frame), and the typical lag with respect to the payroll unemployment report is, not surprisingly, about 4 weeks beyond that.
Uber-bear Albert Edwards put it more bluntly:The current situation reminds me of mid 2007. Investors then were content to stick their heads into very deep sand and ignore the fact that The Great Unwind had clearly begun. But in August and September 2007, even though the wheels were clearly falling off the global economy, the S&P still managed to rally 15%! The recent reaction to data suggests the market is in a similar deluded state of mind. Yet again, equity investors refuse to accept they are now locked in a Vulcan death grip and are about to fall unconscious…’

The Dow Is Overbought on Its Daily Chart

To Dip or Double-Dip? Janjigian There has been a lot of talk lately about whether or not we will have a double-dip recession. I have long been in the camp that says a double-dip is a real possibility. I believe the probability for a second recession is higher now than it was last March. But how does one actually assign a number to this probability? The economists Nouriel Roubini and Martin Feldstein are perhaps the most bearish on the economy. They say the chances of a second recession are about one in three. This means they believe that if the economy were to experience the same exact conditions it is experiencing now hundreds of times, one-third of those times would result in a recession. Another way to look at is that the probability that we will not have a second recession is about 67%. In other words, even the most bearish economists believe there is a much better chance that we will avoid a second recession than there is that we will actually have one … [ Hey, come on! If they only were the most bearish on the economy

To Dip or Double-Dip? Janjigian There has been a lot of talk lately about whether or not we will have a double-dip recession. I have long been in the camp that says a double-dip is a real possibility. I believe the probability for a second recession is higher now than it was last March.

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook

Industrial output growth slows (Reuters) WASHINGTON (Reuters) – ‘U.S. industrial output slowed last month and a regional measure of factory activity touched a 14-month low in September, pointing to a cooling in manufacturing as the boost from an inventory build-up fades. The reports on Wednesday were consistent with other data suggesting the U.S. economy is stuck in a soft spot, but they also showed the manufacturing sector continued to expand and offered nothing to suggest a new recession was brewing. "We have a sharp slowdown, but that doesn't look like it's going to develop into an outright collapse," said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto. Industrial production rose 0.2 percent in August, Federal Reserve data showed, matching economists' forecasts for a sharp slowdown from July when unusually strong auto manufacturing lifted output. July's gain was revised down to 0.6 percent from 1 percent …’

Yen hits 15-year high vs dollar Reuters | The dollar hit a 15-year low against the yen on Tuesday, testing Japanese authorities’ resolve to stem the yen’s climb after Prime Minister Naoto Kan won a party leadership vote.

Six in 10 Canadians live pay to pay Globe and Mail | Fifty-nine per cent of Canadian workers say they would be in financial trouble if their paycheque was delayed by just a week.

IMF fears ‘social explosion’ from world jobs crisis Telegraph | America and Europe face the worst jobs crisis since the 1930s and risk “an explosion of social unrest” unless they tread carefully, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Shocking CNBC Headline: “Home Price Double Dip Begins” Diana Olick, by far the best reporter at CNBC, and not merely an anchored regurgitator of propaganda bullet points, let one slip today, by posting an article on CNBC titled: “Home Price Double Dip Begins”.

Are poll workers being used to inflate jobs totals? Workers at polling places for today’s primary and November’s general election are being required to file tax withholding forms for the first time ever in a move that could be aimed at inflating the nation’s employment numbers.

Currency Intervention, Bitches After a six year wait, the BoJ has finally had enough of the Federal Reserve’s endless manipulation and has itself intervened in the currency market.

Where Are The Jobs? Most Americans don’t really care about the economic minutiae that many of us who study the U.S. economy love to pour over.

‘US – Israel’s partner in crime, not a referee’ Israeli and Palestinian leaders are holding a new round of direct talks.

Defacto bankrupt american politics are getting downright nasty. Ask nancy pelosi, ‘the wicked witch of the west’ http://albertpeia.com/nancypelosiwickedwitchofthewest.flv .

Justice Breyer Suggests “Globalization” Trumps First Amendment Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer was indecisive when answering a question about whether or not Pastor Terry Jones’ proposed Koran burning was protected by free speech, suggesting that “globalization” now trumps the First Amendment in the eyes of lawmakers.

Let’s Raise Taxes, Greenspan Tells CFR “I am in favor for the first time in my memory [What memory? Incompetent greenspun is senile! ] of raising taxes,” Greenspan told an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Government Bans Tea Party From Celebrating U.S. Constitution Local government representatives in an Ohio town have taken it upon themselves to prohibit a Tea Party celebration of the US Constitution, prompting a lawsuit over restrictions on First Amendment rights.

Globalist Soros Declares “Gold Is The Ultimate Bubble”… Again Billionaire globalist George Soros wants you to think that investing in Gold is “unsafe” and that the rallies the precious metal has seen in the wake of the economic implosion are abnormal.

Police Continue to Harass Citizens Who Record Them A number of cases show how police continue to misunderstand citizens’ rights to record their behavior, and they’re now neatly compiled into a video from the Cato Institute.

Anti-Establishment Fervor A Hammer Blow To Washington Elite Amidst the defeat two more establishment Republicans by Tea Party candidates last night, a new Rasmussen poll shows that anti-incumbent challenger Sharron Angle is now tied with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and stands a good chance of ousting him in November, which would represent a massive blow to the Washington elite.

Karl Rove: Defender of Forever War and a Devastating National Debt Kurt Nimmo | Rove loathes Christine O’Donnell because she represents political change in Washington — and that must be halted at all cost.

Secretive Executive Order Establishes ‘Big Brother’ Health Bureaucracy Eric Blair | Obama quietly signed an Executive Order that some claim lays the foundation for implementing Codex Alimentarius.

Bill Gates Death Panels Tip of Iceberg Paul Joseph Watson, Kurt Nimmo & Alex Jones | Gates in cahoots with the Rockefellers and the bioethics movement to deny health care to Americans.

Anti-Establishment Fervor A Hammer Blow To Washington Elite Paul Joseph Watson | Waiting for an October surprise: The system is cornered, desperate, and dangerous.

Pennsylvania Homeland Security Puts Anti-tax Protesters On List of Terror Threats Kurt Nimmo | Pennsylvania’s Democrat governor Ed Renell says he is “deeply embarrassed” by the disclosure.

Drudgereport: Doomsday warnings of US apocalypse gain ground...
US poverty on track to post record gain under Obama...
Last minute aid helps city dodge default...
NYC Disaster On Primary Day; Machine Glitches Cause Chaos...
Bloomberg Blasts...
Feds probing...
US troops continue combat missions in Iraq, despite Obama's end-of-war speech...
Poll workers being used to inflate jobs totals?
Retirement on Hold: American Workers $6 Trillion Short...

REPUBLICAN ACCUSES WHITE HOUSE OF 'CLASS WARFARE'...
Paul says GOP shares blame for deficits...
Kerry flip-flops on tax cuts...

Muslims protest Quran-burning plan...
Florida pastor calls it off...
Christians rip pages from Muslim holy book in front of White House...
Man ignites Quran near Ground Zero...
VIDEO...
Mosque opponents, supporters face off in downtown NYC...
OBAMA: 'We are not and never will be at war with Islam'...

'Tea party' favorites score in DE, NY...
Establishment Freaks...
'One nation under revolt'...
Christine Smacks Rove: 'So-Called Political Guru'...
CASH POURS IN FOR O'DONNELL; $500,000 IN ONE DAY...
Upsets...
RESULTS...
WIRE...
IN: RANGEL SURVIVES CHALLENGE...
OUT: DC MAYOR VOTED DOWN IN UPSET...
HANGING: DINGELL WARNS DONORS HE COULD LOSE...
Dems gamble by shifting fire to Boehner...
Bill Clinton: New-look GOP makes Bush look liberal!
POLL: Only 25% of public trusts gov't...
The Crash, Obama and Disappearing Dem Majority...

Jobless strain Social Security's disability program (Washington Post) [ Jobless? Strain? Disability? If only that were the only problem for the debacle that will be called ‘social security’. Indeed, even at full employment, those worthless iou’s will still be worthless as this typical capital hill political math project will eventually, as with ponzi schemes generally, end very badly. ]

More banks missing TARP dividend payments [ Isn’t it true as never before in the short history of defacto bankrupt america, that nothing succeeds in america quite like a lack of success? ] Bank Failure Friday Continues at Seeking Alpha ‘…Bank Failure Friday continues with the total number of failures for 2010 now up to 119 on the way to 150 to 200, as the third quarter total ended September 10th at 33. During “The Great Credit Crunch” the FDIC only closed 25 banks during all of 2008. In 2009 the FDIC picked up the pace with 140 bank failures with a peak of 50 in the third quarter of 2009. So far in 2010 the FDIC closed 41 banks in the first quarter, another 45 in the second quarter, and so far 33 for the third quarter. With 119 bank failures so far in 2010 the total for “The Great Credit Crunch” is up to 284 continuing its path to my predicted 500 to 800 by the end of 2012 into 2013 …]

Pearlstein: A bold new breed of bank regulators (Washington Post) [ Wow! Gee! I had always viewed Mr. Pearlstein as a grounded kind of guy. You know … somewhat realistic … I guess I was wrong ‘cause who’s kidding whom? Criminal prosecutions, jail, fines, and disgorgement are the only way to maximize regulatory effectiveness, presently and prospectively. As of now, it pays for the predisposed frauds to take what currently is miniscule chance of prosecution for what have been and remain huge personal and corporate gains. Handcuffs For Wall Street, Not Happy Talk Zach Carter | The fraud allegations that have emerged over the past year are not restricted to a few bad apples at shady companies — they involve some of the largest players in global finance. Finance groups: Long transition to ease new bank rules (Washington Post) [ Basel’s all the rage … Riiiiight! Bonkers for Basel, the thing in rally vogue this day … but, not Basil as in Basil Rathbone of super sleuth Sherlock Holmes film fame who’d make short shrift of this fraudulent wall street contagion that has swept over Europe in a manner to rightfully earn the moniker ‘eventual black Friday plague’ … and then there’s the ‘higher oil price’ part of the suckers’ rally. We can certainly expect Rosanne Rosanna Danna formerly of SNL fame, as night follows the day, to chime in with a reminder as her mama always used to say, ‘it’s always something’ … but unfortunately, that somethin’ is not reality. YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: ‘Broad-based buying on the back of Basel III boosted stocks to their fourth straight gain, or seventh advance in eight sessions. Still, participation remained unimpressive ... ‘ AP Business Highlights ‘… Banks get years to adjust to new global rules BASEL, Switzerland (AP) -- Bankers and analysts said new global rules could mean less money available to lend to businesses and consumers, but praised a decision to leave plenty of time -- until 2019 -- before the financial stability requirements come into full force’ ] The requirements adopted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision fall short of what's needed to prevent another financial crisis. ]

Asian sites' protection urged to save tigers (Washington Post) [ This is clearly a noble task of the highest order that will effect returns manyfold in the most positive sense for this increasing small and troubled world. ] Just 42 sites across Asia, ranging from temperate forests to tropical grasslands, are key to the survival of one of the world's most iconic, and feared, wild cats - the tiger.

Buried Alive - Prominent Sell Signals

Is the Stock Market Safe? [ This time the consensus is correct, in a ‘fish in a barrel’ kind of way! ]‘In a word, no. That’s the general consensus found in a survey of individual investors done by AP and CNBC this week. As if dealing with two major bear markets since the turn of the century wasn’t enough, all the talk about high frequency trading and the May 6th "Flash Crash" seems to have pushed individual investors over the edge in terms of their comfort level with the stock market. In fact, according to an AP/CNBC poll, 55% of those surveyed believe the stock market is fair only to some investors. The bottom line of this particular survey is that investors are now wary about the idea of using the stock market as a way to invest for retirement. Instead, the survey found that the vast majority of individual investors continue to pump unprecedented amounts of money into what many believe is the most overvalued asset class on the planet – government bonds. One result of the 10-plus year secular bear market in stocks is the gradual erosion of the public’s interest and confidence in stocks as an investment. Of course this HAS happened before. Anyone recall the 1982 cover of Time magazine with the title “The Death of Equities?” Although the cyclical bull market that began in March 2009 remains intact, the public has been pulling money out of the market on a monthly basis. Since January 2008, the Investment Company Institute reports that a total of $244 billion has been withdrawn from US equity funds. Yet at the same time, a total of more than $589 billion has poured into US bond mutual funds, which is an unparalleled amount. It appears that the "Flash Crash" may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. For example, in the 11 weeks prior to May 6th the public pumped a strong $26.6 billion into equity mutual funds. This is hardly surprising since during that time the market was rising steadily and had gained more than 70% in the past 12 months. However, in the 16 weeks since the "Flash Crash," investors have been running scared. In fact, Investment Company Institute reports that the public has pulled money out of US equity funds each and every week since, with cumulative withdrawals now totaling $55.9 billion. Thus, it would appear that the market’s recent volatility has caused the investing public to lose confidence in the market. The AP/CNBC poll found that 61% of those surveyed felt the volatility has made them less confident about buying and selling stocks. There is also a widespread perception is that the market is rigged or unfair to the little guy. Nearly 90% of the survey respondents whose portfolios are less than $50,000 said the market is unfair to small investors. In addition, the public doesn’t seem to have much faith in the administration to fix the situation in the market. The poll found that just 8% expressed strong confidence in federal regulators while 50% expressed little-to-no confidence in those tasked with overseeing the markets. Does this mean it is time to give up on the stock market as an investment vehicle? We would respond with a resounding “no!” The trick is to understand that the game has changed. After an 18-year bull market, the tide has turned. As such, investors actually have to do something besides putting money into any old mutual fund and closing their eyes. Disclosure: No positions’

Handcuffs For Wall Street, Not Happy Talk Zach Carter | The fraud allegations that have emerged over the past year are not restricted to a few bad apples at shady companies — they involve some of the largest players in global finance.

Hatzius: The Risks Are Still to the Downside

Yen hits 15-year high vs dollar Reuters | The dollar hit a 15-year low against the yen on Tuesday, testing Japanese authorities’ resolve to stem the yen’s climb after Prime Minister Naoto Kan won a party leadership vote.

Six in 10 Canadians live pay to pay Globe and Mail | Fifty-nine per cent of Canadian workers say they would be in financial trouble if their paycheque was delayed by just a week.

IMF fears ‘social explosion’ from world jobs crisis Telegraph | America and Europe face the worst jobs crisis since the 1930s and risk “an explosion of social unrest” unless they tread carefully, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

‘The Great American Stickup’: It Was The Economy, Stupid It is not conspiratorial but rather accurate to suggest that blame can be assigned to those who consciously developed and implemented a policy of radical financial deregulation that led to a global recession.

John Williams Sees The Onset Of Hyperinflation In As Little As 6 To 9 Months As Fed “Tap Dances On A Land Mine” John Williams, arguably one of the best trackers of real, unmanipulated government data via his Shadow Stats blog, has just released a note to clients in which he warns that hyperinflation may hit as soon as 6 to 9 months from today.

Will the Basel III Bank Regulations Change Anything? The much-trumpeted Basel III increase in capital requirements will not be fully phased in until 2019.

Three Powerful Trends Will Push Gold Prices To $1600 UniCredit has upgraded their target price for gold from $1,250 to $1,600 by the end of 2012. The reason for the upgrade is based on three powerful trends: the fear over “money printing” at the Fed (QE), the idea that the Euro sovereign debt crisis represents a condemnation of fiat money and increasing demand for gold from China.

The Real Story Behind Bill Gates And “Death Panels” Bill Gates’ advocacy for “death panels” has caused controversy amongst conservative commentators, but the real outrage behind the story has been completely overlooked – the fact that Gates is a hardcore eugenicist and has called for lowering the global population through vaccines which his foundation funds to the tune of billions.

Asian sites' protection urged to save tigers (Washington Post) [ This is clearly a noble task of the highest order that will effect returns manyfold in the most positive sense for this increasing small and troubled world. ] Just 42 sites across Asia, ranging from temperate forests to tropical grasslands, are key to the survival of one of the world's most iconic, and feared, wild cats - the tiger.

Gates starts to outline cuts to save $100 billion for defense (Washington Post ) [ Oooooh … sounds like a plan! No, not gates’ only slightly less bankrupt nation plan over 5 years which bearly covers the interest on the trillion plus for the wars; but rather, Karzai’s plan for u.s. companies extended to u.s. presence, period! ] Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday said the Pentagon must get "more bang for its buck and shift its focus to the military's needs for the future." Karzai wants private security firms out of Afghanistan:  KARZAI WANTS COMPANIES OUT U.S. calls 4-month deadline 'very challenging' (Washington Post) One too many civilian killed. Maybe they figured out that american non-strategy employing the Hegelian methodology of creating problems that American firms can solve. Doomed to failure, they eventually catch on. The bushes were famed for same but wobama has foolishly been no slouch in this regard.

Ex-CIA Agents Confirm Torture at Polish Black Site Former CIA agents have confirmed rumors that the agency tortured terror suspects at a detention center in Poland. One agent allegedly held a drill to a prisoner’s head while he was naked and hooded.

Blair’s Journey: US medal for ‘war criminal’? Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will receive a prestigious American medal for human rights work. But in his ten years as premier, Blair went from huge popularity to being called a U.S. poodle. His policies in Iraq and Afghanistan earned him accusations of having blood on his hands. And as Laura Emmett reports, many are outraged at his latest award.

Big Sis To Get Expanded Role In Policing Internet Two cybersecurity bills that would hand President Obama the power to shut down parts of the Internet in the event of a national emergency have now been merged into a single unified piece of legislation that Democrats will try to pass before the end of the year, with the Department of Homeland Security being given a larger role in policing the world wide web.

Peace Activist Cindy Sheehan: “I am A 9/11 Truther” Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war activist who lost her son to the ongoing war in Iraq, delivered an impassioned and emotional speech during which she specifically addressed concerns over the 9/11 attacks and stated that she believes they were orchestrated by elements of the U.S. government for political gain.

Soros Front Group Exploits Teenage Celebrity to Get Out Vote for War Party Soros and crew want to get out the vote at all cost, even if they have to exploit kids.

Gold and Silver Explode as Banksters Abandon Market Manipulation Gold has surged to a new high as the prospect of inflation reared its ugly head in the United Kingdom on bad news from a report indicating a weaker-than-expected eurozone industrial production. Germany and France, despite sovereign debt fears, have been able to manage anemic growth but today’s data signals a slow down.

Allegation: Americans Flooded Out Millions in Pakistan to Protect U.S. Drone Military Base Feryal Ali Gauhar served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund and is the only UN Goodwill Ambassador who quit over the invasion of Iraq.

The Biocratic Utopians Part I: Prussian Grenadiers Jurriaan Maessen | The ambition of the biocrats is to create a “superior” class of men.

Gold and Silver Explode as Banksters Abandon Market Manipulation Kurt Nimmo | Gold traded as high as $1,261.90 on Tuesday.

Big Sis To Get Expanded Role In Policing Internet Paul Joseph Watson | Democrats want “Kill Switch” bill passed this year.

Soros Front Group Exploits Teenage Celebrity to Get Out Vote for War Party Kurt Nimmo | The Twitter crowd needs to know that the health of the state is perpetual war.

Expanding U.S.-Canada Security and Economic Partnership Dana Gabriel | NAFTA partners are pursuing a more bilateral agenda for advancing continental integration.

Cuba to cut 500,000 workers, reform salaries (Washington Post) [ Boy, when Castro said communism wasn’t working for them anymore, he wasn’t kidding! No gloating for defacto bankrupt, pervasively corrupt america which is a far cry from capitalism and but a whisper from collapse itself.]

Banks miss TARP payments (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! … Bank Failure Friday Continues at Seeking Alpha ‘…Bank Failure Friday continues with the total number of failures for 2010 now up to 119 on the way to 150 to 200, as the third quarter total ended September 10th at 33. During “The Great Credit Crunch” the FDIC only closed 25 banks during all of 2008. In 2009 the FDIC picked up the pace with 140 bank failures with a peak of 50 in the third quarter of 2009. So far in 2010 the FDIC closed 41 banks in the first quarter, another 45 in the second quarter, and so far 33 for the third quarter. With 119 bank failures so far in 2010 the total for “The Great Credit Crunch” is up to 284 continuing its path to my predicted 500 to 800 by the end of 2012 into 2013 … (see rest of article infra)]

Economy's fallout (Washington Post) The fallout of a troubled economy [ I’m sorry to say that … you ain’t seen nothing yet … much worse to come! ]From foreclosure to food shortages, the recession set in motion by the financial crisis of 2008 is having a broad and deeply-felt global impact.

Doomsday warnings of US apocalypse gain ground AFP | Economists peddling dire warnings that the world’s number one economy is on the brink of collapse.

A subtler tack to fight Afghan corruption? (Washington Post) [ How about a not so subtler tack to fight corruption starting right here in the u.s. of a. where corruption and crime are pervasive and in fact, at the root of the Afghanistan problems, from american reinvigorated heroin trade to bribery attendant thereto to killing civilians, etc.. Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless, War Criminal Nation america, the leader of nations … in crime:

Though having but 5% of the world’s population, america can boast 76% of the world’s serial killers, followed by Europe with England/UK then Germany leading the way for the eu [excerpt, 6 minute video, Serial Killers: Real Life Hannibal Lechters http://www.albertpeia.com/realifeamericaserialkillers.mpg (as is consistent with crime generally, see infra)]. Defacto bankrupt, fraudulent america also spends more on offensive (defensive a misnomer / propaganda) military spending than all the nations of the world combined, and by a large margin at that. Do you see a pattern emerging here [ I unfortunately only belatedly did, and the feds, fed employees, cia, all 3 branches of the u.s. government, etc., are included in this evolved american trait of inherent criminality in the most nefarious sense ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      )   ]:

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	11,877,218
# 2	United Kingdom:	6,523,706
# 3	Germany:	6,507,394

… ]

Doomsday warnings of US apocalypse gain ground AFP | Economists peddling dire warnings that the world’s number one economy is on the brink of collapse.

Handcuffs For Wall Street, Not Happy Talk Zach Carter | The fraud allegations that have emerged over the past year are not restricted to a few bad apples at shady companies — they involve some of the largest players in global finance.

Why New Bank Capital Rules Could Make Things Worse CNBC | Early reports suggest the required levels of capital will be much lower than feared, and the kinds of assets that can be used to meet the requirements more expansive than earlier proposals suggested.

Economic Docs Find Remedy Amid Bubble Rubble Even the most casual observer of the events of the last five years — the housing bubble, the bust and the digging-out process — would be struck by the similarities between the policies that got us into this mess and the prescriptions for getting us out.

World Panel Backs Rules to Avert Banking Crises Top central bankers and bank regulators agreed Sunday on far-reaching new rules for the global banking industry that are designed to avert future financial disasters, but could also dampen bank profits and strain weaker institutions.

Tim Geithner Warns: The US Is At Risk Of A 1930s Repeat If the government become paralyzed — as is arguably the case already, and is clearly a serious risk should the GOP take over — the US risks a 1930s-like scenario. At least according to Tim Geithner.

M2 Surges By $30 Billion In Past Week To Highest Ever, Even As Monetary Base Declines Another week in which the M2 jumped to a fresh all time high, increasing by $30 billion W/W to just under $8.7 trillion.

Bank Failure Friday Continues at Seeking Alpha ‘…Bank Failure Friday continues with the total number of failures for 2010 now up to 119 on the way to 150 to 200, as the third quarter total ended September 10th at 33. During “The Great Credit Crunch” the FDIC only closed 25 banks during all of 2008. In 2009 the FDIC picked up the pace with 140 bank failures with a peak of 50 in the third quarter of 2009. So far in 2010 the FDIC closed 41 banks in the first quarter, another 45 in the second quarter, and so far 33 for the third quarter. With 119 bank failures so far in 2010 the total for “The Great Credit Crunch” is up to 284 continuing its path to my predicted 500 to 800 by the end of 2012 into 2013.

The failed bank was publicly-traded Horizon Bank (HZNB.OB), which had huge overexposures to C&D and CRE loans with risk ratios of 358% and 1769% versus the ignored regulatory guidelines of 100% and 300% of risk-based capital. The commitment pipeline of commercial real estate loans was 99% funded as “extend and pretend” caused this failure. The consolidator bank has been used before by the FDIC; Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK) which has a HOLD rating according to ValuEngine.

Here are some statistics from the FDIC for the Second Quarter 2010: There were 45 bank failures in the second quarter, and we ended the quarter with the number of FDIC-insured financial institutions declining to 7,893, of which 1306 are publicly-traded.

· 1172 of all community banks (14.8%) are overexposed to Construction & Development Loans.

· 1432 or 18.1% are overexposed to Nonfarm / Nonresidential real estate loans.

· 2504 or 31.7% are thus overexposed to Commercial Real Estate loans.

· 1317 or 16.7% have a real estate loan pipeline that’s 100% funded.

· 2622 or 33.2% have a pipeline that’s between 80% and 100% funded.

· 3939 of 49.9% of all banks have a pipeline that’s 80% or more funded. So half the community banks in America remain overleveraged to Commercial Real Estate and the possible losses remain about $1.5 trillion.

Publicly-Traded Banks:

· 293 of the 1306 publicly-traded banks are overexposed to C&D loans

· 394 are overexposed to Nonfarm / Nonresidential real estate loans.

· 687 or 52.6% of the publicly-traded banks are thus overexposed to Commercial Real Estate loans. We publish this list as the ValuEngine List of Problem Banks.

· 234 publicly-traded banks have a real estate loan portfolio that’s 100% funded.

· 463 have a real estate loan portfolio between 80% and 100% funded.

· 697 thus have significant real estate loan pipeline stress.

Problem Banks at the end of the Second Quarter versus the First Quarter:

· Given the waves of bank failures the total assets among the 686 Publicly-Traded Problem Banks declined to $135.9 billion from $164.7 billion in the first quarter. C&D loans declined to $12.7 billion from $16.4 billion with a CRE loan pipeline steady at 78.1% versus 78.0%.

· Assets among the 91 Deadbeat Banks, (those in arrears on making TARP dividend payments), totals $99.9 billion with C&D loans at $10.9 billion and a CRE pipeline of 80.9%.

· Assets among failed publicly-traded banks increased to $122.5 billion from $116.7 billion in the first quarter. C&D loans increased to $22.3 billion from $21.5 billion. The CRE loan pipeline increased a tick to 90.4% from 90.3%.

Assets among banks with a CRE pipeline of 80% or more funded increased to $3.84 trillion including $121.3 billion in C&D loans. The average pipeline for 3939 banks is 92.0%. Among this list are four big banks that will likely see waves of write-offs in upcoming quarters.

· JP Morgan Chase (JPM) with $1.72 trillion in assets has a pipeline of 80%.

· SunTrust Banks (STI) has $160.5 billion in assets with an 83% pipeline.

· BB&T Corp (BBT) has $149.2 billion in assets with an 84% pipeline.

· Fifth Third Bank (FITB) has 100.0 billion in assets with an 84% pipeline.

Disclosure: No positions’

U.S. Trade Deficit Still Growing

Why New Bank Capital Rules Could Make Things Worse CNBC | Early reports suggest the required levels of capital will be much lower than feared, and the kinds of assets that can be used to meet the requirements more expansive than earlier proposals suggested.

Too Big To Fail Global Banks Will Collapse Between Now and First Quarter 2011 Matthias Chang | Quantitative Easing spearheaded by the Chairman of Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, delayed the inevitable demise of the fiat shadow money banking system slightly over 18 months.

Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless, War Criminal Nation america, the leader of nations … in crime:

Though having but 5% of the world’s population, america can boast 76% of the world’s serial killers, followed by Europe with England/UK then Germany leading the way for the eu [excerpt, 6 minute video, Serial Killers: Real Life Hannibal Lechters http://www.albertpeia.com/realifeamericaserialkillers.mpg (as is consistent with crime generally, see infra)]. Defacto bankrupt, fraudulent america also spends more on offensive (defensive a misnomer / propaganda) military spending than all the nations of the world combined, and by a large margin at that. Do you see a pattern emerging here [ I unfortunately only belatedly did, and the feds, fed employees, cia, all 3 branches of the u.s. government, etc., are included in this evolved american trait of inherent criminality in the most nefarious sense ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      )   ]:

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	11,877,218
# 2	United Kingdom:	6,523,706
# 3	Germany:	6,507,394
# 4	France:	3,771,850
# 5	Russia:	2,952,370
# 6	Japan:	2,853,739
# 7	South Africa:	2,683,849
# 8	Canada:	2,516,918
# 9	Italy:	2,231,550
# 10	India:	1,764,630
# 11	Korea, South:	1,543,220
# 12	Mexico:	1,516,029
# 13	Netherlands:	1,422,863
# 14	Poland:	1,404,229
# 15	Argentina:	1,340,529
# 16	Sweden:	1,234,784
# 17	Belgium:	973,548
# 18	Spain:	923,271
# 19	Chile:	593,997
# 20	Thailand:	565,108
# 21	Ukraine:	553,594
# 22	Austria:	552,411
# 23	Finland:	520,194
# 24	Denmark:	491,026
# 25	New Zealand:	427,230
# 26	Hungary:	420,782
# 27	Czech Republic:	372,341
# 28	Zimbabwe:	351,153
# 29	Norway:	330,071
# 30	Romania:	312,204
# 31	Switzerland:	307,631
# 32	Turkey:	286,482
# 33	Morocco:	283,702
# 34	Venezuela:	236,165
# 35	Portugal:	218,360
# 36	Colombia:	214,192
# 37	Malaysia:	167,173
# 38	Peru:	161,621
# 39	Bulgaria:	148,915
# 40	Uruguay:	134,010
# 41	Belarus:	132,867
# 42	Tunisia:	130,375
# 43	Slovakia:	107,373
# 44	Greece:	102,783
# 45	Croatia:	101,853
# 46	Lithuania:	92,646
# 47	Philippines:	85,776
# 48	Saudi Arabia:	84,599
# 49	Slovenia:	81,697
# 50	Ireland:	81,274
# 51	Hong Kong:	80,592
# 52	Iceland:	60,242
# 53	Zambia:	59,426
# 54	Estonia:	57,799
# 55	Latvia:	49,329
# 56	El Salvador:	44,762
# 57	Costa Rica:	40,263
# 58	Jamaica:	39,188
# 59	Kyrgyzstan:	38,620
# 60	Moldova:	36,302
# 61	Mauritius:	35,943
# 62	Bolivia:	31,138
# 63	Luxembourg:	26,046
# 64	Yemen:	24,066
# 65	Panama:	21,058
# 66	Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of:	19,814
# 67	Kuwait:	19,350
# 68	Burma:	18,301
# 69	Malta:	17,023
# 70	Azerbaijan:	15,520
# 71	Georgia:	15,029
# 72	Papua New Guinea:	13,292
# 73	Cyprus:	13,023
# 74	Armenia:	12,048
# 75	Oman:	11,782
# 76	Nepal:	8,872
# 77	Dominica:	7,857
# 78	Maldives:	7,026
# 79	Qatar:	5,838
# 80	Albania:	5,303
# 81	Seychelles:	4,297
# 82	Montserrat:	751
	Total:	63,531,202
	Weighted average:	774,770.8

DEFINITION: Note: Crime statistics are often better indicators of prevalence of law enforcement and willingness to report crime (I believe, and facts support, crime in america to be substantially under-reported and under-prosecuted owing to pervasive corruption, arbitrary enforcement of the law, etc.) than actual prevalence.

SOURCE: The Eighth United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (2002) (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Centre for International Crime Prevention)

The New Terrorist Threat To America: Drunk British Teenagers Brandishing Insults Steve Watson | College student banned from US for life for name calling email to White House. I’m sure he’s crying both night and day … you know, from prospective loss of that new global roach motel (once you go in, you never come out); viz., the disunited states of america; and wow, talk about thin skin; who can’t think of far worse to call wobama; and then, there’s the real terror threat.

Big Sis Iris Scanners: The Prison Without Bars Paul Joseph Watson | Americans will be forced to prove they are well-behaved serfs to be able to do anything.

Dick Gregory Announces Hunger Strike for 9/11 Truth Dick Gregory | I am announcing today that I will be consuming only liquids beginning Sunday until my eightieth birthday in 2012 and until the real truth of what truly happened on that day emerges and is publicly known.

9/11 – State of Emergency: An Era of Madness and Despair The Excavator | All the freedoms of the American people that are being stripped by the U.S. government under national emergency are rationalized because of the terrorist attacks on September 11.

Doomsday warnings of US apocalypse gain ground Economists peddling dire warnings that the world’s number one economy is on the brink of collapse, amid high rates of unemployment and a spiraling public deficit, are flourishing here.

Greek Default: Why It’s Only A Matter Of Time Is Greek default only a matter of time? According to the Council on Foreign Relations that’s the story the bond market is currently telling us.

Zionists are behind Quran desecration: Iran FM Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has described the Quran-burning plan as a Zionist-orchestrated scheme.

Google ‘damages users’ brains’ Google damages the brains of its users by offering too much assistance in solving problems, an author has claimed.

Feds Spent $800,000 of Economic Stimulus on African Genital-Washing Program The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spent $823,200 of economic stimulus funds in 2009 on a study by a UCLA research team to teach uncircumcised African men how to wash their genitals after having sex.

Ground Zero Mosque Controversy: A CIA Orchestrated Event Kurt Nimmo | The Ground Zero mosque event was designed to reinvigorate the manufactured Global War on Manufactured Terror.

Obama Touts Inefficient Program to Defend Stimulus: $1.4m per Green Job Created Activist Post | Only 390 jobs were created from the $548 million taxpayer investment, or about $1.4 million per job.

British troops in Afghanistan face heroin smuggling probe British military police are investigating claims that the country’s servicemen may have, with the americans, trafficked heroin out of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence in London said Sunday.

United States Joint Forces Command Warns that Huge U.S. Debt Will Lead to Military Impotence, Default or Revolution [ Little bit late for that … the warning thing! ] American military and intelligence leaders say that debt is the main national security threat to the U.S.

Korans vandalized in New York, Washington on 9/11 anniversary Two religious leaders at a recently-founded offshoot of the Baptist church burned Korans in a Tennessee back yard on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, reports the NBC affiliate in Nashville.

September 11 anniversary marked by noise and recrimination The September 11 anniversary is usually a day of quiet reflection. But this year the furore over plans for a mosque near Ground Zero led to a day of noise and recrimination.

Nine Years After 9/11, Only 1% See Terrorism as Top U.S. Problem Nine years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, 1% of Americans mention terrorism as the most important problem facing the country, down from 46% just after the attacks.

Nine years, two wars, hundreds of thousands dead – and nothing learnt Did 9/11 make us all mad? Our memorial to the innocents who died nine years ago has been a holocaust of fire and blood.

When Will the Bad Dream End? Anthony Gregory | It has been nine whole years since 9/11, and it is starting to look like the “post-9/11″ insanity has become a permanent feature of the American landscape.

The Silence of September 11 Infowars.com | Silence has followed ever since the attack and continues until this day, as Peter Dale Scott explains.

Wikileaks to Release Massive Document Collection on Iraq War Ahmad F Al-Shagra | The Iraq War report is larger than the Afghan War documents made available for advance review to The New York Times, The Guardian, and Der Spiegel.

Pastor at centre of Koran-burning controversy flies to New York for September 11th The pastor who planned to burn Korans on today’s ninth anniversary of the September 11th attacks has flown to New York to challenge the controversial proposed Islamic centre close to the Ground Zero site.

Koran-burning pastor ‘has gone mad’ and ‘needs help,’ daughter says The estranged daughter of a Florida pastor who has threatened to burn copies of the Koran believes he has gone mad and needs help, she said in a German media interview conducted on Friday.

DHS: Another Attack Could Be On The Way “We can’t guarantee there won’t be another successful terrorist attack,” Napolitano will tell first responders and emergency workers.

We have failed, admits UN, as fresh wave of Congo rapes emerges The United Nations has been urged to go back to basics in protecting civilians in Eastern Congo after admitting that 500 rapes in the space of a single month amounted to a serious failure in its mission.

9 Years Later, Nearly 900 9/11 Responders Have Died, Survivors Fight for Compensation The victims of 9/11 are being remembered in many places around the world, Russia among them. Dozens have come to lay flowers at the US Embassy in the Russian capital.

“We’re dead men walking”: The toxic legacy of 9/11 More than 10,000 Ground Zero workers – known as “first responders” – are suffering from serious and even fatal illnesses after inhaling the toxic dust cloud caused by the crumbling towers.

Firefighter battles cancer he got from 9/11 toxins Nine years after the attacks of 9/11, many heroes from that day are still fighting for their lives. One of them is a firefighter, who is struggling to stay alive for his family.

Compensation for 9/11 First Responders to Be Revisited in Congress With the nine-year commemoration of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center approaching on Saturday, thousands of victims, many of whom risked their lives to save others, are speaking out and saying that the government has abandoned them in their time of need.

9/11 responders demand justice Last month RT filmed this emotional footage of 9/11 first responders pouring their hearts out at a speech just blocks away from where the twin towers fell. The rally was in response to Congress defeating a federal bill that would have provided billions of dollars in health care for those sickened by toxins released by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers Sept. 11, 2001.

America’s Torture Doctrine John Galt | We idolize torturers in our favorite TV programs, and are happy to see our enemies (real and imagined) vicariously taken apart in order to protect our beacon of freedom.

The Anniversary of 9/11 Washington’s Blog | If even the 9/11 Commissioners don’t buy the official story, why do you?

Drudgereport: Doomsday warnings of US apocalypse gain ground...
US poverty on track to post record gain under Obama...
Last minute aid helps city dodge default...

REPUBLICAN ACCUSES WHITE HOUSE OF 'CLASS WARFARE'...
Paul says GOP shares blame for deficits...
Kerry flip-flops on tax cuts...

Muslims protest Quran-burning plan...
Florida pastor calls it off...
Christians rip pages from Muslim holy book in front of White House...
Man ignites Quran near Ground Zero...
VIDEO...
Mosque opponents, supporters face off in downtown NYC...
OBAMA: 'We are not and never will be at war with Islam'...

When Will the Bad Dream End? Anthony Gregory | It has been nine whole years since 9/11, and it is starting to look like the “post-9/11″ insanity has become a permanent feature of the American landscape.

Nine years, two wars, hundreds of thousands dead – and nothing learnt Did 9/11 make us all mad? Our memorial to the innocents who died nine years ago has been a holocaust of fire and blood.

Koran-burning pastor ‘has gone mad’ and ‘needs help,’ daughter says The estranged daughter of a Florida pastor who has threatened to burn copies of the Koran believes he has gone mad and needs help, she said in a German media interview conducted on Friday.

We have failed, admits UN, as fresh wave of Congo rapes emerges The United Nations has been urged to go back to basics in protecting civilians in Eastern Congo after admitting that 500 rapes in the space of a single month amounted to a serious failure in its mission.

9 Years Later, Nearly 900 9/11 Responders Have Died, Survivors Fight for Compensation The victims of 9/11 are being remembered in many places around the world, Russia among them. Dozens have come to lay flowers at the US Embassy in the Russian capital.

“We’re dead men walking”: The toxic legacy of 9/11 More than 10,000 Ground Zero workers – known as “first responders” – are suffering from serious and even fatal illnesses after inhaling the toxic dust cloud caused by the crumbling towers.

Firefighter battles cancer he got from 9/11 toxins Nine years after the attacks of 9/11, many heroes from that day are still fighting for their lives. One of them is a firefighter, who is struggling to stay alive for his family.

The Anniversary of 9/11 Washington’s Blog | If even the 9/11 Commissioners don’t buy the official story, why do you?

Execs with criminal records slip through FHA crackdown (Washington Post) Center for Public Integrity [ Oh come on! Wake up! What’s the difference? A criminal record merely implies in pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless, defacto bankrupt america today that they had not the connections of the biggest criminals in america today; you know, not ‘high enough up on the food chain’ like the frauds on wall street, etc., who have access, means, and money for bribes in one form or another to america’s substantial detriment. I mean, arguendo, who would you feel more comfortable / trusting doing business with; Martha Stewart or one of those wall street, military industrial complex ceo’s, etc.. ]A crackdown on reckless mortgage lenders has failed to root out several executives with criminal records whose firms continue to do business with the agency in violation of federal law.

Obama defends Democrats' economic initiatives (Washington Post) [ What initiatives? Hands off fraudulent wall street by no prosecutions, fines, jail, disgorgement which would have gone a long way to cleansing / righting the economic / financial system? Rallying congress (see infra – new FASB rule change to mark to anything valuation of worthless assets and the 157 Rule change that allowed banks to park all their losses in a bucket called other comprehensive income (OCI). OCI appears on the balance sheet, but not on the income statement and thus does not affect earnings ) toward greater obfuscation of continuing economic dilemma / debacle? Fake data as in the most recent batch of estimated unemployment claims? Increased war spending in Afghanistan despite defacto bankruptcy of the nation? ] Obama said he would use the fall campaign season to remind voters of the sinking economy he inherited when he took office and what measures he has since put in place.

Defense cuts could slow D.C. economy for years (Washington Post) [ Well, giving credence to the 9/11 Truthers and a reason why the attacks were allowed to go forward and even in part why those mossad agents on the banks of the Hudson in Weehawken, n.j. were cheering as the twin towers were in flames, war, both legal and illegal when they’re greedy enough which is almost always, and war profiteering specifically, is very big business; but alas, more destructive, both home and abroad, than constructive in both real and economic terms; and then of course, the geopolitical toll which will linger far longer than the ephemeral short-term gains for the unscrupulous few. ( I had a full-professor who was also a CPA for my Cost Accounting Course as required for my MBA in Finance, evening program, NYU GBA. He referenced his own military experience in pointing out the folly of much of the military budgetary / spending process in terms of his duties which included each day firing off munitions (small mortars, ‘rockets’, etc.) at nothing whatsoever at all, if only to make sure at the end of the month (longer periods) more munitions / spending would have to be budgeted and purchased and so on. They’ve certainly come a long way in the ‘budgetary / spending’ process by creating wars to maintain same. This can never be justified; and, after all, the nation’s defacto bankrupt. ). What isn’t corrupt / fraudulent in washington d.c., or in America generally, for that matter? ] After surging during post-9/11 era, the industry now braces for a major contraction and layoffs that could produce a significant drag on region.

Unemployment Claims Not as Bullish as They Seem (Why? Kudrna:‘The Labor Department reported Thursday morning that new claims for unemployment dropped a seasonally adjusted 27,000 to 451,000. Unexpected bullish news, right? The markets immediately gapped-up on this information as the bulls found good reason to buy. Unexpected positive news is almost always met with a bullish move north as it’s rarely priced in. However, a useful tidbit of information about that shockingly large drop came out after the gap-up. Bloomberg reported that nine states didn't file claims data to the Labor Department in Washington because of the Labor Day holiday earlier this week. California and Virginia estimated their figures and the U.S. government estimated the other seven. Coincidence in the large drop or not? We will see when the next revision comes out but usually those revisions fail to make headlines as we are already focusing on future claims. This has been a great cover-up method for a long time…’

How Government Reporting Will Intensify the Inevitable Simon Maierhofer, On Friday September 10, 2010, 12:41 pm EDT ‘Natural carbonation keeps a champagne bottle under constant pressure. The more you shake the bottle, the higher the pressure gets and the further the cork will eventually fly. Figuratively speaking, the government has been shaking the bottle. Watch out when the cork pops. On August 10, the Associated Press reported that the Federal Reserve has found a new trick to jumpstart the economy. Below is the full quote that shows why we probably can't expect unbiased assessments coming out of Washington, or the Fed's corner: 'The Federal Reserve policymakers are pondering ways to jumpstart the economic recovery. The trick: making sure whatever they do or say doesn't rattle Wall Street.' Some of the recent government statistics have been 'interesting' no doubt, and we know the administration has spent trillions in an attempt to lift the economy, but would it go as far as actually fudging statistics? We'll examine potential cases for 'data spiking' in a moment, but for now we'll take a look at one of the most popular government statistics, which is misleading to say the least.
GDP - Like a Flag in the Wind
GDP reports are prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and are a science all in itself. GDP reports are often revised. The 'advance' estimate is published at the end of the first month following the close of a quarter. In addition to the 'advance' estimate, there are first and second revisions called the 'preliminary' and 'final' estimates. The 'final' estimate is reviewed annually, usually in July. Once every several years, the BEA reviews all data back to 1929. On July 30, the BEA lowered Q2 2010 growth from an estimated 2.7% to 2.4%. The real GDP for all three previous years was revised as well. It was lowered by 0.2% for 2007, it was lowered by 0.6% for 2008 and it was lowered by 0.4% for 2009 (see chart below)[chart]. In percentage terms, the real GDP for 2007 was revised down from 2.5% growth to 2.3%. The 2008 decrease was lowered from 1.9% to 2.8%, and 2009 growth was revised up from a 0.1% to a 0.2% increase. In essence, the BEA proved that the recession was (or is) much deeper and the alleged recovery much weaker than previously reported. Imagine if you would have based your 2007 and 2008 investment decisions on GDP reports. But wait, there is more. On August 27, the BEA lowered the Q2 2010 GDP growth from 2.4% to 1.6%.  The financial media, however, applauded the reduction since the final 1.6 number was still higher than the 1.4% economists expected. Stocks rallied over 2% that day.
Unemployment Numbers - Not Deserving of Your Trust

Unemployment in August increased from 9.5% to 9.6%, but that's ok. Why? According to the financial media, the increase of unemployment was due to an increase in labor force. An estimated 6.6 million students will be graduating and joining the labor force this year. An increasing labor force is a reality, not an excuse to rationalize higher unemployment numbers. The real unemployment rate (U-6) reported by the BLS (but neglected by the financial media) jumped from 16.5% to 16.7%. Nevertheless, stocks rallied nearly 3% when unemployment figures were released on September 3rd. According to the BLS, the manufacturing sector lost 27,000 jobs in August. This, however, contradicts the positive August ISM manufacturing report, which rose from 55.5% to 56.3%.  Here is the analysis from the Institute for Supply Management: 'A PMI in excess of 42 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. Therefore, the PMI indicates growth for the 16th consecutive month in the overall economy, as well as expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 13th consecutive month.' If you ask the unemployed, it doesn't feel like the manufacturing sector is improving.
Changing Rules to Accommodate Growth
Amidst the biggest financial meltdown since the Great Depression, the administration had to act quickly. The sheer amount of toxic assets overwhelmed the banking (NYSEArca: KBE - News) and financial sectors (NYSEArca: XLF - News), which led to the fall of Lehman Brothers and credit contraction around the globe (NYSEArca: EFA - News). It was impossible to eliminate trillions of bad loans or revive the ailing real estate market (NYSEArca: IYR - News). It was impossible to prop up faltering sectors like consumer discretionary (NYSEArca: XLY - News) and technology (NYSEArca: XLK - News). In short, it was impossible to change reality. It was, however, possible to change the prevailing perception and hide the root problems. In fact, it wasn't just possible; it proved to be fairly easy. The government simply urged the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to change some rules. On April 2, 2009, the FASB changed Rule 157. The ripple effect caused by massive real estate losses suffered by the 'too big to fail' banks (NYSEArca: IYF - News), as well as regional banks (NYSEArca: KRE - News), threatened the integrity of the entire system. The 157 Rule change allowed banks to park all their losses in a bucket called other comprehensive income (OCI). OCI appears on the balance sheet, but not on the income statement and thus does not affect earnings. In late 2009 and early 2010, banks exceeded their earnings expectations - at least on paper - which created the perception that the economy was recovering. As it turns out, the timing for the Rule 157 change was perfect and coincided with the biggest stock market rally in recent history. A 50%+ run in the Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) intensified the perception that the economy was on the mend. Before the accounting rule change and other government efforts, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter predicted the biggest rally since the October 2007 all-time highs. Via the March 2nd Trend Change Alert, the newsletter advised to close out previously recommended short positions (some gained 100% and more) and buy long and leveraged ETFs, many of which gained 50%, 100% or more.
Back to the Future
All was well until April 2010. Prior to the April highs, Mr. Bernanke, Mr. Geithner, and the President were campaigning for their fair share of credit for rescuing and reviving the country. Rather than examining and disclosing some of the government's questionable methods, the media jumped on the bandwagon and tickled the alleged 'saviors' egos. By doing so, the pressure in the champagne bottle was increased. More investors bought stocks under the mistaken view the economy had improved. This increased the pool of stock owners and the pipeline of sellers. As per the most recent GDP numbers, investors found out that the state of the economy is worse than previously thought. Furthermore, the government has lost credibility and some of its associated ability to inflate stock market confidence. Watch out, once the cork blows!  Investors leaving the market could send prices falling as fast as champagne gushing out of a bottle.  In fact, this exodus probably started already. On April 16, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter noted that: 'The cork seems to have popped. Reality is setting in. The pieces are in place for a major decline.' Following the April highs, the ensuing decline erased eight months worth of gains in a mere 22 trading days. An initial wave of somewhat critical media reports quickly faded as the stock market stabilized. Sideways trading tends to calm the nerves and get investors re-engaged before the hammer drops again. What's the moral of the story? Faulty government data and trend-following media reports tend to distort the real picture and postpone and intensify the inevitable.
The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter combines the analysis of various indicators with common sense and out-of-the-box thinking to formulate a short, mid, and long-term forecast.’

Successful Economic Policies? For Whom? Last week, in the wake of another uptick in the official unemployment rate, the administration continued to claim that their economic policies were working, just not fast enough.

Can America Recover When The Majority Of Americans See A Double Dip, And Think The Country Is Fundamentally Broken? Earlier this week we asked, can the economy really recover when 92% of the population says the economy is garbage in a survey? That was the number in a WSJ/NBC poll, and it would seem to indicate a major headwind in terms of sentiment.

IMF Resumes Direct Gold Dumping, Sells 10 Tons Of The Shiny Metal To Bangladesh It has been a while since the IMF sold gold directly to sovereign countries.

U.S. drops in competitiveness ( Washington Post ) [ Fourth place for pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america? I don’t think so; not in their wildest dreams, and there’s a lot of that in america these days, but little else. Reality says america’s place should be in the twenties at best.

Obama rating hits new low Overall, 41% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president’s performance. Fifty-eight percent (58%) disapprove.

The Anniversary of 9/11 Washington’s Blog | If even the 9/11 Commissioners don’t buy the official story, why do you?

Congressman Ron Paul Hints At 2012 Presidential Campaign Steve Watson | “It’s something I think about every single day.”

Hamilton and Kean Call for Domestic Terrorism Agency Kurt Nimmo | A bipartisan effort is underway to demonize patriotic Americans as domestic terrorists.

Doctors Giving Veterans Questionnaire to Determine Mental Illness Infowars.com | In 2007, a bill passed in the House and Senate allowing government to deny Second Amendment to veterans.

Drudgereport: Thousands of Afghans protest Quran-burning plan...
Tennessee preacher to burn Quran...
Topeka, Kansas church vows burning...
Protester plans to burn on Wyoming's Capitol steps...
FLASHBACK: Muslims Burn Bibles and Destroy Crosses...
Ground Zero imam ignores pastor's two-hour deadline...

12 soldiers face trial after Afghan civilians 'were killed for sport and their fingers collected as trophies'...

U.S. drops in competitiveness ( Washington Post ) [ Fourth place for pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america? I don’t think so; not in their wildest dreams, and there’s a lot of that in america these days, but little else. Reality says america’s place should be in the twenties at best. Previous: U.S. drops in competitiveness (Washington Post) [ Singapore, Sweden, … ? Don’t make me laugh! From defacto bankrupt, meaningfully lawless america’s perspective, this fallen ranking was a gift and one must be asking, what were they smoking (or whose money were they taking?) and is the rest of the world really that bad off? ] Large deficits and a weakened financial system make the U.S. less competitive in the global economy, according to World Economic Forum's new ranking. Sweden Is A Better Place To Do Business Than The U.S. – [Well, that part is true, but …]. ‘…Sweden, by contrast, has “the world’s most transparent and efficient public institutions, with very low levels of corruption and undue influence.” Which loosely translated from wonk-speak sounds like, “You’re better off dealing with honest socialists than crony capitalists.”’ [ True enough, but I still don’t buy it (the rankings), especially america’s fourth place (as opposed to lower) ranking.]

Capitol Hill workers rack up back taxes ( Washington Post ) [ When you consider the pervasive corruption in their ranks and the redundancy / non-productive nature of government jobs, the case becomes irrefutably stronger for the abolition of same; particularly the lifetime appointees along with their plush accouterments, courts, etc.. Then there’s tiny tim geithner’s tax red flag, scofflaw hypocrit that he is. ] Capitol Hill employees owed $9.3 million in overdue taxes at the end of last year, a sliver of the $1 billion owed by federal workers nationwide but one with potential political ramifications for members of Congress.

Yeah! The lack of prosecutions and teeth therein has led to continued and bolder frauds and a complicit u.s. government! Stocks extend gains after drop in jobless claims [ Washington Post ] I was very disappointed to see this headline without disclaimor. Very disheartening.

[ It’s really quite amazing, and you won’t get this from the ‘money honeys’ or other mainstream drivel (actually I got this from the CBS news reporter, 1070am radio, but NOT their business report), the so-called better than expected jobs report (albeit bad at 451,000 continuing claims) was actually based upon federal government estimates for those reports that were not submitted owing to the holiday … and we all know how conservative the u.s. government is in making estimates, especially in election cycles when desperation abounds … riiiiight! ( Drudgereport: GOV'T MAKES IT UP: JOBS NUMBERS 'ESTIMATED' FOR WEEK... 'BETTER THAN EXPECTED'... ) Then there’s the ‘need more capital’ news from among the strongest players in the European sector, viz., Germany’s Deutsch Bank, which can only mean, particularly in light of their adoption of the fraudulent wall street american mark to anything valuation of worthless paper, still out there in the many (hundreds?) of trillions. (see infra, ‘…ECB chief economist Jurgen Stark tells German MPs that the banking system is insolvent. This led to complete shock because the newspaper headlines from July suggested the opposite. The German policy establishment is under the illusion that its banking system is sound because it passed what turned out to be fraudulent stress test…’) Now, if the German banking system’s insolvent, is there a term for double, triple, quadrupal, etc., insolvent for what the american banking system must be? One doesn’t need clairvoyance to know that only bodes ill. Stocks Cling to Skinny Gains, Can't Shake Banking Concerns ]

The Eerie Implications of Market Volume and Mutual Fund Flows ‘… Here's a more compelling question: If two-thirds or more of daily volume is a function of high-frequency trading, what are the implications for index prices over the long haul? A year has passed since I posted some charts illustrating the incredible ratio of S&P 500 volume devoted to five financial stocks. Today's game is no doubt different from last September. It may be about making money, but it probably has little to do with investing — which may explain a lot about current volume metrics and mutual fund flows. I'll update these volume charts periodically in the months ahead.’

Report From Europe: Fall in U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Cheers Stocks The Mole … Today is Rosh Hashanah, the jewish New Year, in which it is believed the names of the righteous are recorded in the book of life, those in the middle ground are given ten days to repent and become good, while the wicked are deleted from the book of life. In essence, it is make or break time for the year. One wonders if we might be entering a similar phase for Ireland with landmark decisions over the fate of Anglo Irish Bank taken (with the cost of the funeral to be know in early October) and the funding cliff for Irish banks to refund some €25bn of maturing debt this month pending (though I feel fears over their capacity to roll this debt is way overblown)… Today’s Market Moving Stories

• Figures showed that the July US trade deficit declined more than expected today and reached -$42.8bn. Thus, June’s spurt to $-49.8bn seems to have been a blip in the data. In July, total exports gained M/M 1.8 percent while imports decreased 2.1 percent. As for growth, foreign trade is still set to be a slight drag on GDP in 2010Q3. After all, imports started into Q3 on a very elevated level (and significantly above the 2010Q2 average). However, the drag will be much less than Q2’s -3.4pp.
• While US initial jobless claims fell 27k to 451k last week. Claims moved sideways since the start of the year (the average since Jan is 466k), indicating that the improvement on the labour market did make scant headway. All in all, after a long spell of weak data, today’s releases offer some respite.
• In a combative speech, Obama conceded his policies have “fed the perception that Washington is still ignoring the middle class,” was billed as a major economic address to unveil a new round of proposals to kick-start a flagging economic recovery. The president did introduce three new policy proposals the White House has been rolling out for nearly a week: $50 billion in additional infrastructure spending, a permanent and expanded research and experimentation tax credit and a measure allowing businesses to write 100 percent of their investment costs off their taxes through 2011. But Mr. Obama’s speech was far more about politics than economics.
• ECB chief economist Jurgen Stark tells German MPs that the banking system is insolvent. This led to complete shock because the newspaper headlines from July suggested the opposite. The German policy establishment is under the illusion that its banking system is sound because it passed what turned out to be fraudulent stress test. Jurgen Stark is reported to have told a group of Christian Democrat MPs in Berlin that the German banking sector as a whole is undercapitalised. More controversially, he advised them to privatise the saving banks – the ultimate taboo because the savings banks are consider sacrosanct. FT Deutschland reported that Stark also relayed the assessment of US bankers that the German system could not conceivably survive the introduction of the tougher capital rules of Basel III.
• Japan has no choice but to intervene in currency markets to prevent the yen’s strength from decimating the nation’s industry, Barclays Capital said. The yen reached 83.35 versus the dollar yesterday, the highest since May 1995, threatening Japan’s export-led recovery. Industry and jobs won’t likely return from abroad even if the currency weakens eventually, and that prospect may force policy makers to intervene “in the immediate future,” said Tetsufumi Yamakawa, co-head of Japan research at Barclays. “If the yen’s strength lasts at current levels, factories, investment and jobs will all move overseas,” Yamakawa said at a forum in Tokyo yesterday.

• Australian job growth exceeded forecasts in August, sending the unemployment rate down to 5.1% and driving the nation’s currency higher on speculation the central bank will resume raising interest rates. Employers added 30,900 workers in August, exceeding the median forecast for 25,000 in a Bloomberg News survey of 25 economists, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today. The jobless rate matched the lowest level since January 2009.,,

Worth a read: Michael Lewis has a field day: Beware of Greeks Bearing Bonds (Vanity Fair)

Tiny tim geithner Says China Needs to Let Market Drive Up Yuan Bloomberg | U.S. Treasury Secretary Tiny tim geithner said China must let the yuan rise more quickly to show trading partners that it’s following through on its promises [ Riiiiight! … Everyone’s just clamoring for american advice on the global meltdown precipitated by ‘american advice and consent’.]

Bad Math - Why The Bullish Case Doesn't Add Up Simon Maierhofer, On Wednesday September 8, 2010, 3:19 pm EDT
1+1=2 2+2=4
The simplicity and accuracy of those calculations is undeniable. How about this equation? Fundamental Weakness + Technical Sell Signals + Overpriced Stocks = Lower Stock Prices. This calculation also seems to be simple and accurate. Let's look at some equations that don't make sense.
1+1=3 or Better Earnings = Higher Stock Prices

2+2=5 or Weaker than Expected Economy = Rising Stock Prices

3+3=7 or Positive Analyst Estimates = Higher Stock Prices

4+4=9 or Technical Sell Signals = Higher Stock Prices
5+5=11 or Overvalued Stocks = Higher Prices

Too Big To Fail Global Banks Will Collapse Between Now and First Quarter 2011 Matthias Chang | Quantitative Easing spearheaded by the Chairman of Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, delayed the inevitable demise of the fiat shadow money banking system slightly over 18 months.

“I Am Jim Cramer And I Approve Of The President’s Message (Because The Market Moved Up By 3 Points)” There are women (and men) who will do anything for a price. Then there is Jim Cramer.

Jim Sinclair: Strap In For Gold’s Move To $1650 By January Now that expectations for Gold at very significant prices are being offered by various rational sources, there is one thing you can be sure of. That one thing is $1650.

Obama Added More to National Debt in First 19 Months Than All Presidents from Washington Through Reagan Combined, Says Gov’t Data In the first 19 months of the Obama administration, the federal debt held by the public increased by $2.5260 trillion, which is more than the cumulative total of the national debt held by the public that was amassed by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan.

Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.

Castro Admits Communist Economics a Failure

Pastor Terry Jones Calls off Koran Burning, Ground Zero Mosque May Be Moved Pastor Terry Jones today canceled his plan to burn Korans at his Florida church after claiming he has struck a deal with a New York Muslim cleric to relocate the so-called Ground Zero mosque.

UN Blueprint: Dismantle Middle Class, Build World Government A UN blueprint for putting the organization back at the forefront of global governance alarmingly reveals the agenda to re-brand global warming as “overpopulation” as a means of dismantling the middle classes while using “global redistribution of wealth” and increased immigration to reinvigorate the pursuit of a one world government.

US soldier ‘kept Afghan body parts’ At least two of the five US soldiers charged in the deaths of three Afghan civilians had kept body parts taken from Afghan corpses and threatened subordinates, according to new documents released by the US army.

Random Pat-Downs Turn PATCO Into Police State “We can conduct any kind of search we want,” said McClintock. “We could ask TSA to bring wands or X-ray machines like they have in airports, though we don’t think that’s appropriate for PATCO riders at this time.”

Gerald Celente Calls Out General Petraeus On Koran Warning Hypocrisy “You hear someone like General Petraeus saying burning the Koran could be dangerous to American troops – hey General Petraeus – how about invading Arab countries and occupying them and killing innocent people? You think that could be dangerous to American troops? Oh no no, our foreign policy has nothing to do with this – they don’t like Americans because we go to Disneyland and shop at Walmart.”

Ground Zero Mosque Imam: If You Don’t Build It, They Will Attack Moving the project to another location would strengthen Islamist radicals’ ability to recruit followers and will likely increase violence against Americans, the imam said.”

Clinton Talks World Government at the Council On Foreign Relations Kurt Nimmo | Simply substitute the phrase “American leadership” with “leadership by the globalist cabal.”

Barack Obama: Puppet on a String Jurriaan Maessen | The United States is unfolding an agenda that has been pushed for by international banks in conjunction with the CIA.

Business as Usual: Fed Court Slaps Down Torture Lawsuit Against CIA Kurt Nimmo | Once again, national security trumps the rule of law and the corporate media provides cover.

UN Blueprint: Dismantle Middle Class, Build World Government Paul Joseph Watson | Globalists set out agenda to re-brand global warming as overpopulation in bid to impose carbon taxes.

Claims of Recovery But Results Nowhere To Be Found Bob Chapman | The American public is alarmed at what they see going on.

Drudgereport: GOV'T MAKES IT UP: JOBS NUMBERS 'ESTIMATED' FOR WEEK...
'BETTER THAN EXPECTED'...

Treasuries Tumble Following Weak 30-Year Sale...

600 Lockheed execs take buyout (Washington Post) [ Talk about having your fingers on the economic / fiscal pulse of the nation. This should be a new leading economic indicator which, unlike many of the others, is less prone to manipulation. All hail, the ‘golden goose’ is dead! Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: U.S. Government Bond Defaults Inevitable … This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ] The move reflects a shift underway as defense contractors scramble to prepare for Pentagon budget cuts.

Reform's unexpected fallout (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That reform thing … everything but prosecution of the perps who are back to their churn and earn ways as some of their worthless paper moving ways have been legislatively sanctioned / adopted in the form of mark to anything valuation of worthless assets / paper which debacle is waiting to rear that ugly head! ] Nation's battle for regulatory reform wasn't supposed to have this kind of collateral damage. But the new law is threatening the existence of a day-care center, which has operated for 24 years in the District.

U.S. drops in competitiveness (Washington Post) [ Singapore, Sweden, … ? Don’t make me laugh! From defacto bankrupt, meaningfully lawless america’s perspective, this fallen ranking was a gift and one must be asking, what were they smoking (or whose money were they taking?) and is the rest of the world really that bad off? ] Large deficits and a weakened financial system make the U.S. less competitive in the global economy, according to World Economic Forum's new ranking. Sweden Is A Better Place To Do Business Than The U.S. – [Well, that part is true, but …]. ‘…Sweden, by contrast, has “the world’s most transparent and efficient public institutions, with very low levels of corruption and undue influence.” Which loosely translated from wonk-speak sounds like, “You’re better off dealing with honest socialists than crony capitalists.”’ [ True enough, but I still don’t buy it (the rankings), especially america’s fourth place (as opposed to lower) ranking.]

Afghans question U.S.-style capitalism (Washington Post) [ As indeed they should inasmuch as the same is neither capitalism nor american style in the traditional sense referenced here. Defacto bankrupt, in decline, and pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless america is a nation unworthy of emulation! ] Kabul Bank became the pride of Afghanistan's financial system by offering the conveniences and thrills of 21st-century capitalism. But the scene outside the bank's headquarters Wednesday was far from that modern ideal.

Fed sees widespread slowdown of growth (Washington Post) [ Stocks rally anyway … the ‘miracle of computerized programmed trading’ even if the math and fundamentals don’t add up …

Bad Math - Why The Bullish Case Doesn't Add Up Simon Maierhofer, On Wednesday September 8, 2010, 3:19 pm EDT
1+1=2 2+2=4
The simplicity and accuracy of those calculations is undeniable. How about this equation? Fundamental Weakness + Technical Sell Signals + Overpriced Stocks = Lower Stock Prices. This calculation also seems to be simple and accurate. Let's look at some equations that don't make sense.
1+1=3 or Better Earnings = Higher Stock Prices

Earnings season is over. Most companies beat earnings but issued cautious forecasts. This is particularly true of the tech (NYSEArca: XLK - News) and financial sectors (NYSEArca: XLF - News).  By large, profits are still driven by cost-cutting, not organic growth. Retail sales, which make up about one third of the economy, continued to fall after the second quarter ended. Additionally, the expectation that taxes will go up might have moved some companies to pull some of next year's income into this year. This can't be good for Q3 and Q4 profits. As we've seen in January and April of 2010, positive earnings reports are not bullish for stocks, especially if future guidance is weak.
2+2=5 or Weaker than Expected Economy = Rising Stock Prices
On July 30, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) lowered the Q2 Gross Domestic Product (GD) growth from an estimated 2.7% to 2.4%. On August 27, the Q2 GDP was lowered further to a jaw-dropping 1.6%. But it didn't stop there. The real GDP for all three previous years was revised as well. It was lowered by 0.2% for 2007, it was lowered by 0.6% for 2008, and it was lowered by 0.4% for 2009. In percentage terms, the real GDP for 2007 was revised down from 2.5% growth to 2.3%. The 2008 decrease was lowered from 1.9% to 2.8% and 2009 growth was revised up from a 0.1% to a 0.2% increase. In essence, the BEA proved that the recession was (or is) much deeper than perceived and the alleged recovery much weaker than previously reported. This comes as no surprise, as the key sector of the financial debacle - real estate (NYSEArca: IYR - News) - remains in a funk. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of vacant properties, including foreclosures, residences for sale, and vacation homes, reached 18.9 million. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to lose money. Has anyone ever wondered how banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) can make money on the same kind of loans that pushed Fannie and Freddie to the brink of ruin? Since bad real estate loans triggered the post 2007 economic meltdown, how can the economy recover without real estate leading the way?
3+3=7 or Positive Analyst Estimates = Higher Stock Prices
A recent Associated Press article observed that 'analysts only seem to hit the mark with their estimates in the strongest economic times (2003 - 2006).' Why? 'The problem is that analysts get most of their information from the companies they cover. Corporate managers have every incentive to stay positive for as long as they can.' Is that true; as true as 1+1=2? On April 26, the day the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) topped at 1,219, the Dow (DJI: ^DJI) at 11,258, the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) at 2,535, Bloomberg reported the following: 'U.S. stocks cheapest since 1990 on analyst estimates.' Contrary to analyst estimates, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter stated that 'the potential exists that Monday's high marked a significant top.' Since April, the broad market dropped as much as 17%. In March 2009, with the Dow below 7000 and the S&P below 700, analysts lowered their earnings forecasts from $113 in April 2008 to $40. On March 2nd, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter sent out a Trend Change Alert and recommended to buy long and leveraged long ETFs such as the Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSEArca: FAS - News) and Ultra S&P 500 ProShares (NYSEArca: SSO - News).

If you care to know, until recently, analysts estimated that earnings for the S&P 500 will exceed their 2006 all-time high, in 2011. Based on that assumption, stocks are cheap. How about that for flawed math?
4+4=9 or Technical Sell Signals = Higher Stock Prices
The 200-day moving average (MA) is one of the best-known technical indicators, as it provides delineation between technically healthy and sick stocks. On May 20, the S&P closed below the 200-day MA for the first time since late 2007. Every attempt to rally and stay above it has since failed miserably. On July 2, the 50-day MA for the S&P dropped below its 200-day MA for the first time since late 2007. The same holds true for mid caps (NYSEArca: MDY - News), small caps (NYSEArca: IWM - News) and nearly all individual sector indexes. For good reason, this is called a Death Cross. Over the past ten years, the death cross has been accurate 75% of the time, with a 19.72% average return on six winning trades and 6.95% average return on two losing trades. [chart] In addition to the Death Cross, there are two head and shoulders patterns, one in the making for over 10 years, and the other has the breadth suggestive of a major meltdown (see September ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter).
5+5=11 or Overvalued Stocks = Higher Prices
As explained above, based on overly optimistic earnings estimates, analysts believe that stocks are cheap. Rather than basing a future outlook on estimates, it makes sense to use facts as a foundation for any outlook. Why add an extra variable to what's already an unpredictable market? Ask Yale Professor Robert Shiller, who's done extensive research on the subject of valuations, and he'll tell you stocks are historically overvalued based on the current P/E ratio. Compare today's P/E ratio with the P/E ratio seen at major market bottoms, and you'll see that stocks are overvalued by more than 50%. Another gauge that doesn't lie is dividend yields. A company's dividends are a direct reflection of cash flow and financial health. The current yield is 2.65% for the Dow and 2.05% for the S&P.  Dividends are close to their all-time low set in 1999 (we know what happened then). This means that companies are cash strapped and overvalued. Looking at a long-term chart of dividend yields plotted against stock prices shows clearly that markets don't bottom until dividends skyrocket. Just as ice doesn't thaw unless the temperature moves above 32 degrees, the economy won't thaw and show signs of life unless P/E ratios drop to, and dividend yields rise to, levels seen at major market bottoms. The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed analysis of four valuation metrics, along with short-term target ranges for stocks and the ultimate market bottom. Based on simple math and common sense, the July lows are certainly in danger. But it doesn't stop there.

Report From Europe: Panic Amongst the PIIGS (Seeking Alpha – The Mole) [ Sounds far from hunky-dory to me and as the wall street frauds would have you believe and used as a rallying point this day. Total b*** s***! ] ‘U.S. stocks fell for the first time in five days Tuesday, ending the longest streak of gains for the S&P 500 Index since July, on concern the European debt crisis may worsen and hamper global growth. Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) fell at least 2% as European banks slid on concern stress tests understated potential losses from sovereign debt. Meanwhile ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron (CVX) slumped more than 1.2% as crude oil fell the most in a week. But Oracle (ORCL) rallied 5.9% after naming Mark Hurd, former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) as president. Today, despite some token buying by the ECB and a decent Portuguese bond auction, the bond vigilantes have again been out doing their worst pushing the Irish / German 10 year spread out to levels not seem since 1988 when the debt GDP ratio was 118% . Indeed yesterday saw the worst single daily performance by Irish Government bonds ever in terms of spread widening. Greece is also back in the crosshairs in response to a downward revision to Q2 Greek GDP to -1.8% from -1.5% originally, and on news the National Bank of Greece plans to raise Eur2.8 bln of capital. The latter may be especially alarming in the current environment, but really reflects a desire for extra security and also a cash hoard to potentially spend on weaker rivals. ATEbank stands prominently in this respect. (picture)
Today’s Market Moving Stories
The stand-out mover in FX today was GBP, which rallied sharply, largely it would seem on news that Vodafone (VOD) has sold its stake in China Mobile and intends to use 70% of the proceeds (£4.2bn) to fund share buybacks. The macros community had started to build GBP shorts in recent days and this M&A flow prompted a flurry of short-covering, assisted as well by better than feared Halifax house price data.
Irish Banking
According to the Irish Times this morning, the bank’s chairman has stated that a statement on Anglo should be expected today. Who will make it or what the nature of the announcement will be is not evident, but keep eyes peeled around 4pm. Recent media reports have indicated strongly that an orderly wind down of the bank over 10-15yrs is the new preferred option. But what the markets are really looking for is an update on the total FINAL bottom line kitchen sink cost of the bailout and whether its closer to Eur 25bn or S&P’s recent & much criticized Eur 35bn figure. UPDATE – SEE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS POST. ..
Japan
Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said he is prepared to take “bold” action on currencies, including intervention in foreign-exchange markets, after the yen reached a 15-year high against the dollar. “We will take bold action if necessary and naturally that can include intervention,” Noda told lawmakers in parliament today. “We have to use every option available as a strong yen is likely to have a severe impact on companies.” The yen rose to 83.52 per dollar yesterday, the highest level since June 1995, as concerns about weakening growth in the U.S. and Europe bolstered the currency’s appeal as a refuge.
UK Outlook
A U.K. index of hiring for permanent jobs in August showed the slowest growth pace in 10 months, KPMG LLP and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said. The gauge of full-time job placements dropped to 56.3 from 60.2 in July, the groups said in an e-mailed report today in London. That’s the slowest pace since October. Readings above 50 indicate an increase in hiring. The U.K. is bracing itself for a period of austerity as Prime Minister David Cameron pledges to reduce the country’s record budget deficit. U.K. shop price inflation accelerated in August as the price of food rose at the quickest annual pace in over a year, a survey showed Tuesday. Total shop price inflation was 1.7% on the year in August and 0.1% on the month, compared with a 1.5% annual rate and 0.1% monthly decline in prices in July, the monthly survey by the British Retail Consortium showed. That was due to a more-than-one percentage point rise in the cost of food. Food prices were 3.8% higher in August than a year earlier, while food prices rose 0.2% from July. And July’s UK industrial production figures suggest that the manufacturing sector continues to enjoy steady, if unspectacular, growth. The 0.3% rise in manufacturing output was the third such gain in a row and pushed the yoy rate of output growth up to a new cycle high of 4.9%. Overall industrial production saw a similar monthly gain. For now, then, the output data are defying the rather gloomier tone of some of the recent industrial surveys, such as last week’s CIPS report on manufacturing. But it is worth remembering that the surveys normally lead the hard data by a few months, so it would be no surprise if output growth were to start to weaken over the next few months. And even if output posts similar increases in August and September, industry won’t make as strong a contribution to GDP growth in Q3 as it did in Q2. Overall, UK industry is still doing pretty well, but it may not last too much longer. (picture)

Company / Equity News

• UK homebuilder Berkeley Group has issued an interim management statement this morning covering the period from 1st May 2010 to 31st August 2010. The group pointed out that demand for properties over the period has been resilient, particularly in London which has a shortage of supply and specific demand from international purchasers. Outside of London, which is more reliant on the UK domestic economy, a lack of credit availability and weak consumer confidence is weighing on transactions currently.
• Barratt Developments also reported full year results this morning. The group reported a full-year loss of £118.4m compared to a loss of £468.6m. Market expectations were for a loss of £125m. Revenue declined by 11% to 2.04bn with the group selling 11,377 homes during the period, compared with 13,277 last year. The group’s operating margin increased to 5.9% from 1.8% a year earlier. The group expects a ‘modest’ increase in average selling price this year, however the group noted that the outlook for new housing ‘remains challenging’. For clients looking for exposure to a UK home builder, Persimmon is my preferred play.
• Securities firms (investment banks) around the world will cut as many as 80,000 jobs in the next 18 months as revenue growth begins to slow, said Meredith Whitney, the former Oppenheimer & Co. analyst who now runs her own firm. The reductions, about 10 percent of current levels, will come after 2010 compensation payments. “The key product drivers of Wall Street’s revenues and profits over the past decade have been in a structural decline over the past three years,” Whitney said in the report. “2010 marks the first year in many in which Wall Street-centric firms will go through structural changes.”
• Vodafone’s $6.6 billion sale of its stake in China Mobile Ltd. is the biggest divestment since Chief Executive Officer Vittorio Colao took charge in 2008. Investors want to know what’s next. Vodafone sold its 3.2 percent stake in China’s largest mobile phone company today. About 70 percent of the proceeds will be returned to shareholders through a stock repurchase and the rest will be used to pay down debt, Newbury, England-based Vodafone said in a statement yesterday.
• Nokia Oyj, the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones, has a lot riding on its annual showcase event next week as it tries to claw back lost ground to Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone and devices based on Google’s (GOOG) Android software. The Finnish company is likely to focus attention at Nokia World in London on its high-end Symbian smartphone line, including the touch screen N8, its latest effort to take on Android and iPhone handsets.
• Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt said the company plans to extend its Web television service from U.S. viewers to global consumers in 2011. Google has an agreement with Sony Corp. (SNE) to launch Web TV in the U.S. this fall, while Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF.PK), the world’s largest television manufacturer, said today it may make sets run by Google’s software to compete with Sony and Apple Inc. in the market for TVs that access movies, shows and games online.
• The life of Germany’s nuclear power plants will be extended by up to 15 years under a deal agreed between energy companies and the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany’s energy giants will pay [euro]15 billion to fund research into renewable energy and Berlin will, in return, set aside a 2000 agreement forced by the Schroder government to wind down all nuclear energy plants by 2025.
• According to the FT, Ryanair (RYAAY) may return to the market for a purchase of up to 300 airplanes, the Financial Times said late Tuesday, citing an interview with chief executive Michael O’ Leary. O’Leary told the FT his company also plans on writing to aviation authorities asking to use a single pilot for short-haul flights, the report on the FT website said.
• Evidence emerged yesterday that the strained relations of late between Tullow (TUWOY.PK) and the Ugandan Government over the issue of tax arising from the Heritage Oil transaction eased somewhat based on comments attributed to the Energy Minister. Questioned on the Government stance regarding the recently rescinded Kingfisher licence in Block 3A and Tullow’s ability to redress the situation, the Energy Minister appeared to soften the Government position indicating a favorable response should Tullow apply.
• Dana Petroleum (DNPXF.PK) offered a strong defence this morning against the unsolicited offer of £18 per share from the Korean National Oil Company (KNOC) and also announced the widely anticipated acquisition of Petro-Canada’s UK assets for a cash consideration of £240m ($372m).

And finally UPDATE – Text of announcement on Anglo Irish
The Minister for Finance today briefed his Government colleagues on the strategic options for the future of Anglo Irish Bank. The Minister conveyed to the Government the views of the Board of Anglo Irish Bank, the Central Bank, the National Treasury Management Agency, the Department of Finance, the EU Commission and his own assessment of the position.The Government decided that Anglo Irish Bank will be split into a Funding Bank and an Asset Recovery Bank. Anglo Irish Bank has not expanded its loan book since it was nationalised in early 2009 and this will remain the case. It is intended that in due course the Recovery Bank will be sold in whole or in part or that its assets will be run off over a period of time. The guaranteed position of depositors will be unchanged by the new arrangements and no action is required of them as a result of today’s announcement. The depositors will become customers of the Funding Bank which will be fully capitalized and continue as a regulated bank. In order to restore the reputation of the Irish Financial System it is essential to bring finality to the problem of Anglo Irish Bank – our most distressed institution. The Government’s primary objective in dealing with Anglo Irish Bank has been to minimise the cost of this distressed bank to the Irish taxpayer. The Board of Anglo Irish Bank submitted its preferred option to the Minister and to the European Commission at the end of May for consideration under State Aid rules. The board’s plan envisaged splitting the bank into an asset management company and a new good bank. The asset management company would have managed out over time the bank’s lower quality assets remaining after the transfers to NAMA. The new good bank would have managed the remaining share of the loan book, retained the bank’s deposit funding and sought new lending opportunities to grow the bank. The Minister acknowledges the good faith and hard work of the board in producing a credible proposal for the future of the bank. However, the Government has concluded that this plan in its current form does not now provide the most viable and sustainable solution to ensure the continued stability of the Irish banking system.
Resolution Proposal
In these circumstances, the Government has decided to opt for a variation of the board’s restructuring proposal. The Government’s decision does not affect existing guarantee arrangements. Under the restructuring plan, the Funding Bank will be a Government-backed/guaranteed specialist deposit bank which will contain the bank’s deposit book. It will be a stand-alone, regulated bank, completely separated from Anglo’s loan assets and it will be owned directly by the Minister for Finance. This bank will not engage in any lending, but will provide a secure home for Anglo’s depositors and any new customers who wish to deposit their funds with it. Depositors with the Funding Bank will be completely insulated from the future performance of the rest of the current Anglo Irish Bank loan book. The Asset Recovery Bank will also be a licensed regulated bank. Its dedicated focus will be on the work-out over a period of time of the assets not being transferred to NAMA in a manner which maximises the return to the taxpayer.
Costs
The Government believes that it is essential to identify, with as much certainty as possible, the final cost for the restructuring and resolution of the bank. This will underpin international financial confidence in Ireland. Accordingly, the Central Bank will determine the appropriate levels of capital needed in both institutions. Its decision will be announced by October.
EU Commission
The Department of Finance has conducted intensive discussions with the EU Commission in recent weeks about the future of Anglo Irish Bank. The Minister for Finance met Commissioner Almunia last Monday to discuss the issue. A formal detailed plan is being prepared for submission to the Commission for approval.
The Minister said: “Today’s decision by the Government will provide certainty about the future of Anglo Irish Bank. Resolution of this, our most distressed institution, is essential to the promotion of confidence and stability in our financial system.”
8th September 2010
ENDS
Brian Meenan
Press Office
PH: 6045875
email: [email protected] ‘

Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

So Broke We Can’t Pay Attention Howard Beale | You spent the whole day yesterday worrying about today, and now that it’s here, was it worth it?

The Financial Industry Is A ‘Gigantic Parasite’ We Don’t Need Anymore Vincent Fernando | Strong words from ex-Morgan Stanley Andy Xie.

Deflation Never Had A Chance What the deflationists fail to acknowledge is that in a purely fiat monetary system deflation is a choice not an inevitability. To put it in simple terms, if a government is willing to sacrifice its currency there is absolutely no way deflation can take hold in a modern monetary system.

There Are Now Enough Vacant Properties In China To House Over Half Of America On the assumption that each flat serves as a home to a typical Chinese family of three (parents and one child), the vacant properties could accommodate 200 million people, which account for more than 15% of the country’s 1.3 billion population.

Drudgereport: BLIAR BUSTED: Former UK PM's autobiography includes dialogue from meeting with 'Queen' -- taken from fiction movie! Developing...
REV: THE BURNING WILL PROCEED...
'Meant to Be a Warning'...
Vatican: 'Outrageous'...
NYPD: 'Dangerous'...
Holder: 'Idiotic'...
Clinton: 'Disgraceful'...
Palin: 'Unnecessary provocation'...
FBI: Retaliation 'Likely'...

Petraeus Speaks Out on Quran Burning...
Endangers Troops...
Pastor Says Church Not Deterred...
Hartford City Council meetings to begin with Muslim prayers...
2 SOLDIERS KILLED IN IRAQ, 9 WOUNDED

ADDICTED TO STIMULUS: $50,000,000,000 MORE
Dems wary of WH's huge new spending plan...
Obama takes aim at Boehner... 'They talk about me like a dog'… [ If the shoe fits ... President Obama calls African-Americans a ‘mongrel people’ President Obama waded into the national race debate in an unlikely setting and with an unusual choice of words: telling daytime talk show hosts that African-Americans are “sort of a mongrel people.” ]

'They talk about me like a dog'...
FLASHBACK: President-Elect Obama: Mutt 'Like Me'...
'Even liberal elites concede that Obama's presidency is crumbling'...
BARONE: Sinking with Obama, Democrats plan political triage...

Muslims Protest Plans to Burn Quran...
'Death to America'...

Fears rise as EU nations aim to raise borrowing...
Roubini: More than 400 US Banks Will Fail...

'COMBAT OVER': US TROOPS BATTLE IN BAGHDAD...

Why the Furious Bear Will Come Back - Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday September 7, 2010, 4:34 pm ‘The Top Ten List has become a staple of David Letterman's Late Show. We don't quite have the space to discuss ten reasons why the bear market isn't over (if we did, we'd probably put you to sleep), but we'll take a crack at a Top Five List. Without further ado, here it is:

#1: Forget About Earnings

Using past earnings numbers to project future performance is like basing your Roulette bet on the numbers that won previously… [chart]

#2: Budget Deficits

The 2011 U.S. deficit projection for 2011 was raised from $1.2 trillion to $1.4 trillion...

#3: Banks - Nothing but Fluff

…Fundamentally, however, nothing had changed… 'The house of cards was much bigger and started to stretch beyond Wall Street…The government postponed the collapse of the 'whole deck' thus far. As of recent, however, some disturbing information has surfaced. Bank of America admitted to hiding bad assets and Goldman's 82% profit drop shows that the days of fat trading profits - such as seen in Q3 and Q4 2009 and Q1 2010 - are over… It doesn't take an economist to know that taking money from your savings account and transferring it to your checking account can't be counted as income.

#4 Real Estate

In late July, the market allegedly rallied because new home sales jumped 24% to 330,000 units in June. We feel the urge to put this number into perspective. May sales were revised from an original 300,000 units to 267,000 units - this is an all-time low. Bouncing off from the lowest level on record, new home sales did indeed increase 24%. Is that reason to celebrate though? Chances are the 330,000 will be revised lower in the future. Regardless, 330,000 homes sold pales in comparison to the 1.4 million homes sold in 2005.The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of vacant properties, including foreclosures, residences for sale and vacation homes, reached 18.9 million. It shouldn't be too long before those bleak fundamentals are reflected in the performance of real estate ETFs like the iShares DJ US Real Estate ETF (NYSEArca: IYR - News) and SPDR DJ REIT ETF (NYSEArca: RWR - News). ..

#5: Consumer Confidence

During periods of economic expanse the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index has averaged a reading above 100. Recessions average a reading of 71. The current confidence reading is at a dismal 50.4. The chart below paints this sad picture. [chart] Consumer spending is said to make up about three quarters of the economy. How can the economy recover without participation by the consumer? It can't. That doesn't mean stocks can't rally temporarily. Such a disconnect between the economy and Wall Street's dream world tends to be short-lived.

Sentiment Confusion

… More importantly though, the optimism surrounding the April highs is indicative of a major market top, a top that implies a decline much deeper than the 20% we've seen thus far. This conclusion is certainly supported by the above-mentioned Top Five list and many other indicators…

‘We are still determined’: U.S. pastor vows to carry out Burn-a-Koran day on Sept 11 despite death threats As Gerald Celente said on the show today, General Petraeus’ comment that burning the Koran could upset Muslims is the height of hypocrisy. Did Petraeus ever consider the notion that bombing and occupying their countries also wouldn’t go down too well? This whole issue is about manipulating us into a helter-skelter race war as a distraction from the economic collapse and to rally the country around another war in the middle east.

NYPD Top Cop: Planned Quran Burning Is “Dangerous” [ I personally wasn’t going to comment on this and let others draw their own conclusions; especially, as pointed out by Celente, when america’s been bombing and killing civilian muslims in droves, based on lies, and even for drug trade pre-eminence, etc.. After all, it’s not too difficult to dredge up memories of other historical book-burners, ie., that Austrian house-painter with a brush mustache, etc.. But really, isn’t this guy jones a neo-con dream come true? I think he’s just a publicity seeking, mentally unbalanced dummy. He even looks a bit like john bolton. But, in america, mental unbalance has become the new normal. ] Police Commissioner Ray Kelly sided with Gen. Petraeus last night, calling a planned burning of Qurans on the anniversary of Sept. 11, “unwise” and “un-American” during the 9/11 Museum and Memorial’s fundraising dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan Tuesday night.

TSA Plans to Use Homeboy in Ball Cap “Avatar” on Naked Body Scanners Kurt Nimmo | Scheme ignores the obvious health risk of radiation technology.

9/11 Truth is Still the Issue James Corbett | Where does the 9/11 Truth Movement stand and where it is heading?

50 Mind Blowing Facts About America That Our Founding Fathers Never Would Have Believed The Economic Collapse | The United States is a much different place today than it was in 1776, and unfortunately many of the changes have been for the worse.

Al-Qaida and Taliban threat is exaggerated, says security thinktank Guardian | Strategy institute challenges idea that troops are needed in Afghanistan to stop export of terrorism to west.

Rioters Attack LA Police Station After Death of Immigrant New York Daily News | Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets for the second night in a row in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday night to protest the police shooting of a

Petraeus: Neocons favorite general Russia Today | Ten Afghan civilians were killed Thursday in a NATO air strike on three vehicles carrying civilians, President Hamid Karzai said in a statement.

Obama infrastructure proposal may hit election year wall (Washington Post) [ It has nothing to do with the election at this point, although the motivations for same are suspect. It’s really a matter of political capital; and wobama has NONE! Zero! Zed! Nada! He’s totally and unequivocally, DONE! ] What seems virtually certain is that the proposal for initial spending of $50 billion on planes, trains and automobiles most likely will wait until next year.

Obama to unveil more stimulus, tax breaks for business (Washington Post) [ It really is quite astounding how quickly the tides have changed against wobama. The amazing thing is that as president he had the easiest act in the world to follow; viz., dumbya bush. He blew that royally. How? Why? Make no mistake, wobama is as over as over can be. Even his dem compatriots are saying of this desperate act … too little, too late. And yet, this truth is seen from their limited perspective only with regard to the election, when in fact, this is as true economically as it is long-term for the nation. All he had to do was what he said he would do; and, that especially applies to the self-destruct, ill-advised ramped up war spending in Afghanistan. Wobama is undoubtedly the biggest b*** s*** artist in the history of this nation and really bought his own failure by not remembering what got him elected in the first instance in terms of popular vote (the ultimate source of electoral victory a point for reflection in light of ever more evident quid pro quos, ie., no wall street prosecutions, ramped up war spending, etc..]

To consumer advocates, antitrust enforcement lacking (Washington Post) [ Unfortunately, at least for those who still care, america’s long past the glory days of the trust-busters. In fact, america’s long past the days of any meaningful law at all. See infra, RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury, which includes how sam alito as u.s. attorney parleyed cover-up and obstruction of justice et als into fed.ct.appeals and u.s.supreme court lifetime appointments. The corruption’s incredible but very real. ] The Justice Department's antitrust division has yet to exercise its signature power: to bring a case against a corporate titan suspected of abusing its dominance.

Pearlstein: The bleak truth about unemployment (Washington Post) [ When I saw this headline I felt certain that Mr. Pearlstein would be discussing the reality that the real unemployment rate exceeds 20% with that ‘stopped looking’ fudge factor removed as merely a convenient subterfuge. But, alas and lamentably, I was wrong. To be sure, Mr. Pearstein’s topic is important and probably more optimistic than anyone deserves to be in light of some grim realities that most dare not mention with the defacto bankrupt nation just barely surviving on that wonder drug called hopium (see infra, DeCiantis: ‘Students of behavioral finance must have had a field day this past week. In the wake of a month of dismal economic reports, Wall Street got its risk on with a few better than expected reports on manufacturing sentiment, home sales, and employment. Hopium, it appears, is a powerful drug. [ HOPIUM … YEAH! I KIND OF LIKE THAT METAPHOR WHICH RINGS TRUE! ] ). As for Mr. Pearlstein’s ‘how to make the american economy competitive again.’, I liken this Gordian knot of a problem to one for which magic mushrooms, along with hopium, are as far as reality will permit in terms of even imagining such could possibly be the case. You cannot unring the bell on the irrevocable structural changes wrought by the greediest, most corrupt, and, though often wrapped in the flag, treasonous, lawless elements of american society; governmental, quasi-governmental, and private business (which included the necessary technology transfers). That’s reality! ]

September: In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb DeCiantis: ‘Students of behavioral finance must have had a field day this past week. In the wake of a month of dismal economic reports, Wall Street got its risk on with a few better than expected reports on manufacturing sentiment, home sales, and employment. Hopium, it appears, is a powerful drug. [ HOPIUM … YEAH! I KIND OF LIKE THAT METAPHOR WHICH RINGS TRUE! ]

Economists spent August cautiously lowering their outlook for the second half of the year as Obama's "recovery summer" failed to bear fruit, the Federal Reserve failed at both of its twin mandates (stable prices and full employment), and bullish analysts failed to convince investors that the market was ready to climb to fresh highs. As a result, stocks ended the worst August in nine years with rising calls for stimulus and fears of the dreaded double-dip.

Then came September. In like a lion, surging nearly 3% on the first trading day of the month on the heels of a better-than-expected survey by the Institute for Supply Management of the manufacturing industry. Representing (statistically speaking) nearly 30% of the US economy, the number was expected to fall after a series of similar Fed surveys from around the country indicated that American heavy industry -- that engine of growth over the last two quarters -- was finally loosing steam. Instead, it leapfrogged every estimate on The Street to post its first advance since May. Granted the rise was modest, but the surprise factor flipped the all-important risk switch and a reinvigorated camp of bulls poured back into the market, convinced that their creeping suspicions about a slip back into recession were all just a bad dream.
[chart]

Outside of a few trading irregularities, the data itself forced the bears to take pause and reflect on the substance of the report. The economics team at Goldman Sachs may have summarized it best:

"Without question, the report was better than expected...[but] the details of the report actually reinforce the case for further slowing in this sector. As shown in Exhibit 2, the gap between the indexes for new orders and inventories, an important lead indicator of movements in the composite index and in industrial production, almost disappeared in the August report. As recently as May, this gap was a robust 20.1 index points. The clear—if uneven—downward trend in this indicator actually strengthens the case for a decline in the composite index in coming months. The bottom line: US manufacturing output may still be expanding, but the risk that these goods are winding up on the shelf has increased."

More telling, however, was the dissection by semi-permabear David Rosenberg that helps to put the August print into context:

In a nutshell, ISM did smash consensus expectations in August but the composition left much to be desired. The coincident indicators firmed but the categories that actually lead manufacturing activity softened across the board.

As we said at the outset, the ISM index was at complete odds with the regional surveys. Philadelphia, New York, Milwaukee, Richmond and Kansas City were all down. Dallas and Cincinnati were up. In the past, when we had a 5-to-2 ratio to the downside, the share of the time ISM managed to eke out an advance was 4%.

It would be wise to lean against the market's initial dramatic reaction to this data. The ISM orders/inventories ratio is a decent leading indicator and it sank to 1.033x from 1.065 in July. 1.278x in Julne and 1.441x in May. The hidden nugget in today's report is that this ratio has decline to levels not seen since February 2009. And the last time it fell this fast to this type of level was in the September to December 2007 period (1.03x from 1.30x) when once again, there was tremendous confusion and intense debate over whether it was a recession/soft patch in the economy and the bear market/corrective phase in equities.

Suffice it to say that in the past 30 years, with eleven observations, ISM dropped to 47x in the three months after such a decline in the orders/inventory ratio to such a low level as is the case today. That is the average, the median, and the mode. The highest ISM reading three months hence was 51.9, so if past is prescient, today's data was likely a huge headfake.

[chart] The ISM report also overshadowed another important data release on construction, but we'll get to that later. The next feather in the bulls' cap was a pair of data points on residential real estate -- the sick dog of nearly every major developed economy in the G8. The first revealed a rise in July pending home sales (5.6%) after a precipitous drop in May (30%) and a further drop in June (2.6%) as an $8,000 tax credit expired. Analysts collectively expected a drop of 1%. Needless to say the markets were pleasantly surprised.

A closer look at the data reveals two key narratives not captured by the popular media or trading desks. First, it's important to contextualize the "rise" in pending sales by looking at a longer time series that tells the same story (this particularl series only goes back to 2005). The graph below speaks for itself.

[chart]

Second, the reported data may suffer from a disease common to many of the economic statistics released every day: Seasonal Adjustment Disorder (SAD). Given the inherent seasonality of the home buying cycle (higher during the summer when kids aren't in school, lower in winter when the weather is less than ideal for moving) economists at the National Association of Realtors make adjustments for these factors to make monthly comparisons easier. However, that can sometimes mask changes in the raw data, as was the case with the August NAR release. As Rosenberg suggests:

While the increase in pending home sales is encouraging, we did dig through the data and found that the not seasonally adjusted numbers (the raw numbers) fell by 7%, with declines across the country. This makes sense as July is usually a slower month for homebuying activities.

We wonder if there is a chance that the seasonal adjustment factors could be overstating the monthly increase given that we have seen such huge volatility in the housing numbers in the recent year making the seasonal adjustment process more difficult. Recall that Standard and Poor’s issued a note about the Case-Shiller home price index saying that “the turmoil in the housing market in the last few years has generated unusual movements that are easily mistaken for shifts in the normal seasonal patterns, resulting in larger seasonal adjustments and misleading results.

Another data point that drew a lot of bullish attention was Tuesday's housing release on prices. After a few dismal years, any news that isn't a decrease is more than welcome by just about everyone, rich and poor, domestic and international. Tuesday's Case-Shiller print was no exception, as home prices "jumped"...by a mind-numbing 1%...two months ago in June... on a rolling three-month basis (i.e. April through June).....still reflecting the last dying gasp of the home buyers' tax credit. Again, a little context:

[chart]

And how the markets rallied.

Friday's bulls, reinvigorated after a powerful (and low volume) start to the month, launched their attack on a new front: employment. Long a forgotten weapon in the bulls' arsenal, private payrolls climbed by a larger-than-expected 67,000 in August, beating expectations for a 45,000 gain. At that rate, it would only take a little under 9 years to rehire the 7,000,000 people who lost their jobs during the recession but have yet to find new work (assuming no increase in population). Only 7,000 permanent government jobs were shed during the month, though economists expect that number to rise as state and local governments face crippling budget deficits. The other 114,000 new claims represent the last major layoff of temporary census workers, who rejoin an army of job seekers that have collectively become one of America's most structural economic challenges.

[chart]

Obviously plenty of reason for the markets to celebrate.

Now for the bad news.

On the same day as the ISM Manufacturing survey was released to considerable fanfare, July's construction spending was released by the Census Bureau and confirmed a worsening year-over-year decline of nearly 11%. Month over month, spending was down 1% in July and suggests another downward revision to third quarter GDP.

More from Goldman:

Construction outlays dropped 1% in July from a level that was revised down a whopping 2.7%. This dismal construction report flew below the market's radar, as it normally does since it usually comes out alongside the ISM manufacturing survey. One might dub construction outlays the Rodney Dangerfield ("I don't get no respect") of US economic indicators. Of all the data released this week, it has the most direct bearing on the real GDP "bean count" next to the monthly consumption report. Hence, since consumption was only modestly better than expected, a case can be made that third-quarter growth might actually be lower now than we thought a week ago despite all the upside surprises.

[chart]

Wednesday also revealed that another source of bullish sentiment in July may have been a little premature: auto sales. After months of steep retail incentives and easy year-over-year growth comparisons, cash- and credit-strapped Americans returned to a more cautious consumption path. As the second largest leveraged purchase in a typical household, auto sales reflected that shift. Only Chrysler, the runt of the litter, managed to squeak out an increase in sales in an otherwise sluggish retail environment.

[chart]

Finally, on Friday the latest ISM Non-Manufacturing survey was released and was every bit as disappointing as everyone expected the manufacturing survey to be. The index slowed to 51.5% in August from 54.3% in July and 55.4% in May, and its components were even less rosy. From Econoday:

A new optimism after today's jobs report -- not so fast. The ISM non-manufacturing report shows broad and deeper-than-expected slowing. New orders at 52.4 are down more than four points in August for the slowest rate of month-to-month growth so far this year. Employment, which in this report includes government workers, is signaling contraction, at 48.2 for a nearly three point decline for the worst reading since January. The composite headline index at 51.5 is down exactly three points for what is also the worst reading since January. Backlog orders are basically flat, export orders are down, deliveries are showing less delays, and general business activity is slower. Imports did rise as did raw material prices.

[chart]

In response, the market cut its morning gains in half, only to rally into the close to retest the morning highs. What makes this week's schizophrenic ISM interpretations so dangerous is that the upside surprise on Wednesday was based on data that captures roughly a third of the economy, while Friday's non-manufacturing disappointment approximates activity in roughly two-thirds of the economy. So of course the markets ended the week up 3%.

Once again, Goldman's analysts try to walk a fine line between sell-side optimism and buy-side skepticism:

On the whole, it's been a good week for US economic data...reports on factory activity, pending home sales, and the labor market have surprised to the high side. In fact, some of these readings have benefited from positive judgmental adjustments, as factors not readily apparent in the headline indicator have also been better than expected. However, this does not mean that the outlook for US economic activity has improved, except insofar as the better-than-expected news eases market worries about a "double dip". At least some - perhaps most - of the improvement ... reflects what Paul Krugman once called, in a much different context, "The Age of Diminished Expectations". In the current setting, we note that several prominent forecasters have marked down forecasts of economic activity and therefore may also have lowered their sights on the higher frequency indicators.

Interpretive bias is inevitable when any new data is released. Optimists will quickly find a silver lining in any dark cloud, and pessimists will pick apart even the most robust reports of growth and tease out a bearish narrative. Investors should think twice when these competing forces fall out of balance -- when markets are as unabashedly bearish as they were in late 2008, or as unapologetically bullish as the were during the second half of 2009.

If the first few days of September are any indication of how the month will unfold, we may be back on the perma-bull track. When disappointing data is released, investors cheer for more fiscal and monetary stimulus. When data is surprisingly positive, investors cheer at the prospect of a sustainable, organic recovery. As we saw in early 2010, this "heads I win, tails you lose" mentality is particularly vulnerable to rapid and substantial correction, and a September that entered as a lion may finish the third quarter as a lamb.

Disclosure: Long safety, short risk (no specific stocks mentioned)’

Correlation and the S&P 500 [ I really think this author was a bit too diffident in talking about the computerized churn-and-earn scam which eats away at the real economy , but the discussion highlights at least this immense problem area ] ‘The immense correlation between the market, and almost all risk assets on Earth is not a new subject to FMMF readers. [Jun 30, 2009: Bloomberg - Correlation Among Asset Classes Highest Ever] I beat this dead horse monthly, mostly out of abject frustration. [Sep 2, 2010: Why Bother with Individual Stocks in the Perfectly Correlated Market?] I don't have an issue when the market is up 2-3% or 90% of stocks move in the same direction, it is all these days the market is up or down 0.7% when it drives a person nuts.

Friday, for example, every position I had but one was up. As I type this every position but one is down.

This correlation madness started to become an issue in 2007 as we were told that hedgies control 40%(ish) of each day's trading volume. As I said then, since mutual and pension funds are relatively staid players, the 'fast money' is the marginal buyer, and 'hot money' in the form of hedge funds - especially of the quant variety - are the marginal buyer. The problem now is they seem to be the only buyer as equity fund withdrawals continue on pace as the retail guy floods into bond funds.

So we have a market dominated by computers trading to computers, all using related algo's - happy, happy, joy joy. Now we hear things such as 60-70% of trades flow through these players... and since EFTs are the weapon of choice, computerized trading of EFTs have taken over the market. [Jun 29, 2010: Correlations Among Asset Classes Reach Ever Higher Extremes as HAL9000 Algos Dominate Life] The SPY ETF is now about 9% of ALL volume as of last check, and we had a time about 7-8 months ago where Citigroup (C), AIG (AIG), Fannie (FNMA.OB), and Freddie (FMCC.OB) were 40% of all volume. Pathetic.

Frankly, it makes the market a frustrating and 'less fun' place. The market used to be a four-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, comprised of fundamental, technical, psychological, and 'animal spirits.' Now it's just the dumbed down two-dimensional Etch a Sketch. Shake it at 4 pm every day, because it has no memory from day to day. Sure you can adjust (in fact you must adjust) if you plan to stick around, but when everything is a 1:1 correlation, it simply reduces the market to 'stoopid' and coming in each day, checking your brain at the door, and staring at the S&P 500 chart trying to guess where it will be in 3 hours, 3 days, and 3 weeks gets to be boring. [Jul 15, 2010: WSJ - Correlation Soars on S&P 500 Shares]

But this is the casino market we have built, and I don't see anything changing anytime soon. The other issue is it makes it so much more difficult to outperform the market. Surely there are a handful of stock names that still outperform (or underperform) but with almost everything swaying in the exact same direction as the market, creating alpha is difficult. Most of the performance nowadays is not about stocks, but due to calling turns in the greater market - increasingly hard to position for as you scale in size. Especially when the majority of the turns are due to binary reactions to economic reports or Fed announcements - it's simply placing your bets on red and black, not a stock market.

I've written about said frustration in the past amongst the "human" hedgies, [July 8, 2010: Hedge Funds "Frozen in Headlights" as BiPolar Market with 1:1 Correlation in All Things Not Named U.S. Treasuries Causes Confusion] and this is taking a toll on the mutual fund managers as well.

One of my big beefs with the mutual fund industry is that many players - especially in the bigger funds - are closed index funds. They all have super cool names but almost anything in 'large cap value' or 'large cap growth' were hybrid closet indexers. They basically flip an Exxon (XOM), Intel (INTC), or a Microsoft (MSFT), with a Walmart (WMT), Verizon (VZ), or a Cisco Systems (CSCO) -- change the order, weighting, and indeed are able to charge a nice fee for doing nothing other than being the S&P 500 with a small twist. I cannot tell you how many 401k plans I reviewed for people, where I went to look at the top 10 holdings of the 12-15 mutual fund choices and 90% of them were identical (just in different order in weightings!). The statistic of 0.99 correlation amongst the S&P 500 and many of the largest funds is quite remarkable and points to my 'closet index' beef, but with the mechanics of our new paradigm market, it has taken it to a whole new level. It also says a lot of people are wasting their money paying management fees for what is an S&P 500 ETF clone.

That said, even with the closet index situation that has been growing for a decade+ you used to be able to try to outperform if you plied your trade in small or medium caps (or international markets), but the HFT + EFT = GLEE environment we now live in has made that increasingly moot, since most of those stocks now move in unison as well. If your stock is not in a major EFT it generally sits ignored with low volume... if it IS in an ETF than it doesnt matter the company specifics - as long as the algo's are buying (or selling that ETF) as flavor of the day, every component in that ETF is a winner (or loser)! Stoopid is as stoopid does in the market with 1st grade logic.

One gentleman I've admired for many years is Will Danoff at Fidelity Contrafund. [Sep 9, 2008: Will Danoff in Kiplinger Magazine] His fund has been huge in size for years on end (I'm talking multiples the size of the biggest hedge funds - Contrafund is now up to $62 BILLION), yet he has been able to somehow outperform his peer group (and until the past 5 years the S&P 500) by a wide margin, mostly by being somewhat contrarian. This despite holding many positions and not being extremely concentrated - a feat I find quite remarkable since once you start owning 200-250 positions I don't know how you can beat the market over time. (Contrafund owns 445 positions as of last quarter!) Danoff is highlighted in this piece, which is why I mention him - he is no dummy.

Via Bloomberg:

• Fidelity Investments’ William Danoff, the stock picker who led the Contrafund to benchmark- beating returns, isn’t looking very contrarian these days. Danoff’s $62 billion Contrafund, which seeks to beat the market by picking stocks whose value hasn’t been fully recognized, has tracked the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index more closely this year than in any year during its four-decade history.
• “Danoff usually finds ways to go against the grain, but these days there isn’t much that’s contrarian relative to the macro theme,” Adviser Investments’ Lowell said. “This is a trendless market and it’s not providing him any room to break away from the S&P 500.”
• Investing abroad hasn’t helped stock pickers like Danoff because correlation has shot up even between regions.
• Danoff isn’t alone. Six of the 10 largest U.S. stock funds show correlations of 0.99 this year, meaning they moved almost completely in sync with the market. Managers are struggling to stand out and attract new money as fear of another crisis prompts investors to move in and out of markets without discriminating between securities, industries or geographies.
• Robert Doll, BlackRock Inc.’s chief equity strategist, said while stocks moved in lockstep before, this is the longest he has seen correlation persist across markets. “We were expecting 2010 to be the year when stock selection would add value, but that hasn’t been the case.”
• Doll says even the most high-quality stocks have been hurt among a larger sell-off in risky assets. “We’ve scratched our heads many times during this year as the macro picture is driving everything,” Doll said. “It can be frustrating along the way, but we’re just focusing on the fundamentals and eventually we’ll get paid for it.”
• The correlation between the U.S. equity benchmark and its individual members was 0.81 in the 50 trading days through July 7 and has since remained close to that level. That’s almost twice the historical average of 0.45 over the past 30 years.
• The increase in correlation is making it difficult for actively managed funds to beat their benchmarks and produce better returns than lower-cost index products. “You can’t pick any mutual fund, even if has previously been a winner, and expect it to outperform in this market.”
• Mohamed El-Erian, the chief executive officer of Newport Beach, California-based Pacific Investment Management Co., says investors have a “risk-on/risk-off” attitude that leads to sometimes “violent” swings, such as the sell-off in markets worldwide on Aug. 11, after the Federal Reserve indicated that the economic recovery had lost momentum. “We were particularly struck by the size and correlated nature of the market moves,” said El-Erian.
• Correlation may be linked to the increased use of exchange-traded funds and index funds in the stock market, especially those that focus on particular industry groups, said Brian James, co-director of equity research at Boston-based Loomis Sayles & Co. Assets in U.S. ETFs have grown to more than $821 billion from $608 billion at the end of 2007, according to Investment Company Institute. “It is almost axiomatic that if you have an increased presence of single-purpose ETFS and futures traders, it moves stocks in one direction,” said James.
• Correlation has been particularly pronounced for companies with larger market capitalizations, and for the larger funds. James said that 90 to 95 percent of large-capitalization stocks have tended to move in the same direction this year, up from about 70 percent prior to the 2008 financial crisis.
• The largest U.S. stock fund, the $148 billion Growth Fund of America, has seen correlation increase to 0.99 this year, from 0.84 in mid-2008. For the $37 billion Dodge & Cox Stock Fund, run by San Francisco-based Dodge & Cox, the correlation measure was also 0.99 this year, compared with low of 0.81 prior to the height of the crisis in late 2008.

Disclosure: None’

Obama seeks $100 billion business tax credit (Washington Post) [ All just monopoly money now! And, of course, pre-election talking points as war spending ramps up in Afghanistan. Sounds like … uh … uh … plan? Bankruptcy plan? Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: Government Bond Defaults Inevitable … ]

Economic events for this week (Washington Post) [ Well, I’ll stick with nobel prize winner Krugman (infra) among other similar dire but realistic forecasters who, beyond the spin and fake market-frothing data (especially so close to the mid-terms) have a track record of being right when everyone else was ebulliently wrong, mr. fraudulent-wall-street-glass-half-full-though-empty. ] After a busy week of economic data, this one should be quieter, offering the Federal Reserve's compilation of anecdotal information on the job market and new details on trade.

Obama defends policies and offers new proposal (Washington Post) [ No you can’t wobama … b*** s*** everyone again! ‘Yes, we can … NOT!’ That dog don’t hunt anymore wobama. Drudgereport: Obama takes aim at Boehner... 'They talk about me like a dog'… [ If the shoe fits, wobama … keep gearing up Afghanistan … sounds like a plan]... ]Faced with twin challenges of boosting the economy and saving congressional seats, the president tries to do a little of both on Labor Day.

Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:

I’ve had a couple of conversations lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two comforting delusions still out there.

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

But it’s not at all true. GDP is growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the current track, the answer is forever.

Delusion #2 is the belief that the stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds unspent. I tried to deal with this last year. The level of GDP depends not on total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds are being spent, which has already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in the rate at which funds are being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all downhill from here.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.

Government Bonds: Can the U.S. Maintain Confidence in Its Debt? Cliff Kule Massive, unsustainable government debt - it's everywhere. Especially in America. At some point, will the world begin to lose confidence in America's growing debt? Will interest rates then skyrocket? Will a Greek-style crisis in U.S. government bonds then ensue? Is there any way out?

America can claim its debt problems are not as bad as some countries. But that ignores some important points:

1. See an interesting chart on how America's financial condition is worse than several other countries.
2. Even the most respected bond manager in the world, Pimco's Bill Gross, believes there are several countries including the U.S. whose financial ratios are in dangerous territory - the "ring of fire".
3. A loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar and U.S. debt could bring a "Greek-style" crisis to the whole world. Consider that the U.S. dollar has been the world's reserve currency since 1944; it has been accumulated by the whole world as a form of trusted and secure savings. There are trillions of dollars of U.S. government debt accumulated as reserve savings by banks around the world (see chart below courtesy of Hugo Salinas Price) and realize that most reserves are held as U.S. government bonds. A loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar and in the ability of the U.S. to service its growing debt could trigger an epic disaster. [chart]

Is there any way for America to maintain the confidence?

One way would be for America to become fiscally prudent, simply stop creating money and debt, let the massive deflationary forces of credit contraction and consumer de-leveraging run their natural course. This would cleanse the system of toxic debt. It would also clearly and immediately cause another Great Depression.

Another way would be for America to simply print more money, create more debt, blindly following Keynesian economics that brought us into this mess in the first place. Attempt to "inflate away" the debt without losing the confidence of investors that buy the U.S. government bonds. This has been tried many times throughout history with disastrous consequences.

The chart below (courtesy of Economic Edge) shows how increases in debt are recently giving less and less “umph” to economic GDP growth to the point now of negative GDP growth. Eric Sprott has produced an excellent study suggesting that 9 cents of "growth" is coming with every dollar we go deeper into debt. Bud Conrad has produced calculations that are equally discouraging. This massive debt-driven money printing would therefore likely lead some form of hyperinflation in a futile attempt to stimulate economic growth.

This leaves one other option.... a direction that is hardly ever considered... a policy tool still waiting to be tried!... America could return to the gold standard... Why? Because the gold standard system would back the U.S. dollar by real money, and enforce a responsible discipline of fiscal and monetary policy that Congress and the Federal Reserve cannot currently do. In turn this would maintain confidence in America's debt.

“The gold standard has one tremendous virtue: the quantity of the money supply, under the gold standard, is independent of the policies of governments and political parties. This is its advantage. It is a form of protection against spendthrift governments.” Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973)

Monetary systems on a gold standard system cannot increase money supply as needed. Under a gold standard system, paper money is backed by something of real tangible value. The total amount of gold limits the total amount of paper money that can be created. New money must be backed by additional gold. Omnis’ Jim Rickards suggests this possible solution: a “gold backed currency at a non-deflationary price… sound money leads to sound growth and the creation of real, not illusory, wealth.”

In 1971, President Nixon simply severed the tie between gold and U.S. dollars. As he closed the gold “window,” Nixon proclaimed “We are all Keynesians now” (referring to the Keynesian economic school of thought where gold has no function). Austrian School economists and Cliff Küle would like to say – We are not all Keynesians.

Did severing the link between the dollar and gold work to strengthen confidence in the U.S.? Please consider:

1. Within a generation of that move, the U.S. went from being the world’s largest creditor nation to the world’s largest debtor.
2. TIME Magazine of 1979 said:

Until the greenback is once again made as good as gold, many millions of people will persist in believing that the barbarous relic is still a better bet.

Recently speaking about Goldman Sachs’ problems at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, former President Bill Clinton said,

There is a bigger problem here… too much of our growth was in finance ever since went off the gold standard.

The dollar “tie” to gold might be “re-tied” just as simply as it was untied. In a certain respect, America never really went off the gold standard. The tie between gold and U.S. dollar was simply adjusted to 0%. So, simply adjust it back. What tie would be needed today to restore America back to the gold standard? Let’s do the simple math.

Official figures for the total amount of gold reserves held by the U.S. Treasury are 8133.5 tonnes of gold. This gold is owned by all Americans and is held in trust by the government for the people. Given that 1 metric tonne is 32150.746 ounces, that amounts to:

8133.5 tonnes x 32150.746 ounces/tonne = 261498092.591 ounces

If we look at recent Federal Reserve data, we note that the total U.S. M1 seasonally adjusted money supply is at $1712.2 Billion of currency. Therefore if we were to take the total currency and back it by the total amount of gold, this would give:

$1712.2 billion divided by 261498092.591 = US$6547 per ounce

There you have it – if the U.S. were to devalue the U.S. dollar, setting gold at 6550 U.S. dollars per ounce of gold, the country could position to go back on the gold standard. Global confidence in the U.S. dollar and in America's debt would be maintained. It may be as simple as finding the right price for the government gold holdings to give "backing" to every dollar in circulation.

$6550/ounce is approximately the current value necessary to give "gold backing" to the current level of M1 money supply. If the U.S. wanted to expand the money supply further to stimulate the economy, it would need to set a new price for its gold holdings which is even higher than $6550/ounce or somehow get more gold. The U.S. could then be in a position to expand money supply as necessary to stimulate growth and able to extend credit to other nations. This is an essential ingredient to restoring confidence and keeping the title of reserve currency. After all, a reserve currency should be able to extend credit to nations in need, not be in need of credit from other nations.

As Jim Rickards states, this one-to-one ratio backing of gold with the U.S. dollar

would comfortably support a broader U.S. money supply on a one-to-one ratio and maintain confidence in the dollar and U.S. sovereign debt.

Perhaps only then could global confidence in the U.S. dollar and in U.S. debt be maintained – if not, either a deflationary depression or a hyperinflationary depression could be in store as confidence wanes with increasing levels of public debt.

Back to the Future

Nick Barisheff, President and CEO of Bullion Management Group, emphasizes that gold is money:

Gold is not and never has been a currency. Gold is something entirely different and far more valuable. It is money.

Cliff Küle suggests that to maintain confidence in its debt, America must bring back the gold standard, anchoring the U.S. dollar back to real money - gold, as Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States commits it to be.

Disclosure: No positions

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Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012).

National / World

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Endangers Troops...
Pastor Says Church Not Deterred...
Hartford City Council meetings to begin with Muslim prayers...
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ADDICTED TO STIMULUS: $50,000,000,000 MORE
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'They talk about me like a dog'...
FLASHBACK: President-Elect Obama: Mutt 'Like Me'...

Muslims Protest Plans to Burn Quran...
'Death to America'...

Fears rise as EU nations aim to raise borrowing...
Roubini: More than 400 US Banks Will Fail...

'COMBAT OVER': US TROOPS BATTLE IN BAGHDAD...

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Afghan bankers' assets frozen (Washington Post) Authorities bar sale of properties held by principal owners, but freeze excludes Karzai's brother [ Yeah … don’t want to get him too angry … he’s too valuable to the heroin trade resurrected by america. ].

Small businesses feel squeezed by Obama policies (Washington Post) [ Well, the grim reality for them is that they just don’t pony-up those big campaign dollars like those non-performing corporate welfare recipient conglomerates / big businesses. The other reality, reiterated again here is that everybody’s on to the fact that wobama’s great at delivering speeches, albeit teleprompted, but as we now all know, he doesn’t deliver. It’s rather pathetic to see that old loser and jingoistic fake war hero fraud, senile, incompetent mccain who never saw a new war opportunity he didn’t like despite america’s defacto bankruptcy (a policy the post-election wobama’s promulgated) because of same being given air time as some sort of wise old sage when he’s really just an old, stale joke who would have been even worse than wobama but not by much, failed presidencies both. ]

Charles Manson & the Scientific Dictatorship Jurriaan Maessen | Just like Manson, the scientific dictatorship would like to see the bodies piled up high.

Obama, Corporate Media Ignore Widespread Health Problems On Gulf Coast Kurt Nimmo | Obama gets to declare another mission accomplished while residents of the Gulf suffer.

Charles Manson: Global Warming Prophet Paul Joseph Watson | James Jay Lee, along with many prominent environmentalists and academics, share their eugenicist belief system with the man who many consider to be evil incarnate.

Gender bender chemical atrazine widely contaminates U.S. public water supply David Gutierrez | Research indicates the U.S. water supply is widely contaminated with the endocrine disrupting chemical atrazine.

The Impact of Fiat Money as the World’s Reserve Currency David Redick | Nations can’t afford our exorbitant privilege of being both a fiat currency and the world’s primary reserve currency.

The Imperial Anatomy of Al-Qaeda. The CIA’s Drug-Running Terrorists and the “Arc of Crisis” As the 9th anniversary of 9/11 nears, and the war on terror continues to be waged and grows in ferocity and geography, it seems all the more imperative to return to the events of that fateful September morning and re-examine the reasons for war and the nature of the stated culprit, Al-Qaeda.

Climate Scientist: Manipulating Earth’s Climate Will Not Cost Taxpayer More than $1 Billion… Annually! David Keith, director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy, has proposed releasing engineered nano-sized discs in the earth’s atmosphere to “offset global warming”- and that for just $ 1 billion of your taxpayer-money annually.

Dollar falls to 15-year low against yen The dollar fell to a 15-year low against the yen Tuesday, plunging at one point to 83.52, as the Japanese unit took advantage of its status as a refuge currency amid global economic uncertainty.

Austerity Strikes Hit France, Britain In France, unions called for a day of mass strike action shutting down trains, planes, buses, subways, post offices and schools in protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s pensions reform bill.

Former N.Korea soldiers to form group to topple regime Scores of former North Korean soldiers who defected to South Korea will this week form a group aimed at toppling the regime with the help of serving soldiers there, one of its leaders said Monday.

Celebrating Job Losses ‘For now I will stick with the belief that Friday's action was just another oversold rally in the context of a falling market. I would love for the economy to right itself … Unfortunately I still don’t see or understand how we are going to accomplish those things in the near term. I do see many technical indicators flashing warning signs … Until then cash is the safest investment and all celebrations should be put on hold.’

Sellers Cut Prices on 50% of Homes Homeowners are slashing prices more drastically and more frequently, according to recently released data from ZipRealty. The average price reduction is now 7.1 percent of list price.

Roubini: India May Overtake China within a Year Roubini warned that world growth leader China was too dependent on exports to the struggling West and predicted that within a year its economic growth will be overtaken by India, a huge nation much more reliant on its domestic market for development.

10 Reasons Why Conservatives Should Be Against Unfair Trade With China And 10 Reasons Why Liberals Should Be Against Unfair Trade With China Liberals and conservatives should both be able to agree that it is not a good thing for millions of American jobs to leave the United States and go to China.

CNN’s ‘Glass One-Quarter Full’ Spin: Emphasize Private Job Gains The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its “all-important” jobs report on Sept. 3, the morning before Labor Day weekend. CNN rapidly found the “bright spot” in a report that showed a net loss of 54,000 jobs and a higher 9.6 percent unemployment rate.

Targeting American Citizens: CIA Takes Global Murder Policy to Next Level Kurt Nimmo | The CIA has a long track record of targeting untold numbers of people for elimination.

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Irish protesters hurl bottles, eggs, shoes at phony tony blair (phony tony’s a total fraud) during book signing Agence France-Presse | One woman said she tried to make a citizen’s arrest on Blair once he was inside the bookshop where the event was taking place.

Democrats running on austerity (Washington Post) [ Wee doggies! … The new republican party is born … Actually, despite the myth, the reality is that under Reagan ( and the bushies, and of course, wobama – clinton caught a break with the peace dividend but the bureaucracy grew ) government spending significantly increased along with the government bureaucracy. ] Fearing midterm wipeout, party hopefuls embrace budget cuts with the zeal of Reagan Republicans.

Ex-bank executives say their dismissals caused panic withdrawals in Kabul (Post, September 4, 2010; 8:52 AM) Karzai urges Afghans not to panic as bank withdrawals accelerate (Post, September 4, 2010; 3:11 AM) Suicide bombing kills at lesat 55 (Washington Post) Pakistan… After Iraq war, uncertainty and seemingly mixed messages (Post, September 2, 2010; 4:26 PM) [ What do these nations have in common? An american presence … and from the foregoing it’s clear that this sounds like a reporting job for Rosanne Rosanna Dana of SNL fame who has insight into such scenarios as this ‘cause her mama always said …it’s always something! ]

U.S. to temper stance on Afghanistan corruption (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! After all, in america’s own image of corruption, ie., bribery, heroin trade, etc., they’re remolding Afghanistan replete with good old american style corruption and they don’t want no noses pokin’ around to see america’s direct involvement in the corruption, bribery, etc., and particularly the heroin trade, the american raison d’etre there where the Taliban had all but eradicated the heroin production / trade which surged thereafter with the american participation. The American rationale seems to be, continue the corruption, etc., since to eliminate same would help the Taliban. Riiiiight! My, oh my! You can’t make this stuff up.] Military officials conclude that effort to drive out all but the most corrosive abuses in region would create a power vacuum that Taliban could exploit.

Economy treading water as jobless rate rises (Washington Post) [ Ah yes, sweet Neil Irwin! He might just have those rosy fraudulent wall street glass half-full word pictures on his mind. But, not to rain on his parade, I’d say that drowning victim, Mr. Economy’s gone down for the third time! ] Neil Irwin The unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent, the Labor Department said Friday, but private employers added 67,000 jobs -- data that offer a mixed portrait of the labor market in an economy that is neither growing fast enough to bring down joblessness nor sinking back into a new downturn.

Not-so-dire jobs report gives stocks a boost (Washington Post) AP Business Highlights [ Wow! ‘Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought’ … Riiiiight! Especially with 2 months to the mid-term elections (time for federal term limits and the abolition of lifetime appointments for anything owing to the nation’s defacto bankruptcy), desperation with fake / false data / reports; and, that negative but better than expected thing as unemployment rate inches up to 9.6% (the real unemployment rate is approximately 20+% with that ‘stopped looking’ fudge-factor giving them the false positive). I mean, come on! Private reports on non-farm payrolls down each week, but suddenly from out of nowhere defying virtually all economist estimates the ue claims are up, and prior gov’t reports revised up. This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits! ] ‘(AP)Companies add 67K workers, but jobless rate rises WASHINGTON (AP) -- Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, a glimmer of hope for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend. But the unemployment rate rose because not enough jobs were created to absorb the growing number of people looking for work ...’

Mark Hulbert's Take: What Are the Odds of a September Decline? at Seeking Alpha (Fri, Sep 3) ‘Some of the work Mark Hulbert does is nothing more than telling us what the gurus in the universe he follows are thinking individually and, more frequently, in the aggregate. But of late, he also has been doing some far more interesting analysis in the “Yale Hirsch” mode – and the results are not satisfying if you are a bull.

The bullish case seems to rest on two platforms: (1) August was really bad therefore September should be good in reaction to that, and (2) “Everyone” now expects the current crop of politicos to suffer major setbacks in November and, since the market is a predictive mechanism, investors are positioning themselves today for what they believe will be wonderful news post-November (like an extension of the current tax rates and a reduction in pork-barrel spending by irresponsible pols.)

The Dow rallied more than 300 points the first two days of September so, making the usual straight-line assumption, bulls believe that today is the day to get invested, Hmmm. Let’s examine each of the above platforms in turn.

Quoting Mr. Hulbert’s conclusions based upon his historical analysis:

I have good news and bad news when it comes to slicing and dicing the historical data as it pertains to September.

The good news is that it is possible, by carefully reading the statistical tea leaves, to get advance insight into whether any given month is likely to do better or worse than average.

The bad news: Those tea leaves provide no such hope that this September will be able to beat its historical reputation as being awful for stocks.

His research shows that since 1896 (the year the Dow Jones Industrial Average was created,) the Dow has lost an average of 1.15% in September. The average gain for all other months was 0.71%. Worse, a look at the historical record shows that Septembers did not show a 1.15% decline following a bad August – they showed a 2.7% decline! Typically, when August is down, as goes August, so goes September -- only twice as bad as usual.

Worse than that, Hulbert notes, “During each of the past nine decades... September's rank relative to other months in terms of performance was never higher than ninth. It was dead last in five of those nine decades -- including the most recent one.”

He adds a final bit of gasoline to this bonfire by noting that the CBOE's Volatility Index (VIX) is relatively low going into September, the month tends to do better. Uh-oh. The VIX at the end of August was quite a bit higher than 20. (And for those who have followed our comments on the VXX and VXZ ETFs in the past, we believe they have now entered an excellent buy area.)

As for the second platform, the market seldom reacts favorably to the same news twice. I’ve been writing for two years that the pendulum will swing, that the 2008 election was a rejection of the guns-and-butter policy of the previous administration and was little different than the voters’ rejection of President Johnson’s guns and butter policies in 1968 (thrusting Richard Nixon into office with disastrous consequences we hope are not repeated this time around), and that mid-term elections are almost always about mitigating the euphoria of the previous presidential election. This is not news!

The rally of September 1^st and 2^nd may have occurred as a result of Johnny-come-latelies reaching the conclusion Wall Street reached about the mid-term elections weeks or months ago. If that is the case, I imagine the smart money is rubbing their hands with glee and using this rally to lay on bigger short positions.

The current rally was ostensibly about the fact that the Chinese Purchasing Managers Index rose to 51.7 in August from 51.2 in July, followed by the news that the U.S. ISM Manufacturing Index improved from 55.5 in July to 56.3 in August. I don't see it – these incremental numbers are nothing but decimal dust in the grand scheme of things! Easily manipulated by the bureaucrats in charge of such numbers, the “improvement” is so small as to be barely measurable – and to raise not a stir among the media when they are “revised” from “up 0.5%” to “down 0.1%” or whatever in another month.

The other economic numbers that form the backdrop to this rally include: Canada’s GDP fell to an annual rate of 2% in the 2^nd quarter, down from 5.8% in Q1; auto sales absolutely plunged in the U.S. and around the world; there was a continued drop in U.S. construction spending; there were declining retail sales in Euro nations; and the ADP employment report indicating that we didn’t just grow jobs at too slow a pace to cover all the new workers entering the labor force, but we actually lost some 10,000 private sector jobs! Government is still hiring, of course, but we must always remember: the private sector is income, government is overhead. That doesn’t mean we don’t need certain government workers – what hellish existence would it be without fire and police protection, or good teachers to educate our children? But it is still overhead even if we collectively choose to pay for it in order to enhance our safety or literacy.

Bottom line: September tends to do worse in years that August has been bad. August was bad. The news of the mid-term elections is already old news and will most likely follow the historical path of all mid-term elections. We will return more to the center. And the good news to propel the market higher is likely to be short-lived. Clearly, we aren’t out of the woods yet. If the market is in a news-dominated phase, we are likely in big trouble.

For our clients we are stressing safety, with inverse ETF protection from the likes of ProShares Short S&P 500 (SH), ProShares Short Russell 200 (RWM), ProShares UltraShort Nasdaq (QID) and ProShares Short MSCI Emerging Markets (EUM). (If the US and Europe aren’t consuming, who is going to order stuff from the emerging nations? They will fall if our markets and economies fall…) We are also buying VXX and VXZ and are keeping our bond positions short and inflation-resistant, as we do with WIP, TIP, BWZ, and MINT. Finally, we own some special situations in precious metals, energy and agriculture. (See previous articles for specifics, including this and this...)

AP Business Highlights [ Wow! ‘Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought’ … Riiiiight! Especially with 2 months to the mid-term elections (time for federal term limits and the abolition of lifetime appointments for anything owing to the nation’s defacto bankruptcy), desperation with fake / false data / reports; and, that negative but better than expected thing as unemployment rate inches up to 9.6% (the real unemployment rate is approximately 20+% with that ‘stopped looking’ fudge-factor giving them the false positive). I mean, come on! Private reports on non-farm payrolls down each week, but suddenly from out of nowhere defying virtually all economist estimates the ue claims are up, and prior gov’t reports revised up. This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits! ]Companies add 67K workers, but jobless rate rises WASHINGTON (AP) -- Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, a glimmer of hope for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend. But the unemployment rate rose because not enough jobs were created to absorb the growing number of people looking for work ...’

Stocks Churning in Trading Range: Dave's Daily ‘This will be short. Perhaps the image [old lady (wall street) churning (scam) butter (stocks)] and title should suffice as a summary of the week. After all, I indicated "possibly" I might post on Friday. The current market is a reprise of early July's rally from June's selloff. Now into September the August lows are reversing. How durable will this be is anyone's guess. Economic data was greeted with bullish enthusiasm as markets were oversold after Monday's slump. The unemployment data was just about the same as previous once you look deeper inside the data. The birth/death model is just an estimate made out of thin air. Once you view the data ex-that, things look pretty grim. There are very few players involved this week and perhaps in the future. It's interesting many major banks are closing their proprietary trading operations. This removes another important prop to markets as retail investors have left the scene. Further, for stock mutual funds, the exodus continues for the 16^th straight week. Cash balances at these funds are at historic lows of 3% as the outflow continues. Curiously, short interest is also at an all-time low near 4% meaning few for bulls to squeeze. We only have hedge funds and overseas investors in the game. And, it does seem like a game more than ever now. Bulls jumped on the oversold conditions on Wednesday as a DeMark 9 was registered on Tuesday for most major market daily charts then. A rally on that technical condition was no surprise ...’

Important Manufacturing Indicators Look Weak at Seeking Alpha (Fri, Sep 3)

Consumption Contraction Approaches 2008 Low at Seeking Alpha (Fri, Sep 3)

Beware the Big Red Leading Indicator at Seeking Alpha (Fri, Sep 3)

Small Investors Turns More Bullish (contrarian indicator) at Seeking Alpha (Fri, Sep 3)

Unemployment Rate Edges up to 9.6% at TheStreet.com (Fri, Sep 3)

AAII Sentiment Survey: Bullish Sentiment Improves, But Bearishness Still Dominates at Seeking Alpha (Fri, Sep 3)

Monthly Markets Review: Risk Aversion Rises in August as Double Dip Concerns Grow at Seeking Alpha (Fri, Sep 3) ‘…The ECB keeping rates at a record low of 1% and zero interest policies in the US and in most western economies remains bullish for gold as the opportunity cost, the lack of yield, of owning gold is negligible, especially with inflation having picked up recently in many economies internationally. Further signs of burgeoning food inflation were seen in the surge in the price of global meat prices which have risen to 20 year highs … (chart) September can be the 'cruelest month' for stocks. Conversely, more years than not, precious metals prices perform well in September and many analysts reckon this year will not disappoint those owning gold. Given the uncertain financial and economic outlook, it is important that investors remain diversified with allocations to cash, short dated government bonds, international equities, and gold…’

More than 400 US Banks Will Fail: Roubini CNBC | More than half of the 800-plus US banks on the “critical list” are likely to go bust, according to renowned economist Nouriel Roubini.

U.S. unemployment soars to 9.6% after economy loses 54,000 jobs The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.6 per cent in August, official figures released today have shown. The data from the U.S. Labor Department showed the economy lost 54,000 jobs last month as the United States continues to struggle to recover from the recent global recession.

Government Economic Leaders Surprised that Real World Isn’t Responding to their Magic Pixie Dust Many have tried to explain to the neoclassical economists running the show exactly how bad the economic collapse would be, why it was so bad, and how to mount an adequate response to fix things. But Bernanke, Romer and the rest of the gang ignored them.

Why Lessons From The First Great Depression Mean The Next Four Months Will Be Very Painful For Stockholders Scott Minerd, CIO of Guggenheim Partners, parses through the years of the Great Depression, and focuses on the pivotal 1936, which contained in it the seeds for the destruction of the period of relative economic growth and stability from 1932 to 1936.

Michael Pento Says Fed Will Buy Stocks And Real Estate In Its Next Attempt To Create Inflation Zero Hedge | Pento also goes into explaining why housing is facing a “deflationary depression,” and a further collapse in pricing, why inflation benefits only those closest to the money, i.e., the banks and the military complex.

The U.S. Path to Collapse National Inflation Association | The pain that was felt after the collapse of Lehman Brothers is nothing compared to the pain that will come when we begin to feel the effects of bailing out the rest of Wall Street.

National / World

Globalist Soros Launches Frontal Assault Against Tea Party Kurt Nimmo | Soros and the foundation left have launched a website designed to go after the growing Tea Party movement.

ABC Nightline Hit Piece Smears Alex Jones As King of “Paranoia Porn” [ Yeah! This is unequivocally indefensible on the part of abc (or nbc, fox, cbs, etc. if they shared a similar mainstream media view) because there are so many substantial nation-damaging behaviors that are in plain sight yet go unreported (and unprosecuted). I’d feel more comfortable with a Washington Post Network (possibly as a wholly owned subsidiary to militate against the risks inherent to such a venture and the establishment of same). While I do find Alex Jones’ somewhat overstated vaunted opinion of the so-called elite a bit much, it’s not because these mental cases are not trying to do as he has accused / shown, but rather because I find his ‘elite’ to be as I’ve previously stated totally inept, incompetent vegetables who are incapable of doing anything well or of substance. I’m really not exaggerating when you look at their track records of inscrutable failure, if only because of a lack of focus on and attention to such failure / corruption. This also includes the ‘pols’ who make the case for term limits based upon any previous service at all. I think people should be thankful that Infowars, Prison Planet, Jones, et als, value the people / humanity enough to take the very real risks, and expend his time and energy in sifting through the plethora of b*** s***, obfuscation, and cover-ups to reveal the truth. Given the inherent state of human nature, their lack of courage, integrity, etc., including that of americans generally, another area where I part company with Jones et als and which, truth be told led them to censor my comments to some of their articles (very hypocritical), such sacrifice by them seems very difficult to justify; but the discomfort they give the dysfunctional mainstream media is certainly a good thing of itself. ] Paul Joseph Watson & Kurt Nimmo | Dan Harris proves yet again why the establishment media is increasingly shunned and distrusted.

The True Cost of the War Paul Craig Roberts | America’s “war on terror,” a fabrication, has resurrected the unaccountable dungeon of the Middle Ages and the raw tyranny that prevailed prior to the Magna Carta.

Fluoride: Direct Engagement to Incite Public Inquiry Travis Crank | Wichita public servants outwardly deny the fluoridation of our water.

Eugenics Alert: World Bank Population-Reduction Lending Schemes Already Underway Jurriaan Maessen | The World Bank works in concert with all the other arms of the octopus.

As Usual, MSM Gushingly “Predicts” Our Fascist Future [ This is quite shocking inasmuch as they’d then be able to easily ‘off’ the recipient of such with a few simple modifications of the chip for any of a multitude of bad reasons / motives. I would never, under any circumstances, permit this for myself, etc..] David Kramer | From the broadcasting arm of the number one New World Order industrial corporation, General Electric, comes this story about the “convenience” of being microchipped for identification.

Drudgereport: UNEMPLOYMENT JUMPS TO 9.6%...
Economy LOST 283,000 jobs during 'Recovery Summer' months...
NPR: 'Recovery Summer' Ends With Economic Pothole...
Labor Sec. Declares: 'There are jobs out there'...
TREASURY HEAD RUSHES BACK FROM VACATION; AIDES SEARCH FOR OTHER JOBS PACKAGE...
120 Days to Go Until Largest Tax Hikes in History...
President Claims Job Creation; Doesn't Mention Net Job Loss of 54K...
HE NEEDS A VACATION: OBAMA TO CAMP DAVID...
Taxpayers to face initial loss on GM IPO; Treasury to sell first shares below break-even...

David Rosenberg: The U.S. Is Suffering a Japanese-Style Depression Burrows ‘Presciently bearish David Rosenberg, the chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff who called the global meltdown back when he was still at Merrill Lynch, isn't budging from his view that the U.S. is in a depression -- and a prolonged, Japanese-style one at that. Rosenberg reminded clients on Wednesday that here we are 33 months after the Great Recession began, and yet home prices, gross domestic product, credit outstanding, organic personal income and employment are all lower now than they were prior to the onset of the downturn. "We can understand that this is not exactly cocktail conversation, but this is a Japanese-style (even worse perhaps) modern-day depression," Rosenberg writes. "It's not the 1930s because soup lines have been replaced with unemployment insurance lines -- over 10 million checks and for up to 99 weeks. The poor souls who endured the bitter 1930s had no such relief." And as for the U.S.'s vaunted labor flexibility and superior demographics saving it from a Japanese sort of lost decade or two, well, Rosenberg is having none of it. "Government policy and the record number of people upside-down on their mortgage have seriously impaired the flexibility of the labor market," Rosenberg writes. And the U.S. birth rate has declined for two consecutive years and is at its lowest level in a century, he notes. Of course, it's no surprise to buy-and-hold investors that U.S. equities have already notched a lost decade and then some. Take a look at this 10-year chart of the S&P 500 ($INX): See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/aZTYr7’

[$$] U.S. Equity ETFs Implode ‘U.S. equity ETFs hemorrhaged assets during the month of August as investors sought out emerging-market equity and debt along with fixed-income picks. According to National Stock Exchange data (nsx.com) released today, U.S. equity ETFs shed nearly $11 billion in assets last month. Here's something remarkable: One U.S. equity ETF accounted for more than half of these outflows. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF, arguably the ETF industry's most iconic fund, saw net outflows totaling more than $6.6 billion last month. Who were the biggest losers besides SPY? You'll recognize some of these names: the PowerShares QQQ ETF, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF and the SPDR DJIA ETF saw net asset outflows of $2 billion, $1.7 billion and $616 million, respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, the Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and the iShares MSCI-Emerging Markets ETF attracted $1.9 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively, while the...’

David Rosenberg: The U.S. Is Suffering a Japanese-Style Depression Presciently bearish David Rosenberg, the chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff who called the global meltdown back when he was still at Merrill Lynch, isn’t budging from his view that the U.S. is in a depression — and a prolonged, Japanese-style one at that.

The U.S. Path to Collapse The combination of more government spending and less taxes equals massive inflation, but this represents the state of mind in Washington today. Inflation is still the last thing on their minds because they don’t see it yet.

Can A Family Of Four Survive On A Middle Class Income In America Today? When I was growing up, $50,000 sounded like a gigantic mountain of money to me. And it was actually a very significant amount of money in those days. But in 2010 it just does not go that far. Today, the median household income in the United States for a year is approximately $50,000.

The Reckless Mess Created by The Fed Quantitative easing will put the American public at ease, at least temporarily. They do not realize it but the American and world economies are in a deliberate state of slow collapse. Yes, the Fed has created a terrible mess. They have been totally unprofessional and reckless.

US Retail Sales Top Estimates on Tax Holidays, Discounts Bloomberg  A family walks toward the entrance to the Kohl's store in Round Rock, Texas. Photographer: Jack Plunkett/Bloomberg US retailers reported August sales that beat analysts' estimates as ...

Retail sales, home contracts rise modestly (Washington Post) [ Forced / Distressed / Underwater pending / foreclosure sales the impetus for short-covering / suckers’ rally on light and hence, easily manipulated, pre-holiday computerized trade volume. The government, desperate and defacto bankrupt, is back to their fake / false data reporting; you know, the kind that spurs the fraudulent wall street rallies and gets revised by 35% + down later as with GDP just recently, but the wall street frauds will get their commissions again on the way down. YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: ‘…Early participants had little reason to alter their mood since the initial jobless claims count for the week ended August 28 came in at 472,000, which is in on par with the 475,000 initial claims that had been widely expected. The latest tally was also little changed from the prior week total of 478,000. Continuing claims saw a more substantial slip as they fell to 4.46 million from 4.48 million. Final nonfarm productivity readings for the second quarter also offered little surprise. Productivity in the quarter fell 1.8%, which is in stride with the 1.7% decline that had been widely forecasted. Unit labor costs for the quarter increased 1.1%, as expected. Pending home sales for July provided participants with a positive surprise. They posted a 5.2% monthly increase, which contrasts with the call for no change from economists polled by Briefing.com. That data overshadowed news that factory orders for July increased 0.1% instead of 0.3% as had been widely expected…’ Stocks rise on economic hopes ahead of payrolls (Reuters) Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! ]

Nation / World

Gun Confiscation in Response to Hurricane Earl? Kurt Nimmo | In New Orleans, police and National Guard confiscated weapons and violated the Second Amendment.

California Cops Taser Senior Citizen in His Own Home Kurt Nimmo | In America, now officially a police state, you will be tasered in your own home if you lip off to the police.

World Bank Threatens “Drastic Steps Necessary” if Nations Refuse Population Reduction Implementation Jurriaan Maessen | A World Bank report suggests introducing “sterilization vans” and “camps.”

British Attorney General moves toward re-opening investigation into mysterious death of Iraq weapons inspector Raw Story | The United Kingdom’s top law enforcement official has taken possession of secret files surrounding the murder of David Kelly, a prominent WMD researcher who was found dead in the months after the invasion of Iraq.

New Evidence Of Controlled Demolition On 9/11 In the video, at about the 0:59 mark, a high-pressure explosion occurs in one of the Twin Towers, below the impact zone, while the building is still standing.

Update: Mile-Long Oil Sheen Reported Spreading From Site Of Gulf Platform Explosion The Coast Guard is on the scene of another oil rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico. Officials are now reporting a mile-long oil sheen spreading from the site.

Karzai’s brother calls for U.S. to shore up Kabul Bank as withdrawals accelerate As depositors thronged branches of Afghanistan’s biggest bank, Mahmoud Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a major shareholder in beleaguered Kabul Bank called on Thursday for intervention by the United States to head off a financial meltdown.

Mexico drug kingpin says he received trailers of US cash A captured Mexican drug kingpin admitted to “investments” in Colombia and said he had received trailers full of dollars from the United States, in a first interrogation video released here.

‘Iraq war based on lies and deception’ Former Reagan Administration official Paul Craig Roberts says that we didn’t hear why we initially went to war with Iraq, although the world knows was based on lies and deception.

Pakistan military abandons US trips after being ‘mistaken for terrorists’ Pakistani officials said the officer, weary from the journey to the US, had said, “I hope this is the final plane to the destination” causing a female passenger, who believed he was threatening the aircraft, to panic.

Drudgereport: TIME: (WOBAMA) MR. UNPOPULAR... FLASHBACK: (WOBAMA) TIME MAN OF THE YEAR 2008...
Calls for USA to shore up Afghanistan Bank as withdrawals accelerate...
UPDATE: Oil rig explodes in Gulf of Mexico; 7 active wells on platform...
COAST GUARD: Mile-long 'oil sheen' spreading...

Russian police raid opposition magazine... [They don’t often do this overtly in america anymore since most media is in cahoots / controlled; but still, no excuse for putin who is often disengaged as when he is out shooting Siberian Tigers with sophisticated weaponry. ]

Pledge beaten by sorority sisters who warned her 'snitches get stitches'... ‘… In her lawsuit, excerpted here, Howard noted that she had originally planned to pledge Alpha Kappa Alpha, the oldest African-American women’s sorority. But since the sorority’s San Jose chapter has been suspended due to hazing activities, Howard opted to join Sigma Gamma Rho, believing that “they represented the ‘sisterhood’ she sought in a sorority.” However, Howard contends, that the group’s pledge process was far from sisterly. According to her complaint, she and fellow pledges were punched, slapped, kicked, slammed into walls, struck with a wooden spoon and a cane, and had books and coins thrown at them during a series of 16 nighttime initiation sessions. Howard recalled one evening when a sorority sister told her to close her eyes. She was then struck on the buttocks with what she later learned was a kitchen pot. The pledges were also frequently struck with a wooden paddle, Howard said, blows that left her with welts on her buttocks. Howard reported that pledges were repeatedly warned not to talk with friends and family about the initiation process, since “snitches get stitches.” They were also told that if they failed to participate in certain pledge activities, they would be “jumped out,” a gang term for a beating conducted by all members of the group. Howard’s complaint names as defendants San Jose State University, Sigma Gamma Rho, and various sorority members, including a quartet of women who, court records show, pleaded no contest earlier this year to misdemeanor hazing charges. The defendants--Princess Odom; Monique Hughes; Joslyn Beard; and Nicole Remble--were each sentenced to 90 days in jail, directed to serve two years of court probation, and barred from involvement with any sorority. Odom, Hughes, Beard, and Remble (all negroes) are pictured here, clockwise from upper left, in San Jose Police Department mug shots.’

Pearlstein: Put millionaires' tax money to good use (Washington Post) [ Nobody likes even the sound of higher taxes, particularly when the same goes for such waste as porkbarrel, political spending but especially the nation-bankrupting needless war spending, the black budgets, etc.. That said, Mr. Pearlstein is quite right, especially when one considers the source of the ‘largesse’, viz., nation-bankrupting war criminal moron dumbya bush who snidely smirked as he talked of ‘his (political) base’ and all the ‘politicking’ entailed in same. Remember… the nation is defacto bankrupt! Moreover, I don’t buy that ‘most productive’ sector being ‘disincentivized’ unless measured by the magnitude of their frauds (ie., wall street, etc.), transfer of the nation’s productive capacity (ie., u.s. ceo’s and politicians, etc., with few exceptions). Additionally, their marginal propensity to consume is less than that of lower wage earners (economics) ]

Bernanke: Regulators fell short in identifying problems (Washington Post) [ Now we know why and what the initials B.S. (for B*** S*** ‘no-recession-helicopter ben’) preceding bernanke stand for. Come on! Say the prosecution word and all’s forgiven. Everyone knows that the criminally insane on wall street have been / are engaged in a huge fraud and there are hundreds of trillions of worthless paper still out there and marked to anything to prove it. See Graham Summers’ exposé, infra. ] In a lengthy analysis of the financial crisis, the Fed chairman says the government did not do enough to protect consumers in the marketplace.

Karzai calls aide's arrest reminiscent of Soviet times (Washington Post) [ Exactly, eerily, certainly realistically reminiscent of the former soviet union is the american union in terms of economics (defacto bankrupt), geopolitics (intensely hated), and even factual similarity (the final straw), with an unmistakable modus operandi that gives rise to failure beyond the propaganda. After all, corruption is as american and pervasive in america as apple pizza pies and mother of hoods, etc. ]

Army supervisor was worried about leak suspect's mental health, attorney says (Washington Post) [ One cannot help but hearken back to a frequently deployed ‘government at its worst’ strategy, ie., Ellsberg/Pentagon papers, former soviet union, etc., in attempting to discredit such informants, etc., which of course is a telltale sign of america’s similar fate / decline / fall. ]

What if Roger Clemens is telling the truth? http://voices.washingtonpost.com/hard-hits/2010/08/what_if_roger_clemens_is_telli.html I ordinarily don’t comment on sports matters but this is one of those exceptions. While not in any way dismissing the seriousness of the prevalent use, for quite some time, of performance-enhancing drugs, my own position on the matter was to place an asterisk next to those who made the record-books so-doing (still matters of proof) with a more stringent policy going forward. Where does an incompetent, nation-bankrupting, non-performing congress get off going after a performance-driven baseball player when huge crimes, warcrimes, frauds from this same government are still unprosecuted? Ask the wall street frauds the tough questions … they’ll lie. Then, even assuming, arguendo, Clemens slipped up … picture the alice-in-wonderland surreal scene presided over by that mammalian rodent-like presence of that incompetent in the semblance of some beaver-toothed woodland creature as, ie., hedgehog, gopher, etc., amidst characters that would rival the famed mad tea party, mad-hatters all. There are far bigger fish to fry and of greater consequence to the nation but their lack of courage and incompetence is the only consistency on capital hill, and everyone knows it. How pathetic! After all, aren’t all three branches of the u.s. government a lie of themselves, and have a near single digit approval rates to prove it.

Pa. capital nearing bankruptcy (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a dry run for the nation’s capital. Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: Government Bond Defaults Inevitable … Everyone who is capable of thinking knows america is defacto bankrupt. The question is, how did Morgan Stanley’s assessment escape scrutiny and follow-up by the press. Indeed, it is certainly a breach of duty to have done so in light of the implications. ] In a highly unusual move, the city of Harrisburg says it will not make a $3.3 million payment.

Automakers report weak sales (Washington Post) [ This really is sobering, yet totally lost on the frauds that be on wall street. ‘Cheapskates’? Mr. Whoriskey should be ashamed of himself. After all, you can’t spend what you don’t really have (unless you’re defacto bankrupt … america ) and, let’s not kid ourselves, Mr. Whoriskey has to be considered somewhat ‘ivory tower’. ] Chastened by the recession, more U.S. consumers have become cheapskates: They are saving more and driving older cars. And that, in part, explains the historically dismal sales reports released Wednesday by automakers.

Manufacturing rebound spurs stock rally (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That new global hub of (very high priced) manufacturing activity … Defacto bankrupt america …I don’t believe the ISM number for even a minute, even with the defacto bankrupt government’s market-frothing spending of money they definitely don’t have and believe the forecasters were closer to reality.] After their worst August in nine years, stocks kicked off September with a big snap-back rally, following the release Wednesday of surprisingly good news about the U.S. manufacturing sector.

Obama prods Mideast leaders (Washington Post ) [ The real question is … who is going to prod defacto bankrupt, war crimes nation america … on peace, that is. Then there’s that ‘oh, it’s just war crimes, illegal nuke-toting israel … laws, rules, un resolutions, etc., don’t apply to them factor and the concomitant skepticism attendant thereto. ] Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas are set to open direct peace talks.

Five reasons to be optimistic about the economy (Washington Post) Neil Irwin |(Very) Political Economy [The unflappable Mr. Irwin. Fraudulent wall street’s shill and man for all seasons falls in with the following as his glass half-full runneth over: Those Who Ignore History... [The aforementioned from The Pragmatic Capitalist is a cogent summary of extant problems which undoubtedly will end quite badly for the unwary (today’s folly represents a great opportunity to sell / take profits), infra, and should be read in tandem with Graham Summer’s exposé which follows. Yet, the situation as realistically bad as they’ve so presented same, is far more dire than even they posit for the u.s. particularly owing to structural problems now inherent to america’s economy / business model which bodes ill as never before in america’s relatively short history. U.S. Stocks Surge On Overseas Growth Riiiiight! Some of the same mainstream, (msnbc) ‘money honey’ drivel one would expect from Forbes faux ‘capitalist tool’ cheerleading squad, totally devoid of forward-looking analytical prowess and leaves you burned every time. Come on! Government Motors and Ford sales were down significantly, construction spending down, private sector jobs lost, and even BofA’s Merrill Lynch has sugar-coated the reality cutting the wall street frauds a break by calling this a ‘growth rececession’. The typical fraudulent wall street churn-and-earn computerized trade scam with built in commission volume for the way down. Sorry to say it, but the reality is: This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.]
Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012 Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.] The Pragmatic Capitalist ‘My position over the last 2 years has been as follows: this is a Main Street debt crisis. I have been highly critical of the government’s incessant interventionist policies over the last few years largely because they ignore the actual problems at hand. First it was Mr. Bernanke saving the banks because he believed the credit crisis started with the banking sector. The great monetarist gaffe ensued. Tim Geithner piled on with the PPIP. FASB jumped on board the bank rescue plan by altering the accounting rules. And then the icing on the cake was the Recovery Act, which, in my opinion, just shoveled money into the hole that had become the output gap, without actually trying to target the real cause of the crisis – those burdened by the debt. In essence, the various bailouts primarily targeted everyone except the people who really needed it.

A year ago I posted a story citing the many reasons why we were sinking into the deflationary Japanese trap. The primary flaw with the US response to the crisis was that we never actually confronted the problem at hand. I have often cited Japanese economists such as Richard Koo who appear to have a good grasp on the problems in Japan and now in the USA. In this case, I cited Keiichiro Kobayashi who is now looking most prescient:

We continue to ignore our past and the warnings from those who have dealt with similar financial crises. Keiichiro Kobayashi, Senior Fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry is the latest economist with an in-depth understanding of Japan, who says the U.S. and U.K. are making all the same mistakes:

“Bad debt is the root of the crisis. Fiscal stimulus may help economies for a couple of years but once the “painkilling” effect wears off, US and European economies will plunge back into crisis. The crisis won’t be over until the nonperforming assets are off the balance sheets of US and European banks.”…

Read that last paragraph again. These are scarily accurate comments. While the USA claims to have many economists who understand the Japan disease and/or the Great Depression the policy actions we’ve undertaken do not appear to be in line with any understanding of this history.

What we’ve done over the last few years is repeat the mistakes of Japan’s past. Instead of confronting the debt problems head on we have simply tried to fill the output gap with short-term spending plans and impotent monetary policies. As Kobayashi presciently said, the “bad debt is the root of the crisis”. I think most mainstream economists, the administration and the Fed have continually misdiagnosed our problems. They have attempted to save the banking sector and simply fill in holes with spending plans that prop up markets, entice more borrowing and largely ignore the actual cause of the current crisis. Some economists have argued that the Recovery Act didn’t fail, but that it was too small. This is like saying that the cancer patient didn’t receive enough percocet. More percocet isn’t the cure. Targeting the cancer and trying to cut it out is the cure. Yet, we continue to ignore the lessons of Japan despite having so many “experts” on the Japanese disease. Therefore, we appear destined to repeat their horrid economic history assuming our current path isn’t miraculously altered.’

WHO ELSE IS CLUELESS IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR? [ As I’ve previously said and reiterate here, the lunatic frauds on wall street are criminally insane and the only way to stop / deter their debilitating churn and earn among other computerized frauds is prosecution, jail, fines, and disgorgement! Once again they’re back to their huge fraudulent gains as seen this reporting period despite growing problem bank list, worthless paper from the prior fraud in the (hundreds of) trillions now marked to anything, and look at August results and worse to come; that money for their commissions / premiums must come from someplace, viz., the bubble which will deflate / crash. ] Graham Summers ‘Here’s a zinger of a news story:

Barclays Plc had no idea how big Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s futures-and-options trading business was when it considered taking over the defunct bank’s derivatives trades at exchanges in 2008, a Barclays executive said.“Lehman’s books were in such a mess that I don’t think they knew where they were,” Elizabeth James, a director of Barclays’s futures business, testified today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. James worked on Barclays’s purchase of Lehman’s brokerage during the 2008 financial crisis.-- Bloomberg

I’ve railed for months that the central issue surrounding the Financial Crisis (derivatives) was not only misunderstood but completely ignored by the mainstream financial media. Here we are, nearly two years after Lehman Brothers went bust, and they’re telling us that Lehman had “no idea” what its options and futures exposure was.

Let’s put this into perspective.

The notional value of the derivatives market at the time that Lehman went bust was somewhere between $600 trillion and $1 Quadrillion (1,000 trillions). It was a market of inter-linked paper contracts entangling virtually every financial institution (including some non-financials), country (Greece, Italy used derivatives to get into the European union), and county (Birmingham Alabama is one example) in the world. As a market it was at least 20 times larger than the world stock market and somewhere north of 10 times World GDP.

In other words, this was the giant white elephant in the living room.

And here’s Lehman brothers, one of Wall Streets’ finest, most respected financial institutions which had been in business for over 150 years announcing that it had “no idea” “if it had sold $2 billion more options than it had bought, or whether it owned $4 billion more than it had sold.”

In today’s world of trillion dollar bailouts, $2-4 billion doesn’t sound like much, so let’s give some perspective here… in its golden days, Lehman Brother’s market cap was roughly $47 billion. So you’re talking about bets equal to an amount between five and 10% of its market cap. Not exactly chump change.

And Lehman had no idea where it was or how much it really owed.

Mind you, we’re only addressing Lehman’s options and futures derivatives, we’re completely ignoring its mortgage backed securities, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), and other Level 3 assets. Options and futures are literally the “tip of the iceberg,” the most visible portion of the behemoth that was Lehman’s off balance sheet derivative issues. After all, these are regulated securities, unlike most derivatives.

Now, if the above statement doesn’t send shivers down your spine, have a look at the notional value of derivatives exposure at the top five financial institutions in the US (mind you, this chart is denominated in TRILLIONS). [chart]

If Lehman had “no idea” what it owned even when it came to options and futures (regulated derivatives), what are the odds that these other firms, whose derivative exposure is tens if not hundreds of times larger than that of Lehman’s, might similarly be “in the dark’ regarding their risk?

Moreover, who on earth might be on the opposite end of these deals? Other US counties like Birmingham Alabama (which JP Morgan transformed into 3rd world country status)? Other countries like Italy or Greece (who used Goldman’s financial engineering to get into the European Union)? My next-door neighbor’s house? Tim Geithner’s long-lost tax returns? WHO KNOWS?

The point is that the very same issues that nearly took the financial world under in 2008 still exist today. In fact, this time around the systemic risk is even more severe.

Consider that the Credit Default Swap (CDS) market which nearly took the financial system down in 2008 was roughly $50-60 trillion in size. In contrast, the interest rate based derivative market is in the ballpark of $500+ trillion.

Indeed, US commercial banks alone have $182 TRILLION in notional value of interest rate based derivatives outstanding right now. To put that ridiculous number in perspective it’s 13 times US GDP and roughly three times WORLD GDP…’

Predicting This Year's Bank Failures ‘The FDIC’s quarterly banking profile, providing data for quarter 2, was released today. The number of 2010 United States bank failures will likely exceed the 2009 failures, the FDIC reported. This was as I reported in this space back in May. Thus far this year there have been 118 bank closings, which compares to about 80 by the same time of year in 2009. The number of banks on the problem list is still rising. It is now at 829 banks…’

U.S. Auto Sales May Hit 28-Year Low as Discounts Flop Bloomberg | U.S. auto sales in August probably were the slowest for the month in 28 years as model-year closeout deals failed to entice consumers concerned the economy is worsening and they may lose their jobs.

A Termite-Riddled House: Treasury Bonds Gonzalo Lira | The United States will have a fiscal-debt-to-GDP ratio of 100% this year, and 110% next year — if not higher.

The Reckless Mess Created by The Fed Quantitative easing will put the American public at ease, at least temporarily. They do not realize it but the American and world economies are in a deliberate state of slow collapse. Yes, the Fed has created a terrible mess. They have been totally unprofessional and reckless.

Gold Is Surging This Morning, And Within A Rock’s Throw Of A Brand New Record Oh hello. The high is just above $1260, so it could happen today easily. Stocks are rallying, too, so you know the dollar is getting whacked. It is.

Second Leg of Crisis Beginning: Hedge Fund Manager September and October hold bad news for stock markets and banks remain overleveraged as we head into the second leg of the financial crisis according to Pedro De Noronha, the managing partner at Noster Capital in London.

Winners And Losers The reality is that it has now become undeniable that globalism has arrived and we are now part of a world economy that is integrating at lightning speed. Unfortunately, all of this globalism has created some very clear winners and losers. But most middle class Americans are in such a deep sleep that they don’t even realize that they are the losers.

Drudgereport: Auto sales: Worst August since 1983...

National / World

Death By Globalism Paul Craig Roberts | The Federal Reserve will monetize the federal government deficit. The result will be high inflation, possibly hyper-inflation and high unemployment simultaneously.

What Obama Didn’t Say About Afghanistan Ray McGovern | My Fellow Americans… so much for Iraq. Turning now to Afghanistan…

Vaccine Death Coverup Implodes Worldwide Infowars.com | Once again the government wants to push it’s mercury filled vaccines on everyone, especially children.

Increase in federal spending hits record (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan … the ‘increase the depth of the nation’s bankruptcy’ plan! And, unlike other american plans, this plan’s working … that bankruptcy thing … but otherwise, not! ]

Is the U.S. Bankrupt? [YES!] (at Motley Fool) The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts recently reported that bankruptcy filings between April and June hit a four-year high. Consumer bankruptcies rose 21 percent while business bankruptcies increased eight percent. The list of corporate bankruptcies over the last couple of years includes big names like Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and GM.  And financial institutions like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) received billions of dollars through the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Should investors add the U.S. government to that list of big name bankruptcies?  I recently asked Boston University economics professor Lawrence Kotlikoff, author of Jimmy Stewart is Dead: Ending the World's Ongoing Financial Plague with Limited Purpose Banking.
Mac Greer: Larry, I noticed the headline or the title of a recent article that you wrote, US is Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It (see infra)

Home prices up 4.2 percent in U.S. (Washington Post) [And america and ultimately taxpayers paid for every percentage point with money they and soon taxpayers don’t have and experts say the expiration of same will further be felt in the form of declining real estate prices going forward. ]

For banks, good news on earnings but not risk of failure (Washington Post) ( The same fraudulent game plan that caused the previous and continuing debacle: The following from Graham Summers is truly mind-boggling and a must-read: WHO ELSE IS CLUELESS IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR? [ As I’ve previously said and reiterate here, the lunatic frauds on wall street are criminally insane and the only way to stop / deter their debilitating churn and earn among other computerized frauds is prosecution, jail, fines, and disgorgement! Once again they’re back to their huge fraudulent gains as seen this reporting period despite growing problem bank list, worthless paper from the prior fraud in the (hundreds of) trillions now marked to anything and the current fraud, and look at August (market) results and worse to come, that money for their commissions / premiums must come from someplace, viz., the bubble which will crash. ] ) Lenders post their biggest quarterly profit in almost three years, even as the number of banks at risk of failure rose to 11 percent of insured institutions.

Predicting This Year's Bank Failures ‘The FDIC’s quarterly banking profile, providing data for quarter 2, was released today. The number of 2010 United States bank failures will likely exceed the 2009 failures, the FDIC reported. This was as I reported in this space back in May. Thus far this year there have been 118 bank closings, which compares to about 80 by the same time of year in 2009. The number of banks on the problem list is still rising. It is now at 829 banks…’

Ron Paul to Fed, Ft. Knox: Show Me the Gold at Minyanville 

The Deteriorating Macro Picture

1. The explosion in private debt (excessive housing borrowing, excessive corporate debt, etc) levels would reveal the private sector as unable to sustain positive economic growth, de-leveraging and deflation would ensue.
2. Government intervention would help moderately boost aggregate demand, improve bank balance sheets, improve sentiment, boost asset prices but fail to result in sustained economic recovery as private sector balance sheet recession persists.
3. Extremely depressed estimates and corporate cost cutting would improve margins and generate a moderate earnings rebound, but would come under pressure in 2010 as margin expansion failed to continue at the 2009 rate.
4. The end of government intervention in H2 2010 will reveal severe strains in housing and will reveal the private sector as still very weak and unable to sustain economic growth on its own.

The rebound in assets was surprisingly strong and the ability of corporations to sustain bottom line growth has been truly impressive – far better than I expected. However, I am growing increasingly concerned that the market has priced in overly optimistic earnings sustainability – in other words, estimates and expectations have overshot to the upside.

What we’ve seen over the last few years is not terribly complex in my opinion. The housing boom created what was in essence a massively leveraged household sector. The problems were compounded by the leveraging in the financial sector, however, this was merely a symptom of the real underlying problem and not the cause of the financial crisis (despite what Mr. Bernanke continues to say and do to fix the economy) …’

Gold Surges To Near $1,250, As Stealthy Flight To Safety Accelerates, Stocks Oblivious As stocks continue to correlate with exactly nothing, and are once again lost in their own HFT dreamworld, which fools Atari in believing the toxic crap it is churning millions of times each second is worth something (and the exchanges gladly continue to pay liquidity rebates for said churn), the capital continues to quietly flow to safety.

Bankrupt Miami in Fiscal Emergency, Breaks Employee Contracts, Hikes Property Taxes In an enormously foolhardy attempt to make ends meet, in spite of the fact that Miami home prices have been hammered and 1-in-8 are unemployed, the County keeps pouring on the painful tax and fee increases.

Gold Rallying to $1,500 as Soros’s Bubble Inflates Investors are accumulating enough bullion to fill Switzerland’s vaults twice over as gold’s most- accurate forecasters say the longest rally in at least nine decades has further to go no matter what the economy holds.

30 Statistics That Prove The Elite Are Getting Richer, The Poor Are Getting Poorer And The Middle Class Is Being Destroyed Not everyone has been doing badly during the economic turmoil of the last few years. In fact, there are some Americans that are doing really, really well. While the vast majority of us struggle, there is one small segment of society that is seemingly doing better than ever.

Obama promises new efforts to boost economy (Washington Post) [ New efforts with the same old failed team covering for the previous same old failed team? The same promised new efforts which were nothing new at all; viz., focus on new war in Afghanistan, increase budget deficits, a penchant for the very perps who precipitated the financial crisis and who should have been prosecuted, jailed, fined and disgorgement imposed, etc.. No details? What’s the matter wobama? Teleprompter not working? ]Obama offered no new proposals during brief remarks in the Rose Garden, saying he would provide details "in the days and weeks to come."

Car sales, spending up, but experts not convinced of trend (Washington Post) [ I’d say time for ‘mouth to mouth resuscitation’ and a closer look isn’t even necessary. Some experts? Just ask any guy on main street. Treading water? I’d say time for post-mortem on the drowning victim.] But a closer look at those car sales raises questions about whether the auto market - and consumer spending as a whole - are indeed on an upward arc or whether they are just treading water.

Obama to loosen rules on technology exports (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Sounds like a continuation of the ‘clinton plan’ regarding missile among other technologies to China which worked so well for america in maintaining its prominently global position vis-à-vis communist china et als. Come on! wobama’s so done! Let the next president determine the probity of such a course! ] White House is overhauling the decades-old rules for the export of sensitive military and other technology, jettisoning what industry groups criticize as an antiquated "Cold War" set of regulations.

In the Middle East, it's still 1947 (Washington Post) [ Indeed it should be! Among the few times the cia was correct, and they’ve been trying to put square pegs in round holes ever since, to america’s substantial detriment. I wonder what what those american sailors of the US Liberty killed by the israelis would say? USS Liberty Survivor Threatened by Unknown Israeli This is what happened to Phillip F. Tourney, decorated war hero and survivor of Israel’s premeditated attack on the USS Liberty 43 years ago. On the evening of Aug. 6, Tourney was verbally threatened by a foreign national claiming to work for the government of israel. As for the purported disdain shown for war mongerer netanayahu, if only wobama’s actions matched his words, the same would represent a major plus for him and the nation of america, so sorely in need of pluses whether the same be budgetary or economic or geopolitical. In fact, for America to abrogate 1948 would guarantee America’s survival, prosperity, and global hegemony in the most positive sense. ]

In 1948, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, an opponent of the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, warned that, even though failure to go along with the Zionists might cost President Truman the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and California, it was about time that somebody should pay some consideration to whether we might not lose the United States. Mr. Forrestal was absolutely correct! Isn’t that exactly what’s happened to defacto bankrupt america in intractable decline. 

TIME TO REVOKE AND NULLIFY THE BALFOUR DECLARATION AND ABROGATE THE CREATION OF THE NATION STATE OF ISRAEL IN THE INTERESTS OF FAIRNESS, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PROSPECTIVE PROSPERITY FOR THIS WORLD!

Obama speech on Iraq has risks (Washington Post) [ Yeah, very true indeed! The main one being that he’s supplanting that illegal, unnecessary, nation-bankrupting war with yet another in Afghanistan which will not be lost on those who supported his candidacy based on promised end to unnecessary war policies which have diverted time, attention, ill-afforded resources including personnel and continue to do so even as defacto bankrupt america crumbles. ]

Home prices up 4.2 percent in U.S. (Washington Post) [And america and ultimately taxpayers paid for every percentage point with money they and soon taxpayers don’t have and experts say the expiration of same will further be felt in the form of declining real estate prices going forward. ]

In the Eye of a Financial Katrina - http://seekingalpha.com/author/wall-street-sector-selector Sunday, August 29th, was the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall along the Gulf Coast and all of us vividly remember the horrific images of that day and the days and weeks after. Five years later, the Gulf Coast has come a long way but most would agree there’s still have a long way to go and many scars yet to be healed. In the world of money and investing, the Financial Katrina hit three years ago this month with the beginning of the sub prime meltdown that led to the “Great Recession.” For the past year or so, we have been in what appeared to be a recovery but now looks more like the eye of the storm; today it is quite likely that the second wall of the hurricane is now rapidly bearing down upon us. The news this week was intensely negative and the only bright spot came on Friday with Chairman Bernanke’s speech at Jackson Hole in which he essentially told us, “don’t worry, be happy” and that all would be well. In spite of the Chairman’s calming tone, Wall Street Sector Selector remains in the “red flag flying” mode and we believe that an intense storm lies just ahead. Looking at My Screens On a technical basis, one can only be bearish and the two charts below tell a quick and scary story. [ chart courtesy of StockCharts.com ]In the chart of the S&P 500 above we see the “death cross” highlighted by the downward pointing arrow wherein the 50-Day Moving Average crossed below the 200-Day Moving Average which is a widely followed indicator of lower stock prices ahead. In the upper box we see the 14-day RSI pointing upwards from relatively oversold levels indicating that a short term bounce could be forthcoming, while the red horizontal line shows the support at 1040 which was tested and held every day last week. From this display we can conclude that we are in a bear market, slightly oversold and near support that, if broken, could lead to a quick drop to the July lows of 1010. [ chart courtesy of StockCharts.com ] The point and figure chart above paints an even more ominous picture. A double bottom “sell” signal was generated on August 11th and the index has now broken through the blue bullish support line, indicating the onset of a new bear market in this major index. Support and resistance lines in point and figure charting tend to act like firm walls and mark major turning points in direction, and this recent trend change is the first since March, 2009, when the lows were hit and last year’s unprecedented rally began. The breach of this bullish support line is a major development and in my opinion is an unmistakable sign that it’s time to head for the storm shelters. The View from 35,000 Feet The fundamental news was equally shocking this week as existing home sales declined to 3.8 million units for July from a previous level of 5.26 million. This number is a record low and single family home sales were at the lowest levels since 1995. Truly we are in what could only be described as a housing market depression, and this comes in spite of historically low mortgage rates that people appear to be ignoring. Seemingly almost nobody wants to buy a house at any rate or any price. New home sales fared no better, declining to record lows, as well, while 25% of mortgage holders are currently “upside down” in their homes, owning more than they’re worth, and 15% are in some part of the foreclosure process. Beyond the dismal news from the housing market, the July Durable Goods report was dismal and points to an ongoing slowdown in capital spending and on Friday 2nd Quarter GDP was revised downward to 1.6% from a previous 2.4% in what could only be described as a terrifying result in light of the stimulus and Federal Reserve intervention required to generate this paltry number. More and more analysts are pointing to further reductions in GDP for 3rd Quarter towards flat or even negative territory while the stock market seems currently priced for 1.5-2.5% growth and this creates a situation which is unlikely to have a positive outcome going forward. Looking across the spectrum of noted analysts, we find Princeton economist and former Federal Reserve member Alan Blinder writing an article in the Wall Street Journal titled, “The Fed is Running out of Ammo” and noted Yale economist Robert Shiller appeared on the Wall Street Journal’s “Big Interview” and said that a double dip “may be imminent.” And finally Albert Edwards, the noted analyst from Societe General says to look for 450 on the S&P 500, a roll back to 1982 levels. Fidelity reports that in the second quarter 25% of people took hardship withdrawals from their 401ks, a number that represents a 10 year high, to help them meet living expenses and the ECRI remained in recessionary territory with a -9.9% reading last week. On Friday Intel (INTC) cut its earnings and revenue forecast and across the Atlantic Ireland was downgraded and given a negative outlook by S&P. Also in Europe, interest rates and Credit Default Swap pricing continued to rise as their sovereign debt situation continues to erode confidence in the outcome of the European Central Bank’s historic intervention efforts of a couple of months ago. The bond market remains priced for Armageddon, forming what many say will one day be the biggest bubble of all time and lead to a historic crash in the bond market somewhere down the road. But on Friday, Dr. Bernanke cheered world markets when he told us that he expected no double dip, that growth would continue and improve and that he and his colleagues stood ready to do whatever it takes to avoid deflation and that he had the tools to lead the global economy to recovery. This upbeat assessment comes after unprecedented government stimulus, interest rates lowered to near zero and $1.7 Trillion of asset purchases by the Fed since the onset of the Great Recession. So one can only wonder how this is going to work. If the medicine hasn’t worked so far, why would a little more of the same medicine make a difference? What It All Means As we’ve been saying for weeks, a double dip looks highly probable with the odds growing daily, lower stock prices look likely and to make your chest feel even tighter, summer is almost over, traders will be back from the Hamptons, the kids will be back in school and we’re about to enter the dreaded month of September which is historically the worst month for stock market performance. At Wall Street Sector Selector, we remain in the “Red Flag” mode, expecting lower prices ahead, and we forecast that the second storm wall of the Financial Katrina is about to hit. The Week Ahead To say that a major week lies ahead is a massive understatement. Economic Reports: A busy round of economic reports this week will give us a look at personal income and spending, home prices, manufacturing and what the Federal Reserve really thought at their recent meeting with everything leading up to the climactic Non Farm Payroll report on Friday. Certainly all of this will be food for thought going into the long Labor Day weekend. Tuesday: 0900: Case/Shiller 20 City Home Price Index 0945: August Chicago PMI 1000: August Consumer Confidence. 1400: FOMC Meeting Minutes Wednesday: 0815: July Construction Spending 1000: August ISM Index 1400: August Auto Sales Thursday: 0830: Initial Unemployment Claims, Continuing Unemployment Claims 1000: July Factory Orders 1000: July Pending Home Sales Friday: 0830: August Non Farm Payrolls 0830: August Unemployment Rate 1000: ISM Services Sector Spotlight: Leaders: Silver, Oil, Copper Laggards: Mexico, Global Shipping, South Korea This week we’re heading for Southwest Florida for a last week of R&R before school starts and reality strikes after the long Labor Day weekend. We hope to have a nice time on the beach and not see any tar balls between our toes. Sadly, I’m sure this year’s Labor Day celebration won’t be a particularly happy occasion for the 14.6 million of our fellow citizens who remain unemployed and I can only wish them the very best and a speedy return to gainful employment and happier days ahead. Disclosure: RWM, PSQ, SH, SEF, EFZ, SKF, VXX, S&P 500 Put Option

Jim O’Neill Suggests It May Be Time For The US To Give Up On Our Own Middle Class, And Focus On China’s Zero Hedge | China will be ecstatic that the US will now be funding the development of its own middle class. As for ours… Oh well.

The Elites Have Lost the Right to Rule Zero Hedge | When you get too many people of a particular mindset (in this case highly quantitative and academic) to aggregate in a field that is very much a people business and one where “street smart” common sense is of extreme importance you are asking for serious trouble.

Ron Paul: Where Is the Gold? [ As I’ve previously written, I believe that beyond the gold plate, Fort Knox has been looted. ] New American | Congressman Ron Paul revealed that next year at the start of the newly inaugurated 112th United States Congress, he would introduce a new bill to audit the U.S. gold reserves.

Five reasons to be optimistic about the economy (Washington Post) Neil Irwin |(Very) Political Economy [The unflappable Mr. Irwin. Fraudulent wall street’s shill and man for all seasons falls in with the following as his glass half-full runneth over: Those Who Ignore History...

Ron Paul: ‘There Might Not Be Any Gold In Fort Knox’ Paul, a longtime critic of the Federal Reserve and U.S. monetary policy, said he believes it’s “a possibility” that there might not actually be any gold in the vaults of Fort Knox or the New York Federal Reserve bank.

Obama’s Department of Justice Puts Out Master Patriot Hit-list The word constitutionalist is now shorthand for the sovereign citizen movement, in other words people who support the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are violent cop killers.

Government Think Tank Calls For Infiltrating Conspiracy Websites Furious that state involvement in major terror attacks is being exposed to a wider audience than ever before via the Internet, a UK think tank closely affiliated with the Downing Street has called for authorities to infiltrate conspiracy websites in an effort to “increase trust in the government”.

The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions Legislation currently pending in the Mexican legislature would ban a vast array of large cash transactions, but the truth is that Mexico is far from alone in trying to restrict cash. All over the world, governments are either placing stringent reporting requirements on large cash transactions or they are banning them altogether.

Two Men Held On Terrorism Precrime Charges as Anti-Muslim Hysteria Reaches Fevered Pitch Kurt Nimmo | The arrest of two men in Amsterdam on “preparation of a terror attack” charges could not have come at a more opportune time.

‘Vaccine Deaths’ Reaches Top of Google Trends Matt Ryan | Alex Jones would like to commend and thank everyone for their continued support in the InfoWar.

Vaccine Deaths And Injuries Skyrocket As Cover-Up Implodes Paul Joseph Watson | Global revolt against deadly vaccines spreads as cases of debilitating illnesses, soft-kill side-effects and even instant deaths become widespread

Report: Israel planning to attack Hezbollah arms depots in Syria Israel is planning to attack Hezbollah arms depots and weapons manufacturing plants in Syria, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported on Saturday. The report is based on Western sources who asserted that Israel has increased its military force level along the northern border in the Golan Heights and Mount Dov areas.

USS Liberty Survivor Threatened by Unknown Israeli This is what happened to Phillip F. Tourney, decorated war hero and survivor of Israel’s premeditated attack on the USS Liberty 43 years ago. On the evening of Aug. 6, Tourney was verbally threatened by a foreign national claiming to work for the government of Israel.

EU Popularity Plunges Right Across the Bloc People’s confidence in the the European Union has dropped to record lows in most countries amid a placid response to the rising unemployment and the troubles of the eurozone, a Eurobarometer published on Thursday shows.

China’s Central Bank Chief Rumored To Have Defected Rumors have circulated in China that People’s Bank of China Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan has left the country. The rumors appear to have started following reports on Aug. 28 which cited Ming Pao, a Hong Kong-based news agency, saying that because of an approximately $430 billion loss on U.S. Treasury bonds, the Chinese government may punish some individuals within the PBOC, including Zhou.

Drudgereport: AMERICA RUST- India's economy races 8.8%...
Russian economy grows 4.0%...
German unemployment rate 7.6%...

FDIC MESS: 829 BANKS AT RISK...
48 HOURS: 21 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan...

Worst August For Stocks Since 2001...

Congressional Travel Stipends Probed...
Dems face midterm meltdown...
Ron Paul questions whether there's gold at Fort Knox, NY Fed...

Dow Falls 140 Points; Banks, Industrials Slide...
1 OUT OF 6 TAKE GOV'T AID...
Homelessness Up 50% In New York City...
OBAMA BLAMES BUSH AGAIN FOR ECONOMY … [ bush (et als) does deserve blame but with flawed pro-fraudulent wall street among other non-policies and continued nation-bankrupting war, wobama is a distinction without a difference and has bought it and can no longer shirk responsibility with the blame game ] ...
Iran state media call French first lady prostitute...

EDUCATION SEC URGED STAFF: GO TO SHARPTON RALLY

Bernanke, other leaders talk economic policy (Washington Post) [Yeah, they can talk the talk, but we all know based upon reality, ie., that no-recession thing aka financial debacle / disaster, etc., we’re still feelin’ in a very big way, they just can’t can’t walk the walk!]

Google wants in on the social networking game (Washington Post) [ I’ll bet they do … and as a cia/nsa front, if you’re a sound thinker and arrange a meet with a newfound friend thereon, be prepared for almost anything; ie., guns with silencers, garroted from behind, knife attacks, sudden acceleration of cars toward you when crossing crosswalks, etc. ] This Tweet -- "Google to launch Facebook competitor very soon" -- unleashed a sense that the online world as we know it was about to fundamentally change.

Stocks up [america down] (Washington Post) Previously reported economic growth, upon which hundreds of rally ‘points’ were predicated, revised down by 50% of the actual 1.6%. This is typical but no small laughing matter which bespeaks the wayward ways of wall street that got us to this debacle which also includes defacto bankruptcy of the nation. So, GDP down, consumer confidence down, and stocks rally like no tomorrow (which is the fraudulent wall street time horizon … they’ll just commission on the way down). Am I missing something here, particularly when a more sobering view from a rational player, INTEL, is far more credible? One former fed chair likened no-recession-helicopter ben bernanke’s factually deficient, empty words to ‘a doctor telling a patient he’s not sure of what the problem is (that economic uncertainty thing he referenced), but if his leg gets worse he can always amputate.’ Previously, as pertains to the jackson hole no-recession-helicopter-ben b*** s*** non-event / talk. Fed action signals new activism (WP) [ Riiiiight! The activist fed! That’s all we need. As if we needed more of what brought us to this point! Certainly the fed’s role in the continuing and current financial crisis / debacle cannot be ignored or disputed. Nothing like a hegelian methodology to create the very problems for which they are called upon to offer solutions, increasing their sense of importance, and concentrating power thereby. (Think about it. It is really rather quite absurd that each meeting time the financial markets hold their bated breath for these incompetent boobs). Then there’s the cover-up with an opportunity for enrichment of some, usually the tight-lipped yes-men then ever after and forever bonded in what becomes tantamount to an almost fraternal link by ‘virtue’ of the crime thereby. No, I’m not saying their initial missteps were necessarily badly intended, but the manipulations thereafter to obfuscate their incompetence (senile greenspun, no-recession-helicopter-ben, etc.) comes at a great price and is nothing less than tantamount to or just outright crime. I’d abolish the fed without hesitation or compunction. After all, at this point of decline and defacto bankruptcy of the nation you certainly can’t point to success nor argue their indispensability. Then there’s also the missing trillions, over-printing of fiat currency, and all that sub rosa activity with the worthless fraudulent toxic paper which I believe is being supplanted with ultimately hard currency to the great benefit of the frauds and great detriment to the nation.]

Fed vows to act if economy stalls (Washington Post) [ Wow! Really! Sounds like a plan! A ‘no-recession-helicopter-ben’ plan! One former fed chair / bk. pres. likened no-recession-helicopter ben bernanke’s factually deficient, empty words to ‘a doctor telling a patient he’s not sure of what the problem is (that economic uncertainty thing no-recession-helicopter-ben referenced), but if his leg gets worse he can always amputate’

New rules for your money (Washington Post) [What they really mean refers to the lack thereof; that new defacto bankrupt american reality and all that flows therefrom in the most negative sense. ] Kiplinger's Personal Finance In this era of high unemployment, flat home prices and do-it-yourself retirement savings, some traditional rules of saving and investing are due for an overhaul.

Why is the recovery faltering? (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! ‘Dat ben! He gives such great, unctuously soothing talks. Along with wobama, we must consider this time, a time for defacto bankrupt American decline with the cocomitant rise of b*** s*** . The watchwords are no longer (as in Hollywood and elsewhere) ‘pastics’, ‘computer chips’, but rather b*** s*** and more b*** s***! I truly must say, almost as a ‘revenge to Samuelson economics kind of thing’, that Mr. Samuelson here talks symptoms rather than (structural) causes and totally misses the (big) macroeconomic picture and should be chastised for faulting prudence.]

Make Sure the Bunker is Well Stocked Mike Whitney Information Clearing House August 29, 2010 Robert Herz was forced to resign from his job as as chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) because he insisted that the banks assign a fair value to their assets. That’s not what you’ll read in the papers, but it’s true just the same. Herz [...]

“Monetary Shock and Awe”: The Fed prepared to launch most Radical Intervention in History There’s no talk of green shoots any more, and even the deficit hawks have gone into hibernation. It feels like the calm before the storm, which is why all eyes were on Jackson Hole this morning where Fed chairman Ben Bernanke delivered his verdict on the state of the economy on Friday.

Debt, Depression, Default. America is in Deep Trouble Items we customarily purchase, i.e., shoes, clothes, cars would become too expensive. Consequently, the American financial woes would result in a global financial decline. The enviable American standard of living will decrease and the next generation will be saddled with insurmountable debt, not of their making.

The US Government Matches Every Dollar In Tax Revenue With A Dollar In New Debt In our attempts to simplify the comprehension of the ongoing serfdomization of the US population, we would like to present one of the more persuasive charts which the administration would likely be loath to demonstrate.

Helicopter Ben Bernanke Says Everything Is Going To Be Okay Don’t worry everybody. Federal Reserve Chairman “No Recession Helicopter Ben” Bernanke says that the U.S. economy is going to be just fine, and that if it does slip up somehow the Federal Reserve is ready to rush in to the rescue. That was essentially Bernanke’s message to an annual gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday.

China is Unloading its Treasury Bonds Oil Price | It looks like the smart money these days is found in China.

Collapse Survival Will Be Tribal: Begin Recruiting Now Human World Order | The controllers are orchestrating the collapse of the American economy and society right now, albeit in slow motion, but it is already crumbling.

The US Government Matches Every Dollar In Tax Revenue With A Dollar In New Debt In our attempts to simplify the comprehension of the ongoing serfdomization of the US population, we would like to present one of the more persuasive charts which the administration would likely be loath to demonstrate.

Mullen: National Debt is a Security Threat [Daaaaah!]The national debt is the single biggest threat to national security, according to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Tax payers will be paying around $600 billion in interest on the national debt by 2012, the chairman told students and local leaders in Detroit.

U.S. birth rate falls again, a possible effect of economic downturn The number of babies born in the United States has dropped for the second year in a row, according to new federal statistics released Friday that provide more evidence that the nation’s economic troubles are affecting the birth rate.

Is Ben Lost? [Yes!] Butter ‘The much awaited speech by Ben Bernanke, on Friday, was a bit of a non-event. It was interesting, however, to see the 30 Year bounce, from 3.55% to 3.7%, the moment that Ben explained his cunning plan to push long-term interest rates down. But at least we learned that $140 billion of the $1.25 billion the Fed advanced to buy agency debt and MBS, got repaid. One question Ben: “How much did you pay for the $140 billion that got repaid? Did you make a profit, or are you going to wait until Ron Paul’s audit before you let us know how that went?.” I know I’ve got a dirty mind, but I can’t help thinking that if Ben had made a profit on that transaction, he would have been crowing about it. I loved this bit, particularly the “Thus”:

Thus, our purchases of Treasury, agency debt, and agency MBS likely both reduced the yields on those securities and also pushed investors into holding other assets with similar characteristics, such as credit risk and duration. For example, some investors who sold MBS to the Fed may have replaced them in their portfolios with longer-term, high-quality corporate bonds, depressing the yields on those assets as well.

Hmm…

1. Even Alan Greenspan and Larry Summers conceded that there is absolutely nothing that the Fed can do to change long-term Treasury yields. But, now Ben the Boy is saying that he can do that, he must be Superman!
2. Good to see that Superman is also taking the credit for pushing down yields on agency debt and toxic MBS. Obviously he is a genius, the Maestro is re-incarnated, Err…but here is one little thing; he’s the only guy buying that garbage.
3. Oh, and whoopee, Ben thinks that the “investors” (translate deadbeat zombie banks), who sold him their (toxic) MBS, have all rushed out to buy corporate bonds. I’m not quite sure what planet he’s on. I thought they either kept the money on deposit with the Fed, or bought Treasuries to repair their capital adequacy. Note the “may”…as if he didn’t know!

But this was the kicker, admittedly hidden away between jargon-heaped on jargon, but there all the same:

(Al those good things managed)... provide further support for the economic recovery while maintaining price stability, the Fed has also taken extraordinary measures to ease monetary and financial conditions.

I especially love the part about “further” support. As if the banks are going out and lending money to Main Street, as opposed to simply using their free, Fed supplied, get-out-of-jail card to create an illusion of solvency whilst they “extend and pretend”. Similar to what happened in Japan after their bubble burst. The real gem, however, was the idea of “maintaining price stability”. What that means is stopping assets prices (house prices, commercial real estate, and to some extent stocks) from going down to where they have to go, before market clearing can start. Funny how when asset prices were bubbling through the roof, that was not considered “inflationary” by the Fed and was not something to be concerned about. But, when asset prices fall through the floor, that is considered deflationary (or disinflationary), and is very bad. Ben looks to me suspiciously like a greenhorn lost in the woods who used up all his ammo shooting at shadows. And yet, there is the Big Bad Wolf of private sector deleveraging faster than he can run the printing presses, (and more importantly, get that money out into the real world) lurking round the corner.’

Headed for a Double Dip_

Sotomayor Says Court May Rule to Limit First Amendment in Response to Wikileaks Kurt Nimmo | Sotomayor’s comment is a warning that the Supreme Court may soon use the Wikileaks case restrict the First Amendment.

The Nazification of the United States Paul Craig Roberts | September 11 destroyed American liberty, the rule of law and the US Constitution.

Fidel Castro: Osama bin Laden Worked for CIA Guardian | Fidel Castro reveals what many of us have known for years — Osama bin Laden was a prized CIA asset.

Conclusive: Global Distribution of Rockefeller-Funded Anti-Fertility Vaccine Coordinated by WHO Jurriaan Maessen | It is a dream long cherished by the global elite: an anti-fertilization program with the aim of reducing the world’s population

We Need A Revolution, Not A Movement Chuck Baldwin | The Tea Party movement, while still a force with which to be contended, has already been diluted and compromised.

Corporate Media Dismisses Castro’s Bin Laden Claim As Far-Fetched Conspiracy Theory The corporate media wasted little time in seizing upon controversial Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s comments about Osama bin Laden being a U.S. spy to deride the claim as a far-fetched conspiracy theory, and yet the fact that Bin Laden was once a CIA protégé and has been used time and again to the benefit of the U.S. government’s geopolitical agenda is a documented fact.

Drudgereport: 7 US troops killed in latest Afghanistan fighting...

Castro: Osama bin Laden is US spy...
PAPER: CIA secretly paying Afghan officials...

7 U.S. troops die in Afghanistan violence (Washington Post) [ I was discussing my opposition to the contrived conflict in Iraq with a former air force man with high (top?) security clearance from economic, geopolitical, and humanitarian perspectives; and further, mentioned I had sought and gotten an appointment to West Point (I was exempt) so I could go (Vietnam) as an officer rather than a grunt who were being used as mere cannon fodder as now in Iraq (I also related the fact that I am thankful, for a multitude of reasons, I changed my mind in light of then new realities). He replied, quite seriously, that’s what they’re there for… No they are not! But yes, that is their unequivocal, unforgiveable attitude beyond the b*** s*** (look at cheney-5 deferments, bush-powderpuff duty courtesy of poppy bush, clinton-draft dodger, wobama-never served, etc.. Just a destructive waste!) The latest deaths bring to 42 the number of American forces who have died this month in Afghanistan after July's high of 66.

U.S. officers weary and humbled (Washington Post) [ Indeed they should be; and, if they are able to make sense of the last 2 decades particularly, they are certifiably true american crazy, a condition in the u.s. and among it’s war mongering allies that is found in self-destructive abundance. No joke! And then there are the crimes / frauds. My position is also that such frauds as the disappearance of the 360 tons of $100 bills, etc., and similar such frauds should come right off the top, a direct reduction in their budget allocation particularly in light of the defacto bankruptcy of the nation! ] How Iraq vets make sense of the last seven years will affect how america wields its military power [very poorly indeed!] .

Is the U.S. exporting terrorism? (Washington Post) [The newspaper that never sleeps…The Washington Post

WikiLeaks Release: CIA Red Cell Special Memorandum – What If Foreigners See the United States as an ‘Exporter of Terrorism’ [Which of course is the reality, along with israel; you do recall those israeli operatives who were caught cheering the 911 hit, the so-called pearl harbor event so cherished by the neo-cons.] The document states, “This report examines the implications of what it would mean for the US to be seen increasingly as an incubator and ‘exporter of terrorism.’” However, it doesn’t go on to mention the U.S. state sponsored terrorist activities of the Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG).

We’re Already In Recession [actually a depression] Harding ‘‘… look at the trend. After an unusual four straight quarters of negative growth in the severe 2008-2009 recession, the recession ended in the September quarter of last year when GDP managed fragile growth of 1.6% for the quarter, and then improved to 5.0% growth in the December quarter.It was understood that much of that growth was temporary, fueled by government spending, and spending by consumers provided with government bonuses and rebates, as well as temporary rebuilding of inventories by businesses. But it was expected that with that jumpstart the recovery could continue on its own legs.So, it was a bit of a surprise when GDP growth slowed to 3.7% in the March quarter of this year while those programs were still having an influence. But economists still expected the economy would grow at a 3% pace in the June quarter even with those programs winding down, and for the rest of the year.So, it was a real disappointment when second quarter growth was reported a month ago as having been only 2.4%.  Plus, when additional data became available for May and June, the last two months of the second quarter, and those reports were increasingly negative, economists predicted that Q2 GDP growth would be revised down to only 1.3%.On Friday, the revision was released, and it showed growth last quarter slowed significantly, but only to 1.6%, not as bad as the latest forecast.The media and the stock market, starving for good news–and with the market short-term oversold after being down 10 of the previous 13 days–took it as a positive. But let’s get real.The issue is not whether economists got their forecast right or wrong, but the degree to which economic growth is slowing. And a trend of 5% growth in the December quarter, followed by a 1.3% decline to 3.7% growth in the March quarter, followed by a 2.1% decline to 1.6% growth in the March quarter is a chilling rate of decline.Now factor in that economic reports so far for July and August, the first two months of the third quarter, have been significantly worse than those of May and June, and significantly worse than economists’ forecasts, with the relapse pretty much across the board; in the housing industry, manufacturing, retail sales, consumer and business confidence, the decline in U.S. exports, and so on.It’s not a stretch then to think that economic growth is declining by another increment of more than 1.6% this quarter, which would have it in negative territory, already in recession.In his speech Friday morning at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed Chairman Bernanke, while saying he still expects the economy to grow in the second half “albeit at a relatively modest pace” did not put forth a very convincing argument, using such phrases as “painfully slow recovery in the labor market”. . . “economic projections are inherently uncertain”. . . . “the economy is vulnerable to unexpected developments” . . . “the recovery is less vigorous than we expected.”Nor did he seem confident that the Fed’s depleted arsenal of tools to re-stimulate the economy would be effective if needed. Two of the four possible actions he mentioned seemed to suggest consumers and markets could be fooled into confidence with mere talk.His brief list of four possible actions were, “1) conducting additional purchases of longer-term securities [bonds and mortgage-related securities]; 2) modifying the Fed’s FOMC meeting communications to investors; 3) reducing the interest the Fed pays banks on their excess reserves. And I will also comment of a fourth strategy, proposed by several economists- namely, that the Fed increase its inflation goals.”Providing details on two of the four possible actions, he said, “The Fed’s current statement after its FOMC meetings reflects the FOMC’s anticipation that exceptionally low interest rates will be warranted ‘for an extended period’ . . . A step the Committee could consider if conditions called for it, would be to modify the language to communicate to investors that it anticipates keeping the target for the federal funds rate low for a longer period of time.”As for the fourth possible action in his list of four, he said the Fed could alter the phrases it uses to communicate its goals for inflation by “increasing its medium-term inflation goals above levels consistent with price stability.”That’s scary stuff if those are two of the four actions the Fed sees as its best options to re-stimulate the economy.Also of concern, in its report revising Q2 GDP growth down to just 1.6%, the Commerce Department reported that corporate earnings declined significantly in the second quarter, after-tax earnings rising just 0.1%, compared to the gain of 11.4% in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Wall Street continues to ratchet up its earnings estimates.On the positive side, consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of the economy, rose 2% in the second quarter, compared to 1.9% in the first quarter. But the bad news is that the reports since, on consumer confidence and retail sales in July and August, have been big disappointments.Putting it all together, don’t be surprised if a couple of months down the road we learn the economy was already in recession in the current quarter.’

Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: Government Bond Defaults Inevitable … How did this escape mainstream … this is very big news though not new news but would be newly reported news which smart people knew was news before this news was even reported as news on the Drudge news web site … they deserved this redundancy for which there is no excuse in not covering ...

Cramer Gets It Wrong With “Mass Panic” GDP Forecast [To the contrary, among the few times cramer got it right … I mean, come on … you don’t think that initial number and now this better than all forecasts is correct … one couldn’t be that dumb. ]

Fed vows to act if economy stalls (Washington Post) [ Wow! Really! Sounds like a plan! A ‘no-recession-helicopter-ben’ plan! One former fed chair / bk. pres. (Brusca) likened no-recession-helicopter ben bernanke’s factually deficient, empty words to ‘a doctor telling a patient he’s not sure of what the problem is (that economic uncertainty thing no-recession-helicopter-ben referenced), but if his leg gets worse he can always amputate’.] U.S. markets rebound on news that central bank will step in if conditions unexpectedly worsen.

China is Unloading its Treasury Bonds Oil Price | It looks like the smart money these days is found in China.

Collapse Survival Will Be Tribal: Begin Recruiting Now Human World Order | The controllers are orchestrating the collapse of the American economy and society right now, albeit in slow motion, but it is already crumbling.

10 Leading Retailers Close Stores Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis | Signs of weak consumer discretionary spending are popping up in multiple places.

U.S. Postal Service Starts Quoting SDR to Dollar Conversion Rates, and IMF Endorses Replacing Dollars with SDRs I have repeatedly pointed out that it is possible that the IMF’s special drawing rights (SDRs) will become the world’s reserve currency. And as I noted in April 2009, there is some possibility that the “Bancor” will ultimately fill that role.

Why Are Home Sales Plummeting? On the surface, it is because the government’s tax-credit for first-time home buyers lapsed in April. It takes a couple of months lag-time between buyer purchase decisions and the actual close of escrow, and so the expiration of the tax-credit is just now hammering the market.

Bearish Sentiment Officially Reaching Fever Pitch Friday promises to be a huge day (at least in the early going) with both the Fed and the Q2 GDP revisions potentially giving investors more reasons to panic. The questions: is panic hitting peak levels?

Drudgereport: Analyst: CITIGROUP 'Cooking the Books'...
Banks back switch to renminbi for trade; Incentives to move from dollar and euro...
THE SPEECH: Bernanke under pressure to prop it up...
'RECOVERY SUMMER' ENDS SICK
GDP REVISION: 1.6%
Says recovery softer, Fed prepared to buy more...
Weaker GDP raises stakes...
WIRE: What Biden didn't mention on stimulus...
ZUCKERMAN: The Most Fiscally Irresponsible Government in History … along with bushes’...
Joint Chiefs Chairman: National Debt is a Security Threat...
Recession pushes US birth rate to new low...
RECOVERY BUMMER: Youth employment lowest since 1948...
Thousands line up before dawn for mortgage help in Palm Beach County...

Report on Fannie, Freddie gives new theory for collapse (Washington Post) Since ‘it’s always something’, time to contact Rosanne Rosanna Danna to straighten this out! Tiny tim geithner, God bless us everyone, ‘has also pointed to the weight of souring guaranteed loans as a source for the companies' troubles. …Riiiiight! Guarantee’s are the thing! … Rosanne Rosanna Danna, formerly of SNL fame needs to chime in with what her mama always used to say, ‘ It’s always something ‘ . Of course, it matters little to the frauds and what their frauds are on wall street what the something is said to be since the reality is … ‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. This was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes.’

Flow of imports drags down economic growth (Washington Post) [Ah, eureka! So that’s what did it! Nothing to do with transferring productive capability overseas / elsewhere as warned against by Ross Perot and celebrated by those long-term thinking frauds on wall street. Well, we still have the worthless paper to move around and commission as warned against by Morita of Sony fame.]

Chossudovsky: China could already be world’s largest economy

Stocks slip as caution about the economy returns Associated Press (Washington Post) [Caution? Is that what they’re calling reality these days? ] Stocks fell Thursday after early gains from a better report on jobless claims faded in late trading, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to its first close below 10,000 since early July.

Is the U.S. Bankrupt? [YES!] (at Motley Fool) The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts recently reported that bankruptcy filings between April and June hit a four-year high. Consumer bankruptcies rose 21 percent while business bankruptcies increased eight percent. The list of corporate bankruptcies over the last couple of years includes big names like Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and GM.  And financial institutions like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) received billions of dollars through the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Should investors add the U.S. government to that list of big name bankruptcies?  I recently asked Boston University economics professor Lawrence Kotlikoff, author of Jimmy Stewart is Dead: Ending the World's Ongoing Financial Plague with Limited Purpose Banking.
Mac Greer: Larry, I noticed the headline or the title of a recent article that you wrote, US is Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It. So with that in mind, what is your take on the economy these days?
Larry Kotlikoff: Well there is a lot of uncertainty, as rightfully there should be. We have seen the financial sector implode basically because of the systematic production and sale of trillions of dollars of fraudulent securities under the cover of proprietary information, so nobody really had the ability to look inside big companies like Bear Sterns or Merrill Lynch to see exactly what they owned or owed. That problem remains today, even with the passage of Dodd-Frank. There is no requirement that the financial industry come clean with respect to what it is doing with our money, so every major financial player says you can't see what we are doing because we have the Midas touch. We are going to beat the market, and if we show you, everybody will see our secret formula for making you a mint. As a result, they have a great cover to produce fraudulent securities. And then when there is a sniff of fraud, one can easily presume that everything they are doing is fraudulent, which may not at all be the case. And then there is a run against those institutions as we saw with Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers and all the other ones because of the perception that so much of their holdings were fraudulent and that their reporting was fraudulent. And of course the rating companies and the regulators and the boards of directors and the members of Congress were all, in effect, in bed with each other to achieve this result. I don't see anything that has fundamentally changed, so that is one major area of fragility. We could have another meltdown in the financial market tomorrow because as Dick Fuld [Lehman former CEO] said, he claims that their balance sheet was just fine and that this was all just a panic, it was not connected with any facts. Well, he said that every institution on Wall Street --- Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) -- could have experienced the same thing. His concern about this happening to other companies is well taken. So we have a financial system that is set up to fail again, and we have a fiscal situation which is a complete and dire mess. It could lead to a financial panic that could lead to a much bigger meltdown of the financial system than we have seen.
Greer: Is the U.S. bankrupt?
Kotlikoff: Bankruptcy means not being able to pay your future bills. If you can't pay your current bills, your creditors are already after you so you already are bankrupt.  If you can't pay your future bills, that really is the operational definition of going bankrupt or being bankrupt. The U.S. government can't pay its future bills. These bills, in total, in present value, exceed the revenues by $202 trillion. This is based on taking the data projected by CBO (Congressional Budget Office) back on June 26 of this year, when they put out their alternative fiscal scenario, which is their best long-term projection of government spending, including servicing the official debt, and government revenues. And if you present value the differential between spending and revenues, including extrapolating beyond their projection which is important to do, you get a fiscal gap of $202 trillion.  To come up with $202 trillion in present value, you'd have to immediately and permanently double all taxes we have.  You'd have to do it immediately. We're talking here about running a 5% GDP surplus this year instead of running a 9% deficit. So I don't see that happening. We have to cut spending or we have to print money. Either way you're cutting spending so either way you're, in effect, reining in spending promises. And that suits my definition of bankruptcy. And I think there are ways of cutting spending and getting our fiscal house in order but we need to engage in radical surgery here and not putting on the band-aid that this administration is so fond of.
Greer: One of our Motley Fool writers recently interviewed Euro Pacific Capital President Peter Schiff. In 2006, he was predicting the economic downturn, and he now says that we are, "In the early stages of a depression now. It is going to be a horrific experience for average Americans who are going to watch their standard of living plunge." Do you agree?
Kotlikoff: Well, this has been a depression so far for millions of Americans. It didn't have to happen. It is really man-made. We have the same physical capital and human capital sitting here in place. We don't have to stay in a depressed state. The problem is that things are not coordinated. We don't have buyers optimistic about getting paid salaries and we don't have sellers optimistic about being able to find buyers, so everybody is kind of sitting on their hands. We can have some, a bunch of KISS's, which are "keep it simple, stupid" solutions to our problems, and lots of people throughout the country realize this, that we need to fix things fundamentally. We can't do it with 2,000 page bills that make bureaucratic structures that are basically clogging up our economic arteries, even more bureaucratic…

10 Practical Steps That You Can Take To Insulate Yourself (At Least Somewhat) From The Coming Economic Collapse The Economic Collapse | Most Americans are still operating under the delusion that this “recession” will end and that the “good times” will return soon.

America’s Debt: The BIG Wave Damien Hoffman | This, my friends, is only the tip of the iceberg of what will unfold should we choose to kick the proverbial can farther down the road.

S&P Says US Should Act to Protect AAA-Rating: Report The United States government needs to take steps to preserve its top AAA-rating, a Standard & Poor’s Ratings (S&P) official told Dow Jones newswire in an interview published on Thursday.

It pays to riot in Europe Dublin has played by the book. It has taken pre-emptive steps to please the markets and the EU. It has done an IMF job without the IMF. Indeed, is has gone further than the IMF would have dared to go.

The Economy When Debt Is Everywhere As a result of austerity, imposed on Greece by its Illuminist led government, unemployment has hit 70% in some places. The country’s budget deficit has been reduced by 40%, truly draconian. Spending by government has been cut 10%, which is more than double what the EU and IMF has required.

10 Practical Steps That You Can Take To Insulate Yourself (At Least Somewhat) From The Coming Economic Collapse Most Americans are still operating under the delusion that this “recession” will end and that the “good times” will return soon, but a growing minority of Americans are starting to realize that things are fundamentally changing and that they better start preparing for what is ahead.

China Buys Euros as Fear of World Depression Grows Webster G. Tarpley | The one certainty is that there is no recovery, and that the second wave of a world economic depression dominates the world.

Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession: Rosenberg Positive gross domestic product readings and other mildly hopeful signs are masking an ugly truth: The US economy is in a 1930s-style Depression, Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg said Tuesday. ‘Positive gross domestic product readings and other mildly hopeful signs are masking an ugly truth: The US economy is in a 1930s-style Depression, Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg said Tuesday. Writing in his daily briefing to investors, Rosenberg said the Great Depression also had its high points, with a series of positive GDP reports and sharp stock market gains. But then as now, those signs of recovery were unsustainable and only provided a false sense of stability, said Rosenberg. Rosenberg calls current economic conditions “a depression, and not just some garden-variety recession,” and notes that any good news both during the initial 1929-33 recession and the one that began in 2008 triggered “euphoric response.”

Op-Ed Columnist - The Third Depression - NYTimes.com Economic Policy: Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says the US is in the "early stages of a third Great Depression. The Third Depression By PAUL KRUGMAN Published: June 27, 2010 ‘Recessions are common; depressions are rare. As far as I can tell, there were only two eras in economic history that were widely described as “depressions” at the time: the years of deflation and instability that followed the Panic of 1873 and the years of mass unemployment that followed the financial crisis of 1929-31. Neither the Long Depression of the 19th century nor the Great Depression of the 20th was an era of nonstop decline — on the contrary, both included periods when the economy grew. But these episodes of improvement were never enough to undo the damage from the initial slump, and were followed by relapses. We are now, I fear, in the early stages of a third depression. It will probably look more like the Long Depression than the much more severe Great Depression. But the cost — to the world economy and, above all, to the millions of lives blighted by the absence of jobs — will nonetheless be immense. And this third depression will be primarily a failure of policy. Around the world — most recently at last weekend’s deeply discouraging G-20 meeting — governments are obsessing about inflation when the real threat is deflation, preaching the need for belt-tightening when the real problem is inadequate spending. In 2008 and 2009, it seemed as if we might have learned from history. Unlike their predecessors, who raised interest rates in the face of financial crisis, the current leaders of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank slashed rates and moved to support credit markets. Unlike governments of the past, which tried to balance budgets in the face of a plunging economy, today’s governments allowed deficits to rise. And better policies helped the world avoid complete collapse: the recession brought on by the financial crisis arguably ended last summer. But future historians will tell us that this wasn’t the end of the third depression, just as the business upturn that began in 1933 wasn’t the end of the Great Depression. After all, unemployment — especially long-term unemployment — remains at levels that would have been considered catastrophic not long ago, and shows no sign of coming down rapidly. And both the United States and Europe are well on their way toward Japan-style deflationary traps …’

Worse than expected news on both durables and new home sales. Indeed, in this and the prior session the ‘new homeseller stocks’ rose based on the foisted false expectation of expected-to-better as opposed to, among other, far worse than expected results. Yet, where / when was the worse than expected news discounted. The fact is that it wasn’t, as fraudulent wall street with one of those typical press the button, computerized program trade days, rallies to try to suck the suckers back in to keep their ‘churn and earn’ rollin’. Note the typical, almost tauntingly gleeful mainstream non-news headline, ‘US stocks pull off a gain; Dow ends above 10,000 (at CNBC)’ … Riiiiight! … They pulled it off … How pathetic! Democrats move to shore up faltering economic recovery (Washington Post) [ Wow! And all this time that’s what we thought they were doing. Now they’re gonna’ get serious … riiiiight. Here’s some serious for you: Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff … : an inflationary depression.) among other economists, (Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.]

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012 ).

  INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington Post) Stock market ends down for second straight week (Washington Post) [Yeah! There should be no surprise here. Such is the scenario that bear markets are made of and Maierhofer shows the math to prove it (infra), Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell / Take Profits while you still can! ]

Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: Government Bond Defaults Inevitable...
Roubini: Growth to Be 'Well Below' 1% ...
New Home Sales Sink to Lowest Pace on Record...
Banks back switch to renminbi for trade; Incentives to move from dollar and euro...
DEM JOKES: PELOSI COULD DIE BEFORE NEXT YEAR
Former Republican chairman: I'm gay...
President Bush 'incredibly supportive in his cornholin’ efforts'...
Bernanke under pressure to prop it up [yeah … with the typical b*** s***]!
Jackson Hole: Speech, Speech...

Infowars.com Poll: Fed Will Push Nation Into Greatest Depression Kurt Nimmo | Infowars.com readers believe the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve will push the country into another depression.

Even Tony Robbins Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming It seems like almost everyone is warning of a coming economic collapse these days.

Why to Expect a Bipolar Market Move Next Week [Well, I don’t know about a diagnosis of bipolar, but ‘criminally insane’; yes, that’s wall street in a nutshell.]

Bond Bubble, Dollar Doom - Embrace The Fear Says Fisher [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan … to bail out the frauds on wall street as they sell their ‘hot potatoes’ in their typical ‘musical chair’ pre-crash charade! ] ‘… Hussman: Dollar Collapse Coming: In his latest market commentary, top fund manager John Hussman continues to express a bearish view, and says that more quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve is likely to trigger “an abrupt collapse in the foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar”. Hussman offers something of a primer on exchange rates, and concludes by saying this: “The policy of quantitative easing is likely to force a large adjustment on the U.S. dollar because the Federal Reserve is choosing to lay a heavier hand on the Treasury bond market than would result from economic conditions alone,” he says. “The resulting shift in interest rates and long-term inflation prospects combine to dramatically reduce the attractiveness of the U.S. dollar. A significant and relatively abrupt devaluation is then required, in an amount sufficient to set up expectations of a U.S. dollar appreciation over time.” Special Offer: People mocked Gary Shilling when he said SELL in 2006 and 2007. But he was right and his subscribers are richer for it. Click here for Gary Shilling’s current investment advice. As for the market, Hussman says he continues to see unfavorable valuations, unfavorable market action, and unfavorable economic pressures. The Fed’s new go at quantitative easing may well limit deflationary fears, he says, which has led him to increase exposure to precious metals and foreign currencies. Hussman also says the U.S. should focus on restructuring debt, and offers his take on how it should do so …’

Dow Reclaims 10,000 as Stocks Pare Losses CNBC | Stocks opened lower for a fifth straight day Wednesday as disappointing reports on new home sales and durable-goods orders stoked worries about the economic recovery.

Consumers Dropping Pay TV Services Investors.com | The number of subscribers to cable, satellite and telecom TV services in the U.S. fell for the first time ever in the second quarter.

Plunge in Home Sales Stokes Economy Fears Wall Street Journal | U.S. home sales plummeted in July to a level not seen in more than a decade, spurring fears of renewed weakness in housing prices and the broader economy.

Boehner calls for mass firing of Obama's economic team (Washington Post) Yeah! True enough. They should be fired (watch for fake data as a desperate reaction to the reality the fake data’s been hidin’, revisions to fake data which hid reality, etc., ‘cause they’re really desperate); yet where were the same calls for paulsen, bush, et als. The truth is, they all should be fired! Every last fraudulent one of them! All three corrupt branches of the u.s. non-government.

Frank to hold hearing on regulation of Wall St. pay (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Riiiiight! More hearings … sounds like a plan! You know, max face time, no action, great politics as usual. After all, if they were really serious, prosecutions, jail, fines, and disgorgement for the perps would have happened. Additionally, the so-called fin regs were powder puffs after all the huff and puff and ignore prosecution under already existing laws. What total fraud / b*** s***! ]

U.S. Financial System Still "Fundamentally Corrupt," Kotlikoff Says: Here's How to Fix It ‘We have a "fundamentally corrupt financial system" and the Dodd-Frank reform bill did nothing to change it, says Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff. "Relatively little has changed except there are going to be more federal regulators who are probably going to miss major problems." At the core of the 2008 crisis was "the production and sale of trillions of fundamentally fraudulent securities," Kotlikoff says, suggesting all levels of society participated in the fraud -- including homeowners. At the center of it all were financial intermediaries (a.k.a. Wall Street) who packaged and sold "snake oil under the guise of proprietary information" to limit or eliminate disclosure, and enabled by corrupt rating agencies, regulators and elected officials, he says. In the accompanying video, Kotlikoff explains how we can "make Wall Street safe for Main Street." In short, we should transform all financial companies with limited liability (banks, hedge funds, private equity firms and insurance companies alike) into mutual funds, which the professor describes as "little banks that have 100% capital requirements. " Notably, the big mutual fund companies survived the "financial earthquake" of 2008-09 when the rest of the financial system collapsed, Kotlikoff recalls. In late 2009, Kotlikoff and Harvard's Niall Ferguson penned an op-ed for The FT describing a blueprint for how to take moral hazard out of banking. Citing a speech by Bank of England governor Mervyn King, Kotlikoff and Ferguson called for "limited purpose banking" (LPB), that would "limit banks to their legitimate purpose - financial intermediation and payment facilitation." Nine months later, Kotlikoff remains convinced this "very simple reform" remains a much better alternative than the financial reform bill hammered out in Washington - with plenty of influence from Wall Street lobbyists. "We are rebuilding [the system] out of straw rather than out of brick," Kotlikoff says, suggesting his "LPB" proposal will ultimately be good for the economy and provide a model for the rest of the world. "If we have a safe, sound [financial] structure other countries will follow suit," he says.’

How to Get Through This Mess ‘… U.S. RECESSION NEVER ENDED; GDP TO CONTRACT IN Q3

Hardship 401(k) withdrawals set record in second quarter:  More workers also borrowing from their accounts (Washington Post, August 22, 2010) [ Clearly an instance where ‘better late than never’ doesn’t quite do it … ‘better now than late or never’ is a bit better as the following see that old tune, ‘ The Big Hurt’, reaching once again number 1 on the billboard charts. ]

Soros Bailing Out of U.S. Stock Market Robert Wenzel | Billionaire trader and political manipulator,George Soros, is clearly not optimistic.

Celente: Stock Market Crash Before End of 2010 Gerald Celente believes that the stock market will crash before the end of 2010 , gold will soar.

Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell / Take Profits while you still can!

100-Year Bonds --- Sign of Trouble?

Analyst: Dow To 5,000, Lost Decade For Stocks The Dow Jones Industrial Average will lose about half of its value over the next couple of years as it follows a Nikkei-like pattern of several sharp rallies in an overall decline, according to Charles Nenner, founder and president of Charles Nenner research.

Existing home sales plunge 27% Existing home sales fell sharply in July, declining for a third straight month, as the effects of the expired homebuyer tax credit continued to add turbulence to the housing market.

Hindenburg Omen Creator Has Exited The Market As we reported first, last week saw the second confirmation of the Hindenburg Omen, most recently sighted for the first time on August 12. Presumably this is an indication of putting one’s money where one’s mouth is (and away from the market).

We’re Underperforming The Great Depression In real (inflation/deflation-adjusted) terms, when did the US market permanently regain the high reached in 1929? The first chart illustrates two answers to the question. One uses the real price and the other uses the real total return.

Top Republicans urge Obama to oust economic team Reuters | The top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives called on Tuesday for President Barack Obama to fire his economic team in a campaign-style speech meant to focus voters on the weak American economy.

Home Sales Plunge to Record Low NY Times | Sales of existing homes plunged 27.2 percent in July, down to their lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began keeping track over a decade ago.

Unemployed group blasts Geithner’s handling of economy The Hill | UCubed, a group representing unemployed and underemployed workers, sharply criticized Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for his handling of the economy.

Stocks Plunge, Double Dip Recession Fears Grow After Home Sales Report U.S. stocks extended losses, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average below 10,000, and the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 2.5 percent for the first time since 2009 as a bigger-than-estimated slump in existing home sales fueled concern the economy may relapse into recession.

Infowars.com Poll: Fed Will Push Nation Into Greatest Depression Kurt Nimmo | Infowars.com readers believe the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve will push the country into another depression.

Even Tony Robbins Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming It seems like almost everyone is warning of a coming economic collapse these days.

Alex Jones Exposes Google’s Plan to Dominate the Internet Infowars.com | Google’s takeover agenda will control the world wide web and force independent media websites, radio and TV shows out of existence for good.

Ron Paul: Let the Housing Market Normalize! Dr. Ron Paul | There seems to be a growing consensus in favor of abolishing Fannie and Freddie. This is the good news.

Americans Using Their Rainy Day Savings to Live Rebel Traders | The reality of the ‘real economy’, as measured by people, not Wall Street, is a deteriorating economy where any source of funds is fair game to be tapped into.

The Never Ending Recession Mr. Rosenberg believes we could see a negative GDP print THIS quarter. And if he’s right that means analysts are far too optimistic about the upcoming quarter.

Economic forecaster: ‘Greatest Depression’ coming Collapse of middle class means there’s no fuel for recovery, Gerald Celente argues.

National / World:

JFK Assassination Cover-Up Blown Sky High It is a story the corporate media, with the notable exception of one lone Fox News affiliate, refuses to report. A former FBI agent, Don Adams, has compelling evidence Lee Harvey Oswald did not assassinate president John F. Kennedy.

Massive solar storm to hit Earth in 2012 with ‘force of 100m bombs’ Astronomers are predicting that a massive solar storm, much bigger in potential than the one that caused spectacular light shows on Earth earlier this month, is to strike our planet in 2012 with a force of 100 million hydrogen bombs.

Conclusive: Global Distribution of Rockefeller-Funded Anti-Fertility Vaccine Coordinated by WHO Jurriaan Maessen | It is a dream long cherished by the global elite: an anti-fertilization program with the aim of reducing the world’s population

Republican Tea Party Organization Reports Death Threats Kurt Nimmo | FreedomWorks is the establishment’s answer to the Libertarian Tea Party movement.

Saudi couple hammer 24 hot nails into their maid after she complained of heavy workload [Saudi Arabia is total b*** s***. Time for displacement of the saudi mob family, and establishment of a meaningful nation-state! They are an embarrassment to Muslims everywhere!] A Saudi couple tortured their Sri Lankan maid by hammering 24 hot nails into her after she complained of her heavy workload. Mrs Ariyawathi told a local newspaper that her employers tortured her with the nails as punishment.

Senate To Sneak Through Internet Kill Switch Bill The Senate is attempting to sneak through the infamous Internet kill switch cybersecurity bill by attaching it to another piece of legislation that is almost guaranteed to pass – the defense authorization bill – in an underhanded ploy to avoid the difficult task of passing cybersecurity on its own.

Key Karzai Aide in Corruption Inquiry Is Linked to C.I.A. The aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Afghan and American officials.

WikiLeaks Release: CIA Red Cell Special Memorandum – What If Foreigners See the United States as an ‘Exporter of Terrorism’ [Which of course is the reality, along with israel; you do recall those israeli operatives who were caught cheering the 911 hit, the so-called pearl harbor event so cherished by the neo-cons.] The document states, “This report examines the implications of what it would mean for the US to be seen increasingly as an incubator and ‘exporter of terrorism.’” However, it doesn’t go on to mention the U.S. state sponsored terrorist activities of the Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG).

Inside Job? Iraqi govt ‘involved in deadly bombings to get US troops to stay’ More than 40 people have been killed in a string of bombings that have rocked Iraq. In Baghdad alone, over 20 bombs exploded in at least 12 separate incidents. Today’s bombings are raising questions the Iraqi government’s ability to deal with an ongoing insurgency. Sabah Al-Mukhtar from the Arab Lawyers Association says the bombings may actually be the Iraqi government’s way to get US troops to stay.

John McCain’s Attack On Liberty Chuck Baldwin | The citizens of Arizona can do the American people — and liberty itself — a great favor this year by giving Senator John McCain his walking papers. [First, he’s a fraud with a long mob-connected history. Second, he’s an incompetent mental case in the mold of ‘bolton’ et als, but all that’s how and why they keep this compromised a** in there.]

Former FBI Agent Reveals New Angle On Kennedy Assassination [bush, typically, was involved up to his eyeballs, and ‘knuck’ (knucklehead not-to-bright ford) the typical go along to get along. ]‘… Despite the threat and possibility of a conspiracy to assassinate the president, the FBI and Secret Service allowed Kennedy to travel to Dallas. “[They] should have stopped the President from traveling instantly,” said Adams. “You thought I was kidding when I said he would be killed from a window with a high powered rifle,” a “jubilant” Milteer” told the informant following the murder. Adams points out that Milteer was in Dallas on the day of the assassination and has a photograph to prove it. In the photo, Milteer stands near the presidential limousine prior to the shooting. Adams notes this fact was not mentioned in the Warren Commission report. Other, more well-known personages were also photographed in Dealy Plaza on that fateful day, in particular George Bush Senior. The future CIA director and president was photographed standing outside the Texas Book Depository building where it was said Oswald single-handedly shot the president from the sixth floor. Gerald Ford appointed Bush to head-up the agency when the House Select Committee on Assassinations was investigating CIA-FBI links to the murders of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. During Gerald Ford’s funeral in 2007, the elder Bush attacked theories straying from the official version. “After a deluded gunman assassinated President Kennedy, our nation turned to Gerald Ford and a select handful of others to make sense of that madness,” said Bush. “And the conspiracy theorists can say what they will, but the Warren Commission report will always have the final definitive say on this tragic matter. Why? Because Jerry Ford put his name on it and Jerry Ford’s word was always good.” After Adams told the FBI he believed it was impossible for Oswald to have fired three shots with a bolt-action rifle in seven-and-a-half seconds while taking aim through a scope, he was warned by his superiors not to pursue his findings. “Don, be careful what you say and how you say it,” an agent told him. Mr. Adams’ assertions contribute to a huge body of evidence revealing that Kennedy was not murdered by Oswald in the fashion described by the government…’

Finland Suspends Swine Flu Shots After Vaccine Linked With Neurological Disorder Paul Joseph Watson | Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has suspended the use of the H1N1 vaccine over fears that the shot is linked with narcolepsy.

U.S. Court Rules That Government Can Secretly Track You With GPS, Privacy is For Rich People Only Steve Watson | TIME magazine casually admits that it is now perfectly legal in nine states for the government to attach secret satellite tracking devices to your car and monitor you wherever you go, without a search warrant.

CNN: Opposition to Government, Bankers is Criminal Kurt Nimmo | The sovereign citizen movement is considered a direct and dangerous threat by the government because it rejects out of hand its authority.

Alex Jones: Government Wants to Control Your Music Infowars.com | Alex covers the hysteria over “i-dosing” and the ultimate plan by government to control our minds and emotions.

Megalomaniacs Push For Orwellian “Safe” City, Controlled Internet Biometrics R&D firm Global Rainmakers Inc. recently unveiled a plan to place iris scanners and other tracking devices in what they toted as the “most secure” city in the world.

Study: Oil spill cleanup workers suffered chromosome damage, respiratory issues Spanish fishermen who took part in a clean-up operation after the Prestige oil tanker spill in 2002 have shown symptoms of chromosomal damage and respiratory problems, a study released Tuesday said.

4th Amendment Violating Mobile X-Ray Scanners Hit The Streets As we warned at the beginning of the year, X-ray body scanners currently being used and abused in airports across the world are set to hit the streets as American Science & Engineering reveals that “more than 500 backscatter x-ray scanners mounted in vans that can be driven past neighboring vehicles to see their contents” have been sold to government agencies.

Pentagon Teaches Kindergarten Kids As U.S. Schools Are Militarized For Martial Law Conditioning This represents the process of full spectrum dominance over our children’s minds. First the government paid the mothers not to have husbands in the home (single parent benefits) and now the soldiers are bringing up our kids from Kindergarten age. This is about training Americans almost from birth that’s it’s normal to have troops involved in routine life on a day to day basis. This is total martial law conditioning.

Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: Government Bond Defaults Inevitable...
Roubini: Growth to Be 'Well Below' 1% ...
New Home Sales Sink to Lowest Pace on Record...
POLITICO: SOME DEMS THINK HOUSE IS GONE...
INTEL CEO blasts Obama, Dems; USA faces looming tech decline...
LETTERMAN TURNS: 'He'll have plenty of time for vacations after his one term' … [ This really is so true … wobama is so total, typical b*** s*** ] ...

Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession: Rosenberg Positive gross domestic product readings and other mildly hopeful signs are masking an ugly truth: The US economy is in a 1930s-style Depression, Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg said Tuesday. ‘Positive gross domestic product readings and other mildly hopeful signs are masking an ugly truth: The US economy is in a 1930s-style Depression, Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg said Tuesday. Writing in his daily briefing to investors, Rosenberg said the Great Depression also had its high points, with a series of positive GDP reports and sharp stock market gains. But then as now, those signs of recovery were unsustainable and only provided a false sense of stability, said Rosenberg. Rosenberg calls current economic conditions “a depression, and not just some garden-variety recession,” and notes that any good news both during the initial 1929-33 recession and the one that began in 2008 triggered “euphoric response.”

Op-Ed Columnist - The Third Depression - NYTimes.com Economic Policy: Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says the US is in the "early stages of a third Great Depression. The Third Depression By PAUL KRUGMAN Published: June 27, 2010 ‘Recessions are common; depressions are rare. As far as I can tell, there were only two eras in economic history that were widely described as “depressions” at the time: the years of deflation and instability that followed the Panic of 1873 and the years of mass unemployment that followed the financial crisis of 1929-31. Neither the Long Depression of the 19th century nor the Great Depression of the 20th was an era of nonstop decline — on the contrary, both included periods when the economy grew. But these episodes of improvement were never enough to undo the damage from the initial slump, and were followed by relapses. We are now, I fear, in the early stages of a third depression. It will probably look more like the Long Depression than the much more severe Great Depression. But the cost — to the world economy and, above all, to the millions of lives blighted by the absence of jobs — will nonetheless be immense. And this third depression will be primarily a failure of policy. Around the world — most recently at last weekend’s deeply discouraging G-20 meeting — governments are obsessing about inflation when the real threat is deflation, preaching the need for belt-tightening when the real problem is inadequate spending. In 2008 and 2009, it seemed as if we might have learned from history. Unlike their predecessors, who raised interest rates in the face of financial crisis, the current leaders of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank slashed rates and moved to support credit markets. Unlike governments of the past, which tried to balance budgets in the face of a plunging economy, today’s governments allowed deficits to rise. And better policies helped the world avoid complete collapse: the recession brought on by the financial crisis arguably ended last summer. But future historians will tell us that this wasn’t the end of the third depression, just as the business upturn that began in 1933 wasn’t the end of the Great Depression. After all, unemployment — especially long-term unemployment — remains at levels that would have been considered catastrophic not long ago, and shows no sign of coming down rapidly. And both the United States and Europe are well on their way toward Japan-style deflationary traps …’

Worse than expected news on both durables and new home sales. Indeed, in this and the prior session the ‘new homeseller stocks’ rose based on the foisted false expectation of expected-to-better as opposed to, among other, far worse than expected results. Yet, where / when was the worse than expected news discounted. The fact is that it wasn’t, as fraudulent wall street with one of those typical press the button, computerized program trade days, rallies to try to suck the suckers back in to keep their ‘churn and earn’ rollin’. Note the typical, almost tauntingly gleeful mainstream non-news headline, ‘US stocks pull off a gain; Dow ends above 10,000 (at CNBC)’ … Riiiiight! … They pulled it off … How pathetic! Democrats move to shore up faltering economic recovery (Washington Post) [ Wow! And all this time that’s what we thought they were doing. Now they’re gonna’ get serious … riiiiight. Here’s some serious for you: Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff … : an inflationary depression.) among other economists, (Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.]

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012 ).

  INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington Post) Stock market ends down for second straight week (Washington Post) [Yeah! There should be no surprise here. Such is the scenario that bear markets are made of and Maierhofer shows the math to prove it (infra), Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell / Take Profits while you still can! ]

Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: Government Bond Defaults Inevitable...
Roubini: Growth to Be 'Well Below' 1% ...
New Home Sales Sink to Lowest Pace on Record...
Banks back switch to renminbi for trade; Incentives to move from dollar and euro...
DEM JOKES: PELOSI COULD DIE BEFORE NEXT YEAR
Former Republican chairman: I'm gay...
President Bush 'incredibly supportive in his cornholin’ efforts'...
Bernanke under pressure to prop it up [yeah … with the typical b*** s***]!
Jackson Hole: Speech, Speech...

Infowars.com Poll: Fed Will Push Nation Into Greatest Depression Kurt Nimmo | Infowars.com readers believe the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve will push the country into another depression.

Even Tony Robbins Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming It seems like almost everyone is warning of a coming economic collapse these days.

Why to Expect a Bipolar Market Move Next Week [Well, I don’t know about a diagnosis of bipolar, but ‘criminally insane’; yes, that’s wall street in a nutshell.]

Bond Bubble, Dollar Doom - Embrace The Fear Says Fisher [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan … to bail out the frauds on wall street as they sell their ‘hot potatoes’ in their typical ‘musical chair’ pre-crash charade! ] ‘… Hussman: Dollar Collapse Coming: In his latest market commentary, top fund manager John Hussman continues to express a bearish view, and says that more quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve is likely to trigger “an abrupt collapse in the foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar”. Hussman offers something of a primer on exchange rates, and concludes by saying this: “The policy of quantitative easing is likely to force a large adjustment on the U.S. dollar because the Federal Reserve is choosing to lay a heavier hand on the Treasury bond market than would result from economic conditions alone,” he says. “The resulting shift in interest rates and long-term inflation prospects combine to dramatically reduce the attractiveness of the U.S. dollar. A significant and relatively abrupt devaluation is then required, in an amount sufficient to set up expectations of a U.S. dollar appreciation over time.” Special Offer: People mocked Gary Shilling when he said SELL in 2006 and 2007. But he was right and his subscribers are richer for it. Click here for Gary Shilling’s current investment advice. As for the market, Hussman says he continues to see unfavorable valuations, unfavorable market action, and unfavorable economic pressures. The Fed’s new go at quantitative easing may well limit deflationary fears, he says, which has led him to increase exposure to precious metals and foreign currencies. Hussman also says the U.S. should focus on restructuring debt, and offers his take on how it should do so …’

Dow Reclaims 10,000 as Stocks Pare Losses CNBC | Stocks opened lower for a fifth straight day Wednesday as disappointing reports on new home sales and durable-goods orders stoked worries about the economic recovery.

Consumers Dropping Pay TV Services Investors.com | The number of subscribers to cable, satellite and telecom TV services in the U.S. fell for the first time ever in the second quarter.

Plunge in Home Sales Stokes Economy Fears Wall Street Journal | U.S. home sales plummeted in July to a level not seen in more than a decade, spurring fears of renewed weakness in housing prices and the broader economy.

Boehner calls for mass firing of Obama's economic team (Washington Post) Yeah! True enough. They should be fired (watch for fake data as a desperate reaction to the reality the fake data’s been hidin’, revisions to fake data which hid reality, etc., ‘cause they’re really desperate); yet where were the same calls for paulsen, bush, et als. The truth is, they all should be fired! Every last fraudulent one of them! All three corrupt branches of the u.s. non-government.

Frank to hold hearing on regulation of Wall St. pay (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Riiiiight! More hearings … sounds like a plan! You know, max face time, no action, great politics as usual. After all, if they were really serious, prosecutions, jail, fines, and disgorgement for the perps would have happened. Additionally, the so-called fin regs were powder puffs after all the huff and puff and ignore prosecution under already existing laws. What total fraud / b*** s***! ]

Too far right (Washington Post) [ Too far right, too far left, too republican, too democrat … Come on! Wake up! The problem is simply too pervasively corrupt and these are distinctions without a significant difference. For Obama, some chances ahead (Washington Post) [ Come on! Wake up! There are no chances ahead for wobama’s already failed presidency! He knows it, the people know it, and even his most ardent blind supporters know it. One too many b*** s*** stories and broken (campaign) promises. Delivering a speech, albeit teleprompted, is a far cry from delivering, which reality most have awaken to. He seems to be incapable of even one original thought even as the wobamas seem to take umbrage as they are dissed for self-created lack of approbation ($500 sneakers, spain trip, fiddling while the nation burns, etc.). What next? The race card? Even as his (in)justice department had decided to ignore civil rights violations by blacks and focus only on whites? No! wobama’s failed presidency is as done as an over-cooked hard-boiled egg. Empty words just ain’t enough! ] New Orleans visit, Iraq speech offer president opportunities to help end a frustrating summer.]

I-Dosing: Another Excuse for Government Control Over Our Lives Kurt Nimmo | Government claims i-dosing induces the same kind of mind-altering effects as marijuana, cocaine, peyote, and opium.

Hardship 401(k) withdrawals set record in second quarter:  More workers also borrowing from their accounts (Washington Post, August 22, 2010) [ Clearly an instance where ‘better late than never’ doesn’t quite do it … ‘better now than late or never’ is a bit better as the following see that old tune, ‘ The Big Hurt’, reaching once again number 1 on the billboard charts. ]

NASA helping in rescue of miners (Washington Post) [I truly have no problem with and even (re)commend NASA and terrestrial undertakings such as this, including infrastructure and budget allocations accordingly, so long as they defacto, if not explicitly by declaration, own up to their frauds and complicit illegal militarization of space with the cia / pentagon lunatics. God knows america is sorely in need of infrastructure renewal / repair.]

Launch of secret US space ship masks even more secret launch of new weapon

The Militarization of Outer Space: The Pentagon’s “Space Warriors” Global Research | It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on planet earth. Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new, destabilizing weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit into another “battlespace.”     

buzz aldrin wants to colonize Mars … Riiiiight buzzed! Better check with DePalma to see if he already has the footage in the can since you won’t be able to use the moon footage for the new boondoggle video ...

OBAMA SPEECH OUTLINES PLANS FOR RETURNING DEFACTO BANKRUPT U.S. TO SPACE – OOOOOH! SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN … FOR INNER SPACE (IMAGINATION).

NASA's New Asteroid Mission Could Save the Planet Space.com - Tariq Malik - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - President Barack Obama set a lofty next goal this week for Americans in space: Visiting an asteroid by 2025. Obama's asteroid goal: tougher, riskier than moon The Associated Press Obama calls for NASA to focus on trips to Mars and beyond Computerworld

New Boondoggle promised to save NASA boondoggle defacto bankrupt budget piece of pie. And don’t forget, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, et als, have already done this so it’s not as if they’re starting from ‘ground zero’, so to speak; and Brian DePalma already has ‘Mission to Mars’ in the can, but beware say the producers of ‘Species II’ since Eve, the cloned daughter of Sill, might want to mate with astronaut Paddy Ross who has returned from Mars as a space alien host body.

First fake moonwalker blasts Obama's space plan msnbc.com - Bill Ingalls - The first man to pretend to walk on the moon blasted President Barack Obama's decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program on Tuesday, saying that not going with the new movie is “devastating” to america's boondoggle spaced out effort. Fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed a treasured piece at the dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, ...bbc news bbc news | europe | fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed prized moon rock a fake - a piece of moon rock given to an overseas politician by the united states is actually a lump of petrified wood, museum authorities revealed yesterday. ... 'Moon rock' in dutch museum is just petrified wood aug 27, 2009 ... Fake moon rock at dutch national museum. Rijksmuseum / ap. This rock, supposedly brought back from the moon by american astronauts, ...    http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm

In reality it is just a piece of petrified wood ... Another piece of evidence that shows again that apollo program is indeed a fake and a typical american fraud!

http://www.albertpeia.com/UFOetryWeNeverWentToTheMoonPNTV.wmv http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm

Review of John Vaillant's "The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival" Montgomery [Truly my kind of hero!](Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/27/AR2010082702288.html?hpid=features1&hpv=national Buy this book. I will! ) [Truly my kind of hero! (As a matter of disclosure, I like all cats, big and small!) I do believe an important point to be gleened here is how totally primative the Chinese are which makes this current economic scenario we’re experiencing courtesy Clinton, and particularly the bushes, ie., (captain cia ambassador poppy) who themselves have a long documented familial history of primative behaviors (ie., war profiteering, war crimes, etc.; the bushes are such can’t do anything well vegetables), especially disheartening. I mean, after all, isn’t the communist Chinese business model, simply put, probably the most primitive one this world has ever known; viz., slave labor. I say, boycott china products; impose tariffs, sanctions, restrictions on the products of the primitive communist Chinese mongrels. ]

Stepped-up efforts fail to stem drug money (Washington Post) [ Come on! Wake up! That’s american, yes american big business. The stuff that the war in Afghanistan is made of; viz., ie., heroin, etc.. ]Stashing cash in spare tires, engine transmissions and truckloads of baby diapers, couriers for Mexican drug cartels are moving tens of billions of dollars in profits south across the border each year, a river of dirty money that has overwhelmed U.S. and Mexican customs agents.

Carlyle-owned toy supplier files for bankruptcy (Washington Post) [ What is a bush-involved company of paper (leveraged instruments, etc.) pushers doing with any company doing business in the u.s. or elsewhere for that matter. The bushes are vegetables who really can’t do anything well, except maybe, war, war crimes, fraud, illegal drug deals (Iran contra, etc., http://albertpeia.com/CIAAgentAffidavit1.jpg ) ]

The Bush-Carlyle Connection 

There’s no business like war business

By William Bowles

05/11/03: (Information Clearing House) There are so many connections between the Bushes, the ‘Defence’ establishment, the global trade in arms, that the mind boggles. That it barely gets a mention in the mainstream media (except of course, to simply ‘report’ it) is a scandal of the grandest proportions. But it only goes to show the power of big business and the political class they have installed in both the US and the UK..

Former FBI Agent Reveals New Angle On Kennedy Assassination [bush, typically, was involved up to his eyeballs, and ‘knuck’ (knucklehead not-to-bright ford) the typical go along to get along. ]‘… Despite the threat and possibility of a conspiracy to assassinate the president, the FBI and Secret Service allowed Kennedy to travel to Dallas. “[They] should have stopped the President from traveling instantly,” said Adams.

bush/Carlyle cont’d … (after all, John Major is employed by the Carlyle Group and BAE Systems, the major arms supplier to the UK, is part-owned by Carlyle). Not only the connections beggar belief but the sheer hypocrisy of the Bush government should put it in a new category in the Guinness Book of Records! As you’ll see from just of a few of the links to information on Carlyle below, their tentacles extend to many of the armed conflicts going on in the world. There’s no business like war business!

I’ve presented them in no particular order, the common denominator is the Bush family.

"Arms Buildup Enriches Firm Staffed by Big Guns"

Defense: Ex-president and other elites are behind weapon-boosting Carlyle Group.

By Mark Fineman, Times Staff Writer January 10 2002

Source: http://www.truthout.org/docs_01/01.11F.Arms.Carlyle.htm

"The Best Enemies Money Can Buy"

From Hitler To Saddam Hussein to Osama bin Laden - Insider Connections and the Bush Family's Partnership with Killers of Americans

Brown Brothers, Harriman - BNL- and the Carlyle Group By Michael C. Ruppert

Source: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/10_09_01_carlyle.html

"Legal Group Blasts Papa Shrub on Bin Laden Link"

Bush Sr. Could Profit From War by Geoffrey Gray October 11th, 2001, Village Voice

Source: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0141/gray.php

"BUSH WATCH…BUSH MONEY"

Source: http://www.bushwatch.com/bushmoney.htm

"CHRONOLOGY: The Bushes And The Carlyle Group" Bushnews.com

Source: http://www.bushnews.com/bushcarlyle.htm

"The Bush-Carlyle Group Archive" Buzzflash

A link to a number of links on the Carlyle Group

Source: http://www.buzzflash.com/perspectives/2002/Bush-Carlyle.html

Carlyle's way Making a mint inside "the iron triangle" of defense, government, and industry. By Dan Briody January 8, 2002 Red Herring

Source: http://www.redherring.com/vc/2002/0111/947.html

"The Carlyle Group" Spectrazine

Alfred Mendes looks at a single US investment corporation and asks some pertinent questions about democracy, terrorism and power.

Source: http://www.spectrezine.org/global/carlyle.htm

"Crony Reform" Slate

How the access capitalists at the Carlyle Group became real businessmen.

By Daniel Gross Tuesday, April 15, 2003

Source: http://slate.msn.com/id/2081572/

"The Big Guns: The Carlyle Group and Defense Lobbying" OpenSecrets.org

Source: http://www.opensecrets.org/alerts/v6/alertv6_52.asp

"The Carlyle Group; Elder Bush in Big G.O.P. Cast Toiling for Top Equity Firm" by Leslie Wayne Monday, March 5, 2001, New York Times

Source: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0305-03.htm

"The Pakistan-India conflict is being funded and fomented by the same faces that brought you the war on terrorism"

A particularly evil manifestation of the arms business is the one in the on-going low intensity war between in India and Pakistan and the Carlyle Group’s role in it

Source: http://www.propagandamatrix.com/pakistan_india.html

"US arms group heads for Lisbon: The Carlyle Group, integrated by the Bush and bin Laden families awarded a billion dollar contract to "rebuild Iraq", 6  April 2003

Source: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/NEW304A.html

"Bush's Favorite Terrorist Buddy & Carlyle Group (Bush, Sr. Etc) Profits Increasing From Afghan War"

Source: http://www.apfn.org/apfn/WTC_profits.htm

"Former President Bush Works for International Investment Firm With Ties To Saudi Arabia" - Company Had Bin Laden Family Connections Judicial Watch

Source: http://www.judicialwatch.org/1685.shtml

"Meet the Carlyle Group"

How will President George W. Bush personally make million$, if not billion$ from the War on Terror? The easy way.  He’ll inherit it. Former World Leaders and Washington Insiders Making Billions in the War on Terrorism

Source: http://www.angelfire.com/indie/pearly/htmls/bush-carlyle.html

"Carlyle group scandal"

Source: http://linkthing.com/screed/carlyle_group_cluster.html

WIKIPEDIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_Group ‘The Carlyle Group is a global private equity investment firm, based in Washington, D.C., with more than $84.5 billion of equity capital under management, diversified over 64 different funds as of March 31, 2009.^[1] The firm operates four fund families, focusing on leveraged buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance investments. The firm employs more than 890 employees, including 495 investment professionals in 20 countries with several offices in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia; its portfolio companies employ more than 415,000 people worldwide. Carlyle has over 1300 investors in 71 countries. Carlyle was ranked in 2007 as the largest private equity firm in the world, according to a ranking called the PEI 50 based on capital under management.^[2] However, the firm moved down to second largest as of May 2010.^[3] …’

New-home sales hit a 40-year low | Your take (Washington Post) [ A 40 yr low? … At least it’s a record, say the frauds on wall street and how much worse can it be? Much worse, says reality! Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession: Rosenberg / Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says the US is in the "early stages of a third Great Depression. ]

Fed policy is foggy as economic picture clouds (Washington Post) [ Wow! Look to ‘no recession helicopter ben for guidance’? You’re hurting my ears and eyes, again. Meanwhile, everyone’s waiting for buh, buh, buh, benny and his jets to say no depression. At least we’ll be able to add certainty, albeit the opposite of what he says. But the fact is already that, ‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into.’ ] With housing market retreating, unemployment lingering and Fed officials in open disagreement, markets look to Bernanke for guidance.

Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession: Rosenberg

Op-Ed Columnist - The Third Depression - NYT Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says the US is in the "early stages of a third Great Depression. The Third Depression By PAUL KRUGMAN

Peia: ‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into.’

Worse than expected news on both durables and new home sales. Indeed, in this and the prior session the ‘new homeseller stocks’ rose based on the foisted false expectation of expected-to-better as opposed to, among other, far worse than expected results. Yet, where / when was the worse than expected news discounted. The fact is that it wasn’t, as fraudulent wall street with one of those typical press the button, computerized program trade days, rallies to try to suck the suckers back in to keep their ‘churn and earn’ rollin’, and the ‘pass the hot potatoe / musical chairs confidence game’ goin’. Note the typical, almost tauntingly gleeful mainstream non-news headline, ‘US stocks pull off a gain; Dow ends above 10,000 (at CNBC)’ … Riiiiight! … They pulled it off … How pathetic! Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff: an inflationary depression.) among other economists, (Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012 ).

  INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington Post) Stock market ends down for second straight week (Washington Post) [Yeah! There should be no surprise here. Such is the scenario that bear markets are made of and Maierhofer shows the math to prove it (infra), Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell / Take Profits while you still can! ]

Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: Government Bond Defaults Inevitable...
Roubini: Growth to Be 'Well Below' 1% ...
New Home Sales Sink to Lowest Pace on Record...

Infowars.com Poll: Fed Will Push Nation Into Greatest Depression Kurt Nimmo | Infowars.com readers believe the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve will push the country into another depression.

Even Tony Robbins Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming It seems like almost everyone is warning of a coming economic collapse these days.

Why to Expect a Bipolar Market Move Next Week [Well, I don’t know about a diagnosis of bipolar, but ‘criminally insane’; yes, that’s wall street in a nutshell.]

Bond Bubble, Dollar Doom - Embrace The Fear Says Fisher [ Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan … to bail out the frauds on wall street as they sell their ‘hot potatoes’ in their typical ‘musical chair’ pre-crash charade! ] ‘… Hussman: Dollar Collapse Coming: In his latest market commentary, top fund manager John Hussman continues to express a bearish view, and says that more quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve is likely to trigger “an abrupt collapse in the foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar”. Hussman offers something of a primer on exchange rates, and concludes by saying this: “The policy of quantitative easing is likely to force a large adjustment on the U.S. dollar because the Federal Reserve is choosing to lay a heavier hand on the Treasury bond market than would result from economic conditions alone,” he says. “The resulting shift in interest rates and long-term inflation prospects combine to dramatically reduce the attractiveness of the U.S. dollar. A significant and relatively abrupt devaluation is then required, in an amount sufficient to set up expectations of a U.S. dollar appreciation over time.” Special Offer: People mocked Gary Shilling when he said SELL in 2006 and 2007. But he was right and his subscribers are richer for it. Click here for Gary Shilling’s current investment advice. As for the market, Hussman says he continues to see unfavorable valuations, unfavorable market action, and unfavorable economic pressures. The Fed’s new go at quantitative easing may well limit deflationary fears, he says, which has led him to increase exposure to precious metals and foreign currencies. Hussman also says the U.S. should focus on restructuring debt, and offers his take on how it should do so …’

Dow Reclaims 10,000 as Stocks Pare Losses CNBC | Stocks opened lower for a fifth straight day Wednesday as disappointing reports on new home sales and durable-goods orders stoked worries about the economic recovery.

Consumers Dropping Pay TV Services Investors.com | The number of subscribers to cable, satellite and telecom TV services in the U.S. fell for the first time ever in the second quarter.

Plunge in Home Sales Stokes Economy Fears Wall Street Journal | U.S. home sales plummeted in July to a level not seen in more than a decade, spurring fears of renewed weakness in housing prices and the broader economy.

Democrats move to shore up faltering economic recovery (Washington Post) [ Wow! And all this time that’s what we thought they were doing. Now they’re gonna’ get serious … riiiiight. Here’s some serious for you: Economic indicators reflect weak recovery (Washington Post) [Recovery? I say they’re dreamin’! So does Schiff, (Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary depression.) among other economists, (Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012 ).

  INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington Post) Stock market ends down for second straight week (Washington Post) [Yeah! There should be no surprise here. Such is the scenario that bear markets are made of and Maierhofer shows the math to prove it (infra), Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell / Take Profits while you still can! ]

Infowars.com Poll: Fed Will Push Nation Into Greatest Depression Kurt Nimmo | Infowars.com readers believe the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve will push the country into another depression.

Even Tony Robbins Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming It seems like almost everyone is warning of a coming economic collapse these days.

Alex Jones Exposes Google’s Plan to Dominate the Internet Infowars.com | Google’s takeover agenda will control the world wide web and force independent media websites, radio and TV shows out of existence for good.

Ron Paul: Let the Housing Market Normalize! Dr. Ron Paul | There seems to be a growing consensus in favor of abolishing Fannie and Freddie. This is the good news.

Americans Using Their Rainy Day Savings to Live Rebel Traders | The reality of the ‘real economy’, as measured by people, not Wall Street, is a deteriorating economy where any source of funds is fair game to be tapped into.

The Never Ending Recession Mr. Rosenberg believes we could see a negative GDP print THIS quarter. And if he’s right that means analysts are far too optimistic about the upcoming quarter.

Economic forecaster: ‘Greatest Depression’ coming Collapse of middle class means there’s no fuel for recovery, Gerald Celente argues.

Second Hindenburg Omen Confirmation In As Many Days, Third H.O. Event In One Week Longs may be forgiven if they are sweating their long positions over the weekend: not only did we just have a second, and far more solid Hindenburg Omen confirmation today.

Second Hindenburg Omen Confirmation In As Many Days, Third H.O. Event In One Week

Jim Rogers: If You Want Your Family To Be Silly Rich In The Future, Then Leave America And Move To Asia Now As you may know, Jim Rogers moved to Singapore in 2007, though he maintains a residence in the U.S. as well.

Boehner calls for mass firing of Obama's economic team (Washington Post) Yeah! True enough. They should be fired (watch for fake data as a desperate reaction to the reality the fake data’s been hidin’, revisions to fake data which hid reality, etc., ‘cause they’re really desperate); yet where were the same calls for paulsen, bush, et als. The truth is, they all should be fired! Every last fraudulent one of them! All three corrupt branches of the u.s. non-government.

Frank to hold hearing on regulation of Wall St. pay (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Riiiiight! More hearings … sounds like a plan! You know, max face time, no action, great politics as usual. After all, if they were really serious, prosecutions, jail, fines, and disgorgement for the perps would have happened. Additionally, the so-called fin regs were powder puffs after all the huff and puff and ignore prosecution under already existing laws. What total fraud / b*** s***! ]

U.S. Financial System Still "Fundamentally Corrupt," Kotlikoff Says: Here's How to Fix It ‘We have a "fundamentally corrupt financial system" and the Dodd-Frank reform bill did nothing to change it, says Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff. "Relatively little has changed except there are going to be more federal regulators who are probably going to miss major problems." At the core of the 2008 crisis was "the production and sale of trillions of fundamentally fraudulent securities," Kotlikoff says, suggesting all levels of society participated in the fraud -- including homeowners. At the center of it all were financial intermediaries (a.k.a. Wall Street) who packaged and sold "snake oil under the guise of proprietary information" to limit or eliminate disclosure, and enabled by corrupt rating agencies, regulators and elected officials, he says. In the accompanying video, Kotlikoff explains how we can "make Wall Street safe for Main Street." In short, we should transform all financial companies with limited liability (banks, hedge funds, private equity firms and insurance companies alike) into mutual funds, which the professor describes as "little banks that have 100% capital requirements. " Notably, the big mutual fund companies survived the "financial earthquake" of 2008-09 when the rest of the financial system collapsed, Kotlikoff recalls. In late 2009, Kotlikoff and Harvard's Niall Ferguson penned an op-ed for The FT describing a blueprint for how to take moral hazard out of banking. Citing a speech by Bank of England governor Mervyn King, Kotlikoff and Ferguson called for "limited purpose banking" (LPB), that would "limit banks to their legitimate purpose - financial intermediation and payment facilitation." Nine months later, Kotlikoff remains convinced this "very simple reform" remains a much better alternative than the financial reform bill hammered out in Washington - with plenty of influence from Wall Street lobbyists. "We are rebuilding [the system] out of straw rather than out of brick," Kotlikoff says, suggesting his "LPB" proposal will ultimately be good for the economy and provide a model for the rest of the world. "If we have a safe, sound [financial] structure other countries will follow suit," he says.’

Home sales drop to lowest level in 15 years [ Get those foreclosure sales rollin’ say the frauds on wall street who will spin same to their market-frothing delight! ]

Stocks Crushed AGAIN: Here's What You Need To Know From The Business Insider All-around ugly.

How to Get Through This Mess ‘… U.S. RECESSION NEVER ENDED; GDP TO CONTRACT IN Q3

Hardship 401(k) withdrawals set record in second quarter:  More workers also borrowing from their accounts (Washington Post, August 22, 2010) [ Clearly an instance where ‘better late than never’ doesn’t quite do it … ‘better now than late or never’ is a bit better as the following see that old tune, ‘ The Big Hurt’, reaching once again number 1 on the billboard charts. ]

Soros Bailing Out of U.S. Stock Market Robert Wenzel | Billionaire trader and political manipulator,George Soros, is clearly not optimistic.

Celente: Stock Market Crash Before End of 2010 Gerald Celente believes that the stock market will crash before the end of 2010 , gold will soar.

Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell / Take Profits while you still can!

100-Year Bonds --- Sign of Trouble?

Analyst: Dow To 5,000, Lost Decade For Stocks The Dow Jones Industrial Average will lose about half of its value over the next couple of years as it follows a Nikkei-like pattern of several sharp rallies in an overall decline, according to Charles Nenner, founder and president of Charles Nenner research.

Existing home sales plunge 27% Existing home sales fell sharply in July, declining for a third straight month, as the effects of the expired homebuyer tax credit continued to add turbulence to the housing market.

Hindenburg Omen Creator Has Exited The Market As we reported first, last week saw the second confirmation of the Hindenburg Omen, most recently sighted for the first time on August 12. Presumably this is an indication of putting one’s money where one’s mouth is (and away from the market).

We’re Underperforming The Great Depression In real (inflation/deflation-adjusted) terms, when did the US market permanently regain the high reached in 1929? The first chart illustrates two answers to the question. One uses the real price and the other uses the real total return.

Top Republicans urge Obama to oust economic team Reuters | The top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives called on Tuesday for President Barack Obama to fire his economic team in a campaign-style speech meant to focus voters on the weak American economy.

Home Sales Plunge to Record Low NY Times | Sales of existing homes plunged 27.2 percent in July, down to their lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began keeping track over a decade ago.

Unemployed group blasts Geithner’s handling of economy The Hill | UCubed, a group representing unemployed and underemployed workers, sharply criticized Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for his handling of the economy.

Stocks Plunge, Double Dip Recession Fears Grow After Home Sales Report U.S. stocks extended losses, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average below 10,000, and the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 2.5 percent for the first time since 2009 as a bigger-than-estimated slump in existing home sales fueled concern the economy may relapse into recession.

Infowars.com Poll: Fed Will Push Nation Into Greatest Depression Kurt Nimmo | Infowars.com readers believe the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve will push the country into another depression.

Even Tony Robbins Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming It seems like almost everyone is warning of a coming economic collapse these days.

Alex Jones Exposes Google’s Plan to Dominate the Internet Infowars.com | Google’s takeover agenda will control the world wide web and force independent media websites, radio and TV shows out of existence for good.

Ron Paul: Let the Housing Market Normalize! Dr. Ron Paul | There seems to be a growing consensus in favor of abolishing Fannie and Freddie. This is the good news.

Americans Using Their Rainy Day Savings to Live Rebel Traders | The reality of the ‘real economy’, as measured by people, not Wall Street, is a deteriorating economy where any source of funds is fair game to be tapped into.

The Never Ending Recession Mr. Rosenberg believes we could see a negative GDP print THIS quarter. And if he’s right that means analysts are far too optimistic about the upcoming quarter.

Economic forecaster: ‘Greatest Depression’ coming Collapse of middle class means there’s no fuel for recovery, Gerald Celente argues.

National / World:

Former FBI Agent Reveals New Angle On Kennedy Assassination [bush, typically, was involved up to his eyeballs, and ‘knuck’ (knucklehead not-to-bright ford) the typical go along to get along. ]‘… Despite the threat and possibility of a conspiracy to assassinate the president, the FBI and Secret Service allowed Kennedy to travel to Dallas. “[They] should have stopped the President from traveling instantly,” said Adams. “You thought I was kidding when I said he would be killed from a window with a high powered rifle,” a “jubilant” Milteer” told the informant following the murder. Adams points out that Milteer was in Dallas on the day of the assassination and has a photograph to prove it. In the photo, Milteer stands near the presidential limousine prior to the shooting. Adams notes this fact was not mentioned in the Warren Commission report. Other, more well-known personages were also photographed in Dealy Plaza on that fateful day, in particular George Bush Senior. The future CIA director and president was photographed standing outside the Texas Book Depository building where it was said Oswald single-handedly shot the president from the sixth floor. Gerald Ford appointed Bush to head-up the agency when the House Select Committee on Assassinations was investigating CIA-FBI links to the murders of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. During Gerald Ford’s funeral in 2007, the elder Bush attacked theories straying from the official version. “After a deluded gunman assassinated President Kennedy, our nation turned to Gerald Ford and a select handful of others to make sense of that madness,” said Bush. “And the conspiracy theorists can say what they will, but the Warren Commission report will always have the final definitive say on this tragic matter. Why? Because Jerry Ford put his name on it and Jerry Ford’s word was always good.” After Adams told the FBI he believed it was impossible for Oswald to have fired three shots with a bolt-action rifle in seven-and-a-half seconds while taking aim through a scope, he was warned by his superiors not to pursue his findings. “Don, be careful what you say and how you say it,” an agent told him. Mr. Adams’ assertions contribute to a huge body of evidence revealing that Kennedy was not murdered by Oswald in the fashion described by the government…’

Finland Suspends Swine Flu Shots After Vaccine Linked With Neurological Disorder Paul Joseph Watson | Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has suspended the use of the H1N1 vaccine over fears that the shot is linked with narcolepsy.

U.S. Court Rules That Government Can Secretly Track You With GPS, Privacy is For Rich People Only Steve Watson | TIME magazine casually admits that it is now perfectly legal in nine states for the government to attach secret satellite tracking devices to your car and monitor you wherever you go, without a search warrant.

CNN: Opposition to Government, Bankers is Criminal Kurt Nimmo | The sovereign citizen movement is considered a direct and dangerous threat by the government because it rejects out of hand its authority.

Alex Jones: Government Wants to Control Your Music Infowars.com | Alex covers the hysteria over “i-dosing” and the ultimate plan by government to control our minds and emotions.

Megalomaniacs Push For Orwellian “Safe” City, Controlled Internet Biometrics R&D firm Global Rainmakers Inc. recently unveiled a plan to place iris scanners and other tracking devices in what they toted as the “most secure” city in the world.

Study: Oil spill cleanup workers suffered chromosome damage, respiratory issues Spanish fishermen who took part in a clean-up operation after the Prestige oil tanker spill in 2002 have shown symptoms of chromosomal damage and respiratory problems, a study released Tuesday said.

4th Amendment Violating Mobile X-Ray Scanners Hit The Streets As we warned at the beginning of the year, X-ray body scanners currently being used and abused in airports across the world are set to hit the streets as American Science & Engineering reveals that “more than 500 backscatter x-ray scanners mounted in vans that can be driven past neighboring vehicles to see their contents” have been sold to government agencies.

Pentagon Teaches Kindergarten Kids As U.S. Schools Are Militarized For Martial Law Conditioning This represents the process of full spectrum dominance over our children’s minds. First the government paid the mothers not to have husbands in the home (single parent benefits) and now the soldiers are bringing up our kids from Kindergarten age. This is about training Americans almost from birth that’s it’s normal to have troops involved in routine life on a day to day basis. This is total martial law conditioning.

Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: Government Bond Defaults Inevitable...
Roubini: Growth to Be 'Well Below' 1% ...
New Home Sales Sink to Lowest Pace on Record...
POLITICO: SOME DEMS THINK HOUSE IS GONE...
INTEL CEO blasts Obama, Dems; USA faces looming tech decline...
LETTERMAN TURNS: 'He'll have plenty of time for vacations after his one term' … [ This really is so true … wobama is so total, typical b*** s*** ] ...

Google’s Plans to Take Over The Internet Exposed! Google’s agreement with Verizon to speed certain Internet content to users opens the door to the complete sterilization of the world wide web as a force for political change. Under Google’s takeover plan, the Internet will closely resemble cable TV, independent voices will be silenced and the entire Internet will be bought up by transnational media giants.

‘Pre-Crime’ Reaches Number 1 Google Trend Spot Matt Ryan | Steve Watson’s incredible article about the use of pre-crime technology was picked up by large news sites such as the Drudge Report and others.

Pre-Crime Technology To Be Used In Washington D.C. Steve Watson | Computers predict what crime will be committed where, by who and when.

Drudgereport: GALLUP GENDER GAP: Obama's Approval Among Men Hits All-Time Low of 39%...
LOBOTOMY JOE BIDEN: 'We're moving in right direction'… Right lobotomy joe, anything you say! ...
Worries about recovery deepen...
'Hindenburg Omen' creator exits stock market...
Economy in 'Depression, Not Recession'...
Dow Faces 'Bouncy Ride to 5,000'...
Typical Slow Summer -- or Something Darker?
Drop in Home Sales Renews Pricing Fears...
Investors Scatter to Safety...
Unemployed group blasts Geithner's handling of economy...
BOEHNER URGES OBAMA TO FIRE...
'Government as community organizer' has failed...

LA UNVEILS $578 MILLION SCHOOL
More Expensive Than China's Olympic Stadium!
California Delays $2.9 Billion School, County Payments Amid Budget Impasse...

'Beat Whitey Night': Iowa racial attacks at state fair... POLICE REPORTS...

Gasoline prices hit 8-month low (Washington Post) [ Strange days indeed. There was a time not long ago that the same news would engender a ‘glass-half-full’ spin for a fraudulent wall street rallying point. At the same time, higher oil prices one of those reasons for selling into the bubble. Today, higher oil prices day to day provide a ‘glass-half-full’ spin for a fraudulent wall street rallying point that drives the oils (stocks) higher. Yes, that’s how bad the economy really is. (Not a reference to ‘Strange Days’ the interesting film from that impressive oscar-winning giant (amazon) of a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, which sported a cast that included Tom Sizemore which of itself meant strange indeed.) ].

AIG pays back $4 billion of bailout debt (Washington Post) [ Ah, yes. How endearing. Just goes to show that the hearts of american business are in the right places. So touching … I’m sure I’m not alone in shrugging with a sense that given america’s chosen intractable downward path such as this matters little or none! ]

Obama targets IT contracts (Washington Post) [ And what goals are being met with the protracted mid-east wars with costs exceeding a trillion other than defacto bankruptcy of the nation and anti-american sentiment, not to mention the diversion from the multitude of america’s domestic problems. It seems to me that IT would be among the last of items warranting scrutiny (360 tons of $100’s flown into Iraq would without scrutiny go right into the treasury, etc.) , particularly since tech, though over-rated, is probably america’s last strength owing to a significant head start and a built- in language bias, though quickly becoming mere assemblers / distributors of foreign-made (components) at best.] The White House unveils plans to review 26 government information-technology projects worth a total of $30 billion as part of an effort to trim back or cancel contracts that aren't meeting goals.

NATIONAL / WORLD

For Obama, some chances ahead (Washington Post) [ Come on! Wake up! There are no chances ahead for wobama’s already failed presidency! He knows it, the people know it, and even his most ardent blind supporters know it. One too many b*** s*** stories and broken (campaign) promises. Delivering a speech, albeit teleprompted, is a far cry from delivering, which reality most have awaken to. He seems to be incapable of even one original thought even as the wobamas seem to take umbrage as they are dissed for self-created lack of approbation ($500 sneakers, spain trip, fiddling while the nation burns, etc.). What next? The race card? Even as his (in)justice department had decided to ignore civil rights violations by blacks and focus only on whites? No! wobama’s failed presidency is as done as an over-cooked hard-boiled egg. Empty words just ain’t enough! ] New Orleans visit, Iraq speech offer president opportunities to help end a frustrating summer.]

Drudgereport: WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS: Hidden world, growing beyond control...
854,000 people have top-secret security clearance...
You really have to laud The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance which whether people appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and personal courage; even more so inasmuch as this is their backyard, so to speak. Clearly, this illuminates the boondoggles which amazingly are coming at a time when america will not be able to handle ‘bare necessities’ much less the self-perpetuating, need-creating, bureaucracies which I’ve previously likened to a perverse version of ‘Field of Dreams’ where if you will commit taxpayer dollars, they’ll find / create a war, conflict, new war, etc., to spend it on. NSA Has Gotten So Big, Area Around It Has 112 Acres Of Parking Spaces In yet another terrifying expose, The Washington Post continues to lift the veil on just how massive the US government’s spying operation has become.

The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

For the Same Reason I’ve Included Here a Web Site Archived FLV Version of Esoteric Agenda http://albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv

Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama? Get your very own BARRY SOETORO T-Shirt and ask the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". The REAL name of President Barack Obama is BARRY SOETORO so get a t-shirt with a picture of him on the front and the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/basot.html Obama’s Comeback Strategy: Appearing On “The View” Now we know how the President will turn his flagging political fortunes around… [More b*** s***!].

Is Obama a Marxist? He Works for the Bankers Glenn Beck, the Fox News talking heads, and no shortage of Tea Party activists like to characterize Barry Obama as a Marxist.

Poll: Waning support for Obama on wars usa today | Support for Obama’s wars fell to 36%, down from 48% in a February poll.

President Obama’s Real Name “Barry Soetoro” Tops Google Trends Yet another search term announced during the Alex Jones Show, “Barry Soetoro” has topped Google Trends’ hot searches, and that means a boost to exposing important keys to President Obama’s true history. The #1 search trend corresponds with a visit to Austin, Texas today from President Barack Obama, a.k.a. Barry Soetoro.

Barry Soetoro AKA Barack Obama’s Political Dynasty Crashes And Burns While Barry Soetoro’s family lavish themselves at a luxury Spanish resort amidst deepening economic turmoil, back home Obama’s political dynasty crashes and burns as his approval ratings plunge to a record low of 41 per cent with less than a few months to go before the October midterm elections.

The Fraud Of Barry Soetoro (a.k.a. Barack Hussein Obama) (Feb. 24 ...
February 11, 2009
’Dear Senators and Congressmen:
Thank you for taking the time to review the documentation relevant to the Constitutional legitimacy of the presidency Barack Obama.  There have been various problems with the vetting of Mr. Obama throughout the campaign and the present.  I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight the most pertinent and alarming issues that have been clearly revealed.  I’m sure you will agree that this information must be further investigated promptly before any damage is done to the United States and its citizens beyond the Constitutional compromises that currently exist.  Most  interesting, though, is the fact that Mr. Obama has not simply ordered the original vault copy of his birth certificate to be sealed and chosen to retain three (3) law firms to defend the various cases spending a reported $800,000 (of whose money?).  If Mr. Obama has nothing to hide, then why fight the more than  42 cases in federal courts alone (according to Justia) and similar number in state courts of which the merits are well-founded and substantiated through factual evidence, state and federal statutes, and international laws? Main issue is that the state of HI, according to statue 338 allows Foreign born  children of Hawaiian residents to obtain Hawaiian birth certificates and obtain them based on a statement of one relative only. There is plenty of evidence of Mr. Obama being born in Kenya and obtaining his Hawaiian birth certificate based on a statement of his grandparent only, who simply didn’t want to deal with immigration and not based on any records from any hospitals. Extensive searches in the State of Hawaii showed no birthing records for his mother [Stanley] Ann Dunham  in any hospital in Hawaii. … I request  all of this information to be forwarded to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Finance Committee, Senate Judicial Committee, Mr. Steven Whitlock, director of the whistle blower office of the IRS, ICE, State Department, and FBI for further investigation.
Respectfully submitted,  
Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq.’

Did Google Block “Barry Soetoro” Search Term? Screenshots obtained by a Prison Planet reader suggest that Google may have moved to de-list “Barry Soetoro” as a popular search term shortly after it rose to the top of the Google Trends charts after yesterday’s effort by radio talk show host Alex Jones to focus attention on Barack Obama’s real name.

Bombshell: Barack Obama conclusively outed as CIA creation Wayne Madsen | Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen has discovered CIA files that document the agency’s connections to the lives of Barack Obama and his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather.

Google wants in on the social networking game Sonja Ryst [ I’ll bet they do … and as a cia/nsa front, if you’re a sound thinker and arrange a meet with a newfound friend thereon, be prepared for almost anything; ie., guns with silencers, garroted from behind, knife attacks, sudden acceleration of cars toward you when crossing crosswalks, etc. ]This Tweet -- "Google to launch Facebook competitor very soon" -- unleashed a sense that the online world as we know it was about to fundamentally change.

Google Yanks “Kill The Web” Article That Warned Of Internet Takeover Having at first appeared as normal, our earlier article about Google’s plan to kill the web has been completely de-listed from Google News. This is completely unprecedented and underscores how keen Google is to prevent people from finding out that it is a CIA-NSA front that is preparing to completely end the Internet as we know it with the Verizon net-neutrality killing deal.

Google Plans To Kill Web In Internet Takeover Agenda The net-neutrality ending deal with Verizon is just the beginning of Google’s plans to kill the open and free Internet as part of their takeover agenda to completely control the world wide web and force independent media websites, radio and TV shows out of existence for good.

Obama’s pledge to close down Guantanamo is ‘not even close’ Barack Obama’s pledge to shut down Guantanamo Bay will not be honoured until at least a year after the President’s self-imposed deadline – and may not be completed in his first administration.

Constitution “Silly Stuff,” Says Illinois Congressman Democratic Congressman Phil Hare, who caused outrage earlier this year when he told constituents who asked him about the legality of the health care bill, “I don’t worry about the constitution,” has sparked fresh consternation after he was caught on camera in an Illinois hotel labeling the founding document of America “silly stuff”.

Google’s Plans to Take Over The Internet Exposed! Google’s agreement with Verizon to speed certain Internet content to users opens the door to the complete sterilization of the world wide web as a force for political change. Under Google’s takeover plan, the Internet will closely resemble cable TV, independent voices will be silenced and the entire Internet will be bought up by transnational media giants.

‘Pre-Crime’ Reaches Number 1 Google Trend Spot Matt Ryan | Steve Watson’s incredible article about the use of pre-crime technology was picked up by large news sites such as the Drudge Report and others.

Pre-Crime Technology To Be Used In Washington D.C. Steve Watson | Computers predict what crime will be committed where, by who and when.

I-Dosing: Another Excuse for Government Control Over Our Lives Kurt Nimmo | Government claims i-dosing induces the same kind of mind-altering effects as marijuana, cocaine, peyote, and opium.

JFK Assassination Cover-Up Blown Sky High It is a story the corporate media, with the notable exception of one lone Fox News affiliate, refuses to report. A former FBI agent, Don Adams, has compelling evidence Lee Harvey Oswald did not assassinate president John F. Kennedy.

Senate To Sneak Through Internet Kill Switch Bill The Senate is attempting to sneak through the infamous Internet kill switch cybersecurity bill by attaching it to another piece of legislation that is almost guaranteed to pass – the defense authorization bill – in an underhanded ploy to avoid the difficult task of passing cybersecurity on its own.

Key Karzai Aide in Corruption Inquiry Is Linked to C.I.A. The aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Afghan and American officials.

WikiLeaks Release: CIA Red Cell Special Memorandum – What If Foreigners See the United States as an ‘Exporter of Terrorism’ [Which of course is the reality, along with israel; you do recall those israeli operatives who were caught cheering the 911 hit, the so-called pearl harbor event so cherished by the neo-cons.] The document states, “This report examines the implications of what it would mean for the US to be seen increasingly as an incubator and ‘exporter of terrorism.’” However, it doesn’t go on to mention the U.S. state sponsored terrorist activities of the Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG).

Inside Job? Iraqi govt ‘involved in deadly bombings to get US troops to stay’ More than 40 people have been killed in a string of bombings that have rocked Iraq. In Baghdad alone, over 20 bombs exploded in at least 12 separate incidents. Today’s bombings are raising questions the Iraqi government’s ability to deal with an ongoing insurgency. Sabah Al-Mukhtar from the Arab Lawyers Association says the bombings may actually be the Iraqi government’s way to get US troops to stay.

“Lindsay Lohan Poisoned” Sent to the Top of Google Trends Kurt Nimmo | Once again, Alex Jones has pushed a crucial search term to the top of Google Trends.

Lindsay Lohan Poisoned: Get the Word Out About BPA and Other Soft Kill Weapons Kurt Nimmo | Grab the search term “Lindsay Lohan Poisoned” and push it up to the top of Google’s search trends chart.

Lindsay Lohan Poisoned, Along with 300 Million Other Americans. Infowars.com | Alex highlights how SSRI prozac drugs are turning people into psychopaths and leading to a massive increase in suicides and other reckless behavior.

John McCain’s Attack On Liberty Chuck Baldwin | The citizens of Arizona can do the American people — and liberty itself — a great favor this year by giving Senator John McCain his walking papers. [First, he’s a fraud with a long mob-connected history. Second, he’s an incompetent mental case in the mold of ‘bolton’ et als, but all that’s how and why they keep this compromised a** in there.]

Hardship 401(k) withdrawals set record in second quarter:  More workers also borrowing from their accounts (Washington Post, August 22, 2010) [ Clearly an instance where ‘better late than never’ doesn’t quite do it … ‘better now than late or never’ is a bit better as the following see that old tune, ‘ The Big Hurt’, reaching once again number 1 on the billboard charts. ]

Soros Bailing Out of U.S. Stock Market Robert Wenzel | Billionaire trader and political manipulator,George Soros, is clearly not optimistic.

Celente: Stock Market Crash Before End of 2010 Gerald Celente believes that the stock market will crash before the end of 2010 , gold will soar.

Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell / Take Profits while you still can!

100-Year Bonds --- Sign of Trouble?

Monday in the Markets: MOJO Extremes The decline in yields is overdone, gold is overbought, and crude oil and the euro are oversold. The Dow is not oversold.The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury tested 2.531 on Friday versus my quarterly risky level at 2.495. Gold tested $1239.5 last week and today’s risky level is $1241.7. For Crude oil this week’s pivot is $73.59 with my annual pivot at $77.05. The euro is below its 50-day simple moving average at 1.2739 this morning. For the Dow today’s value level is 9,983 with the 50-day simple moving average at 10,303, and weekly and annual pivots at 10.358 and 10,379. 10-Year Note – (2.612) My annual pivot is 2.813 with a weekly pivot at 2.574 and daily risky level at 2.507. My annual value level is 2.999 with quarterly and semiannual risky levels at 2.495 and 2.249. Note that the decline in yield is extremely overdone [charts] …

Portions of the Gulf are So Toxic that Dolphins, Fish, Crabs, Stingrays and Other Animals are “Trying to Crawl Out of the Water” Danny Ross, a commercial fisherman from Biloxi… said he has watched horseshoe crabs trying to crawl out of the water, and other marine life like stingrays and flounder trying to escape the water as well. He believes this is because the water is hypoxic.

Karzai: Private contractors ‘looting and stealing,’ working with terrorists Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday defended his decision to ban private security contractors from operating in public in Afghanistan, saying many of the organizations tasked with providing security are engaging in terrorist activities, working with “Mafia-like” organizations and “looting and stealing from the Afghan people.”

Housing Fades as a Means to Build Wealth, Analysts Say Many real estate experts now believe that home ownership will never again yield rewards like those enjoyed in the second half of the 20th century.

Why “Fair Play” In A Central Bank Interventionist World Is A Doomed Strategy Today’s special report by Faros Trading summarizes the pathetic, uber-interventionist world we live in.

Hussman: Bernanke’s Quantitative Easing Is About To Trigger A Collapse In The US Dollar In his latest weekly letter, John Hussman warns of an imminent and disorderly collapse of the US dollar, courtesy of Ben Bernanke’s move towards more quantitative easing.

Washington looks tantalizing to New York (Washington Post) [ I’m surprised to see this ‘old news’ here since it’s widely known that the wall street frauds, goldman et als, have garnered near vampire legendary status by way of their infamous blood (taxpayers) / treasury draining ways. Tantalized? I’d say consumed. ]

Federal contractors team up with tech giants (Washington Post) [ Clearly the end of an innovative tech sector as blood-sucking, treasury draining corporate welfare artists show them how to get something for nothing but self-perpetuating, self-created needs that aren’t really needed! ] For traditional government contractors, the appeal of working with commercially successful companies such as Google or Apple is clear.

Drudgereport: Philly requiring bloggers to pay $300 for 'license'… [ There are a plethora of reasons to leave philly and this is just another ] ...
WHAT BUDGET CRISES? LA UNVEILS $578 MILLION SCHOOL [ Come on! In California it’s always about the private contracts with public money from public office holding slugs ]
Gold bullion stolen from Florida treasure museum [ I personally believe that beyond the ‘gold-plate’, Fort Knox has already been looted! ] ...

Wikileaks’ Assange: Pentagon may be behind rape claims Agence France-Presse | [ This story smacks of american modus operandi as alternative to outright murder / assassination. Enemy of the State Lew Rockwell | It’s been clear for some time that the Pentagon would love to put a bullet in Julian Assange’s brain. ] Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said in an interview published on Sunday that he believes the Pentagon could be behind a rape accusation against him that was later dropped by Swedish prosecutors.

Gulf Oil May Not Degrade for Decades Washington’s Blog | Scientists have found an underwater oil plume that is more than 22 miles long, more than a mile wide and 650 feet deep.

Yet another Soros tentacle exposed Jim Wallis, the man behind the so-called “religious left” – a left wing evangelical activist who worked to get evangelical support for Obama — has been exposed as another stooge of George Soros.

Der Spiegel: US middle class vanishing According to an article appearing in the German newspaper, Der Spiegel, the negative consequences of the global financial crisis include a widened social class rift and the elimination of the middle class in the US.

Swedish Prosecutors Drop Rape Charges Against Wikileaks Founder Now according to the AP, the rape charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have been withdrawn.

Celente: Stock Market Crash Before End of 2010 Gerald Celente believes that the stock market will crash before the end of 2010 , gold will soar.

U.S. examines private sector's role in affordable housing (Washington Post) [ I’m sorry to say that in pondering the so-called policy-makers in Washington or in the corporate boardrooms that I’m hard-pressed to dismiss from my mind’s eye a picture of a bunch of scarecrows fumbling around while singing refrains such as ‘if they only had a brain’ cirque the land of the wizard of oz. The reality is that some basic grasp of economics, finance, business would go a long way in a more positive sense for the nation. Then there’s those infamous internment / concentration / ‘affordable housing’ camps that’s been filtering through the filters, so to speak.] The Obama administration is grappling over how much to force private lenders to pay for apartments and homes for the poor as it presses ahead with a major overhaul of the government's housing policy, officials said.

$60M project to resume in D.C. (Washington Post) [Well, at least they’re not fema concentration / internment camps; naah, they’re for the hoi polloi. Now luxury apartments for the Washington criminal class; that’s another story. Time to break out the bubbly ‘cause happy days are here again.
H.R. 645 and The FEMA Concentration Camps The Federal or Union side of the conflict had its many concentration camps as well. ... and walk out your front door and see a FEMA concentration camp.
www.infowars.com/h-r-645-and-the-fema-concentration-camps
Alex Jones Presents Infowars.com to Fight the New World Order And how we burned in the camps later, thinking ... county is a designated home for a "concentration ... relocated to "secret locations" (FEMA camps).
www.infowars.com/cc_archive.htm
New World Order FEMA Camps Uploaded by doomdaily www.youtube.com
FEMA Concentration and Internment Camps A good over look of what FEMA is all about. Enslavement and Concentration Camps. It is not about saving people that is an illusion.
www.freedomfiles.org/war/fema.htm
FEMA Concentration CampsU.S. CONCENTRATION CAMPS FEMA AND THE REX 84 PROGRAM. There are over 600 prison camps in the United States, all fully operational and ready to receive ...
www.flyingsnail.com/Dahbud/femaconcentrationcamps.html
U.S. Concentration Camps, page 1 A reported "FEMA camp masquerading as a water treatment plant" here in Texas was (ta-daa) a water treatment plant. A reported "FEMA concentration camp ...
www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/camps.html
AMERICAN CONCENTRATION CAMPS FEMA CONCENTRATION CAMPS: Locations and Executive Orders ..... Ft. Drum - two compounds: Rex 84 detention camp and FEMA detention facility. ...
www.apfn.org/APFN/camps.htm ]

CBO Offers tax cuts assessment (Washington Post) [ One might be inclined to quip, well, you can’t give what you don’t have; but, we all know that’s not true in washington these days and they have the red ink to prove it. Drudgereport: CBO: DEFICIT 9.1% OF GDP... DEVELOPING... ‘(P)recarious fiscal situation by 2020? I’d call that wishful thinking! The 2020 part. How ‘bout now!]

Jobless benefit claims jump to nine-month high (Washington Post) [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan! Or, the wrong plan! The one they’re using, that is. Or, no plan, like Afghanistan!] Drudgereport: NEW LOW FOR O: GALLUP DAILY SHOWS OBAMA 41% APPROVE, 52% DIS...
NEW JOBLESS CLAIMS RISE TO 500,000...
Highest level in 9 months...
CBO: DEFICIT 9.1% OF GDP... DEVELOPING...
Homeowners Expect Home Values to Fall More...

Stock market ends down for second straight week (Washington Post) [Yeah! There should be no surprise here. Such is the scenario that bear markets are made of and Maierhofer shows the math to prove it (infra), Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners …]

Chiacgo's ShoreBank fails, is bought by investors Chicago Tribune - Chicago-based ShoreBank, which for more than three decades made loans to South and West siders who might not have gotten financing elsewhere to buy homes, apartment buildings and start businesses, failed Friday. Regulators shut big Chicago-based bank BusinessWeek Regulators shut down big Chicago bank, 7 others The Associated Press ‘… The FDIC also seized seven other banks Friday, bringing to 118 the number of U.S. bank failures this year amid the recession and mounting loan defaults …The FDIC also took over Community National Bank at Bartow, in Bartow, Fla.; Independent National Bank of Ocala, Fla.; Imperial Savings and Loan Association of Martinsville, Va.; and four California banks: Butte Community Bank, based in Chico; Pacific State Bank, based in Stockton; Los Padres Bank, in Solvang; and Sonoma Valley Bank, in Sonoma. …’ Reuters - Bloomberg - Los Angeles Times (blog) - Richmond Times Dispatch

World Indices / Week ended August 20, 2010 Yahoo Finance

BEAR MARKET MATH - JULY LOWS IN DANGER Simon Maierhofer, On Friday August 20, 2010, 4:53 pm EDT ‘
1+1=2
2+2=4
The simplicity and accuracy of those calculations is undeniable. How about this equation?
Fundamental Weakness + Technical Sell Signals + Overpriced Stocks = Lower Stock Prices. This calculation also seems to be simple and accurate. Let's look at some equations that don't make sense.
1+1=3 or Better Earnings = Higher Stock Prices Earnings season is over. Most companies beat earnings but issued cautious forecasts. This is particularly true of the tech (NYSEArca: XLK - News) and financial sectors (NYSEArca: XLF - News).  By large, profits are still driven by cost-cutting, not organic growth. Retail sales, which make up about one third of the economy, continued to fall after the second quarter ended. Additionally, the expectation that taxes will go up might have moved some companies to pull some of next year's income into this year. This can't be good for Q3 and Q4 profits. As the chart below shows, positive earnings reports are not bullish for stocks, especially if future guidance is weak.[chart]

2+2=5 or Weaker than Expected Economy = Rising Stock Prices On July 30, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) lowered the previous quarter's Gross Domestic Product (GD) growth from an estimated 2.7% to 2.4%. But it didn't stop there. The real GDP for all three previous years was revised as well. It was lowered by 0.2% for 2007, it was lowered by 0.6% for 2008, and it was lowered by 0.4% for 2009. In percentage terms, the real GDP for 2007 was revised down from 2.5% growth to 2.3%. The 2008 decrease was lowered from 1.9% to 2.8% and 2009 growth was revised up from a 0.1% to a 0.2% increase. In essence, the BEA proved that the recession was (or is) much deeper than perceived and the alleged recovery much weaker than previously reported. This comes as no surprise, as the key sector of the financial debacle - real estate (NYSEArca: IYR - News) - remains in a funk. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of vacant properties, including foreclosures, residences for sale, and vacation homes, reached 18.9 million. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to lose money. Has anyone ever wondered how banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) can make money on the same kind of loans that pushed Fannie and Freddie to the brink of ruin? Since bad real estate loans triggered the post 2007 economic meltdown, how can the economy recover without real estate leading the way?

3+3=7 or Positive Analyst Estimates = Higher Stock Prices A recent Associated Press article observed that 'analysts only seem to hit the mark with their estimates in the strongest economic times (2003 - 2006).' Why? 'The problem is that analysts get most of their information from the companies they cover. Corporate managers have every incentive to stay positive for as long as they can.' Is that true; as true as 1+1=2? On April 26, the day the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) topped at 1,219, the Dow (DJI: ^DJI) at 11,258, the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) at 2,535, Bloomberg reported the following: 'U.S. stocks cheapest since 1990 on analyst estimates.' Contrary to analyst estimates, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter stated that 'the potential exists that Monday's high marked a significant top.' Since April, the broad market (NYSEArca: TWM - News) dropped as much as 17%. In March 2009, with the Dow below 7000 and the S&P below 700, analysts lowered their earnings forecasts from $113 in April 2008 to $40. On March 2nd, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter sent out a Trend Change Alert and recommended to buy long and leveraged long ETFs such as the Ultra Financial (NYSEArca: UYG - News) and Ultra S&P 500 ProShares (NYSEArca: SSO - News). If you care to know, analysts estimate that earnings for the S&P 500 will exceed their 2006 all-time high, in 2011. Based on that assumption, stocks are cheap. How about that for flawed math?

4+4=9 or Technical Sell Signals = Higher Stock Prices The 200-day moving average (MA) is one of the best-known technical indicators, as it provides delineation between technically healthy and sick stocks. On May 20, the S&P closed below the 200-day MA for the first time since late 2007. Every attempt to rally and stay above it has since failed miserably. On July 2, the 50-day MA for the S&P dropped below its 200-day MA for the first time since late 2007. The same holds true for mid caps (NYSEArca: MDY - News), small caps (NYSEArca: IWM - News) and nearly all individual sector indexes. For good reason, this is called a Death Cross. Over the past ten years, the death cross has been accurate 75% of the time, with a 19.72% average return on six winning trades and 6.95% average return on two losing trades. In addition to the Death Cross, there are two head and shoulders patterns, one in the making for over 10 years, and the other has the breadth suggestive of a major meltdown (see September ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter).

5+5=11 or Overvalued Stocks = Higher Prices As explained above, based on overly optimistic earnings estimates, analysts believe that stocks are cheap. Rather than basing a future outlook on estimates, it makes sense to use facts as a foundation for any outlook. Why add an extra variable to what's already an unpredictable market? Ask Yale Professor Robert Shiller, who's done extensive research on the subject of valuations, and he'll tell you stocks are historically overvalued based on the current P/E ratio. Compare today's P/E ratio with the P/E ratio seen at major market bottoms, and you'll see that stocks are overvalued by more than 50%. Another gauge that doesn't lie is dividend yields. A company's dividends are a direct reflection of cash flow and financial health. The current yield is 2.65% for the Dow and 2.05% for the S&P.  Even value funds like the iShares Russell 1000 Value (NYSEArca: IWD - News) yield only a measly 2.08%. Dividends are close to their all-time low set in 1999 (we know what happened then). This means that companies are cash strapped or overvalued. Looking at a long-term chart of dividend yields plotted against stock prices shows clearly that markets don't bottom until dividends skyrocket. Just as ice doesn't thaw unless the temperature moves above 32 degrees, the economy won't thaw and show signs of life unless P/E ratios drop to, and dividend yields rise to, levels seen at major market tops. The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed analysis of four valuation metrics, along with short-term target ranges for stocks and the ultimate market bottom. Based on simple math and common sense, the July lows are certainly in danger. But it doesn't stop there.’

DOES HISTORY REPEAT, RHYME OR JUST HAVE COINCIDENCES? Lounsbury: ‘… Has anything of economic utility resulted? I have not found it. And counter to the effect of the dot.com collapse, the credit bubble collapse may not have stripped out some of the speculative income excesses. Wall Street bonuses are back to pre-crisis levels and there has been no "claw-back" of ill-gotten gains from the pirates who seized the economic ship. In fact, the pirates are still in command of the ship and are still under full sail. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! From my first Treasury report:

… the problem was that our systems, especially in finance and health care, are too heavily focused on pay for transactions rather than pay for outcomes. I didn’t have the presence of mind to bring instant gratification into the discussion, but that would have certainly made my thought process clearer.

I don't think this created any waves, but I will continue to wail in the wilderness about how compensation formulas contribute to and compound the structural problems in our financial system. So, back to the earnings chart that started this discussion. In view of what has been discussed here I believe we will find that history, in this instance, will at least rhyme, if not repeat exactly. Structural economic problems are sufficiently similar for the two eras that I expect we will see some form of recurrence of events 5 and 6 [Depression] …’

Hindenburg Omen Confirmation #1 Today we got our first Hindenburg Omen confirmation. The number of new highs was 136, and new lows was at 69 (per the traditional WSJ source).

Greek crisis refuses to go away The European Commission has approved the next €9bn (£7.4bn) tranche of loans for Greece but the underlying economy continues to deteriorate as Greek banks suffer a record loss of deposits and output contracts at a quickening pace.

We Killed The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg For middle class Americans, the new global economy has provided mountains of cheap products made in China, India and dozens of other nations, but it has also killed the goose that laid the golden egg.

Grim future for young workers in ‘pensioner ghettos’ Telegraph | Parts of Britain could become retirement ghettos within a generation with three retired people for every four in work, a report warns.

Is Our Money Based on Debt? Robert Murphy | The first thing to realize is that the Fed can control the size of the monetary base, but it can’t directly control its composition.

Obama Lied About Stimulus Dollars Aiding Local Project A local project that President Barack Obama cited during a visit Wednesday to Columbus as an example of how the federal stimulus package has worked isn’t actually being funded with stimulus dollars.

Black Swans Need Not Apply (6 Reasons Why the Economy is Going Down) Louis James | My New York adventures are signs of an approaching gold mania, not a present one. But I believe more firmly than ever that it’s coming.

DISMANTLING BULLISH ARGUMENTS Simon Maierhofer …
Bull Market Argument #1 - Stocks are Cheap Even though the economy is in the worst shape since the Great Depression, economists at large believe that stocks (NYSEArca: IVV - News) are cheap … We've previously analyzed the folly of relying on projected earnings forecasts and therefore, will only pose two more facts as food for thought before moving onto the next argument. Even if earnings are positive the market can decline, as we've seen with the 9% and 17% declines in January and May. Most of the earnings growth has been fueled by cost-cutting, not organic growth. What does that tell us about the sustainability of growth?
Bull Market Argument #2 - Cash on the Sidelines Cash on the sideline is viewed as bullish because, theoretically, it can be used to buy stocks and drive up prices. Some distinguish between corporate cash and retail cash on the sidelines. Many forget that for every dollar in cash, there is a debt that has to be repaid. According to the Federal Reserve, nonfinancial firms' debt totals $7.2 trillion, the highest level ever. As far as retail investors go, the current debt-income ratio is at 126%. The pre-bubble average was around 70%. To get back to the pre-bubble norm, about $6 trillion worth of debt would have to be eliminated. Retail money in money market funds is currently around the same level as it was in 2006/2007. Is that bullish?
Debunking the Bond Myth No doubt there's been a migration from investment dollars out of stocks and into bonds and gold… Bonds - especially corporate high yield bonds - could soon assume the role real estate had in 2006. Many thought that real estate (NYSEArca: IYR - News) will always go up. As it turns out, real estate prices can move in both directions, as can bond prices.
A Closer Look at Gold What about gold? … The previous cash level low was recorded in August of 2007. We know what happened then. Rather than focusing on the sideline cash, perhaps we should focus on the trillions of dollars still in the market. More selling means lower prices.
'Stocks are Cheap' vs. Realistic Valuations Using projected earnings to determine the markets real value is like counting chickens that have yet to hatch. Things change, and as studies have shown, analysts and economist are usually the last to discern that change. Market forecasting based on solid facts is tricky enough, but basing forecasts on thin assumptions usually translates into financial suicide… Stock market tops when P/E ratios are high, dividend yields are low and mutual fund cash reserves are low. Over the past year, we have seen P/E ratios at an all-time high, dividend yields close to their 1999 low, and mutual fund cash levels at an all-time low. In addition, we have also seen investor optimism soar to levels reminiscent of 2000 and 2007…

Soros Bailing Out of U.S. Stock Market Robert Wenzel | Billionaire trader and political manipulator,George Soros, is clearly not optimistic.

Schwarzenegger Orders 150,000 Government Workers to Take Time Off Without Pay Bloomberg | Schwarzenegger directed state workers to take three unpaid days off each month to save cash.

Weekly Jobless Claims Post Surprise Jump, Hit 500,000 Reuters | New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to a nine-month high last week, yet another setback to the frail economic recovery.

Western Economies Face Hyperinflation: Gold Bull The decline of the Western economic model will bring about hyperinflation and decades of painful readjustment, Egon von Greyerz, founder of gold investment intermediary Goldswitzerland.com told CNBC Thursday.

US Prepares For Gold Standard To understand this objective it helps to go back to a very important moment in our monetary past…

5 Trillion More Dollars To Fix Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac??? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have become gigantic financial black holes that the U.S. government endlessly pours massive quantities of money into.

Drudgereport: NEW LOW FOR O: GALLUP DAILY SHOWS OBAMA 41% APPROVE, 52% DIS...
'Allahu Akbar!' Iran test fires new missile...

'Al-Qaida prepares for Israel-Iran war'...

US Assures Israel Nuclear Iran Isn't Imminent...

Israel tells UN it will stop new Gaza aid flotilla...
Lebanon refuses to bow to warning...

CHICAGOLAND: ShoreBank Closed by FDIC...
...strong ties to Obama administration
USA DEBT: $13,310,379,000,000.00
$44,000 PER CITIZEN...
NEW JOBLESS CLAIMS RISE TO 500,000...
Highest level in 9 months...
CBO: DEFICIT 9.1% OF GDP... DEVELOPING...
Homeowners Expect Home Values to Fall More...

$60M project to resume in D.C. (Washington Post) [Well, at least they’re not fema concentration / internment camps; naah, they’re for the hoi polloi. Now luxury apartments for the Washington criminal class; that’s another story. Time to break out the bubbly ‘cause happy days are here again.
H.R. 645 and The FEMA Concentration Camps The Federal or Union side of the conflict had its many concentration camps as well. ... and walk out your front door and see a FEMA concentration camp.
www.infowars.com/h-r-645-and-the-fema-concentration-camps
Alex Jones Presents Infowars.com to Fight the New World Order And how we burned in the camps later, thinking ... county is a designated home for a "concentration ... relocated to "secret locations" (FEMA camps).
www.infowars.com/cc_archive.htm
New World Order FEMA Camps Uploaded by doomdaily www.youtube.com
FEMA Concentration and Internment Camps A good over look of what FEMA is all about. Enslavement and Concentration Camps. It is not about saving people that is an illusion.
www.freedomfiles.org/war/fema.htm
FEMA Concentration CampsU.S. CONCENTRATION CAMPS FEMA AND THE REX 84 PROGRAM. There are over 600 prison camps in the United States, all fully operational and ready to receive ...
www.flyingsnail.com/Dahbud/femaconcentrationcamps.html
U.S. Concentration Camps, page 1 A reported "FEMA camp masquerading as a water treatment plant" here in Texas was (ta-daa) a water treatment plant. A reported "FEMA concentration camp ...
www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/camps.html
AMERICAN CONCENTRATION CAMPS FEMA CONCENTRATION CAMPS: Locations and Executive Orders ..... Ft. Drum - two compounds: Rex 84 detention camp and FEMA detention facility. ...
www.apfn.org/APFN/camps.htm ]

CBO Offers tax cuts assessment (Washington Post) [ One might be inclined to quip, well, you can’t give what you don’t have; but, we all know that’s not true in washington these days and they have the red ink to prove it. Drudgereport: CBO: DEFICIT 9.1% OF GDP... DEVELOPING... ‘(P)recarious fiscal situation by 2020? I’d call that wishful thinking! The 2020 part. How ‘bout now!]

Jobless benefit claims jump to nine-month high (Washington Post) [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan! Or, the wrong plan! The one they’re using, that is. Or, no plan, like Afghanistan!] Drudgereport: NEW LOW FOR O: GALLUP DAILY SHOWS OBAMA 41% APPROVE, 52% DIS...
NEW JOBLESS CLAIMS RISE TO 500,000...
Highest level in 9 months...
CBO: DEFICIT 9.1% OF GDP... DEVELOPING...
Homeowners Expect Home Values to Fall More...

Privatizing Virginia liquor stores makes sense (Washington Post) [Wow! I’m totally shocked. Having spent enough time in virginia with a part-time office in proximity to washington to discern the corrupt state of affairs of same dominated by what I refer to as government mob (predominantly cia, related, etc.) (my direct sampling of corrupt states of jersey the worst, new york, california, connecticut – 5 for 5) but I had no idea that the state was as backward as it appeared in having state-run liquor stores. How totally preposterous! ‘The revenuers are the brewers’ … just kidding!] Seventy-seven years after the repeal of Prohibition, you'd think we regard the sale of liquor to consenting adults no differently than the sale of any other good.

Warren sits down with lobbyists (Washington Post) [Talk about appearance of if not outright impropriety. Just what do these lobbyists do for their money. Eke out more fraud protection … for the perps? Forget them! ]Elizabeth Warren, a top candidate to lead the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, met quietly with some of her sharpest critics: big bank lobbyists.

Federal Reserve's shift in policy doesn't change its basic outlook (Washington Post) / And what outlook is that? The no-recession initially touted by bernanke or ‘envy of all the world’ touted by senile greenspun? How ‘bout reality:

No Exit, Stage Left or Right Peter shiff ‘… Those who fear a double dip recession are justified in their concerns, but they are also missing the big picture. The 2008 recession never ended. It was merely interrupted by trillions of dollars of stimulus that purchased GDP “growth” with borrowed money. But as the bills come due, GDP should now contract …

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.

Fed Leads America “To The Brink Of Collapse” When even the New York Times and CNN are admitting that the United States faces not only a double-dip recession but potentially a new great depression, any alarm bells that have not been rung should now be sounding loudly.

10 Signs The U.S. is Becoming a Third World Country Activist Post | Key economic indicators point to a situation potentially worse than the Great Depression.

“Surprisingly” Bad Economic News Bob Livingston | Have you noticed how often the elitist “economists” in government, academia and the media are surprised by bad economic news?

Deceptive Economic Statistics: While the economists lied the US economy died Paul Craig Roberts | The bought-and-paid-for-economists got all the media forums for a decade. While they lied, the US economy died.

Celente: Stock Market Crash Before End of 2010 Gerald Celente believes that the stock market will crash before the end of 2010 , gold will soar.

Fed Official Admits the Fed Starts Boom/Bust Cycles There are all kinds of things awry with this article…

Bulls Scatter ... Again ‘At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we wanted to once again highlight the lack of conviction among investors and advisors in the current market environment. Following the July rally, bullish sentiment based on the Investors Intelligence weekly survey jumped to its highest level since May. Then last week, the S&P 500 dropped more than 3% and the bulls scattered. In this week's survey, bullish sentiment declined 12% for its largest weekly decline since the flash crash…’

Know Your Indicators: Hindenburg Omen ‘…Below we outline the five criteria (taken from Zero Hedge) that need to be satisfied in order for the indicator to be triggered. They are:

1. That the daily number of NYSE new 52-Week Highs and the daily number of new 52-Week Lows must both be greater than 2.2% of total NYSE issues traded that day.
2. That the smaller of these numbers is greater than or equal to 69 (68.772 is 2.2% of 3126). This is not a rule but more like a checksum. This condition is a function of the 2.2% of the total issues.
3. That the NYSE 10-Week moving average is rising.
4. That the McClellan Oscillator is negative on that same day.
5. That new 52-Week Highs cannot be more than twice the new 52-Week Lows (however it is fine for new 52-Week Lows to be more than double new 52-Week Highs). This condition is absolutely mandatory…’

Another Round of POMO: Dave's Daily ‘…Thursday we'll get another round of Uncle Sugar's special blend via more POMO (Permanent Open Market Operations). This private label brew will go directly to the Primary Dealers (dba: Da Boyz) who will use it to trade as before…’

More Fuel For a Bigger Decline Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday August 17, 2010, 4:18 pm EDT A French proverb states that a fault denied is committed twice. Denial, as blissful as it is for the time being, does not serve as protection against the inevitable.A perfect example of denial is the May 6 flash crash. Neither Wall Street, the financial media, nor investors wanted to see the danger of such a meltdown beforehand. After it happened, they were in denial about the cause.

Denial is Bliss

The simple truth is that the market was ripe for a major correction. A few weeks before the flash crash, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter noted the extremely low CBOE Equity Put/Call Ratio and warned: 'It seems that only a minority of equity positions are equipped with a put safety net. Once prices do fall and investors do get afraid of incurring losses, the only option is to sell. Selling, results in more selling. This negative feedback loop usually results in rapidly falling prices.' As it turns out, there was no clumsy-fingered trader at fault for the decline that reduced the Dow (DJI: ^DJI) by more than 1,000 points in one day. If it had been a simple error, stocks wouldn't have fallen to new lows after the flash crash. If it had been a simple error, the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) wouldn't still be trading below the flash crash close.

The Reality of Denial

But, that's the power of denial. Since the April 26 highs, the S&P has been moving from lower highs to lower lows. On July 1, the S&P had arrived at 1,011. The ensuing rally lifted the markets by nearly 10%, but failed to push the S&P and Nasdaq above the July 21 highs. The July 21 highs failed to move above the May 12 highs. The May 12 highs were significantly short of the April 26 highs. Despite the obvious downtrend, investors get as excited about dead end bounces as ever. This is not a bullish omen. In fact, according to the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter's technical analysis, the steepest leg of the decline is still ahead. Before we look at more technical details, let's browse through some fundamental factors that reflect the current state of denial:

Don't Worry About Bank Failures

111 banks were added to the FDIC's failed bank list thus far in 2010. At the same time last year, only 76 banks had been shut down. According to an FDIC press release, Metro Bank of Dade County had total assets of $442.3 million and total deposits of $391.3 million. Assets outweigh liabilities by $51 million. That's good, but apparently not accurate. According to the FDIC's press release, closing Metro Bank will cost the FDIC $67.6 million. Why? Because an accounting trick allows banks to artificially inflate their assets. The accounting trick allowed this small bank to overstate its assets by about 25%. Other banks on the FDIC list overstated their assets by more than 50%. Imagine the size of the problem, considering that the four biggest banks (NYSEArca: KBE - News) of the country have about $7.5 trillion in combined assets. We should also point out that none of those losses technically affect earnings, at least not yet (for a detailed analysis refer to the June issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter).

Don't Worry About Falling Real Estate

The National Association of Home Builders reported that its monthly reading of builder's sentiment about the housing market sank to 14, the lowest level since March 2009. Unlike other economic indicators, this index is taken from builders that have their finger on the pulse of Main Street and is forward looking. Despite the rally in equities (NYSEArca: VTI - News) and real estate (NYSEArca: IYR - News), homebuilders (NYSEArca: XHB - News) never really saw light at the end of the tunnel.

Don't Worry About Foreclosures

According to RealtyTrac, more than 1 million American households are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year. This is about 10 times as high as during an average year. 25% of the U.S. household sector has a sub-600 FICO score. Yet, Fannie Mae is offering financing to first-time buyers who only have a $1,000 down-payment. Nearly $150 billion have been spent to keep the doors of Fannie, Freddie and company open.  Does it make sense to artificially extend the life of a patient destined to die? In the case of Fannie, politicians seem to think that lending more money and ultimately creating more toxic assets will solve the problems. Even a third grader understands the irony of that concept. Denial is alive and well.

Don't Worry About Bankrupt States

States are in trouble. The bigger the state, the bigger the trouble it seems. California has a $1.8 trillion economy. If CA was a country, its economy would be the seventh biggest in the world, bigger than Russia. But, CA has no money. CNN reports that as many as 200,000 state workers in CA could see their pay scale slashed to minimum wage, if orders from the governor's office are followed. You don't need to be one of the 200,000 to know that is bad. To go from state salary to minimum wage is a huge drop.

Don't Worry About Falling Prices

Look around and you see a general downtrend develop: U.S. stocks (NYSEArca: IWB - News), international stocks (NYSEArca: EFA - News) and emerging market stocks (NYSEArca: EEM - News). The same applies to commodities (NYSEArca: DBC - News), real estate prices (NYSEArca: RWR - News) and consumer goods. The above-mentioned 'don't worries' all contribute to the deflationary spiral (see image below for a visual). Unemployment remains high because businesses have no pricing power. This leads to lower income, default foreclosures, and ultimately even higher unemployment. Even Bernanke knows, there is no easy fix to a deflationary cycle. Once engrained, it feeds on itself. [chart]

Don't Worry About Death Crosses

A death cross is one of the most powerful technical indicators. It occurs when the shorter simple moving average (SMA) crosses below the longer SMA. Over the last few weeks we saw literally dozens of such death crosses. Most notable was the S&P, Dow Jones and Nasdaq experiencing not only a death cross created by the 50 and 200-day SMA, but also courtesy of the 10 and 40-week SMA. Despite the rally from the July lows, the sell signal triggered by the various death crosses remained active. The fact that the Dow Jones was the only major index to rally above the June 21 highs provides an additional bearish non-confirmation. Over the past ten years, the buy/sell action triggered by the SMA crosses has a success rate of 75% - 100%. Winning trades outperformed losing trades by a ratio of at least 3:1. In investing, those are not the kind of odds you want to bet against. In other words, it's time to face reality and abandon denial.  Leading up to the April highs, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter noted a pinnacle of denial which was reflected by investors' outright enthusiasm about stocks. At a time when approximately 8 of 10 investment advisors and newsletter writers were bullish on stocks, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter noted: 'The message conveyed by the composite bullishness is unmistakably bearish. The pieces are in place for a major decline.' Since April 26, the major indexes dropped as much as 17%. Despite the recent rally, this seems to have been only the first installment of a significant decline. This decline is now in progress. In fact, the August issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter explains the one chart-pattern that explains why the next leg down will be strong and powerful. A British Historian noted decades ago that a wise person does at once what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different times. Will you get out of the markets way in time, or too late?

Here’s a new piece of the dismally murky puzzle which belies a previous raison d’etre for rally: Greek Bonds Slump As Austerity Backfires, Country Enters “Death Spiral”, And The Violent End Game Approaches . Previously, Walmart same store sales were actually down (overseas results were up), and, think about it. Isn’t Walmart, as essentially an american based sales agent of china products a ‘contrarian indicator’ for the the u.s.; that is , hasn’t Walmart’s rise coincided with american main street’s demise. Similarly, fraudulent wall street high frequency churn and earn programmed trade scams among many other frauds as yet unprosecuted has heralded the death knell for american business and the economy, generally. Old news at best and, that ‘not bad as expected, better than expected dog don’t hunt no more’! ‘YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: … Retailers were also strong. As a group retailers climbed 1.8%. Discount retail giant and Dow component Wal-Mart (WMT 51.02, +0.61) was a solid performer on the back of in-line earnings and an improved forecast. Home improvement retailer and fellow Dow component Home Depot (HD 28.31, +0.93) had a more positive influence over retailers. It posted better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, but issued a rather mixed forecast. A smaller-than-expected increase in housing starts during July didn't do anything to derail the stock this session. Housing starts for July increased 1.7% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 546,000 units, which is less than the rate of 555,000 units that had been widely anticipated. Building permits for July fell 3.1% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 565,000, which is below the rate of 573,000 that had been expected…’ But, just a push of the computer programmed trade button and off we go, reality / valuation / economics be damned. In real security analysis (very simplified / summarized), as opposed to the continued frauds on wall street, one must begin with the largest and most significant aggregate (a simple word picture / analogy: ‘rising tide lifts all boats’). If you get this right, the probabilities in your favor are substantially enhanced. From there, you want leading industries, and leading companies within said leading industries (again, larger aggregates then picks, to enhance probabilities, not guarantees, in your favor). Your time frame, 1-3-5 yrs tops for projections, (including income statement/EPS, balance sheet, and applying an appropriate P/E – a detailed, multi-faceted approach beyond what could be described in this summary); and, that’s all they are, projections. Beyond that time frame, your guess. On fraudulent wall street, every day, though already discounted in large part (6-8 mos, approx.), the market spins, churns, and with lightning fast computerized high-frequency trade programs commissions in huge volumes like no other time in financial history when real valuation meant something, with no net economic value added, but very lucrative to the frauds on wall street, which ultimately is a net detriment to the economy / the nation /and other industries as we’ve seen and as described elsewhere on this site and in these posts http://albertpeia.com . Preposterously, they even sometimes refer to seasonal factors as if hearing them for the first time and ‘explaining’ an up move (almost invariably already discounted). Today, they shrugged off the deepening economic reality despite the election year frothing / manipulations. This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ].

Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners. I realize this view is far from the consensus. Even those who are in the bear camp aver that the Stimulus did in fact bring us out of recession at least temporarily.

However, I would strongly contend that the recovery was in fact non-existent for the following reasons:

1. The Government data used to validate the recovery (GPD, unemployment, etc) is clearly massaged if not bordering on outright propaganda

2. We are in fact in a depression and the “recovery” was simply a bounce in economic activity taking place within the context of a larger economy contraction

Regarding #1, every Government data point used in promoting the “recovery” had some degree of fudging in it. Let’s consider GDP for instance.

There are numerous devious tactics used to overstate GDP growth, however, the most obvious gimmick the BLS uses is overstating GPD growth in the present and then revising it lower in the subsequent quarters.’

Celente: Stock Market Crash Before End of 2010 Gerald Celente believes that the stock market will crash before the end of 2010 , gold will soar.

Kaufman on High Frequency Trading ‘Sen. Ted Kaufman (D., Del.) has been banging the drum on the need for regulatory changes to high frequency trading for a while. His latest thoughts on the matter take the form of a letter to SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro urging — among other things — major high-frequency trading firms  be required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Dow Jones Newswires’ Jacob Bunge reports:…’

Deceptive Economic Statistics: While the economists lied the US economy died Paul Craig Roberts | The bought-and-paid-for-economists got all the media forums for a decade. While they lied, the US economy died.

10 Signs The U.S. is Becoming a Third World Country Activist Post | Key economic indicators point to a situation potentially worse than the Great Depression.

“Surprisingly” Bad Economic News Bob Livingston | Have you noticed how often the elitist “economists” in government, academia and the media are surprised by bad economic news?

The Bond Market Is Signaling Trouble Ahead Claus Vogt | My outlook for the economy and the stock market has steadily and significantly deteriorated since March 2010.

China Drains Obama Stimulus Meant for U.S. Economy Bloomberg | Globalization is pitting the Wangs in China or Gandhis in India against the Smiths in the U.S. or Gonzalezes in Spain.

Chossudovsky: China could already be world’s largest economy It’s widely predicted that China’s economy will be the largest in the world by 2020, overtaking the U.S. Only this week the country surpassed Japan to become the world’s second biggest economy by GDP.

Greek Bonds Slump As Austerity Backfires, Country Enters “Death Spiral”, And The Violent End Game Approaches Those patiently following the Greek Bond-Bund spread to its inevitable conclusion have been fully aware that the plan that Europe is betting its entire future on, is patently flawed: namely that austerity, by its definition does not, and will not work.

Malaysian Province Moves To Gold And Silver-Based Currency In “Main Islamic Event Of The Last 100 Years” More world governments are “just saying no” to the ponzi. Last week, the Malaysian government of Kelantan “said it was introducing a new monetary system featuring standardised gold and silver coins based on the traditional dinar and dirham coins once used by the Ottoman Empire.”

Analysts Foresee $1,300 Gold By Year-End Worries about a fragile U.S. economy are likely to keep investors shifting toward gold and could push the metal to fresh record highs near the $1,300 area by year-end, analysts and traders say.

Kicked In The Groin: Health Insurance Companies Are Dramatically Increasing Premiums Due To The New Health Care Law And There Is Not Much We Can Do About It Wasn’t the new health care reform law supposed to make health care more affordable for everyone? Well, imagine my surprise when I opened up a letter from my health insurance company recently and found out that my health insurance premiums were going up by nearly 50 percent.

geithner: Fannie, Freddie in need of overhaul (Washington Post) Now this is an understatement from tiny tim, God bless us everyone. I think tiny tim’s more concerned with public perception over their haul of taxpayer dollars.

Manufacturing, housing sectors exhibit diverging fortunes (Washington Post) I’d say understatement but I truly don’t know what this headline means juxtaposed with ‘fortunes’.

Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect.

China Slashes U.S. Government Bond Holdings By The Largest Amount Ever China began reducing its holdings of U.S. government bonds again in June, and in fact cut just its holdings by the largest 1-month amount ever.

18 Signs That America Is Rotting Right In Front Of Our Eyes Sometimes it isn’t necessary to quote facts and figures about government debt, unemployment and the trade deficit in order to convey how badly America is decaying.

Goldman Sachs Could be Largely Unaffected by ‘Financial Overhaul’ As Wall Street scrambles to find the best and most profitable way to operate under the new financial reform law, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. — the firm that was expected to suffer the most under the legislation — could emerge practically unscathed.

Tons of gold imports turn to dust on arrival Several tons of gold imported into the UAE by traders and investors turned out to be fake on closer inspection, resulting in millions of dirhams in losses and high levels of stress to the victims.

Google Yanks “Kill The Web” Article That Warned Of Internet Takeover Paul Joseph Watson | In the face of censorship, it’s more important than ever that people get the word out about Google’s plan to kill the web.

‘Bombshell Barack’ and ‘Kill Web’ Heading to Top of Google Trends Matt Ryan | Alex Jones would like to again thank everyone for their continued support in spreading the message of truth.

Google Plans To Kill Web In Internet Takeover Agenda Paul Joseph Watson | Doomsday scheme will silence independent voices for good.

Provocateurs Spray-paint “Infowars.com” on Private Property in Pennsylvania Kurt Nimmo | Fox News station in Pennsylvania insinuates Infowars.com behind incident.

Google Yanks “Kill The Web” Article That Warned Of Internet Takeover Having at first appeared as normal, our earlier article about Google’s plan to kill the web has been completely de-listed from Google News. This is completely unprecedented and underscores how keen Google is to prevent people from finding out that it is a CIA-NSA front that is preparing to completely end the Internet as we know it with the Verizon net-neutrality killing deal.

Drudgereport: NEW LOW FOR O: GALLUP DAILY SHOWS OBAMA 41% APPROVE, 52% DIS...
NEW JOBLESS CLAIMS RISE TO 500,000...
Highest level in 9 months...
CBO: DEFICIT 9.1% OF GDP... DEVELOPING...
Homeowners Expect Home Values to Fall More...
Death of the 'McMansion': Era of Huge Homes Is Over...
Bankruptcies Reach Nearly 5-Year High...
REPORT: China targets U.S. troops with arms buildup...
Military power growing...
Pentagon warning...
Risky game on the high seas...
How long can America fend off the dragon?
'Without a revolution, Americans are history'...

From Good to Mediocre ‘Through last Friday, 2,127 US companies had reported quarterly numbers this earnings season. What started out as a strong earnings season is going out with a whimper (earnings season ends tomorrow with Wal-Mart's report)…’

10 Signs The U.S. is Becoming a Third World Country Activist Post | Key economic indicators point to a situation potentially worse than the Great Depression.

“Surprisingly” Bad Economic News Bob Livingston | Have you noticed how often the elitist “economists” in government, academia and the media are surprised by bad economic news?

Are You Ready For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect.

Without a Revolution, Americans Are History The United States is running out of time to get its budget and trade deficits under control. Despite the urgency of the situation, 2010 has been wasted in hype about a non-existent recovery. As recently as August 2 Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner penned a New York Times column, “Welcome to the Recovery.”

How Goldman Sachs Is Screwing Over Other Banks In The Coming GM IPO As if its rivals didn’t have reason enough to hate Goldman Sachs (GS), they’ve just been given one more reason.

China Favors Euro Over Dollar as Bernanke Alters Path Bloomberg | China, whose $2.45 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves are the world’s largest, is turning bullish on Europe and Japan at the expense of the U.S.

High Probability for Lower Market Prices Ahead ‘…Economic numbers being what they are (very poor), we should expect a downward revision of second quarter GDP to 1.5% from the originally disappointing number of 2.4%. As more data is being released it is apparent that we are witnessing even further deterioration here in the third quarter…We may have reached a tipping point where many are tired of others being the benefactors of taxpayer money …’

Gold Providing Safety During Market Downturn ‘ … The death cross occurs when the 50 day moving average crosses the 200 day moving average on the downside. These patterns, when combined with other technical indicators can predict major market downturns…THE ODDS OF A LONG TERM DOWNTREND ARE BECOMING HIGHLY PROBABLE. THESE SIGNALS COULD POSSIBLY INDICATE THE START OF A TWELVE TO EIGHTEEN MONTH DOWN CYCLE. Gold, on the other hand, has shown great relative strength despite the general markets correcting and negative sentiment about the economy from Washington…’

Pension check may not be in the mail Chicago Tribune | Illinois public employees who think the state constitution guarantees that they’ll get all their pension benefits

Back to School? Bring Your Own Toilet Paper New York Times | “The first time I saw it, my mouth hit the floor,” Emily’s mother, Kristin Cooper, said of the list, which also included perennials like glue sticks, scissors and crayons.

An Argentina-like Economic Crisis Scott Strzelczyk | The United States’ economic decline precariously resembles Argentina’s economic collapse.

U.S. Economy Near Point of No Return Dan Weil | The Federal Reserve’s decision to expand its quantitative easing by purchasing more Treasuries is a dangerous one.

Obama Says Private Accounts Would Endanger U.S. Social Security Benefits President Barack Obama said Republican proposals to have people invest Social Security benefits in private accounts would increase the U.S. budget deficit and put retirement money at risk to “the whims of Wall Street traders.”

The Trade Deficit Nightmare When they hear the word deficit, most Americans immediately think of the U.S. government budget deficit which is rapidly spiralling out of control.

Fed Official Admits the Fed Starts Boom/Bust Cycles There are all kinds of things awry with this article…

Fed’s Hoenig: Keeping Rates Too Low ‘Dangerous Gamble’ The Federal Reserve is undertaking a “dangerous gamble” by keeping rates at near zero for so long, and must start raising rates or risk damaging the nascent U.S. recovery, a top Federal Reserve official said on Friday.

Will Quantitative Easing By The Federal Reserve Unleash Economic Hell? The Economic Collapse | Most of the folks populating Congress are so incompetent that they should not even be hired to mop the floors of a Dairy Queen.

China surpasses Japan as world's No. 2 economy (Washington Post) [ As if we didn’t see that coming! ]

Dr David Kelly was on a hitlist, says UN weapons expert as calls grow for full inquest Mail Online | Dr Richard Spertzel claimed Dr Kelly was on a ‘hitlist’ in the final years of his life.

Iran Attack This Week? Kurt Nimmo | John Bolton and the neocons refuse to accept that Iran’s facility will produce nuclear energy and insist it will be used to create nuclear weapons.

The Hidden Tragedy of the CIA’s Experiments on Children Shortly after deciding to initiate her own LSD experiments on children, Bender attended a conference sponsored by a CIA front group, the Josiah Macy Foundation.

Shilling for War on Iran I guess I was naïve in thinking that The Atlantic and its American-Israeli writer Jeffrey Goldberg might shy away from arguing for yet another war — this one with Iran — while the cauldrons are still boiling in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even world-class chutzpah must have its limits, I had thought.

U.S. Economy Near Point of No Return Dan Weil | The Federal Reserve’s decision to expand its quantitative easing by purchasing more Treasuries is a dangerous one.

Will Quantitative Easing By The Federal Reserve Unleash Economic Hell? The Economic Collapse | Most of the folks populating Congress are so incompetent that they should not even be hired to mop the floors of a Dairy Queen.

Drudgereport: O FALLS TO NEW LOW AT GALLUP DAILY...
China overtakes Japan as No. 2 economy...
China Favoring Euros Over Dollars...
'Without a revolution, Americans are history'...
NEWSWEEK: World's Best Country: Finland [USA #11]...
House to cut food stamps to fund Mrs. Obama's 'let's move' initiative...
Banks to benefit most from White House effort to fight foreclosures...
Petraeus: 'We're doing everything we can' …[Sounds like a plan!]...
Builds Case for 'Success' in Afghanistan …[If only words could make it so!]...
Karzai asks Obama for review of war...
Foreign troops deaths pass 2,000...
MYSTERY: West Wing of White House covered in tarp...
Harvard University fund sells all israel holdings... … UPDATE: Harvard insists israeli shares sale not driven by boycott...
GOOGLEVERIZON Deal: Fears for Privacy...

HOW TO BEAR MARKET PROOF YOUR PORFOLIO Simon Maierhofer, On Friday August 13, 2010, ‘… The 22 trading days following the April 26 market highs erased eight months worth of gains. Bear markets move much quicker than bull markets.

Rule #1: Better too Early than too Late

When preparing for a bear market (we'll discuss in a moment why we have been preparing for a bear market), it is prudent to start early. Anyone who sold their long positions as early as September last year would be in a better position than the buy-and hold crowd that is still clinging to their holdings.

Rule #2: Don't Trust Wall Street and the Media

By now, even the mainstream media is sensing that something might not be quite right with the market's performance. However, there is still hope that the second half of the year will get a lift from positive earning results. Before you bet your money on that line of reasoning, consider the picture the media painted days within the April 2010 market top.

April 19, 2010 'America is back - The remarkable tale of an economic turnaround' – Newsweek
'Recovery tilting to V-shape as profits prompts growth revision' - Bloomberg

April 25, 2010: 'U.S. stocks cheapest since 1990 on analyst estimates' – Bloomberg
'Technical Analysts see room to roll' - Wall Street Journal

April 27, 2010 'Greece contagion fears unfounded' - Reuters

May 3, 2010: 'Manufacturing in U.S. grows at fastest pace since 2004 as recovery gains traction' - Bloomberg

Over the past two and a half months, the S&P (NYSEArca: SPY - News) and Dow (NYSEArca: DIA - News) have lost as much as 17%. A 20% loss is considered the mark of a new bear market. In essence, we are only one bad day away from the next bear. Of course, throughout the massive bear market rally from the March 2009 lows, which the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter predicted via the March 2, 2009 Trend Change Alert, the newsletter maintained that it was only a bear market trap which would fool a majority of investors. On April 16 it stated that 'Most bulls have no clue why they are bullish except for the fact that they feel the need to play the momentum game. Sounds like 2000 and 2007 all over again. The message conveyed by the composite bullishness is unmistakably bearish.'

Rule #3: Don't Underestimate Cash

In a period of falling prices, cash or cash equivalents like short term Treasuries (NYSEArca: SHY - News) maintain your purchasing power - long-term Treasuries (NYSEArca: TLT - News) are interest rate sensitive and may move faster than you think. When stocks fall and you are able to maintain your purchasing power, you are able to buy stocks at a discount. In essence, cash offers a positive return in periods of falling prices. Additionally, or alternatively, investors may choose to buy short or leveraged short ETFs such as the Short S&P 500 ProShares (NYSEArca: SH - News), UltraShort Russell 2000 ProShares (NYSEArca: TWM - News) UltraShort S&P 500 ProShares (NYSEArca: SDS - News), Short Financial ProShares (NYSEArca: SEF -News), Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3x Shares (NYSEArca: FAZ - News) and many more.

Rule #4: Don't Procrastinate

On May 14, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter predicted that the S&P (NYSEArca: IVV - News) will fall through the important 1,040 resistance level. Aside from a small cluster of resistances (one being round number resistance), a break below 1,040 opened the door wide for significantly lower prices. We mentioned above that we've been preparing for a reemerging bear market even before the April highs. Why? Simply put, stocks are overvalued. How can that be? One of the above headlines read that U.S. stocks are cheapest since 1990, at least according to analyst projections. The key word is projections. Analysts project operating earnings for the S&P to clock in at $94.83 in 2011. This is higher than the 2007 peak of $91.47. That's right, despite record high unemployment, a European (NYSEArca: VGK - News) debt crisis, a 17% U.S. market correction, and all the other problems economists expect corporate profits will exceed their 2007 all-time highs. Does that sound reasonable to you? Keep in mind that projected earnings are just that - projected. They can and will change. In fact, analysts have a reputation of following the trend. In April 2008, analysts predicted earnings of $113. After cutting its forecast to $53, Goldman Sachs cut its earnings forecast to $40 in March 2009. As we know today, stocks rallied, and actual 2009 earnings came in at $56.87. The list goes on, but the simple message is that analysts tend to be overly optimistic before the fall and overly pessimistic before a rally. Right now they are overly optimistic. The conclusion is easy.

Rule #5: Know who to Trust

Even when basing the current P/E ratio on overly optimistic estimates, it is still far away from the P/E ratios seen at historic market bottoms. The same holds true for dividend yields. A look at various valuation measures shows that the market is overvalued by much more than just 10 or 20%. The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter provides a detailed analysis of four valuation metrics with a near spotless track record of historic accuracy…’ 

No Exit, Stage Left or Right Peter shiff ‘… Those who fear a double dip recession are justified in their concerns, but they are also missing the big picture. The 2008 recession never ended. It was merely interrupted by trillions of dollars of stimulus that purchased GDP “growth” with borrowed money. But as the bills come due, GDP should now contract … After decades of abuse, it’s time for the Fed to take make a dramatic exit, because the US economy can’t take it anymore.’

An Argentina-like Economic Crisis Scott Strzelczyk | The United States’ economic decline precariously resembles Argentina’s economic collapse.

The Dollar’s Third and Final Act LewRockwell.com | The US credit system is in the midst of its third credit crisis since the advent of the Federal Reserve.

Roubini: Even If The Economy Doesn’t Technically Double Dip, It’s Still Going To Be Awful If you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend this interview with Nouriel Roubini. Particularly he raises the point that while the U.S. may not technically double-dip into a new recession, it’s going to feel like it is.

Hindenburg Omen: Stock Market Crash Imminent? Easily the most feared technical pattern in all of chartism (for the bullishly inclined) is the dreaded Hindenburg Omen. Those who know what it is, tend to have an atavistic reaction to its mere mention.

Capital Controls: The Final Phase in the Great Looting of America Eric Blair | Capital controls are the next big event in the government-banking-oligarchy’s great looting of America.

Jobless claims jump to 5-month high The number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance rose to the highest level since late February last week, according to a weekly government report released Thursday.

Deficit in July Totals $165.04 Billion The U.S. government spent itself deeper into the red last month, paying nearly $20 billion in interest on debt and an additional $9.8 billion to help unemployed Americans.

Fed Leads America “To The Brink Of Collapse” When even the New York Times and CNN are admitting that the United States faces not only a double-dip recession but potentially a new great depression, any alarm bells that have not been rung should now be sounding loudly.

Bailouts Went To Foreign Banks: Congressional Report Confirms What We Already Knew A Congressional Oversight Panel issued today highlights the fact that large portions of the Treasury’s $700 billion bailout fund have gone straight into the coffers of foreign banks, a fact that we knew months ago, but is only now being officially recognised.

Fed Leads America “To The Brink Of Collapse” Paul Joseph Watson | Bernanke announcement that central bank will buy US debt marks point of no return.

15 Economic Statistics That Just Keep Getting Worse The Economic Collapse | Anyone who claims that things are getting “better” is either ignorant, completely deluded or is purposely lying.

Economy Teeters On The Brink and Market Manipulation Continues Bob Chapman | It’s just the same old, same old, business as usual in America.

The Fed’s New Round of Quantitative Easing Is Like Trying to Patch Leaking Pipes by Pumping in More Water Washington’s Blog | The government hasn’t even tried to replace the leaking sections of pipe in our economy.

Is this finally the economic collapse? Fortune | Should we bite the bullet and accept that current economic policy dictates 0% returns-on-savings, even as Washington continues to lever-up our future to the point of economic collapse?

U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don’t Even Know Bloomberg | Let’s get real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the country pay its bills.

Marc Faber: Protect Your Property with High Voltage Fences, Barbed Wire, Booby Traps, Military Weapons and Dobermans Investment guru and publisher of The Gloom, Boom and Doom report, Marc Faber, regularly discusses investment strategies for protecting and building wealth during times of economic distress.

States get grants to help regulate health insurance rates (Washington Post) Sounds like a plan … born of capital hill math; viz., ie., just sayin’, $1 million for a bureaucracy that will cost many millions, even as states like the nation itself are defacto bankrupt.

Regulators consider toughening overdraft rules even more (Washington Post) Wow! They’re tough … when talking millions instead of the hundreds of billions of taxpayer funds they’ve frittered away. You can’t make this stuff up!

Barclays Bank agrees to forfeit $298 million to authorities (Washington Post) Well, they haven’t gotten to the point just yet where it’s just not worth doing business in america, but they’re workin’ on it and getting’ there!

In Supporting The Ground Zero Mosque, Barack Obama Falls On His Sword [ I really wasn’t inclined to comment on this because it’s just not that big a deal except as to exceedingly small minds. However, I feel I must say that if the jewish Mayor of NYC who is certainly no slouch and really knows how to count thinks it’s ok, then it’s OK. Period! ] With President barack obama’s political dynasty already on life support, his decision to publicly back the hugely unpopular building of a Muslim mosque near Ground Zero confirms that Obama, or rather the advisors that pull his strings, have decided to commit political suicide and cut him loose from the Washington power structure, with the hope of fooling Americans with another establishment Republican as a legitimate alternative in 2012.

Makeup of Obama's housing reform panel draws ire (Washington Post) [Wow! Talk about late to the party! I mean … a conference? It’s not as if this was some new or novel problem coming down the pike. Then there’s the everything but the core issue / problem approach that seems recurringly fashionable.] Advocates say that the administration is excluding consumer and community groups from playing prominent roles in a government-sponsored conference next week that will kick off efforts to overhaul national housing policy.

Warnings: Social Security at risk (Washington Post) [ Not this again! It bears repeating, that was always a bad idea and there was a plethora of reasons set forth on my site as to why the social security privatization plan being shilled by moron war criminal dumbya bush on behalf of the wall street frauds was an exceedingly bad idea. Indeed, as defacto insolvent as america / the social security system is, the nation and system would have been wiped out by privatization debacle. Talk about too big to, but still failed. It was a bad idea then, and though accusations may fly as to fear mongering, the reality of the venality attendant to such a preposterous course on behalf of the wall street frauds requires vigilance, scrutiny, and discourse concerning even the remote possibility of such a fool-hearty betrayal of the citizenry of the nation. As such, as off the mark as wobama has almost invariably been, he’s on the mark on this. ]ANALYSIS | Obama says GOP wants to privatize program, but liberals see a different threat.

Foreclosures surge 9 percent in July (Washington Post) Those glass-half-full frauds on wall street along with the administration will be cheering this unequivocally bad news with a dubious retort as ‘used home sales will rise’ … riiiight! Anything you say …

Stocks dip for third straight day (Washington Post) [Investor fears? How ‘bout reality. Even an essentially non-business site as Drudge has the pulse of this pervasive realization that ‘those dogs of happy days are here again don’t hunt no more’. Check the heads: DRUDGEREPORT: America Is 'Bankrupt Mickey Mouse Economy'...
WIRE: USA 'Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It'...

DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT HITS RECORD HIGH
JOBLESS CLAIMS JUMP TO HIGHEST SINCE FEB...
California can't pay bills -- may use IOUs for August payments...
DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
Homes lost to foreclosure up 6% from last year...
Grim Voter Mood Turns Grimmer... and Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s. Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary depression. My take: This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed

Pearlstein: The FCC and the bandwidth wars (Washington Post) [The internet has been among the few areas of growth and american prominence, at least at this point in time. Clearly, as with the throng that heralded in NAFTA, the self-interested voices of ie., google, verizon, etc., are similarly anathema to the greater good (as was NAFTA). Berners-Lee spoke against such parochialism in no uncertain terms, much as did Ross Perot on NAFTA and history has proven Perot correct as is so of the mind numbing approaches of google, verizon, etc.] Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse (infowars.com) [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

AP Business Highlights ‘Jobs picture dims as unemployment claims rise WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy is looking bleaker as new applications for jobless benefits rose last week to the highest level in almost six months. It's a sign that hiring remains weak and employers may be going back to cutting their staffs. Analysts say the increase suggests companies won't be adding enough workers in August to lower the 9.5 percent unemployment rate. First-time claims for jobless benefits edged up by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 484,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest total since February. Analysts had expected claims to fall…’

Bearish Sentiment Falls to 14-Week Low [Talk about contrarian indicators!] AAII – ‘Bullish sentiment rose 9.4 percentage points to 39.8% in the latest AAII Sentiment Survey. Despite the size of the increase, the proportion of individual investors expecting stock prices to rise over the next six months is only at a two-week high. The historical average is 39%. Neutral sentiment, expectations that stock prices will stay essentially flat over the next six months, fell 1.3 percentage points to 30.1%. The historical average is 31%. Bearish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will fall, dropped 8.1 percentage points to 30.1%. This is a 14-week low. The historical average is 30%. The survey period, Thursday through Wednesday, needs to be taken into consideration when looking at these results. Stock prices were essentially flat through most of this week's survey period (with the obvious exception of yesterday), giving some investors hope that a short-term bottom had been established. Though there were big changes in bullish and bearish sentiment, both optimism and pessimism are close to their historical averages. As a result, I would argue that individual investors' confidence in the market remains fragile…’

Lavish lifestyle for bank executive in Waters case (Washington Post) While this is typical of California, isn’t it as typical of the wall street frauds? Scammin’ everybody with that too big to fail b*** s*** when they’re a net economic drain, high frequency churn-and-earn computer programmed trading scams among the more blatant frauds emanating from their insatiable greed and sense of entitlement. Previous post: Cities, counties could slash 500,000 more jobs (Washington Post) Could? I’d say must. Particularly when you factor in that this election ‘spurt’ leaving the nation even more bankrupt is illusory. I had occasion some time ago in speaking with a long-time California resident (instructor at the college gym where I worked out) to express my surprise at the bloated (municipal, state) high-priced bureaucracy which of course is not productive except as to higher taxes and which is at the forefront in the city of Bell where the city manager was paid nearly 900,000 annually (with benefits the package was an incredible $1,500,000), and specifically mentioned the part-time typical compensation of $100,000 and contracts to interested, even familial, parties. Of course, no one has done this better than feinstein, albeit on a more federal level and China contracts through her husband’s companies, as previousl set forth on this website. Drudgereport: 'Where do the bailouts end?'  [I feel compelled to comment here that even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]

Bailouts benefited foreign firms (Washington Post) True enough! But, truth be told, the fraud giving rise to the financial debacle was home grown americana. Moreover, the remnants of same are still out there in the trillions, now ‘marked to anything they so choose’, courtesy of a complicit, albeit after the fact, congress. This is the point … rather than as should have been the case of making the perps pay, the bailouts / cover-ups by now enablers if not accomplices is ending quite badly with much worse to come, and that includes those european lightweights who have come into the fraudulent wall street fold to theirs and the world’s economic and financial detriment.

U.S. trade deficit startles markets (Washington Post) [ Unexpectedly? I don’t think so! And, I have my site, other references / links and posts to prove it; and, what’s more, I’m not alone. After all, what are NAFTAs for anyway. However, I also must candidly admit I don’t frequent the mainstream blather / propaganda that includes the ‘money-honeys’ (when the messenger’s more important than the message, problems and distortions are bound to follow) and their ilk, etc.. NBR’s about it and even they have their pressures (I don’t consider the Washington Post mainstream in the pejorative sense of the word, with a rich journalistic history to back that up, all things considered) ]. Unexpectedly bad news from three continents reinforces fears that global recovery is faltering.

Obama signs $26 billion jobs bill (WP)   [I feel compelled to comment here that even using capital hill math one would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! I think the former Soviet Union would have done the same.]

Fed action signals new activism (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! The activist fed! That’s all we need. As if we needed more of what brought us to this point! Certainly the fed’s role in the continuing and current financial crisis / debacle cannot be ignored or disputed. Nothing like a hegelian methodology to create the very problems for which they are called upon to offer solutions, increasing their sense of importance, and concentrating power thereby. (Think about it. It is really rather quite absurd that each meeting time the financial markets hold their bated breath for these incompetent boobs). Then there’s the cover-up with an opportunity for enrichment of some, usually the tight-lipped yes-men then ever after and forever bonded in what becomes tantamount to an almost fraternal link by ‘virtue’ of the crime thereby. No, I’m not saying their initial missteps were necessarily badly intended, but the manipulations thereafter to obfuscate their incompetence (senile greenspun, no-recession-helicopter-ben, etc.) comes at a great price and is nothing less than tantamount to or just outright crime. I’d abolish the fed without hesitation or compunction. After all, at this point of decline and defacto bankruptcy of the nation you certainly can’t point to success nor argue their indispensability. Then there’s also the missing trillions, over-printing of fiat currency, and all that sub rosa activity with the worthless fraudulent toxic paper which I believe is being supplanted with ultimately hard currency to the great benefit of the frauds and great detriment to the nation.]

ACCORDING TO TECHNICAL INDICATORS, MELTDOWN IS POSSIBLE Simon Maierhofer A SOLID TRACK RECORD An analysis of the SMA crossover buy/sell signals triggered for the S&P over the past 10 days shows that six of the eight signals (75%) were correct. ..LAGGING BUT ACCURATE Many dismiss the 200-day or other SMAs as lagging indicators. Although an indicator may be lagging it doesn't mean it's incorrect or should be dismissed… Even though a lagging indicator, the rain does confirm that a storm is coming. A PRO-ACTIVE APPROACH You'd expect Wall Street and the financial media to be the financial weather man and warn you of upcoming storms. Unfortunately, that is not so. Leading up to the April 2010 recovery highs, Wall Street and the media proclaimed the skies are clear, 'sunny throughout the year' was their weather forecast. Only after investors got drenched, did Wall Street recommend pulling out the umbrella. Sure enough, as soon as the umbrellas came out, stocks switched into rally mode and the sky cleared up. Unlike Wall Street, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned of the brewing storm while it was still sunny. On April 16, the newsletter warned that 'historically, there has rarely been a more pronounced sell signal ... When consumers spend, they do so with credit cards. Visa and Master Card both got hit with a death cross. It's just a matter of time until the discretionary sector follows. WAIT, THERE IS MORE …High copper prices are reflective of high demand and a humming economy. Lower copper prices signal trouble ahead. On June 22, an ominous death cross visited copper's chart. PUTTING THE ODDS IN YOUR FAVOR Investing is a game of probabilities. While you always want to have the odds in your favor, you never want to bet against the odds. Right now, the odds are piling up on the bearish side of the ledger. Even though Wall Street is saying that the sky has cleared up, 'meteorologists' with a better track record are warning of the storm ahead. In fact, there is one rare chart formation that strongly suggests the onset of a 2008-like decline, a development that's certainly supported by the number of death crosses spanning a variety of markets. The August issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed short, mid and long-term forecast, along with the one chart that tells the market's story and true bearish potential. 

Congressman Calls Vote on $26 Billion Jobs Bill a Sign ‘We’re Not Bankrupting the Country Fast Enough’ With a tone of sarcasm, a California Republican congressman said that he “knows” why members of the U.S. House of Representatives were summoned from their home districts back to Washington, D.C., and the halls of Congress.

U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don’t Even Know Bloomberg | Let’s get real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the country pay its bills.

Crowd waiting for housing vouchers gets rowdy Atlanta Journal-Constitution | A crowd of people hoping to get federal housing assistance became unruly Wednesday morning with reports of fights breaking out in the crowd.

Californians’ income falls for first time since WWII Sacramento Bee | The personal incomes of Golden State workers fell by that amount in 2009 compared with the previous year.

Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

San Francisco Fed: “A Recessionary Relapse Is A Significant Possibility Sometime In The Next Two Years” [ Picture the fed as a pseudo ninja with fancy foreplay / motions getting decked / ‘koed’ with a simple right-hook to the jaw by the antagonist named reality. All this finagling, manipulation, fiat currency over-printing, and nation bankrupting debt, and … nothing / nada / ‘growth ‘ estimates revised downward, unemployment unabated since economic reality figures somewhat in hiring to say the least, and jobs transferred overseas ain’t comin’ back. Quite simply, this is a depression no matter what they call it! ] Presented without commentary, suffice to say that idiots who look at the LEI and factor for the curve inversion subindicator deserve all they get.

Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary depression.

Democrats, Advocacy Groups Blast Cuts to Food Stamps to Fund $26B Aid Bill Some Democrats are upset and advocacy groups are outraged over the raiding of the food-stamp cupboard to fund a state-aid bailout that some call a gift to teachers and government union workers.

15 Economic Statistics That Just Keep Getting Worse A little over a week ago, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner penned an article for the New York Times entitled “Welcome To The Recovery” in which he touted the great strides that the U.S. economy was making.

America Is ‘Bankrupt Mickey Mouse Economy’: CIO America is a “Mickey Mouse economy” that is technically bankrupt, according to Jochen Wermuth, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and managing partner at Wermuth Asset Management.

DRUDGEREPORT: America Is 'Bankrupt Mickey Mouse Economy'...
WIRE: USA 'Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It'...

DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT HITS RECORD HIGH
JOBLESS CLAIMS JUMP TO HIGHEST SINCE FEB...
California can't pay bills -- may use IOUs for August payments...

DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
Homes lost to foreclosure up 6% from last year...
Grim Voter Mood Turns Grimmer...
Claims of Afghan civilian deaths spark protest...
Military sees heavier fighting in fall...

PAPER: 10 reasons why Obama presidency is in meltdown...
GALLUP: Even the Poor Are Abandoning Obama; Approval Under 50%...
Obama abolishes White House position dedicated to transparency...

Michelle Obama popularity falls...

UPDATE: Suspected serial killer arrested in Atlanta...
Attempting to flee to israel … to be with kindred spirits ...

MOB RUSH FOR FED AID DRAWS RIOT POLICE
DOW drops 265...
Feds rethink policies that encourage home ownership...
Obama: $3 Billion More in Aid for Unemployed...
US posts widest trade gap in 20 months...
Q2 GDP Growth Could Be Revised To Just 1% After Trade Data...
PUMP: FED TO BUY MORE DEBT...
DOWNGRADES OUTLOOK...
US-backed fighters in Iraq defect to al-Qaida... [Winning hearts and minds … for Al Qaida … just one too many civilian deaths for no good reason at all ]

BACK TO SPEND SOME MORE!

Republicans Suggest Names for 'Second Stimulus' Bill...
'Where do the bailouts end?'  [I feel compelled to comment here that even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]

9 Reasons Why You Won’t See A Jobs Recovery Anytime Soon In two words: small businesses.

Federal Employees Earn 30 to 40 Percent More than Private-Sector Workers, Study Finds Federal employees earn 30 to 40 percent more money than their private sector counterparts on average, a study from the conservative Heritage Foundation finds.

The Oil Price Surge Indicator Says There’s A 100% Chance Of A New Recession No, that headline is not a typo.

Gerald Celente On the Alex Jones Show: Double Dip Depression Will Lead Us Into War The white shoe boys are taking us into the worst depression in history.

Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.

Ambac says it's working on bankruptcy filing MBIA Inc. reports a quarterly profit, while rival bond insurer Ambac Financial Group posts a loss....

Food Inflation Coming To A Household Near You, As Wal-Mart Hikes Prices At Fastest Pace Since Early January Nothing to see here, except yet another sign of the food inflation that’s the story of the moment.

Albert Edwards Explains How The Leading Indicator Is Already Back Into Recession Territory And Why The Japan “Ice Age” Is Coming Albert Edwards reverts to his favorite economic concept, the “Ice Age” in his latest commentary piece, presenting another piece in the puzzle of similarities between the Japanese experience and that which the US is currently going through.

The Horrific Derivatives Bubble That Could One Day Destroy The Entire World Financial System Today there is a horrific derivatives bubble that threatens to destroy not only the U.S. economy but the entire world financial system as well, but unfortunately the vast majority of people do not understand it.

Fed set to downgrade outlook for US Financial Times | The Federal Reserve is set to downgrade its assessment of US economic prospects.

Goldman Made Between $11 And $16 Billion In 2009 Trading CDS And Other Derivatives As part of its most recent FCIC grilling, David Viniar left the political theater a month ago with a homework assignment to disclose all of the firm’s derivative profits, as well as provide granular detail on its derivative trades.

Japan Redux: A Video Case Study Of The Upcoming U.S. Lost Decade Whether one believes in inflation or deflation, one thing is certain: in many ways the current US experience finds numerous parallels to what has been happening in Japan for not one but two decades.

Pentagon can’t account for $8.57 billion in Iraqi funds B is for billions. And b is for it’s hard to believe that they’ve done it again. The last time, even more money vanished, which I noted in my article, Following Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11. This was under the Zionist Dov Zakheim’s watch as Comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to March 10, 2004.

Wall Street bill sweeps away stray remnant of 1933 Glass-Steagall Act In seven simple lines buried in this year’s financial overhaul bill, lawmakers swept away one of the last vestiges of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act that held sway over markets for decades.

Small firms pay price of bank boom: As bankers celebrate more profits, more companies die from lack of loans Small businesses are paying the price for the banks’ dramatic return to bumper profits.

Dollar approaches 15-year low against yen The dollar plunged to a fresh eight-month low against the yen after US employment data disappointed expectations, raising the prospect of looser monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

Riiiiight! That ‘no-longer looking’ dynamic that saves the day and the ue rate at 9.5%. At this rate of progress, and according to their thinking and manipulations, full employment at an unprecedented 0% unemployment is just around the corner as everyone stops looking for the jobs no longer here, many of which were sent overseas and which are not coming back owing to substantial economic structural / financial shifts.

Jobs Report: Companies Slow to Hire ABC News - Only about 8 percent of the 8.4 million jobs lost at the peak of the recession have been recovered, leaving millions of Americans still looking for work, according to an analysis by ABC News' Business Unit. Video:  News Update: US Unemployment Rate Holds at 9.5%, 71,000 Jobs Added in June SmarTrend News 71K more jobs not enough to dent unemployment rate The Associated Press

When perusing the headlines and the following, I immediately thought ‘between Iraq and a hard place (Afghanistan and america’s defacto bankruptcy)’:

Between a Rock and a Hard Place Jerry Slusiewicz ‘Everyone knows that being between a rock and a hard place is not a good place to be. That is where the market is right now. We continue to have terrible news in the housing sector. There is no general economic recovery as of yet. Jobless claims continue to mount, while net new jobs are not being created in a significant enough number to even sustain the population growth (approximately 150,000 net new jobs per month needed). By far the majority of economic reports for May, June, July, and now August, have been worse than forecast. That includes home starts, home sales, home-builder confidence, retail sales, auto sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders, manufacturing, jobs, etc. Yet the market rallies or barely goes down on these bad reports. What gives? It seems that bad news is good news right now…

Social Security in the red this year Washington Times | Meanwhile President Obama’s health care overhaul has given Medicare’s basic Hospital Insurance an extra 12 years of financial stability, though it did not solve all of the program’s long-term challenges.

U.S. Employers Shed Jobs WSJ | he U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.

Impoverished U.S. City Will Close Libraries Mob infested, pervasively corrupt jersey’s most impoverished city will close all three branches of its public library at year’s end unless a rescue can be pulled off. Camden’s library board says the libraries won’t be able to afford to stay open past Dec. 31 because of budget cuts from the city government. The city had its subsidy from the state cut.

Dollar approaches 15-year low against yen The dollar plunged to a fresh eight-month low against the yen after US employment data disappointed expectations, raising the prospect of looser monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

IRS To Withhold Indicator That Shows Refunds Owed To Taxpayers Think of all the budget savings from the ever increasing lack of transparency.

Visualize Your State’s Financial Collapse Better Than Ever Just because wishing away local and state financial collapse doesn’t work quite as well as it does at the Federal level (courtesy of everyone’s favorite printer genie), attached is a terrific interactive chart.

Stepping Aside Because I Can Always Buy Back In Leigh Drogen ‘I sold out of everything this morning, for a few reasons…First, breakouts don’t always work and momentum stocks have a habit of ending their trends abruptly.
Second, …I can buy back in this afternoon if I change my mind (not likely). I see more risk to the downside here than I do to the upside. …Third, the jobs number tomorrow scares me. No, it doesn’t matter what the number is, we all know it’s going to be bad, what matters is how the market reacts, and I have the feel it’s not going to be good. Fourth, many of my oscillators are overbought here.Fifth, and finally, I don’t like the fact that this rally has primarily taken place on the back of the most beaten down sectors. …It all just doesn’t pass the smell test for me. I’ve been successful at this not because I’m always right, but because I know when I’m wrong and I’m willing to change course or step aside. Right now, I’ll step aside.’

Were Unemployment Claims Really So 'Unexpected'?

Food stamp use hit record 40.8m in May The number of Americans who are receiving food stamps rose to a record 40.8 million in May as the jobless rate hovered near a 27-year high, the government reported yesterday.

Journalists Still Hiding Obama’s Broken Promises on Jobs On Aug. 6, everyone’s attention will be fixed on the release of July’s unemployment numbers. The national unemployment rate is forecast to increase to 9.6 percent, according to Bloomberg News’ survey.

Gold Alternative To Debt and Market Manipulation The Keynesians are on the edge of implementing more quantitative easing (QE) as we predicted they would.

11 Reasons Why The Federal Reserve Is Bad Millions of Americans are waking up to the fact that the Federal Reserve is bad, but very few of them can coherently explain why this is true.

WE’RE UNDERESTIMATING THE BEARISH POTENTIAL Simon Maierhofer, August 3, 2010
’… Will Anything Stop the Market? Something Did
… At the same time, the April numbers were lowered the second time by an additional 24,000 units, while May sales were revised lower by 33,000 units. To summarize, April and May sales were reduced by 57,000 units. Therefore, June sales were 24% above May sales. By the way, May sales were the lowest on record…

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as more people enter the labor force.

China Officially Enters The Gold Market: Full Release Of PBoC’s Plan To Expand And Develop China’s Gold Infrastructure The moment many gold bulls have been waiting for – the Chinese Central Bank has just released a directive informing everyone it is commencing the development of a healthy gold market.

The Dollar Continues To Fall Like A Knife, As Euro Breaks Well Above $1.32 Another violent change of direction from what we’ve come to expect from the euro and the dollar.

22 Statistics About America’s Coming Pension Crisis That Will Make You Lose Sleep At Night As the first of the 80 million Baby Boomers have begun to retire, it has become increasingly apparent that the United States is facing a pension crisis of unprecedented magnitude.

Americans who swap passports London Telegraph | At the US Embassy in London, there is a waiting list that none of the officials likes to discuss. At the US Embassy in London, there is a waiting list that none of the officials likes to discuss. On the list are Americans hoping to give up their citizenship… (sure sign of insanity … I mean, Orwellian england of all places?)

Temporary Firehouse Closures Begin In Philadelphia CBS 3 | The city of Philadelphia has started temporarily closing fire stations in order to balance its budget.

Layoffs to gut East St. Louis police force St. Louis Dispatch | East St. Louis will layoff 37 employees, including 19 of its 62 police officers.

Come on! Who are they kidding? All the data was bad, and that ‘not bad as expected dog don’t hunt anymore’!

They’re losing their minds in china:
Silicon Alley Insider: ‘… The first big economic news of the week was the Chinese PMI which indicated that Chinese manufacturing was inching ever closer to contraction. But contrary to the expectations of some, it did not spook investors. In fact, Asia had a very big night, with Shanghai gaining about 1.3% …’;

europe:
the basket-case eu economy, with obfuscation taken directly out of the fraudulent wall street playbook including fake stress tests, saw air ball stock rally based on earnings data long ago discounted;

u.s.:
We already know they’re criminally insane on wall street! Yahoo: ‘…The mood improved further still after the ISM Manufacturing Index for July came in at 55.5. That may have marked a pullback from the 56.2 of June, but it exceeded the 54.2 that had been widely expected ...’

Oh, yeah … there’s also the higher oil prices, ever more worthless Weimar dollar part of the rally, and so on!

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits since there is much worse to come!

Warning Signs Suggest Market Headed for Another Collapse … One can find no shortage of fundamental or mechanical theories explaining what might form the basis of a future financial collapse published at Zero Hedge, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Nouriel Roubini or Karl Denninger. In fact, I buy into a lot of the evidence presented by these sources, and believe that one gains a better grasp of financial reality spending 10 minutes with Zero Hedge than spending 2 weeks listening to the mainstream financial media. It is laughable to compare the vacant drivel coming out of Dennis Kneale to even one single article published by Tyler Durden or Ryan Iskander…

1. HEAD & SHOULDERS ON THE S&P 500, DOW JONES, AND NASDAQ …

2. BULLISH FLAG ON THE VIX? We can’t have a massive spike in volatility without a coinciding collapse in the equity markets …

3. THE DEATH-CROSS ON THE S&P SUGGESTS THE 2009 TO 2010 RALLY MIGHT BE OVER

…

4. THE VOLUMELESS RALLY & MUTUAL FUND OUTFLOWS

…

5. 1,000 POINT FLASH CRASHES

…

6. BOND MARKET DISTRUSTFUL OF THE RALLY

…

7. MARKET LEADERSHIP IS WEAKENING

[chart] … ‘

INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington Post) This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012

Why Must The Media Keep Trotting Out Senile Incompetent greenspun And His Economic Lunacy? …and we continue to talk ourselves off the edge of the cliff. For the second week in a row Meet The Press trotted out the most financially incompetent of the financially incompetent and placed them on their undeserving pedestal.

Key Components Of America’s Military Are Now Dominated By A Chinese Monopoly Most of America’s key military technologies require rare earth elements, whose production China holds a near-monopoly over.

alan greenspan: “The Financial System Is Broke” We will be in deflation until the broke financial system becomes unbroke… and then we will have hyperinflation. [Little bit late to be talkin’ the obvious truth!]

Trying to make August less of a 'dog' with sidewalk sale (Washington Post) Sounds like a new, new plan to deal with the overwhelming success of the panoply of government stimulus / tarp, etc., plans ‘financed’ with money they don’t have and taxpayer ‘largesse’. For those who’ve lived long enough, they’re waiting for the apple carts.

Did TARP work? Two economists say yes. (Washington Post) Come on! What do you expect them to say? They’re invested in that position having supported same despite the massive fraud for prosecution and disgorgement was appropriate. Indeed, moody’s itself has been faulted (liable?) for lax valuation / rating standards which contributed to the debacle. Moreover, these ‘cheerleaders’ can always be counted on to toe the network line which ultimately enables the ubiquitous frauds we’ve seen. Amazingly, senile incompetent greenspun, co-architect / enabler of the fraud / debacle was interviewed and used such words in conjunction as ‘modest recovery, pause, double-dip possible, quasi recession’. What total b***s***!

Are the American people obsolete? Salon | The richest few don’t need the rest of us as markets, soldiers or police anymore. Maybe we should all emigrate.

What's coming this week (Washington Post) How ‘bout last week and the new american economic institution colloquially now known as ‘bank failure Friday’ (the news dump so as to avoid the so-called ‘news cycle’). Then, let’s hope for real rather than election-year market frothing fake / false / manipulated data.

U.S. bank failures total 108 after 5 shut on Friday U.S. bank failures reached 108 so far in 2010 on Friday as regulators seized five small banks in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, none publicly traded.

Foreclosures Continue To Dramatically Increase In 2010 Economic Collapse | RealtyTrac says that unemployment has become the major reason for foreclosures. In a very alarming sign for the U.S. economy, foreclosures have continued to dramatically increase in 2010. But there has been a shift.

U.S. recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips Washington Post | The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work. The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work.

Ron Paul Goes After The SEC’s FOIA Exclusivity, Introduces SEC Transparency Act What is unclear is whether the Ron Paul law prohibts SEC staffers to spend 40 hours per week to browse porn on the taxpayer’s dime.

U.S. recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put americans back to work.

Stocks' Late Push: Some Optimism, Some Pessimism [Late push … as in a constipated bowel movement … Come on! Another one of those push the computer programmed trade button and off we go, reality / valuation / economics be damned. In real security analysis (very simplified / summarized), as opposed to the continued frauds on wall street, one must begin with the largest and most significant aggregate (a simple word picture / analogy: ‘rising tide lifts all boats’). If you get this right, the probabilities in your favor are substantially enhanced. From there, you want leading industries, and leading companies within said leading industries (again, larger aggregates then picks, to enhance probabilities, not guarantees, in your favor). Your time frame, 1-3-5 yrs tops for projections, (including income statement/EPS, balance sheet, and applying an appropriate P/E – a detailed, multi-faceted approach beyond what could be described in this summary); and, that’s all they are, projections. Beyond that time frame, your guess. On fraudulent wall street, every day, though already discounted in large part (6-8 mos, approx.), the market spins, churns, and with lightning fast computerized high-frequency trade programs commissions in huge volumes like no other time in financial history when real valuation meant something, with no net economic value added, but very lucrative to the frauds on wall street, which ultimately is a net detriment to the economy / the nation /and other industries as we’ve seen and as described elsewhere on this site and in these posts http://albertpeia.com . Preposterously, they even sometimes refer to seasonal factors as if hearing them for the first time and ‘explaining’ an up move (almost invariably already discounted). Today, they shrugged off the deepening economic reality despite the election year frothing / manipulations. This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ].

Slowing economic rebound raises unemployment fears (AP) [Wow! Talk about understatements!]

China Becomes Second Biggest World Economy China has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

Hank Paulson Wants To Fix Fannie And Freddie By… Recreating Fannie And Freddie Former Treasury Secretary, Goldman Sachs CEO, and bailout architect Hank Paulson has a bit of a head-scratcher of an op-ed in the Washington Post this evening all about charting a course for sustainable housing policy in the US.

Marc Faber Questions if Dow Could Hit 1,000 In the August edition of the ‘The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report’ Marc Faber questions whether the Dow could hit 1,000 as predicted by Robert Prechter, based on his interpretation of Elliot Waves, Fibonacci numbers and socioeconomic trends. Prechter, who has written 13 books on finance (external link), believes that the stock market is historically overvalued in terms of dividends and earnings, because of a “great rise in positive social mood.” But the mood changed in 2000 and the “trend toward negative social mood will lead to an economic contraction,” according to Prechter. “Small bear markets lead to recessions, big bear markets lead to depressions. The current bear market will be the biggest in nearly 300 years, so the depression will be correspondingly deep,” Prechter said.

The International Money Changers Reward the Euro for Forcing Austerity Activist Post | The growing noise for “solutions” to America’s very real debt problems is becoming louder as the calls for confiscating Social Security and Pensions are now everyday news.

Wall St falls after weak outlooks drag (Reuters) U.S. stocks sagged in volatile trading on Thursday after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy.

US Treasury is running on fumes The White House is screaming like a stuck pig. WikiLeaks’ release of the Afghan War Documents “puts the lives of our soldiers and our coalition partners at risk.”

Trillions for Wall Street Mike Whitney | The bottom line? When Wall Street is hurting, money’s never a problem.

Look What Surprises They Snuck Into The Financial Reform Bill The Economic Collapse | The financial reform bill was supposed to “fix” Wall Street and the financial system, but it did not do much of anything. Even just a decade ago, major pieces of legislation in the U.S. Congress would be just a few dozen pages long. But today, it seems like every time Congress passes an important bill it ends up being over a thousand pages long.

Cash-starved California orders unpaid leave for workers California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal state of emergency Wednesday, requiring most state employees to take three days of unpaid leave per month until a new budget is enacted.

The Obama Administration Tries To Propagandize Its Way To An Economic Recovery Yesterday we noted how, absurdly, The White House blog was trumpeting a new cheap housing program as part of its recovery efforts.

Fed says some districts report slowing economy (Reuters)

Flaws of the European Stress Test … 'Bank stress test' became the magic phrase. Nothing calms fear like a stress test that's labeled as rigorous. The stress test raises a few very obvious questions: 1) Will it work? 2) Why was it needed in addition to a $1 trillion aid package? 3) Is the stress test just a gimmick to appease investors? The stress test is conducted by the London-based Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS). Ironically, the test has ignored the majority of banks' holdings of sovereign debt. Sovereign debt concerns by the so-called PIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) triggered the latest wave of financial problems. Ignoring sovereign debt in the Euro stress test would be like ignoring toxic real estate assets in the U.S. 10% Good - 90% Bad According to a Morgan Stanley survey, European banks hold about 90% of their Greek government bonds in their banking books and 10% in their trading books. The bonds in the banking book are generally held until maturity, the bonds in the trading book are traded more frequently. According to a document obtained by Bloomberg, the stress test assumes a loss of 23.1% on Greek debt, 14% on Portuguese bonds, 12.3% on Spanish debt, 4.7% on German debt, 10% on U.K. debt, and 5.9% on French debt. However, the stress test only looks at the bonds held in banks' trading books, which account for a mere 10% of Greek bond holdings. Can that be called a stress test? Nouriel Roubini says that 'the assumptions made about economic growth, about sovereign risk are not realistic enough.' The fact that only seven banks failed the test with a combined shortfall of $4.5 billion confirms the lax nature of the test. … The U.S. Bank Stress Test - A Nice Façade A closer look under the hood of the U.S. bank stress test, however, shows that there's not much substance behind the facade either. It was determined that the 19 tested U.S. banks need to increase their balance sheets by $75 billion to meet the conditions of what's termed the 'worst case scenario.' To a large extent, the $75 billion of additional capital was financially engineered. Banks didn't have to actually raise $75 billion. They were able to change the label of some of their assets on their balance sheets. The government supported this practice via mandatory convertible preferred shares (detailed analysis in May 2009 issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter) …’

SEC Says New FinReg Law Exempts It From Public Disclosure So much for transparency.

Regulatory Magic President Obama has signed the financial industry regulatory overhaul — officially, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Predictably, what he said about it cannot possibly be true.

Jim Rogers Calls CNBC A Market PR Agency Whose Sole Purpose Is To Make Stocks Go Higher A “cheeky” Jim Rogers appeared earlier on CNBC Europe (which incidentally is orders of magnitude better than its US equivalent), and confirmed the depths to which the once relevant and informative TV station has now fallen.

Flashback: Bush report: Sending jobs overseas helps U.S. The movement of American factory jobs and white-collar work to other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S. economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation, the Bush administration said yesterday.

Smoking Guns of U.S. Treasury Monetization Kitco | A significant feature of fiat money systems is the privilege for the custodian of the reserve currency to engage in regular practices of ham-fisted monetary management.

Banking Disaster Largely Ignored By Mainstream Media Greg Hunter | It is amazing to me how little time the mainstream media is spending on this unfolding financial disaster and how much time it is devoting to things like Mel Gibson’s domestic problems.

Moody's: Regional banks on review for downgrade (AP)

Consumer confidence dims (Reuters) Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months, underscoring the precarious state of econo...

Global steelmakers paint gloomy picture (Reuters)

State budget gaps total $84 billion: study

Another Recession Due Circa 2012: Jim Rogers A new recession would be due around 2012 but central banks will not be able to throw cash at it anymore, Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC Tuesday.

Marc Faber: Relax, This Will Hurt A Lot Marc Faber closed out this week’s Agora Financial Symposium with a speech that pretty much recapitulated the view that the end of the world is if not nigh, then surely tremendous dislocations to the existing socio-political and economic landscape are about to take place (with some very dire consequences for the US).

The Continuing Crisis in the New World Order LewRockwell.com | The crisis continues in the new world financial order with no end in sight and no real solution being put forth.

China Calls Our Bluff: “The US is Insolvent and Faces Bankruptcy as a Pure Debtor Nation but [U.S.] Rating Agencies Still Give it High Rankings” America’s biggest creditor – China – has called our bluff.

US bank failures in 2010 surpass 100 WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. bank failures this year have surpassed a bleak milestone of 100 as regulators shut down banks in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Kansas, Nevada and Minnesota. The six bank seizures announced Friday bring to 102 the failures so far in 2010. The pace of bank closures this year is well ahead of that of last year, which saw a total 140 bank shuttered amid the recession and mounting loan defaults …

On the Disconnect Between the Market and the Economy Michael Shulman:

• The index of leading economic indicators fell 0.2% in June, the second drop in three months. A negative surprise.

• Unemployment claims rose to 464,000, more than expected.

• Uncle Ben said we are facing a period of “unusual uncertainty.” No kidding.

• Uncle Ben said we need continuing stimulus to a Congress unwilling to stimulate anyone or anything other than lobbyists with cash to contribute.

• Home sales fell 5.1% in June…’

(No recession helicopter ben) Bernanke Admits Major Policy Failures; Stocks Soar Darryl Montgomery What's wrong with this picture? In his bi-annual testimony before Congress yesterday, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke admitted that after more than a year and a half of zero interest rates and $3 trillion in federal deficit spending since 2008, the best case scenario for the U.S. economy is slow growth and high unemployment. The S&P 500 is up 2.5% so far this morning on this 'good' news. Bernanke's congressional testimony included the following statements (emphasis added by me):

"Most [FOMC] participants viewed uncertainty about the outlook for growth and unemployment as greater than normal, and the majority saw [at the June Fed meeting] the risks to growth as weighted to the downside."

"Financial conditions--though much improved since the depth of the financial crisis--have become less supportive of economic growth in recent months."

"Many banks continue to have a large volume of troubled loans on their books, and bank lending standards remain tight. With credit demand weak and with banks writing down problem credits, bank loans outstanding have continued to contract."

"After two years of job losses, private payrolls expanded at an average of about 100,000 per month during the first half of this year, a pace insufficient to reduce the unemployment rate materially. In all likelihood, a significant amount of time will be required to restore the nearly 8-1/2 million jobs that were lost over 2008 and 2009."…

Serious Analysis has given rise to a realistically mocking view of the current fraud on wall street:

The Markets & The 'Teen Drama Economy' Jonathan Cheng If the market’s mood swings these days are reminding you of high school, you’re not alone ...

NATIONAL / WORLD

For Obama, some chances ahead (Washington Post) [ Come on! Wake up! There are no chances ahead for wobama’s already failed presidency! He knows it, the people know it, and even his most ardent blind supporters know it. One too many b*** s*** stories and broken (campaign) promises. Delivering a speech, albeit teleprompted, is a far cry from delivering, which reality most have awaken to. He seems to be incapable of even one original thought even as the wobamas seem to take umbrage as they are dissed for self-created lack of approbation ($500 sneakers, spain trip, fiddling while the nation burns, etc.). What next? The race card? Even as his (in)justice department had decided to ignore civil rights violations by blacks and focus only on whites? No! wobama’s failed presidency is as done as an over-cooked hard-boiled egg. Empty words just ain’t enough! ] New Orleans visit, Iraq speech offer president opportunities to help end a frustrating summer.

Drudgereport: WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS: Hidden world, growing beyond control...
854,000 people have top-secret security clearance...
You really have to laud The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance which whether people appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and personal courage; even more so inasmuch as this is their backyard, so to speak. Clearly, this illuminates the boondoggles which amazingly are coming at a time when america will not be able to handle ‘bare necessities’ much less the self-perpetuating, need-creating, bureaucracies which I’ve previously likened to a perverse version of ‘Field of Dreams’ where if you will commit taxpayer dollars, they’ll find / create a war, conflict, new war, etc., to spend it on. NSA Has Gotten So Big, Area Around It Has 112 Acres Of Parking Spaces In yet another terrifying expose, The Washington Post continues to lift the veil on just how massive the US government’s spying operation has become.

The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

For the Same Reason I’ve Included Here a Web Site Archived FLV Version of Esoteric Agenda http://albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv

Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama? Get your very own BARRY SOETORO T-Shirt and ask the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". The REAL name of President Barack Obama is BARRY SOETORO so get a t-shirt with a picture of him on the front and the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/basot.html Obama’s Comeback Strategy: Appearing On “The View” Now we know how the President will turn his flagging political fortunes around… [More b*** s***!].

Is Obama a Marxist? He Works for the Bankers Glenn Beck, the Fox News talking heads, and no shortage of Tea Party activists like to characterize Barry Obama as a Marxist.

Poll: Waning support for Obama on wars usa today | Support for Obama’s wars fell to 36%, down from 48% in a February poll.

President Obama’s Real Name “Barry Soetoro” Tops Google Trends Yet another search term announced during the Alex Jones Show, “Barry Soetoro” has topped Google Trends’ hot searches, and that means a boost to exposing important keys to President Obama’s true history. The #1 search trend corresponds with a visit to Austin, Texas today from President Barack Obama, a.k.a. Barry Soetoro.

Barry Soetoro AKA Barack Obama’s Political Dynasty Crashes And Burns While Barry Soetoro’s family lavish themselves at a luxury Spanish resort amidst deepening economic turmoil, back home Obama’s political dynasty crashes and burns as his approval ratings plunge to a record low of 41 per cent with less than a few months to go before the October midterm elections.

The Fraud Of Barry Soetoro (a.k.a. Barack Hussein Obama) (Feb. 24 ...
February 11, 2009
’Dear Senators and Congressmen:
Thank you for taking the time to review the documentation relevant to the Constitutional legitimacy of the presidency Barack Obama.  There have been various problems with the vetting of Mr. Obama throughout the campaign and the present.  I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight the most pertinent and alarming issues that have been clearly revealed.  I’m sure you will agree that this information must be further investigated promptly before any damage is done to the United States and its citizens beyond the Constitutional compromises that currently exist.  Most  interesting, though, is the fact that Mr. Obama has not simply ordered the original vault copy of his birth certificate to be sealed and chosen to retain three (3) law firms to defend the various cases spending a reported $800,000 (of whose money?).  If Mr. Obama has nothing to hide, then why fight the more than  42 cases in federal courts alone (according to Justia) and similar number in state courts of which the merits are well-founded and substantiated through factual evidence, state and federal statutes, and international laws? Main issue is that the state of HI, according to statue 338 allows Foreign born  children of Hawaiian residents to obtain Hawaiian birth certificates and obtain them based on a statement of one relative only. There is plenty of evidence of Mr. Obama being born in Kenya and obtaining his Hawaiian birth certificate based on a statement of his grandparent only, who simply didn’t want to deal with immigration and not based on any records from any hospitals. Extensive searches in the State of Hawaii showed no birthing records for his mother [Stanley] Ann Dunham  in any hospital in Hawaii. … I request  all of this information to be forwarded to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Finance Committee, Senate Judicial Committee, Mr. Steven Whitlock, director of the whistle blower office of the IRS, ICE, State Department, and FBI for further investigation.
Respectfully submitted,  
Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq.’

Did Google Block “Barry Soetoro” Search Term? Screenshots obtained by a Prison Planet reader suggest that Google may have moved to de-list “Barry Soetoro” as a popular search term shortly after it rose to the top of the Google Trends charts after yesterday’s effort by radio talk show host Alex Jones to focus attention on Barack Obama’s real name.

Bombshell: Barack Obama conclusively outed as CIA creation Wayne Madsen | Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen has discovered CIA files that document the agency’s connections to the lives of Barack Obama and his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather.

Google Yanks “Kill The Web” Article That Warned Of Internet Takeover Having at first appeared as normal, our earlier article about Google’s plan to kill the web has been completely de-listed from Google News. This is completely unprecedented and underscores how keen Google is to prevent people from finding out that it is a CIA-NSA front that is preparing to completely end the Internet as we know it with the Verizon net-neutrality killing deal.

Google Plans To Kill Web In Internet Takeover Agenda The net-neutrality ending deal with Verizon is just the beginning of Google’s plans to kill the open and free Internet as part of their takeover agenda to completely control the world wide web and force independent media websites, radio and TV shows out of existence for good.

Obama’s pledge to close down Guantanamo is ‘not even close’ Barack Obama’s pledge to shut down Guantanamo Bay will not be honoured until at least a year after the President’s self-imposed deadline – and may not be completed in his first administration.

Constitution “Silly Stuff,” Says Illinois Congressman Democratic Congressman Phil Hare, who caused outrage earlier this year when he told constituents who asked him about the legality of the health care bill, “I don’t worry about the constitution,” has sparked fresh consternation after he was caught on camera in an Illinois hotel labeling the founding document of America “silly stuff”.

Google’s Plans to Take Over The Internet Exposed! Google’s agreement with Verizon to speed certain Internet content to users opens the door to the complete sterilization of the world wide web as a force for political change. Under Google’s takeover plan, the Internet will closely resemble cable TV, independent voices will be silenced and the entire Internet will be bought up by transnational media giants.

‘Pre-Crime’ Reaches Number 1 Google Trend Spot Matt Ryan | Steve Watson’s incredible article about the use of pre-crime technology was picked up by large news sites such as the Drudge Report and others.

Pre-Crime Technology To Be Used In Washington D.C. Steve Watson | Computers predict what crime will be committed where, by who and when.

I-Dosing: Another Excuse for Government Control Over Our Lives Kurt Nimmo | Government claims i-dosing induces the same kind of mind-altering effects as marijuana, cocaine, peyote, and opium.

Ehrlich and Holdren: Death “Reasonable Price to Pay” for Well-being of Society Jurriaan Maessen | The head-hunters of the scientific dictatorship are not simply powerless psychopaths exchanging abstract ideas.

US-Vietnam Military Drills Crank Up Tensions With China The U.S. Navy just began military exercises with Vietnam in the South China Sea and China, which had in the past been more accepting of the U.S.’ naval power in the region, is now showing its anger, according to The Asia Times.

Poll: ‘No’ to US wars at all time high A new opinion poll says the number of Americans opposed to the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is at an all time high.

Ground Zero Mosque Imam Is Globalist Stooge Steve Watson | CFR member receives financial backing from who’s who of global corporate elite.

Alex Jones and MSNBC’s Hit Piece: The Lost Footage Infowars.com | The “rest of the story” found its way on YouTube and Alex Jones’ Facebook page.

Two Films That Blew Bilderberg Wide Open Paul Joseph Watson | Fidel Castro’s spotlight on the Bilderberg clique is part of a global awakening to the new world order.

Zionist Lobby Paid Off U.S. Journalists To Sell Israeli Foreign Policy Paul Joseph Watson | Declassified documents take on deeper significance in light of Jeffrey Goldberg and The Atlantic Monthly’s efforts to propagandize for an attack on Iran.

The Ground Zero Mosque and Property Rights Kurt Nimmo | The issue is not terrorism or 9/11, but the sanctity of the individual and his property.

Orwell in charge? Kucinich compares Iraq ‘exit’ to Bush’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ “Who is in charge of our operations in Iraq , now? George Orwell? A war based on lies continues to be a war based on lies. Today, we have a war that is not a war, with combat troops who are not combat troops. In 2003, President Bush said ‘ Mission Accomplished ‘ . In 2010, the White House says combat operations are over in Iraq , but will leave 50,000 troops, many of whom will inevitably be involved in combat-related activities.

High-tech carts will tell on Cleveland residents who don’t recycle … and they face $100 fine The chips will allow city workers to monitor how often residents roll carts to the curb for collection. If a chip show a recyclable cart hasn’t been brought to the curb in weeks, a trash supervisor will sort through the trash for recyclables.

Zionist Lobby Paid Off U.S. Journalists To Sell Israeli Foreign Policy Newly declassified documents highlighting how the Israeli lobby routinely paid off journalists in the U.S. corporate media to write pro-Zionist propaganda in support of Israeli aggression against Palestine and Iran during the 60’s have taken on new significance after the Atlantic Monthly, which is named in the documents as being complicit in the bribing scandal, recently published a cover story hyping the necessity and inevitability of an Israeli attack on Iran.

CIA Launches “Counterproliferation Center” as Iran Attack Rhetoric Kicks Into High Gear Kurt Nimmo | CIA will peddle propaganda required to sell the increasingly irrelevant American people future wars.

Ron Paul: The American Empire Can’t Afford Another War Infowars.com | Alex welcomes back Congressman Ron Paul to the show to discuss the latest on Iran, legislation in the house, and more.

Air Force Issues Memo Warning Soldiers, Employees Not to Read WikiLeaks Docs Kurt Nimmo | Memo confirms that the Pentagon is monitoring web activity of its soldiers and employees.

9/11 Heroes Blast Obama: Forget The Mosque, We’re Dying Hero 9/11 first responders, many of whom are sick and dying, have slammed Obama in an open letter for ignoring their plight while taking the time to outline views on a proposed mosque close to ground zero, the site of the 2001 attacks that felled the twin towers.

Chaos Erupts in California as Over-Taxed Residents Express Outrage The city of Bell, CA has recently been exposed for having corrupt and overpaid city officials receiving salaries larger than the President of the United States. Residents who have recently learned they were over-taxed to pay for the government workers took control of a City Council meeting and demanded resignations.

China Reacts Angrily To Pentagon Report Beijing reacted angrily Wednesday to a Pentagon report expressing worries about China’s burgeoning military capabilities, calling such concerns baseless.

In Supporting The Ground Zero Mosque, Barack Obama Falls On His Sword [ I really wasn’t inclined to comment on this because it’s just not that big a deal except as to exceedingly small minds. However, I feel I must say that if the jewish Mayor of NYC who is certainly no slouch and really knows how to count thinks it’s ok, then it’s OK. Period! ] With President barack obama’s political dynasty already on life support, his decision to publicly back the hugely unpopular building of a Muslim mosque near Ground Zero confirms that Obama, or rather the advisors that pull his strings, have decided to commit political suicide and cut him loose from the Washington power structure, with the hope of fooling Americans with another establishment Republican as a legitimate alternative in 2012.

Former Pakistani Intel Chief Fears World War Three Is Imminent Former Pakistani General and intelligence chief Hamid Gul appeared on the Alex Jones Show yesterday for a full hour in what turned out to be a fascinating extended interview, addressing the major geopolitical issues that are shaping modern history.

Neocon Bolton Renews Call for Israel to Bomb Iran Last Friday the former interim UN ambassador during the Bush administration went on Fox News and warned that if Israel did not conduct a bombing raid against Iran’s nuclear energy program within a few days, the window of opportunity would be lost. Bolton made his comment following a report last week that Russia will begin loading nuclear fuel at Iran’s Bushehr reactor on July 21.
Google search: ‘bolton, neocon, mental problems’ About 143,000 results (0.37 seconds) 
Here’s the first of many pages. Yeah … he’s that bad / psychotic!
· Think Progress » John Bolton jokes about nuking Chicago, entire ...

Feb 26, 2009 ... Bolton, the NEOCON gift that keeps on giving the Repuglycans zero ... The problem with McCain was this. As a veteran and a POW he get's high marks. ..... to get some treatment at the closest mental health facility. ...
thinkprogress.org/2009/02/26/bolton-nukes-chicago/ - Cached - Similar

· Think Progress » Even After North Korea Frees American Journalists ...

Aug 4, 2009 ... Bolton, like all neocons, doesn't understand that there is ..... Of course, we all know it was BUSH who caused the problem in the first place, right? .... they view the world in the light of their own mental disorder, ...
thinkprogress.org/2009/08/.../bolton-north-korea-journalists/ - Cached - Similar

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· Breaking: Neocon John Bolton Names Dick Cheney "Conservative Of ...

Dec 21, 2009 ... Re: Breaking: Neocon John Bolton Names Dick Cheney "Conservati ... republicanism/conservatism is a mental illness that is killing America and ... Problem is one side will shamelessly try and stack the deck in their favor ...
crooksandliars.com › Blogs › Logan Murphy's blog - Cached - Similar

· John Bolton's Astonishing Neo-Neo-con Rewrite of History ...

Apr 17, 2007 ... On March 25, John Bolton was interviewed by BBC Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman (video here). ... I think the real problem was in not relying more on Iraqis. .... BTW, a mental giant, you are not. The best thing to happen to ...
www.democrats.com › Blogs › Bob Fertik's blog - Cached

· Bolton suggests nuclear attack on Iran « LobeLog.com

Bolton and his neo-con crazies aren't setting the agenda anymore, ... And I do not mean the mental condition of Mr Bolton and his fellow neocons. ...
www.lobelog.com/bolton-suggests-nuclear-attack-on-iran/ - Cached - Similar

· Don't Hold Your Breath, Ambassador Bolton - Atlas Shrugs

May 26, 2009 ... It's a special kind of mental illness. ... Bolton has been derided as "the neocon's neocon" who "laps up the hosannas of fellow ...
atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/.../dont-hold-your-breath-ambassador-bolton.html - Cached

· The BRAD BLOG : The Fall of the NeoCons: Bye Bye Bolton

Dec 4, 2006 ... Clyburn: E-Vote 'Hacked'; Rawl: 'Systemic Software Problems' .... Add 'The Fall of the NeoCons: Bye Bye Bolton' to Del.icio · Add 'The ... The Army's Lack of Mental Health Treatment for Returning Troops" NEXT STORY » ...
www.bradblog.com/?p=3873 - Cached

· Ambassador John Bolton: Israel Has 8 Day Deadline to Attack Iran ...

30 posts - 4 authors - Last post: 21 hours ago

"Religion is science for the mental ill" - Myself ... John Bolton is a Bush neo con,,, obviously broke and needing the money. ...
www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1163684/pg2

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· [World Wide News Flash] Bolton

New article on darkpolitricks: Neocon Bolton Renews Call for Israel to Bomb Iran http: darkpoltweeter (Dark Politricks RT): New article on darkpolitricks: ...
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The Neocon Factor in - The Zealots of Dominance: The Neocon Factor ...

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a sweeping diagnosis, it's clear that mental health has been a problem within ...... Neocon icon John Bolton, Bush's abrasive former Ambassador to the UN, ...
www.sf911truth.org/neocons.pdf

Ban Ki-moon’s Top Advisor: Scientific Elite Should Spearhead Global Population Control “The fertility reduction and stabilization of population is crucial. He (Sachs) concluded by urging for the adoption of a globally agreed action plan at next year’s Summit to achieve the MDGs by 2015, and proposed to form Working Groups with members of the delegations around particular themes. He characterized this effort as not negotiation, but as global problem solving and suggested that the Working Groups would brainstorm on the globally agreed plan.”

Obama, the one-term president [ The fact is, as I’ve previously commented, he’s ok with and has already accepted his one-term ‘being there’ failed presidency which explains his huge divergence from his promised change, among other promises and the false expectations he created thereby. He lacks courage, of course; but that’s become so typically american and he’s very typical. ] Q: Will Barack Obama be a one-term president? A: Yes, he might last that long.

Dreaded Hindenburg Omen Will Play Out Within 4 Weeks UBS Financial Services Director Art Cashin says that we’ll know within 3 or 4 weeks whether the dreaded Hindenburg Omen, a set of market factors that precede a stock market collapse, will unfold as many are now predicting.

Desperately Seeking Accommodation: Iran Offers U.S. Chance to Build Nuclear Power Plants Kurt Nimmo | It is extremely unlikely the U.S. take Iran up on the offer.

Deceptive Economic Statistics: While the economists lied the US economy died Paul Craig Roberts | The bought-and-paid-for-economists got all the media forums for a decade. While they lied, the US economy died.

Former Pakistani Intel Chief Fears World War Three Is Imminent Steve Watson | General Hamid Gul points to “dark impulse” controlling US system.

Obama: All In The Company Wayne Madsen | CIA connected to institutions and individuals figuring prominently in the lives of Barack Obama, his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather.

Exposing World Government: United We Fall Documentary Now Featured on Prison Planet.tv Kurt Nimmo | United We Fall breaks down the North American Union and how “free trade” agreements between the United States, Canada, and Mexico are impoverishing people and stripping away national sovereignty.

The Ecstasy of Empire Paul Craig Roberts | Without a revolution, americans are history.

Rand Paul Slams Obama: Stop Forcing Big Government Down Our Throats Steve Watson | Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul made an impassioned speech this weekend slamming the actions of the Obama administration for continuing a big government agenda at the expense of the American people.

Hal Turner Betrayed and Burned by Government He Served Kurt Nimmo | The case of Hal Turner should serve as a warning to those considering cooperating with the government.

Internet Kill Switch Bill Moves Closer To Senate Vote An Internet kill switch bill that would give President Obama the power to shut down parts of the world wide web for a period of at least four months without congressional oversight has moved closer to a Senate vote, with one of its primary advocates, Democratic co-chairman of the House Cybersecurity Caucus Jim Langevin, threatening a “cyber-9/11″ if the legislation is not quickly passed.

Exposing World Government: United We Fall Documentary Now Featured on Prison Planet.tv United We Fall, a documentary by Bryan Law and Dan Dicks, breaks down the North American Union and how “free trade” agreements between the United States, Canada, and Mexico are impoverishing people and stripping away national sovereignty.

Rand Paul Slams Obama: Stop Forcing Big Government Down Our Throats Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul made an impassioned speech this weekend slamming the actions of the Obama administration for continuing a big government agenda at the expense of the interests of the American people.

AT&T claims net neutrality is oppressive US TELECOM AT&T has come out in support of Google’s contention that wireless communications are different than wireline Internet services.

Government Using Google Earth To Loot Destitute Americans Aerial imaging technology is being used by the government to spy on Americans in an effort to collect revenue and enforce ordinances on swimming pools without safety certificates, junk cars being stored without permission, unlicensed porches, and a myriad of other petty transgressions that the state is feeding off in complete violation of the Fourth Amendment to suck citizens dry of whatever income they have left after being looted of trillions of dollars in wealth that the state has transferred to foreign banks.

On Facebook: Israeli soldier posed with bound Arab (AP)

Capital Controls: The Final Phase in the Great Looting of America Eric Blair | Capital controls are the next big event in the government-banking-oligarchy’s great looting of America.

Military Industrial Complex: Of 158 retired generals advising wars, 80% tied to defense industry; 29 are defense CEOs USA Today | Of the 158 retired generals and admirals identified as mentors, 80% had financial ties to defense contractor; 29 were company executives.

Cybersecurity Lie Exposed: Power Plants Are Not Connected To The Internet Senator Joe Lieberman’s draconian Internet takeover legislation, the 197-page Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, is being promoted as a vital tool to protect vulnerable infrastructure hubs from terrorist attacks, but as a recent Wall Street Journal report makes clear, large industrial power and water plants are not even connected to the public Internet.

Vegetable zionist Zelig joe lieberman’s Model For America: Purging The Internet of Dissent When political Zelig joe lieberman attempted to justify draconian legislation that would provide President Obama with a figurative kill switch to shut down parts of the Internet, he cited the Chinese system of Internet policing as model which america should move towards

Obama Approval Rating Revisits Rock Bottom Despite Positive Media Spin Despite positive corporate media spin amidst a cacophony of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, Barack Obama’s approval rating matched its record low today according to Rasmussen Reports.

Bailouts Went To Foreign Banks: Congressional Report Confirms What We Already Knew A Congressional Oversight Panel issued today highlights the fact that large portions of the Treasury’s $700 billion bailout fund have gone straight into the coffers of foreign banks, a fact that we knew months ago, but is only now being officially recognised.

Activists Take On Fluoridated Water in Wichita Concerned citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed that city’s public officials about a poster campaign designed to inform the public about the health hazards of water fluorination.

Illegal Immigrants Account for 8% of U.S. Newborns, Study Shows As many as 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the U.S. in 2008 had at least one parent who was an illegal immigrant, according to a Pew Hispanic Center study of Census Bureau data.

Infowars.com Poll: Attack On Iran Imminent Kurt Nimmo | Nearly 60% of respondents to an Infowars.com poll believe the U.S and Israel will attack Iran in the near future.

Activists Take On Fluoridated Water in Wichita Infowars.com | Concerned citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed that city’s public officials about a poster campaign designed to inform the public about the health hazards of water fluorination.

Fed Leads America “To The Brink Of Collapse” Paul Joseph Watson | Bernanke announcement that central bank will buy US debt marks point of no return.

15 Economic Statistics That Just Keep Getting Worse The Economic Collapse | Anyone who claims that things are getting “better” is either ignorant, completely deluded or is purposely lying.

Economy Teeters On The Brink and Market Manipulation Continues Bob Chapman | It’s just the same old, same old, business as usual in America.

China focuses on military might (Washington Post) [And the big difference here (between them and defacto bankrupt america) is that ‘THEY CAN AFFORD IT’ and are not fighting nation-bankrupting, anti-american-sentiment-creating wars all over the place.] Nation is quickly modernizing forces, extending influence deep into Pacific and Indian oceans.

Karzai wants private security firms out of Afghanistan:  KARZAI WANTS COMPANIES OUT U.S. calls 4-month deadline 'very challenging' (Washington Post) One too many civilian killed. Maybe they figured out that american non-strategy employing the Hegelian methodology of creating problems that American firms can solve. Doomed to failure, they eventually catch on. The bushes were famed for same but wobama has foolishly been no slouch in this regard.

Afghans still see U.S. as bad guy (Washington Post ) [Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan … winning hearts and minds throughout the world … great for exports also as such ‘won hearts and minds’ just love to buy american.] American, NATO forces retain blame for civilian deaths despite spike from insurgent violence.

U.S. looks to replicate Iraq strategy, tactics (Washington Post ) [Oh right! Stick with that winning plan that worked so swimmingly (as in drowning, in ie., debt, death, regional if not wordly anti-american sentiment, etc.)]. In Kandahar, U.S. military officials hope that a secure green zone, similar to the area in Baghdad, will make it more difficult for Taliban insurgents to mount attacks to key buildings in the Afghan city.

Google and Verizon DID do a deal for new internet ‘first class’ superhighway Technology giants Google and Verizon have today paved the way for a future ‘two-tier’ internet in which companies can pay extra to make sure their services get through. Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

Iran Retaliates Against Sanctions: To Drop All Trade In “Filthy” Euro, Dollar Yet another step in the escalation between Iran and the US came earlier today.

The Cycle of Violence in Afghanistan Last week the National Bureau of Economic Research published a report on the effect of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq that confirmed what critics of our foreign policy have been saying for years: the killing of civilians, although unintentional, angers other civilians and prompts them to seek revenge. This should be self-evident.

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.

Street Action: Poison In Tap Water Fliers Went out on a beautiful Saturday after noon in Edmonton Alberta posting more fliers, posters etc. had a great time had a few people harass me but nothing big. Just gave me motivation to do more!! Resistance is Victory. Never Forget that.!!

Wheat Crisis Threatens Inflationary Timebomb, Food Riots Russia’s ban on wheat exports following widespread fires in the country sent food prices skyrocketing by 19 per cent in just a single week as fears grow that global volatility in foodstuffs and commodities could lead to a worldwide inflationary timebomb accompanied by widespread food riots.

The Obama presidency increasingly resembles a modern-day Ancien Régime: extravagant and out of touch with the American people What the great French historian Alexis de Tocqueville would make of today’s Obama administration were he alive today is anyone’s guess.

The Coming Collapse of The U.S. Political Establishment The last U.S. puppet regime to fall will be. . . the puppet regime in the White House.

Afghan war ‘kills 1,325 civilians this year’ More than 1,300 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year, mostly by Taliban insurgents, a leading Afghan rights group said Sunday.

Recession in U.S. Even Worse Than Estimated, Revisions Show The worst U.S. recession since the 1930s was even deeper than previously estimated, reflecting bigger slumps in consumer spending and housing, according to revised figures.

Iran Unveils New Submarines and Makes More Persian Gulf Warnings Iran announced the addition of four new submarines to its fleet Sunday, saying the Iranian-manufactured vessels to be deployed in the Persian Gulf have sonar-evading technology and can launch torpedoes and missiles simultaneously.

Pentagon can’t account for $8.57 billion in Iraqi funds B is for billions. And b is for it’s hard to believe that they’ve done it again. The last time, even more money vanished, which I noted in my article, Following Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11. This was under the Zionist Dov Zakheim’s watch as Comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to March 10, 2004.

Fidel Castro: Obama can avert impending nuclear holocaust Miami Herald | If Obama approves an attack on Iran, war will spread through the Middle East and Asia and cause hundreds of millions of deaths, Castro warned.

Who poses the real threat to the Internet? A new opinion piece on CNN.com argues that it’s the government, not the companies providing internet access, that is the real danger to free speech and the internet. [I personally have found more often and prospectively problematic is that said government / company distinction is one without a difference when the government flexes muscle, particularly with leverage as ie., to non-performing monopolist microsoft, nsa/cia partner google (to a lesser extent at this juncture), cnn/timewarner cable (incompetence also a factor), fedex, etc.].

Wow! Talk about stretchin’ it! Alleged by black shooter: prejudice displayed by company as they fired thornton for stealing / selling the company’s beer he was supposed to be delivering … The ultimate race card … Riiiiight! You can’t make this stuff up! Fatal Shootings Reponse: 'No One Died After Police Arrived On Scene' Hartford Courant - As police on Friday concluded their on-scene investigation into Tuesday's mass killing at Hartford Distributors, they also began evaluating their response to the tragedy. Police arrest woman they say accepted beer from Connecticut shooter CNN Omar Thornton 911 Call: "I Wish I Could Have Got More of the People" CBS News

Voters Reject Notion That “Government Can Do Anything It Likes” A Rasmussen poll indicates that an overwhelming eighty-six percent (86%) of voters nationwide say there should be “limits on what the federal government can do”, in response to recent comments from pro-Obamacare Congressman Pete Stark.

Swine Flu Investigator Jane Bürgermeister Faces Prison Now that there is verifiable, unambiguous evidence that the Austrian government and state prosecutors have faked criminal charges to provide a pretext to arrest and detain me, I am going to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.

U.S. Employers Shed Jobs The U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.

Gold Surges To Three Week High As Dollar Tanks Gold prices have surged to to three week highs as the stock market and the U.S. economy continue to flounder, leaving investors seeking a safe haven in hard assets.

Globalists Race To Enforce Criminal Carbon Tax Despite the failure of last year’s Copenhagen climate summit, the United Nations is pushing ahead for a global carbon tax that will bankroll the expansion of world government as globalists attempt to make Americans pay for the evisceration of their own sovereinty and future prosperity.

Poison Tap Water Exposed As Soft Kill Weapon Water fluoridation has come to refer to the addition of over 40 chemicals into the water supply that synergistically come together to wreak havoc on the body and its processes.

Fluoride Truth on Australian TV – Fluoride Retards the Brain TV NEWS show exposes Fluoride for what it is – poison!

Poison Tap Water Makes Number 1 Google Search Poison tap water has become the number one trending search term on Google trends today after our efforts to bring attention to how sodium fluoride in tap water is a deadly health threat went viral.

Sodium Fluoride: Poison In The Tap Water Alex Jones is launching a new campaign to inform the public about the toxic chemical fluoride being added to tap water across the country. While EPA scientists and workers are calling for an end to water fluoridation, the government is doing everything in its power to continue and even increase the amount of toxic chemicals being added to public water supplies.

Naked Body Scanners: Monumental Cover Up Exposed At the height of the furor over airport body scanners earlier this year, the TSA publicly stated that it was not possible to store, record, transmit or print out the images that show in detail the naked bodies of men, women and children that have passed through them. At the time we presented evidence to the contrary. Now it has been conclusively proven that the TSA and other federal agencies using the scanners flat out lied to an unwitting public.

Material girl Michelle Obama is a modern-day Marie Antoinette on a glitzy Spanish vacation NY Daily News | But while most of the country is pinching pennies and downsizing summer sojourns – or forgoing them altogether – the Obamas don’t seem to be heeding their own advice.

SEC Probes BP Potential Insider Trading: Sources Reuters | U.S. securities regulators are investigating whether people may have illegally profited from trading on nonpublic information at BP in the weeks following the disastrous Gulf oil spill.

Rockefeller Foundation Developed Vaccines For “Mass-Scale” Fertility Reduction In its 1968 yearly report, the Rockefeller Foundation acknowledged funding the development of so-called “anti-fertility vaccines”

China Holds More Military Exercises Amid Tensions With U.S. Chinese armed forces on Thursday continued a second set of back-to-back exercises, underscoring expanding capabilities and ambitions that have prompted unease among top U.S. military officers. That unease has been exacerbated by Beijing’s freezing of military-to-military ties.

Preparing for World War III, Targeting Iran Humanity is at a dangerous crossroads. War preparations to attack Iran are in “an advanced state of readiness”. Hi tech weapons systems including nuclear warheads are fully deployed.

Pentagon tells WikiLeaks: "Do right thing" (Reuters) [Great advice … if only the endless war, military complex based pentagon could take it!] The Pentagon demanded on Thursday that whistle-blower web site WikiLeaks immediately hand over about 15,000 secret Afghan war records it had not yet published and erase material it had alrea…

US faces deadliest month in Afghan war With 63 US service members killed, July has become the deadliest month for American forces stationed in war-torn Afghanistan.

Google and CIA Plough Millions Into Huge ‘Recorded Future’ Monitoring Project Google’s cosy relationship with the U.S. spy network has once again been thrust into the spotlight as the company is reported to have jointly invested with the CIA in an Internet monitoring project that scours Twitter accounts, blogs and websites for all sorts of information, and can also “predict the future”.

Google and CIA Fund Political Precrime Technology More evidence has emerged revealing Google’s spook connections. Noah Shachtman, writing for Wired, details how the CIA’s technology investment operation, In-Q-Tel, and Google are supporting a company that monitors the web in real time.

President Obama calls African-Americans a ‘mongrel people’ President Obama waded into the national race debate in an unlikely setting and with an unusual choice of words: telling daytime talk show hosts that African-Americans are “sort of a mongrel people.”

White House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual’s Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation.

Google and CIA Plough Millions Into Huge ‘Recorded Future’ Monitoring Project Steve Watson | Search Company’s ties to spy agency in spotlight again over real time Internet monitoring.

Google and CIA Fund Political Precrime Technology Kurt Nimmo | Google is complicit in the concerted effort to build a huge surveillance and control grid.

Source of leaked military docs unknown: WikiLeaks While the United States is trying to hunt for the individual behind the massive leak of US military data on Afghanistan war, the whistleblowers’ website, that made the 91,000 classified documents available to the world, has said that the source of leak is unknown.

Document leak part of U.S. plot, says Pakistani ex-general with ties to Taliban From the deluge of leaked military documents published Sunday, a former Pakistani spy chief emerged as a chilling personification of his nation’s alleged duplicity in the Afghan war — an erstwhile U.S. ally turned Taliban tutor.

Leaked files indicate U.S. pays Afghan media to run friendly stories Buried among the 92,000 classified documents released Sunday by WikiLeaks is some intriguing evidence that the U.S. military in Afghanistan has adopted a PR strategy that got it into trouble in Iraq: paying local media outlets to run friendly stories.

World Net Daily (I found them to be a less than credible israeli / bush aministration shill at best and haven’t even looked at said site in many years) writer says Fluoride is good for you. An open letter to Phil Elmore Rob Dew / Kurt Nimmo | The only winners are the aluminum and fertilizer industries that work hand in hand with public water works to send toxic waste into the homes of millions across our country.

Congress extends war funding for Afghanistan Baltimore Co. Independent Examiner | Congress voted to extend funding for the war in Afghanistan by an additional $59 billion late on Tuesday.

Kucinich: 92,000 reasons to end the wars AFP | US lawmakers opposed to the Afghan war, emboldened by a huge leak of military files on the conflict, pushed Tuesday for pulling US forces from Pakistan.

Oliver Stone has apologized for his anti-Semitic rant, but is the damage already done. What damage? To perceived reality as opposed to reality? When you look at america’s pro-israel, self-destructive, contra-indicated policies, including the hands off policy vis-à-vis fraudulent wall street, you see the truth to what he says which is what so many astute individuals are already thinking / realizing. How can people continue to ignore the truth, to their own detriment Think about it. Do you really think he would risk the typical onslaught if the same weren’t true? ‘Director Oliver Stone has been forced to make a grovelling apology over an anti-Semitic outburst. The double Academy Award winner claimed that the Russians suffered more during the Second World War and that there was a Jewish 'domination of the media'. Stone also said that Jews had '****ed up' U.S. foreign policy for years and suggested the British supported Hitler ...’ The relentless attacks on Mel Gibson are of the same caliber and purpose; suppression of truth!

Infowars.com Poll: Majority Believe Road Warrior Depression Coming Kurt Nimmo | Like the Great Depression, the Greatest Depression now being scientifically created has a specific agenda in mind.

On the Bloated Intelligence Bureaucracy

Disappearing Act: $8.7 Billion of Iraq Development Money Missing Kurt Nimmo | Government says it is all the fault of shoddy accounting practices.

Ahmadinejad: US Expansion Of War In Middle East Imminent Steve Watson | Tensions rise with saber rattling rhetoric.

David Cameron: Israeli blockade has turned Gaza Strip into a ‘prison camp’ David Cameron used a visit to Turkey to make his strongest intervention yet in the intractable Middle East conflict today when he likened the experience of Palestinians in the blockadedGaza Strip to that of a “prison camp”.

Rockefeller Study Envisages Future Dictatorship Controlled By Elite … (Vegetables … Yes, Asparagus, not Broccoli) … Here’s the pathetic news, however; it’s called reality: [Neanderthals, Humans Interbred, DNA Proves Signs of Neanderthals Mating With Humans - Neanderthals mated with some modern humans after all and left their imprint in the human genome.  Genome hints humans, Neanderthals rolled in prehistoric hay You're a Neanderthal: Genes say yes — a little bit (AP) Neanderthals and people interbred, fossil analysis finds  For more info on man’s humble beginnings, see here     http://www.albertpeia.com/anthroindex1.htm     Previously I wrote: FOUND: MISSING LINK BETWEEN APES AND MAN.... These stories, and the many like it, are old news and I subscribe to the more studied view that there is no “missing link” per se and in my view they are distinctions without significant differences. I previously wrote: [see infra] and [Interestingly, my intuitive (but unstudied) thoughts prior to closer examination of the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology remain what I believe to be the correct scenario. Specifically, very simply stated, for the most part, the more “enlightened” (but not by much; by mutation, accident, luck, intervention, etc.) left the unvarying confines of their Sub-Saharan origins, experienced diverse new environs, challenges, etc., experienced what has been described (by neuroscientists, psychologists, etc.) as neurogenesis in varying degrees and forms thereby over time, which trait was selected for and is consistent with the purported multi-regional evolutionary model which does not overtly contradict ultimately, initial African origins. Races, sub-species, missing links, etc., are subsumed in this very humbling and sorrowful tale of the “dawn of man”.] [see infra] …] Global pandemics that kill millions, mandatory quarantines, checkpoints, biometric ID cards, and a world of top-down government control. These things are not lifted from the latest sci-fi blockbuster movie, they’re part of the Rockefeller Foundation’s vision for what the globe might be like in 15-20 years’ time under a new world order tightly controlled by the elite. [That’s getting awfully close to the outside ‘decades, not millennia or even centuries’].

Iran accuses US and UK of supporting group behind mosque attacks Iran is vowing to hunt down a Sunni separatist group which claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing that killed 28 people at a mosque in the south-eastern city of Zahedan.

US, NATO behind Iran bombings: MP An Iranian lawmaker slams the recent bombings in the country’s southeast as a plot by Western military forces in the Middle East to spread terror on Iran’s borders.

WASHPOST Ombudsman: Why Silence on Black Panther Story? (Washington Post) ‘Thursday's Post reported about a growing controversy over the Justice Department's decision to scale down a voter-intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party. The story succinctly summarized the issues but left many readers with a question: What took you so long? For months, readers have contacted the ombudsman wondering why The Post hasn't been covering the case. The calls increased recently after competitors such as the New York Times and the Associated Press wrote stories. Fox News and right-wing bloggers have been pumping the story. Liberal bloggers have countered, accusing them of trying to manufacture a scandal. But The Post has been virtually silent. The story has its origins on Election Day in 2008, when two members of the New Black Panther Party stood in front of a Philadelphia polling place. YouTube video of the men, now viewed nearly 1.5 million times, shows both wearing paramilitary clothing. One carried a nightstick…’

Latino KKK: You are too white to be American! ALIPAC | Tan Klan woman can scream racist comments because the Obama administration and most of the major news networks in America have her back.

‘West, israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated “the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.

De-classified Vietnam-era Transcripts Show Senators Knew Gulf Of Tonkin Was A Staged False Flag Event Over 1,100 pages of previously classified Vietnam-era transcripts released this week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee highlight the fact that several Senators knew that the White House and the Pentagon had deceived the American people over the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Afghans march in Kabul to denounce NATO strikes that killed civilians:  Demonstrators shout anti-American slogans, denounce NATO strikes (Washington Post ) Sounds like a plan! Almost surreal was the appearance of gates on failed network ‘news’ show to shill the non-strategy of draw down (of troops) linked to success. What success? Just being there and every day they’re there is unequivocally abject failure. Celebritology Weekend: Angelina Jolie biography arrives; Heidi Montag files for divorce (Washington Post ) I usually don’t weigh in on entertainment news, but this headline concerning what appears to be a disparaging, and quite selectively so, purported biography of Angelina Jolie is very disheartening when you consider the numerous instances of failed leadership at nearly all very high levels of government having so detrimental an impact on the world, that morton deems his time appropriate to an actress who has actually tried to do good things (U.N., etc.) without having to. Indeed, even her latest film ‘Salt’ (spectacular by any standard as is her performance – there are at least 2 winning sequels there with 4 the max and stretching it owing to age – she puts all, and I mean all the ‘Bonds’ to shame) had an important message in terms of the damage to this nation by a seemingly endless, nation-bankrupting, anti-american (war criminal israelis already, and quite correctly, globally hated) sentiment producing war strategy that is neither strategy nor reasonably consistent with any positive american goal / objective; but rather is such a debacle and folly that the same could very well be one that only an enemy of defacto bankrupt america could hatch and for the reasoning set forth in the well-written / directed film. She astutely observed and talked about the synchronicity of the film as juxtaposed to recent events revealing that she is wiser than most in Washington.

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It Zach Carter | Wachovia was moving money behind literally tons of cocaine from violent drug cartels. It wasn’t an accident.

Drudgereport: NEW LOW FOR O: USATODAYGALLUP HAS OBAMA APPROVE AT 41%...
America Is 'Bankrupt Mickey Mouse Economy'...
WIRE: USA 'Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It'...

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT HITS RECORD HIGH
JOBLESS CLAIMS JUMP TO HIGHEST SINCE FEB...
California can't pay bills -- may use IOUs for August payments...

DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
Homes lost to foreclosure up 6% from last year...
Grim Voter Mood Turns Grimmer...
Claims of Afghan civilian deaths spark protest...
Military sees heavier fighting in fall...

UPDATE: Suspected serial killer arrested in Atlanta...
Attempting to flee to israel … to be with kindred spirits ...

DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!

MOB RUSH FOR FED AID DRAWS RIOT POLICE
DOW drops 265...
Feds rethink policies that encourage home ownership...
Obama: $3 Billion More in Aid for Unemployed...
US posts widest trade gap in 20 months...
Q2 GDP Growth Could Be Revised To Just 1% After Trade Data...
PUMP: FED TO BUY MORE DEBT...
DOWNGRADES OUTLOOK...
US-backed fighters in Iraq defect to al-Qaida... [Winning hearts and minds … for Al Qaida … just one too many civilian deaths for no good reason at all ]

BACK TO SPEND SOME MORE!

Republicans Suggest Names for 'Second Stimulus' Bill...
'Where do the bailouts end?'  [I feel compelled to comment here that even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]

CASTRO WARNS OF IMPENDING NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST
WELCOME TO THE RECOVERY...
JULY UNEMPLOYMENT -131,000 JOBS...
Revised: May/June -97,000 jobs than first reported...
Odd mix of bad news...

CASTRO WARNS OF IMPENDING NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST
Michelle Obama 'modern-day Marie Antoinette'...

NYT: 'Leaves the taxpayers with a hefty bill'...
While Obama preaches sacrifice, his family frolics in Spain...

Gazpacho, turbot, veal and ratatouille with the king...
Lavish Obama vacation in time of economic turmoil raises eyebrows...
BAKER: 'Leaves taxpayers with hefty bill'...
Hollywood star-studded gala at first lady's luxury hotel...

MICHELLE O'S $375,000 VACATION?!
Strolls Marbella after State Dept. 'racist' Spaniards gaffe...

White House calling: Please will you make a coat for Michelle...

Boy Scouts boo Obama...
GALLUP: Blacks and Whites Continue to Differ Sharply on Obama...
JUDGE KNOCKS DOWN MARRIAGE PROP IN CA
BLOW TO O: MO SAYS NO
Voters overwhelmingly rejected federal mandate to purchase health insurance...

Americans swap passports; Desire to avoid tax leads some to renounce citizenship...
Ahmadinejad survives blast near motorcade...
'Stupid Zionists have hired mercenaries to assassinate me'...

FALTERING RECOVERY TRIPS DOLLAR...

GM, FORD and CHRYSLER Sales All Lag Estimates...

Stimulus Slammed: Republican Senators Release Report Alleging Waste...
The 100 worst stimulus projects...

SHOCK VIDEO: DEM CONGRESSMAN BRAGS: 'FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN DO MOST ANYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY'...
Deadliest Month Of Afghan War

Paper: Will Washington's Failures Lead To Second American Revolution

Maxine Waters faces trial over bank bailout funds...

HOT WATERS
Dems Say Sorry, Charlie...

Democrats Say Rangel Should Resign...
Obama: Time For Rangel To End Career 'With Dignity'...

60,000 babies born to 'noncitizens' get U.S. birthright - in Texas alone...

Dutch become 1st NATO member to quit Afghanistan...

Economic indicators reflect weak recovery (Washington Post) Even assuming their anemic, negative numbers are real (I don’t believe anything they say and believe situation to be more dire than reported), the economic reality indicated prospectively thereby is as previously set forth: This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed

As economy slowly recovers, area companies announce IPOs (Washington Post) With very few exceptions, economic realities make the same (ordinarily a real net economic positive) a negative owing to dilution and the absence of real, profitable, private sector investment opportunities.

China surpasses Japan as world's No. 2 economy (Washington Post) As if no one saw that coming.

Fed Official Admits the Fed Starts Boom/Bust Cycles There are all kinds of things awry with this article…

Fed’s Hoenig: Keeping Rates Too Low ‘Dangerous Gamble’ The Federal Reserve is undertaking a “dangerous gamble” by keeping rates at near zero for so long, and must start raising rates or risk damaging the nascent U.S. recovery, a top Federal Reserve official said on Friday.

Will Quantitative Easing By The Federal Reserve Unleash Economic Hell? The Economic Collapse | Most of the folks populating Congress are so incompetent that they should not even be hired to mop the floors of a Dairy Queen.

Lots of stimulus yet to be spent (Washington Post) [Wow! Sounds like Alec’s looking for ‘work’ on wall street. I think his glass is not only ‘wall-street-half-full’, but has an extra concentration of fluoride, the effects of which seem ‘reachingly obvious’. Time to come back to economic reality, Alec. ]Alec MacGillis / As Americans puzzle over why the economic stimulus package enacted more than a year ago has failed to restore vigorous job growth, one explanation has emerged from new reports: A lot of the money is not yet out the door.

High Probability for Lower Market Prices Ahead ‘…Economic numbers being what they are (very poor), we should expect a downward revision of second quarter GDP to 1.5% from the originally disappointing number of 2.4%. As more data is being released it is apparent that we are witnessing even further deterioration here in the third quarter. Will we have a double dip or since it officially has never been declared that we have come out of the recession, is this just more of the same? Globally, governments have spent trillions of dollars to revive their economies. We are seeing mixed results from that largess, as some countries such as Germany and China are doing better than others, such as Greece, Ireland and the US. Will more government intervention help? I think not. We may have reached a tipping point where many are tired of others being the benefactors of taxpayer money …’

Gold Providing Safety During Market Downturn

Pension check may not be in the mail Chicago Tribune | Illinois public employees who think the state constitution guarantees that they’ll get all their pension benefits

Back to School? Bring Your Own Toilet Paper New York Times | “The first time I saw it, my mouth hit the floor,” Emily’s mother, Kristin Cooper, said of the list, which also included perennials like glue sticks, scissors and crayons.

An Argentina-like Economic Crisis Scott Strzelczyk | The United States’ economic decline precariously resembles Argentina’s economic collapse.

U.S. Economy Near Point of No Return Dan Weil | The Federal Reserve’s decision to expand its quantitative easing by purchasing more Treasuries is a dangerous one.

Obama Says Private Accounts Would Endanger U.S. Social Security Benefits President Barack Obama said Republican proposals to have people invest Social Security benefits in private accounts would increase the U.S. budget deficit and put retirement money at risk to “the whims of Wall Street traders.”

The Trade Deficit Nightmare When they hear the word deficit, most Americans immediately think of the U.S. government budget deficit which is rapidly spiralling out of control.

Economic indicators reflect weak recovery (Washington Post) [Recovery? I say they’re dreamin’! So does Schiff, (Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary depression.) among other economists, (Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012 ).

Warnings: Social Security at risk (Washington Post) [ Not this again! It bears repeating, that was always a bad idea and there was a plethora of reasons set forth on my site as to why the social security privatization plan being shilled by moron war criminal dumbya bush on behalf of the wall street frauds was an exceedingly bad idea. Indeed, as defacto insolvent as america / the social security system is, the nation and system would have been wiped out by privatization debacle. Talk about too big to, but still failed. It was a bad idea then, and though accusations may fly as to fear mongering, the reality of the venality attendant to such a preposterous course on behalf of the wall street frauds requires vigilance, scrutiny, and discourse concerning even the remote possibility of such a fool-hearty betrayal of the citizenry of the nation. As such, as off the mark as wobama has almost invariably been, he’s on the mark on this. ]ANALYSIS | Obama says GOP wants to privatize program, but liberals see a different threat.

Makeup of Obama's housing reform panel draws ire (Washington Post) [Wow! Talk about late to the party! I mean … a conference? It’s not as if this was some new or novel problem coming down the pike. Then there’s the everything but the core issue / problem approach that seems recurringly fashionable.] Advocates say that the administration is excluding consumer and community groups from playing prominent roles in a government-sponsored conference next week that will kick off efforts to overhaul national housing policy.

Foreclosures surge 9 percent in July (Washington Post) Those glass-half-full frauds on wall street along with the administration will be cheering this unequivocally bad news with a dubious retort as ‘used home sales will rise’ … riiiight! Anything you say …

Stocks dip for third straight day (Washington Post) [Investor fears? How ‘bout reality. Even an essentially non-business site as Drudge has the pulse of this pervasive realization that ‘those dogs of happy days are here again don’t hunt no more’. Check the heads: DRUDGEREPORT: America Is 'Bankrupt Mickey Mouse Economy'...
WIRE: USA 'Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It'...

DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT HITS RECORD HIGH
JOBLESS CLAIMS JUMP TO HIGHEST SINCE FEB...
California can't pay bills -- may use IOUs for August payments...
DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
Homes lost to foreclosure up 6% from last year...
Grim Voter Mood Turns Grimmer... and Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s. Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary depression. My take: This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed

Pearlstein: The FCC and the bandwidth wars (Washington Post) [The internet has been among the few areas of growth and american prominence, at least at this point in time. Clearly, as with the throng that heralded in NAFTA, the self-interested voices of ie., google, verizon, etc., are similarly anathema to the greater good (as was NAFTA). Berners-Lee spoke against such parochialism in no uncertain terms, much as did Ross Perot on NAFTA and history has proven Perot correct as is so of the mind numbing approaches of google, verizon, etc.] Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse (infowars.com) [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

AP Business Highlights ‘Jobs picture dims as unemployment claims rise WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy is looking bleaker as new applications for jobless benefits rose last week to the highest level in almost six months. It's a sign that hiring remains weak and employers may be going back to cutting their staffs. Analysts say the increase suggests companies won't be adding enough workers in August to lower the 9.5 percent unemployment rate. First-time claims for jobless benefits edged up by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 484,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest total since February. Analysts had expected claims to fall…’

Bearish Sentiment Falls to 14-Week Low [Talk about contrarian indicators!] AAII – ‘Bullish sentiment rose 9.4 percentage points to 39.8% in the latest AAII Sentiment Survey. Despite the size of the increase, the proportion of individual investors expecting stock prices to rise over the next six months is only at a two-week high. The historical average is 39%. Neutral sentiment, expectations that stock prices will stay essentially flat over the next six months, fell 1.3 percentage points to 30.1%. The historical average is 31%. Bearish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will fall, dropped 8.1 percentage points to 30.1%. This is a 14-week low. The historical average is 30%. The survey period, Thursday through Wednesday, needs to be taken into consideration when looking at these results. Stock prices were essentially flat through most of this week's survey period (with the obvious exception of yesterday), giving some investors hope that a short-term bottom had been established. Though there were big changes in bullish and bearish sentiment, both optimism and pessimism are close to their historical averages. As a result, I would argue that individual investors' confidence in the market remains fragile…’

Lavish lifestyle for bank executive in Waters case (Washington Post) While this is typical of California, isn’t it as typical of the wall street frauds? Scammin’ everybody with that too big to fail b*** s*** when they’re a net economic drain, high frequency churn-and-earn computer programmed trading scams among the more blatant frauds emanating from their insatiable greed and sense of entitlement. Previous post: Cities, counties could slash 500,000 more jobs (Washington Post) Could? I’d say must. Particularly when you factor in that this election ‘spurt’ leaving the nation even more bankrupt is illusory. I had occasion some time ago in speaking with a long-time California resident (instructor at the college gym where I worked out) to express my surprise at the bloated (municipal, state) high-priced bureaucracy which of course is not productive except as to higher taxes and which is at the forefront in the city of Bell where the city manager was paid nearly 900,000 annually (with benefits the package was an incredible $1,500,000), and specifically mentioned the part-time typical compensation of $100,000 and contracts to interested, even familial, parties. Of course, no one has done this better than feinstein, albeit on a more federal level and China contracts through her husband’s companies, as previousl set forth on this website. Drudgereport: 'Where do the bailouts end?'  [I feel compelled to comment here that even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]

Bailouts benefited foreign firms (Washington Post) True enough! But, truth be told, the fraud giving rise to the financial debacle was home grown americana. Moreover, the remnants of same are still out there in the trillions, now ‘marked to anything they so choose’, courtesy of a complicit, albeit after the fact, congress. This is the point … rather than as should have been the case of making the perps pay, the bailouts / cover-ups by now enablers if not accomplices is ending quite badly with much worse to come, and that includes those european lightweights who have come into the fraudulent wall street fold to theirs and the world’s economic and financial detriment.

U.S. trade deficit startles markets (Washington Post) [ Unexpectedly? I don’t think so! And, I have my site, other references / links and posts to prove it; and, what’s more, I’m not alone. After all, what are NAFTAs for anyway. However, I also must candidly admit I don’t frequent the mainstream blather / propaganda that includes the ‘money-honeys’ (when the messenger’s more important than the message, problems and distortions are bound to follow) and their ilk, etc.. NBR’s about it and even they have their pressures (I don’t consider the Washington Post mainstream in the pejorative sense of the word, with a rich journalistic history to back that up, all things considered) ]. Unexpectedly bad news from three continents reinforces fears that global recovery is faltering.

Obama signs $26 billion jobs bill (WP)   [I feel compelled to comment here that even using capital hill math one would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! I think the former Soviet Union would have done the same.]

Fed action signals new activism (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! The activist fed! That’s all we need. As if we needed more of what brought us to this point! Certainly the fed’s role in the continuing and current financial crisis / debacle cannot be ignored or disputed. Nothing like a hegelian methodology to create the very problems for which they are called upon to offer solutions, increasing their sense of importance, and concentrating power thereby. (Think about it. It is really rather quite absurd that each meeting time the financial markets hold their bated breath for these incompetent boobs). Then there’s the cover-up with an opportunity for enrichment of some, usually the tight-lipped yes-men then ever after and forever bonded in what becomes tantamount to an almost fraternal link by ‘virtue’ of the crime thereby. No, I’m not saying their initial missteps were necessarily badly intended, but the manipulations thereafter to obfuscate their incompetence (senile greenspun, no-recession-helicopter-ben, etc.) comes at a great price and is nothing less than tantamount to or just outright crime. I’d abolish the fed without hesitation or compunction. After all, at this point of decline and defacto bankruptcy of the nation you certainly can’t point to success nor argue their indispensability. Then there’s also the missing trillions, over-printing of fiat currency, and all that sub rosa activity with the worthless fraudulent toxic paper which I believe is being supplanted with ultimately hard currency to the great benefit of the frauds and great detriment to the nation.]

ACCORDING TO TECHNICAL INDICATORS, MELTDOWN IS POSSIBLE Simon Maierhofer A SOLID TRACK RECORD An analysis of the SMA crossover buy/sell signals triggered for the S&P over the past 10 days shows that six of the eight signals (75%) were correct. ..LAGGING BUT ACCURATE Many dismiss the 200-day or other SMAs as lagging indicators. Although an indicator may be lagging it doesn't mean it's incorrect or should be dismissed… Even though a lagging indicator, the rain does confirm that a storm is coming. A PRO-ACTIVE APPROACH You'd expect Wall Street and the financial media to be the financial weather man and warn you of upcoming storms. Unfortunately, that is not so. Leading up to the April 2010 recovery highs, Wall Street and the media proclaimed the skies are clear, 'sunny throughout the year' was their weather forecast. Only after investors got drenched, did Wall Street recommend pulling out the umbrella. Sure enough, as soon as the umbrellas came out, stocks switched into rally mode and the sky cleared up. Unlike Wall Street, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned of the brewing storm while it was still sunny. On April 16, the newsletter warned that 'historically, there has rarely been a more pronounced sell signal ... When consumers spend, they do so with credit cards. Visa and Master Card both got hit with a death cross. It's just a matter of time until the discretionary sector follows. WAIT, THERE IS MORE …High copper prices are reflective of high demand and a humming economy. Lower copper prices signal trouble ahead. On June 22, an ominous death cross visited copper's chart. PUTTING THE ODDS IN YOUR FAVOR Investing is a game of probabilities. While you always want to have the odds in your favor, you never want to bet against the odds. Right now, the odds are piling up on the bearish side of the ledger. Even though Wall Street is saying that the sky has cleared up, 'meteorologists' with a better track record are warning of the storm ahead. In fact, there is one rare chart formation that strongly suggests the onset of a 2008-like decline, a development that's certainly supported by the number of death crosses spanning a variety of markets. The August issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed short, mid and long-term forecast, along with the one chart that tells the market's story and true bearish potential. 

Congressman Calls Vote on $26 Billion Jobs Bill a Sign ‘We’re Not Bankrupting the Country Fast Enough’ With a tone of sarcasm, a California Republican congressman said that he “knows” why members of the U.S. House of Representatives were summoned from their home districts back to Washington, D.C., and the halls of Congress.

U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don’t Even Know Bloomberg | Let’s get real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the country pay its bills.

Crowd waiting for housing vouchers gets rowdy Atlanta Journal-Constitution | A crowd of people hoping to get federal housing assistance became unruly Wednesday morning with reports of fights breaking out in the crowd.

Californians’ income falls for first time since WWII Sacramento Bee | The personal incomes of Golden State workers fell by that amount in 2009 compared with the previous year.

Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

San Francisco Fed: “A Recessionary Relapse Is A Significant Possibility Sometime In The Next Two Years” [ Picture the fed as a pseudo ninja with fancy foreplay / motions getting decked / ‘koed’ with a simple right-hook to the jaw by the antagonist named reality. All this finagling, manipulation, fiat currency over-printing, and nation bankrupting debt, and … nothing / nada / ‘growth ‘ estimates revised downward, unemployment unabated since economic reality figures somewhat in hiring to say the least, and jobs transferred overseas ain’t comin’ back. Quite simply, this is a depression no matter what they call it! ] Presented without commentary, suffice to say that idiots who look at the LEI and factor for the curve inversion subindicator deserve all they get.

Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary depression.

Democrats, Advocacy Groups Blast Cuts to Food Stamps to Fund $26B Aid Bill Some Democrats are upset and advocacy groups are outraged over the raiding of the food-stamp cupboard to fund a state-aid bailout that some call a gift to teachers and government union workers.

15 Economic Statistics That Just Keep Getting Worse A little over a week ago, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner penned an article for the New York Times entitled “Welcome To The Recovery” in which he touted the great strides that the U.S. economy was making.

America Is ‘Bankrupt Mickey Mouse Economy’: CIO America is a “Mickey Mouse economy” that is technically bankrupt, according to Jochen Wermuth, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and managing partner at Wermuth Asset Management.

DRUDGEREPORT: America Is 'Bankrupt Mickey Mouse Economy'...
WIRE: USA 'Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It'...

DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT HITS RECORD HIGH
JOBLESS CLAIMS JUMP TO HIGHEST SINCE FEB...
California can't pay bills -- may use IOUs for August payments...

DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
Homes lost to foreclosure up 6% from last year...
Grim Voter Mood Turns Grimmer...
Claims of Afghan civilian deaths spark protest...
Military sees heavier fighting in fall...

PAPER: 10 reasons why Obama presidency is in meltdown...
GALLUP: Even the Poor Are Abandoning Obama; Approval Under 50%...
Obama abolishes White House position dedicated to transparency...

Michelle Obama popularity falls...

UPDATE: Suspected serial killer arrested in Atlanta...
Attempting to flee to israel … to be with kindred spirits ...

MOB RUSH FOR FED AID DRAWS RIOT POLICE
DOW drops 265...
Feds rethink policies that encourage home ownership...
Obama: $3 Billion More in Aid for Unemployed...
US posts widest trade gap in 20 months...
Q2 GDP Growth Could Be Revised To Just 1% After Trade Data...
PUMP: FED TO BUY MORE DEBT...
DOWNGRADES OUTLOOK...
US-backed fighters in Iraq defect to al-Qaida... [Winning hearts and minds … for Al Qaida … just one too many civilian deaths for no good reason at all ]

BACK TO SPEND SOME MORE!

Republicans Suggest Names for 'Second Stimulus' Bill...
'Where do the bailouts end?'  [I feel compelled to comment here that even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]

Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.

Ambac says it's working on bankruptcy filing MBIA Inc. reports a quarterly profit, while rival bond insurer Ambac Financial Group posts a loss....

Food Inflation Coming To A Household Near You, As Wal-Mart Hikes Prices At Fastest Pace Since Early January Nothing to see here, except yet another sign of the food inflation that’s the story of the moment.

Albert Edwards Explains How The Leading Indicator Is Already Back Into Recession Territory And Why The Japan “Ice Age” Is Coming Albert Edwards reverts to his favorite economic concept, the “Ice Age” in his latest commentary piece, presenting another piece in the puzzle of similarities between the Japanese experience and that which the US is currently going through.

The Horrific Derivatives Bubble That Could One Day Destroy The Entire World Financial System Today there is a horrific derivatives bubble that threatens to destroy not only the U.S. economy but the entire world financial system as well, but unfortunately the vast majority of people do not understand it.

Fed set to downgrade outlook for US Financial Times | The Federal Reserve is set to downgrade its assessment of US economic prospects.

Goldman Made Between $11 And $16 Billion In 2009 Trading CDS And Other Derivatives As part of its most recent FCIC grilling, David Viniar left the political theater a month ago with a homework assignment to disclose all of the firm’s derivative profits, as well as provide granular detail on its derivative trades.

Japan Redux: A Video Case Study Of The Upcoming U.S. Lost Decade Whether one believes in inflation or deflation, one thing is certain: in many ways the current US experience finds numerous parallels to what has been happening in Japan for not one but two decades.

Pentagon can’t account for $8.57 billion in Iraqi funds B is for billions. And b is for it’s hard to believe that they’ve done it again. The last time, even more money vanished, which I noted in my article, Following Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11. This was under the Zionist Dov Zakheim’s watch as Comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to March 10, 2004.

Wall Street bill sweeps away stray remnant of 1933 Glass-Steagall Act In seven simple lines buried in this year’s financial overhaul bill, lawmakers swept away one of the last vestiges of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act that held sway over markets for decades.

Small firms pay price of bank boom: As bankers celebrate more profits, more companies die from lack of loans Small businesses are paying the price for the banks’ dramatic return to bumper profits.

Riiiiight! That ‘no-longer looking’ dynamic that saves the day and the ue rate at 9.5%. At this rate of progress, and according to their thinking and manipulations, full employment at an unprecedented 0% unemployment is just around the corner as everyone stops looking for the jobs no longer here, many of which were sent overseas and which are not coming back owing to substantial economic structural / financial shifts.

Jobs Report: Companies Slow to Hire ABC News - Only about 8 percent of the 8.4 million jobs lost at the peak of the recession have been recovered, leaving millions of Americans still looking for work, according to an analysis by ABC News' Business Unit. Video:  News Update: US Unemployment Rate Holds at 9.5%, 71,000 Jobs Added in June SmarTrend News 71K more jobs not enough to dent unemployment rate The Associated Press

When perusing the headlines and the following, I immediately thought ‘between Iraq and a hard place (Afghanistan and america’s defacto bankruptcy)’:

Between a Rock and a Hard Place Jerry Slusiewicz ‘Everyone knows that being between a rock and a hard place is not a good place to be. That is where the market is right now. We continue to have terrible news in the housing sector. There is no general economic recovery as of yet. Jobless claims continue to mount, while net new jobs are not being created in a significant enough number to even sustain the population growth (approximately 150,000 net new jobs per month needed). By far the majority of economic reports for May, June, July, and now August, have been worse than forecast. That includes home starts, home sales, home-builder confidence, retail sales, auto sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders, manufacturing, jobs, etc. Yet the market rallies or barely goes down on these bad reports. What gives? It seems that bad news is good news right now…

Social Security in the red this year Washington Times | Meanwhile President Obama’s health care overhaul has given Medicare’s basic Hospital Insurance an extra 12 years of financial stability, though it did not solve all of the program’s long-term challenges.

U.S. Employers Shed Jobs WSJ | he U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.

Impoverished U.S. City Will Close Libraries Mob infested, pervasively corrupt jersey’s most impoverished city will close all three branches of its public library at year’s end unless a rescue can be pulled off. Camden’s library board says the libraries won’t be able to afford to stay open past Dec. 31 because of budget cuts from the city government. The city had its subsidy from the state cut.

Dollar approaches 15-year low against yen The dollar plunged to a fresh eight-month low against the yen after US employment data disappointed expectations, raising the prospect of looser monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

IRS To Withhold Indicator That Shows Refunds Owed To Taxpayers Think of all the budget savings from the ever increasing lack of transparency.

Visualize Your State’s Financial Collapse Better Than Ever Just because wishing away local and state financial collapse doesn’t work quite as well as it does at the Federal level (courtesy of everyone’s favorite printer genie), attached is a terrific interactive chart.

Stepping Aside Because I Can Always Buy Back In Leigh Drogen ‘I sold out of everything this morning, for a few reasons...’

Were Unemployment Claims Really So 'Unexpected'?

Food stamp use hit record 40.8m in May The number of Americans who are receiving food stamps rose to a record 40.8 million in May as the jobless rate hovered near a 27-year high, the government reported yesterday.

Journalists Still Hiding Obama’s Broken Promises on Jobs On Aug. 6, everyone’s attention will be fixed on the release of July’s unemployment numbers. The national unemployment rate is forecast to increase to 9.6 percent, according to Bloomberg News’ survey.

Gold Alternative To Debt and Market Manipulation The Keynesians are on the edge of implementing more quantitative easing (QE) as we predicted they would.

11 Reasons Why The Federal Reserve Is Bad Millions of Americans are waking up to the fact that the Federal Reserve is bad, but very few of them can coherently explain why this is true.

WE’RE UNDERESTIMATING THE BEARISH POTENTIAL Simon Maierhofer, August 3, 2010
’… Will Anything Stop the Market? Something Did
… At the same time, the April numbers were lowered the second time by an additional 24,000 units, while May sales were revised lower by 33,000 units. To summarize, April and May sales were reduced by 57,000 units. Therefore, June sales were 24% above May sales. By the way, May sales were the lowest on record…

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as more people enter the labor force.

The Dollar Continues To Fall Like A Knife, As Euro Breaks Well Above $1.32 Another violent change of direction from what we’ve come to expect from the euro and the dollar.

22 Statistics About America’s Coming Pension Crisis That Will Make You Lose Sleep At Night As the first of the 80 million Baby Boomers have begun to retire, it has become increasingly apparent that the United States is facing a pension crisis of unprecedented magnitude.

Americans who swap passports London Telegraph | At the US Embassy in London, there is a waiting list that none of the officials likes to discuss. At the US Embassy in London, there is a waiting list that none of the officials likes to discuss. On the list are Americans hoping to give up their citizenship… (sure sign of insanity … I mean, Orwellian england of all places?)

Temporary Firehouse Closures Begin In Philadelphia CBS 3 | The city of Philadelphia has started temporarily closing fire stations in order to balance its budget.

Layoffs to gut East St. Louis police force St. Louis Dispatch | East St. Louis will layoff 37 employees, including 19 of its 62 police officers.

Come on! Who are they kidding? All the data was bad, and that ‘not bad as expected dog don’t hunt anymore’!

They’re losing their minds in china:
Silicon Alley Insider: ‘… The first big economic news of the week was the Chinese PMI which indicated that Chinese manufacturing was inching ever closer to contraction. But contrary to the expectations of some, it did not spook investors. In fact, Asia had a very big night, with Shanghai gaining about 1.3% …’;

europe:
the basket-case eu economy, with obfuscation taken directly out of the fraudulent wall street playbook including fake stress tests, saw air ball stock rally based on earnings data long ago discounted;

u.s.:
We already know they’re criminally insane on wall street! Yahoo: ‘…The mood improved further still after the ISM Manufacturing Index for July came in at 55.5. That may have marked a pullback from the 56.2 of June, but it exceeded the 54.2 that had been widely expected ...’

Oh, yeah … there’s also the higher oil prices, ever more worthless Weimar dollar part of the rally, and so on!

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits since there is much worse to come!

Warning Signs Suggest Market Headed for Another Collapse

INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington Post) This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012

Why Must The Media Keep Trotting Out Senile Incompetent greenspun And His Economic Lunacy? …and we continue to talk ourselves off the edge of the cliff. For the second week in a row Meet The Press trotted out the most financially incompetent of the financially incompetent and placed them on their undeserving pedestal.

Key Components Of America’s Military Are Now Dominated By A Chinese Monopoly Most of America’s key military technologies require rare earth elements, whose production China holds a near-monopoly over.

alan greenspan: “The Financial System Is Broke” We will be in deflation until the broke financial system becomes unbroke… and then we will have hyperinflation. [Little bit late to be talkin’ the obvious truth!]

Trying to make August less of a 'dog' with sidewalk sale (Washington Post) Sounds like a new, new plan to deal with the overwhelming success of the panoply of government stimulus / tarp, etc., plans ‘financed’ with money they don’t have and taxpayer ‘largesse’. For those who’ve lived long enough, they’re waiting for the apple carts.

Did TARP work? Two economists say yes. (Washington Post) Come on! What do you expect them to say? They’re invested in that position having supported same despite the massive fraud for prosecution and disgorgement was appropriate. Indeed, moody’s itself has been faulted (liable?) for lax valuation / rating standards which contributed to the debacle. Moreover, these ‘cheerleaders’ can always be counted on to toe the network line which ultimately enables the ubiquitous frauds we’ve seen. Amazingly, senile incompetent greenspun, co-architect / enabler of the fraud / debacle was interviewed and used such words in conjunction as ‘modest recovery, pause, double-dip possible, quasi recession’. What total b***s***!

Are the American people obsolete? Salon | The richest few don’t need the rest of us as markets, soldiers or police anymore. Maybe we should all emigrate.

What's coming this week (Washington Post) How ‘bout last week and the new american economic institution colloquially now known as ‘bank failure Friday’ (the news dump so as to avoid the so-called ‘news cycle’). Then, let’s hope for real rather than election-year market frothing fake / false / manipulated data.

U.S. bank failures total 108 after 5 shut on Friday U.S. bank failures reached 108 so far in 2010 on Friday as regulators seized five small banks in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, none publicly traded.

Foreclosures Continue To Dramatically Increase In 2010 Economic Collapse | RealtyTrac says that unemployment has become the major reason for foreclosures. In a very alarming sign for the U.S. economy, foreclosures have continued to dramatically increase in 2010. But there has been a shift.

U.S. recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips Washington Post | The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work. The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work.

Ron Paul Goes After The SEC’s FOIA Exclusivity, Introduces SEC Transparency Act What is unclear is whether the Ron Paul law prohibts SEC staffers to spend 40 hours per week to browse porn on the taxpayer’s dime.

U.S. recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put americans back to work.

Stocks' Late Push: Some Optimism, Some Pessimism [Late push … as in a constipated bowel movement … Come on! Another one of those push the computer programmed trade button and off we go, reality / valuation / economics be damned. In real security analysis (very simplified / summarized), as opposed to the continued frauds on wall street, one must begin with the largest and most significant aggregate (a simple word picture / analogy: ‘rising tide lifts all boats’). If you get this right, the probabilities in your favor are substantially enhanced. From there, you want leading industries, and leading companies within said leading industries (again, larger aggregates then picks, to enhance probabilities, not guarantees, in your favor). Your time frame, 1-3-5 yrs tops for projections, (including income statement/EPS, balance sheet, and applying an appropriate P/E – a detailed, multi-faceted approach beyond what could be described in this summary); and, that’s all they are, projections. Beyond that time frame, your guess. On fraudulent wall street, every day, though already discounted in large part (6-8 mos, approx.), the market spins, churns, and with lightning fast computerized high-frequency trade programs commissions in huge volumes like no other time in financial history when real valuation meant something, with no net economic value added, but very lucrative to the frauds on wall street, which ultimately is a net detriment to the economy / the nation /and other industries as we’ve seen and as described elsewhere on this site and in these posts http://albertpeia.com . Preposterously, they even sometimes refer to seasonal factors as if hearing them for the first time and ‘explaining’ an up move (almost invariably already discounted). Today, they shrugged off the deepening economic reality despite the election year frothing / manipulations. This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ].

Slowing economic rebound raises unemployment fears (AP) [Wow! Talk about understatements!]

China Becomes Second Biggest World Economy China has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

Hank Paulson Wants To Fix Fannie And Freddie By… Recreating Fannie And Freddie Former Treasury Secretary, Goldman Sachs CEO, and bailout architect Hank Paulson has a bit of a head-scratcher of an op-ed in the Washington Post this evening all about charting a course for sustainable housing policy in the US.

Marc Faber Questions if Dow Could Hit 1,000 In the August edition of the ‘The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report’ Marc Faber questions whether the Dow could hit 1,000 as predicted by Robert Prechter, based on his interpretation of Elliot Waves, Fibonacci numbers and socioeconomic trends. Prechter, who has written 13 books on finance (external link), believes that the stock market is historically overvalued in terms of dividends and earnings, because of a “great rise in positive social mood.” But the mood changed in 2000 and the “trend toward negative social mood will lead to an economic contraction,” according to Prechter. “Small bear markets lead to recessions, big bear markets lead to depressions. The current bear market will be the biggest in nearly 300 years, so the depression will be correspondingly deep,” Prechter said.

The International Money Changers Reward the Euro for Forcing Austerity Activist Post | The growing noise for “solutions” to America’s very real debt problems is becoming louder as the calls for confiscating Social Security and Pensions are now everyday news.

Wall St falls after weak outlooks drag (Reuters) U.S. stocks sagged in volatile trading on Thursday after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy.

US Treasury is running on fumes The White House is screaming like a stuck pig. WikiLeaks’ release of the Afghan War Documents “puts the lives of our soldiers and our coalition partners at risk.”

Trillions for Wall Street Mike Whitney | The bottom line? When Wall Street is hurting, money’s never a problem.

Look What Surprises They Snuck Into The Financial Reform Bill The Economic Collapse | The financial reform bill was supposed to “fix” Wall Street and the financial system, but it did not do much of anything. Even just a decade ago, major pieces of legislation in the U.S. Congress would be just a few dozen pages long. But today, it seems like every time Congress passes an important bill it ends up being over a thousand pages long.

Cash-starved California orders unpaid leave for workers California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal state of emergency Wednesday, requiring most state employees to take three days of unpaid leave per month until a new budget is enacted.

The Obama Administration Tries To Propagandize Its Way To An Economic Recovery Yesterday we noted how, absurdly, The White House blog was trumpeting a new cheap housing program as part of its recovery efforts.

Fed says some districts report slowing economy (Reuters)

Flaws of the European Stress Test … 'Bank stress test' became the magic phrase. Nothing calms fear like a stress test that's labeled as rigorous. The stress test raises a few very obvious questions: 1) Will it work? 2) Why was it needed in addition to a $1 trillion aid package? 3) Is the stress test just a gimmick to appease investors? The stress test is conducted by the London-based Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS). Ironically, the test has ignored the majority of banks' holdings of sovereign debt. Sovereign debt concerns by the so-called PIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) triggered the latest wave of financial problems. Ignoring sovereign debt in the Euro stress test would be like ignoring toxic real estate assets in the U.S. 10% Good - 90% Bad According to a Morgan Stanley survey, European banks hold about 90% of their Greek government bonds in their banking books and 10% in their trading books. The bonds in the banking book are generally held until maturity, the bonds in the trading book are traded more frequently. According to a document obtained by Bloomberg, the stress test assumes a loss of 23.1% on Greek debt, 14% on Portuguese bonds, 12.3% on Spanish debt, 4.7% on German debt, 10% on U.K. debt, and 5.9% on French debt. However, the stress test only looks at the bonds held in banks' trading books, which account for a mere 10% of Greek bond holdings. Can that be called a stress test? Nouriel Roubini says that 'the assumptions made about economic growth, about sovereign risk are not realistic enough.' The fact that only seven banks failed the test with a combined shortfall of $4.5 billion confirms the lax nature of the test. … The U.S. Bank Stress Test - A Nice Façade A closer look under the hood of the U.S. bank stress test, however, shows that there's not much substance behind the facade either. It was determined that the 19 tested U.S. banks need to increase their balance sheets by $75 billion to meet the conditions of what's termed the 'worst case scenario.' To a large extent, the $75 billion of additional capital was financially engineered. Banks didn't have to actually raise $75 billion. They were able to change the label of some of their assets on their balance sheets. The government supported this practice via mandatory convertible preferred shares (detailed analysis in May 2009 issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter) …’

SEC Says New FinReg Law Exempts It From Public Disclosure So much for transparency.

Regulatory Magic President Obama has signed the financial industry regulatory overhaul — officially, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Predictably, what he said about it cannot possibly be true.

Jim Rogers Calls CNBC A Market PR Agency Whose Sole Purpose Is To Make Stocks Go Higher A “cheeky” Jim Rogers appeared earlier on CNBC Europe (which incidentally is orders of magnitude better than its US equivalent), and confirmed the depths to which the once relevant and informative TV station has now fallen.

Flashback: Bush report: Sending jobs overseas helps U.S. The movement of American factory jobs and white-collar work to other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S. economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation, the Bush administration said yesterday.

Smoking Guns of U.S. Treasury Monetization Kitco | A significant feature of fiat money systems is the privilege for the custodian of the reserve currency to engage in regular practices of ham-fisted monetary management.

Banking Disaster Largely Ignored By Mainstream Media Greg Hunter | It is amazing to me how little time the mainstream media is spending on this unfolding financial disaster and how much time it is devoting to things like Mel Gibson’s domestic problems.

Moody's: Regional banks on review for downgrade (AP)

Consumer confidence dims (Reuters) Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months, underscoring the precarious state of econo...

Global steelmakers paint gloomy picture (Reuters)

State budget gaps total $84 billion: study

Another Recession Due Circa 2012: Jim Rogers A new recession would be due around 2012 but central banks will not be able to throw cash at it anymore, Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC Tuesday.

Marc Faber: Relax, This Will Hurt A Lot Marc Faber closed out this week’s Agora Financial Symposium with a speech that pretty much recapitulated the view that the end of the world is if not nigh, then surely tremendous dislocations to the existing socio-political and economic landscape are about to take place (with some very dire consequences for the US).

The Continuing Crisis in the New World Order LewRockwell.com | The crisis continues in the new world financial order with no end in sight and no real solution being put forth.

China Calls Our Bluff: “The US is Insolvent and Faces Bankruptcy as a Pure Debtor Nation but [U.S.] Rating Agencies Still Give it High Rankings” America’s biggest creditor – China – has called our bluff.

US bank failures in 2010 surpass 100 WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. bank failures this year have surpassed a bleak milestone of 100 as regulators shut down banks in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Kansas, Nevada and Minnesota. The six bank seizures announced Friday bring to 102 the failures so far in 2010. The pace of bank closures this year is well ahead of that of last year, which saw a total 140 bank shuttered amid the recession and mounting loan defaults …

On the Disconnect Between the Market and the Economy Michael Shulman:

• The index of leading economic indicators fell 0.2% in June, the second drop in three months. A negative surprise.

• Unemployment claims rose to 464,000, more than expected.

• Uncle Ben said we are facing a period of “unusual uncertainty.” No kidding.

• Uncle Ben said we need continuing stimulus to a Congress unwilling to stimulate anyone or anything other than lobbyists with cash to contribute.

• Home sales fell 5.1% in June…’

(No recession helicopter ben) Bernanke Admits Major Policy Failures; Stocks Soar Darryl Montgomery What's wrong with this picture? In his bi-annual testimony before Congress yesterday, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke admitted that after more than a year and a half of zero interest rates and $3 trillion in federal deficit spending since 2008, the best case scenario for the U.S. economy is slow growth and high unemployment. The S&P 500 is up 2.5% so far this morning on this 'good' news. Bernanke's congressional testimony included the following statements (emphasis added by me):

"Most [FOMC] participants viewed uncertainty about the outlook for growth and unemployment as greater than normal, and the majority saw [at the June Fed meeting] the risks to growth as weighted to the downside."

"Financial conditions--though much improved since the depth of the financial crisis--have become less supportive of economic growth in recent months."

"Many banks continue to have a large volume of troubled loans on their books, and bank lending standards remain tight. With credit demand weak and with banks writing down problem credits, bank loans outstanding have continued to contract."

"After two years of job losses, private payrolls expanded at an average of about 100,000 per month during the first half of this year, a pace insufficient to reduce the unemployment rate materially. In all likelihood, a significant amount of time will be required to restore the nearly 8-1/2 million jobs that were lost over 2008 and 2009."…

Serious Analysis has given rise to a realistically mocking view of the current fraud on wall street:

The Markets & The 'Teen Drama Economy' Jonathan Cheng If the market’s mood swings these days are reminding you of high school, you’re not alone ...

Capital Controls: The Final Phase in the Great Looting of America Eric Blair | Capital controls are the next big event in the government-banking-oligarchy’s great looting of America.

Historic Voter Volatility in This Year of Fear It’s becoming increasingly clear that Americans aren’t simply in the midst of hard times. They are in the midst of one of the most volatile political environments since World War II.

Pat Tillman’s Father To Army Investigator: ‘F— You… And Yours’ There always was a dark cinematic thread to the story of Pat Tillman: the football star imbued with post-9/11 patriotism who was killed in a friendly-fire incident in the Afghan mountains and the allegations of a massive bureaucratic cover-up involving the highest levels of the U.S. Army in the wake of the tragedy.

Petraeus wants more time in Afghanistan Foreign Policy | ISAF commander Gen. David Petraeus and other military officers are publicly and privately pushing to limit troop reductions starting in July 2011.

Pat Tillman’s Father To Army Investigator: ‘F– You… And Yours’ Huffington Post | The Weinstein Company sent the Huffington Post two previously unseen letters written by Tillman’s father at the peak of frustration with the army’s investigation into his son’s death.

Military Industrial Complex: Of 158 retired generals advising wars, 80% tied to defense industry; 29 are defense CEOs USA Today | Of the 158 retired generals and admirals identified as mentors, 80% had financial ties to defense contractor; 29 were company executives.

Cybersecurity Lie Exposed: Power Plants Are Not Connected To The Internet Senator Joe Lieberman’s draconian Internet takeover legislation, the 197-page Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, is being promoted as a vital tool to protect vulnerable infrastructure hubs from terrorist attacks, but as a recent Wall Street Journal report makes clear, large industrial power and water plants are not even connected to the public Internet.

Vegetable zionist Zelig joe lieberman’s Model For America: Purging The Internet of Dissent When political Zelig joe lieberman attempted to justify draconian legislation that would provide President Obama with a figurative kill switch to shut down parts of the Internet, he cited the Chinese system of Internet policing as model which america should move towards

Obama Approval Rating Revisits Rock Bottom Despite Positive Media Spin Despite positive corporate media spin amidst a cacophony of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, Barack Obama’s approval rating matched its record low today according to Rasmussen Reports.

Bailouts Went To Foreign Banks: Congressional Report Confirms What We Already Knew A Congressional Oversight Panel issued today highlights the fact that large portions of the Treasury’s $700 billion bailout fund have gone straight into the coffers of foreign banks, a fact that we knew months ago, but is only now being officially recognised.

Activists Take On Fluoridated Water in Wichita Concerned citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed that city’s public officials about a poster campaign designed to inform the public about the health hazards of water fluorination.

Illegal Immigrants Account for 8% of U.S. Newborns, Study Shows As many as 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the U.S. in 2008 had at least one parent who was an illegal immigrant, according to a Pew Hispanic Center study of Census Bureau data.

Fed Leads America “To The Brink Of Collapse” When even the New York Times and CNN are admitting that the United States faces not only a double-dip recession but potentially a new great depression, any alarm bells that have not been rung should now be sounding loudly.

Anderson Cooper Apologizes For Media Complicity In Tillman Cover-Up Interview with Pat Tillman’s father about new documentary exposing how the government with help from the media used Pat Tillman’s death to promote the war.

Marc Faber: Protect Your Property with High Voltage Fences, Barbed Wire, Booby Traps, Military Weapons and Dobermans Investment guru and publisher of The Gloom, Boom and Doom report, Marc Faber, regularly discusses investment strategies for protecting and building wealth during times of economic distress.

Infowars.com Poll: Attack On Iran Imminent Kurt Nimmo | Nearly 60% of respondents to an Infowars.com poll believe the U.S and Israel will attack Iran in the near future.

Activists Take On Fluoridated Water in Wichita Infowars.com | Concerned citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed that city’s public officials about a poster campaign designed to inform the public about the health hazards of water fluorination.

Fed Leads America “To The Brink Of Collapse” Paul Joseph Watson | Bernanke announcement that central bank will buy US debt marks point of no return.

15 Economic Statistics That Just Keep Getting Worse The Economic Collapse | Anyone who claims that things are getting “better” is either ignorant, completely deluded or is purposely lying.

Economy Teeters On The Brink and Market Manipulation Continues Bob Chapman | It’s just the same old, same old, business as usual in America.

Google and Verizon DID do a deal for new internet ‘first class’ superhighway Technology giants Google and Verizon have today paved the way for a future ‘two-tier’ internet in which companies can pay extra to make sure their services get through. Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

Iran Retaliates Against Sanctions: To Drop All Trade In “Filthy” Euro, Dollar Yet another step in the escalation between Iran and the US came earlier today.

The Cycle of Violence in Afghanistan Last week the National Bureau of Economic Research published a report on the effect of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq that confirmed what critics of our foreign policy have been saying for years: the killing of civilians, although unintentional, angers other civilians and prompts them to seek revenge. This should be self-evident.

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.

Street Action: Poison In Tap Water Fliers Went out on a beautiful Saturday after noon in Edmonton Alberta posting more fliers, posters etc. had a great time had a few people harass me but nothing big. Just gave me motivation to do more!! Resistance is Victory. Never Forget that.!!

Wheat Crisis Threatens Inflationary Timebomb, Food Riots Russia’s ban on wheat exports following widespread fires in the country sent food prices skyrocketing by 19 per cent in just a single week as fears grow that global volatility in foodstuffs and commodities could lead to a worldwide inflationary timebomb accompanied by widespread food riots.

The Obama presidency increasingly resembles a modern-day Ancien Régime: extravagant and out of touch with the American people What the great French historian Alexis de Tocqueville would make of today’s Obama administration were he alive today is anyone’s guess.

The Coming Collapse of The U.S. Political Establishment The last U.S. puppet regime to fall will be. . . the puppet regime in the White House.

Afghan war ‘kills 1,325 civilians this year’ More than 1,300 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year, mostly by Taliban insurgents, a leading Afghan rights group said Sunday.

Recession in U.S. Even Worse Than Estimated, Revisions Show The worst U.S. recession since the 1930s was even deeper than previously estimated, reflecting bigger slumps in consumer spending and housing, according to revised figures.

Iran Unveils New Submarines and Makes More Persian Gulf Warnings Iran announced the addition of four new submarines to its fleet Sunday, saying the Iranian-manufactured vessels to be deployed in the Persian Gulf have sonar-evading technology and can launch torpedoes and missiles simultaneously.

Pentagon can’t account for $8.57 billion in Iraqi funds B is for billions. And b is for it’s hard to believe that they’ve done it again. The last time, even more money vanished, which I noted in my article, Following Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11. This was under the Zionist Dov Zakheim’s watch as Comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to March 10, 2004.

Fidel Castro: Obama can avert impending nuclear holocaust Miami Herald | If Obama approves an attack on Iran, war will spread through the Middle East and Asia and cause hundreds of millions of deaths, Castro warned.

Who poses the real threat to the Internet? A new opinion piece on CNN.com argues that it’s the government, not the companies providing internet access, that is the real danger to free speech and the internet. [I personally have found more often and prospectively problematic is that said government / company distinction is one without a difference when the government flexes muscle, particularly with leverage as ie., to non-performing monopolist microsoft, nsa/cia partner google (to a lesser extent at this juncture), cnn/timewarner cable (incompetence also a factor), fedex, etc.].

Wow! Talk about stretchin’ it! Alleged by black shooter: prejudice displayed by company as they fired thornton for stealing / selling the company’s beer he was supposed to be delivering … The ultimate race card … Riiiiight! You can’t make this stuff up! Fatal Shootings Reponse: 'No One Died After Police Arrived On Scene' Hartford Courant - As police on Friday concluded their on-scene investigation into Tuesday's mass killing at Hartford Distributors, they also began evaluating their response to the tragedy. Police arrest woman they say accepted beer from Connecticut shooter CNN Omar Thornton 911 Call: "I Wish I Could Have Got More of the People" CBS News

Voters Reject Notion That “Government Can Do Anything It Likes” A Rasmussen poll indicates that an overwhelming eighty-six percent (86%) of voters nationwide say there should be “limits on what the federal government can do”, in response to recent comments from pro-Obamacare Congressman Pete Stark.

Swine Flu Investigator Jane Bürgermeister Faces Prison Now that there is verifiable, unambiguous evidence that the Austrian government and state prosecutors have faked criminal charges to provide a pretext to arrest and detain me, I am going to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.

U.S. Employers Shed Jobs The U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.

Gold Surges To Three Week High As Dollar Tanks Gold prices have surged to to three week highs as the stock market and the U.S. economy continue to flounder, leaving investors seeking a safe haven in hard assets.

Globalists Race To Enforce Criminal Carbon Tax Despite the failure of last year’s Copenhagen climate summit, the United Nations is pushing ahead for a global carbon tax that will bankroll the expansion of world government as globalists attempt to make Americans pay for the evisceration of their own sovereinty and future prosperity.

Poison Tap Water Exposed As Soft Kill Weapon Water fluoridation has come to refer to the addition of over 40 chemicals into the water supply that synergistically come together to wreak havoc on the body and its processes.

Fluoride Truth on Australian TV – Fluoride Retards the Brain TV NEWS show exposes Fluoride for what it is – poison!

Poison Tap Water Makes Number 1 Google Search Poison tap water has become the number one trending search term on Google trends today after our efforts to bring attention to how sodium fluoride in tap water is a deadly health threat went viral.

Sodium Fluoride: Poison In The Tap Water Alex Jones is launching a new campaign to inform the public about the toxic chemical fluoride being added to tap water across the country. While EPA scientists and workers are calling for an end to water fluoridation, the government is doing everything in its power to continue and even increase the amount of toxic chemicals being added to public water supplies.

Naked Body Scanners: Monumental Cover Up Exposed At the height of the furor over airport body scanners earlier this year, the TSA publicly stated that it was not possible to store, record, transmit or print out the images that show in detail the naked bodies of men, women and children that have passed through them. At the time we presented evidence to the contrary. Now it has been conclusively proven that the TSA and other federal agencies using the scanners flat out lied to an unwitting public.

Material girl Michelle Obama is a modern-day Marie Antoinette on a glitzy Spanish vacation NY Daily News | But while most of the country is pinching pennies and downsizing summer sojourns – or forgoing them altogether – the Obamas don’t seem to be heeding their own advice.

SEC Probes BP Potential Insider Trading: Sources Reuters | U.S. securities regulators are investigating whether people may have illegally profited from trading on nonpublic information at BP in the weeks following the disastrous Gulf oil spill.

Rockefeller Foundation Developed Vaccines For “Mass-Scale” Fertility Reduction In its 1968 yearly report, the Rockefeller Foundation acknowledged funding the development of so-called “anti-fertility vaccines”

The Psychology of Conspiracy Denial Wired Magazine writer Jonah Lehrer attempts to offset the overwhelmingly critical response to his attack on Alex Jones by characterizing skepticism of authority in the context of vaccines and mass medication as a psychological dysfunction, despite the fact that the history of government-funded medical research in the United States is replete with examples of scientific abuse against unwitting victims.

Enemy hyped assassination: Iran pres. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejects reports about an assassination attempt on his life in Hamadan Province as a plot hatched by the enemies.

China Holds More Military Exercises Amid Tensions With U.S. Chinese armed forces on Thursday continued a second set of back-to-back exercises, underscoring expanding capabilities and ambitions that have prompted unease among top U.S. military officers. That unease has been exacerbated by Beijing’s freezing of military-to-military ties.

Preparing for World War III, Targeting Iran Humanity is at a dangerous crossroads. War preparations to attack Iran are in “an advanced state of readiness”. Hi tech weapons systems including nuclear warheads are fully deployed.

Pentagon tells WikiLeaks: "Do right thing" (Reuters) [Great advice … if only the endless war, military complex based pentagon could take it!] The Pentagon demanded on Thursday that whistle-blower web site WikiLeaks immediately hand over about 15,000 secret Afghan war records it had not yet published and erase material it had alrea…

US faces deadliest month in Afghan war With 63 US service members killed, July has become the deadliest month for American forces stationed in war-torn Afghanistan.

Google and CIA Plough Millions Into Huge ‘Recorded Future’ Monitoring Project Google’s cosy relationship with the U.S. spy network has once again been thrust into the spotlight as the company is reported to have jointly invested with the CIA in an Internet monitoring project that scours Twitter accounts, blogs and websites for all sorts of information, and can also “predict the future”.

Google and CIA Fund Political Precrime Technology More evidence has emerged revealing Google’s spook connections. Noah Shachtman, writing for Wired, details how the CIA’s technology investment operation, In-Q-Tel, and Google are supporting a company that monitors the web in real time.

President Obama calls African-Americans a ‘mongrel people’ President Obama waded into the national race debate in an unlikely setting and with an unusual choice of words: telling daytime talk show hosts that African-Americans are “sort of a mongrel people.”

White House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual’s Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation.

Google and CIA Plough Millions Into Huge ‘Recorded Future’ Monitoring Project Steve Watson | Search Company’s ties to spy agency in spotlight again over real time Internet monitoring.

Google and CIA Fund Political Precrime Technology Kurt Nimmo | Google is complicit in the concerted effort to build a huge surveillance and control grid.

Source of leaked military docs unknown: WikiLeaks While the United States is trying to hunt for the individual behind the massive leak of US military data on Afghanistan war, the whistleblowers’ website, that made the 91,000 classified documents available to the world, has said that the source of leak is unknown.

Document leak part of U.S. plot, says Pakistani ex-general with ties to Taliban From the deluge of leaked military documents published Sunday, a former Pakistani spy chief emerged as a chilling personification of his nation’s alleged duplicity in the Afghan war — an erstwhile U.S. ally turned Taliban tutor.

Leaked files indicate U.S. pays Afghan media to run friendly stories Buried among the 92,000 classified documents released Sunday by WikiLeaks is some intriguing evidence that the U.S. military in Afghanistan has adopted a PR strategy that got it into trouble in Iraq: paying local media outlets to run friendly stories.

World Net Daily (I found them to be a less than credible israeli / bush aministration shill at best and haven’t even looked at said site in many years) writer says Fluoride is good for you. An open letter to Phil Elmore Rob Dew / Kurt Nimmo | The only winners are the aluminum and fertilizer industries that work hand in hand with public water works to send toxic waste into the homes of millions across our country.

Congress extends war funding for Afghanistan Baltimore Co. Independent Examiner | Congress voted to extend funding for the war in Afghanistan by an additional $59 billion late on Tuesday.

Kucinich: 92,000 reasons to end the wars AFP | US lawmakers opposed to the Afghan war, emboldened by a huge leak of military files on the conflict, pushed Tuesday for pulling US forces from Pakistan.

Infowars.com Poll: Majority Believe Road Warrior Depression Coming Kurt Nimmo | Like the Great Depression, the Greatest Depression now being scientifically created has a specific agenda in mind.

On the Bloated Intelligence Bureaucracy

Disappearing Act: $8.7 Billion of Iraq Development Money Missing Kurt Nimmo | Government says it is all the fault of shoddy accounting practices.

Ahmadinejad: US Expansion Of War In Middle East Imminent Steve Watson | Tensions rise with saber rattling rhetoric.

David Cameron: Israeli blockade has turned Gaza Strip into a ‘prison camp’ David Cameron used a visit to Turkey to make his strongest intervention yet in the intractable Middle East conflict today when he likened the experience of Palestinians in the blockadedGaza Strip to that of a “prison camp”.

Iran accuses US and UK of supporting group behind mosque attacks Iran is vowing to hunt down a Sunni separatist group which claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing that killed 28 people at a mosque in the south-eastern city of Zahedan.

US, NATO behind Iran bombings: MP An Iranian lawmaker slams the recent bombings in the country’s southeast as a plot by Western military forces in the Middle East to spread terror on Iran’s borders.

WASHPOST Ombudsman: Why Silence on Black Panther Story? (Washington Post) ‘Thursday's Post reported about a growing controversy over the Justice Department's decision to scale down a voter-intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party. The story succinctly summarized the issues but left many readers with a question: What took you so long? For months, readers have contacted the ombudsman wondering why The Post hasn't been covering the case. The calls increased recently after competitors such as the New York Times and the Associated Press wrote stories. Fox News and right-wing bloggers have been pumping the story. Liberal bloggers have countered, accusing them of trying to manufacture a scandal. But The Post has been virtually silent. The story has its origins on Election Day in 2008, when two members of the New Black Panther Party stood in front of a Philadelphia polling place. YouTube video of the men, now viewed nearly 1.5 million times, shows both wearing paramilitary clothing. One carried a nightstick…’

Latino KKK: You are too white to be American! ALIPAC | Tan Klan woman can scream racist comments because the Obama administration and most of the major news networks in America have her back.

‘West, israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated “the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.

De-classified Vietnam-era Transcripts Show Senators Knew Gulf Of Tonkin Was A Staged False Flag Event Over 1,100 pages of previously classified Vietnam-era transcripts released this week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee highlight the fact that several Senators knew that the White House and the Pentagon had deceived the American people over the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Afghans march in Kabul to denounce NATO strikes that killed civilians:  Demonstrators shout anti-American slogans, denounce NATO strikes (Washington Post ) Sounds like a plan! Almost surreal was the appearance of gates on failed network ‘news’ show to shill the non-strategy of draw down (of troops) linked to success. What success? Just being there and every day they’re there is unequivocally abject failure. Celebritology Weekend: Angelina Jolie biography arrives; Heidi Montag files for divorce (Washington Post ) I usually don’t weigh in on entertainment news, but this headline concerning what appears to be a disparaging, and quite selectively so, purported biography of Angelina Jolie is very disheartening when you consider the numerous instances of failed leadership at nearly all very high levels of government having so detrimental an impact on the world, that morton deems his time appropriate to an actress who has actually tried to do good things (U.N., etc.) without having to. Indeed, even her latest film ‘Salt’ (spectacular by any standard as is her performance – there are at least 2 winning sequels there with 4 the max and stretching it owing to age – she puts all, and I mean all the ‘Bonds’ to shame) had an important message in terms of the damage to this nation by a seemingly endless, nation-bankrupting, anti-american (war criminal israelis already, and quite correctly, globally hated) sentiment producing war strategy that is neither strategy nor reasonably consistent with any positive american goal / objective; but rather is such a debacle and folly that the same could very well be one that only an enemy of defacto bankrupt america could hatch and for the reasoning set forth in the well-written / directed film. She astutely observed and talked about the synchronicity of the film as juxtaposed to recent events revealing that she is wiser than most in Washington.

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It Zach Carter | Wachovia was moving money behind literally tons of cocaine from violent drug cartels. It wasn’t an accident.

Down in the Dumps Street: Dave's Daily Wall Street now Dump Street.

Options Action: Bearish Bet on the Market ‘During tumultuous times you want to protect your portfolio but how should you do it? Brian Stutland has a strategy using the S&P ETF He suggests selling a call against a long position.

[$$] Prepping for a Data-Filled Friday [Writing covered calls is an interesting, conservative financial strategy that certainly can enhance overall return, but as well, limit upside potential / capital gains … which in this market is ‘no problemo’ whatsoever, reality considered ]‘There were several folks out this morning yelling to buy the dip (Jim Cramer was one of them), and traders who followed that advice did pretty well. Rather than buying the dip, I used the initial drop to escape some positions I thought were going to expire worthless, then I used the bounce to lighten up more. Bears were able to get the SPDR back under the $108.75 to $108.88 area, which I see as key right now. Another Friday and I'm curious to see any impact from the weekly options. Will the big names be stuck right around the strikes where they stand now? Unfortunately, the bigger tech names are closer to their downward strikes than their higher strikes, so that could pressure the market. One name that doesn't seem to care is Baidu. It is right in between the $80 and $85 strike right now, so...’

Jobless claims jump to 5-month high The number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance rose to the highest level since late February last week, according to a weekly government report released Thursday.

Lavish lifestyle for bank executive in Waters case (Washington Post) While this is typical of California, isn’t it as typical of the wall street frauds? Scammin’ everybody with that too big to fail b*** s*** when they’re a net economic drain, high frequency churn-and-earn computer programmed trading scams among the more blatant frauds emanating from their insatiable greed and sense of entitlement. Previous post: Cities, counties could slash 500,000 more jobs (Washington Post) Could? I’d say must. Particularly when you factor in that this election ‘spurt’ leaving the nation even more bankrupt is illusory. I had occasion some time ago in speaking with a long-time California resident (instructor at the college gym where I worked out) to express my surprise at the bloated (municipal, state) high-priced bureaucracy which of course is not productive except as to higher taxes and which is at the forefront in the city of Bell where the city manager was paid nearly $900,000 annually (with benefits the package was an incredible $1,500,000), and specifically mentioned the part-time typical compensation of $100,000 and contracts to interested, even familial, parties. Of course, no one has done this better than feinstein, albeit on a more federal level and China contracts through her husband’s companies, as previously set forth on this website. Drudgereport: 'Where do the bailouts end?'  [I feel compelled to comment here that even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]

On-air use of N-word 'was wrong' (AP) (Washington Post) [The infamous ‘N’ word … the wobama Oedipal effect …] Dr. Laura apologizes for using it on talk radio show with caller she deemed "hypersensitive" to racism.

Bailouts benefited foreign firms (Washington Post) True enough! But, truth be told, the fraud giving rise to the financial debacle was home grown americana. Moreover, the remnants of same are still out there in the trillions, now ‘marked to anything they so choose’, courtesy of a complicit, albeit after the fact, congress. This is the point … rather than as should have been the case of making the perps pay, the bailouts / cover-ups by now enablers if not accomplices is ending quite badly with much worse to come, and that includes those european lightweights who have come into the fraudulent wall street fold to theirs and the world’s economic and financial detriment.

U.S. trade deficit startles markets (Washington Post) [ Unexpectedly? I don’t think so! And, I have my site, other references / links and posts to prove it; and, what’s more, I’m not alone. After all, what are NAFTAs for anyway. However, I also must candidly admit I don’t frequent the mainstream blather / propaganda that includes the ‘money-honeys’ (when the messenger’s more important than the message, problems and distortions are bound to follow) and their ilk, etc.. NBR’s about it and even they have their pressures (I don’t consider the Washington Post mainstream in the pejorative sense of the word, with a rich journalistic history to back that up, all things considered) ]. Unexpectedly bad news from three continents reinforces fears that global recovery is faltering.

Obama signs $26 billion jobs bill (WP)   [I feel compelled to comment here that even using capital hill math one would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! I think the former Soviet Union would have done the same.]

Fed action signals new activism (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! The activist fed! That’s all we need. As if we needed more of what brought us to this point! Certainly the fed’s role in the continuing and current financial crisis / debacle cannot be ignored or disputed. Nothing like a hegelian methodology to create the very problems for which they are called upon to offer solutions, increasing their sense of importance, and concentrating power thereby. (Think about it. It is really rather quite absurd that each meeting time the financial markets hold their bated breath for these incompetent boobs). Then there’s the cover-up with an opportunity for enrichment of some, usually the tight-lipped yes-men then ever after and forever bonded in what becomes tantamount to an almost fraternal link by ‘virtue’ of the crime thereby. No, I’m not saying their initial missteps were necessarily badly intended, but the manipulations thereafter to obfuscate their incompetence (senile greenspun, no-recession-helicopter-ben, etc.) comes at a great price and is nothing less than tantamount to or just outright crime. I’d abolish the fed without hesitation or compunction. After all, at this point of decline and defacto bankruptcy of the nation you certainly can’t point to success nor argue their indispensability. Then there’s also the missing trillions, over-printing of fiat currency, and all that sub rosa activity with the worthless fraudulent toxic paper which I believe is being supplanted with ultimately hard currency to the great benefit of the frauds and great detriment to the nation.]

Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

Resistance on Gaza flotilla came as surprise (Washington Post, 8-12-10) Oh, please! Spare me the b*** s***! You’re hurting my ears and eyes! There’s no excuse for what are typical militant, belligerent, provocative, war criminal israeli actions, to america’s and the world’s detriment. For one to buy into the typical israeli line they’d have to be deaf, dumb, and blind; and particularly, self-destructively foolish. It’s sadly always the same old story with the bloodthirsty israelis, with the few exceptions, bright lights as they were, ie., Christ, Rabin, etc., meeting the same bloody and dismal fate.

Netanyahu: Raid on aid flotilla was 'last resort' after talks failed (Washington Post) Come on! Isn’t everyone tired of the israeli b*** s*** of contriving circumstances to sabotage resolution, then having everyone pay the price for their intransigence and militancy (they have illegal nukes, commit war crimes, etc.). Then there’s the everyone play dumb in light thereof; and, defacto bankrupt america, et als, have been very dumb which is not lost on the rest of the world. Time for tough action against war criminal nation, international law / u.s. resolution violator israel.

Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

San Francisco Fed: “A Recessionary Relapse Is A Significant Possibility Sometime In The Next Two Years” [ Picture the fed as a pseudo ninja with fancy foreplay / motions getting decked / ‘koed’ with a simple right-hook to the jaw by the antagonist named reality. All this finagling, manipulation, fiat currency over-printing, and nation bankrupting debt, and … nothing / nada / ‘growth ‘ estimates revised downward, unemployment unabated since economic reality figures somewhat in hiring to say the least, and jobs transferred overseas ain’t comin’ back. Quite simply, this is a depression no matter what they call it! ] Presented without commentary, suffice to say that idiots who look at the LEI and factor for the curve inversion subindicator deserve all they get.

Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary depression.

Democrats, Advocacy Groups Blast Cuts to Food Stamps to Fund $26B Aid Bill Some Democrats are upset and advocacy groups are outraged over the raiding of the food-stamp cupboard to fund a state-aid bailout that some call a gift to teachers and government union workers.

15 Economic Statistics That Just Keep Getting Worse A little over a week ago, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner penned an article for the New York Times entitled “Welcome To The Recovery” in which he touted the great strides that the U.S. economy was making.

America Is ‘Bankrupt Mickey Mouse Economy’: CIO America is a “Mickey Mouse economy” that is technically bankrupt, according to Jochen Wermuth, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and managing partner at Wermuth Asset Management.

Riiiiight! That ‘no-longer looking’ dynamic that saves the day and the ue rate at 9.5%. At this rate of progress, and according to their thinking and manipulations, full employment at an unprecedented 0% unemployment is just around the corner as everyone stops looking for the jobs no longer here, many of which were sent overseas and which are not coming back owing to substantial economic structural / financial shifts.

Jobs Report: Companies Slow to Hire ABC News - Only about 8 percent of the 8.4 million jobs lost at the peak of the recession have been recovered, leaving millions of Americans still looking for work, according to an analysis by ABC News' Business Unit. Video:  News Update: US Unemployment Rate Holds at 9.5%, 71,000 Jobs Added in June SmarTrend News 71K more jobs not enough to dent unemployment rate The Associated Press

When perusing the headlines and the following, I immediately thought ‘between Iraq and a hard place (Afghanistan and america’s defacto bankruptcy)’:

Between a Rock and a Hard Place Jerry Slusiewicz ‘Everyone knows that being between a rock and a hard place is not a good place to be. That is where the market is right now. We continue to have terrible news in the housing sector. There is no general economic recovery as of yet. Jobless claims continue to mount, while net new jobs are not being created in a significant enough number to even sustain the population growth (approximately 150,000 net new jobs per month needed). By far the majority of economic reports for May, June, July, and now August, have been worse than forecast. That includes home starts, home sales, home-builder confidence, retail sales, auto sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders, manufacturing, jobs, etc. Yet the market rallies or barely goes down on these bad reports. What gives? It seems that bad news is good news right now…

Social Security in the red this year Washington Times | Meanwhile President Obama’s health care overhaul has given Medicare’s basic Hospital Insurance an extra 12 years of financial stability, though it did not solve all of the program’s long-term challenges.

U.S. Employers Shed Jobs WSJ | he U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.

Impoverished U.S. City Will Close Libraries Mob infested, pervasively corrupt jersey’s most impoverished city will close all three branches of its public library at year’s end unless a rescue can be pulled off. Camden’s library board says the libraries won’t be able to afford to stay open past Dec. 31 because of budget cuts from the city government. The city had its subsidy from the state cut.

Dollar approaches 15-year low against yen The dollar plunged to a fresh eight-month low against the yen after US employment data disappointed expectations, raising the prospect of looser monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

IRS To Withhold Indicator That Shows Refunds Owed To Taxpayers Think of all the budget savings from the ever increasing lack of transparency.

Visualize Your State’s Financial Collapse Better Than Ever Just because wishing away local and state financial collapse doesn’t work quite as well as it does at the Federal level (courtesy of everyone’s favorite printer genie), attached is a terrific interactive chart.

Stepping Aside Because I Can Always Buy Back In Leigh Drogen ‘I sold out of everything this morning, for a few reasons…First, breakouts don’t always work and momentum stocks have a habit of ending their trends abruptly.
Second, …I can buy back in this afternoon if I change my mind (not likely). I see more risk to the downside here than I do to the upside. …Third, the jobs number tomorrow scares me. No, it doesn’t matter what the number is, we all know it’s going to be bad, what matters is how the market reacts, and I have the feel it’s not going to be good. Fourth, many of my oscillators are overbought here.Fifth, and finally, I don’t like the fact that this rally has primarily taken place on the back of the most beaten down sectors. …It all just doesn’t pass the smell test for me. I’ve been successful at this not because I’m always right, but because I know when I’m wrong and I’m willing to change course or step aside. Right now, I’ll step aside.’

Were Unemployment Claims Really So 'Unexpected'?

Food stamp use hit record 40.8m in May The number of Americans who are receiving food stamps rose to a record 40.8 million in May as the jobless rate hovered near a 27-year high, the government reported yesterday.

Journalists Still Hiding Obama’s Broken Promises on Jobs On Aug. 6, everyone’s attention will be fixed on the release of July’s unemployment numbers. The national unemployment rate is forecast to increase to 9.6 percent, according to Bloomberg News’ survey.

Gold Alternative To Debt and Market Manipulation The Keynesians are on the edge of implementing more quantitative easing (QE) as we predicted they would.

11 Reasons Why The Federal Reserve Is Bad Millions of Americans are waking up to the fact that the Federal Reserve is bad, but very few of them can coherently explain why this is true.

WE’RE UNDERESTIMATING THE BEARISH POTENTIAL Simon Maierhofer, August 3, 2010
’… Will Anything Stop the Market? Something Did
… At the same time, the April numbers were lowered the second time by an additional 24,000 units, while May sales were revised lower by 33,000 units. To summarize, April and May sales were reduced by 57,000 units. Therefore, June sales were 24% above May sales. By the way, May sales were the lowest on record…

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as more people enter the labor force.

China Officially Enters The Gold Market: Full Release Of PBoC’s Plan To Expand And Develop China’s Gold Infrastructure The moment many gold bulls have been waiting for – the Chinese Central Bank has just released a directive informing everyone it is commencing the development of a healthy gold market.

The Dollar Continues To Fall Like A Knife, As Euro Breaks Well Above $1.32 Another violent change of direction from what we’ve come to expect from the euro and the dollar.

22 Statistics About America’s Coming Pension Crisis That Will Make You Lose Sleep At Night As the first of the 80 million Baby Boomers have begun to retire, it has become increasingly apparent that the United States is facing a pension crisis of unprecedented magnitude.

Americans who swap passports London Telegraph | At the US Embassy in London, there is a waiting list that none of the officials likes to discuss. At the US Embassy in London, there is a waiting list that none of the officials likes to discuss. On the list are Americans hoping to give up their citizenship… (sure sign of insanity … I mean, Orwellian england of all places?)

Temporary Firehouse Closures Begin In Philadelphia CBS 3 | The city of Philadelphia has started temporarily closing fire stations in order to balance its budget.

Layoffs to gut East St. Louis police force St. Louis Dispatch | East St. Louis will layoff 37 employees, including 19 of its 62 police officers.

Come on! Who are they kidding? All the data was bad, and that ‘not bad as expected dog don’t hunt anymore’!

They’re losing their minds in china:
Silicon Alley Insider: ‘… The first big economic news of the week was the Chinese PMI which indicated that Chinese manufacturing was inching ever closer to contraction. But contrary to the expectations of some, it did not spook investors. In fact, Asia had a very big night, with Shanghai gaining about 1.3% …’;

europe:
the basket-case eu economy, with obfuscation taken directly out of the fraudulent wall street playbook including fake stress tests, saw air ball stock rally based on earnings data long ago discounted;

u.s.:
We already know they’re criminally insane on wall street! Yahoo: ‘…The mood improved further still after the ISM Manufacturing Index for July came in at 55.5. That may have marked a pullback from the 56.2 of June, but it exceeded the 54.2 that had been widely expected ...’

Oh, yeah … there’s also the higher oil prices, ever more worthless Weimar dollar part of the rally, and so on!

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits since there is much worse to come!

Warning Signs Suggest Market Headed for Another Collapse

INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington Post) This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012

Why Must The Media Keep Trotting Out Senile Incompetent greenspun And His Economic Lunacy? …and we continue to talk ourselves off the edge of the cliff. For the second week in a row Meet The Press trotted out the most financially incompetent of the financially incompetent and placed them on their undeserving pedestal.

Key Components Of America’s Military Are Now Dominated By A Chinese Monopoly Most of America’s key military technologies require rare earth elements, whose production China holds a near-monopoly over.

alan greenspan: “The Financial System Is Broke” We will be in deflation until the broke financial system becomes unbroke… and then we will have hyperinflation. [Little bit late to be talkin’ the obvious truth!]

Trying to make August less of a 'dog' with sidewalk sale (Washington Post) Sounds like a new, new plan to deal with the overwhelming success of the panoply of government stimulus / tarp, etc., plans ‘financed’ with money they don’t have and taxpayer ‘largesse’. For those who’ve lived long enough, they’re waiting for the apple carts.

Did TARP work? Two economists say yes. (Washington Post) Come on! What do you expect them to say? They’re invested in that position having supported same despite the massive fraud for prosecution and disgorgement was appropriate. Indeed, moody’s itself has been faulted (liable?) for lax valuation / rating standards which contributed to the debacle. Moreover, these ‘cheerleaders’ can always be counted on to toe the network line which ultimately enables the ubiquitous frauds we’ve seen. Amazingly, senile incompetent greenspun, co-architect / enabler of the fraud / debacle was interviewed and used such words in conjunction as ‘modest recovery, pause, double-dip possible, quasi recession’. What total b***s***!

Are the American people obsolete? Salon | The richest few don’t need the rest of us as markets, soldiers or police anymore. Maybe we should all emigrate.

What's coming this week (Washington Post) How ‘bout last week and the new american economic institution colloquially now known as ‘bank failure Friday’ (the news dump so as to avoid the so-called ‘news cycle’). Then, let’s hope for real rather than election-year market frothing fake / false / manipulated data.

U.S. bank failures total 108 after 5 shut on Friday U.S. bank failures reached 108 so far in 2010 on Friday as regulators seized five small banks in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, none publicly traded.

Foreclosures Continue To Dramatically Increase In 2010 Economic Collapse | RealtyTrac says that unemployment has become the major reason for foreclosures. In a very alarming sign for the U.S. economy, foreclosures have continued to dramatically increase in 2010. But there has been a shift.

U.S. recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips Washington Post | The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work. The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work.

Ron Paul Goes After The SEC’s FOIA Exclusivity, Introduces SEC Transparency Act What is unclear is whether the Ron Paul law prohibts SEC staffers to spend 40 hours per week to browse porn on the taxpayer’s dime.

U.S. recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put americans back to work.

Stocks' Late Push: Some Optimism, Some Pessimism [Late push … as in a constipated bowel movement … Come on! Another one of those push the computer programmed trade button and off we go, reality / valuation / economics be damned. In real security analysis (very simplified / summarized), as opposed to the continued frauds on wall street, one must begin with the largest and most significant aggregate (a simple word picture / analogy: ‘rising tide lifts all boats’). If you get this right, the probabilities in your favor are substantially enhanced. From there, you want leading industries, and leading companies within said leading industries (again, larger aggregates then picks, to enhance probabilities, not guarantees, in your favor). Your time frame, 1-3-5 yrs tops for projections, (including income statement/EPS, balance sheet, and applying an appropriate P/E – a detailed, multi-faceted approach beyond what could be described in this summary); and, that’s all they are, projections. Beyond that time frame, your guess. On fraudulent wall street, every day, though already discounted in large part (6-8 mos, approx.), the market spins, churns, and with lightning fast computerized high-frequency trade programs commissions in huge volumes like no other time in financial history when real valuation meant something, with no net economic value added, but very lucrative to the frauds on wall street, which ultimately is a net detriment to the economy / the nation /and other industries as we’ve seen and as described elsewhere on this site and in these posts http://albertpeia.com . Preposterously, they even sometimes refer to seasonal factors as if hearing them for the first time and ‘explaining’ an up move (almost invariably already discounted). Today, they shrugged off the deepening economic reality despite the election year frothing / manipulations. This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ].

Slowing economic rebound raises unemployment fears (AP) [Wow! Talk about understatements!]

China Becomes Second Biggest World Economy China has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

Hank Paulson Wants To Fix Fannie And Freddie By… Recreating Fannie And Freddie Former Treasury Secretary, Goldman Sachs CEO, and bailout architect Hank Paulson has a bit of a head-scratcher of an op-ed in the Washington Post this evening all about charting a course for sustainable housing policy in the US.

Marc Faber Questions if Dow Could Hit 1,000 In the August edition of the ‘The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report’ Marc Faber questions whether the Dow could hit 1,000 as predicted by Robert Prechter, based on his interpretation of Elliot Waves, Fibonacci numbers and socioeconomic trends. Prechter, who has written 13 books on finance (external link), believes that the stock market is historically overvalued in terms of dividends and earnings, because of a “great rise in positive social mood.” But the mood changed in 2000 and the “trend toward negative social mood will lead to an economic contraction,” according to Prechter. “Small bear markets lead to recessions, big bear markets lead to depressions. The current bear market will be the biggest in nearly 300 years, so the depression will be correspondingly deep,” Prechter said.

The International Money Changers Reward the Euro for Forcing Austerity Activist Post | The growing noise for “solutions” to America’s very real debt problems is becoming louder as the calls for confiscating Social Security and Pensions are now everyday news.

Wall St falls after weak outlooks drag (Reuters) U.S. stocks sagged in volatile trading on Thursday after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy.

US Treasury is running on fumes The White House is screaming like a stuck pig. WikiLeaks’ release of the Afghan War Documents “puts the lives of our soldiers and our coalition partners at risk.”

Trillions for Wall Street Mike Whitney | The bottom line? When Wall Street is hurting, money’s never a problem.

Look What Surprises They Snuck Into The Financial Reform Bill The Economic Collapse | The financial reform bill was supposed to “fix” Wall Street and the financial system, but it did not do much of anything. Even just a decade ago, major pieces of legislation in the U.S. Congress would be just a few dozen pages long. But today, it seems like every time Congress passes an important bill it ends up being over a thousand pages long.

Cash-starved California orders unpaid leave for workers California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal state of emergency Wednesday, requiring most state employees to take three days of unpaid leave per month until a new budget is enacted.

The Obama Administration Tries To Propagandize Its Way To An Economic Recovery Yesterday we noted how, absurdly, The White House blog was trumpeting a new cheap housing program as part of its recovery efforts.

Fed says some districts report slowing economy (Reuters)

Flaws of the European Stress Test … 'Bank stress test' became the magic phrase. Nothing calms fear like a stress test that's labeled as rigorous. The stress test raises a few very obvious questions: 1) Will it work? 2) Why was it needed in addition to a $1 trillion aid package? 3) Is the stress test just a gimmick to appease investors? The stress test is conducted by the London-based Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS). Ironically, the test has ignored the majority of banks' holdings of sovereign debt. Sovereign debt concerns by the so-called PIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) triggered the latest wave of financial problems. Ignoring sovereign debt in the Euro stress test would be like ignoring toxic real estate assets in the U.S. 10% Good - 90% Bad According to a Morgan Stanley survey, European banks hold about 90% of their Greek government bonds in their banking books and 10% in their trading books. The bonds in the banking book are generally held until maturity, the bonds in the trading book are traded more frequently. According to a document obtained by Bloomberg, the stress test assumes a loss of 23.1% on Greek debt, 14% on Portuguese bonds, 12.3% on Spanish debt, 4.7% on German debt, 10% on U.K. debt, and 5.9% on French debt. However, the stress test only looks at the bonds held in banks' trading books, which account for a mere 10% of Greek bond holdings. Can that be called a stress test? Nouriel Roubini says that 'the assumptions made about economic growth, about sovereign risk are not realistic enough.' The fact that only seven banks failed the test with a combined shortfall of $4.5 billion confirms the lax nature of the test. … The U.S. Bank Stress Test - A Nice Façade A closer look under the hood of the U.S. bank stress test, however, shows that there's not much substance behind the facade either. It was determined that the 19 tested U.S. banks need to increase their balance sheets by $75 billion to meet the conditions of what's termed the 'worst case scenario.' To a large extent, the $75 billion of additional capital was financially engineered. Banks didn't have to actually raise $75 billion. They were able to change the label of some of their assets on their balance sheets. The government supported this practice via mandatory convertible preferred shares (detailed analysis in May 2009 issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter) …’

SEC Says New FinReg Law Exempts It From Public Disclosure So much for transparency.

Regulatory Magic President Obama has signed the financial industry regulatory overhaul — officially, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Predictably, what he said about it cannot possibly be true.

Jim Rogers Calls CNBC A Market PR Agency Whose Sole Purpose Is To Make Stocks Go Higher A “cheeky” Jim Rogers appeared earlier on CNBC Europe (which incidentally is orders of magnitude better than its US equivalent), and confirmed the depths to which the once relevant and informative TV station has now fallen.

Flashback: Bush report: Sending jobs overseas helps U.S. The movement of American factory jobs and white-collar work to other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S. economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation, the Bush administration said yesterday.

Smoking Guns of U.S. Treasury Monetization Kitco | A significant feature of fiat money systems is the privilege for the custodian of the reserve currency to engage in regular practices of ham-fisted monetary management.

Banking Disaster Largely Ignored By Mainstream Media Greg Hunter | It is amazing to me how little time the mainstream media is spending on this unfolding financial disaster and how much time it is devoting to things like Mel Gibson’s domestic problems.

Moody's: Regional banks on review for downgrade (AP)

Consumer confidence dims (Reuters) Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months, underscoring the precarious state of econo...

Global steelmakers paint gloomy picture (Reuters)

State budget gaps total $84 billion: study

Another Recession Due Circa 2012: Jim Rogers A new recession would be due around 2012 but central banks will not be able to throw cash at it anymore, Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC Tuesday.

Marc Faber: Relax, This Will Hurt A Lot Marc Faber closed out this week’s Agora Financial Symposium with a speech that pretty much recapitulated the view that the end of the world is if not nigh, then surely tremendous dislocations to the existing socio-political and economic landscape are about to take place (with some very dire consequences for the US).

The Continuing Crisis in the New World Order LewRockwell.com | The crisis continues in the new world financial order with no end in sight and no real solution being put forth.

China Calls Our Bluff: “The US is Insolvent and Faces Bankruptcy as a Pure Debtor Nation but [U.S.] Rating Agencies Still Give it High Rankings” America’s biggest creditor – China – has called our bluff.

US bank failures in 2010 surpass 100 WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. bank failures this year have surpassed a bleak milestone of 100 as regulators shut down banks in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Kansas, Nevada and Minnesota. The six bank seizures announced Friday bring to 102 the failures so far in 2010. The pace of bank closures this year is well ahead of that of last year, which saw a total 140 bank shuttered amid the recession and mounting loan defaults …

On the Disconnect Between the Market and the Economy Michael Shulman:

• The index of leading economic indicators fell 0.2% in June, the second drop in three months. A negative surprise.

• Unemployment claims rose to 464,000, more than expected.

• Uncle Ben said we are facing a period of “unusual uncertainty.” No kidding.

• Uncle Ben said we need continuing stimulus to a Congress unwilling to stimulate anyone or anything other than lobbyists with cash to contribute.

• Home sales fell 5.1% in June…’

(No recession helicopter ben) Bernanke Admits Major Policy Failures; Stocks Soar Darryl Montgomery What's wrong with this picture? In his bi-annual testimony before Congress yesterday, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke admitted that after more than a year and a half of zero interest rates and $3 trillion in federal deficit spending since 2008, the best case scenario for the U.S. economy is slow growth and high unemployment. The S&P 500 is up 2.5% so far this morning on this 'good' news. Bernanke's congressional testimony included the following statements (emphasis added by me):

"Most [FOMC] participants viewed uncertainty about the outlook for growth and unemployment as greater than normal, and the majority saw [at the June Fed meeting] the risks to growth as weighted to the downside."

"Financial conditions--though much improved since the depth of the financial crisis--have become less supportive of economic growth in recent months."

"Many banks continue to have a large volume of troubled loans on their books, and bank lending standards remain tight. With credit demand weak and with banks writing down problem credits, bank loans outstanding have continued to contract."

"After two years of job losses, private payrolls expanded at an average of about 100,000 per month during the first half of this year, a pace insufficient to reduce the unemployment rate materially. In all likelihood, a significant amount of time will be required to restore the nearly 8-1/2 million jobs that were lost over 2008 and 2009."…

Serious Analysis has given rise to a realistically mocking view of the current fraud on wall street:

The Markets & The 'Teen Drama Economy' Jonathan Cheng If the market’s mood swings these days are reminding you of high school, you’re not alone ...

Cybersecurity Lie Exposed: Power Plants Are Not Connected To The Internet Senator Joe Lieberman’s draconian Internet takeover legislation, the 197-page Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, is being promoted as a vital tool to protect vulnerable infrastructure hubs from terrorist attacks, but as a recent Wall Street Journal report makes clear, large industrial power and water plants are not even connected to the public Internet.

Obama Approval Rating Revisits Rock Bottom Despite Positive Media Spin

Cybersecurity Lie Exposed: Power Plants Are Not Connected To The Internet Senator Joe Lieberman’s draconian Internet takeover legislation Vegetable zionist Zelig joe lieberman’s Model For America: Purging The Internet of Dissent When political Zelig joe lieberman

Bailouts Went To Foreign Banks: Congressional Report Confirms What We Already Knew A Congressional Oversight Panel issued today highlights the fact that large portions of the Treasury’s $700 billion bailout fund have gone straight into the coffers of foreign banks, a fact that we knew months ago, but is only now being officially recognised.

Activists Take On Fluoridated Water in Wichita Concerned citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed that city’s public officials about a poster campaign designed to inform the public about the health hazards of water fluorination.

Illegal Immigrants Account for 8% of U.S. Newborns, Study Shows As many as 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the U.S. in 2008 had at least one parent who was an illegal immigrant, according to a Pew Hispanic Center study of Census Bureau data.

Fed Leads America “To The Brink Of Collapse” When even the New York Times and CNN are admitting that the United States faces not only a double-dip recession but potentially a new great depression, any alarm bells that have not been rung should now be sounding loudly.

Anderson Cooper Apologizes For Media Complicity In Tillman Cover-Up Interview with Pat Tillman’s father about new documentary exposing how the government with help from the media used Pat Tillman’s death to promote the war.

Marc Faber: Protect Your Property with High Voltage Fences, Barbed Wire, Booby Traps, Military Weapons and Dobermans Investment guru and publisher of The Gloom, Boom and Doom report, Marc Faber, regularly discusses investment strategies for protecting and building wealth during times of economic distress.

Infowars.com Poll: Attack On Iran Imminent Kurt Nimmo | Nearly 60% of respondents to an Infowars.com poll believe the U.S and Israel will attack Iran in the near future.

Activists Take On Fluoridated Water in Wichita Infowars.com | Concerned citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed that city’s public officials about a poster campaign designed to inform the public about the health hazards of water fluorination.

Fed Leads America “To The Brink Of Collapse” Paul Joseph Watson | Bernanke announcement that central bank will buy US debt marks point of no return.

15 Economic Statistics That Just Keep Getting Worse The Economic Collapse | Anyone who claims that things are getting “better” is either ignorant, completely deluded or is purposely lying.

Economy Teeters On The Brink and Market Manipulation Continues Bob Chapman | It’s just the same old, same old, business as usual in America.

Google and Verizon DID do a deal for new internet ‘first class’ superhighway Technology giants Google and Verizon have today paved the way for a future ‘two-tier’ internet in which companies can pay extra to make sure their services get through. Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

Iran Retaliates Against Sanctions: To Drop All Trade In “Filthy” Euro, Dollar Yet another step in the escalation between Iran and the US came earlier today.

The Cycle of Violence in Afghanistan Last week the National Bureau of Economic Research published a report on the effect of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq that confirmed what critics of our foreign policy have been saying for years: the killing of civilians, although unintentional, angers other civilians and prompts them to seek revenge. This should be self-evident.

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.

Street Action: Poison In Tap Water Fliers Went out on a beautiful Saturday after noon in Edmonton Alberta posting more fliers, posters etc. had a great time had a few people harass me but nothing big. Just gave me motivation to do more!! Resistance is Victory. Never Forget that.!!

Wheat Crisis Threatens Inflationary Timebomb, Food Riots Russia’s ban on wheat exports following widespread fires in the country sent food prices skyrocketing by 19 per cent in just a single week as fears grow that global volatility in foodstuffs and commodities could lead to a worldwide inflationary timebomb accompanied by widespread food riots.

The Obama presidency increasingly resembles a modern-day Ancien Régime: extravagant and out of touch with the American people What the great French historian Alexis de Tocqueville would make of today’s Obama administration were he alive today is anyone’s guess.

The Coming Collapse of The U.S. Political Establishment The last U.S. puppet regime to fall will be. . . the puppet regime in the White House.

Afghan war ‘kills 1,325 civilians this year’ More than 1,300 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year, mostly by Taliban insurgents, a leading Afghan rights group said Sunday.

Recession in U.S. Even Worse Than Estimated, Revisions Show The worst U.S. recession since the 1930s was even deeper than previously estimated, reflecting bigger slumps in consumer spending and housing, according to revised figures.

Iran Unveils New Submarines and Makes More Persian Gulf Warnings Iran announced the addition of four new submarines to its fleet Sunday, saying the Iranian-manufactured vessels to be deployed in the Persian Gulf have sonar-evading technology and can launch torpedoes and missiles simultaneously.

Pentagon can’t account for $8.57 billion in Iraqi funds B is for billions. And b is for it’s hard to believe that they’ve done it again. The last time, even more money vanished, which I noted in my article, Following Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11. This was under the Zionist Dov Zakheim’s watch as Comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to March 10, 2004.

Fidel Castro: Obama can avert impending nuclear holocaust Miami Herald | If Obama approves an attack on Iran, war will spread through the Middle East and Asia and cause hundreds of millions of deaths, Castro warned.

Who poses the real threat to the Internet? A new opinion piece on CNN.com argues that it’s the government, not the companies providing internet access, that is the real danger to free speech and the internet. [I personally have found more often and prospectively problematic is that said government / company distinction is one without a difference when the government flexes muscle, particularly with leverage as ie., to non-performing monopolist microsoft, nsa/cia partner google (to a lesser extent at this juncture), cnn/timewarner cable (incompetence also a factor), fedex, etc.].

Wow! Talk about stretchin’ it! Alleged by black shooter: prejudice displayed by company as they fired thornton for stealing / selling the company’s beer he was supposed to be delivering … The ultimate race card … Riiiiight! You can’t make this stuff up! Fatal Shootings Reponse: 'No One Died After Police Arrived On Scene' Hartford Courant - As police on Friday concluded their on-scene investigation into Tuesday's mass killing at Hartford Distributors, they also began evaluating their response to the tragedy. Police arrest woman they say accepted beer from Connecticut shooter CNN Omar Thornton 911 Call: "I Wish I Could Have Got More of the People" CBS News

Voters Reject Notion That “Government Can Do Anything It Likes” A Rasmussen poll indicates that an overwhelming eighty-six percent (86%) of voters nationwide say there should be “limits on what the federal government can do”, in response to recent comments from pro-Obamacare Congressman Pete Stark.

Swine Flu Investigator Jane Bürgermeister Faces Prison Now that there is verifiable, unambiguous evidence that the Austrian government and state prosecutors have faked criminal charges to provide a pretext to arrest and detain me, I am going to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.

U.S. Employers Shed Jobs The U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.

Gold Surges To Three Week High As Dollar Tanks Gold prices have surged to to three week highs as the stock market and the U.S. economy continue to flounder, leaving investors seeking a safe haven in hard assets.

Globalists Race To Enforce Criminal Carbon Tax Despite the failure of last year’s Copenhagen climate summit, the United Nations is pushing ahead for a global carbon tax that will bankroll the expansion of world government as globalists attempt to make Americans pay for the evisceration of their own sovereinty and future prosperity.

Poison Tap Water Exposed As Soft Kill Weapon Water fluoridation has come to refer to the addition of over 40 chemicals into the water supply that synergistically come together to wreak havoc on the body and its processes.

Fluoride Truth on Australian TV – Fluoride Retards the Brain TV NEWS show exposes Fluoride for what it is – poison!

Poison Tap Water Makes Number 1 Google Search Poison tap water has become the number one trending search term on Google trends today after our efforts to bring attention to how sodium fluoride in tap water is a deadly health threat went viral.

Sodium Fluoride: Poison In The Tap Water Alex Jones is launching a new campaign to inform the public about the toxic chemical fluoride being added to tap water across the country. While EPA scientists and workers are calling for an end to water fluoridation, the government is doing everything in its power to continue and even increase the amount of toxic chemicals being added to public water supplies.

Naked Body Scanners: Monumental Cover Up Exposed At the height of the furor over airport body scanners earlier this year, the TSA publicly stated that it was not possible to store, record, transmit or print out the images that show in detail the naked bodies of men, women and children that have passed through them. At the time we presented evidence to the contrary. Now it has been conclusively proven that the TSA and other federal agencies using the scanners flat out lied to an unwitting public.

Material girl Michelle Obama is a modern-day Marie Antoinette on a glitzy Spanish vacation NY Daily News | But while most of the country is pinching pennies and downsizing summer sojourns – or forgoing them altogether – the Obamas don’t seem to be heeding their own advice.

SEC Probes BP Potential Insider Trading: Sources Reuters | U.S. securities regulators are investigating whether people may have illegally profited from trading on nonpublic information at BP in the weeks following the disastrous Gulf oil spill.

Rockefeller Foundation Developed Vaccines For “Mass-Scale” Fertility Reduction In its 1968 yearly report, the Rockefeller Foundation acknowledged funding the development of so-called “anti-fertility vaccines”

The Psychology of Conspiracy Denial Wired Magazine writer Jonah Lehrer attempts to offset the overwhelmingly critical response to his attack on Alex Jones by characterizing skepticism of authority in the context of vaccines and mass medication as a psychological dysfunction, despite the fact that the history of government-funded medical research in the United States is replete with examples of scientific abuse against unwitting victims.

Enemy hyped assassination: Iran pres. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejects reports about an assassination attempt on his life in Hamadan Province as a plot hatched by the enemies.

China Holds More Military Exercises Amid Tensions With U.S. Chinese armed forces on Thursday continued a second set of back-to-back exercises, underscoring expanding capabilities and ambitions that have prompted unease among top U.S. military officers. That unease has been exacerbated by Beijing’s freezing of military-to-military ties.

Preparing for World War III, Targeting Iran Humanity is at a dangerous crossroads. War preparations to attack Iran are in “an advanced state of readiness”. Hi tech weapons systems including nuclear warheads are fully deployed.

Pentagon tells WikiLeaks: "Do right thing" (Reuters) [Great advice … if only the endless war, military complex based pentagon could take it!] The Pentagon demanded on Thursday that whistle-blower web site WikiLeaks immediately hand over about 15,000 secret Afghan war records it had not yet published and erase material it had alrea…

US faces deadliest month in Afghan war With 63 US service members killed, July has become the deadliest month for American forces stationed in war-torn Afghanistan.

Google and CIA Plough Millions Into Huge ‘Recorded Future’ Monitoring Project Google’s cosy relationship with the U.S. spy network has once again been thrust into the spotlight as the company is reported to have jointly invested with the CIA in an Internet monitoring project that scours Twitter accounts, blogs and websites for all sorts of information, and can also “predict the future”.

Google and CIA Fund Political Precrime Technology More evidence has emerged revealing Google’s spook connections. Noah Shachtman, writing for Wired, details how the CIA’s technology investment operation, In-Q-Tel, and Google are supporting a company that monitors the web in real time.

President Obama calls African-Americans a ‘mongrel people’ President Obama waded into the national race debate in an unlikely setting and with an unusual choice of words: telling daytime talk show hosts that African-Americans are “sort of a mongrel people.”

White House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual’s Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation.

Google and CIA Plough Millions Into Huge ‘Recorded Future’ Monitoring Project Steve Watson | Search Company’s ties to spy agency in spotlight again over real time Internet monitoring.

Google and CIA Fund Political Precrime Technology Kurt Nimmo | Google is complicit in the concerted effort to build a huge surveillance and control grid.

Source of leaked military docs unknown: WikiLeaks While the United States is trying to hunt for the individual behind the massive leak of US military data on Afghanistan war, the whistleblowers’ website, that made the 91,000 classified documents available to the world, has said that the source of leak is unknown.

Document leak part of U.S. plot, says Pakistani ex-general with ties to Taliban From the deluge of leaked military documents published Sunday, a former Pakistani spy chief emerged as a chilling personification of his nation’s alleged duplicity in the Afghan war — an erstwhile U.S. ally turned Taliban tutor.

Leaked files indicate U.S. pays Afghan media to run friendly stories Buried among the 92,000 classified documents released Sunday by WikiLeaks is some intriguing evidence that the U.S. military in Afghanistan has adopted a PR strategy that got it into trouble in Iraq: paying local media outlets to run friendly stories.

World Net Daily (I found them to be a less than credible israeli / bush aministration shill at best and haven’t even looked at said site in many years) writer says Fluoride is good for you. An open letter to Phil Elmore Rob Dew / Kurt Nimmo | The only winners are the aluminum and fertilizer industries that work hand in hand with public water works to send toxic waste into the homes of millions across our country.

Congress extends war funding for Afghanistan Baltimore Co. Independent Examiner | Congress voted to extend funding for the war in Afghanistan by an additional $59 billion late on Tuesday.

Kucinich: 92,000 reasons to end the wars AFP | US lawmakers opposed to the Afghan war, emboldened by a huge leak of military files on the conflict, pushed Tuesday for pulling US forces from Pakistan.

Oliver Stone has apologized for his anti-Semitic rant, but is the damage already done. What damage? To perceived reality as opposed to reality? When you look at america’s pro-israel, self-destructive, contra-indicated policies, including the hands off policy vis-à-vis fraudulent wall street, you see the truth to what he says which is what so many astute individuals are already thinking / realizing. How can people continue to ignore the truth, to their own detriment Think about it. Do you really think he would risk the typical onslaught if the same weren’t true? ‘Director Oliver Stone has been forced to make a grovelling apology over an anti-Semitic outburst. The double Academy Award winner claimed that the Russians suffered more during the Second World War and that there was a Jewish 'domination of the media'. Stone also said that Jews had '****ed up' U.S. foreign policy for years and suggested the British supported Hitler ...’ The relentless attacks on Mel Gibson are of the same caliber and purpose; suppression of truth!

Infowars.com Poll: Majority Believe Road Warrior Depression Coming Kurt Nimmo | Like the Great Depression, the Greatest Depression now being scientifically created has a specific agenda in mind.

On the Bloated Intelligence Bureaucracy

Disappearing Act: $8.7 Billion of Iraq Development Money Missing Kurt Nimmo | Government says it is all the fault of shoddy accounting practices.

Ahmadinejad: US Expansion Of War In Middle East Imminent Steve Watson | Tensions rise with saber rattling rhetoric.

David Cameron: Israeli blockade has turned Gaza Strip into a ‘prison camp’ David Cameron used a visit to Turkey to make his strongest intervention yet in the intractable Middle East conflict today when he likened the experience of Palestinians in the blockadedGaza Strip to that of a “prison camp”.

Iran accuses US and UK of supporting group behind mosque attacks Iran is vowing to hunt down a Sunni separatist group which claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing that killed 28 people at a mosque in the south-eastern city of Zahedan.

US, NATO behind Iran bombings: MP An Iranian lawmaker slams the recent bombings in the country’s southeast as a plot by Western military forces in the Middle East to spread terror on Iran’s borders.

WASHPOST Ombudsman: Why Silence on Black Panther Story? (Washington Post) ‘Thursday's Post reported about a growing controversy over the Justice Department's decision to scale down a voter-intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party. The story succinctly summarized the issues but left many readers with a question: What took you so long? For months, readers have contacted the ombudsman wondering why The Post hasn't been covering the case. The calls increased recently after competitors such as the New York Times and the Associated Press wrote stories. Fox News and right-wing bloggers have been pumping the story. Liberal bloggers have countered, accusing them of trying to manufacture a scandal. But The Post has been virtually silent. The story has its origins on Election Day in 2008, when two members of the New Black Panther Party stood in front of a Philadelphia polling place. YouTube video of the men, now viewed nearly 1.5 million times, shows both wearing paramilitary clothing. One carried a nightstick…’

Latino KKK: You are too white to be American! ALIPAC | Tan Klan woman can scream racist comments because the Obama administration and most of the major news networks in America have her back.

‘West, israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated “the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.

De-classified Vietnam-era Transcripts Show Senators Knew Gulf Of Tonkin Was A Staged False Flag Event Over 1,100 pages of previously classified Vietnam-era transcripts released this week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee highlight the fact that several Senators knew that the White House and the Pentagon had deceived the American people over the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Afghans march in Kabul to denounce NATO strikes that killed civilians:  Demonstrators shout anti-American slogans, denounce NATO strikes (Washington Post ) Sounds like a plan! Almost surreal was the appearance of gates on failed network ‘news’ show to shill the non-strategy of draw down (of troops) linked to success. What success? Just being there and every day they’re there is unequivocally abject failure. Celebritology Weekend: Angelina Jolie biography arrives; Heidi Montag files for divorce (Washington Post ) I usually don’t weigh in on entertainment news, but this headline concerning what appears to be a disparaging, and quite selectively so, purported biography of Angelina Jolie is very disheartening when you consider the numerous instances of failed leadership at nearly all very high levels of government having so detrimental an impact on the world, that morton deems his time appropriate to an actress who has actually tried to do good things (U.N., etc.) without having to. Indeed, even her latest film ‘Salt’ (spectacular by any standard as is her performance – there are at least 2 winning sequels there with 4 the max and stretching it owing to age – she puts all, and I mean all the ‘Bonds’ to shame) had an important message in terms of the damage to this nation by a seemingly endless, nation-bankrupting, anti-american (war criminal israelis already, and quite correctly, globally hated) sentiment producing war strategy that is neither strategy nor reasonably consistent with any positive american goal / objective; but rather is such a debacle and folly that the same could very well be one that only an enemy of defacto bankrupt america could hatch and for the reasoning set forth in the well-written / directed film. She astutely observed and talked about the synchronicity of the film as juxtaposed to recent events revealing that she is wiser than most in Washington.

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It Zach Carter | Wachovia was moving money behind literally tons of cocaine from violent drug cartels. It wasn’t an accident.

In weak economy, more people are filing early for Social Security (Washington Post) I think this to be a combination of prescience and ‘get while the getting’s good’. After all, this is an unfunded promise meant to be broken by defacto bankrupt America.

Military experience helps shape future career success (Washington Post) [Oh yes. That now typical american government / military experience; born of nothing and offering nothing of real value morphing into that so-called conduit for treasury-draining money flows aka the infamous consultant]. John Morgan's service in the Navy propels him to greater responsibilities at the Pentagon, and eventually to a consulting position with Toffler Associates.

INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington Post) APPOINTMENTS:  Insider Transactions: Appointments (Washington Post) Yes, it all sounds like a plan! A bad one for most; but, lucrative for a few, as is so with crime in the general sense.

The anti-business president's pro-business recovery(Washington Post) [First, what recovery? He’s just with open-eyes transferred treasury / taxpayer dollars to fraudulent wall street et als including the military complex while incurring unsustainable debt loads for already defacto bankrupt america. Others have already recognized this reality. Is Obama a Marxist? He Works for the Bankers Poll: Waning support for Obama on wars Support for Obama’s wars fell to 36%, down from 48% - reality: This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

In Iraq, $2.6B unaccounted for (Washington Post) [Daaah! Fog of war frauds among others; the nation’s treasury pillaged and plundered; I’ve previously commented here and included on my website http://albertpeia.com , see infra] Pentagon can't account for how it spent $2.6 billion of Iraqi oil proceeds, an IG report says.

Articles on Catherine Austin Fitts' Blog: http://solari.com
Billions over Baghdad Barlett and Steele - Vanity Fair September 2007
Those Who Blow Whistle on Contractor Fraud in Iraq Face Penalties Hastings - AP 2007
Auditor Quits with NASA Finances in ChaosBy Nag and Zabarenko2004
The War on WasteCBS News Citing "cooked books" at DOD, Rumsfeld on the missing $2.3 trillion, 2002
Military Stashes Covert Millions St. Petersburg Times 2003

San Francisco Fed: “A Recessionary Relapse Is A Significant Possibility Sometime In The Next Two Years” [ Picture the fed as a pseudo ninja with fancy foreplay / motions getting decked / ‘koed’ with a simple right-hook to the jaw by the antagonist named reality. All this finagling, manipulation, fiat currency over-printing, and nation bankrupting debt, and … nothing / nada / ‘growth ‘ estimates revised downward, unemployment unabated since economic reality figures somewhat in hiring to say the least, and jobs transferred overseas ain’t comin’ back. Quite simply, this is a depression no matter what they call it! ] Presented without commentary, suffice to say that idiots who look at the LEI and factor for the curve inversion subindicator deserve all they get.

9 Reasons Why You Won’t See A Jobs Recovery Anytime Soon In two words: small businesses.

Federal Employees Earn 30 to 40 Percent More than Private-Sector Workers, Study Finds Federal employees earn 30 to 40 percent more money than their private sector counterparts on average, a study from the conservative Heritage Foundation finds.

The Oil Price Surge Indicator Says There’s A 100% Chance Of A New Recession No, that headline is not a typo.

Gerald Celente On the Alex Jones Show: Double Dip Depression Will Lead Us Into War The white shoe boys are taking us into the worst depression in history.

Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as more people enter the labor force.

Accountability is unclear in israeli probe of flotilla raid (Washington Post) Oh, come on! An israeli probe of an israeli massacre of civilians. Time for israel to pay; for illegal nukes, for violations of international law, for continued violations of u.n. resolutions, for provocations as pretexts to sabotage peace talks, and on and on ad nauseum. Why does america among other nations feel compelled to sacrifice themselves for the sake of a global criminal nation with an insatiable greed and blood-thirst as israel?

What Pentagon cuts mean for future of defense contractors (Washington Post) Well, taking a page from the fraudulent wall street glass always half full even when empty camp, they might say more pie and less competition for that inner circle of frauds. You know, this is a dead goose with gold-plated eggs scenario. Reality: U.S. IS BANKRUPT AND WE DON’T EVEN KNOW IT : LAURENCE KOTLIKOFF LAURENCE KOTLIKOFF AUG. 11 (BLOOMBERG) -(WASHINGTON POST) - LET’S GET REAL. THE U.S. IS BANKRUPT. NEITHER SPENDING MORE NOR TAXING LESS WILL HELP THE COUNTRY PAY ITS BILLS ... Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression” The Motley Fool | Four years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary depression.

Riiiiight! That ‘no-longer looking’ dynamic that saves the day and the ue rate at 9.5%. At this rate of progress, and according to their thinking and manipulations, full employment at an unprecedented 0% unemployment is just around the corner as everyone stops looking for the jobs no longer here, many of which were sent overseas and which are not coming back owing to substantial economic structural / financial shifts.

Yeah! Dave’s the only one who seems to be on the mark concerning the preposterous market action this day. Even before reading same I was going to comment here that I believed that the decision to ‘mouse click / button push’ the programmed buy trades was probably made after hours in the previous session. Remember, these are desperate criminally insane frauds on wall street who really try very hard to get people to by into their paper-churning high-frequency trade / commission scam for which ultimately potentially productive money is siphoned off / drained from the economy into their pockets which is a net negative in real economic terms. They know all the tricks, technical trendlines, moving averages, etc., to suck them in: Buy Program Express Lifts Markets: Dave's Daily - The economic news from the unemployment report could not be worse and an old pattern was repeated -- higher volume on a selloff followed by an engineered "stick save" into the close. It used to be hard to make this stuff up, now it's becoming routine. As noted yesterday, bulls might like bad data since they'd expect another round of quantitative easing (QE2) from the Fed and a politically desperate administration. This means more liquidity baby and an opportunity to lift stocks to new highs. That's the thinking from bizzaro-land. So we get another big intraday 150 point swing in the DJIA as the "2:15 PM Buy Program Express" hits the tape on time as volume starts to dry up. That's why the caution sign advises to stay away from the Program Trading Express. Nevertheless, volume increased Friday with most of that coming early and often. Breadth was negative but not overwhelmingly so.

China orders closure of more than 2,000 factories Associated Press (Washington Post) [ Riiiight! The ultimate environmentalists. The communist Chinese. How ‘bout that’s the China bubble bursting that you hear / see! Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair… if you’re goin’ to san fran Beijing, your goin’ to meet some gentle people there … ] China orders 2,087 steel and cement mills and other factories with poor energy efficiency to close as the country struggles to improve its battered environment.

(08-09-10) Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.

Social Security borrowing cash to tap its own trust fund (Washington Post) [ Wow! Talk about creative accounting / finance. Borrowing more cash to replace paper IOU’s which should be cash but has been spent. Yes, indeed! This sounds like a plan not sound. Sounds like defacto bankruptcy! ] This year's cash deficit, the first since the early 1980s and the biggest ever, means the government will have to borrow money to redeem some of the Treasury securities in the trust fund.

Freddie Mac's loss narrows, but firm needs more aid (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! After all, what are corporations for in a free enterprise capitalist system but to as closely as possible follow that fraudulent wall street boondoggle paradigm of socializing the losses and privatizing the gains. I still can’t get over those compensation packages that probably exceed the value of the company.] Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said that its loss in the second quarter narrowed but that taxpayers would still be on hook for the foreseeable future.

Post Co. reports big increase in second-quarter earnings Congratulations to the Washington Post for well deserved results! A testament to the fact that excellence in fearless journalism has its rewards! … If not the Post, then who? … :

Economist sticks by stimulus, regrets call on jobless rate (Washington Post) Well, they skipped the ‘fall on her sword for the sake of the empire’ part, albeit a defacto bankrupt empire … or, maybe that’s why she was chosen … because she’s a Rome ..r. I’m still perplexed since ‘no-recession-helicopter-ben’ bernanke and senile greenspun have far worse track records and indeed have been causative agents for crises owing to their consistent ‘misdiagnoses’, and as if tenured to said position received no such critical, job-jeopardizing scrutiny ( I’d abolish the fed, absent full audit / transparency. In other words, I’d abolish the fed).

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as more people enter the labor force.

Why Must The Media Keep Trotting Out Senile Incompetent greenspun And His Economic Lunacy? …and we continue to talk ourselves off the edge of the cliff. For the second week in a row Meet The Press trotted out the most financially incompetent of the financially incompetent and placed them on their undeserving pedestal.

Key Components Of America’s Military Are Now Dominated By A Chinese Monopoly Most of America’s key military technologies require rare earth elements, whose production China holds a near-monopoly over.

alan greenspan: “The Financial System Is Broke” We will be in deflation until the broke financial system becomes unbroke… and then we will have hyperinflation. [Little bit late to be talkin’ the obvious truth!]

Gold Has Got Its Groove Back How dare any of you second guess the gold bugs. From a day’s low of $1,168 per ounce, the yellow metal rallied to a day’s high of $1,186. Our precioussss is back on a tear, maybe.

Trying to make August less of a 'dog' with sidewalk sale (Washington Post) Sounds like a new, new plan to deal with the overwhelming success of the panoply of government stimulus / tarp, etc., plans ‘financed’ with money they don’t have and taxpayer ‘largesse’. For those who’ve lived long enough, they’re waiting for the apple carts.

Did TARP work? Two economists say yes. (Washington Post) Come on! What do you expect them to say? They’re invested in that position having supported same despite the massive fraud for prosecution and disgorgement was appropriate. Indeed, moody’s itself has been faulted (liable?) for lax valuation / rating standards which contributed to the debacle. Moreover, these ‘cheerleaders’ can always be counted on to toe the network line which ultimately enables the ubiquitous frauds we’ve seen. Amazingly, senile incompetent greenspun, co-architect / enabler of the fraud / debacle was interviewed and used such words in conjunction as ‘modest recovery, pause, double-dip possible, quasi recession’. What total b***s***!

What's coming this week (Washington Post) How ‘bout last week and the new american economic institution colloquially now known as ‘bank failure Friday’ (the news dump so as to avoid the so-called ‘news cycle’). Then, let’s hope for real rather than election-year market frothing fake / false / manipulated data.

U.S. recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips Washington Post | The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work. The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work.

Wow! Talk about stretchin’ it! Alleged by black shooter: prejudice displayed by company as they fired thornton for stealing / selling the company’s beer he was supposed to be delivering … The ultimate race card … Riiiiight! You can’t make this stuff up! Fatal Shootings Reponse: 'No One Died After Police Arrived On Scene' Hartford Courant - As police on Friday concluded their on-scene investigation into Tuesday's mass killing at Hartford Distributors, they also began evaluating their response to the tragedy. Police arrest woman they say accepted beer from Connecticut shooter CNN Omar Thornton 911 Call: "I Wish I Could Have Got More of the People" CBS News

Recovery sputters as companies add few jobs (Washington Post) ‘The nation’s economic recovery continued to sputter in July as employers kept shedding jobs and 181,000 discouraged workers dropped out of the labor force, according to a government report released Friday… ‘ [Riiiiight! That ‘no-longer looking’ dynamic that saves the day and the ue rate at 9.5%. At this rate of progress, and according to their thinking and manipulations, full employment at an unprecedented 0% unemployment is just around the corner as everyone stops looking for the jobs no longer here, many of which were sent overseas and which are not coming back owing to substantial economic structural / financial shifts.]

Jobs Report: Companies Slow to Hire Only about 8 percent of the 8.4 million jobs lost at the peak of the recession have been recovered, leaving millions of Americans still looking for work, according to an analysis by ABC News' Business Unit. Video:  News Update: US Unemployment Rate Holds at 9.5%, 71,000 Jobs Added in June SmarTrend News 71K more jobs not enough to dent unemployment rate The Associated Press

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as more people enter the labor force.

China Officially Enters The Gold Market: Full Release Of PBoC’s Plan To Expand And Develop China’s Gold Infrastructure The moment many gold bulls have been waiting for – the Chinese Central Bank has just released a directive informing everyone it is commencing the development of a healthy gold market.

Trying to make August less of a 'dog' with sidewalk sale (Washington Post) Sounds like a new, new plan to deal with the overwhelming success of the panoply of government stimulus / tarp, etc., plans ‘financed’ with money they don’t have and taxpayer ‘largesse’. For those who’ve lived long enough, they’re waiting for the apple carts.

Did TARP work? Two economists say yes. (Washington Post) Come on! What do you expect them to say? They’re invested in that position having supported same despite the massive fraud for prosecution and disgorgement was appropriate. Indeed, moody’s itself has been faulted (liable?) for lax valuation / rating standards which contributed to the debacle. Moreover, these ‘cheerleaders’ can always be counted on to toe the network line which ultimately enables the ubiquitous frauds we’ve seen. Amazingly, senile incompetent greenspun, co-architect / enabler of the fraud / debacle was interviewed and used such words in conjunction as ‘modest recovery, pause, double-dip possible, quasi recession’. What total b***s***!

What's coming this week (Washington Post) How ‘bout last week and the new american economic institution colloquially now known as ‘bank failure Friday’ (the news dump so as to avoid the so-called ‘news cycle’). Then, let’s hope for real rather than election-year market frothing fake / false / manipulated data.

U.S. bank failures total 108 after 5 shut on Friday U.S. bank failures reached 108 so far in 2010 on Friday as regulators seized five small banks in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, none publicly traded.

Foreclosures Continue To Dramatically Increase In 2010 Economic Collapse | RealtyTrac says that unemployment has become the major reason for foreclosures. In a very alarming sign for the U.S. economy, foreclosures have continued to dramatically increase in 2010. But there has been a shift.

U.S. recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips Washington Post | The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work. The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work.

FCC ends net neutrality talks (Washington Post) God knows it’s rare for me to commend america for a governmental policy decision, but this is indeed one such moment inasmuch as freedom of speech, constitution, meaningful laws applicable to all, etc., are what define a nation and america, particularly.

Retailers' back-to-school blues (Washington Post) Sounds like a plan! The back-to-school part; and make sure the frauds on wall street along with capital hill are with them … you know, for the readin’, ‘ritin’, and ‘rithmetic, among other fundamentals that they’ve forgotten or never learned. Like adding/subtracting on capital hill, economics/finance/accounting on wall street, etc.. Drogen doesn’t believe they can so this day he’s Stepping Aside Because I Can Always Buy Back In Leigh Drogen ‘I sold out of everything this morning, for a few reasons.(infra)

Fannie Mae shows progress (Washington Post) Wow! Talk about wall street spin and parallel universes! I mean, come on; billion dollar plus losses are still billion dollar plus losses; and, given the amounts of money defacto bankrupt america doesn’t have that’s been thrown at the problem, anyone who doesn’t have a sense of foreboding is a fool.

40 billionaires join Gates, Buffett in pledge to give half their fortunes to charity (Washington Post) I thought 100% the number, and will wait till I see it. Still, no small potatoes here. Sounds like an estate plan or maybe … Virginia's inner struggle to get off the scotch tax (Washington Post) Beats moonshinin’ say the virginia hillbillies … those darn revenuers!

Geithner: Extending Bush tax cuts is a '$700 billion mistake' (Washington Post) ‘God bless us, everyone’ says that little teddy, tiny tim geithner, a lover of taxes himself and statutes of limitation concerning same.

General's record is set straight (Washington Post) Knowing for sure, you know, that it truly was Nixon who banged that pregnant girl just like the tea shirt / poster said is kind of a mind altering experience. After all, just as Truman once said, Nixon didn’t know whether he’s lying or telling the truth. Well, that’s one for old saint Nixon since that militates against intent; you know, the not knowing part, and after all, he was a liar(sic) by trade. Truth be told, by more current american standards of corruption, venality, verity, etc., Nixon was but a choir boy. The irony of it all. Oh, the times they are a changin’.

House break cut short to work on jobs bill (Washington Post) Eh … what the heck, ‘tis only money (they don’t really have) and besides, only the federal government can print it … sounds like a plan … and just in time for the election, and that should help the ue stats.

Come on! Preposterous! Service sector? You mean the the b*** s*** sector. Even if believed (I don’t believe anything they say, and at the least all must be discounted down, as they do later when people have forgotten that’s the purported reason they rallied), what is 17,000 service (predominantly b*** s*** government bought jobs with non-existent deficit building funds with some exceptions – yes, 80% of america’s economy is now b*** s*** and as on wall street, fraud) jobs in the relative scheme of things given the magnitude of the problems, structural and otherwise? Nothing! Stocks went up on typically spun ‘nothing’.

General's record is set straight (Washington Post) Knowing for sure, you know, that it truly was Nixon who banged that pregnant girl just like the tea shirt said is kind of a mind altering experience. After all, just as Truman once said, Nixon didn’t know whether he’s lying or telling the truth. Well, that’s one for old saint Nixon since that militates against intent; you know, the not knowing part, and after all, he was a liar(sic) by trade. Truth be told, by more current american standards of corruption, venality, verity, etc., Nixon was but a choir boy. The irony of it all. Oh, the times they are a changin’.

Comment on: Jobs in the cards? at 8/4/2010 6:11 AM EDT

How Obama can help small business (Washington Post) You’re a bit late … they’ve already decided how to help … you might call their plan of putting them out of their vaunted misery mercy killing, euthanasia, etc..

FHA: Mortgage insurance claims down (Washington Post) At least somethin’s goin’ up, according to tiny tim ‘God bless us, everyone’! Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down Infowars.com - [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as more people enter the labor force.

U.S. savings rate at highest level in a year, data show: UNEASE ABOUT U.S. ECONOMY
Data suggest recovery not yet self-sustaining (Washington Post) Riiiight! Income and spending basically unchanged with falloff in both, while pending housing sales down to the lowest level on record. The half-glass full frauds on wall street will take it. They can spin that.

Drudgereport: NEW LOW FOR O: USATODAYGALLUP HAS OBAMA APPROVE AT 41%...
Americans swap passports; Desire to avoid tax leads some to renounce citizenship...
FALTERING RECOVERY TRIPS DOLLAR...
GM, FORD and CHRYSLER Sales All Lag Estimates...

Comment on: FHA is in better shape than expected at 8/4/2010 5:55 AM EDT

FHA: Mortgage insurance claims down (Washington Post) At least somethin’s goin’ up, according to tiny tim ‘God bless us, everyone’! Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down Infowars.com - [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as more people enter the labor force.

Comment on: As wages stall, savings rate rises at 8/4/2010 4:56 AM EDT

U.S. savings rate at highest level in a year, data show (Washington Post) Riiiight! Income and spending basically unchanged with falloff in both, while pending housing sales down to the lowest level on record. The half-glass full frauds on wall street will take it.

Comment on: Democrats turn to manufacturing for jobs at 8/4/2010 4:52 AM EDT

Manufacturing focus of jobs plan (Washington Post) L’il bit late, but, sounds like a plan. The government’s defacto bankrupt, but, they could always use an extra pen or two for signing those spending bills. No bics allowed. Made in usa pens only. Ah! But alas. Defacto bankrupt america’s expertise now lies in manufacturing wars.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as more people enter the labor force.

22 Statistics About America’s Coming Pension Crisis That Will Make You Lose Sleep At Night

Americans who swap passports americans hoping to give up their citizenship… (sure sign of insanity … I mean, Orwellian england of all places?)

In devising punishments, SEC faced with competing interests (Washington Post) The best punishment and the greatest deterrent is to assure that the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed; that is, to forfeit what they stole by fraudulent means (remember, the bad paper is still out there but I believe slowly but surely and very selectively being supplanted by hard, albeit fiat currency) at the least. The cost to the treasury / taxpayer has been enormous and hence, the resistance to transparency / audit. The wall street perps should pay, and as yet, they haven’t.

Tiny Tim geithner to bankers: Fear not new rules (Washington Post) They don’t! … And, you can take that to the insolvent, mark to anything bank! God bless us everyone! … And tiny tim, where’s that missing 4 trillion at the new york fed? Have the taxpayers, through more surreptitious skullduggery effectively picked up that tab too?

Bernanke: Long road back to economic health (Washington Post) No-recession helicopter ben, waxing philosophical while strumming a few lines from the Beatle’s ‘Long and Winding Road’ with great emotion that makes us feel for that poor sot … or snot … or NOT!

Slowing economic rebound raises unemployment fears (AP) [Wow! Talk about understatements!]

China Becomes Second Biggest World Economy China has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

Obama's 'I told you so' on autos (Washington Post) Riiiiight, wobama. One out of thousands of things you said (laws of ‘random probability’ on your side), all total b*** s***, ain’t nothin’ to crow about … and, by not standing by things wobama said, the nation’s more bankrupt!

For some, power is money (Washington Post) ‘Montgomery workers lose wages as they wait for power to return’ … Sounds like a plan … waiting for Godot …

PricewaterhouseCoopers laying off 500 employees (Washington Post) Well, the least you can say for these accountants is that unlike washington, they can do basic math (add / subtract).

Regulators close banks (108 total 2010) in Fla., Ga., Ore., Wash. (Washington Post) Sounds like a plan! Things going swimmingly. Just separating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.

U.S. recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips (Washington Post) Gross domestic product is not rising fast enough to ease unemployment …

July becomes deadliest month for U.S. troops (Washington Post) Sounds like plan! You know, the fraudulent wall street glass half full kind of thing … lowering of costs of prospective medical, benefits, pension … well, in truth, I’m not sayin’ that they said that, but you’re dreamin’ if you don’t think they think like that. You know, the new ‘attention to deficits disorder’ in light of the nation’s defacto bankruptcy. What a total waste in every respect!

Afghan spending faces scrutiny (Washington Post) Wow! Talk about a little bit late for that. Oh, right … they were busy spending money the nation doesn’t have on other things. Congress extends war funding for Afghanistan Disappearing Act: $8.7 Billion of Iraq Development Money Missing Kurt Nimmo | Government says it is all the fault of shoddy accounting practices. 3 U.S. troops die in Afghan war&apos;s deadliest month (Washington Post 7-30-10) World News Digest: a Worth it? 4 U.S. troops die in bomb blast in south Afghanistan (AP, July 24, 2010) ‘There will be blood’ … whoops, that’s oil, wrong movie theme. This one’s about heroin trade. 2 More Americans killed in copter crash in Afghanistan (AP) Not so much, unless they rename Tony Montana, To Mon el Swahili and recut ‘Scarface’ to reflect an Aghanistan Heroin connection, or similarly change ‘Hurt Locker’. It’s a good thing for the military that IQ tests aren’t required. Three U.S. Embassy guards killed in rocket attack in Baghdad's Green Zone (Washington Post) Big yes there since ‘The Green Zone’ got Hollywood movie status. Bomb near Iraq mosque kills 15; U.S. soldier dies in road blast (Washington Post, July 22, 2010) But guess what … none of that’s worth it; even for volunteer soldiers whose suicide rate is unprecedented owing to this pointless, meaningless conflagration for the sake of the military industrial complex and the enrichment of the few; and, to which Pat Tillman was to attest which got him fragged.

Middle East Digest (Washington Post) Witnesses report Israeli airstrikes in Gaza

Previous-Mideast Digest Israeli shelling kills 2 wounds 6 Gaza civilians: (Washington Post) [War criminal israelis justified their attack saying when the 10 year old girl grew up to be a woman she’d be prepared to fire rockets at them]

In 1948, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, an opponent of the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, warned that, even though failure to go along with the Zionists might cost President Truman the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and California, it was about time that somebody should pay some consideration to whether we might not lose the United States. Mr. Forrestal was absolutely correct! Isn’t that exactly what’s happened to defacto bankrupt america in intractable decline. 

TIME TO REVOKE AND NULLIFY THE BALFOUR DECLARATION AND ABROGATE THE CREATION OF THE NATION STATE OF ISRAEL

Adding profits but subtracting workers (Washington Post) Sounds like an american strategy as on wall street launched pleine lune, vollmond, luna ilena, plenilunio, pełnia księżyca, or full moon in English. You know, despite warnings from the very sane Ross Perot very near labeled a lunatic, the lunatics on wall street and elsewhere ‘figured’ how by shipping production and jobs elsewhere you could do nothing with almost no workers and still make a similar percentage profit by selling the repackaged foreign product here (in other words something akin to wall street’s churn-and-earn high frequency computerized commissionable trade programs that in real economic terms is a net negative). The reference to Orwellian, though in other context, if only for the synchronicity and the rapidity with which these negative events have unfolded is welcomed. Just look at britain. Those poor dumb brits. They think Orwellian’s their destiny and the way to go.

Long-term deflation is called a possibility (Washington Post) Whoops … Federal Reserve's James Bullard: Long-term deflation like Japan’s is a possibility … If only america’s could be like Japan’s … they’d take it. Though an understatement, this revelation comes at a time when the ‘no recession ben fed’ has become the antithesis of that ‘Washington cherry-tree tale’ since they’ve become known for their american tail (sic) ‘they cannot tell the truth’.

Foreclosures rise in most major metropolitan areas (Washington Post) Ooooh! Sounds like a plan! Bully, bully, bullish say the frauds on wall street since when sold in foreclosure those sales can be spun for increased existing (or new) real estate sales (kind of like that almost contrarian indicator, short sales, meaning at some point they’ll have to cover … righto old beans).

The biggest question since:Atlas/Who is John Galt?Who is Barry Soetoro,wobama?

Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama? Get your very own BARRY SOETORO T-Shirt and ask the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". The REAL name of President Barack Obama is BARRY SOETORO so get a t-shirt with a picture of him on the front and the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/basot.html Obama’s Comeback Strategy: Appearing On “The View” Now we know how the President will turn his flagging political fortunes around… [More b*** s***!].

The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

For the Same Reason I’ve Included Here a Web Site Archived FLV Version of Esoteric Agenda http://albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv

WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS: Hidden world, growing beyond control...
854,000 people have top-secret security clearance...
You really have to laud The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance which whether people appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and personal courage; even more so inasmuch as this is their backyard, so to speak. Clearly, this illuminates the boondoggles which amazingly are coming at a time when america will not be able to handle ‘bare necessities’ much less the self-perpetuating, need-creating, bureaucracies which I’ve previously likened to a perverse version of ‘Field of Dreams’ where if you will commit taxpayer dollars, they’ll find / create a war, conflict, new war, etc., to spend it on. NSA Has Gotten So Big, Area Around It Has 112 Acres Of Parking Spaces In yet another terrifying expose, The Washington Post continues to lift the veil on just how massive the US government’s spying operation has become.

DIGEST:  Consumer confidence down; home prices up (from and at low levels which Shiller’s concedes are for the moment stabilized but unsustainable) (Washington Post) The positive here is that at least the consumers / populace have finally got something right.

Consumer confidence dims (Reuters) Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months, underscoring the precarious state of econo...

Moody's: Regional banks on review for downgrade (AP)
Global steelmakers paint gloomy picture (Reuters)

Chiefs' compensation (Washington Post) The foregoing list, though only oil, reveals an inherent american inclination toward thievery which also explains the wall street debacle. Only the exceptionally few well-managed american companies have ceo’s deserving of exceptional pay packages / compensation and I think you’ll find in said companies compensation commensurate with results. american ceo’s generally, and global results (and comparisons) bear this out, are overpaid.

Oracle CEO tops list of highest paid execs with $1.8 billion (Washington Post) Don’t just focus on him; american ceo’s generally, and global results (and comparisons) bear this out, are overpaid.

D.C. area housing market a bright spot (Washington Post) Clearly a contrarian indicator which means more in Washington doing nation’s business; clearly a bad thing (more doing less, creating more problems than solving, costing more for less, etc.).

Why Bernanke isn't advocating fiscal stimulus (Washington Post) I would be inclined to say the obvious; that you can’t spend what you don’t have; but, we all know that’s not true. Indeed, that’s become a significant part of the problem and america’s defacto bankrupt status a testament to that reality. Then there’s the over-printing of an ever more worthless fiat currency which continues as ‘we speak’; and, there are limits to that too as the dire results of same ultimately begin to unfold.

Cities, counties could slash 500,000 more jobs (Washington Post) Could? I’d say must. Particularly when you factor in that this election ‘spurt’ leaving the nation even more bankrupt is illusory. I had occasion some time ago in speaking with a long-time California resident (instructor at the college gym where I worked out) to express my surprise at the bloated (municipal, state) high-priced bureaucracy which of course is not productive except as to higher taxes and which is at the forefront in the city of Bell where the city manager was paid nearly 900,000 annually, and specifically mentioned the part-time typical compensation of $100,000 and contracts to interested, even familial, parties. Of course, no one has done this better than feinstein, albeit on a more federal level and China contracts through her husband’s companies, as previousl set forth on this website.

US bank failures in 2010 surpass 100 WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. bank failures this year have surpassed a bleak milestone of 100 as regulators shut down banks in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Kansas, Nevada and Minnesota. The six bank seizures announced Friday bring to 102 the failures so far in 2010. The pace of bank closures this year is well ahead of that of last year, which saw a total 140 bank shuttered amid the recession and mounting loan defaults …

'Systemic risk' and preventing the next bubble (Washington Post) Come on! We’re in the next bubble; or, should I say in the same bubble inasmuch as the so-called ‘last bubble’ never totally deflated owing to overactive Weimar dollar (now european) printing presses, fraudulent mark to anything accounting among other manipulations, etc.; and a less elastic (ready to burst) one at that.

This is quite incredible. The wobama market … based on b*** s*** alone. Yes, there’s a waning full moon. Yes, this is an election year and we’ve seen frothing, false data / reports before. But come on! This is downright ridiculous. I had occasion to hear from a so-called money manager on what used to be a balanced business / finance radio program (I seldom listen to said program anymore, truth be told, but owing to a scheduling quirk caught same this day) say that all the economic / business news last week was good. In point of fact, the actual news was all bad (except for some sporadic earnings reports that were discounted many months ago). What parallel universe are these foisty feisty frauds living in? Again, waning full moon Then the infamous federal but not really federal, express in only a month (with blazing full moon) changed downward guidance to upward guidance and based on b*** s***, and voila … another full moon rally (oh yeah, the percentage up from low level housing still low). Are the 30 day lunar cycles at work or just election year frothing? Preposterous. Fundamentals have not changed. Structural problems to the economy and insurmountable debt remain and will worsen. All their computer programmed trading tricks with eye towards so-called technical support, resistance, etc., levels will suck some suckers in as always, they’ll still get their commissions on the way down, and we’ll see the bubble deflate again.

This is an especially great opportunity to sell and take whatever profits / gains because there is truly much worse to come and the nation’s defacto bankrupt in every way.

This Week in the Markets - Suttmeier ‘ …Bank Failure Friday – The FDIC closed seven banks last Friday bringing the total for the month of July to 17 and 103 for the year. Month to date bank failures have drained the FDIC Deposit Insurance fund by $925.7 million brining the year to date today to $18.5 billion well above the $15.33 billion prepaid assessments for all of 2010. I estimate that the DIF is now in arrears by $32.7 billion.

• Only 25 banks failed in 2008, as the FDIC was slow closing community and regional banks.
• There were 140 bank failures in 2009 with a peak of 50 in the third quarter.
• In the first quarter of 2010 there were 41 failures, in the second quarter there were 45 failures, and so far 17 for the third quarter for a year to date total of 103.
• At this pace bank closures in 2010 will be within my 150 to 200 estimate range for 2010.
• Since the end of 2007, the FDIC has closed 267 banks on the way to my predicted 500 to 800 by the end of 2012 into 2013 …’

103 U.S. Banks Have Collapsed So Far In 2010 – Do You Know If Your Bank Will Survive? Have you ever noticed how almost all U.S. bank closings are now announced over the weekend? It is almost as if someone wants to keep the increasing number of bank closures out of the news cycle as much as possible.

Jim Rogers: Stress Test Is a PR Exercise The stress test in which only seven of 91 European Union banks failed is just a public relations exercise and wasn’t tough enough, famous investor Jim Rogers told CNBC.com Monday.

ETF Investing: S&P 500 ETF sending bearish signal …After hitting its 2010 peak in April, the $70 billion SPDR S&P 500 ETF(SPY 110.41, +0.95, +0.87%) has been in a downtrend punctuated by fizzled low-volume rallies and lower highs.

China Calls Our Bluff: “The US is Insolvent and Faces Bankruptcy as a Pure Debtor Nation but [U.S.] Rating Agencies Still Give it High Rankings” America’s biggest creditor – China – has called our bluff.

Global bank rules deal struck (Washington Post) No action. Delay. Obfuscate and ‘fraudulate’. Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! Things are going so fraudulently swimmingly with the many trillions of bad paper / worthless assets still out there and in defacto bankrupt american fashion now marked to anything. Don’t want to upset that applecart; or rather, ‘something’ cart – apples are just to expensive for street vending!

Financial Crisis Commission Threatens To Audit Goldman Sachs The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission headed up by Phil Angelides has threatened to audit Goldman Sachs, as it looks for more data on its dealing in derivatives. (They should! Forget the threats … Just do it and prosecute!)

Goldman reveals where bailout cash went Des Moines Register | Goldman Sachs sent $4.3 billion in federal tax money to 32 entities, including many overseas banks, hedge funds and pensions.

The Death of Paper Money Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | As they prepare for holiday reading in Tuscany, City bankers are buying up rare copies of an obscure book on the mechanics of Weimar inflation published in 1974.

Yes! I just (7-24-10) looked up and a quandary no longer as I saw the reason for the market action to the upside the last few sessions. A blazing full moon! Lest there be any doubt, truly a testament to the reality of lunacy and the lunar links thereto are the lunatic fraudulent rallies on fraudulent wall street; criminally insane by any standard.

This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington Post) Sell / Take profits / gains. That’s what insiders do in contra-indicated stock bubbles as this (and don’t forget, options must be executed and shares bought before they’re sold).

Financial News: What's coming this week (Washington Post) What does it matter? False data, manipulated data, spun data, even blatantly bad data as in the past week. More important are the lunar cycles:

China builds influence via cash (Washington Post) Well, cash is something that accumulates when you don’t spend same on illegal wars (as is so of defacto bankrupt america, ie., Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.); note Germany, Japan, etc.. Then there’s the ‘hate’ factor attendant to the ‘killing machine strategy’ which contrary to their folly / imagination, does not win hearts and minds. Then there’s the fraudulent paper push which militates against real, net economic gains.

Finally, there’s the american ‘crazy train’ factor which has become ever more globally recognized.

'Tony Hayward is about to get his life back' (Washington Post) In Siberia … Yes, tiny tony of little people fame sent into exile in Siberia as one might expect from the New Soviet Socialist European Union. Note Russia’s Putin has jumped onto that crazy train and to curry favor therein has ‘thrown Iran under the bus’, so to speak. But, then again, what can you expect from a former KGB indoctrinated communist, although america’s now mutated form of capitalism / free enterprise (really not either) might yet resurrect the likes of marx, lenin, trotsky, etc.. I’m somewhat embarrassed to have even considered going to Europe (specifically Switzerland / Geneva) and though language the impediment (I’m hard-wired for english and even with a prior background in French, ie., junior high, high school, recent course-work in French here in Cal did not come easily at all; although, computerization / algorithms in English from inception did, which I believe explains Japan’s difficulty with computers, ie., Sony vaio, Toyota car computerized systems, etc.). Even meaningfully lawless america’s better than Europe (a very low standard / threshold at that), for all the reasons that gave rise to america, plus new reasons which will prove insurmountable having become the ‘lapdog’ joke of the ages as like lemmings they followed fraudulent wall street’s, america’s lead blindly into the abyss.

Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama?POLLS: NEW LOWS FOR O.../The Crucifixion of Stone/Gibson

Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama? Get your very own BARRY SOETORO T-Shirt and ask the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". The REAL name of President Barack Obama is BARRY SOETORO so get a t-shirt with a picture of him on the front and the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/basot.html Obama’s Comeback Strategy: Appearing On “The View” [More b*** s***!].

Drudgereport: GOLDMAN reveals where bailout cash went -- overseas banks!
POLLS: NEW LOWS FOR O...
Gibbs Misleads Public on Obama's Broken Tax Pledge...

The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

For the Same Reason I’ve Included Here a Web Site Archived FLV Version of Esoteric Agenda http://albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv

Top U.S. officer warns Afghan war will get worse

Oliver Stone has apologized for his anti-Semitic rant, but is the damage already done. What damage? To perceived reality as opposed to reality? When you look at america’s pro-israel, self-destructive, contra-indicated policies, including the hands off policy vis-à-vis fraudulent wall street, you see the truth to what he says which is what so many astute individuals are already thinking / realizing. How can people continue to ignore the truth, to their own detriment Think about it. Do you really think he would risk the typical onslaught if the same weren’t true? ‘Director Oliver Stone has been forced to make a grovelling apology over an anti-Semitic outburst. The double Academy Award winner claimed that the Russians suffered more during the Second World War and that there was a Jewish 'domination of the media'. Stone also said that Jews had '****ed up' U.S. foreign policy for years and suggested the British supported Hitler ...’ The relentless attacks on Mel Gibson are of the same caliber and purpose; suppression of truth!

In 1948, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, an opponent of the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, warned that, even though failure to go along with the Zionists might cost President Truman the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and California, it was about time that somebody should pay some consideration to whether we might not lose the United States. Mr. Forrestal was absolutely correct! Isn’t that exactly what’s happened to defacto bankrupt america in intractable decline. 

TIME TO REVOKE AND NULLIFY THE BALFOUR DECLARATION AND ABROGATE THE CREATION OF THE NATION STATE OF ISRAEL IN THE INTERESTS OF FAIRNESS, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PROSPECTIVE PROSPERITY FOR THIS WORLD!

BP's Hayward sent to Siberia; to leave as CEO; Russia job in works (AP)

Wikileaks’ War Logs Highlight Global Intelligence Facade Of ‘War On Terror’

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange: more revelations to come

Law chief to probe KGB agent’s claim that David Kelly was ‘exterminated’

Top U.S. officer warns Afghan war will get worse NATO troops will die in Afghanistan as violence mounts. Sounds like a plan!

Wikileaks’ War Logs Highlight Global Intelligence Facade Of ‘War On Terror’ The Wikileaks Afghanistan War Logs, publicly released today, highlight and corroborate what we already know about the “war on terror” – it is a vast and decompartmentalised intelligence operation.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange: more revelations to come The Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, said today that the organisation is working through a “backlog” of further secret material and was expecting a “substantial increase in submissions” from whistleblowers after one of the biggest leaks inUS military history.

Law chief to probe KGB agent’s claim that David Kelly was ‘exterminated’ A former Russian spy’s dossier which suggests that Government scientist David Kelly was ‘ exterminated’ in a planned assassination is being studied by the Attorney General.

Top U.S. officer warns Afghan war will get worse More NATO troops will die in Afghanistan as violence mounts over the summer, but Washington’s goal of turning the tide against the insurgency by year’s end is within reach, the top U.S. military officer said on Sunday. [Sounds like a plan!].

Wikileaks Docs Target Pakistan Kurt Nimmo | Pakistan is the new frontier of the Forever War on Manufactured Terror.

Wikileaks’ War Logs Highlight Global Intelligence Facade Of ‘War On Terror’ Steve Watson | The Wikileaks Afghanistan War Logs corroborate what we already know about the vast intelligence operation known as the “war on terror.”

H.R. 5741 Slave bill now in Committee Rob Dew | Slavery has a new name: “Mandatory Service.”

Oath Breakers and the Age of Treason The Excavator | America was covertly overthrown by a tight-knit group of criminal insiders.

Iran’s military leaders try to raise their nation’s confidence in the face a possible attack Andrew Steele | Iran’s military leaders are trying to reassure their people that the nation would stand strong against a possible u.s. or israeli attack.

Goldman Sachs Names European Banks It Paid Amid AIG’s U.S.-Funded Bailout Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said it made payments to banks including Germany’s DZ Bank AG and Banco Santander SA of Spain for mortgage-related losses as it received U.S. taxpayer funds through theAmerican International Group Inc. bailout in 2008.

Kucinich, Ron Paul: Get US troops out of Pakistan Two US lawmakers — a Republican and a Democrat — proposed a bill this week demanding the withdrawal of all US troops in Pakistan, where they are conducting covert operations against militants.

CNN Anchors Desperately Call For Crackdown on Bloggers Which They Collectively View as a Threat to Their Information Blockade Anchors Kyra Phillips and John Roberts discussed the “mixed blessing of the internet,” and agreed that there should be a crackdown on anonymous bloggers who disparage others on the internet, most of whom deserve it.

Pentagon workers tied to child porn Federal investigators have identified several dozen Pentagon officials and contractors with high-level security clearances who allegedly purchased and downloaded child pornography, including an undisclosed number who used their government computers to obtain the illegal material, according to investigative reports.

Infowars.com Censored in Greece An Infowars.com reader sent an email today informing us that our website is no longer available in Greek public libraries. Sarkozy Accused of Working for Israeli Intelligence Gamal Nkrumah | A letter dispatched to French police officials late last winter revealed that Sarkozy was recruited as an Israeli spy.

israeli official offers warnings (Washington Post) What about israel’s illegal nukes, israeli/american war crimes, etc.. Next stop on the israeli/american crazy train: Iran.

Ex-CIA chief: Strike on Iran seems more likely now (AP) House OK’s possible Israeli raid on Iran Republicans in the US House of Representatives have introduced a measure that would green-light a possible Israeli bombing campaign against Iran. House OK’s possible Israeli raid on Iran Republicans in the US House of Representatives have introduced a measure that would green-light a possible Israeli bombing campaign against Iran. Former CIA Boss: Iran Attack “Inexorable” Kurt Nimmo | According to Michael Hayden, a CIA boss under George W. Bush, Iran’s not having a nuke is just as dangerous as it having one.

White House decries WikiLeaks' release of Afghan war documents Los Angeles Times - National Security Advisor James Jones says the disclosure could endanger lives and US security. The NY Times, which received early access, says the documents point to Pakistan-Taliban collusion. Wikileaks releases 92000 hidden Afghan war docs Sydney Morning Herald Leaked Documents Shed Light on Afghan War Wall Street Journal [How about the reality that the release of war criminal american mad dogs on the rest of the world endangers lives as well as world and u.s. security].

Army analyst linked to WikiLeaks hailed as antiwar hero:  Many rally to soldier's defense after disclosure of classified documents (Washington Post) Indeed, if not him, then who. Pat Tillman, a late convert to that position was fragged for it. Wobama, who was elected in large part for it, has an irrevocably failed presidency for lack of it! He is a hero inasmuch as quite possibly the magnitudes of the frauds might be lessened and civilians spared the american induced ‘hell on earth’!

Push to cut top brass causing much unease (Washington Post) [ Of ‘geese and gold-plated eggs’ … I think only fables, cartoons, and nursery rhymes are the means by which to convey the depth and seriousness of america’s decline / bankruptcy. They really just don’t get it. Denial. Mental infirmity. Outright stupidity. Whatever the reason, reality is what it is. DRUDGEREPORT: America Is 'Bankrupt Mickey Mouse Economy'...
WIRE: USA 'Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It'...

DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT HITS RECORD HIGH
JOBLESS CLAIMS JUMP TO HIGHEST SINCE FEB...
California can't pay bills -- may use IOUs for August payments...
DEFICIT ADDS $165,040,000,000.00 -- IN ONE MONTH!
Homes lost to foreclosure up 6% from last year...
Grim Voter Mood Turns Grimmer... and others Economists Herald New Great Depression … ] None of the Pentagon's spending cuts and budget battles is causing more angst than Robert Gates's vow to trim number of generals and admirals.

Afghan spending faces scrutiny (Washington Post) Wow! Talk about a little bit late for that. Congress extends war funding for Afghanistan Disappearing Act: $8.7 Billion of Iraq Development Money Missing

Contracting industry anxious about Defense cutbacks (Washington Post) [As well they should be inasmuch as in any rational / solvent nation, they wouldn’t be spending what they don’t have. Defacto bankrupt america, spends what it really doesn’t have in amounts exceeding more than the defense / military spending of all other nations in the world combined. Yes; at long last, the entitlement programs of the military industrial complex warned of by underrated President General Eisenhower are in jeopardy. ]

Pentagon to cut thousands of jobs, defense secretary says (Washington Post) [ Sure sounds like he means business; and, it’s certainly somewhat reassuring to see a state almost as bad as mob infested pervasively corrupt jersey, viz., virginia, take the hit (virginia is predominantly government mob, much of which is cia at that). Yet, one must be skeptical of what this perpetual-war, hot or cold, career cia slug is actually accomplishing with these relatively small peripheral cuts given the defacto bankrupt status of the nation. But, this is one of those rare instances of something being better than nothing since guns verses butter is real economic decision-making and reality. ]

Petraeus: Strategy is on track (Washington Post) (What strategy? It just gets worse. america’s defacto bankrupt! Plus, we’ve heard this before! Drudgereport: Petraeus: 'We're doing everything we can' …[Sounds like a plan!]...Builds Case for 'Success' in Afghanistan …[If only words could make it so!]...) In Washington Post interview, general says he sees signs of progress in Afghanistan, supports Obama's decision to begin withdrawing troops next July.

Base in Kyrgyzstan remains on track (Washington Post) Sounds like a plan! In Osh, no less; which similarity to Osh Kosh confers a certain ‘legitimacy’ to america’s self-destructive, nation-bankrupting non-strategy of ‘being there’. A new raison d’etre, so to speak! Osh, Kosh, be Gosh!

Karzai's bid to control inquiries worries U.S. (Washington Post) [My Lord! You just can’t make this stuff up! The americanization of Afghanistan … hopelessly corrupt … but american ‘liberators’ want their cut from the now hopelessly corrupt liberated nation, in america’s own image, of the heroin trade they’ve worked so hard to restore.] There is growing concern that U.S. support for the war will diminish further if voters continue to see the Afghan government as hopelessly corrupt.

China focuses on military might (Washington Post) [And the big difference here (between them and defacto bankrupt america) is that ‘THEY CAN AFFORD IT’ and are not fighting nation-bankrupting, anti-american-sentiment-creating wars all over the place.] Nation is quickly modernizing forces, extending influence deep into Pacific and Indian oceans.

Karzai wants private security firms out of Afghanistan:  KARZAI WANTS COMPANIES OUT U.S. calls 4-month deadline 'very challenging' (Washington Post) One too many civilian killed. Maybe they figured out that american non-strategy employing the Hegelian methodology of creating problems that American firms can solve. Doomed to failure, they eventually catch on. The bushes were famed for same but wobama has foolishly been no slouch in this regard.

Afghans still see U.S. as bad guy (Washington Post ) [Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan … winning hearts and minds throughout the world … great for exports also as such ‘won hearts and minds’ just love to buy american.] American, NATO forces retain blame for civilian deaths despite spike from insurgent violence.

U.S. looks to replicate Iraq strategy, tactics (Washington Post ) [Oh right! Stick with that winning plan that worked so swimmingly (as in drowning, in ie., debt, death, regional if not wordly anti-american sentiment, etc.)]. In Kandahar, U.S. military officials hope that a secure green zone, similar to the area in Baghdad, will make it more difficult for Taliban insurgents to mount attacks to key buildings in the Afghan city.

Afghans march in Kabul to denounce NATO strikes that killed civilians:  Demonstrators shout anti-American slogans, denounce NATO strikes (Washington Post ) Sounds like a plan! Almost surreal was the appearance of gates on failed network ‘news’ show to shill the non-strategy of draw down (of troops) linked to success. What success? Just being there and every day they’re there is unequivocally abject failure. Celebritology Weekend: Angelina Jolie biography arrives(Washington Post ) I usually don’t weigh in on entertainment news, but this headline concerning what appears to be a disparaging, and quite selectively so, purported biography of Angelina Jolie is very disheartening when you consider the numerous instances of failed leadership at nearly all very high levels of government having so detrimental an impact on the world, that morton deems his time appropriate to an actress who has actually tried to do good things (U.N., etc.) without having to. Indeed, even her latest film ‘Salt’ (spectacular by any standard as is her performance – there are at least 2 winning sequels there with 4 the max and stretching it owing to age – she puts all, and I mean all the ‘Bonds’ to shame) had an important message in terms of the damage to this nation by a seemingly endless, nation-bankrupting, anti-american (war criminal israelis already, and quite correctly, globally hated) sentiment producing war strategy that is neither strategy nor reasonably consistent with any positive american goal / objective; but rather is such a debacle and folly that the same could very well be one that only an enemy of defacto bankrupt america could hatch and for the reasoning set forth in the well-written / directed film. She astutely observed and talked about the synchronicity of the film as juxtaposed to recent events revealing that she is wiser than most in Washington.

Afghan spending faces scrutiny (Washington Post) Wow! Talk about a little bit late for that. Oh, right … they were busy spending money the nation doesn’t have on other things. Congress extends war funding for Afghanistan Baltimore Co. Independent Examiner | Congress voted to extend funding for the war in Afghanistan by an additional $59 billion late on Tuesday. Disappearing Act: $8.7 Billion of Iraq Development Money Missing Kurt Nimmo | Government says it is all the fault of shoddy accounting practices. 3 U.S. troops die in Afghan war&apos;s deadliest month (Washington Post 7-30-10) World News Digest: a Worth it? 4 U.S. troops die in bomb blast in south Afghanistan (AP, July 24, 2010) ‘There will be blood’ … whoops, that’s oil, wrong movie theme. This one’s about heroin trade. 2 More Americans killed in copter crash in Afghanistan (AP) Not so much, unless they rename Tony Montana, to To Mon el Swahili and recut ‘Scarface’ to reflect an Aghanistan Heroin connection, or similarly change ‘Hurt Locker’. It’s a good thing for the military that IQ tests aren’t required. Three U.S. Embassy guards killed in rocket attack in Baghdad's Green Zone (Washington Post) Big yes there since ‘The Green Zone’ got Hollywood movie status. Bomb near Iraq mosque kills 15; U.S. soldier dies in road blast (Washington Post, July 22, 2010) But guess what … none of that’s worth it; even for volunteer soldiers whose suicide rate is unprecedented owing to this pointless, meaningless conflagration for the sake of the military industrial complex and the enrichment of the few; and, to which Pat Tillman was to attest which got him fragged.

Obama reminds veterans he's beginning war's end (Washington Post) Sounds like a plan! I mean, after all you must have a beginning before you have an end. Yeah, there’s a certain ineluctable logic to that; a certain ‘ring’ to it! Like full circuit ‘b*** s***!

Accountability is unclear in israeli probe of flotilla raid (Washington Post) Oh, come on! An israeli probe of an israeli massacre of civilians. Time for israel to pay; for illegal nukes, for violations of international law, for continued violations of u.n. resolutions, for provocations as pretexts to sabotage peace talks, and on and on ad nauseum. Why does america among other nations feel compelled to sacrifice themselves for the sake of a global criminal nation with an insatiable greed and blood-thirst as israel?

Murder on the high seas JERUSALEM: Israeli marines stormed aid ships bound for Gaza on Monday and at least 10 rights activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an emergency session of the UN Security Council. European nations, as well as the United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to the international campaigners' bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip

How does anyone take the u.s. seriously in light of their credibility problems, war crimes, etc.? What nuke technology israel didn’t steal from the u.s., the u.s. gave them along with missile, armaments, etc.. and paid for with taxpayer money that u.s. taxpayers and the defacto bankrupt nation don’t have.

It's time to expel israel from the UN Without doubt, the israeli attack on the Gaza-bound "Freedom Flotilla" in the dawn of Monday, May 31, 2010 is one of the most savage crimes in recent history. It seems the ruling power in Tel Aviv has been afflicted with a variant of mad cow disease; otherwise, how could it be so cruel to unleash such a beastly raid on the "Mavi Marmara," the Turkish flagship of a flotilla carrying medical and humanitarian supplies to the hapless people of Gaza Strip?

The israeli Spin-Machine in Overdrive: dershowitz to the Rescue?  Armed Israeli commandos, the elite of the elites, rappelled to the deck of a Turkish ship carrying humanitarian relief supplies to the 1.5 million prisoners in the Gaza concentration camp.

In 1948, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, an opponent of the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, warned that, even though failure to go along with the Zionists might cost President Truman the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and California, it was about time that somebody should pay some consideration to whether we might not lose the United States. Mr. Forrestal was absolutely correct! Isn’t that exactly what’s happened to defacto bankrupt america in intractable decline. 

TIME TO REVOKE AND NULLIFY THE BALFOUR DECLARATION AND ABROGATE THE CREATION OF THE NATION STATE OF ISRAEL IN THE INTERESTS OF FAIRNESS, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PROSPECTIVE PROSPERITY FOR THIS WORLD!

ISRAEL NOW IN FAVOR OF NUKES IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN SUDDEN SHIFT IN POLICY TO FAVOR IRAN IN A VERY BIG WAY! ISRAEL SEES THE LIGHT AND SIDES WITH IRAN ON NUCLEAR ISSUE; ESSENTIALLY SAYS TO THE WORLD AND IRAN ‘TO PRESS ON WITH NUCLEAR AMBITIONS’.

Girdles for men? (Washington Post) [ I’d say par for the course … of human male evolution that is. After all, more and more peoples are referring to the war mongering american male trend of warring on the far less militarily capable, bullying if you will, as just a bunch of c***s. ]They call it "men's shapewear," but ladies, we know that you know what that really means. Spanx for Men debuted to such a success this year that the company is coming out with a line of (gulp) bottoms for the fall.

Rockefeller Study Envisages Future Dictatorship Controlled By Elite … (Vegetables … Yes, Asparagus, not Broccoli) … Here’s the pathetic news, however; it’s called reality: [Neanderthals, Humans Interbred, DNA Proves Signs of Neanderthals Mating With Humans - Neanderthals mated with some modern humans after all and left their imprint in the human genome.  Genome hints humans, Neanderthals rolled in prehistoric hay You're a Neanderthal: Genes say yes — a little bit (AP) Neanderthals and people interbred, fossil analysis finds  For more info on man’s humble beginnings, see here     http://www.albertpeia.com/anthroindex1.htm     Previously I wrote: FOUND: MISSING LINK BETWEEN APES AND MAN.... These stories, and the many like it, are old news and I subscribe to the more studied view that there is no “missing link” per se and in my view they are distinctions without significant differences. I previously wrote: [see infra] and [Interestingly, my intuitive (but unstudied) thoughts prior to closer examination of the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology remain what I believe to be the correct scenario. Specifically, very simply stated, for the most part, the more “enlightened” (but not by much; by mutation, accident, luck, intervention, etc.) left the unvarying confines of their Sub-Saharan origins, experienced diverse new environs, challenges, etc., experienced what has been described (by neuroscientists, psychologists, etc.) as neurogenesis in varying degrees and forms thereby over time, which trait was selected for and is consistent with the purported multi-regional evolutionary model which does not overtly contradict ultimately, initial African origins. Races, sub-species, missing links, etc., are subsumed in this very humbling and sorrowful tale of the “dawn of man”.] [see infra] …] Global pandemics that kill millions, mandatory quarantines, checkpoints, biometric ID cards, and a world of top-down government control. These things are not lifted from the latest sci-fi blockbuster movie, they’re part of the Rockefeller Foundation’s vision for what the globe might be like in 15-20 years’ time under a new world order tightly controlled by the elite. [That’s getting awfully close to the outside ‘decades, not millennia or even centuries’].

Middle East Digest (Washington Post) Witnesses report Israeli airstrikes in Gaza

Previous-Mideast Digest Israeli shelling kills 2 wounds 6 Gaza civilians: (Washington Post) [War criminal israelis justified their attack saying when the 10 year old girl grew up to be a woman she’d be prepared to fire rockets at them … press on says fellow war criminal defacto bankrupt nation america] israeli shellfire killed two Palestinian freedom fighters and wounded six people, including a 10-year-old girl, in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical workers and an official with a militant group said. An israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on militants suspected of preparing to fire a rocket at them.

July becomes deadliest month for U.S. troops (Washington Post) Sounds like plan! You know, the fraudulent wall street glass half full kind of thing … lowering of costs of prospective medical, benefits, pension … well, in truth, I’m not sayin’ that they said that, but you’re dreamin’ if you don’t think they think like that. You know, the new ‘attention to deficits disorder’ in light of the nation’s defacto bankruptcy. What a total waste in every respect!

Comment on: Mideast Digest at 8/4/2010 5:44 AM EDT

Mideast Digest (Washington Post, August 4, 2010) Blowback’s a reality. One that only fools would ignore, defacto bankrupt america. Time to throw hated war criminal nation israel under the bus. Why should america sacrifice itself for the war mongering israelis. They’d NEVER do that for america. I’ve even heard analysts with regional expertise say that the nation was better off under sadam.

Top Secret America: How the DOD does it (Washington Post) Does what? Come On! You can’t take this guy seriously. First, he’s military; what do you expect him to say. Second, he talks of wars as if they always have to have one or be searching for one and we all know they “find” them. Finally, he all but ignores what the underrated President General Eisenhower warned of in the form of the unscrupulous, insatiably greedy military/industrial complex which as colonel he but a very small cog in who goes along to get along. The fact is also that they can’t be managed and also that they don’t even try!

Afghanistan war deaths (Washington Post) What a colossal waste; the u.s. might even spin this to a growth scenario, albeit in deaths. For General Petraeus, battling corruption in Afghanistan is a priority (Washington Post) If Betraeus is serious, he better look closer to home / u.s.!

SEC enforcers get to keep subpoena authority

NSA beats warrantless wiretap rap A Federal judge has dismissed a complaint against the National Security Agency’s (NSA)

Corrupt u.s. courts / judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and corrupt costly bureaucracies.

WikiLeaks documents cause little concern over public perception of war:  WikiLeaks documents cause little concern over public perception of war (Washington Post) Of course not! That’s what defacto coup d’etat is all about (even beyond their propaganda). The public, overwhelming against these nation-bankrupting illegal wars (america is defacto bankrupt) which fact propelled spineless incompetent vegetable wobama to the whitehouse, has become irrelevant in their view,; but, not so fast as mass unrest is afoot.

Ron Paul: After ‘CIA coup,’ agency ‘runs military’  US House Rep. Ron Paul says the CIA has has in effect carried out a “coup” against the US government, and the intelligence agency needs to be “taken out.”  I also personally believe there has been a defacto coup d’etat which has manifested in various substantial, blatant, brazened frauds, ie., wall street, missing 360 tons of $100 bills in Iraq, war profiteering, etc., without any fear of prosecution, and of course concomitant decline for u.s. as the treasury is looted. But I also believe its scope is beyond just the CIA with many complicit within the corrupted 3 branches of u.s. government (fed judges, us attorneys, illegal system, etc.) plus the military and private big money, ie., Goldman Sachs / wall street men, etc., among other organized crime. america is defacto bankrupt in every way!

In Iraq, $2.6B unaccounted for (Washington Post) [Daaah! Fog of war frauds among others; the nation’s treasury pillaged and plundered; I’ve previously commented here and included on my website http://albertpeia.com , see infra] Pentagon can't account for how it spent $2.6 billion of Iraqi oil proceeds, an IG report says.

Articles on Catherine Austin Fitts' Blog: http://solari.com
Billions over Baghdadby Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele - Vanity FairSeptember 2007
Those Who Blow Whistle on Contractor Fraud in Iraq Face PenaltiesDeborah Hastings - APAugust 2007
Auditor Quits with NASA Finances in ChaosBy Arindam Nag and Deborah ZabarenkoMay 15, 2004
The War on WasteCBS NewsCiting "cooked books" at DoD, Rumsfeld on the missing $2.3 trillion, ... January 29, 2002
Military Stashes Covert Millions St. Petersburg TimesSeptember 28, 2003
Key Documents
U.S. Department of Defense Web Site "The technology revolution has transformed organizations across the private sector, but not ours, not fully, not yet. We are, as they say, tangled in our anchor chain. Our financial systems are decades old. According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions. We cannot share information from floor to floor in this building because it's stored on dozens of technological systems that are inaccessible or incompatible."- Remarks as Delivered by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, The Pentagon, Monday, September 10, 2001 Independent Audit Report - Department of DefenseRe: $1.1 Trillion Missing from DODFebruary 26, 2002
Testimony of the Inspector General - Department of Housing & Urban DevelopmentRe: $59 Billion Missing from HUD March 22, 2000 Discrepancies in America's Accounts Hide a Black Hole By Daniel Gros, Financial Times June 15, 2006
Road to Ruin by Eric Sprott, Sprott Asset Management Regarding the $11 Trillion Deficit in the US Government in FY 2004January 2005
U.S.' Missing $Trillions Make Mainstream At LastScoop Media's version of the Chronicle Story with more links addedMay 26, 2003
Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. and the Aristocracy of Stock Profits by Catherine Austin Fitts A case study of two teams each with competing visions for America.April 2006
Estimate $3.3 Trillion Missing From U.S. Treasuryby Buddy Grizzard An excellent overview integrating coverage by key investigative journalists August 2002
Where is the Collateral? and So, Where is the Collateral?A two-part series by Chris Sanders of Sanders Research Associates in London
These articles connect the dots between the missing money, the Where is the Money? litigation, questionable HUD deals, and the impact on the investment communityOctober 2003 and July 2004
U.S. "Could Be Going Bankrupt"by Edmund Conway, Economics EditorUK TelegraphJuly 2006
whereisthemoney.org Web site documenting the missing money -- includes petition, FAQs, Who's Who ... also available in Spanish

Top Secret America: How the DOD does it (Washington Post) Does what? Come On! You can’t take this guy seriously. First, he’s military; what do you expect him to say. Second, he talks of wars as if they always have to have one or be searching for one and we all know they “find” them. Finally, he all but ignores what the underrated President General Eisenhower warned of in the form of the unscrupulous, insatiably greedy military/industrial complex which as colonel he but a very small cog in who goes along to get along. The fact is also that they can’t be managed and also that they don’t even try!

Drudgereport: WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS: Hidden world, growing beyond control...
854,000 people have top-secret security clearance...
You really have to laud The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance which whether people appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and personal courage; even more so inasmuch as this is their backyard, so to speak. Clearly, this illuminates the boondoggles which amazingly are coming at a time when america will not be able to handle ‘bare necessities’ much less the self-perpetuating, need-creating, bureaucracies which I’ve previously likened to a perverse version of ‘Field of Dreams’ where if you will commit taxpayer dollars, they’ll find / create a war, conflict, new war, etc., to spend it on.

The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. (Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored ‘In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

Web Site Archived FLV Version of Esoteric Agenda http://albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv

SEC enforcers get to keep subpoena authority (Washington Post) I believe that they should also be empowered to bring criminal charges inasmuch as the doj and u.s. attorneys offices thereunder seem either unwilling, lacking courage, incapable, without specific knowledge in the securities field (inept), or just, as is my experience, plain corrupt, politically motivated, and venal. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and, ie., the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

FBI could get easier access to Internet data (Washington Post) I hope so; at least as to my data; then there will be no excuse for lack of resolution in accordance will meaningful law. The fact is, they already have the relevant data under penalty of perjury on disk. Moreover, it’s been assigned out here and I’ve once again offered to take a polygraph on any and all matters.

There is really no way to rationalize or attempt to justify what america is / has become since they have with open eyes chosen this contra-indicated course of ineluctable decline, from illegal wars, to war crimes, to backing war criminal nations as israel, to huge frauds, to war profiteering, to illicit drug trafficking and money laundering, and this list goes on and on …:

(Previously) I’d say this alito vs. wobama is a tempest in a teapot inasmuch as alito is more than just a lightweight, hack, liar, fraud etc., as set forth in the comments. alito is a criminal who should have served / should be serving time in prison for obstruction of justice, bribery, among other RICO violations. To alito, drug money is as green as corporate money and worth his vote as well. In addition to being an inept [I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches)] and corrupt (see below and particularly the summary provided to the FBI under penalty of perjury  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ] )  u.s. attorney.

You’re naïve to think that the so-called supreme court is any different from the rest of the meaningfully lawless and pervasively corrupt american ‘system’. I knew well an accomplished trial lawyer, fellow american college of trial lawyers / and a bar examiner, who pondered from time to time becoming a judge “so he’d never have to work again” – his words.

Some comments on alito…all appropriate:

Probably the worst appointment in one hundred years.

Posted by: mnjam

-----------------------

Really? That's a pretty sweeping statement to make about someone who's only been on the court a short few years.

And I thought that liberals were in universal agreement that Clarence Thomas was the worst appointment in all of history?

Posted by: blert | January 28, 2010 2:11 AM | Report abuse
----------------------------
Yes. Really. Alito is a total lightweight and hack. He makes Thomas look like John Marshall or Oliver Wendell Holmes. I KNOW ALITO.
Posted by: mnjam | January 28, 2010 2:24 AM |

the loser here is alito.lost his composure not good for a judge especially afederal or supreme justice .loser big time this will live with guy for a very time.roberts and the other justices will have a talk with him that is a given.this relly larger than o one day news cycle.
Posted by: donaldtucker | January 28, 2010 1:12 AM |

Should Alito resign or be impeached?
Posted by: jdmca | January 28, 2010 1:05 AM |

Manchurian Candidates: Supreme Court allows China and others unlimited spending in US elections Greg Palast | Our future elections may come down to a three-way battle between China, Saudi Arabia and Goldman Sachs.       Call For Immediate Arrest of 5 Supreme Court Justices for Treason Gordon Duff | The bloated corpse we are creating in Washington is emitting a stench we can no longer abide.     The aforesaid would be shocking to anyone without a modicum of knowledge of the reality of pervasive corruption within the u.s. courts themselves and america generally, including all three branches of the u.s. government.

Rendition: Where the War on Terror Meets the War on Drugs Henningsen | It’s time to ditch the policies we have come to tolerate for decades before they consume what is left of our moral core. I’ve experienced the corrupt inter-relationship of the government (all 3 corrupt branches) and the illegal drug trade / obstruction of justice / bribery first hand, particularly the courts / u.s. attorneys offices (ie., alito – now u.s. supreme court justice – quid pro quo for his complicity / cover-up), feds; see immediately after article excerpt for links / summary.

…“Evidence points to aircraft – familiarly known as “torture taxis” – used by the CIA to move captives seized in its kidnapping or “extraordinary rendition” operations through Gatwick and other airports in the EU being simultaneously used for drug distribution in the Western hemisphere. A Gulfstream II jet aircraft N9875A identified by the British Government and the European Parliament as being involved in this traffic crashed in Mexico…” In 2004, another torture taxi crashed in a field in Nicaragua with a ton of cocaine aboard… Mexican soldiers found ..132 bags containing 3.3 metric tons of cocaine. The origination of the Gulfstream’s flight is unknown but it was destined for Cancun when it crash landed. Again, here is the important point: that same Gulf Stream II was one of the very same planes chartered to the CIA for the rendition of suspected terrorists prisoners. Gulf Stream II crashed in Mexico with 3 tons of cocaine on board ..it should not be surprising that this illegal practice of rendition has in some part, been used as a well-run smokescreen for another borderless illegal operation- an extremely lucrative international transfer and delivery of cash and narcotics.,,These flights are not subject to regular customs checks, inspections or normal regulations as they move seamlessly between destinations in the US, Britain, Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Cuba and possibly through US bases in Turkey, Greece and Morocco…

Corrupt u.s. courts / judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and costly bureaucracies. Rules of law mean nothing to these typically corrupt americans. Most, including sam alito of the u.s. supreme court, concerning  drug money laundering and obstruction of justice in the 3^rd circuit ( also maryanne trump barry who covered-up drug money laundering through her brother’s casinos in a civil RICO case) should have gone to or belong in jail. Contrary to popular belief, they do it for the money, personal money, big, cash, untraceable money. The fog of war is great for such things (360 tons $100 bills flown into Iraq and missing, etc.).

 [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ].

NSA beats warrantless wiretap rap A Federal judge has dismissed a complaint against the National Security Agency’s (NSA)

Corrupt u.s. courts / judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and corrupt costly bureaucracies.

There must be such things as parallel universes (I don’t really believe that, because there isn’t) or how else do you explain the disconnect between reality, current and prospective, and the wet dreams posited to keep the war funding / corporate welfare programs alive in collectively what has already become a trillion dollar boondoggle (not counting prospective medical costs, etc.) and promises to go much higher. Even israel apologist Cohen of The Washington Post alludes to the Vietnam analogy. However, even if there were real goals beyond the poppy / heroin trade which the Taliban had all but eradicated (there isn’t); even if america wasn’t defacto bankrupt (america is); even if america wasn’t killing innocent civilians in large numbers (war criminal nation america is); even if america’s allies haven’t similarly helped to bankrupt themselves by way of this war (they have); even if I hadn’t told you so (I did) ….. this war still was, is, and remains a very bad idea!

Afghan war overtakes Vietnam to become the longest conflict in U.S. history Mail Online | The war entered its 104th month yesterday, with 30,000 American troops being deployed in the first half of this year alone.

You think Iraq was bad? Invading Iran ‘would be lunacy’ Ivan Eland, Director of the Center on Peace and Liberty at the Independent Institute in Washington DC, gives his opinion on new sanctions imposed on Iran.

I include the first two comments to the foregoing headline:

Billo Says:

June 11th, 2010 at 6:15 am

Lunacy? Keep in mind that this country is run and controlled by lunatics. Our press government and military seem to take their orders from Israel. Isarel wants to be known as a pack of “mad dogs. Do we want “mad dogs” controlling us?

Here we see a bunch of phony accusations against Iran just like we did in the run up to the bogus wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan. The boy has cried wold ten thousand times. It’s time to identify the “lunatics” and kindly take away the car keys. If you won’t let your friends drive drunk, why do we let a bunch of “lunatic” enemies run this place.

Glen Reply:

June 11th, 2010 at 6:47 am

Lunacy it would be.

But it is also to their great credit that the Iranians have not made their own threats.

Everyone knows there are 3 WMD threats, Nuclear Biological and chemical. The scariest of which is Biological.

Any attack done under the threat of immediate biological retaliation would deter only the insane.

Watch out america home of the insane, home of the leaders who want an 80% population reduction.

General McChrystal’s Burning Contempt for the Puppet Obama The farce that is the war in Afghanistan is coming apart at the seams. General Stanley McChrystal’s sharp comments about Obama, Biden, and the administration published by Rolling Stone are not so much about disrespect, as the script-reading corporate media talking heads would have it, but rather about a policy in disarray in Afghanistan.

Gaza blockade illegal, must be lifted — UN rights official Israeli blockade of Gaza unsustainable: White House US Jewish opinion and the ‘Beinart moment’ The controversial book, The Israel Lobby, in which the political scientists, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, argued that US foreign policy has been hijacked by organized Zionism went strangely unnoticed by the leading journal of American intellectual opinion, the New York Review of Books.      Doubts Grow Over Israel’s Value as U.S. Ally Jim Lobe | The notion is that Israel and its actions have since the Cold War increasingly become a “strategic liability” to U.S. interests in the region.

Mideast Digest Israeli shelling kills 2 wounds 6 Gaza civilians: (Washington Post) [War criminal israelis justified their attack saying when the 10 year old girl grew up to be a woman she’d be prepared to fire rockets at them … press on says fellow war criminal defacto bankrupt nation america] israeli shellfire killed two Palestinian freedom fighters and wounded six people, including a 10-year-old girl, in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical workers and an official with a militant group said. An israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on militants suspected of preparing to fire a rocket at them.

A Plague Upon The World: The USA is a “Failed State”  Dr. Paul Craig Roberts | The American people are lost in la-la land. They have no idea that their civil liberties have been forfeited.    US citizen killed on flotilla reportedly shot four times in head  Raw Story | A forensic report said Furkan Dogan was shot at close range, with four bullets in his head and one in his chest, according to the Anatolian news agency. The explanation foisted off on the americans by war criminal israelis is probably something on the order of ‘they just wanted to make sure they missed him’.     Roberts: ‘AIPAC purchases US elections’  Russia Today | Paul Craig Roberts says that there will be nothing that is going to be done by the United States to change the relationship with Israel.

‘US funding terrorist group against Iran’ Press TV | A member of a terrorist organization operating in Iran says that a US State department radio station originally put him in touch with the group.

Paul Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs  Kurt Nimmo | John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is:  http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm  ‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the "songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) click Here, Here.  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm ]  But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the (corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed, prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street" has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention, and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn"; huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)…’

Coalition wants UK space lift-off [ Don’t make me laugh! ]

Israel’s Nukes Out of the Shadows  Israel faces unprecedented pressure to abandon its official policy of “ambiguity” on its possession of nuclear weapons as the international community meets at the United Nations in New York this week to consider banning such arsenals from the Middle East.

NASA wants mission to bring Martian rocks to Earth (AP) Why? They already have that and more:

Launch of secret US space ship masks even more secret launch of new weapon

The Militarization of Outer Space: The Pentagon’s “Space Warriors” Global Research | It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on planet earth. Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new, destabilizing weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit into another “battlespace.”     

buzz aldrin wants to colonize Mars … Riiiiight buzzed! Better check with DePalma to see if he already has the footage in the can since you won’t be able to use the moon footage for the new boondoggle video ...

OBAMA SPEECH OUTLINES PLANS FOR RETURNING DEFACTO BANKRUPT U.S. TO SPACE – OOOOOH! SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN … FOR INNER SPACE (IMAGINATION).

NASA's New Asteroid Mission Could Save the Planet Space.com - Tariq Malik - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - President Barack Obama set a lofty next goal this week for Americans in space: Visiting an asteroid by 2025. Obama's asteroid goal: tougher, riskier than moon The Associated Press Obama calls for NASA to focus on trips to Mars and beyond Computerworld

New Boondoggle promised to save NASA boondoggle defacto bankrupt budget piece of pie. And don’t forget, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, et als, have already done this so it’s not as if they’re starting from ‘ground zero’, so to speak; and Brian DePalma already has ‘Mission to Mars’ in the can, but beware say the producers of ‘Species II’ since Eve, the cloned daughter of Sill, might want to mate with astronaut Paddy Ross who has returned from Mars as a space alien host body.

First fake moonwalker blasts Obama's space plan msnbc.com - Bill Ingalls - The first man to pretend to walk on the moon blasted President Barack Obama's decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program on Tuesday, saying that not going with the new movie is “devastating” to america's boondoggle spaced out effort. Fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed a treasured piece at the dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, ...bbc news bbc news | europe | fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed prized moon rock a fake - a piece of moon rock given to an overseas politician by the united states is actually a lump of petrified wood, museum authorities revealed yesterday. ... 'Moon rock' in dutch museum is just petrified wood aug 27, 2009 ... Fake moon rock at dutch national museum. Rijksmuseum / ap. This rock, supposedly brought back from the moon by american astronauts, ...    http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm

In reality it is just a piece of petrified wood ... Another piece of evidence that shows again that apollo program is indeed a fake and a typical american fraud!

http://www.albertpeia.com/UFOetryWeNeverWentToTheMoonPNTV.wmv

Editorial: US in quagmire Seeing the warm welcome extended to the Afghan president on his US trip, it is hard to believe that only weeks ago Washington was seething with anger and frustration at Hamid Karzai’s behavior and there were even dark mutterings by US officials that he might be mad.

War in Afghanistan and Iraq costs America $1trillion From the Old | On May 30th at 10:06 the United States reached the point where they have spent $1trillion on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.        Sinking of the Cheonan: A Classic False Flag Operation Russia Today | Sinking of the warship was really intended to convince Japan not to move US forces off Okinawa as well as divert the attention of Americans from the dire economic situation at home.     .      Israel: IDF Troops Who Murdered Unarmed Innocent People Are ‘Brave Heroes’  The government of israel, aided by many quarters of the international media, is attempting to spin today’s deadly IDF assault on a humanitarian aid ship carrying supplies to Gaza as the fault of the murdered activists on board the vessel, ludicrously characterizing machine-gun carrying Israeli troops who killed over a dozen innocent people as the victims of the incident.

Israeli American Microbiologist Linked to Deadly Fungus Kurt Nimmo | A report links labs in the United States and Israel to the Cryptococcus gatti fungus that has killed several people in the United States.

Iraqi doctors demand cancer probe Al Jazeera | Iraqi doctors believe depleted uranium from US military equipment used in the 2003 invasion is spreading cancer through the population. [This is all too true and real; and I’m surprised this hasn’t gotten more attention, coverage … well, maybe not that surprised ].

"What this means is that Neanderthals are not totally extinct. In some of us, they live on," Paabo … With regard to that extinction thing, I’d say they’re still working on it (ultimately, decades, extinction, the distinction, without a difference).  Actually, prior to studying the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology (Michael Park text), I too had some misconceptions about the group known as Neandertals (recent spelling drops the ‘h’) and actually mis-referenced same by the stereotypical image of members of said clade even as the debate continues as to whether they are within the species homo sapiens or a separate species. I believe these to be distinctions without important differences, so humble the origins and evolution of man truly are. Parenthetically, I wonder what that anthropological scientist Heidi Klum thinks on the subject.

Neanderthals, Humans Interbred, DNA Proves

Signs of Neanderthals Mating With Humans - Neanderthals mated with some modern humans after all and left their imprint in the human genome.  Genome hints humans, Neanderthals rolled in prehistoric hay You're a Neanderthal: Genes say yes — a little bit (AP) Neanderthals and people interbred, fossil analysis finds  For more info on man’s humble beginnings, see here     http://www.albertpeia.com/anthroindex1.htm    

Previously I wrote:

FOUND: MISSING LINK BETWEEN APES AND MAN.... These stories, and the many like it, are old news and I subscribe to the more studied view that there is no “missing link” per se and in my view they are distinctions without significant differences. I previously wrote:

To Learn More About From Whence Man Came, This Link's For You

  [To the Professor at the beginning of the course]    

   10-5-09 Postscript: Professor *****,
I felt compelled to thank you again for the add; not to curry your favor but indeed to express profound thanks inasmuch as this is probably the last formal course at a formal educational institution I'll ever take; and among the most important. While I had bought at discount a library-discarded 1993 Anthropology by Embers text, though meaning to read same never quite got to it. I am astounded by the substantial amount of time involved in the evolutionary process, not that I ever stopped to think about it, and one must come away with the sense of 'and all that...for this?'. This course should be required curriculum along with psychology, sociology, etc., but probably won't be owing to what is, as it should be, a very humbling educational experience for any member of the human race.
             Regards,
                                  Al Peia

[Interestingly, my intuitive (but unstudied) thoughts prior to closer examination of the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology remain what I believe to be the correct scenario. Specifically, very simply stated, for the most part, the more “enlightened” (but not by much; by mutation, accident, luck, intervention, etc.) left the unvarying confines of their Sub-Saharan origins, experienced diverse new environs, challenges, etc., experienced what has been described (by neuroscientists, psychologists, etc.) as neurogenesis in varying degrees and forms thereby over time, which trait was selected for and is consistent with the purported multi-regional evolutionary model which does not overtly contradict ultimately, initial African origins. Races, sub-species, missing links, etc., are subsumed in this very humbling and sorrowful tale of the “dawn of man”.]

[Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case [  http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]    

Don’t Tread On Me: A Refresher Course on the Constitution

Sen. Levin urges State Department to put Afghan Taliban on list of terror groups (Washington Post) Oooooh! … Sounds like a plan … and emanating from washington (and a thriving Michigan jew no less) … who says they don’t do anything? … And, consistent with that apocalyptic vision set forth in the Bible [albeit a book of truth from a very limited perspective (for which literal interpretations are misleading); after all, the Wise Men thought it was a movable star that was guiding them and shone the bright ‘spotlight’ upon the manger with the Christ]; the jews and some other entity against the rest of the world for that final Armageddon … oh, they’ll make that happen … it gets them through their day with every step closer to apocalypse but not to the place called heaven will they go. The end of this world? You might say america / israel / and theirs are feverishly working on just that, one way or another!

Roman Polanski freed after Swiss reject U.S. extradition request (Washington Post, July 13, 2010) Without diminishing in any way the seriousness of the crime, this result is the direct consequence of the growing global recognition of the pervasiveness of corruption in american courts, state and federal, and america generally; so much so, that said corrupt american courts cannot be relied on anywhere, anytime. Indeed, my own sampling, though hardly random to be candid, is 5 for 5 (new jersey, new york, connecticut, virginia, california) pervasively and egregiously corrupt to the point where these costly, corrupt bureaucracies should be abolished and supplanted with alternatives as I’ve previously set forth in these comments.

BUDGET CRISIS PUTS LOS ANGELES COURT SYSTEM AT RISK ...  [Judge sends Lohan to jail for probation violation (AP) – They got her! That globe-trotting danger / threat to society, the infamous public enemy Lindsey Lohan. Guess she couldn’t cough up that direct or indirect bribe. How pathetic these corrupt, kangaroo courts are! If only she was a drug dealer, armed robber, etc., she would have had the pre-paid connections to avoid this preposterous (known substantial criminals walk about freely, without fear) outcome. This, even as they are releasing substantial felons owing to budgetary considerations. ]  ABOLISH THE CORRUPT, ECONOMICALLY WASTEFUL SO-CALLED SYSTEM, FROM MY DIRECT OBSERVATION AND EXPERIENCE .     (PREVIOUSLY ARCHIVED) HOWEVER, THIS LATEST "CALIFORNIA/LA DISTRACTION" REQUIRES ELUCIDATION AS FOLLOWS:

· Response to App. Div. OSC

· STATE OF CALIFORNIA ethics complaint

· Response to Sup.Ct. OSC

· designation of record on appeal

· The so-called "order" appealed from.
How embarrassing for the superior court of the state of california!

· Typical corrupt banana republic america/california court

Dirty money digitally laundered … a wall street, atlantic city, and american story … a very bad one and  [also see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]     Fraud: It’s Much Bigger Than Goldman Sachs Regulatory reform debate obscures key fact: Everybody’s getting money bribes from Wall Street

Blagojevich calls feds 'cowards and liars'…[Yes. This is a rare moment for one to say that a sleazy hypocrite like blago, who is on corrupt federale-connected mobster trump’s celebrity apprentice, happens to be correct based upon facts / reality and my own direct observation and experience and the law – Don’t forget to include corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz, hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken] (AP) [Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case [  http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]    

No shame, just blame (Washington Post) Come on! This is america today. Look at wobama … lied his way in and no shame … typical … criticism just like water off a duck’s back. I think he’s content to be a failed president just so he can do as he does best on the speaking tours as a retiree from the office … b*** s***! They’re all the same. Legislated raises for themselves in congress as the nation was bleeding jobs, legislated NAFTA and gave huge wall street frauds money and still no pros, but that’s where the campaign funds are. No guts! Pervasively corrupt and meaningfully lawless, america’s done! And america’s defacto bankrupt in every way.

Executive compensation 'ill-advised,' pay czar says (Washington Post) But, as with prosecutions thus far, does nothing. The american companies have failed, but their compensation check writing has not.

The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

For the Same Reason I’ve Included Here a Web Site Archived FLV Version of Esoteric Agenda http://albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv

How much is $1.4 trillion? | Doing the math (Washington Post) Math? How plebian a task on capital hill. I think the lack thereof is as much a lack of aptitude / intelligence as it is a lack of will. And, this is a bi-partisan foible. According to the Debt Clock (approx. two months ago):

• Total national debt: $13 trillion (near 13.3 now)
• Debt per citizen: $42,026
• Debt per taxpayer: $117,982
• Total interest due: $1.9 trillion
• Interest per citizen: $2,211

Click here to see the Debt Clock, which is updated every second.

• Total personal debt: $16.5 trillion
• Total mortgage debt: $14.1 trillion
• Total consumer debt: $2.45 trillion
• Personal debt per citizen: $53,483
• Debt held by foreign countries: $4.07 trillion

http://www.usdebtclock.org Get Real Time U.S. Debt Data

Big banks pass stress tests (Washington Post) They’ve swallowed the american paradigm of fraud and b*** s***, hook, line, and sinker and sink they will as yet another reason is manifest in the ‘death of the west’ (as coined by Buchanan), displaced by emerging economies, asia, most notably China, etc., where they tend not to lie to either themselves or others. No wonder the failed ‘nation states of the west’ are joined at the hip in such ill-fated ventures as illegal wars, past and present, among many other strategic blunders.

Deficit to exceed $1.4 trillion in 2010 and 2011 (Washington Post) Sounds like a plan! … However, unlike other american plans, this is one that they’re sure to accomplish!

Jobless claims jump higher than expected (Washington Post) Sounds like a reason for a feel good rally on fraudulent wall street, however ephemeral.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012

They ensured financial regulation overhaul (Washington Post) What overhaul? New bureaucracy, more power to the fed and corrupt incompetents as tiny tim geithner (that $4 trillion’s still missing from the ny fed), no recession helicopter ben bernanke, perps scot free and keep their loot, etc.. Real reform requires that the wall street frauds et als be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Existing-home sales drop for second month (Washington Post) Bad economic news … what better reason for a typically fraudulent suckers’ bear market, short-covering rally for the high-frequency computerized churn-and-earn wall street frauds to commission and ultimately sell into.

Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

Worth it? Three U.S. Embassy guards killed in rocket attack in Baghdad's Green Zone (Washington Post) Big yes here since ‘The Green Zone’ got Hollywood movie status. 2 More Americans killed in copter crash in Afghanistan (AP) Not so much, unless they rename Tony Montana, To Mon el Swahili and recut ‘Scarface’ to reflect an Aghanistan Heroin connection, or similarly change ‘Hurt Locker’. It’s a good thing for the military that IQ tests aren’t required.

netanayahu admits on video he deceived US to destroy Oslo accord The contents of a secretly recorded video threaten to gravely embarrass not only Benjamin netanayahu, the Israeli prime minister but also the US administration of Barack Obama.

Iran accuses US and UK of supporting group behind mosque attacks Iran is vowing to hunt down a Sunni separatist group which claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing that killed 28 people at a mosque in the south-eastern city of Zahedan.

US, NATO behind Iran bombings: MP An Iranian lawmaker slams the recent bombings in the country’s southeast as a plot by Western military forces in the Middle East to spread terror on Iran’s borders.

WASHPOST Ombudsman: Why Silence on Black Panther Story? (Washington Post) ‘Thursday's Post reported about a growing controversy over the Justice Department's decision to scale down a voter-intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party. The story succinctly summarized the issues but left many readers with a question: What took you so long? For months, readers have contacted the ombudsman wondering why The Post hasn't been covering the case. The calls increased recently after competitors such as the New York Times and the Associated Press wrote stories. Fox News and right-wing bloggers have been pumping the story. Liberal bloggers have countered, accusing them of trying to manufacture a scandal. But The Post has been virtually silent. The story has its origins on Election Day in 2008, when two members of the New Black Panther Party stood in front of a Philadelphia polling place. YouTube video of the men, now viewed nearly 1.5 million times, shows both wearing paramilitary clothing. One carried a nightstick…’

‘West, israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated “the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.

De-classified Vietnam-era Transcripts Show Senators Knew Gulf Of Tonkin Was A Staged False Flag Event Over 1,100 pages of previously classified Vietnam-era transcripts released this week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee highlight the fact that several Senators knew that the White House and the Pentagon had deceived the American people over the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It Zach Carter | Wachovia was moving money behind literally tons of cocaine from violent drug cartels. It wasn’t an accident.

Vegetable zionist Zelig joe lieberman’s Model For America: Purging The Internet of Dissent When political Zelig joe lieberman attempted to justify draconian legislation that would provide President Obama with a figurative kill switch to shut down parts of the Internet, he cited the Chinese system of Internet policing as model which america should move towards

The U.S. Economy Is A Dead Horse And The American People Are Starting To Get Really Angry And Frustrated The economic frustration of the american people is reaching a fever pitch. Millions of americans can’t seem to get a good job no matter what they do.

Three of every four oil and gas lobbyists worked for federal government (Washington Post) This is an important article but in no way should be limited to the oil and gas industries even if disproportionate to the upside, even as wall street has actually begun occupying capital hill in a manner of speaking. The revolving-door standards and the functions of ‘toll-bridge to taxpayer dollars’ must end. After all, you see, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ‘Three out of every four lobbyists who represent oil and gas companies previously worked in the federal government, a proportion that far exceeds the usual revolving-door standards on Capitol Hill, a Washington Post analysis shows’

Good credit isn't what it was (Washington Post) Gee! I thought this article was about america, pre-defacto bankruptcy compared with now.

Leading Chinese Economists Urge Government To Dump U.S. Treasuries, Buy Gold Prominent economists in China are calling for their government to ditch vast holdings of U.S. Treasuries in favour of tangible assets such as gold, a move that would have a far reaching impact on the economy.

Bernanke: Fed ready to step in if economy falters (Washington Post) Step in with what? Another two step (backwards)? They’ve ‘shot their wad’. Moreover, they can’t print the ever more worthless Weimar dollars any faster.

Stocks drop as Bernanke warns of uncertain economy (AP) One of those daaah moments courtesy of ‘no recession helicopter ben fed’! On the positive side, however, at least a semblance of reality is extant as opposed to stroking the frauds on wall street to facilitate their churn-and-earn high frequency trade scams (those lofty fraudulent peaks provide room to trade in and are great to sell into). Bernanke 'uncertain' about economy's outlook The Federal Reserve chairman says the outlook for the economy is “unusually uncertain” and that the central... Bernanke's economy comment batters market (Reuters) - Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's dour assessment of the U.S. recovery hit stocks on Wednesday, as his comment that the economy faced "unusually uncertain" prospects rattled investors.

U.S. financial reform bill also targets 'conflict minerals' (Washington Post) The bill doth try to do too much, methinks. After all, look at Sub-Saharan Africa generally … ‘mission impossible’ … and, with huge crime rates in the ‘ states, I’d say ‘look homeward, hell’s angels’. Then there’s the law of parsimony sometimes referred to as ‘Ockham’s razor’ which as a logical approach generally says ‘keep it simple’, only what’s necessary. Then, as well, there’s the defacto bankruptcy thing for america which will preclude meeting domestic promises, necessaries, and expectations. That’s reality along with the fact that: ‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes.’ Being a ‘meat and potatoes’ kind of guy, I also feel that all will be served if the frauds on wall street et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Job growth slows in Washington region (Washington Post) Wow! Sounds like a plan … a great plan, even … so long as the slowing’s on capital hill / D.C. . And, that’s if you believe their fake numbers. I’ don’t! Real Jobs, Fake Jobs In many ways, the unemployment numbers are much worse than they appear. One factor has been the timing of the US census.

Home building down 5 percent in June (Washington Post) Lunatic frauds on wall street say, ‘well, it could have been a 20% decline and they’ll take it (not really)’

A new front in racism battle (Washington Post) Truth be told, I’ve found that all peoples are prejudiced / biased. Probably an adaptive evolutionary relic that defies intellectual scrutiny, I’ve also found that those peoples who claim to be victimized the most are themselves the worst offenders despite their flaming rhetoric (there are numerous other and even better examples but the following are news current):

a) UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims

b) Latino KKK: You are too white to be American! ALIPAC | Tan Klan woman can scream racist comments because the Obama administration and most of the major news networks in America have her back.

c) DRUDGE: Arab guilty of rape after consensual sex with Jew... ‘An Israeli man of Arab origin has been convicted of rape after having consensual sex with a woman who had believed him to be a fellow Jew.

DRUDGEREPORT: Arab guilty of rape after consensual sex with Jew... ‘An Israeli man of Arab origin has been convicted of rape after having consensual sex with a woman who had believed him to be a fellow Jew. Sabbar Kashur, 30, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday after the court ruled that he was guilty of rape by deception. According to the complaint filed by the woman with the Jerusalem district court, the two met in downtown Jerusalem in September 2008 where Kashur, an Arab from East Jerusalem, introduced himself as a Jewish bachelor seeking a serious relationship. The two then had consensual sex in a nearby building before Kashur left. When she later found out that he was not Jewish but an Arab, she filed a criminal complaint for rape and indecent assault …’

Mideast Digest Israeli shelling kills 2 wounds 6 Gaza civilians: (Washington Post) [War criminal israelis justified their attack saying when the 10 year old girl grew up to be a woman she’d be prepared to fire rockets at them … press on says fellow war criminal defacto bankrupt nation america] israeli shellfire killed two Palestinian freedom fighters and wounded six people, including a 10-year-old girl, in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical workers and an official with a militant group said. An israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on militants suspected of preparing to fire a rocket at them.

The yardarm is the remedy Dozens of our friends and comrades, of wonderful compassionate activists are dead and wounded in the pirate attack in the high seas on humanitarian aid boats. This is a dreadful crime that will forever be remembered and should be punished. The Israeli pirates attacked the humanitarian aid Freedom Flotilla in the international waters over 150 km out of their territorial waters. The boats carried no arms; the participants strictly adhered to Ghandian mode by asking the Greek and Cyprus authorities to search the boats to avoid later claims that they were armed.

A Plague Upon The World: The USA is a “Failed State”  Dr. Paul Craig Roberts | The American people are lost in la-la land. They have no idea that their civil liberties have been forfeited.    US citizen killed on flotilla reportedly shot four times in head  Raw Story | A forensic report said Furkan Dogan was shot at close range, with four bullets in his head and one in his chest, according to the Anatolian news agency. The explanation foisted off on the americans by war criminal israelis is probably something on the order of ‘they just wanted to make sure they missed him’.     Roberts: ‘AIPAC purchases US elections’  Russia Today | Paul Craig Roberts says that there will be nothing that is going to be done by the United States to change the relationship with Israel.

‘US funding terrorist group against Iran’ Press TV | A member of a terrorist organization operating in Iran says that a US State department radio station originally put him in touch with the group.

Mideast Digest Israeli shelling kills 2 wounds 6 Gaza civilians: (Washington Post) [War criminal israelis justified their attack saying when the 10 year old girl grew up to be a woman she’d be prepared to fire rockets at them … press on says fellow war criminal defacto bankrupt nation america] israeli shellfire killed two Palestinian freedom fighters and wounded six people, including a 10-year-old girl, in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical workers and an official with a militant group said. An israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on militants suspected of preparing to fire a rocket at them.

In 1948, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, an opponent of the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, warned that, even though failure to go along with the Zionists might cost President Truman the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and California, it was about time that somebody should pay some consideration to whether we might not lose the United States. Mr. Forrestal was absolutely correct! Isn’t that exactly what’s happened to defacto bankrupt america in intractable decline. 

TIME TO REVOKE AND NULLIFY THE BALFOUR DECLARATION AND ABROGATE THE CREATION OF THE NATION STATE OF ISRAEL IN THE INTERESTS OF FAIRNESS, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PROSPECTIVE PROSPERITY FOR THIS WORLD!

OOOOH! ISRAEL NOW IN FAVOR OF NUKES IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN SUDDEN SHIFT IN POLICY TO FAVOR IRAN IN A VERY BIG WAY! ISRAEL SEES THE LIGHT AND SIDES WITH IRAN ON NUCLEAR ISSUE; ESSENTIALLY SAYS TO THE WORLD AND IRAN ‘TO PRESS ON WITH NUCLEAR AMBITIONS’.

Top Secret America: How the DOD does it (Washington Post) Does what? Come On! You can’t take this guy seriously. First, he’s military; what do you expect him to say. Second, he talks of wars as if they always have to have one or be searching for one and we all know they “find” them. Finally, he all but ignores what the underrated President General Eisenhower warned of in the form of the unscrupulous, insatiably greedy military/industrial complex which as colonel he but a very small cog in who goes along to get along. The fact is also that they can’t be managed and also that they don’t even try!

Drudgereport: WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS: Hidden world, growing beyond control...
854,000 people have top-secret security clearance...
You really have to laud The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance which whether people appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and personal courage; even more so inasmuch as this is their backyard, so to speak. Clearly, this illuminates the boondoggles which amazingly are coming at a time when america will not be able to handle ‘bare necessities’ much less the self-perpetuating, need-creating, bureaucracies which I’ve previously likened to a perverse version of ‘Field of Dreams’ where if you will commit taxpayer dollars, they’ll find / create a war, conflict, new war, etc., to spend it on.

The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. (Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored ‘In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

Web Site Archived FLV Version of Esoteric Agenda http://albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv

There is really no way to rationalize or attempt to justify what america is / has become since they have with open eyes chosen this contra-indicated course of ineluctable decline, from illegal wars, to war crimes, to backing war criminal nations as israel, to huge frauds, to war profiteering, to illicit drug trafficking and money laundering, and this list goes on and on …:

(Previously) I’d say this alito vs. wobama is a tempest in a teapot inasmuch as alito is more than just a lightweight, hack, liar, fraud etc., as set forth in the comments. alito is a criminal who should have served / should be serving time in prison for obstruction of justice, bribery, among other RICO violations. To alito, drug money is as green as corporate money and worth his vote as well. In addition to being an inept [I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches)] and corrupt (see below and particularly the summary provided to the FBI under penalty of perjury  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ] )  u.s. attorney.

You’re naïve to think that the so-called supreme court is any different from the rest of the meaningfully lawless and pervasively corrupt american ‘system’. I knew well an accomplished trial lawyer, fellow american college of trial lawyers / and a bar examiner, who pondered from time to time becoming a judge “so he’d never have to work again” – his words.

Some comments on alito…all appropriate:

Probably the worst appointment in one hundred years.

Posted by: mnjam

-----------------------

Really? That's a pretty sweeping statement to make about someone who's only been on the court a short few years.

And I thought that liberals were in universal agreement that Clarence Thomas was the worst appointment in all of history?

Posted by: blert | January 28, 2010 2:11 AM | Report abuse
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Yes. Really. Alito is a total lightweight and hack. He makes Thomas look like John Marshall or Oliver Wendell Holmes. I KNOW ALITO.
Posted by: mnjam | January 28, 2010 2:24 AM |

the loser here is alito.lost his composure not good for a judge especially afederal or supreme justice .loser big time this will live with guy for a very time.roberts and the other justices will have a talk with him that is a given.this relly larger than o one day news cycle.
Posted by: donaldtucker | January 28, 2010 1:12 AM |

Should Alito resign or be impeached?
Posted by: jdmca | January 28, 2010 1:05 AM |

Manchurian Candidates: Supreme Court allows China and others unlimited spending in US elections Greg Palast | Our future elections may come down to a three-way battle between China, Saudi Arabia and Goldman Sachs.       Call For Immediate Arrest of 5 Supreme Court Justices for Treason Gordon Duff | The bloated corpse we are creating in Washington is emitting a stench we can no longer abide.     The aforesaid would be shocking to anyone without a modicum of knowledge of the reality of pervasive corruption within the u.s. courts themselves and america generally, including all three branches of the u.s. government.

Ron Paul: After ‘CIA coup,’ agency ‘runs military’  US House Rep. Ron Paul says the CIA has has in effect carried out a “coup” against the US government, and the intelligence agency needs to be “taken out.”  I also personally believe there has been a defacto coup d’etat which has manifested in various substantial, blatant, brazened frauds, ie., wall street, missing 360 tons of $100 bills in Iraq, war profiteering, etc., without any fear of prosecution, and of course concomitant decline for u.s. as the treasury is looted. But I also believe its scope is beyond just the CIA with many complicit within the corrupted 3 branches of u.s. government (fed judges, us attorneys, illegal system, etc.) plus the military and private big money, ie., Goldman Sachs / wall street men, etc., among other organized crime. america is defacto bankrupt in every way!

There must be such things as parallel universes (I don’t really believe that, because there isn’t) or how else do you explain the disconnect between reality, current and prospective, and the wet dreams posited to keep the war funding / corporate welfare programs alive in collectively what has already become a trillion dollar boondoggle (not counting prospective medical costs, etc.) and promises to go much higher. Even israel apologist Cohen of The Washington Post alludes to the Vietnam analogy. However, even if there were real goals beyond the poppy / heroin trade which the Taliban had all but eradicated (there isn’t); even if america wasn’t defacto bankrupt (america is); even if america wasn’t killing innocent civilians in large numbers (war criminal nation america is); even if america’s allies haven’t similarly helped to bankrupt themselves by way of this war (they have); even if I hadn’t told you so (I did) ….. this war still was, is, and remains a very bad idea!

Afghan war overtakes Vietnam to become the longest conflict in U.S. history Mail Online | The war entered its 104th month yesterday, with 30,000 American troops being deployed in the first half of this year alone.

How does anyone take the u.s. seriously in light of their credibility problems, war crimes, etc.? What nuke technology israel didn’t steal from the u.s., the u.s. gave them along with missile, armaments, etc.. and paid for with taxpayer money that u.s. taxpayers and the defacto bankrupt nation don’t have.

It's time to expel israel from the UN Without doubt, the israeli attack on the Gaza-bound "Freedom Flotilla" in the dawn of Monday, May 31, 2010 is one of the most savage crimes in recent history. It seems the ruling power in Tel Aviv has been afflicted with a variant of mad cow disease; otherwise, how could it be so cruel to unleash such a beastly raid on the "Mavi Marmara," the Turkish flagship of a flotilla carrying medical and humanitarian supplies to the hapless people of Gaza Strip?

The israeli Spin-Machine in Overdrive: dershowitz to the Rescue?  Armed Israeli commandos, the elite of the elites, rappelled to the deck of a Turkish ship carrying humanitarian relief supplies to the 1.5 million prisoners in the Gaza concentration camp.

You think Iraq was bad? Invading Iran ‘would be lunacy’ Ivan Eland, Director of the Center on Peace and Liberty at the Independent Institute in Washington DC, gives his opinion on new sanctions imposed on Iran.

I include the first two comments to the foregoing headline:

Billo Says:

June 11th, 2010 at 6:15 am

Lunacy? Keep in mind that this country is run and controlled by lunatics. Our press government and military seem to take their orders from Israel. Isarel wants to be known as a pack of “mad dogs. Do we want “mad dogs” controlling us?

Here we see a bunch of phony accusations against Iran just like we did in the run up to the bogus wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan. The boy has cried wold ten thousand times. It’s time to identify the “lunatics” and kindly take away the car keys. If you won’t let your friends drive drunk, why do we let a bunch of “lunatic” enemies run this place.

Glen Reply:

June 11th, 2010 at 6:47 am

Lunacy it would be.

But it is also to their great credit that the Iranians have not made their own threats.

Everyone knows there are 3 WMD threats, Nuclear Biological and chemical. The scariest of which is Biological.

Any attack done under the threat of immediate biological retaliation would deter only the insane.

Watch out america home of the insane, home of the leaders who want an 80% population reduction.

General McChrystal’s Burning Contempt for the Puppet Obama The farce that is the war in Afghanistan is coming apart at the seams. General Stanley McChrystal’s sharp comments about Obama, Biden, and the administration published by Rolling Stone are not so much about disrespect, as the script-reading corporate media talking heads would have it, but rather about a policy in disarray in Afghanistan.

Gaza blockade illegal, must be lifted — UN rights official Israeli blockade of Gaza unsustainable: White House US Jewish opinion and the ‘Beinart moment’ The controversial book, The Israel Lobby, in which the political scientists, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, argued that US foreign policy has been hijacked by organized Zionism went strangely unnoticed by the leading journal of American intellectual opinion, the New York Review of Books.      Doubts Grow Over Israel’s Value as U.S. Ally Jim Lobe | The notion is that Israel and its actions have since the Cold War increasingly become a “strategic liability” to U.S. interests in the region.

Russia accuses U.S. of kidnapping pilot (Washington Post) The lesson to be learned here is don’t mess with american drug trade … they’ll **** you up! That’s their drug money he’s takin’… riiiiight! … World Digest: China Oil Spill; U.S. aid boat wants to sail to Gaza as 'The Audacity of Hope' Rendition: Where the War on Terror Meets the War on Drugs Henningsen | It’s time to ditch the policies we have come to tolerate for decades before they consume what is left of our moral core. I’ve experienced the corrupt inter-relationship of the government (all 3 corrupt branches) and the illegal drug trade / obstruction of justice / bribery first hand, particularly the courts / u.s. attorneys offices (ie., alito – now u.s. supreme court justice – quid pro quo for his complicity / cover-up), feds; see immediately after article excerpt for links / summary.

…“Evidence points to aircraft – familiarly known as “torture taxis” – used by the CIA to move captives seized in its kidnapping or “extraordinary rendition” operations through Gatwick and other airports in the EU being simultaneously used for drug distribution in the Western hemisphere. A Gulfstream II jet aircraft N9875A identified by the British Government and the European Parliament as being involved in this traffic crashed in Mexico…” In 2004, another torture taxi crashed in a field in Nicaragua with a ton of cocaine aboard… Mexican soldiers found ..132 bags containing 3.3 metric tons of cocaine. The origination of the Gulfstream’s flight is unknown but it was destined for Cancun when it crash landed. Again, here is the important point: that same Gulf Stream II was one of the very same planes chartered to the CIA for the rendition of suspected terrorists prisoners. Gulf Stream II crashed in Mexico with 3 tons of cocaine on board ..it should not be surprising that this illegal practice of rendition has in some part, been used as a well-run smokescreen for another borderless illegal operation- an extremely lucrative international transfer and delivery of cash and narcotics.,,These flights are not subject to regular customs checks, inspections or normal regulations as they move seamlessly between destinations in the US, Britain, Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Cuba and possibly through US bases in Turkey, Greece and Morocco…

Corrupt u.s. courts / judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and costly bureaucracies. Rules of law mean nothing to these typically corrupt americans. Most, including sam alito of the u.s. supreme court, concerning  drug money laundering and obstruction of justice in the 3^rd circuit ( also maryanne trump barry who covered-up drug money laundering through her brother’s casinos in a civil RICO case) should have gone to or belong in jail. Contrary to popular belief, they do it for the money, personal money, big, cash, untraceable money. The fog of war is great for such things (360 tons $100 bills flown into Iraq and missing, etc.).

 [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ].

NSA beats warrantless wiretap rap A Federal judge has dismissed a complaint against the National Security Agency’s (NSA)

Corrupt u.s. courts / judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and corrupt costly bureaucracies.

Paul Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs  Kurt Nimmo | John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is:  http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm  ‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the "songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) click Here, Here.  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm ]  But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the (corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed, prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street" has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention, and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn"; huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)…’

Coalition wants UK space lift-off [ Don’t make me laugh! ]

Israel’s Nukes Out of the Shadows  Israel faces unprecedented pressure to abandon its official policy of “ambiguity” on its possession of nuclear weapons as the international community meets at the United Nations in New York this week to consider banning such arsenals from the Middle East.

NASA wants mission to bring Martian rocks to Earth (AP) Why? They already have that and more:

Launch of secret US space ship masks even more secret launch of new weapon

The Militarization of Outer Space: The Pentagon’s “Space Warriors” Global Research | It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on planet earth. Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new, destabilizing weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit into another “battlespace.”     

buzz aldrin wants to colonize Mars … Riiiiight buzzed! Better check with DePalma to see if he already has the footage in the can since you won’t be able to use the moon footage for the new boondoggle video ...

OBAMA SPEECH OUTLINES PLANS FOR RETURNING DEFACTO BANKRUPT U.S. TO SPACE – OOOOOH! SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN … FOR INNER SPACE (IMAGINATION).

NASA's New Asteroid Mission Could Save the Planet Space.com - Tariq Malik - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - President Barack Obama set a lofty next goal this week for Americans in space: Visiting an asteroid by 2025. Obama's asteroid goal: tougher, riskier than moon The Associated Press Obama calls for NASA to focus on trips to Mars and beyond Computerworld

New Boondoggle promised to save NASA boondoggle defacto bankrupt budget piece of pie. And don’t forget, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, et als, have already done this so it’s not as if they’re starting from ‘ground zero’, so to speak; and Brian DePalma already has ‘Mission to Mars’ in the can, but beware say the producers of ‘Species II’ since Eve, the cloned daughter of Sill, might want to mate with astronaut Paddy Ross who has returned from Mars as a space alien host body.

First fake moonwalker blasts Obama's space plan msnbc.com - Bill Ingalls - The first man to pretend to walk on the moon blasted President Barack Obama's decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program on Tuesday, saying that not going with the new movie is “devastating” to america's boondoggle spaced out effort. Fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed a treasured piece at the dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, ...bbc news bbc news | europe | fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed prized moon rock a fake - a piece of moon rock given to an overseas politician by the united states is actually a lump of petrified wood, museum authorities revealed yesterday. ... 'Moon rock' in dutch museum is just petrified wood aug 27, 2009 ... Fake moon rock at dutch national museum. Rijksmuseum / ap. This rock, supposedly brought back from the moon by american astronauts, ...    http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm

In reality it is just a piece of petrified wood ... Another piece of evidence that shows again that apollo program is indeed a fake and a typical american fraud!

http://www.albertpeia.com/UFOetryWeNeverWentToTheMoonPNTV.wmv

Editorial: US in quagmire Seeing the warm welcome extended to the Afghan president on his US trip, it is hard to believe that only weeks ago Washington was seething with anger and frustration at Hamid Karzai’s behavior and there were even dark mutterings by US officials that he might be mad.

War in Afghanistan and Iraq costs America $1trillion From the Old | On May 30th at 10:06 the United States reached the point where they have spent $1trillion on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.        Sinking of the Cheonan: A Classic False Flag Operation Russia Today | Sinking of the warship was really intended to convince Japan not to move US forces off Okinawa as well as divert the attention of Americans from the dire economic situation at home.     .      Israel: IDF Troops Who Murdered Unarmed Innocent People Are ‘Brave Heroes’  The government of israel, aided by many quarters of the international media, is attempting to spin today’s deadly IDF assault on a humanitarian aid ship carrying supplies to Gaza as the fault of the murdered activists on board the vessel, ludicrously characterizing machine-gun carrying Israeli troops who killed over a dozen innocent people as the victims of the incident.

Murder on the high seas JERUSALEM: Israeli marines stormed aid ships bound for Gaza on Monday and at least 10 rights activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an emergency session of the UN Security Council. European nations, as well as the United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to the international campaigners' bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip

Israeli American Microbiologist Linked to Deadly Fungus Kurt Nimmo | A report links labs in the United States and Israel to the Cryptococcus gatti fungus that has killed several people in the United States.

Iraqi doctors demand cancer probe Al Jazeera | Iraqi doctors believe depleted uranium from US military equipment used in the 2003 invasion is spreading cancer through the population. [This is all too true and real; and I’m surprised this hasn’t gotten more attention, coverage … well, maybe not that surprised ].

"What this means is that Neanderthals are not totally extinct. In some of us, they live on," Paabo … With regard to that extinction thing, I’d say they’re still working on it (ultimately, decades, extinction, the distinction, without a difference).  Actually, prior to studying the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology (Michael Park text), I too had some misconceptions about the group known as Neandertals (recent spelling drops the ‘h’) and actually mis-referenced same by the stereotypical image of members of said clade even as the debate continues as to whether they are within the species homo sapiens or a separate species. I believe these to be distinctions without important differences, so humble the origins and evolution of man truly are. Parenthetically, I wonder what that anthropological scientist Heidi Klum thinks on the subject.

Neanderthals, Humans Interbred, DNA Proves

Signs of Neanderthals Mating With Humans - Neanderthals mated with some modern humans after all and left their imprint in the human genome.  Genome hints humans, Neanderthals rolled in prehistoric hay You're a Neanderthal: Genes say yes — a little bit (AP) Neanderthals and people interbred, fossil analysis finds  For more info on man’s humble beginnings, see here     http://www.albertpeia.com/anthroindex1.htm    

Previously I wrote:

FOUND: MISSING LINK BETWEEN APES AND MAN.... These stories, and the many like it, are old news and I subscribe to the more studied view that there is no “missing link” per se and in my view they are distinctions without significant differences. I previously wrote:

To Learn More About From Whence Man Came, This Link's For You

  [To the Professor at the beginning of the course]    

   10-5-09 Postscript: Professor *****,
I felt compelled to thank you again for the add; not to curry your favor but indeed to express profound thanks inasmuch as this is probably the last formal course at a formal educational institution I'll ever take; and among the most important. While I had bought at discount a library-discarded 1993 Anthropology by Embers text, though meaning to read same never quite got to it. I am astounded by the substantial amount of time involved in the evolutionary process, not that I ever stopped to think about it, and one must come away with the sense of 'and all that...for this?'. This course should be required curriculum along with psychology, sociology, etc., but probably won't be owing to what is, as it should be, a very humbling educational experience for any member of the human race.
             Regards,
                                  Al Peia

[Interestingly, my intuitive (but unstudied) thoughts prior to closer examination of the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology remain what I believe to be the correct scenario. Specifically, very simply stated, for the most part, the more “enlightened” (but not by much; by mutation, accident, luck, intervention, etc.) left the unvarying confines of their Sub-Saharan origins, experienced diverse new environs, challenges, etc., experienced what has been described (by neuroscientists, psychologists, etc.) as neurogenesis in varying degrees and forms thereby over time, which trait was selected for and is consistent with the purported multi-regional evolutionary model which does not overtly contradict ultimately, initial African origins. Races, sub-species, missing links, etc., are subsumed in this very humbling and sorrowful tale of the “dawn of man”.]

[Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case [  http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]    

Don’t Tread On Me: A Refresher Course on the Constitution

Sen. Levin urges State Department to put Afghan Taliban on list of terror groups (Washington Post) Oooooh! … Sounds like a plan … and emanating from washington (and a thriving Michigan jew no less) … who says they don’t do anything? … And, consistent with that apocalyptic vision set forth in the Bible [albeit a book of truth from a very limited perspective (for which literal interpretations are misleading); after all, the Wise Men thought it was a movable star that was guiding them and shone the bright ‘spotlight’ upon the manger with the Christ]; the jews and some other entity against the rest of the world for that final Armageddon … oh, they’ll make that happen … it gets them through their day with every step closer to apocalypse but not to the place called heaven will they go. The end of this world? You might say america / israel / and theirs are feverishly working on just that, one way or another!

Roman Polanski freed after Swiss reject U.S. extradition request (Washington Post, July 13, 2010) Without diminishing in any way the seriousness of the crime, this result is the direct consequence of the growing global recognition of the pervasiveness of corruption in american courts, state and federal, and america generally; so much so, that said corrupt american courts cannot be relied on anywhere, anytime. Indeed, my own sampling, though hardly random to be candid, is 5 for 5 (new jersey, new york, connecticut, virginia, california) pervasively and egregiously corrupt to the point where these costly, corrupt bureaucracies should be abolished and supplanted with alternatives as I’ve previously set forth in these comments.

BUDGET CRISIS PUTS LOS ANGELES COURT SYSTEM AT RISK ...  [Judge sends Lohan to jail for probation violation (AP) – They got her! That globe-trotting danger / threat to society, the infamous public enemy Lindsey Lohan. Guess she couldn’t cough up that direct or indirect bribe. How pathetic these corrupt, kangaroo courts are! If only she was a drug dealer, armed robber, etc., she would have had the pre-paid connections to avoid this preposterous (known substantial criminals walk about freely, without fear) outcome. This, even as they are releasing substantial felons owing to budgetary considerations. ]  ABOLISH THE CORRUPT, ECONOMICALLY WASTEFUL SO-CALLED SYSTEM, FROM MY DIRECT OBSERVATION AND EXPERIENCE .     (PREVIOUSLY ARCHIVED) HOWEVER, THIS LATEST "CALIFORNIA/LA DISTRACTION" REQUIRES ELUCIDATION AS FOLLOWS:

· Response to App. Div. OSC

· STATE OF CALIFORNIA ethics complaint

· Response to Sup.Ct. OSC

· designation of record on appeal

· The so-called "order" appealed from.
How embarrassing for the superior court of the state of california!

· Typical corrupt banana republic america/california court

Dirty money digitally laundered … a wall street, atlantic city, and american story … a very bad one and  [also see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]     Fraud: It’s Much Bigger Than Goldman Sachs Regulatory reform debate obscures key fact: Everybody’s getting money bribes from Wall Street

Blagojevich calls feds 'cowards and liars'…[Yes. This is a rare moment for one to say that a sleazy hypocrite like blago, who is on corrupt federale-connected mobster trump’s celebrity apprentice, happens to be correct based upon facts / reality and my own direct observation and experience and the law – Don’t forget to include corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz, hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken] (AP) [Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case [  http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]    

 Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

U.N. official calls Ban's leadership 'deplorable' (Washington Post) As long as she’s looking in the mirror as she speaks … we’ll buy it! After all, they’ve all but ignored illegal israeli nukes, israeli violations of international law / u.n. resolutions, etc., even as they bully Iran. Collectively, the u.s. has indeed become a joke.

Mideast DIGEST (Washington Post, July 19, 2010) netanayahu admits on video he deceived US to destroy Oslo accord The contents of a secretly recorded video threaten to gravely embarrass not only Benjamin netanayahu, the Israeli prime minister but also the US administration of Barack Obama.

A lost fight to keep selling Chryslers (Washington Post) I realize it’s easy to say after the fact, with hindsight, that I was always at a loss to understand this very issue and such lack of understanding of the dealer / manufacturer inter-relationships left me speechless; however, the same always seemed counter-intuitive. Truth be told, however, I ‘m a big fan of Cal Worthington here in California based solely (and uniquely for me) on his television commercials in which the big cats figure prominently in actual footage of him with them, along with him riding bulls, killer whales, etc., and having very competitive advertised prices (He’s primarily Ford but sells them all).

The week ahead in business (Washington Post) Big week indeed for ‘no-recession-helicopter-ben’ bernanke, the captain of that unsinkable american economic Titanic who like the senile incompetent predecessor alan green_spun quite a few contra-indicated yarns himself!
Market Going Down With the Ship? Montgomery: ‘This morning the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of freight rates for international shipping, was at 1700. It hasn't been at this level since April 2009, only four months after its Credit Crisis low and only one month after the stock market was at its bottom. Bloomberg News noted a week ago that the index had dropped continuously for the longest period in nine years. Yes, the current drop in the preceding seven weeks (from a high of 4209 in late May) has been bigger than anything seen during the Credit Crisis. The last drop of this magnitude was in August 2001 in the middle of that year's recession. Lack of shipping activity from China, the engine for global economic activity, was cited as the main cause for the falling index. Charter rates for all types of ships tracked in the index are falling. Prices for dry bulk shipping, which doesn't include energy commodities, tend to be very sensitive to economic activity. A sharp drop in rates indicates a significant drop in global trade. Based on historical charts it looks like the Baltic Index can lead, be coincident or lag movements in economic data and the stock market. The index seems to be most closely correlated with prices of industrial commodities and the industrial sector of the global economy. While this is not the largest component of the U.S. economy (the service sector is four times larger), it is the key sector in developing economies. It was manufacturing though that had the biggest rebound in the U.S. since last year. The service sector has remained lackluster. The stock market will likely be following the Baltic Index down, although perhaps not with such a precipitous decline. The Index has dropped almost 60% since late May. With the exception of the small cap Russell 2000, none of the major stock indices have had even a 20% drop - at least not yet. Disclosure: No positions.’

The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored A viral You Tube upload of one of Alex Jones’ most popular feature films ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored following a spur of the moment campaign to elevate the movie’s title to the top of the major internet search engines.

In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Censorship Alert: Obama Deception Illegally Removed from You Tube

Drudgereport: IRELAND DOWNGRADED

Vegetable zionist Zelig joe lieberman’s Model For America: Purging The Internet of Dissent When political Zelig joe lieberman attempted to justify draconian legislation that would provide President Obama with a figurative kill switch to shut down parts of the Internet, he cited the Chinese system of Internet policing as model which america should move towards

Road Warrior-level collapse imminent: Alex Jones says we must take corrective action now Move towards global currency as U.S. loses status, faces depression and sees dangerous cuts to services as economic instability sets in.

Week's gains erased; stocks drop as pessimism grips investors (Washington Post) Reality, Really, Realistically does bite!

‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes.’

Regulators shut banks in Fla,(3) Mich,(1) SC(1) Total 2010 (96) (AP) Financial stocks post worse loss since late May Equities Tumble, Pressured by Earnings, Consumer Sentiment Stock Indexes Slip Below Support Levels

Still great opportunity to sell / take profits since much worse, also called reality beyond the b*** s***, to come.

Bank stress tests to shed light on Europe's economic health:  Process examines whether banks can take another punch to gut (Washington Post) The ‘bad paper’ is still out there in the many trillions and in criminally complicit fashion now marked to anything; and, they got their share of the same and followed the American paridigm concerning same, to their substantial detriment.

CNBC Host Accuses Guest Of Just Trying To Scare The Crap Out Of Everyone CNBC’s Simon Hobbs fought it out with Michael Pento today about the reality of the current economic situation in the U.S.

Real Jobs, Fake Jobs In many ways, the unemployment numbers are much worse than they appear. One factor has been the timing of the US census.

Charles Nenner: “Long-Term Investors Should Wait Until Dow Hits 5,000″ Charles Nenner, who prior to founding the Charles Nenner Research Institute served as a technical analyst for Goldman for about 10 years, has been looking at charts and not seeing much to write home about.

Martin Feldstein: Bilderberg’s promoter of equity on adjustable-rate mortgages and the Subprime Mortgage Crisis Make it Eight, eh? | In late 2007, as the housing crisis was hitting a peak, would Martin Feldstein be gearing up to suggest further reductions in interest rates to promote consumption?

Fed sends the dollar tumbling Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | The Fed confessed that the US economy may not recover for five or six years.

A slap on the wrist for Goldman Sachs Aljazeera.net | The “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity” agreed to pay $550 million to settle fraud charges.

22 Statistics That Prove The Middle Class Is Being Systematically Wiped Out Of Existence In America The 22 statistics that you are about to read prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the middle class is being systematically wiped out of existence in America.

Congress Passes Bankster Consolidation Bill Kurt Nimmo | Financial reform is a three-card Monte scam, a confidence game, a sleight of hand.

After Goldman, SEC eyes exotic financial products Video (Washington Post) SEC’s Khuzami Says ‘Goldman’s Suit Should Send Message’: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2010/07/16/VI2010071602828.html

I disagree! Indeed, there have been and are a plethora of laws and ad hoc prosecutions; but, particularly for the ‘risk seeker’ criminally insane mentality on wall street, the same is far from a deterrent as seen from historical perspective / fact and might even perversely provide for them an incentive. The amount is relatively meager, but so long as this settlement is as supposedly indicated to former SEC head by Khuzami narrowly drawn and in no ways protective of goldman with regard to the yet unresolved massive frauds in the many trillions, the SEC should be given the benefit of the doubt. However, ‘turning its attention to exotic financial products that MIGHT be used to harm investors’ is troubling to say the least. Might? Who are they kidding. The ‘bad paper’ is still out there in the many trillions and in criminally complicit fashion now marked to anything. I further believe these products of fraud and consequent damage are being surreptitiously being, with corrupt fed help, supplanted with real, albeit fiat, currency ultimately to citizens / taxpayers / nations detriment. As things currently stand, particularly from the numbers, fraud by wall street does pay; and pays well! Khuzami, a 29-year-old former employee in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s business intelligence unit, had better produce or appropriately find himself prosecuted for conflict, collusion, etc.. After all, he’s hardly one to be considered unbiased. The frauds on wall street et als must be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. I truly believe that absent such prosecution, there will be revolution in this country. In other words, their ‘jig is up’ and they must go down for what they did / do.

Obama-Dodd-Frank FinReg Monstrosity Delays Derivatives Curbs until 2022!

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It

They still know how to count. When you defraud for many billions, paying $550 million is chump change. Goldman to pay $550M to settle civil fraud charges (AP) Late stock rally ahead of Goldman settlement news And the beat goes on! Goldman Sachs beats the SEC– ‘Can Goldman Sachs Group Inc. wheel and deal or what? The bank and brokerage's settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday over the ill-fated Abacus deal may be its best trade ever. At $550 million, it's not terribly expensive. (GS 152.19, +6.97, +4.80%) hasn't agreed to restrict its practices in any meaningful way. And poof! The firm can go back to work with its biggest liability paid. Investors are ecstatic, Goldman shares rocketed 5.5% in after-hours trading. No wonder Goldman called it "the right outcome for our firm shareholders and clients." See full story on the SEC settlement. For the regulators, the settlement is more than just anticlimactic. Having bet all of its chips on reversing embarrassing episodes such as the Bernie Madoff fiasco in an aggressive case against Wall Street, the SEC whiffed. Sure, the settlement is the biggest in the agency's history. Yes, the SEC was able to squeeze Goldman on the settlement language and admit it was a "mistake" not to have disclosed Paulson & Co.'s role in picking the ill-fated securities. But come on. Goldman's net income last year was $12.1 billion. It could be even higher this year, given the robust first quarter Goldman already has had. The settlement amounts to less than 5% of profits. Maybe Goldman Sachs will even be able to write it off …’

‘West, israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated “the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.

Concern over smashing into the 'wall of debt' (Washington Post) Oh, they’ve hit the wall alright; and, it’s not just debt.

I believe the printing presses have been working overtime to pump out ever more worthless fiat currency and with the many trillions of worthless fraudulent paper still out there and marked to anything. I further believe the same is being surreptitiously used to supplant the fraudulent paper, the consequences of which will be devastating, of course, as is invariably so in depressions in any event. This scenario would also mean huge fraud accomplis. This market is paper on paper moving around and generating commissions at lightning computerized speed but adding no real value in real economic terms; again, the analogy of termites eating away at the (nation’s) foundation is apposite. As such, that money has to come from some real place and hence, the ever more frequent and larger crashes we are seeing. Don’t forget that the worthless paper from previous such fraudulent schemes now marked to anything is still out there in a magnitude some have placed in the hundreds of trillions.

Biggest wall will be reality:

‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into.’

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012

Economists worry women, minority business owners' gains will be lost (Washington Post) Little bit late for ‘economists worry’; talk about senile greenspan / no-recession bernanke economics / prognosticating. Does anybody recall the merciless drubbing (and pressure) that Ross Perot got for predicting the ill effects of NAFTA and standing against the tide. In america today, the best men never win; that’s reality, and also the sign of decline.

Exports are up, but where are the jobs? (Washington Post) Gone with the wind? Sorry, I must have been thinking of million dollar movies. Seriously though, I dare say everyone knows they were gone with that ‘bi-partisan executive / congressional, think-tank, cia / nsa ill wind’ that others might refer to as flatulence / passing gas, also called NAFTA, and also proudly hailed by the foregoing as ‘strategy’. They’re gone, and never to return. Moreover, the flipside of the exports, viz., imports, doesn’t bode well despite the fraudulent wall street b*** s*** and their chorus of cheerleaders in washington. Some might say self-delusion but I would say fraud covers all.

Companies pile up cash but still won't add jobs (Washington Post) Unlike the public sector (which now exceeds private sector in job gains and average compensation), the private sector attempts to mesh hiring with economic supply / demand factors to maximize (shareholder) profits / wealth. Whatever faults american companies have, with relatively few exceptions, this still remains a very basic fundamental and building surplus (generating profits) is a necessary precept to ensure survival and the capacity to be a good ‘citizen’ so to speak. Then there’s reality:

Retail sales down for 2nd consecutive month (Washington Post) Another ‘Come on’ day on fraudulent wall street! This time it’s the unexpected downward revision to previous market-frothing retail sales report and poor retail sales and plunge in mortgage applications and then there’s the fed minutes pointing to extended bad economy. See Dave Fry’s (Daily) summary below referencing in euphemistic fashion, yet another ongoing manipulation also known as fraud. (Absent prosecutions, they’ll continue to do what comes natural to frauds on wall street). Great opportunity to sell / take profits since much worse, also called reality beyond the b*** s***, to come. Then there’s also the bad but typical news; viz., retail sales, mortgage apps, economic outlook down, and yesterday deficits, trade and budget, up.

NATION NEWS DIGEST:  J.P. Morgan Chase posts $4.8 billion profit (Washington Post) Yet another ‘Come on’ day on fraudulent wall street! This time it’s the unexpected jump in continuing claims for unemployment, yesterday the downward revision to previous market-frothing retail sales report and poor retail sales and plunge in mortgage applications and then there’s the fed minutes pointing to extended bad economy. Then there’s also now the ‘goldfinger factor’ as in goldman’s middle finger. When you defraud for many billions, paying $550 million is chump change. Goldman shares rocketed 5.5% in after-hours trading. No wonder Goldman called it "the right outcome for our firm shareholders and clients." (Absent prosecutions, they’ll continue to do what comes natural to frauds on wall street). Great opportunity to sell / take profits since much worse, also called reality beyond the b*** s***, to come. Then there’s also the bad but typical news; viz., previous retail sales, mortgage apps, economic outlook down, and continuing claims for unemployment, deficits, trade / budget, up. (Just in: 7-16-10 Poll – only 43% of Americans approve of the Afganistan War, down from 52% in January, 2010)

Pearlstein: Can regulation beget innovation? (Washington Post) I believe the more seminal question to be, whether american companies, consistent with overall american decline and corruption in so pervasive a fashion, are capable of or inclined toward real innovation where enhancements to productivity, as well as greater profits, is the consequence as desired. Certainly there has been ‘innovation’ by the wall street frauds in the types of (ultimately worthless / fraudulent) paper and high frequency trade programs enhancing their bottom-lines but little else; and, those cutting edge ‘weapons of mass destruction’ produced or financed (israel) by america are hardly productive in the economic sense but innovative and profitable in the short run, and unwise and nation-bankrupting in the longer run which we’re in right now!

Goldman agrees to pay $550M (Washington Post) My own skepticism based on the disparate numbers (the size of the frauds compared to the relatively small fine) and as set forth in the initial reactions / headlines that immediately follow has been allayed somewhat by an interview on NBR with former SEC head Ruder who explained the very narrow scope of the settlement which in no way shelters goldman from the huge frauds they have perpetrated. So long as this is true in fact as well as law and in application, the SEC deserves praise as has been so under the auspices of ‘Mother Mary’ who appears to have the gonads lacking in prior SEC heads. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Ex-Justice official: CIA may have exceeded limits (Washington Post) Wee doggies! This sounds like the stuff that SNL Weekend Update ‘Really’ skits are made of; also fitting into that list of queries as, ‘Is the Pope Catholic?’, ‘Do bears **** in the woods?’, etc.. Come on! Wake up! This is the kind of complicit cover-up / corruption found betwixt and between all three branches of the u.s. government leading ineluctably to america’s current decline and to which I’ve attested under penalty of perjury in the context of the RICO litigation  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ].

Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

For now, spew of oil into Gulf of Mexico is halted (Washington Post) Well, thank God for small favors! I suggest they change that name, ‘integrity test’; that’s doomed to end in failure. Yes, the brits are back. They’ve clogged the well, with help from the ‘usual suspects’, the americans. What precision! What teamwork! Victory at last … riiiiight!

What Does The Financial Reform Bill Do Other Than Being Completely And Utterly Worthless? Is it possible to write a 2,300 page piece of legislation that accomplishes next to nothing and is pretty much completely and utterly worthless? The answer is yes.

U.S. Regulatory Bill Nears Passage With Republican Support The U.S. Senate plans to pass the financial-regulation bill on July 15 as Democrats secured the 60 votes needed to enact the biggest rewrite of Wall Street rules since the Great Depression.

Bloomberg Poll Finds Americans No Longer Drinking Kool Aid, 71% See Economy “Mired In Recession”

Fed Sees Slower Growth Wall Street Journal | Updated forecast to be released Wednesday afternoon with the minutes of the Fed’s late-June policy meeting is likely to show that officials have trimmed their second-half forecasts.

Chinese rating agency strips Western nations of AAA status London Telegraph

UK public sector debt ‘around £2 trillion’ London Telegraph | The UK’s public sector debt could be £1.13 trillion higher than headline figures suggest, according to research.

Moody’s Cuts Portugal Rating by Two Notches

De-classified Vietnam-era Transcripts Show Senators Knew Gulf Of Tonkin Was A Staged False Flag Event Over 1,100 pages of previously classified Vietnam-era transcripts released this week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee highlight the fact that several Senators knew that the White House and the Pentagon had deceived the American people over the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident.

24 multinationals move HQ to Shanghai CNTN | Vale, Walt Disney and Kraft Foods have decided to move their regional headquarters to Shanghai.

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It Zach Carter | Wachovia was moving money behind literally tons of cocaine from violent drug cartels. It wasn’t an accident.

House Democrats hit boiling point over perceived lack of White House support

Vegetable zionist Zelig joe lieberman’s Model For America: Purging The Internet of Dissent When political Zelig joe lieberman attempted to justify draconian legislation that would provide President Obama with a figurative kill switch to shut down parts of the Internet, he cited the Chinese system of Internet policing as model which america should move towards

Public confidence in Obama reaches new low (Washington Post). Six in 10 Americans lack faith in Obama and hold lower esteem for members of Congress, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. Such stats as this tend to typify scenarios as this where you break every significant campaign promise that got you elected, from endless war (ie., Afghanistan, etc.) to not prosecuting the frauds on wall street, and the growing realization of ‘typical’: Public confidence in Obama reaches new low (Washington Post) Six in 10 Americans lack faith in Obama and hold lower esteem for members of Congress, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. Such stats as this tend to typify scenarios as this where you break every significant campaign promise that got you elected, from endless war (ie., Afghanistan, etc.) to not prosecuting the frauds on wall street, and the growing realization of ‘typical’:

But still it’s ‘hands off fraudulent wall street’ to theirs, the nation’s, and the world’s detriment. Firms subpoenaed in attempt to regain Fannie, Freddie losses (Washington Post). But there’s a reason:

The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ‘In emotional and personal testimony, an ex-Justice official who quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims ...’  US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Washington Post | Obama has promised to hold Wall Street accountable for the meltdown. ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 – well worth a look.

While boner and barton are indeed jokes / vegetables that bespeak the single-digit approval rate for congress, obama’s failure to deliver on promises with as well, endless war spending despite defacto bankruptcy of the nation and a watered down nothing financial regulation bill for talking points but little substance, make him as big a joker. This well researched / produced video tells the real story : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 ‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ – well worth the view.

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

Pentagon warns Congress: Accounts running dry...(Drudgereport) Isn’t this headline eerily reminiscent of that seminal B film by Roger Corman for Jack Nicholson, ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ (and remake) wherein a murderous vegetable / plant clamors incessantly and insatiably, ‘feed me’. Eight U.S. service members killed in series of attacks in southern Afghanistan (Washington Post, July 15, 2010) . This ridiculous war apparently for the sake of the american sponsored reinvigorated heroin trade was a bad idea ab initio even if america wasn’t defacto bankrupt.

Concern over smashing into the 'wall of debt' (Washington Post) Oh, they’ve hit the wall alright; and, it’s not just debt.

I believe the printing presses have been working overtime to pump out ever more worthless fiat currency and with the many trillions of worthless fraudulent paper still out there and marked to anything. I further believe the same is being surreptitiously used to supplant the fraudulent paper, the consequences of which will be devastating, of course, as is invariably so in depressions in any event. This scenario would also mean huge fraud accomplis. This market is paper on paper moving around and generating commissions at lightning computerized speed but adding no real value in real economic terms; again, the analogy of termites eating away at the (nation’s) foundation is apposite. As such, that money has to come from some real place and hence, the ever more frequent and larger crashes we are seeing. Don’t forget that the worthless paper from previous such fraudulent schemes now marked to anything is still out there in a magnitude some have placed in the hundreds of trillions.

Biggest wall will be reality:

‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into.’

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012

Economists worry women, minority business owners' gains will be lost (Washington Post) Little bit late for ‘economists worry’; talk about senile greenspan / no-recession bernanke economics / prognosticating. Does anybody recall the merciless drubbing (and pressure) that Ross Perot got for predicting the ill effects of NAFTA and standing against the tide. In america today, the best men never win; that’s reality, and also the sign of decline.

Exports are up, but where are the jobs? (Washington Post) Gone with the wind? Sorry, I must have been thinking of million dollar movies. Seriously though, I dare say everyone knows they were gone with that ‘bi-partisan executive / congressional, think-tank, cia / nsa ill wind’ that others might refer to as flatulence / passing gas, also called NAFTA, and also proudly hailed by the foregoing as ‘strategy’. They’re gone, and never to return. Moreover, the flipside of the exports, viz., imports, doesn’t bode well despite the fraudulent wall street b*** s*** and their chorus of cheerleaders in washington. Some might say self-delusion but I would say fraud covers all.

Companies pile up cash but still won't add jobs (Washington Post) Unlike the public sector (which now exceeds private sector in job gains and average compensation), the private sector attempts to mesh hiring with economic supply / demand factors to maximize (shareholder) profits / wealth. Whatever faults american companies have, with relatively few exceptions, this still remains a very basic fundamental and building surplus (generating profits) is a necessary precept to ensure survival and the capacity to be a good ‘citizen’ so to speak. Then there’s reality:

Retail sales down for 2nd consecutive month (Washington Post) Another ‘Come on’ day on fraudulent wall street! This time it’s the unexpected downward revision to previous market-frothing retail sales report and poor retail sales and plunge in mortgage applications and then there’s the fed minutes pointing to extended bad economy. See Dave Fry’s (Daily) summary below referencing in euphemistic fashion, yet another ongoing manipulation also known as fraud. (Absent prosecutions, they’ll continue to do what comes natural to frauds on wall street). Great opportunity to sell / take profits since much worse, also called reality beyond the b*** s***, to come. Then there’s also the bad but typical news; viz., retail sales, mortgage apps, economic outlook down, and yesterday deficits, trade and budget, up.

Mideast Digest: Wow! Belfast, Northern Ireland; and in the Mideast Digest Section, of all places. It’s been a long time. While I have had some difficulties with Irish mob in the context of litigation but only tangential to my primary RICO action vis-à-vis the Italian mob (and similarly tangentially the jewish mob and then primarily what I learned to be ‘governmental mob’, federal, state, local, derivative thereby and the sine quo non of corruption / bribery / synergy that spells decline for any nation), it is difficult to not be empathetic to the plight of an otherwise beautiful nation tainted only by the orange stain in that northern quarter. After all, what hasn’t england not mucked up from balfour to the mideast to now even their own nation having hitched a ride on the american / israeli crazy train. As a matter of disclosure, I must admit to an affinity for the Irish and somewhat fairly recently had been asked what I thought of Philadelphia to which without hesitation I immediately replied that Grace Kelly (truly magnificent by any standard) was born there. I could think of nothing else that could parallel such a distinction.

WHICH WAY IS THE MARKET GOING NEXT? Gomes: ‘Having been a technical analyst for the first 10 years of my investing career and a fundamental analyst for the past 15 years, I'm a believer that technical patterns form as fundamentals unfold. As such, if you know something about both, you can confirm both against each other. At this point in time, I see a market that is technically reaching up toward its 200 day moving average (2,250 for the NASDAQ). I also see a 50 day moving average that is threatening to drop below that 200 day moving average. Technically, that is usually a very bad sign for the market. …
1) Economic indicators are dropping fast. For all intents and purposes, the unemployment rate has not budged. Meanwhile, store shelves are stocked again, PCs have been upgraded, etc. In other words, the pent-up demand that drove the current rebound has almost run its course. What little remains no longer has the power to drive the economy as it has over the past 18-months.

2) "Follow the money". This is one of the most powerfully simple rules on Wall Street. When money is flowing into the economy (i.e. via lower interest rates or stimulus $$$), it's usually good for stocks..and vice versa. At present, interest rates can't go much lower and the numerous stimulus programs are losing effectiveness. This means that the money is no longer flowing in. Worse yet, the money that was spent is not generally viewed as having been money well spent. This does not bode well for a new stimulus package to come anytime soon. In other words, money is not flowing in AND doesn't appear poised to flow in anytime soon. In fact, state and municipal budgets are being cut (money flowing OUT), while they raise local sales and income taxes (more money flowing out). if federal taxes go up in 2011, as planned, even more money will be flowing out. If you follow that, you should be flowing out of the stock market. In short, barring a new stimulus package of other major money-flowing event, I believe the economy slips back toward recession. Whether or not we double-dip, we will almost certainty slip in that direction.

3) If you follow the money in Europe, you will run for the hills. Europe has decided to spin 180-degrees and shift from stimulus to austerity (if you don't know the definition, look it up -- you'll likely hear it again -- and not just from me). Effectively the opposite of stimulus, austerity will pull money away from the European economies...which tells us to pull money away from stocks. Worse yet, the effect of the EU/IMF bailout is already wearing off. Greek yields are rising again and Portuguese credit ratings have been reduced.

4) Global bubbles are bursting. Most notably, home sales in China and Canada are starting to fall. Remember what happened when the U.S. housing market cracked? That's right -- that's what started this mess in the first place.

5) Politically, this period in time has a tendency to be bad for stocks. There is uncertainty around the mid-year elections...and the market hates uncertainty. Historically, the political picture doesn't become clear until October, at which point we might expect a rally. Until then, expect the democrats to do everything they can to retain their jobs in November. That means, "stop pissing off the public"...and the public seems pretty pissed about how the stimulus $$$ worked out for them (or more accurately, how it DIDN'T work out for them). Thus, the political pressure will lean against further stimulus until after the elections.

The Bottom Line: I believe that the market will start to reflect these concerns very soon. These are real fundamental concerns, which you can see reflected in the technicals. As the market reaches the 50DMA and the 200DMA, it will be inclined to retreat (barring some new, hugely positive news). Meanwhile, the 50DMA is 90%+ likely to cross below the 200DMA, giving the market more reason to retrench. At some point, if the economy sinks far enough and if the market drops far enough, political pressure for more stimulus will mount. At that point, money will flow back into the economy. But that time is not now. Now, money is flowing away like the tide...and so should your invested capital. I'm not always right, but I do my best, based on the information before me. Based on what I see right now, the most logical conclusion is to expect a long, ugly summer for stocks. If I see information that changes that view, I'll be sure to post an update to this post. Disclosure: I have short positions against the market

NAACP Resolution Designed to Wreck Tea Party Movement by Playing Race Card Kurt Nimmo | The Tea Party movement is more popular than either the Democratic or Republican parties, so it must be destroyed.

Majority of Americans lack faith in Obama: poll Nearly 60 percent of American voters say they lack faith in President Barack Obama, according to a public opinion poll published on Tuesday.

Majority of Americans lack faith in Obama: poll Reuters | Nearly 60 percent of American voters say they lack faith in President Barack Obama, according to a public opinion poll published on Tuesday. Top anti-war Democrat: Afghanistan war could ‘destroy’ Obama’s presidency Raw Story | An outspoken anti-war Democrat said ongoing US military efforts in Afghanistan could deeply imperil the presidency of Barack Obama and the fortunes of the Democratic Party. Obama’s debt commission warns of fiscal ‘cancer’ Washington Post | The commission leaders said that, at present, federal revenue is fully consumed by three programs: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

If not for the likes of ie., Dell Computer, most (ie., those die hard Mac, Iphone, Ipad, etc., aficionados among others) would say microsoft’s already in the clouds, so to speak. Microsoft takes aim at the cloud (Washington Post)

No help in sight for jobless (Washington Post) Well, from their perspective, they really don’t feel your pain, and, it gives the frauds on wall street another b*** s***, market frothing, false talking point in the form of ‘fewer continuing claims for unemployment’. Then there’s that ‘ depression thing’.

The big crash — America plunges into Depression Alexander Cockburn

‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn, pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes.’

Making millions from mowing lawns  [Sounds like a plan … riiiiight!] (Washington Post) Value Added | Entrepreneur's reinvestment and diversification … By Thomas Heath   For the less entrepreneurial at heart there’s always … flippin’ burgers … Washington, D.C.: the nation's (burger) capital? (Washington Post)  | ‘The Washington area has emerged as fertile ground for ground chuck …’     Survey: A satisfied federal workforce (Washington Post) Indeed they should be since they’re totally expendable and a waste of taxpayer money.

Return of the No-Volume Melt-Up

Momentum Book Update: Trend Indicators Still Pointing Negative

Employment Picture Is Getting Bleaker

The Debt Party Is Over  ‘… In a Ponzi scheme, the end comes when the marginal investor decides to do something else with his money. Then the house of cards stars falling apart. …’

Mattis: 'It's fun to shoot people' Washington Post - Ed O'Keefe - Jul 9, 2010 By Ed O'Keefe President Obama's pick to lead military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and the Middle East is an experienced ground combat commander, but also earned a stern rebuke in 2005 for controversial comments about combat operations.       Gen. James Mattis is named head of US Central Command Los Angeles Times Blunt General Appointed to Lead Forces in Mideast New York Times

DRUDGEREPORT: BOMBSHELL: Media Mogul Mort Zuckerman Admits He Wrote One Of Obama's Speeches...
Were White House Officials Ready to Expose Collaboration?
Zuckerman Now: Obama Barely Treading Water...
MICHELLE TELLS BLACKS TO 'INCREASE INTENSITY'
6 troops killed in Afghanistan...
DEM GOVS WARN: OBAMA SUIT VS. AZ IS 'TOXIC'
Debt panel has gloomy outlook...
Crisis Awaits World’s Banks as Trillions Come Due...
G20 looks to Beijing to drive global growth … They’re dreamin’! ...

They say ‘stocks oversold’. Preposterous! Stocks have been overbought based on bad news or nothing at all, rallying on ‘not as bad as expected’. Even if that were true (I don’t believe anything they say), who cares what the criminally insane frauds on wall street say what they expect. It’s fundamentals, economic and financial, that ultimately count; but, in the meantime, they’re like termites eating away at the nation’s foundation with lightning fast computerized trade programs, all of which excessively huge commission churn / earn revenues are a net negative for the economy in real economic terms which is evidenced by unprecedented economic decline in all productive sectors of the economy. This is a great opportunity to SELL / TAKE PROFITS since this suckers rally to suck suckers in and keep them sucked in is based on fraud and b*** s*** alone and:  ‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes.’

Technical Indicators Trigger Major Sell Signal  ‘…In summary, the bearish picture is confirmed by technical indicators, a fundamental outlook, sentiment gauges, and valuations.Based on what the market considered fair market valuations at prior historic market bottoms, one can conclude how far stocks have to drop to reach the previously attained level of fair valuations …’

Simon Maierhofer: ‘On Friday July 9, 2010, 4:32 pm EDT It rarely ever happens, but when it does, it's serious. It has only happened nine times in 10 years. We are referring to crossovers between the 200-day and 50-day simple moving averages (SMAs).Very few technical indicators receive as much attention and media coverage as the 50 and 200-day SMAs. The 200-day MA is perceived to be the dividing line between a stock that is technically healthy and one that is not. It's a Big Deal It's a big deal when a stock or an index drops below the 200-day SMA. It's an even bigger deal when the 50-day SMA of any given stock or index drops below the 200-day SMA. Such a crossover reflects internal weakness - at least in theory. We'll discuss in a moment how the actual numbers match up with theoretic assumptions. On June 22, 2010, the S&P 500 (SNP: ^GSPC) and Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI) dropped below the 200-day SMA. One day later the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) followed. On July 2, 2010, the 50-day SMA for the S&P (NYSEArca: SPY - News) dropped below the 200-day SMA. On July 6, the Dow Jones (NYSEArca: DIA - News) followed. As of today, the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: QQQQ - News) is barely hanging on. This sounds like a doomsday scenario. Does a rigid analysis show that there is validity to 200-day and 50-day SMA crossover buy/sell signals? Let's investigate.Crossovers - Lagging but Notable Many argue that the SMA crossover is a delayed signal that emphasizes past weakness more than it foreshadows future declines. To an extent, that is true. There are other warning signals that point to a market turn long before the SMA does. For example, on April 16, 2010, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter noted an extremely low put/call ratio along with other bullish sentiment extremes. The newsletter stated that 'the message conveyed by the composite bullishness is unmistakably bearish. Once prices start to fall and investors get afraid of incurring losses, the only option is to sell (due to the low put/call ratio). Selling, results in more selling. This negative feedback loop usually results in rapidly falling prices.' Prices did fall rapidly. The 22 trading days following the April 26 high, erased eight months worth of gains. It took a 17% drop for the SMA crossover to trigger a sell signal. When the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter issued a strong buy signal on March 2, 2009, it emphasized that the developing rally would be a counter trend rally followed by a steep decline and maintained this viewpoint even though prices kept rallying relentlessly into the April highs. The SMA crossover now expresses the possibility that even lower prices are ahead. 200 and 50-day SMA Crossovers - How Accurate? How about the SMA crossover track record? Over the past 10 years, there have been nine S&P SMA crossovers with five sell and four buy signals. We have yet to see the results of the most recent sell signal. However, of the eight previous signals, six were correct. Average gains following each signal were 14.91%. $10,000 invested according to the buy/sell recommendations given right after the first sell signal was triggered on October 30, 2000 at S&P 1,399, would be worth $24,769 today. More Than just Crossovers If it sounds too good to be true, it often is. As is the case with so many technical indicators, crossovers need to be viewed in context with other indicators. In other words, take a step back and evaluate how crossovers fit into the larger picture. The larger picture (going back to 2007) reveals that trading volume associated with market declines has been generally high, while trading volume seen during rallies has been generally low; a bearish sign. Does Wednesday's 3.13% Rally Invalidate the Sell Signal? On Wednesday, the S&P rallied 32 points or 3.13%. The Dow rallied 2.82%, while the Nasdaq rallied 3.13%. Does this mean the bull market is back on track?Since the April market top, we've seen about a handful of 2-3% bounces. All associated gains were erased within a matter of days. Chances are this time will be the same. In fact, some sort of bounce was to be expected. On July 5, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter stated 'considering that the S&P is butting against the 100-week SMA, lower accelerations band, 38.2% Fibonacci retracement levels, round number resistance at 1,000, and weekly s1 at 994, there is a good chance we will see some sort of a bounce develop from the 990 - 1,015 area. Weekly r1 at 1,066 and pivot at 1,063 should serve as resistance.' This bounce is in its later stages right now. What's Next? Let's revisit the larger picture. Out of the nine leading industry sectors, seven have seen their 50-day SMA cross below the 200-day SMA - financials (NYSEArca: XLF - News), technology (NYSEArca: XLK - News), consumer staples (NYSEArca: XLP - News), materials (NYSEArca: XLB - News), utilities (NYSEArca: XLU - News), energy (NYSEArca: XLE - News) and healthcare (NYSEArca: XLV - News). The consumer discretionary (NYSEArca: XLY - News) and industrial sector (NYSEArca: XLI - News) are the only holdouts. All nine sectors, however, trade below their 200-day SMA. Fundamentals, sentiment readings and valuations also point south. Some of the fundamentals we have discussed in these pages are crafty accounting practices designed to hide huge losses racked up by big financial institutions not yet realized along with a continually bad unemployment picture. Sentiment surrounding the April highs recorded extremes not seen since the 2000, 2007, and even 1987 market top. There are multiple sentiment measures (such as the VIX, cash allocation, put/call ratio, percentage of bullish/bearish advisors, mutual fund cash levels, etc.). Each sentiment measure is one piece of the puzzle. The more pieces of the puzzle you have, the clearer the picture becomes. Leading up to the April highs, nearly all sentiment indicators peaked, painting a complete bearish picture. In summary, the bearish picture is confirmed by technical indicators, a fundamental outlook, sentiment gauges, and valuations. Based on what the market considered fair market valuations at prior historic market bottoms, one can conclude how far stocks have to drop to reach the previously attained level of fair valuations. The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed analysis of four valuation metrics with a track record of accuracy, along with the implied target range for an ultimate market bottom. This is provided in addition to its short, mid and long-term forecast. When the market speaks, it behooves investors to listen. Fighting the tape has often proven to be foolish, as the market will always have the final word.’

A Market Forecast That Says ‘Take Cover’ New York Times | We have entered a market decline of staggering proportions — perhaps the biggest of the last 300 years.    

Commercial Real Estate Loans Extend and Pretend ‘…Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters  Commercial Real Estate Loans – Extend and Pretend Community banks have commercial real estate loans where the borrower cannot make scheduled interest and principle payments. More than 50% of all FDIC-insured institutions have loan pipelines that are 80% to 100% funded. This is a measure of how banks are stuck with noncurrent assets, but they are not classified that way. Instead, community banks are giving borrowers more time to make their payments on the theory that it’s better to collect zero on some loans rather than owning the real estate that collateralizes those loans. This concept is dubbed “extend and pretend” hoping that the borrower will eventual pay the loan back. Banks in this practice are known as “Zombie Banks” as they can’t lend, can’t lure in new investors, and wait for the FDIC to knock on their doors on Friday afternoon. This strategy includes stretching out loan maturities and allowing below-market interest rates to slow the number of defaults and preserving the capital of banks that would be expended if property had to become “Other Real Estate Owned.” As a result “Loans 30 to 89 Days in Arrears” and “Noncurrent” loans are not growing as fast as they should be. The net result of these practices masks the true toxicity of the Commercial Real Estate market. It’s not just the small banks that are employing “extend and pretend” tactics. I read that the Bank of America (BAC) has extended a large real estate loan in Buckhead, Georgia the high-class area north of Atlanta. The loan finances the development of a high-end shopping and residential project in 2007 and now three years later the cranes are silent and the project is fenced in. The banking regulators are helping the banks by allowing the lenders several ways to restructure loans. While doing so the banks are allowed to keep these loans as “performing” even with collateral values below the loan amounts. Extend and pretend is also known as kicking the can down the road. It seems to me that we have wasted billions if not trillions in stimulus money and bank bailouts when this money could have been used to actually fund the completion of these projects. Such a plan would have cost tax payers much less and would have kept Americans working on Main Street USA, as finishing incompleted real estate projects are clearly “shovel ready” projects. According to Foresight Analytics banks hold $176 billion of CRE loans that could be declared toxic. This is the tip of the iceberg as the FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile shows $1.09 trillion in nonfarm nonresidential real estate loans and $418 billion in Construction & Development loans on the books of our nation’s banks. About two-thirds of the CRE loans are maturing between now and 2014, and are underwater. Commercial real estate property values are down 42% from the October 2007 peak. At the end of the first quarter 9.1% are delinquent up from 7% a year earlier. Bankers justify “extend and pretend” saying that it’s better than calling the loan and dumping more property on a depressed market. We need a stronger economy to entice new investors to resurrect projects and to find new demand for competed offices, hotels, condos etc which are the finished products of completed CRE projects. Without a strong economic recovery these loans will eventually have to be written off down the road. The problem is that while these loans are on hold banks can’t justify new loans, which would be the engine of economic growth. And the beat goes on. Disclosure: No positions’

Light Volume Temptations: Dave's Daily  ‘Volume still matters, doesn't it? It seems not as the financial media ignores our light volume market in favor of writing bullish headlines. With hedge funds mostly sidelined according to reports posted here yesterday, the primary buyers must be trading desks on Wall Street and a handful of algo traders. It's tempting to come off the sidelines and join the fun but perhaps it's just the trap they're laying for you. A headline at Reuters read this afternoon: "Weaker Economic Views Equals Stronger 3-Year Note Sale". So, if equity markets are forward-looking one must wonder what these few buyers are seeing beyond a short-term trade. Headline writers say its strong earnings growth that will prop markets coupled with rosy outlooks. That would have to be the case otherwise this is just a sucker's rally. As stated, volume was holiday-like light (40% below average) making it really easy for the machines to take over trading, and so they did ... ‘

Economists, Financial Experts: U.S. Is Trapped In 1932 Size Depression  Following Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman’s declaration last week that the U.S. is in entering a third period of great depression, more and more economists are following suit, comparing the scale of the crisis to that of the early 1930s.     

Ahmadinejad brands US world’s dictator ahead of summit

David Icke onTV: Humanity’s Last Chance Infowars.com | Alex talks with writer, public speaker, and former well-known BBC television sports presenter David Icke.      As the United States Collapses, Media Worships LeBron James  Infowars gives the inside scoop on basketball MVP LeBron James’ pivotal trade decision.       America Is In A Societal Meltdown Chuck Baldwin | America is in the midst of a complete and total spiritual, societal, cultural, moral, and political meltdown.       Obama Selects General Who Likes Killing Muslims to Centcom Kurt Nimmo | Gen. Mattis has the same habit of speaking his mind as McCrystal.

The Lights Are Going Out For Free Speech On The Internet  Type the keywords “Internet censorship” into Google News and you will immediately understand to what degree the world wide web is under assault from attempts by governments globally to regulate and stifle free speech. From Australia to Belarus, from Turkey to Vietnam, from Pakistan to Egypt, from Afghanistan to Iran, huge chunks of the Internet are going dark as the Chinese model of Internet regulation is adopted worldwide. [Has everybody lost their minds? Referring to the china model as something to be emulated. It’s true they are more productive than america, generally, but their business model is almost prehistoric and the direct consequence of the great american sell-out for money (the ‘pass through’ or direct) by those who’ve pledged otherwise (walmart, congress, clinton, bush, wobama, etc.). Even some of their simplest products are junk (but priced incredibly low to make the relative value) and seem to have adopted that GM strategy of planned obsolescence, breakdown, etc., to spur sales. Then there’s the communist faux capitalism paradox, suppression, oppression, etc., which has even the defacto bankrupt, pervasively corrupt, fallen america blindly following. Quite simply, their ancient business model is slave labor. As for Iran, they are a relatively small nation under collective siege.]       

US taxpayers’ Afghan aid money buys rich Afghans’ Dubai villas  You already might have heard that it costs the United States $1 million for each solider per year in Afghanistan, to cover the cost of the soldiers’ benefits, troop transports and other materiel.     Billions of dollars secreted out of Kabul Spiegel Online | Billions of dollars are being secreted out of Kabul to help well-connected Afghans buy luxury villas in Dubai and then there are the american recipients who are a bit more careful with their stash.

The New Civil Wars Within the West Gregory R. Copley | Internecine civil wars are underway almost everywhere within the West, and most virulently in the United States of America.     On Why America’s 234th Birthday May Not Have Many More To Follow Zero Hedge | It is my firm belief that we have come to the “end of the road” for the financial system.

Iran says planes denied fuel in Germany, UK, UAE Reuters | The claim could not be independently confirmed and was met abroad by skepticism. [Europe really fell fast. They make Christians look like the dumbest people in the world, along with the likes of ie., UAE if true (and defacto bankrupt america). After all, this ‘all for israel’ mantra is contraindicated inasmuch as the hebrews deny the very foundation of the Christian religion and indeed were behind his crucifixion].

DRUDGEREPORT: Evans-Pritchard: It's Really Starting to Feel Like 1932 [Depression] ...
Dow Repeats Great Depression Pattern...
Investors fear risk of regional defaults...
Obama: 'The great jobs killer'...
Turkey, a leader of nations, wants war criminal israel apology, israel rejects demand ...

Inventory Cycle Has Run Its Course  Harrison – ‘… This is the scenario I have been predicting for months now.

• Double Dip Recession and the Obama 2011 Budget (February 2010): The long and short is that – come Summer – the inventory cycle’s thrust will have dissipated. And if companies are not hiring by this time and consumer spending is not increasing more robustly, then the state budgets, the strategic defaults and all of the rest of that becomes a serious obstacle. In my view, more likely than not, this will lead to another recession late in 2010 or in 2011. And nothing in the President’s budget changes this outlook.
• The mindset will not change; a depressionary relapse may be coming (March 2010): the inventory cycle’s impact on GDP growth will attenuate. By the second half of 2010, inventories will not add considerably to GDP.
• US GDP growth rate is unsustainable; recovery will fade (April 2010): The inventory cycle is already starting to fade. That means weak 1 or 2% growth at best by Q4 2010. Unless job growth picks up tremendously by the second half of the year, this recovery is in trouble.

David Rosenberg says the ISM leads jobs. And, the latest jobs numbers were weak.

I would be nonplused about the recent ISM data if it weren’t for the column highlighted in red. Notice how the momentum for everything is slowing. Not just the overall index, but new orders, production and employment …’

U.S. Economy “Is a Complete Disaster” Yahoo! Finance | The U.S. economy is in shambles and Americans will continue to see high unemployment and lower living standards in the years to come.      America is sinking under Obama’s towering debt  I hope the White House is paying attention to the latest annual Congressional Budget Office Long-Term Budget Outlook, which offers a truly frightening picture of the scale of America’s national debt, with huge implications for the country’s future prosperity.       7.9 million jobs lost, many forever  CNNMoney | The recession killed off 7.9 million jobs. It’s increasingly likely that many will never come back.

50 Random Facts That Make You Wonder What In The World Has Happened To America The Economic Collapse | For those who still love this land (and there are a lot of us) it is heartbreaking to watch America slowly die.      BP, Homeland Security, and Cops Work Together to Deny First Amendment Kurt Nimmo | BP, Homeland Security, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, and local cops will now decide if it is acceptable for journalists to take photographs.      Will G20 Police Succeed In Covering Up Reports of Rape and Torture? Infowars.com | Can authorities be allowed to cover-up the Abu-Ghraib style incarceration methods Toronto police engaged in during the G20 summit this past weekend, where women were arrested and subsequently raped by male cops?       Emergency S.O.S.: America Falling to Foreign Bank Takeover – Fourth of July  Alex Jones breaks down the takeover by offshore banking powers– newly empowered by Congress’ banking “reform,” expanded taxes worldwide, as well as accelerated moves towards ending the Dollar’s reserve status, including urging from a recent United Nations report.        More than one-quarter don’t know who US gained independence from  Every Fourth of July, Americans gather to celebrate the country’s declaration of independence from … um, what country was that again?

DRUDGEREPORT: TORN ON FOURTH OF JULY: OBAMA DIVIDES NATION...
Great Republic in parlous state -- politically, economically...

YEAR 9: Petraeus in Afghanistan warns of tough mission...
'We are in this to win' … Win what? The fact of america’s defacto bankruptcy and being there IS failure no matter what they ultimately call this debacle ...
Illinois Stops Paying Its Bills...
Facing 'outright disaster' amid budget crisis...

Turn On, Tune In...Nah, Just Drop Out … Discouraged workers at a new cycle high And small wonder. The median unemployment duration went to a new all-time high (since the 1940s, anyway, when that series begins) and shows no signs of slowing its ascent … (Chart, source Bloomberg)…

YEAR 9: Petraeus in Afghanistan warns of tough mission … What mission? What plan?.What strategy? National bankruptcy?… Mission accomplished! ...

NY Times’ Krugman: We Are Entering The Third Depression  Recessions are common; depressions are rare. [Correction: we’re already in a depression].

JUNE UNEMPLOYMENT 9.5%... 125,000 JOBS LOST...
Rate dips as 652,000 give up search...
Depressing... [That’s why they’re called depressions (just kidding … but no laughing matter) …  At this rate, with all those lost jobs and jobseekers no longer seeking those lost jobs that aren’t there, by their calculations (9.5% the bright spot … riiiiight!) we should be at full employment very soon … you can’t make this stuff up … really!].

Ron Paul: 114 Flip Flop on Audit The Fed Causing Bill to Fail 229 – 198 Ron Paul’s attempt to audit the Federal Reserve, which was previously co-sponsored by 320 members of the House (HR 1207), failed by a vote of 229-198. All Republicans voted in favor of the measure with 23 Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with Republicans. 122 co-sponsors of HR 1207, all Democrats, jumped ship and voted against the measure.     The Future of Audit the Fed  Congressman Ron Paul discusses the latest in the efforts to get a full and complete audit of the Fed as well as the future of Fed transparency. Like Congressman Paul says, we’ve accomplished a lot of good with our movement, and there’s many reasons to be optimistic for the future.     Ditch the Buck! Dollar demise ‘a matter of months’  A report by the United Nations says the American dollar should be ditched as the main global reserve currency. It said that the global financial meltdown has exposed systematic weaknesses, one of which is the reliance on the greenback.      G-20 is Relying on China To Drive the World Economy … But China Isn’t Looking So Hot  The G-20 is apparently relying on China to drive the world economy.

Middle class families face a triple whammy Edmund Conway | Falling pensions, cuts and the banking crisis will impoverish many families.

One of those … Daaaaah! Moments … Panetta says Afghan progress slower than expected Los Angeles Times -  Days after President Obama installed a new US military commander in Afghanistan, CIA Director Leon E. Panetta conceded Sunday that progress in the war has been "harder" and "slower than I think ...     Panetta says Afghan insurgents show no real interest in reconciliation talks Washington Post CIA Retains Controversial Security Firm in Afghanistan Wall Street Journal CIA: AFGHAN PROGRESS 'SLOWER' THAN ANTICIPATED… Daaaaah! ...

GOP chairman: Afghan 'war of Obama's choosing' (AP)  - Republican chairman Michael Steele drew criticism from within his own party Friday, including calls to resign, after saying the 9-year-old commitment of U.S. troops to Afghanistan was a mistaken ... [Steele is quite right and wobama and war facilitators deserve criticism; not Steele.]       Pelosi: Unemployment Checks Fastest Way to Create Jobs “It creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name.” [pelosi’s so ‘in over her head’, burnt out, borderline senile, etc.]       Seventy million expired flu vaccines about to be incinerated as waste  [government / corporate welfare / fraud] Forty million doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine are about to go up in flames, and another 30 million will soon meet the same fate. They’ve expired, you see, and despite the CDC’s best efforts to push flu vaccines on the american people, the industry still couldn’t find a way to offload seventy million doses of a vaccine that doesn’t even work.

Israel Suspected in Bogus Claim Iran Developing Nuclear Trigger Kurt Nimmo | The bogus claim prompted a new round of support for more aggressive U.S. and European sanctions against Iran.      Ron Paul: Audit The Fed Bill Fails After Former Co-Sponsors Flip-Flop | Ron Paul’s attempt to audit the Federal Reserve failed, after more than 100 former co-sponsors of the bill jumped ship and voted against the measure.      Dollar Plunges After UN Call To Ditch Greenback  | U.S. economy enters “total freefall”.

50 Random Facts That Make You Wonder What In The World Has Happened To America   - The Economic Collapse July 2, 2010 Our world is changing at a pace that is so staggering these days that it can be really hard to fully grasp the significance of what we are witnessing.  Hopefully the collection of random facts below will help you to “connect the dots” just a little bit.  On one level, the facts below may not seem related.  However, what they all do have in common is that they show just how much the United States has fundamentally changed.  Do you ever just sit back and wonder what in the world has happened to America?  The truth is that the America that so many of us once loved so much has been shattered into a thousand pieces.  The “land of the free and the home of the brave” has been transformed into a socialized Big Brother nanny state that is oozing with corruption and has accumulated the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world.  The greatest economic machine that the world has ever seen is falling apart before our very eyes, and even when our politicians actually try to do something right (which is quite rare) the end result is still a bunch of garbage.  For those who still love this land (and there are a lot of us) it is heartbreaking to watch America slowly die. 

The following are 50 random facts that show just how dramatically america has changed….

#50) A new report released by the United Nations is publicly calling for the establishment of a world currency and none of the major news networks are even covering it.
#49) Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered California State Controller John Chiang to reduce state worker pay for July to the federal minimum allowed by law — $7.25 an hour for most state workers.
#48) A police officer in Oklahoma recently tasered an 86-year-old disabled grandma in her bed and stepped on her oxygen hose until she couldn’t breathe because they considered her to be a “threat”.
#47) In early 2009, U.S. net national savings as a percentage of GDP went negative for the first time since 1952, and it has continued its downward trend since then.
#46) Corexit 9500 is so incredibly toxic that the UK’s Marine Management Organization has completely banned it, so if there was a major oil spill in the North Sea, BP would not be able to use it.  And yet BP has dumped over a million gallons of dispersants such as Corexit 9500 into the Gulf of Mexico.
#45) For the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43 million Americans in 2011.
#44) It has come out that one employee used a Federal Emergency Management Agency credit card to buy $4,318 in “Happy Birthday” gift cards.  Two other FEMA officials charged the cost of 360 golf umbrellas ($9,000) to the taxpayers.
#43) Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo received $389,000 from the U.S. government to pay 100 residents of Buffalo $45 each to record how much malt liquor they drink and how much pot they smoke each day.
#42) The average duration of unemployment in the United States has risen to an all-time high.
#41) The bottom 40 percent of all income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth.
#40) In the U.S., the average federal worker now earns about twice as much as the average worker in the private sector.
#39) Back in 1950 each retiree’s Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 workers.  Today, each retiree’s Social Security benefit is paid for by approximately 3.3 workers.  By 2025 it is projected that there will be approximately two workers for each retiree.
#38) According to a U.S. Treasury Department report to Congress, the U.S. national debt will top $13.6 trillion this year and climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015.
#37) The federal government actually has the gall to ask for online donations that will supposedly go towards paying off the national debt.
#36) The Cactus Bug Project at the University Of Florida was allocated $325,394 in economic stimulus funds to study the mating decisions of cactus bugs.
#35) A dinner cruise company in Chicago got nearly $1 million in economic stimulus funds to combat terrorism.
#34) It is being reported that a 6-year-old girl from Ohio is on the “no fly” list maintained by U.S. Homeland Security.
#33) During the first quarter of 2010, the total number of loans that are at least three months past due in the United States increased for the 16th consecutive quarter.
#32) According to a new report, Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality and far less efficiency.
#31) Some experts are warning that the cost of bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could reach as high as $1 trillion.
#30) The FDA has announced that the offspring of cloned animals could be in our food supply right now and that there is nothing that they can do about it.
#29) In May, sales of new homes in the United States dropped to the lowest level ever recorded.
#28) In 1950, the ratio of the average executive’s paycheck to the average worker’s paycheck was about 30 to 1.  Since the year 2000, that ratio has ranged between 300 to 500 to one.
#27) Federal border officials recently said that Mexican drug cartels have not only set up shop on American soil, they are actually maintaining lookout bases in strategic locations in the hills of southern Arizona.
#26) The U.S. government has declared some parts of Arizona off limits to U.S. citizens because of the threat of violence from Mexican drug smugglers.
#25) According to the credit card repayment calculator, if you owe $6000 on a credit card with a 20 percent interest rate and only pay the minimum payment each time, it will take you 54 years to pay off that credit card.  During those 54 years you will pay $26,168 in interest rate charges in addition to the $6000 in principal that you are required to pay back.
#24) According to prepared testimony by Goldman Sachs Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn, Goldman Sachs shorted roughly $615 million of the collateralized debt obligations and residential mortgage-backed securities the firm underwrote since late 2006.
#23) The six biggest banks in the United States now possess assets equivalent to 60 percent of America’s gross national product.
#22) Four of the biggest U.S. banks (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup) had a “perfect quarter” with zero days of trading losses during the first quarter of 2010.
#21) 1.41 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009 – a 32 percent increase over 2008.
#20) BP has hired private security contractors to keep the American people away from oil cleanup sites and nobody seems to care.
#19) Barack Obama is calling for a “civilian expeditionary force” to be sent to Afghanistan and Iraq to help overburdened military troops build infrastructure.
#18) On June 18th, two Christians decided that they would peacefully pass out copies of the gospel of John on a public sidewalk outside a public Arab festival in Dearborn, Michigan and within 3 minutes 8 policemen surrounded them and placed them under arrest.
#17) It is being reported that sales of foreclosed homes in Florida made up nearly 40 percent of all home purchases in the first part of this year.
#16) During a recent interview with Larry King, former first lady Laura Bush revealed to the world that she is actually in favor of legalized gay marriage and a woman’s “right” to abortion.
#15) Scientists at Columbia University are warning that the dose of radiation from the new full body security scanners going into airports all over the United States could be up to 20 times higher than originally estimated.
#14) 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement.
#13) The FDIC’s deposit insurance fund now has negative 20.7 billion dollars in it, which represents a slight improvement from the end of 2009.
#12) The judge that BP is pushing for to hear an estimated 200 lawsuits on the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster gets tens of thousands of dollars a year in oil royalties and is paid travel expenses to industry conferences.
#11) In recent years the U.S. government has spent $2.6 million tax dollars to study the drinking habits of Chinese prostitutes and $400,000 tax dollars to pay researchers to cruise six bars in Buenos Aires, Argentina to find out why gay men engage in risky sexual behavior when drunk.
#10) U.S. officials say that more than three billion dollars in cash (much of it aid money paid for by U.S. taxpayers) has been stolen by corrupt officials in Afghanistan and flown out of Kabul International Airport in recent years.
#9) According to a report by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the baggage check fees collected by U.S. airlines shot up 33% in the first quarter of 2010 to $769 million.
#8) Three California high school students are fighting for their right to show their American patriotism - even on a Mexican holiday - after they were forced to remove their American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo.
#7) Right now, interest on the U.S. national debt and spending on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 percent of GDP.  By 2080, they are projected to eat up approximately 50 percent of GDP.
#6) The total of all government, corporate and consumer debt in the United States is now about 360 percent of GDP.
#5) A 6-year-old girl was recently handcuffed and sent to a mental facility after throwing temper tantrums at her elementary school.
#4) In Florida, students have been arrested by police for things as simple as bringing a plastic butter knife to school, throwing an eraser, and drawing a picture of a gun.
#3) School officials in one town in Massachusetts are refusing to allow students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
#2) According to one new study, approximately 21 percent of children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010.
#1) Since 1973, more than 50 million babies have been murdered in abortion facilities across the United States.

Fed Made Taxpayers Unwitting Junk-Bond Buyers Bloomberg | So-called assets included collateralized debt obligations and mortgage-backed bonds.     Dollar Plunges After UN Call To Ditch Greenback The dollar plunged today following a United Nations report which called for the greenback to be replaced as the global reserve currency by the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights (SDRs).       National debt soars to highest level since WWII  The federal debt will represent 62% of the nation’s economy by the end of this year.      Dollar should be replaced as international standard, U.N. report says CNN | The dollar is an unreliable international currency and should be replaced by a more stable system, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs said.       Double Dip Picking Up: Jobless Claims Spike To 472,000, On Expectations Of 455,000  Jobless claims were a disaster, coming in at 472k, on expectations of 455k. Prior was revised, surprise, surprise, higher to 459k from 457k. What is scariest is that between extended benefits and EUC, now that Congress has turned off the perpetual insurance spigot for the unemployed, dropped by -158,155 and -217,513.‘Jobless Recovery’ Myth as Banksters RAPE and ENSLAVE the Public! GET OFF YOUR KNEES!  We’re told that this will be a ‘jobless recovery’ with further job losses expected before things get better. Well, if you believe that nonsense I’ve got a fantastic sundrenched beach on the growing ice packs of Antarctica to sell you. How on earth can there be anything called a jobless recovery? The simple answer is that there can’t!      Study: US media redefined torture after US started practicing it  The US news media radically changed how it reported on the issue of waterboarding after it emerged that US forces had used the practice, says a new study from Harvard University.      The Toronto G20 Riot Fraud: Undercover Police engaged in Purposeful Provocation  Toronto is right now in the midst of a massive government / media propaganda fraud. As events unfold, it is becoming increasingly clear that the ‘Black Bloc’ are undercover police operatives engaged in purposeful provocations to eclipse and invalidate legitimate G20 citizen protest by starting a riot. Government agents have been caught doing this before in Canada.

Obama Calls for Pentagon “Civilian Component” [Wow! Sounds like a plan … riiiiight!] Kurt Nimmo | Obama wants to send civilians to the occupation zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Drudgereport: JUNE UNEMPLOYMENT 9.5%... 125,000 JOBS LOST...
Rate dips as 652,000 give up search...
Depressing... [That’s why they’re called depressions (just kidding … but no laughing matter) …  At this rate, with all those lost jobs and jobseekers no longer seeking those lost jobs that aren’t there, by their calculations (9.5% the bright spot … riiiiight!) we should be at full employment very soon … you can’t make this stuff up … really!].

New jobless claims rise [again]...
'Surprise'...
Pending home sales plunge record 30%...

Weak economic data suggest 'recovery' fizzling...
Fears mount over slowing global demand...

UN committee calls for dumping US dollar...

YEAR 9: Petraeus in Afghanistan warns of tough mission … What mission? What plan?.What strategy? National bankruptcy?… Mission accomplished! ...

Six Months to Go Until the Largest Tax Hikes in History...

SIX MONTHS TO GO UNTIL
THE LARGEST TAX HIKES IN HISTORY

From Ryan Ellis on Thursday, July 1, 2010 4:15 PM

Read more: http://www.atr.org/six-months-untilbr-largest-tax-hikes-a5171##ixzz0sVN5aBH3

In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect.  They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011:

First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families.  These will all expire on January 1, 2011:

Personal income tax rates will rise.  The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed).  The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent.  All the rates in between will also rise.  Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.  The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family.  The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income.  The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child.  The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level.  The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax.  This year, there is no death tax.  For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million.  A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

Higher tax rates on savers and investors.  The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011.  The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011.  These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

Second Wave: Obamacare

There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare.  Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011.  They include:

The “Medicine Cabinet Tax”  Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

The “Special Needs Kids Tax”  This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit).  There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children.  There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education.  Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year.  Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.  

The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike.  This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired.  The major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year.  According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million.  These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level.  The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear.  Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases up to $250,000.  This will be cut all the way down to $25,000.  Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment.  In January of 2011, all of it will have to be “depreciated.”

Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses.  There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place.  The biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many, many others.  Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced.  The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available.  Tax credits for education will be limited.  Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses.  Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut.  Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed.  The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed.  Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA.  This contribution also counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.”  This ability will no longer be there.

Read more: http://www.atr.org/six-months-untilbr-largest-tax-hikes-a5171##ixzz0sVMwYIhK

Investors get more gloomy & bearish We just had a very difficult three month stretch for stocks.  The S&P 500 fell 12% for the quarter as did NASDAQ.  The Shanghai Composite, China’s largest stock index, fell 22.9 in its local currency, the yuan.  The MSCI EAFE Index (foreign stocks) was down 14%. Given the negative news, it is not surprising that investors are becoming more bearish on stocks.  This chart from Bespoke is based on the weekly Investors Intelligence survey, which is getting close to levels from a year ago.  This is not close the peak we reached in early 2009, but the mood is definitely more negative now: [chart]

Double Dip on the Way There were many events contributing to yesterday’s sell-off, and the most likely culprits around the globe included more protests in Greece, continued to concerns about Europe at large, and a downward revision (due to a calculation error) of a leading economic indicator reading in China for the month of April. But when it comes down to it, our own economy has yet to stand on solid ground. While the recovery has continued to be shaky at best, recent economic readings may be pointing to a double dip recession. Yesterday’s batch of economic data seemed to be confirming that, as it brought a very dismal reading on consumer confidence. June’s number stood at 52.9, far below expectations of 62.5, and pointing to the consumers’ weariness about the job market, and economic recovery in general. To go further, the previous reading for May was revised downward, to 62.7 from 63.3. But the drop from May to June really sends the message home: we’re not out of the woods yet. Earlier in the week, we saw personal savings rates rise again, even while personal income growth was meager. Americans, despite bringing home a little more cash, continued to save more for the expected rainy days, and have yet to return to their spendthrift ways. After yesterday’s precipitous selling, one would expect to see a bit of a bounce in today’s trading session. That wasn’t the case, however, as more weak data continued to dampen economic hopes. Today’s culprit was the ADP private sector job report. The report stated that private payroll gains were muted in June, with only 13,000 jobs added – far less than the 60,000 expected by economists. While May’s reading was revised slightly upwards (to 57,000 hires from previously reported 55,000), today’s release does not bode well for the much anticipated report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics due out on Friday. The non-farms payroll survey includes government workers and has been inflated in recent months due to hiring for the 2010 Census … [chart] …The June report, however, will reflect many of those workers being laid off in the past month. In May, 431,000 jobs were added, but without support from temporary government hires, economists are predicting job losses in June. Last week, consensus estimates were for a loss of 70,000 jobs for the month. By yesterday, those estimates were downgraded further, to 110,000. With the help of today’s ADP report, expectations have continued to fall: economists now expect a reading of negative 125,000 …

Barron's: Why the Market Will Keep Sliding  Perry D- Barron's has a nice summary of what the future may hold in its "Up and Down Wall Street." It summarizes as well as anything I've read recently where we're likely headed. Bugging the (stock) market is the increasingly obvious disparity between what the Street's incorrigible cheerleaders see and prophesy and what's actually happening in the real world...The double dip in housing may or may not be a template of what's in store for the economy as a whole. But at the very least, it is a precursor of other serious disappointments destined to feed the unease among the jittery populace, which most emphatically includes investors.

It cites the predictions of SDK Captial's Dee Kessler:

--the massive fiscal and monetary stimulus so liberally applied in 2008-2009 is starting to run out of steam, with financial conditions tightening and leading economic indicators pointing to a stretch of "anemic activity."

--"structural headwinds," such as public and private deleveraging, higher taxes, greater regulation and trade tensions.

--the well-publicized woes of the European bloc, which accounts for 20% of the world's GDP, as further evidence that the global economy, as he puts it, is downshifting.

--The period of easy comparisons in corporate results, he says, is coming to a close,

--"Although the fundamentals in the U.S., Europe and Japan are worse," Dee spots plenty of downside in emerging markets and doesn't fancy the notion of decoupling.

--Come another financial crisis, "the only policy response left will be to print money." Which, of course, is what the gold bugs are counting on and why bullion has glistened so brightly.

That about sums up the outlook. The nice insight here is that anxiety over future economic malaise -- and the additional money printing that'll be done to mask it -- might be a bigger factor than current inflationary pressure behind the surge in gold prices.

In other words, for the deflation-believers: deflation today? Perhaps. But big-time inflation tomorrow.

Disclosure: No positions

NY Times’ Krugman: We Are Entering The Third Depression  Recessions are common; depressions are rare. [Correction: we’re already in a depression].

Stocks: Once More Up, Then the Big Down  Smith -The ingredients for a classic head and shoulders topping pattern in the stock market are all present. That suggests one more rise and then a massive grinding move down to 2009 lows. Officially, of course, everything's peachy with the economy. Europe is fixed, China is booming, consumer confidence is rising, and we are encouraged to resume our borrow and spend ways as the economy will not "double-dip" into recession. The economy will not slide into another recession, we are reassured constantly, even though roughly 80% of Americans don't think we ever left the recessionary quicksand.  Please see "Two Scoop Special": Double-Dip Recession Guaranteed (May 21, 2010) for more … Exactly what drivers are there for future gains in corporate profits? I can't think of any, short of Martians landing and going on a shopping spree with gold they manufacture in their spacecraft. On the negative side, we have:

1. The rising dollar is a huge headwind to sales in the eurozone and elsewhere.
2. The low-hanging fruit of pushing the workforce to produce more output for the same salary/wages have all been picked.
3. The inventory build-out is done for everything but the iPhone 4 and iPad.
4. So-called "fiscal austerity" (when did living within one's means become some sort of brutual "austerity"? Talk abour propaganda!) in the eurozone and U.S. states will remove tens of billions of dollars from corporate sales.
5. Global overcapacity is alive and well. There is overcapacity in everything manufactured except the iPhone 4, and that will be in glut by 2011 as well.
6. Uncle Sam is not distributing trillions of dollars quite as freely. There seems to be some glimmer of awareness that there could be consequences of squandering trillions of borrowed dollars on essentially worthless projects such as occupying Iraq, inflating the housing market by socializing the entire mortgage market, propping up Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA, etc.
7. Housing is rolling over now that the socialized mortgage market has been tentatively allowed to go off life-support (it is wheezing and turning blue in the face, not signs of vibrant health).
8. There is no pricing power anywhere once stimulus-goosed demand declines to organic demand (flat to down) …

Inflation, Deflation or Hyperinflation? (Part 2) (There are charts, but no matter what the scenario posited, this time the territory’s uncharted, and the debacle / crisis like no other owing to the advent of computerization will have enabled an obfuscating tool of unprecedented proportion [worthless paper, huge frauds as already extant], and a two-edged sword in the most negative sense prospectively)

GREECE UNDER NEWS BLACKOUT: Here’s How An Eyewitness Describes Today’s Riots There are reports this morning of violent protests/riots in Greece, once again. Here’s how a source on the ground describes the situation.     Target Tehran? Israel, US ‘prepare to attack Iran’  Reports are circulating that the U.S is amassing a greater military presence in the Middle East. The alleged build up is also rumoured to involve the Israeli use of Saudi Arabian air space. It’s thought by some to be in preparation for an attack on Iran.     Kucinich: ‘We are losing our nation to lies about the necessity of war’  In Afghanistan, corruption is rife. It is so abundant, in fact, that a senior US lawmaker declared on Monday that she’d be freezing $3.9 billion in Afghan aid dollars until the situation is addressed.     Turkey bans Israeli military flight from its airspace as freeze deepens  Turkey has banned an Israeli military flight from its airspace in apparent retaliation for Israel’s interception of the Free Gaza flotilla last month, in which nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed.

Iran nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri 'flees US captors' BBC News - A man who says he is an Iranian nuclear scientist claims to have escaped after being abducted by US agents. In a video shown on Iranian state TV, he says he has escaped in the US state of Virginia and is now on the run.    Missing Iran scientist says he escaped US agents: report Reuters Turkey Asks Iran to Return to Table Wall Street Journal

Momentum Book Update: The Market Is a Mess and the Long Bond Is About to Break Out  … Not only do us swing traders have to fight the urge to chase price action up, but lay off the keyboard trying to catch falling knives in the relative strength stocks which are holding up. If you tried to buy support in your favorite names this week, you got your hands cut up. I’ll continue to rely on the understanding of my own emotions as they have served me well. When we opened higher on Monday morning I knew I was in the right place, cash, as the market was just way overbought. If you bought most relative strength names last week, by the end of this week you were well underwater. So where do we go from here? I’ve got no clue, the market is a mess, the charts are a mess, and the long bond is about to break out. If that happens all bets are off, we could see an “event”. If the smart money is lining up at the exits and moving into bonds, there’s a good chance they see something coming down the pipe …

SUITING UP FOR A POST-DOLLAR WORLD  John Browne ‘The global financial crisis is playing out like a slow-moving, highly predicable stage play. In the current scene, Western governments are caught between the demands of entitled welfare beneficiaries and the anxiety of bondholders who fear they will be stuck with the bill. As the crisis reaches an apex, prime ministers and presidents are forced into a Sophie's choice between social unrest and bankruptcy. But with the "Club Med" economies set to fall like dominoes, the US Treasury market is not yet acting the role we would have anticipated. … The newspapers are now riddled with hints that foreign governments have lost faith in Washington and the dollar reserve system. It seems to me only natural that after a century of war, inflation, and socialism, the next hundred years would belong to those people who hold the timeless values of hard money and fiscal prudence. Unfortunately, our policymakers are not those people.’

China's Hu Jintao Says Group of 20 Must Coordinate to Consolidate Recovery Bloomberg … How about the G195 countries in the world collectively be considered in this task of coordination owing to the abject failure of the so-called G20 which have in lockstep coordination precipitated this global crisis including the war mongering, war criminal acts of the so-called nato allies et als, particularly the u.s., and as well the likes of war criminal nation israel which have never avoided a contra-indicated, anti-recovery war / conflict they could contrive / rationalize. The so-called G7, 8, 9, 20, etc., are a pathetic bunch of incompetent vegetables / jokers / showmen / clowns.

One of those … Daaaaah! Moments … Panetta says Afghan progress slower than expected Los Angeles Times -  Days after President Obama installed a new US military commander in Afghanistan, CIA Director Leon E. Panetta conceded Sunday that progress in the war has been "harder" and "slower than I think ...     Panetta says Afghan insurgents show no real interest in reconciliation talks Washington Post CIA Retains Controversial Security Firm in Afghanistan Wall Street Journal CIA: AFGHAN PROGRESS 'SLOWER' THAN ANTICIPATED… Daaaaah! ...

New York Times reporter calls Zionist terrorism ‘romantic’ A little-noticed comment in a New York Times interview with Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni has critics arguing that it shows the media has a “double standard” when it comes to terrorism.

States of Crisis for 46 Governments Facing Greek-Style Deficits Californians don’t see much evidence that the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression is coming to an end. Unemployment was 12.4 percent in May, 2.7 percentage points higher than the national rate.       Evans-Pritchard Announces Fed Contemplating $5 Trillion QE Expansion In his latest column, the Daily Telegraph’s A. Evans-Pritchard does a good job of recapping all the various reasons why Bernanke has now completely cornered himself, and facing a newly collapsing economy, is left with just one recourse: the printing of more, more, more paper.        History Tells US The Euro Will Not Survive, Greece Will Get Worse, And There Will Be A Trade Shock  With the PBoC’s currency announcement last Saturday and the surge (!) in the value of RMB on Monday (all very kindly timed to add zest to my meetings this week in Boston, New York, and Washington), you would assume that today’s entry would be all about the RMB and the effect of the PBoC announcement.     

The following is really the quintessential question and issue, particularly in light of america’s defacto bankruptcy and international law; but paramount humanitarian concerns alone would militate against america’s current misguided course. Is Petraeus McChrystal’s Replacement or Obama’s? Paul Craig Roberts | All of this drama is playing out despite the continuing lack of any valid reason for the american invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers President Obama will be handed the power to shut down the Internet for at least four months without Congressional oversight if the Senate votes for the infamous Internet ‘kill switch’ bill, which was approved by a key Senate committee yesterday    Congressman Rohrabacher: Almost All House Republicans Think Iraq War Illegal, Immoral  Andrew Napolitano’s new Saturday show on the Fox Business Network is set to send shock waves through the political establishment this weekend when his guest – Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher – reveals that almost all House Republicans now believe that the invasion of Iraq was not only a mistake, but also illegal and immoral.         New Financial Overhaul Gives Government Broad New Powers To Seize Financial Firms  The government would have broad new powers to seize and wind down large, failing financial firms and to oversee the $600 trillion derivatives market.       Israeli Leaders Sued in Belgium for War Crimes

U.N. confirms rise in violence in Afghanistan Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers Food & Depopulation: Scams and Solutions Cassandra Anderson | Beware of all NGOs and so-called “non-profit” organizations.      Congress Votes to Impose Embargo On Iran Infowars.com | Congress believes more punitive measures are required in order to punish the Islamic state.       G20: Activists Arrested, Denied Entry into Canada Kurt Nimmo | Charlie Veitch of The Love Police arrested, Luke Rudkowski and fellow activists denied entry in New York.

Israeli Leaders Sued in Belgium for War Crimes  Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were among those charged with war crimes committed during the Gaza war in the winter of 2008-09, the French daily Le Monde reported.       Congress OKs sanctions on Iran’s energy, banks  Congress on Thursday approved tough new unilateral sanctions aimed at squeezing Iran’s energy and banking sectors, which could also hurt companies from other countries doing business with Tehran.     

Cybersecurity Measures Will Mandate Government “ID Tokens” To Use The Internet  The move to shut down and regulate the Internet, the only source of uncensored news and truth, under a new government-controlled system has accelerated into high gear with the announcement that the government’s cybersecurity strategy revolves around issuing Internet users with ID “tokens” without which they will not be able to visit websites, the latest salvo against web freedom which, in combination with Senator Joe Lieberman’s ‘kill switch’ bill, will serve to eviscerate the free Internet as we know it.

Turkey, the World Leader of Nations, bans israeli military flight from its airspace as freeze deepens The Guardian -Turkey has banned an israeli military flight from its airspace in apparent retaliation for Israel's interception of the Free Gaza flotilla last month, in which nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed.  Turkey restricts israeli use of airspace CNN International Turkey bars israeli planes ABC Online netanayahu rules out apology to Turkey over deadly raid (AFP)

G-8 ‘fully believes’ Israel will attack Iran, says Italy PM Haaretz | World leaders “believe absolutely” that Israel may decide to take military action against Iran. Britain will not defeat Taliban and should open talks, says head of Army  London Telegraph | Britain and its allies will not defeat the Taliban with military force and should soon open peace talks with insurgents in Afghanistan, the head of the Army said yesterday.

3 SIGNS OF A SUCKER RALLY  Simon Maierhofer ‘ … AFTER EXAMINING TECHNICAL EVIDENCE, SENTIMENT INDICATORS AND VARIOUS VALUATION METRICS, IT BECOMES OBVIOUS THAT THE RECENT BOUNCE PROVIDES A SELLING, NOT BUYING OPPORTUNITY ...’

Russell: This Is One Of The Largest Tops In Stock Market History Richard Russell has grown very vocally bearish in recent months. Earlier this year, Russell warned that the stock market was once again becoming grossly overvalued despite its relentless new highs. Pragmatic Capitalism June 24, 2010 Richard Russell has grown very vocally bearish in recent months. Earlier this year, Russell warned that the stock market was once again becoming grossly overvalued despite its relentless new highs.  He has maintained that the bear market never ended and that the world is far too indebted to exit the bear market.  He also believes the bear will not end until all fiat currencies have failed.  Although I disagree with him on many aspects of the micro I agree with his larger macro outlook.  This bear market is not over.  The secular bear market lives on.  Mr. Russell thinks we might be on the verge of a terrible collapse:
“We’re now in the process of building one of the largest tops in stock market history. The result, I think, will be the most disastrous bear market since the ‘30s, and maybe worse.
Question: “What could possibly be behind such a bear market?” you ask. “The stock market is stirring up optimism on a weekly, if not daily basis, by not falling apart.”
Answer: This is the “rest” or “dead zone” I was talking about. Bear markets don’t conclude in a day, a week or a month. Months will go by, often adding to the bulls’ optimism.I think the key element behind this great bear market will be the complete destruction of all fiat currencies. This has been a long time coming. Fiat currencies are “wealth” created by man. They are created without sacrifice, without labor, without risk, and without sweat. Basically they are an immoral device, created by secretive bankers. If you watch the figures carefully, you’ll note the subtle deterioration. For instance, the advance-decline ratio, although up slightly for the week, had a relatively weak performance with the Dow up several hundred points over the course of the week. And we broke the trendline in May (see the chart below showing the cumulative advance-decline line for NYSE Common Stock only, which is what we publish in our figures (courtesy of DecisionPoint — www.decisionpoint.com). The vertical lines are Jan 2008, Jan 2009 and Jan 2010 as you move to the right on the chart. [CHART] My old friend, Bob Prechter, is talking about Dow 400. I used to think this was an absurd joke. I no longer think it’s a joke. The ultimate result will be a primary bear market shocking in duration and extent. …’

Reports: IAF Landed at Saudi Base, US Troops near Iran Border Arutz Sheva | The Israeli Air Force recently unloaded military equipment at a Saudi Arabia base, a semi-official Iranian news agency claimed Wednesday.      It’s time for the world to take a close look at the despotic, totalitarian regime that presently exists for the grandeur and wealth of a few while hiding behind Islam as they betray same and Muslims everywhere. The time has come for regime change in Saudi Arabia to yield a nation of and for the people of Saudi Arabia and the glory of Islam.

[It should be noted, and there have been a multitude of other instances, that I’m getting substantial ‘attacks’ vis-à-vis my internet connection which has slowed dramatically these posts. I don’t think the interference is either accidental or just coincidental but consistent with that similarly experienced by critics of corrupt defacto bankrupt america of which I am one and not alone in that regard – slowing, militating against the devastating truth about america. It should be noted that yet another attempt by the criminal american government and related partners in crime to silence an unwavering critic (to really understand america is to not be able to stand pervasively corrupt and defacto bankrupt america and her failed criminal cohort nations / lapdogs, ie., uk, eu, israel, etc.), in contravention of first amendment rights / protections, and as in the RICO case  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ] to cover up substantial crimes in which the government was / is also involved. Some delays but a work-around is in progress. I won’t forget this and a price will be paid, as continues to be true. (6-22-10)THE WORK-AROUND-IN-PROGRESS I ALLUDED TO IS NOW FOR THE MOST PART SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED BY WAY OF A DSL CONNECTION AND A DELL COMPUTER.]  

Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Washington Post | Obama has promised to hold Wall Street accountable for the meltdown.     Drudgereport: States Take Aim at Pension Costs... ...Bank failure pace more than double last year REPORT: Madoff tells cellmates of $9 billion stash... they all have them … Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud THOMAS SOWELL: Is USA Now On Slippery Slope To Tyranny?

China To Overtake USA In Manufacturing FT | The US remained the world’s biggest manufacturing nation by output last year, but is poised to relinquish this slot in 2011 to China – thus ending a 110-year run as the number one country in factory production.

Housing Double Dip Accelerates As Existing Home Sales Plunge -2.2% In May Versus 6.0% Consensus, Down From 8% In April

When will the SEC prosecute for market rigging? Michael Schmidt | Are the large gold bullion banks working in collusion with the US Federal Reserve to artificially torpedo the key rival to US dollar hegemony?     China To Overtake USA In Manufacturing FT | The US remained the world’s biggest manufacturing nation by output last year, but is poised to relinquish this slot in 2011 to China – thus ending a 110-year run as the number one country in factory production.    

Connecticut vegetable lieberman: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We … (great logic from a totalitarian zionist)?  Senator joe Zelig the zionist israeli lieberman, co-author of a bill that would give President Obama a ‘kill switch’ to shut down parts of the Internet, attempted to reassure CNN viewers yesterday that concerns about the government regulating free speech on the web were overblown, but he only stoked more alarm by citing China, a country that censors all online dissent against the state, as the model to which American should compare itself.

Mexican drug cartel threatens to harm U.S. police officers who bust drug shipments while off-duty New York Daily News | Mexican cartels added a new twist to the drug war this week by threatening to kill U.S. cops who seize their goods.     Former Israeli top spy calls for strike on Iran  Israel should launch a pre-emptive strike to prevent arch-foe Iran from going nuclear, a former head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency said on Monday.      Israel’s Planned Attack on Iran from Caucasus Base  A week ago, Israel leaked to the press that they had permission from Saudi Arabia to use their air space to attack Iran. The Saudi’s quickly denied this.

$34 Billion Asset Manager Says Market Prices Are Manipulated, Accuses NYSE Of Intellectual Property Theft, Debunks HFT “Liquidity Provider” Lies

Soros Says ‘We Have Just Entered Act II’ of Crisis Bloomberg | Soros said the current situation in the world economy is “eerily” reminiscent of the 1930s.     Gerald Celente: U.S. Financial Markets to Collapse by End of 2010 Infowars.com | Gerald Celente is a renowned trend forecaster, publisher of the Trends Journal, business consultant and author who makes predictions about the global financial markets and other events of historical importance.      Jobless Claims in U.S. Decreased Last Week to 456,000 Bloomberg | More Americans than anticipated filed applications for unemployment benefits last week.

Market Outlook: Bearish Background to Bullish Storyline  Sean Hannon: ‘The last two weekly market commentaries have discussed how the underlying trend of the market is now bearish and all rallies should be used to sell stocks and reduce risks. With nearly every news outlet spouting the bullish storyline, these articles served as an outline of a disciplined investment strategy. Those who followed the outline have done well as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow), S&P 500, and NASDAQ each declined over 5% since my initial warning. With the Dow still stuck below the psychologically important 10,000 level and all three major U.S. markets trading beneath their 200-day moving averages (MA), the bearish backdrop is clear. Even if many are still looking for a rally, we should understand that the primary trend is lower. Instead of focusing on how high prices will rally, we should instead consider how much further prices can fall …’

Greek Default Seen by Almost 75% in Poll Doubtful About Trichet  Global investors have little confidence in Europe’s efforts to contain its debt crisis or in European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, with 73 percent calling a default by Greece likely.      12 Reasons Why The U.S. Housing Crash Is Far From Over  Over the past several months, many in the mainstream media have hailed the slight improvement in the U.S. real estate market as a “housing recovery”.        US Needs Austerity Too: Hedge Fund Strategist  The United States will have to adopt austerity measures similar to the ones taken in Europe, because the problems faced are largely the same, Timothy Scala, macro-strategist at Sophis Investments, told CNBC.com.       Market Analyst: ‘BP’s Not Going to Last as a Company More Than a Matter of Months’  We’ve heard politicians, even conservative Republicans, suggest BP would be held completely responsible for the devastation caused by the oil spill plaguing the Gulf of Mexico, even if it means its very existence.

Israeli Official Threatens to Kill Turkish PM Kurt Nimmo | It is unprecedented for a top level state official to threaten a head of another state with murder.     

US Media Terrified Of Mentioning USS Liberty  Do you know that an american naval vessel was attacked by israel in international waters, 43 years ago today, resulting in the deaths of dozens of american sailors Arab lawmaker on flotilla sparks outrage in israel (AP) - An Israeli-Arab lawmaker's decision to join hundreds of activists on a pro-Palestinian flotilla has elevated her from relative political obscurity, transforming her into the poster child for the ...

Why To Question the 2010 Stock Market Rally   [Why To Question the 2010 Stock Market Rally – Web Site Archived with Charts Click Here - In the past year, we've written a lot about the similarity between the rally of early 1930 and the one we had through April of this year. The early 1930 rally came after the market had fallen nearly 50% in the fall of 1929. The spring 1930 rally took the market up nearly 50% again, to a level that was only about 20% below the previous peak. That rally, of course, was also the biggest sucker's rally in history. After the market peaked in April 1930, it crashed again, eventually ending up down 89% from the 1929 high and more than 80% from the 1930 high. The market did not reach the 1930 high again for another quarter of a century. The rally that recently ended in April 2010 came after a crash that was actually slightly more severe than the 1929 crash (53% versus 48%). It took the market up nearly 80% from the low! The recent rally also lasted longer than the 1930 rally did--a year, as opposed to 6 months … ]

REMEMBER: In 1930, They Didn’t Know It Was “The Great Depression” Yet  In the past year, we’ve written a lot about the similarity between the rally of early 1930 and the one we had through April of this year.    Investment Banker: It’s Going To Get Nasty – Buy Land, Barbed Wire And Guns  A top investment banker has warned that the economic fallout of the sovereign debt crisis could get so nasty over the next five years that people would be wise to abandon the markets and instead buy land, barbed wire and guns.     

DEBT POISED TO OVERTAKE GDP Key Indicators of a New Depression  Neeraj Chaudhary | Great Depression II developing into something far more devastating than its predecessor      You’re Being Decieved Infowars.com | We’re heading over an economic cliff and there’s nothing the government can or will do about it except lie.       The Folly of Blindly Trusting the Government

‘What Does China Want?’ They want to speak to Rosanne Rosanna Danna, of course! ‘Asian markets tumble on fears over Hungary’ …Riiiiight! Hungary’s the thing! … Rosanne Rosanna Danna, formerly of SNL fame wanted in Asia to chime in with what her mama always used to say, ‘ It’s always something ‘ . Of course, it matters little to the frauds on wall street what the something is said to be since the reality is … ‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. This was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes.’ ( It should be noted, and there have been a multitude of other instances, that I’m getting substantial ‘attacks’ vis-à-vis my internet connection which has slowed dramatically these posts. I don’t think the interference is either accidental nor just coincidental but consistent with corrupt defacto bankrupt america’s critics of which I am one and not alone in that regard – slowing, militating against the devastating truth about america.)   Europe is Heading for a Depression Despite a nearly-$1 trillion rescue operation, financial conditions in the eurozone continue to deteriorate. All the gauges of market stress are edging upwards and credit default swaps (CDS) spreads have widened to levels not seen since the weekend of the emergency euro-summit.      Key Indicators of a New Depression With the mainstream media focusing on the country’s leveling unemployment rate, improving retail sales, and nascent housing recovery, one might think that the US government has successfully navigated the economy through recession and growth has returned.     Get Ready for a Double Dip  … but many warning flags point towards significant deterioration in the U.S. and global economy going forward and so I think that by the end of the year or early 2011, we could very well be facing a new leg down in the world’s economic situation … [I’d say too optimistic since, to reiterate: This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. This was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes.]

european central banks intervened to shore up the ever more worthless euro, buying into that fraudulent wall street b*** s*** story that that ‘s a good thing, rallying stocks off their lows. It is amazing how dumb europe has become so quickly. An exception is what I believe was Germany’s steps against derivatives, which market according to a derivatives trader on the radio this day is a $40 trillion market (missed his name). To reiterate as applicable to yet another fraudulent scheme previously stated, said market is paper on paper moving around and generating commissions at lightning computerized speed but adding no real value in real economic terms; again, the analogy of termites eating away at the (nation’s) foundation is apposite. As such, that money has to come from some real place and hence, the ever more frequent and larger crashes we are seeing. Don’t forget that the worthless paper from previous such fraudulent schemes now marked to anything is still out there in a magnitude some have placed in the hundreds of trillions.

The Worst Money Supply Plunge Since The Depression Means A Double Dip Is Now A ‘Virtual Certainty’  The stock of U.S. money as measured by ‘M3′ money supply fell to $13.9 trillion from $14.2 trillion during the three months ending in April. [ This is still an extraordinarily high level but … I don’t buy it. I believe the printing presses have been working overtime to pump out ever more worthless fiat currency and with the many trillions of worthless fraudulent paper still out there and marked to anything. I further believe the same is being surreptitiously used to supplant the fraudulent paper, the consequences of which will be devastating, of course, as is invariably so in depressions in any event. This scenario would also mean huge fraud accomplis. ]      Fiat Money Supply Contracting at Great Depression Level  The bankster operative who helped destroy Glass-Steagall is back. Larry Summers, Obama’s top economic adviser, has told Congress to “grit its teeth” and approve a fresh fiscal boost of $200 billion to keep growth on track, reports the Daily Telegraph.       Fiat Money Supply Contracting at Great Depression Level  Kurt Nimmo | The Federal Reserve stopped publishing M3 figures back in 2006.

Sell in May and Go Away, Indeed   [ I wasn’t kidding; and, I’m still not kidding when I say: This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits because there’s much worse to come! ]

Forecasts from Dent, Napier, and then Prechter: Depression is Imminent The Dow Jones Industrial Average will go down to at least 1000, most likely to below 777 which was the starting point of its mania back in August 1982, and quite likely drop below 400 at one or more times during the bear market.

10 Reasons to Worry About Margin Growth  … a good portion of these factors will likely impact margins by the end of the year. I don’t believe this is adequately factored into earnings estimates across the board. Given this, I believe we have seen the highs for the year and next few quarters will be extremely volatile ... 

Dow Theorist Richard Russell: Sell Everything, You Won’t Recognize America By The End Of The Year Business Insider | “Pul – leeze, get out of stocks now, and I don’t give a damn whether you have paper losses or paper profits!”

The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined and disgorgement imposed. If that were so, they wouldn’t be worrying about who wins / loses since those who fraudulently play, invariably would (and should)  pay. If they’re not prosecuted, everyone loses.

POST MORTEM AND REVIEW Ricky:
A post mortem is in order. The elements of this worldwide con game are remarkably simple, not complex at all. Apparently you only need a few things to make a mockery of the entire global economic system, and big banks garnered these few important things through “regulatory capture”:
1) Unregulated, unenforced rules (particularly for derivatives)
2) license to “mark to model” (assign your own values to your assets)
3) ability to peg present value to irrational expected future returns (based on unlimited, exponential growth)
4) infinite leverage (no effective requirements for reserve capital in unregulated “shadow” markets)
5) massive size, so that the bank is "too big to fail"
6) non-transparency and non-accountability.

SELL IN MAY AND GO AWAY!

THE FORECASTS:
Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012
Russell Napier is the author of the book “Anatomy of the Bear”, a professor at the Edinburgh Business School and a consultant to CLSA Ltd. which is one of the top research houses in Asia. Napier’s research indicates (and I paraphrase) that: The S&P 500 will Decline to 400 by 2014 (the Dow 30 to 3800)
The S&P 500 will then undergo a major crash that will see U.S. equity prices bottom at almost 50% below current levels (i.e. to 400 or less; the Dow 30 to 3800 or less) sometime around 2014 as Tobin’s “q” drops to 0.3 signaling the end of the bear market, as it has done at the end of the four largest U.S. market declines in 1921, 1932, 1949 and 1982.
U.S. Treasury Sales Collapse Leading to End of U.S. Dollar as Reserve Currency
Robert R. Prechter Jr. is author of a number of newsletters and books including “Elliott Wave Principle” (1978) in which he predicted the super bull market of the 1980s; “At the Crest of the Tidal Wave – A Forecast of the Great Bear Market” (1995) in which he predicted a slow motion economic earthquake, brought about by a great asset mania, that would register 11 on the financial Richter scale causing a collapse of historic proportions; and “Conquer the Crash: You can Survive and Prosper in a Deflationary Depression” (2002) in which he described the economic cataclysm that we are just beginning to experience and advised how to position one’s self financially during that period of time.
Depression is Imminent
The Dow Jones Industrial Average will go down to at least 1000, most likely to below 777 which was the starting point of its mania back in August 1982, and quite likely drop below 400 at one or more times during the bear market.

According to the Debt Clock:

• Total national debt: $13 trillion
• Debt per citizen: $42,026
• Debt per taxpayer: $117,982
• Total interest due: $1.9 trillion
• Interest per citizen: $2,211

Click here to see the Debt Clock, which is updated every second.

• Total personal debt: $16.5 trillion
• Total mortgage debt: $14.1 trillion
• Total consumer debt: $2.45 trillion
• Personal debt per citizen: $53,483
• Debt held by foreign countries: $4.07 trillion

http://www.usdebtclock.org Get Real Time U.S. Debt Data

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http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

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TED OLSON SEEKING TO OVERTURN CALIFORNIA'S PROPOSITION 8, WHICH LIMITS MARRIAGE TO A MAN AND A WOMAN. After shilling  for the corrupt u.s. government as solicitor general, maybe he just wanted to go straight [Just Kidding!]. There is no immunity, judicial or otherwise for criminal acts. Moreover, there is no sovereign immunity for non-governmental  acts as would include involvement  in the illegal drug and related crimes, ie., bribery, etc., and the supreme court has so held against foreign nations in the context of the RICO statute but in my RICO case olson the liar would shill otherwise, not that he really had to worry in light of the pervasively corrupt and wastefully costly federal courts which should be abolished.

NATION NEWS DIGEST:  J.P. Morgan Chase posts $4.8 billion profit (Washington Post) Yet another ‘Come on’ day on fraudulent wall street! This time it’s the unexpected jump in continuing claims for unemployment, yesterday the downward revision to previous market-frothing retail sales report and poor retail sales and plunge in mortgage applications and then there’s the fed minutes pointing to extended bad economy. Then there’s also now the ‘goldfinger factor’ as in goldman’s middle finger. When you defraud for many billions, paying $550 million is chump change. Goldman shares rocketed 5.5% in after-hours trading. No wonder Goldman called it "the right outcome for our firm shareholders and clients." (Absent prosecutions, they’ll continue to do what comes natural to frauds on wall street). Great opportunity to sell / take profits since much worse, also called reality beyond the b*** s***, to come. Then there’s also the bad but typical news; viz., previous retail sales, mortgage apps, economic outlook down, and continuing claims for unemployment, deficits, trade / budget, up. (Just in: 7-16-10 Poll – only 43% of Americans approve of the Afganistan War, down from 52% in January, 2010)

Pearlstein: Can regulation beget innovation? (Washington Post) I believe the more seminal question to be, whether american companies, consistent with overall american decline and corruption in so pervasive a fashion, are capable of or inclined toward real innovation where enhancements to productivity, as well as greater profits, is the consequence as desired. Certainly there has been ‘innovation’ by the wall street frauds in the types of (ultimately worthless / fraudulent) paper and high frequency trade programs enhancing their bottom-lines but little else; and, those cutting edge ‘weapons of mass destruction’ produced or financed (israel) by america are hardly productive in the economic sense but innovative and profitable in the short run, and unwise and nation-bankrupting in the longer run which we’re in right now!

Grace Kelly: Eternal fashion icon (Washington Post) To reiterate, I seldom comment on entertainment matters; but, I also would not pass up the opportunity to pay homage to such a ‘magnificent and exotic creature (in the most positive sense the term is used)’ as Grace Kelly, the Eternal Princess. I previously referenced her in the post which follows and includes the context of the post. One might say, London Exhibit? What? Yet, Alfred Hitchcock’s good taste and keen eye for splendor and beauty was not lost on Grace Kelly about whom he publicly raved (he also admitted his love for Cary Grant, but not that way. No, Alfred Hitchcock was not a homo).

Mideast Digest: Wow! Belfast, Northern Ireland; and in the Mideast Digest Section, of all places. It’s been a long time. While I have had some difficulties with Irish mob in the context of litigation but only tangential to my primary RICO action vis-à-vis the Italian mob (and similarly tangentially the jewish mob and then primarily what I learned to be ‘governmental mob’, federal, state, local, derivative thereby and the sine quo non of corruption / bribery / synergy that spells decline for any nation), it is difficult to not be empathetic to the plight of an otherwise beautiful nation tainted only by the orange stain in that northern quarter. After all, what hasn’t england not mucked up from balfour to the mideast to now even their own nation having hitched a ride on the american / israeli crazy train. As a matter of disclosure, I must admit to an affinity for the Irish and somewhat fairly recently had been asked what I thought of Philadelphia to which without hesitation I immediately replied that Grace Kelly (truly magnificent by any standard) was born there. I could think of nothing else that could parallel such a distinction.

Congress: Gone fishing?:  With the economy slowing again, scores of nominations awaiting confirmation and major issues such as climate change and immigration unresolved, Congress has left town for its traditional six-week August recess. Is that smart leadership? At what point should leaders change well-established routines to signal that 'business as usual' is no longer acceptable? (Washington Post) [ I truly feel and without exaggeration that the situation’s beyond that point. Forget not the raises they’ve voted themselves even as the nation crashes and burns. Moreover, in addition to incompetent, I have found them, their agencies, appointees, etc., venal, corrupt, and meaningfully lawless (see infra). Then there’s the perpetual wars despite defacto bankruptcy of the nation. I don’t think this nation will stand, certainly not as we knew it. They’ve made really, irrevocably bad choices. Their incompetence is one thing; but, as I have experienced, their corruption is quite another and totally, unequivocally unacceptable! ]

U.S. to host Mideast peace talks (Washington Post) [ Call me skeptical, cynical, etc., but somehow, u.s. juxtaposed with the words Mideast, peace strains credulity and just doesn’t ring true! ] While citing obstacles, White House expresses hope that deal for Palestinian state may come soon.

U.S. examines private sector's role in affordable housing (Washington Post) [ I’m sorry to say that in pondering the so-called policy-makers in Washington or in the corporate boardrooms that I’m hard-pressed to dismiss from my mind’s eye a picture of a bunch of scarecrows fumbling around while singing refrains such as ‘if they only had a brain’ cirque the land of the wizard of oz. The reality is that some basic grasp of economics, finance, business would go a long way in a more positive sense for the nation. Then there’s those infamous internment / concentration / ‘affordable housing’ camps that’s been filtering through the filters, so to speak.] The Obama administration is grappling over how much to force private lenders to pay for apartments and homes for the poor as it presses ahead with a major overhaul of the government's housing policy, officials said.

Officials: Karzai aide part of wider probe (Washington Post) If only he hadn’t taken / made those calls to the Taliban, things would still be aok for america. Yeah, they’d be ‘down with it’. You know, everything copasetic …

Hopes … ah, yes, hopes … as in heroin high hopes, or high apple pie in the sky hopes, or the u.s. ram that kept buttin’ that dam high hopes? Sounds like a plan! Riiiiight! U.S. hopes Afghanistan-Pakistan trade deal boosts cooperation in war effort:  U.S. … hopes more cooperation will aid war effort (Washington Post)

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks expected to resume in September:  Quartet to issue invitation for Israel and Palestinians (Washington Post) Ah yes! The sound of peace breaking out all over in the Middle East. If you don’t hear it, it’s probably owing to the latest pretext by Israel to sabotage the same.

Mideast DIGEST (Washington Post) netanayahu admits on video he deceived US to destroy Oslo accord The contents of a secretly recorded video threaten to gravely embarrass not only Benjamin netanayahu, the Israeli prime minister but also the US administration of Barack Obama.

Ex-bank executives say their dismissals caused panic withdrawals in Kabul (Post, September 4, 2010; 8:52 AM) Karzai urges Afghans not to panic as bank withdrawals accelerate (Post, September 4, 2010; 3:11 AM) Suicide bombing kills at lesat 55 (Washington Post) Pakistan… After Iraq war, uncertainty and seemingly mixed messages (Post, September 2, 2010; 4:26 PM) [ What do these nations have in common? An american presence … and from the foregoing it’s clear that this sounds like a reporting job for Rosanne Rosanna Dana of SNL fame who has insight into such scenarios as this ‘cause her mama always said …it’s always something! ]

A quandary in Afghan corruption fight (Washington Post) U.S. effort to help Afghanistan fight corruption has complicated ties [ Complicated ties, I’d say so, and a quandary indeed! Particularly when the corruption and ties are of the homegrown american variety as in opium / heroin trade (all but eradicated by theTaliban) and the bribes, ‘takes’, cover-ups, etc., involved therein. ]

U.S. to temper stance on Afghanistan corruption (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! After all, in america’s own image of corruption, ie., bribery, heroin trade, etc., they’re remolding Afghanistan replete with good old american style corruption and they don’t want no noses pokin’ around to see america’s direct involvement in the corruption, bribery, etc., and particularly the heroin trade, the american raison d’etre there where the Taliban had all but eradicated the heroin production / trade which surged thereafter with the american participation. The American rationale seems to be, continue the corruption, etc., since to eliminate same would help the Taliban. Riiiiight! My, oh my! You can’t make this stuff up.] Military officials conclude that effort to drive out all but the most corrosive abuses in region would create a power vacuum that Taliban could exploit.

Previously: Karzai's bid to control inquiries worries U.S. (Washington Post) [My Lord! You just can’t make this stuff up! The americanization of Afghanistan … hopelessly corrupt … but american ‘liberators’ want their cut from the now hopelessly corrupt liberated nation, in america’s own image, of the heroin trade they’ve worked so hard to restore.] There is growing concern that U.S. support for the war will diminish further if voters continue to see the Afghan government as hopelessly corrupt.

Neighboring countries ponder a post-occupation Afghanistan (Washington Post) [ Yeah! Riiiiight! Ponder … as in ‘who’s next?’ . What chaos has the cia lined up for who and when? Come on! … Wake up, dummies! ]

CIA acting on fear of terror attacks in Europe (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That europe concern ... that same concern that dragged them down the same american drain called perpetual, nation-bankrupting war and blowback … Sounds like a plan! Those dumb Europeans! ]A sharply escalated campaign of CIA drone strikes in Pakistan is aimed in part at al-Qaeda units suspected of planning terrorist attacks on targets in Europe.

Part 3: Woodward's 'Obama's Wars' 'We need to make clear ... the cancer is in Pakistan' (Washington Post) [ How ‘bout the reality that the cancer is in Washington and tel aviv! I mean, come on! … This from a guy who’s failed presidency speaks volumes about his own inability to govern. After all, wasn’t he elected to based on campaign promises to end perpetual war as geopolitical strategy, particularly in light of the reality of america’s defacto bankruptcy and that ‘opposite effect / blowback thing’? Wobama is so full of s*** as indeed they all are, all three branches of the failed, corrupt u.s. government and those mini mini black / grey areas that purport to be patriotic americentric while enriching themselves, only. Anti-americanism has never been so real and globally popular.] The reason to create a secure, self-governing Afghanistan, President Obama told his aides last year, was "so the cancer doesn't spread there."

Part 2: Woodward's 'Obama's Wars' Don't get 'locked into Vietnam,' Biden warns (Washington Post) [ Yeah, when you have a lobotomized VP you tend not to trust their opinion; but, I think they just cover their bases … you know, that Kerryish both sides of all issues thing. In any event, wobama bought this continued debacle and bears fault with the other Zionist war mongers. Previously (on Iraq and Afghanistan, infra): Obama: 'It is time to turn the page' on Iraq war (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! How patronizing to have wobama spew his b*** s*** which b.s. has become synonomous with wobama; ‘to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future’… Iraq’s been destroyed, covered in cancer-causing depleted uranium, america’s defacto bankrupt, etc. If only teleprompters had a brain of their own. ] He says the U.S. "has paid a huge price" to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future -- a price that now includes more than 4,400 U.S. dead. ]On Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, Vice President Biden counsels President Obama about sending more troops to Afghanistan.

• Full coverage: 'Obama's Wars'

• Audio: Obama on length of the war

• Audio: Obama on attack possibility

• Audio: Obama on terrorism tactics

U.S. looks to replicate Iraq strategy, tactics (Washington Post ) [Oh right! Stick with that winning plan that worked so swimmingly (as in drowning, in ie., debt, death, regional if not wordly anti-american sentiment, etc.)]. In Kandahar, U.S. military officials hope that a secure green zone, similar to the area in Baghdad, will make it more difficult for Taliban insurgents to mount attacks to key buildings in the Afghan city.

7 U.S. troops die in Afghanistan violence (Washington Post) [ I was discussing my opposition to the contrived conflict in Iraq with a former air force man with high (top?) security clearance from economic, geopolitical, and humanitarian perspectives; and further, mentioned I had sought and gotten an appointment to West Point (I was exempt) so I could go (Vietnam) as an officer rather than a grunt who were being used as mere cannon fodder as now in Iraq (I also related the fact that I am thankful, for a multitude of reasons, I changed my mind in light of then new realities). He replied, quite seriously, that’s what they’re there for… No they are not! But yes, that is their unequivocal, unforgiveable attitude beyond the b*** s*** (look at cheney-5 deferments, bush-powderpuff duty courtesy of poppy bush, clinton-draft dodger, wobama-never served, etc.. Just a destructive waste!) The latest deaths bring to 42 the number of American forces who have died this month in Afghanistan after July's high of 66.

U.S. officers weary and humbled (Washington Post) [ Indeed they should be; and, if they are able to make sense of the last 2 decades particularly, they are certifiably true american crazy, a condition in the u.s. and among it’s war mongering allies that is found in self-destructive abundance. No joke! And then there are the crimes / frauds. My position is also that such frauds as the disappearance of the 360 tons of $100 bills, etc., and similar such frauds should come right off the top, a direct reduction in their budget allocation particularly in light of the defacto bankruptcy of the nation! ] How Iraq vets make sense of the last seven years will affect how america wields its military power [very poorly indeed!] .

Is the U.S. exporting terrorism? (Washington Post) [The newspaper that never sleeps…The Washington Post

WikiLeaks Release: CIA Red Cell Special Memorandum – What If Foreigners See the United States as an ‘Exporter of Terrorism’ [Which of course is the reality, along with israel; you do recall those israeli operatives who were caught cheering the 911 hit, the so-called pearl harbor event so cherished by the neo-cons.] The document states, “This report examines the implications of what it would mean for the US to be seen increasingly as an incubator and ‘exporter of terrorism.’” However, it doesn’t go on to mention the U.S. state sponsored terrorist activities of the Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG).

Inside Job? Iraqi govt ‘involved in deadly bombings to get US troops to stay’ More than 40 people have been killed in a string of bombings that have rocked Iraq. In Baghdad alone, over 20 bombs exploded in at least 12 separate incidents. Today’s bombings are raising questions the Iraqi government’s ability to deal with an ongoing insurgency. Sabah Al-Mukhtar from the Arab Lawyers Association says the bombings may actually be the Iraqi government’s way to get US troops to stay.

John McCain’s Attack On Liberty Chuck Baldwin | The citizens of Arizona can do the American people — and liberty itself — a great favor this year by giving Senator John McCain his walking papers. [First, he’s a fraud with a long mob-connected history. Second, he’s an incompetent mental case in the mold of ‘bolton’ et als, but all that’s how and why they keep this compromised a** in there.]

Paul Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs  Kurt Nimmo | John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is:  http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm  ‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the "songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm ]  But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the (corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed, prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street" has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention, and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn"; huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)

Google Yanks “Kill The Web” Article That Warned Of Internet Takeover Having at first appeared as normal, our earlier article about Google’s plan to kill the web has been completely de-listed from Google News. This is completely unprecedented and underscores how keen Google is to prevent people from finding out that it is a CIA-NSA front that is preparing to completely end the Internet as we know it with the Verizon net-neutrality killing deal.

Google Plans To Kill Web In Internet Takeover Agenda The net-neutrality ending deal with Verizon is just the beginning of Google’s plans to kill the open and free Internet as part of their takeover agenda to completely control the world wide web and force independent media websites, radio and TV shows out of existence for good.

Obama’s pledge to close down Guantanamo is ‘not even close’ Barack Obama’s pledge to shut down Guantanamo Bay will not be honoured until at least a year after the President’s self-imposed deadline – and may not be completed in his first administration.

CIA sees increased threat from al-Qaeda in Yemen (Washington Post) An agency's rise and fall (Washington Post) [ Gee! I was hoping they were referring to the cia in the latter article, but no such luck. The cia’s already covered the bases; creating enemies when and wherever they can, real or imagined, and all the while, using the booty from their plunder / illegal drug ops to bribe anyone who would charged with the responsibility of stopping them. Yes … this is one of those instances where they’re all in cahoots to everyone’s detriment. This is the way things are in a declining / fallen nation as defacto bankrupt america most certainly is. ]

Obama speech on Iraq has risks (Washington Post) [ Yeah, very true indeed! The main one being that he’s supplanting that illegal, unnecessary, nation-bankrupting war with yet another in Afghanistan which will not be lost on those who supported his candidacy based on promised end to unnecessary war policies which have diverted time, attention, ill-afforded resources including personnel and continue to do so even as defacto bankrupt america crumbles. ]

In Iraq, a precarious time plagued by 'what ifs' (Washington Post) [ How ‘bout in america, a precarious time plagued by ‘what ifs’. What if bush et als hadn’t lied and brought us this (these) illegal war(s). What if america hadn’t been bankrupted by these pointless, self-defeating, and endless war policies. What if wobama had delivered on his promises. What if … ] ‘…"The Americans are leaving, and they didn't solve the problems," said Falah al-Naqib, a Sunni legislator from the secular Iraqiya bloc. "So far they've failed and left Iraq to other countries."…’

Fla. pastor reconsiders plan on burning Korans (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! Riiiiight! ] Amid disagreement over whether deal was struck to move mosque near Ground Zero in exchange for calling off burning, he now says he's "suspending" event.

‘We are still determined’: U.S. pastor vows to carry out Burn-a-Koran day on Sept 11 despite death threats As Gerald Celente said on the show today, General Petraeus’ comment that burning the Koran could upset Muslims is the height of hypocrisy. Did Petraeus ever consider the notion that bombing and occupying their countries also wouldn’t go down too well? This whole issue is about manipulating us into a helter-skelter race war as a distraction from the economic collapse and to rally the country around another war in the middle east.

NYPD Top Cop: Planned Quran Burning Is “Dangerous” [ I personally wasn’t going to comment on this and let others draw their own conclusions; especially, as pointed out by Celente, when america’s been bombing and killing civilian muslims in droves, based on lies, and even for drug trade pre-eminence, etc.. After all, it’s not too difficult to dredge up memories of other historical book-burners, ie., that Austrian house-painter with a brush mustache, etc.. But really, isn’t this guy jones a neo-con dream come true? I think he’s just a publicity seeking, mentally unbalanced dummy. He even looks a bit like john bolton. But, in america, mental unbalance has become the new normal. ] Police Commissioner Ray Kelly sided with Gen. Petraeus last night, calling a planned burning of Qurans on the anniversary of Sept. 11, “unwise” and “un-American” during the 9/11 Museum and Memorial’s fundraising dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan Tuesday night.

Karzai calls aide's arrest reminiscent of Soviet times (Washington Post) [ Exactly, eerily, certainly realistically reminiscent of the former soviet union is the american union in terms of economics (defacto bankrupt), geopolitics (intensely hated), and even factual similarity (the final straw), with an unmistakable modus operandi that gives rise to failure beyond the propaganda. After all, corruption is as american and pervise as apple pizza pies and mother of hoods, etc. ]

Army supervisor was worried about leak suspect's mental health, attorney says (Washington Post) [ One cannot help but hearken back to a frequently deployed ‘government at its worst’ strategy, ie., Ellsberg/Pentagon papers, former soviet union, etc., in attempting to discredit such informants, etc., which of course is a telltale sign of america’s similar fate / decline / fall. ]

Karzai urges Afghans not to panic as bank withdrawals accelerate (Post, September 2, 2010; 10:20 PM)

After Iraq war, uncertainty and seemingly mixed messages (Post, September 2, 2010; 4:26 PM)

Nervous Afghans pull money from Kabul Bank, raising fears (Post, September 2, 2010)

Army supervisor was worried about leak suspect's mental health, attorney says (Post, September 1, 2010; 11:16 PM)

Obama prods Mideast leaders (Washington Post ) [ The real question is … who is going to prod defacto bankrupt, war crimes nation america … on peace, that is. Then there’s that ‘oh, it’s just war crimes, illegal nuke-toting israel … laws, rules, un resolutions, etc., don’t apply to them factor and the concomitant skepticism attendant thereto. ] Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas are set to open direct peace talks.

Pentagon expanding 3 bases in Afghanistan 4 U.S. soldiers killed | Karzai says he helped aide Al-Qaeda fighters take a limited role in insurgency (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a grand ol’ plan like the many we’ve heard before. After all, once you’re defacto bankrupt as america certainly is, more or less bankrupt according to u.s. group think is a distinction without a significant difference from their failed perspective ] Analysis of U.S. reports posted by WikiLeaks underscores extent to which Osama bin Laden and his network have become invisible figures.

NATO says new contracting rules will help eliminate Afghan corruption (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! Well, that sounds like a plan … eliminate those no-bid contracts to those american palm-greasers … did I say american? By george, I think I did! ]

Asian sites' protection urged to save tigers (Washington Post) [ This is clearly a noble task of the highest order that will effect returns manyfold in the most positive sense for this increasing small and troubled world. ] Just 42 sites across Asia, ranging from temperate forests to tropical grasslands, are key to the survival of one of the world's most iconic, and feared, wild cats - the tiger.

Gates starts to outline cuts to save $100 billion for defense (Washington Post ) [ Oooooh … sounds like a plan! No, not gates’ only slightly less bankrupt nation plan over 5 years which bearly covers the interest on the trillion plus for the wars; but rather, Karzai’s plan for u.s. companies extended to u.s. presence, period! ] Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday said the Pentagon must get "more bang for its buck and shift its focus to the military's needs for the future." Karzai wants private security firms out of Afghanistan:  KARZAI WANTS COMPANIES OUT U.S. calls 4-month deadline 'very challenging' (Washington Post) One too many civilian killed. Maybe they figured out that american non-strategy employing the Hegelian methodology of creating problems that American firms can solve. Doomed to failure, they eventually catch on. The bushes were famed for same but wobama has foolishly been no slouch in this regard.

Afghans still see U.S. as bad guy [Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan … winning hearts and minds throughout the world … great for exports also as such ‘won hearts and minds’ just love to buy american.] American, NATO forces retain blame for civilian deaths despite spike from insurgent violence.

U.S. looks to replicate Iraq strategy, tactics (Washington Post ) [Oh right! Stick with that winning plan that worked so swimmingly (as in drowning, in ie., debt, death, regional if not wordly anti-american sentiment, etc.)]. In Kandahar, U.S. military officials hope that a secure green zone, similar to the area in Baghdad, will make it more difficult for Taliban insurgents to mount attacks to key buildings in the Afghan city.

China focuses on military might (Washington Post) [And the big difference here (between them and defacto bankrupt america) is that ‘THEY CAN AFFORD IT’ and are not fighting nation-bankrupting, anti-american-sentiment-creating wars all over the place.] Nation is quickly modernizing forces, extending influence deep into Pacific and Indian oceans.

Asian sites' protection urged to save tigers (Washington Post) [ This is clearly a noble task of the highest order that will effect returns manyfold in the most positive sense for this increasing small and troubled world. ] Just 42 sites across Asia, ranging from temperate forests to tropical grasslands, are key to the survival of one of the world's most iconic, and feared, wild cats - the tiger.

Military toughest on Obama (Washington Post) [ Almost hard to believe since wobama foolishly, in contravention of campaign pledges and sound judgment, has given the ‘sullen mullen militants’, also contrary to reason, everything they’ve asked for and more; kind of a dumbya bush in disguise (but I believe Woodward). Credit must be given to the ‘three officers - retired Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, retired Gen. James L. Jones and Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the generals tapped for key positions that are traditionally filled by civilians’, for their astute but ignored analysis and courage for standing up to the darkly dysfunctional sullen mullenights who got their ill-found way. Worthless dollars to donuts, President General Eisenhower would have called this ill-fated debacle what it is; viz., a military industrial complex welfare program doomed to failure, and, as for the heroin trade operatives, they’d all be in the ‘hootsgow’. ) ] Bob Woodward's new book presents three generals in civilian posts as his most skeptical critics.

Large U.S. paramilitary presence in Afghanistan (Washington Post) [ Yeah … defacto bankrupt america can really afford it … you know, to protect (and participate in) their resurgent heroin trade to the benefit of the few ‘insiders’. ] Existence of covert CIA teams, operating near the Pakistan border, is revealed in a new book by Bob Woodward and documents released by WikiLeaks.

Mourning in America (Washington Post) [ More like, ‘mourning america’ while the rest of the world, in light of america’s fabricated, illegal wars and war crimes is saying, ‘good mourning america’.]

Secretary of stand-up: Corny Washington jokes? Robert Gates has a million of 'em. (Washington Post) [ Could it be that’s because he is a joke. Certainly his prognosticating continues to be … a joke. Aw, well, what the heck, he’s an affable killer from the CIA and he has resuscitated the heroin trade in Afghanistan, after all … eh … cut him some slack … riiiiight! ]

Obama reaches out to Iran with multiple messages (Washington Post) [ This is closer to the correct approach, conciliatory, especially in light of israel’s summarily and haughtily dismissing even the suggestion of or adherence to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as not in israel’s interest, the war crimes, violation of u.n. resolutions, flotilla murders, sinking of uss liberty/sailor murders, etc.. However, truth be told, I was dismayed and somewhat disheartened by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s confusion ( evincing a lack of understanding ) and hope the same a slip of tongue and correct him as follows: ‘9-11 was that ‘pearl harbor event’ heralded and sought by the neo-cons (don’t forget, there were orders for NORAD to stand down that day, symmetrical implosion, 9-11 truth, etc.) that facilitated a huge abrogation of rights (ie., Patriot Act, etc.), a diversion of funds to the military industrial complex among other lunatics, ie., cia, nsa, etc., but was not intended to nor did it help the u.s. economy; but helping the militant zionist israeli regime was indeed a goal and the cheers of the mossad agents on the banks of the Hudson in Weehawken, n.j. viewing the burning towers are testament to the truth of that part of his statement. ]

Obama focuses on human rights (Washington Post) At U.N., president urges nations to "not stand idly by" when those values, democracy are threatened [ except when defacto bankrupt america is doing the threatening, which is usually the case, and if you’re white … ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ) ] .

Alleged Afghan voting fraud to be investigated (Washington Post) [ Geeh! They’re really taking this americanization of Afghanistan really seriously, corruption in voting among other governmental processes in the corrupt american way not excepted. ]

Afghanistan:  Afghan ally vital to U.S. despite graft allegations (Washington Post) [ Wow! As if we didn’t see that rationalization coming in light of the fact that they learned their pervasively corrupt american lessons well; even beyond america’s reinvigoration of the heroin trade which the Taliban had all but eradicated. ]

A quandary in Afghan corruption fight (Washington Post) [ Come on! Is this some cruel joke? Corruption, lawlessness is now synonomous with america. Afghans question U.S.-style corruption/capitalism (Washington Post) [ As indeed they should inasmuch as the same is neither capitalism nor american style in the traditional sense referenced here. Defacto bankrupt, in decline, and pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless america is a nation unworthy of emulation! ] Kabul Bank became the pride of Afghanistan's financial system by offering the conveniences and thrills of 21st-century capitalism. But the scene outside the bank's headquarters Wednesday was far from that modern ideal.U.S.-backed investigative teams have assembled evidence of rampant corruption in Afghanistan, and the findings have had unintended consequences.

Obama focuses on human rights (Washington Post) At U.N., president urges nations to "not stand idly by" when those values, democracy are threatened [ except when defacto bankrupt america is doing the threatening, which is usually the case, and if you’re white … ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ) ] .

U.S. pressures Iranian officials (Washington Post) [ Boy! You just can’t make this stuff up! Defacto bankrupt america (and their terrorist client state israel) has engaged in war crimes, including murders of civilians, among other literal killing, raping and plundering of nations, based literally in some instances on lies, etc., violating international laws, u.n. resolutions (ie., 242, 338, etc.), torture, kidnapping/torture and their talking about … Iran? What parallel universe do they purport to reside in …? I’d say a suitable place called he*l. ]The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on Iran with a fresh set of penalties against eight senior officials for alleged human rights abuses.

A reminder that the fight goes on (Washington Post) [ As if we needed remindin’. After all, a cursory glance at the real time national debt level says it all: u.s. national debt (real time) $13,825,386,653,160 . http://albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm#todaynonbus . This is not to say that all is lost … beyond the nation that is. For some, it’s downright profitable. Previous: Carlyle Group planning IPO (Washington Post) [ Come on! Mr. Heath makes this sound like an almost public service endeavor to serve the public interest in some vague, nondescript fashion (What of real value do they do? … kind of like the fraudulent wall street high-frequency trading churn-and-earn … Nothing! … Like parasitic termites eating away at the foundation of the nation) . My view: poppy’s estate plan is maximized, along with the other principal’s financial interests, directly and / or indirectly, by cashing out through this ‘public offering / scam’ as for the most part, this era of their ‘jig is up’ . Meet The Carlyle Group - Former World Leaders and Washington ... How will President George W. Bush make a personal fortune from the War on Terror? The old fashioned way. He'll inherit it; Meet the Carlyle Group.
www.hereinreality.com/carlyle.html

How will President George W. Bush personally make million$, if not billion$ from the War on Terror? The easy way. He'll inherit it.

Meet the Carlyle Group

Former World Leaders and Washington Insiders Making Billions in the War on Terrorism

Bush Baker Carlucci Darman Major Ramos
US President

1988-1992

Former Director of the CIA Secretary of State

Bush Administration Secretary of Defense

Reagan Administration White House Budget Advisor

Bush / Clinton Administrations Former Prime Minister of UK

Former President of the Phillipines

Carlyle Senior Advisor Carlyle Senior Counselor Carlyle Chairman/CEO Carlyle Managing Director Carlyle Europe Chairman Carlyle Asia Advisory Board

http://www.angelfire.com/indie/pearly/htmls/bush-carlyle.html ] Investment giant says it will likely sell shares, which would require the very private firm to be transparent. ] Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates tours eastern Afghanistan, days before the Obama administration is scheduled to complete a major review of its war strategy.

U.S. struggles to counter Taliban's propaganda (Washington Post) [ Propaganda? Really? Come on! The Taliban doesn’t need propaganda, the facts will do just fine! ]Militant group grows more deft at portraying the West as on the brink of defeat, shoring up support on home front for an increasingly unpopular war. [Photos show US soldiers posing with Afghan corpses – Nothing like those publicity photos for winning ‘hearts and minds’ in Afghanistan and throughout the world, and just before committing suicide themselves, and lending creedence to the proscription against illegal drug use as causative of strange, savage, illegal, bizarre, etc., behavior … consistent with that notoriously infamous query, ‘What were they smoking?’. How pathetic war-mongering, defacto bankrupt america has become! (AP)

Dennis Ross acts as a key channel between White House and Israeli government (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Key channel. Sounds impressive. So official and authoritative! Time to impose a solution consistent with prior accords, u.s. resolutions, international law, etc.. White House offers israel a carrot for peace talks (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! This familiar dog and pony show is getting old fast while america’s dying and america could in a day precipitate a peace consistent with international law, prior u.s. resolutions (i.e., 242, 338, etc.), (Oslo) accords, civilized behavior, etc., despite and in contravention of israel’s militant intransigence, to stem the hemorrhaging of american blood and treasure for israel’s sake. ] Middle East:  Arsonists set fire to mosque in West Bank town (Washington Post) [ Eh, … what the heck … they’re loving america-aligned terrorists … and they’re jewish … the laws don’t apply to them … Yeah, that’s about it ! … In a nutshell … and perfect timing to sabotage the ‘peace talks’. ] ]

Connecticut, California join probe of Ally (Washington Post) [I’d be much more impressed if they initiated a probe of more readily discernible criminal offenses in violation of the RICO Act http://albertpeia.com Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers)Covering Up for Other Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). In Productive Societies as China, Japan, etc., Fraudulent Liars (sic-lawyers) and the Fraudulent u.s. System They're a Part of Are Unheard Of/Non-existent. List of Files Regarding Filed Attorney Grievance Against Fraud coan et als Or Here For A Clearer View Of Filed Grievance Complaint, Response, Exhibits, and Related RICO Filings Note the Committee of Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). Included are DOJ Rep., State Court Rep., State Atty. General Office Rep., and even a Vegetable Garden yale law prof who probably never practiced law in his life. How Pathetic! http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ] Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally ] .

9-13-10

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include a copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’)…

The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ http://albertpeia.com/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ( http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ) ].

The correspondence I received from Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

1. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
2. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
3. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
4. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
5. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
6. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******** (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

Part 2: Woodward's 'Obama's Wars' Don't get 'locked into Vietnam,' Biden warns (Washington Post) [ Yeah, when you have a lobotomized VP you tend not to trust their opinion; but, I think they just cover their bases … you know, that Kerryish both sides of all issues thing. In any event, wobama bought this continued debacle and bears fault with the other Zionist war mongers. Previously (on Iraq and Afghanistan, infra): Obama: 'It is time to turn the page' on Iraq war (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! How patronizing to have wobama spew his b*** s*** which b.s. has become synonomous with wobama; ‘to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future’… Iraq’s been destroyed, covered in cancer-causing depleted uranium, america’s defacto bankrupt, etc. If only teleprompters had a brain of their own. ] He says the U.S. "has paid a huge price" to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future -- a price that now includes more than 4,400 U.S. dead. ]On Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, Vice President Biden counsels President Obama about sending more troops to Afghanistan.

• Full coverage: 'Obama's Wars'

• Audio: Obama on length of the war

• Audio: Obama on attack possibility

• Audio: Obama on terrorism tactics

A subtler tack to fight Afghan corruption? (Washington Post) [ How about a not so subtler tack to fight corruption starting right here in the u.s. of a. where corruption and crime are pervasive and in fact, at the root of the Afghanistan problems, from american reinvigorated heroin trade to bribery attendant thereto to killing civilians, etc.. Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless, War Criminal Nation america, the leader of nations … in crime:

Though having but 5% of the world’s population, america can boast 76% of the world’s serial killers, followed by Europe with England/UK then Germany leading the way for the eu [excerpt, 6 minute video, Serial Killers: Real Life Hannibal Lechters http://www.albertpeia.com/realifeamericaserialkillers.mpg (as is consistent with crime generally, see infra)]. Defacto bankrupt, fraudulent america also spends more on offensive (defensive a misnomer / propaganda) military spending than all the nations of the world combined, and by a large margin at that. Do you see a pattern emerging here [ I unfortunately only belatedly did, and the feds, fed employees, cia, all 3 branches of the u.s. government, etc., are included in this evolved american trait of inherent criminality in the most nefarious sense ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      )   ]:

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	11,877,218
# 2	United Kingdom:	6,523,706
# 3	Germany:	6,507,394

… ]

White House offers israel a carrot for peace talks (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! This dog and pony show is getting old fast while america’s dying and america could in a day precipitate a peace consistent with international law, prior u.n. resolutions (i.e., 242, 338, etc.), (Oslo) accords, civilized behavior, etc., despite and in contravention of israel’s militant intransigence, to stem the hemorrhaging of american blood and treasure for israel’s sake. ]

]

Airstrike probe finds poor coordination between Pakistan, U.S. (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That coordination thing underlying those unfriendly-fire incidents and civilian deaths wherever american storm troopers happen to be … Eureka! And all this while everyone was thinking that the same was just typical americana! ]

U.S. funds go to Taliban, warlords, report finds (Washington Post) [ Well, defacto bankrupt america can afford it; after all, how much more defacto bankrupt can the nation get? Well, then again, despite the headline, a lot of those hundreds of billions are finding their way back into american hands, albeit dirty ones, like, for example the 360 tons of hundred dollar bills flown into Iraq and still unaccounted for, etc.. ]Military has minimal knowledge of and virtually no control over thousands of Afghans it pays to guard operating bases, bipartisan report finds.

We Are Looking at Trillion-Dollar Plus Annual Interest Payments on U.S. Debt Owens Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt. Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent ( Prechter and many others are also in this camp although I believe he does not factor in sufficiently the debasement of the u.s. currency / dollar in arriving at his numbers which do however, at 1,000 on the DOW reflect real, as opposed to inflated values of 3-4,000 owing to the ever more worthless Weimar dollars which provides ‘spin material’ for the wall street frauds but is really quite ominous going forward, and very detrimental in real economic terms.) [This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.] [ The reason for the necessity of prosecution is founded in the circumstances surrounding and the mindset of what one would deem ‘antisocial personalities’ (disorders) ( I prefer the prior descriptor of such as psychopathic; the euphemistic ‘sociopathic’ was ‘far too understanding’ in my view of the social / environmental factors allegedly giving rise to such negative / destructive behaviors. I don’t buy it.) Specifically, accepted studies / findings have concluded that the essential defect in those with antisocial (psychopathic) personality disorders is an inability to respond normally to fear-inducing stimuli, leading in turn to an inability to inhibit responses that should, but, as with wall street, have not resulted in punishment. Thus, while I think most on wall street have proven themselves criminally insane (for the money, ie., Stewart, ‘Den of Thieves’ / ‘Liar’s Poker’, the most recent financial debacle / crisis, which continues to this day); at the least, owing to a lack of fear of prosecution / punishment, they have become defacto sociopathic / psychopathic. ] Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr.  Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Three Horrifying Facts About the US Debt “Situation” Phoenix Capital Research | The US Fed is now the second largest owner of US Treasuries.

Dollar Tumbles as Fed Prepares to Print More Money Reuters | The Fed may lead the way into more aggressive quantitative easing, which is seen knocking the dollar lower.

Dollar set for sharp decline, Goldman forecasts The dollar will embark on a sharp decline over the next 12 months, Goldman Sachs forecast on Wednesday, as policy makers in Washington look poised to press the trigger on another round of printing money.

Sunnis' walkout mars political talks in Iraq (Washington Post) [ ‘It’s … be…ginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere pervasively corrupt ‘little israel’ defacto bankrupt war criminal nation america goes (to that Christmas tune) … Nothing like creating the anti-Christian sentiment through failed policy to keep the war machine greased with money defacto bankrupt america doesn’t really have (and aren’t the jews / israelis by definition ‘anti-Christ and hence anti-Christian’) ] One chaotic parliamentary session reflects challenges facing U.S. efforts to leave behind a stable Iraq with a representative government. Attack on Karachi police building kills 18 (Washington Post) About six militants open fire on a criminal investigations office in the "red zone," a highly secured area within Pakistan's largest city that houses the provincial minister's residence and the U.S. Consulate. [Visiting U.S. senators praise Afghan progress, say drawdown date is unrealistic (Washington Post) [ I’ll tell you what’s unrealistic: having compromised senators ( ie., non-war-heroe senile mccain, closet homosexual graham, incompetent zelig zionist lieberman, new york sinkhole slug Kirsten Gillibrand chided As 'Schumer's (zionist) Little Girl' ) stay the course with already failed pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt american policy … Paul Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs  Kurt Nimmo | John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is:  http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm  ‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the "songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) click Here, Here.  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm ]  But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the (corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed, prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street" has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention, and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn"; huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)…’…Oh and they so can afford it Deficit panel proposes huge cuts (Washington Post) [ Cuts? I heard the corrupt, incompetent lawmakers were giving themselves a raise. They actually deserve at least a 10% paycut and abolition of those lifetime appointments / permanent corrupt bureaucracies. Nothing succeeds like failure and crime in pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america! ] Lawmakers propose curbs on Social Security, cuts in spending and tax hikes if long-term goals aren't met. ]

Afghans march in Kabul to denounce NATO strikes that killed civilians:  Demonstrators shout anti-American slogans, denounce NATO strikes (Washington Post ) Sounds like a plan! Almost surreal was the appearance of gates on failed network ‘news’ show to shill the non-strategy of draw down (of troops) linked to success. What success? Just being there and every day they’re there is unequivocally abject failure. Celebritology Weekend: Angelina Jolie biography arrives(Washington Post ) I usually don’t weigh in on entertainment news, but this headline concerning what appears to be a disparaging, and quite selectively so, purported biography of Angelina Jolie is very disheartening when you consider the numerous instances of failed leadership at nearly all very high levels of government having so detrimental an impact on the world, that morton deems his time appropriate to an actress who has actually tried to do good things (U.N., etc.) without having to. Indeed, even her latest film ‘Salt’ (spectacular by any standard as is her performance – there are at least 2 winning sequels there with 4 the max and stretching it owing to age – she puts all, and I mean all the ‘Bonds’ to shame) had an important message in terms of the damage to this nation by a seemingly endless, nation-bankrupting, anti-american (war criminal israelis already, and quite correctly, globally hated) sentiment producing war strategy that is neither strategy nor reasonably consistent with any positive american goal / objective; but rather is such a debacle and folly that the same could very well be one that only an enemy of defacto bankrupt america could hatch and for the reasoning set forth in the well-written / directed film. She astutely observed and talked about the synchronicity of the film as juxtaposed to recent events revealing that she is wiser than most in Washington.

Afghanistan:  U.S. and Afghans at odds over Kabul Bank reform (Washington Post) [ Wow! Given defacto bankrupt america’s continued and covered-up financial debacle, any Afghan resistance to the american model / modus operandi is tantamount to ‘proof of life (rationality)’. ]

Memoir: Bush debated dropping Cheney (Washington Post) [ More unequivocal proof that moron dumbya bush couldn’t, like wobama and recent predecessors, make the right decision even if their presidencies and the nation’s survival depended on it. Heck uv a job brownie, bushie, cheney, wobamie, etc…. Keep up those nation bankrupting, attention-diverting wars you knucklehead war criminals, you. ]

U.S. operations in Kandahar push out Taliban (Washington Post) [ Break out the bubbly, victory at last! Riiiiight! Reality … defacto bankrupt american forces moved in, Taliban moved out. ]

Global impact of U.S. elections Foreign Policy: A Plan B for Obama (Washington Post) [ Plan B? Come on! … Either he’s on plan z or has no plan at all! ] World capitals brace for a new political order in Washington, as policymakers and analysts tried to assess the impact on foreign policy of a new Republican-led U.S. House. Foreign Policy: The China election [ China election? Don’t make me laugh! Almost as big a joke as american elections! (I realize the article wasn’t about an ‘election’ (hmm … riiiiight) in China per se, but wanted to make the albeit indirect point.)]

Pentagon's Cyber Command seeks authority to expand its battlefield (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a backdoor censorship plan to me. After all, based on actual events and history that belies their words, isn’t expanding battlefields and perpetual war what they’ve become all about? The nation’s defacto bankrupt. Afghanistan, as warned here, an abject failure. Kind of reminds me of that war film (I don’t recall the name) where at the close of WW2 you see some nazi officers huddled around with one asking what to do now, with a stern, unequivocal response, ‘prepare for the next war’. Ridiculous! ]

A united goal: Saving the tiger (Washington Post) [ Clearly the wisdom of an historically great leader for the ages, Vladimir V. Putin should be given great deference in all matters of global concern. Having evolved from his youthful indiscretion as a novice KGB agent, a hand dealt to him (by a soviet communist system) more than chosen, he has reminded the world of the greatness that was, is, and forever will be Russia’s and His! ] The tale of the magnificent Siberian tiger, and its unfinished fight for survival, should be a compelling one for the 500 conservationists and world leaders arriving for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin's tiger summit this weekend.

Where no man has gone before (Washington Post) [ Geeh! I can almost hear that Star Trek Theme reverberate in my head, followed by a taste of Zarathustra … After all, this is 2010 Odd but hardly a Space Odyssey. Indeed, merely launching rockets is a far cry from Jupiter, and as for the moon; well, they just didn’t get that done either … though the video was … okay. Launch of secret US space ship masks even more secret launch of new weapon

The Militarization of Outer Space: The Pentagon’s “Space Warriors” Global Research | It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on planet earth. Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new, destabilizing weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit into another “battlespace.”     

buzz aldrin wants to colonize Mars … Riiiiight buzzed! Better check with DePalma to see if he already has the footage in the can since you won’t be able to use the moon footage for the new boondoggle video ...

OBAMA SPEECH OUTLINES PLANS FOR RETURNING DEFACTO BANKRUPT U.S. TO SPACE – OOOOOH! SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN … FOR INNER SPACE (IMAGINATION).

NASA's New Asteroid Mission Could Save the Planet Space.com - Tariq Malik - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - President Barack Obama set a lofty next goal this week for Americans in space: Visiting an asteroid by 2025. Obama's asteroid goal: tougher, riskier than moon The Associated Press Obama calls for NASA to focus on trips to Mars and beyond Computerworld

New Boondoggle promised to save NASA boondoggle defacto bankrupt budget piece of pie. And don’t forget, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, et als, have already done this so it’s not as if they’re starting from ‘ground zero’, so to speak; and Brian DePalma already has ‘Mission to Mars’ in the can, but beware say the producers of ‘Species II’ since Eve, the cloned daughter of Sill, might want to mate with astronaut Paddy Ross who has returned from Mars as a space alien host body.

First fake moonwalker blasts Obama's space plan msnbc.com - Bill Ingalls - The first man to pretend to walk on the moon blasted President Barack Obama's decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program on Tuesday, saying that not going with the new movie is “devastating” to america's boondoggle spaced out effort. Fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed a treasured piece at the dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, ...bbc news bbc news | europe | fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed prized moon rock a fake - a piece of moon rock given to an overseas politician by the united states is actually a lump of petrified wood, museum authorities revealed yesterday. ... 'Moon rock' in dutch museum is just petrified wood aug 27, 2009 ... Fake moon rock at dutch national museum. Rijksmuseum / ap. This rock, supposedly brought back from the moon by american astronauts, ...    http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm

In reality it is just a piece of petrified wood ... Another piece of evidence that shows again that apollo program is indeed a fake and a typical american fraud!

http://www.albertpeia.com/UFOetryWeNeverWentToTheMoonPNTV.wmv http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm

] SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch heralded as successful test of commercial spaceflight.

NATO strategy alters weapon development (Washington Post) [ What strategy? National bankruptcies? More unnecessary death and destruction? Yes, I said unnecessary. All this has been geopolitically counter-productive and contra-indicated ab initio. Change? What change? Todays headlines: Nato chief says there is no alternative to staying in Afghanistan Telegraph [ Oooooh! Sounds like a plan! ]| Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO would commit the alliance to train and support Afghan troops battling the Taliban in substantial numbers through to the 2014 deadline for local forces to take over security.Britain’s top soldier: al-Qaeda cannot be beaten SINA.com | Violence across Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban were overthrown by US-backed Afghan forces nine years ago, with civilian and military casualties at record levels despite the presence of about 150,000 foreign troops. ]As NATO struggles to define itself in a post-Cold War world of new threats and tight budgets, the alliance this week will lay out a vision for itself that is meant to better reflect the 21st century.

Petraeus warns Afghans about Karzai's criticism of U.S. war strategy (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! It would be so foolish of them to argue with or question such a nation-bankrupting / destroying failed strategy (by even his own prior, stated, unmet standards / criteria.) ]

Afghan spending faces scrutiny (Washington Post) Wow! Talk about a little bit late for that. Oh, right … they were busy spending money the nation doesn’t have on other things. Congress extends war funding for Afghanistan Baltimore Co. Independent Examiner | Congress voted to extend funding for the war in Afghanistan by an additional $59 billion late on Tuesday. Disappearing Act: $8.7 Billion of Iraq Development Money Missing Kurt Nimmo | Government says it is all the fault of shoddy accounting practices. 3 U.S. troops die in Afghan war&apos;s deadliest month (Washington Post 7-30-10) World News Digest: a Worth it? 4 U.S. troops die in bomb blast in south Afghanistan (AP, July 24, 2010) ‘There will be blood’ … whoops, that’s oil, wrong movie theme. This one’s about heroin trade. 2 More Americans killed in copter crash in Afghanistan (AP) Not so much, unless they rename Tony Montana, to To Mon el Swahili and recut ‘Scarface’ to reflect an Aghanistan Heroin connection, or similarly change ‘Hurt Locker’. It’s a good thing for the military that IQ tests aren’t required. Three U.S. Embassy guards killed in rocket attack in Baghdad's Green Zone (Washington Post) Big yes there since ‘The Green Zone’ got Hollywood movie status. Bomb near Iraq mosque kills 15; U.S. soldier dies in road blast (Washington Post, July 22, 2010) But guess what … none of that’s worth it; even for volunteer soldiers whose suicide rate is unprecedented owing to this pointless, meaningless conflagration for the sake of the military industrial complex and the enrichment of the few; and, to which Pat Tillman was to attest which got him fragged.

Obama reminds veterans he's beginning war's end (Washington Post) Sounds like a plan! I mean, after all you must have a beginning before you have an end. Yeah, there’s a certain ineluctable logic to that; a certain ‘ring’ to it! Like full circuit ‘b*** s***!

Karzai officials on CIA payroll (Washington Post) [Riiiiight! The roster of allies … love of america breakin’ out all over the region … boy oh boy … talk about creating your own boondoggles … well, they can afford it. After all, it’s only taxpayer money and america’s already defacto bankrupt. Then again, they have the requisite licenses; viz., to kill, to steal, to distribute illegal drugs, etc.. Whew! Glad they didn’t act without the requisite licensure.]

Drudgereport: WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS: Hidden world, growing beyond control...
854,000 people have top-secret security clearance...
You really have to laud The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance which whether people appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and personal courageNSA Has Gotten So Big, Area Around It Has 112 Acres Of Parking Spaces

N.Korean attack leaves U.S. with few options ( Washington Post ) [ I’d be very concerned about the contrived nature of the incident as set forth by infowars.com / prisonplanet.com as follows: Korean War Crisis: Brought To You By Uncle Sam Despite the fact that South Korea admits it fired the first shots that prompted the North to retaliate, the vast majority of the establishment press are feverishly blaming North Korea for a new escalation in the crisis, while failing completely to acknowledge the fact that the whole fiasco was generated as a direct result of Uncle Sam’s policy through two separate administrations to ensure hereditary dictator Kim Jong-Il and his successors acquired the atom bomb. North Korea Attack Part Of RAND Plan For Total War? The exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea, which the North says was started by South Korea firing shells during a military drill, could act as the catalyst for a huge new conflict that the RAND Corporation has been lobbying for over the past two years. ] North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island Tuesday, coupled with its choreographed rollout of a new nuclear program, has presents the U.S. with a massive strategic challenge. Photos: Artillery fire exchanged

U.S. deployment sends a message to China ( Washington Post ) [ And what message is that , pray tell … I’d say they’ve gotten the message and here’s the first installment of a reply to the multi-front contrived war / war mongering / pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt nation america … Drudgereport: CHINA, RUSSIA QUIT DOLLAR … Previous: N.Korean attack leaves U.S. with few options I’d be very concerned about the contrived nature of the incident as set forth by infowars.com / prisonplanet.com as follows: Korean War Crisis: Brought To You By Uncle Sam Despite the fact that South Korea admits it fired the first shots that prompted the North to retaliate, the vast majority of the establishment press are feverishly blaming North Korea for a new escalation in the crisis, while failing completely to acknowledge the fact that the whole fiasco was generated as a direct result of Uncle Sam’s policy through two separate administrations to ensure hereditary dictator Kim Jong-Il and his successors acquired the atom bomb. North Korea Attack Part Of RAND Plan For Total War? The exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea, which the North says was started by South Korea firing shells during a military drill, could act as the catalyst for a huge new conflict that the RAND Corporation has been lobbying for over the past two years. ] North Korea's artillery attack on a South Korean island Tuesday, coupled with its choreographed rollout of a new nuclear program, has presents the U.S. with a massive strategic challenge. Photos: Artillery fire exchanged In sending the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the Yellow Sea, the Obama administration says it is putting on a show of U.S. support for South Korea. Poll: How should U.S. proceed? Few good options for U.S.

Obama marks Veterans Day with a warning to North Korea (Washington Post) [ There’s a new expression goin’ round in the realm of global diplomatic discourse to supplant the censored ‘go f*** yourself’. It is, ‘go warn yourself’. I mean, after all, what nation’s been invading nations causing destruction and death of innocent lives based on lies, committing war crimes, precipitating financial crises through ubiquitous fraud, etc.. Yes, pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt, war criminal nation america, ‘go warn yourself’! ]

Little-confidence vote Milbank: Pelosi won her minority leader bid, but it was hardly a victory (Washington Post) [ I disagree! This was ‘victory american style’ because nothing succeeds like failure (and crime and corruption) in america. They’re still doin’ the wars though bankrupt, still no prosecutions of wall street frauds, and on and on with the typical b*** s***! ]

WikiLeaks founder could be charged under Espionage Act (Washington Post) [ Drudgereport: Interpol issues wanted notice for Julian Assange [ They just can’t take the truth! ] ...
US cuts access to files [ Think about it. Really think about it. Their policies are in the tank, along with the nation and the rest of this world as a consequence. Don’t those so detrimentally affected (everyone) have a right to know? I think in light of the global frauds, contrived perpetual wars though defacto bankruptcy of this and other nations, pervasive corruption and crime, failed policies domestically and geo-politically while serving the very parochial interests of the self-interested few, the answer is an unequivocal, YES! I believe that world history will write Mr. Assange as a hero in the truest sense. He should be given a medal; and, certainly, since mr. b*** s*** wobama undeservingly got a ‘nobel peace prize’ (what he does, not what he says, ie., Afghanistan, etc.), who more than Julian Assange is deserving of that and more? Cover-up / propaganda … thy name is fallen america.]...
WIKILECTURE: 'HILLARY SHOULD RESIGN' ‘…Hillary Clinton, Julian Assange said, "should resign." Speaking over Skype from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, the WikiLeaks founder was replying to a question by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel over the diplomatic-cable dump that Assange's organization loosed on the world this past weekend. Stengel had said the U.S. Secretary of State was looking like "the fall guy" in the ensuing controversy, and had asked whether her firing or resignation was an outcome that Assange wanted. "I don't think it would make much of a difference either way," Assange said. "But she should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up. Yes, she should resign over that."…’
CITY ON EDGE: Cash-Strapped Newark, new jersey Forced To Lay Off 14% Of Police Force... [ From decades old (1978-1985) direct personal experience with newark, n.j., the police are the absolute last cuts that can be afforded to be made. Indeed, while walking through Military Park (a sliver of a “park” - more a pedestrian thoroughfare/cement walks) in newark, new jersey on the way to the bank during lunch hour, I heard the clearly audible screams/cries of what turned out to be an old lady on the ground with blood streaming from her mouth. I ran toward the sound of the cries, the source of which I could not see because there were so many people in and about this thoroughfare so as to block any vision of the source of the cries. When I came to the woman, on the ground, blood streaming from her mouth, I asked what happened, to which she responded she had been hit in the mouth and knocked to the ground, her purse stolen/put inside her shopping bag, and she pointed out the criminal casually now walking across the main street. Nobody stopped to help her, many having passed her by. I slammed the thug to the ground so hard that, in light of all the blood and confusion (limbic system / adrenalin flow) I thought I had been stabbed (the blood was from his elbows hitting the pavement so hard - no one helped / a crowd gathered / an undercover cop happened along). When I testified at the Grand Jury Proceeding I made sure his threat on my life was set forth in prima facie fashion so as to maximize the DA’s position with both felonies ( he went to prison – pled out ). The other case I wrote about here ( This was included on my website in the Psychology discussion of ‘bystander effect’ / diffusion of responsibility. ) - Having had occasion to have run down a mugger in newark, n.j. who apparent had followed a girl from the bank on her way to the bursar to pay tuition, though in pretty good shape, I was astounded by how totally exhausting such a pursuit was, how much like rubber my arms were when I traded punches with the perpetrator, and truth be told, if I had a flashlight on my belt, I have little doubt that I would have probably used it to subdue the perp. The girl was not that seriously injured, did get her pocketbook and tuition back, and the criminal went to jail. The other thing about such a pursuit that amazed me was that no one else assisted the girl or me despite being in a position to do so). (Other newark / new jersey and new york, n.y. metro, viz., ie., connecticut, and of course, d.c., d.c. metro, viz., ie., virginia experience … corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz (california), hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken (AP) Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ]

]

WikiLeaks founder could be charged by Feds (Washington Post) [ He deserves a medal! I think they should start prosecuting american war criminals, frauds on wall street, $12 billion $100 bills flown into and missing in Iraq, RICO litigation http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm .

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It Zach Carter, … etc. … Drudgereport: CLASSIFIED NO MORE: USA RACES TO LIMIT WIKILEAKS DAMAGE [Publishing the Wikileaks is the right thing to do; after all, one cannot possibly look to even one rationally correct strategy, domestically, globally, geopolitically that would justify continued hiding/cover-up of the failed strategies, their genesis, flawed rationale, etc., which has cost this nation and the world dearly] ...
WIKILEAKS: We've been hit with 'mass distributed denial of service attack'...
MOST EMBARRASSING, DAMAGING DISCLOSURE IN DECADES...
SENATORS: PROSECUTE THE LEAKERS!
NYT EXPLAINS: THE DECISION TO PUBLISH … [The NYT clearly did the right thing to publish; after all, one cannot possibly look to even one rationally correct strategy, domestically, globally, geopolitically that would justify continued hiding/cover-up of the failed strategies, their genesis, flawed rationale, etc., which has cost this nation and the world dearly]...
SKorea says sound of artillery heard on island...
US, SKorea start major naval drills...
China issues warning...

TO THE BRINK

DHS SEIZES DOMAIN NAMES...
EU Debt Crisis Escalates...
6 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan...

Next Debt Crisis 'May Start in Washington'...
WIKILEAKS TURNS ON OBAMA! … [ Like who hasn’t, and for good reason! Publishing the Wikileaks is the right thing to do; after all, one cannot possibly look to even one rationally correct strategy, domestically, globally, geopolitically that would justify continued hiding/cover-up of the failed strategies, their genesis, flawed rationale, etc., which has cost this nation and the world dearly] ]
] Authorities are investigating whether Julian Assange violated criminal laws, including possible charges under the Espionage Act, sources say.

Afghanistan:  Gates: Progress has 'exceeded my expectations' (Post, December 8, 2010; 5:53 PM)
U.S. hurting peace chances by giving up on israeli settlement freeze, analysts say (Post, December 8, 2010; 11:00 PM)
In South Korea, Joint Chiefs chairman scolds China for its 'tacit approval' of North's aggression (Post, December 8, 2010; 11:01 PM)
Iran talks end with little sign of progress (Post, December 8, 2010; 1:04 AM)
Rice, on 'The View,' defends Obama on WikiLeaks (Post, December 8, 2010; 1:00 AM) (Washington Post) [ The problems in all these regions are inextricably tied to the nation with insurmountable problems of its own and own making. That nation quite obviously is pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless, defacto bankrupt america (along with such comparable enablers / allies as zionist israel, nato, etc.. How can anyone believe anything they say, least of all gates who hails from C(ottage)I(ndustries of)A(merica) based on lies, chaos, and conflict.]

Communications lay bare Afghan corruption (Washington Post) [ Corruption? The same, along with the american re-invigorated heroin trade there go hand in hand. There were no illusions concerning karzai and brother’s ties to same and the cia and the same also the very reason for choosing him. ‘Tens of millions of dollars are carried out of Afghanistan each month, with no telling how much is illicit. The country's dominant money exchange caters to "narco-traffickers, insurgents, and criminals" also known as the cia and friends. Come on! Wake up! You’re paying for this and their enrichment. These revelations confirm the obvious.] WikiLeaks disclosures provide new details showing how corruption has undermined progress in a country that is in many ways a 9-year-old project in U.S. nation-(destruction, including defacto bankrupt america) building. Leaks reveal frustration with Karzai Inquiry: Troop killed aid worker

Communications lay bare Afghan corruption (Washington Post) [ Corruption? The same, along with the american re-invigorated heroin trade there go hand in hand. There were no illusions concerning karzai and brother’s ties to same and the cia and the same also the very reason for choosing him. ‘Tens of millions of dollars are carried out of Afghanistan each month, with no telling how much is illicit. The country's dominant money exchange caters to "narco-traffickers, insurgents, and criminals" also known as the cia and friends. Come on! Wake up! You’re paying for this and their enrichment. These revelations confirm the obvious.] WikiLeaks disclosures provide new details showing how corruption has undermined progress in a country that is in many ways a 9-year-old project in U.S. nation-(destruction, including defacto bankrupt america) building. Leaks reveal frustration with Karzai Inquiry: Troop killed aid worker

Helmand's refugees disheartened by troops (Washington Post) [ ‘Gauge of success?’ Come on! What success can be had? Greater defacto bankruptcies for the nato coalition members? More death and destruction? Even if it were not true (that they are to blame) though I believe it is, the u.s. / brits / nato will be blamed for even unimprovable scenarios beyond their scope and control where even pyhric victories are not in the cards (though that’s all they could possibly have hope for). Indeed, a geopolitical misstep of monumental proportion for the u.s., Britain, et als. Then there the u.s. initiated resurgeance of the poppy / heroin production / trade … their raison d’etre. ] The arid province will be an important gauge of success in the U.S.-led strategy against the Taliban. But refugees offer a bleak assessment, blaming insecurity in Afghanistan on the presence of U.S. and British troops.

How China branded Nobel winner Liu Xiaobo a traitor (Washington Post) [ I am staunchly anti-communism. That said, it is also true that I’m also against what pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless, defacto bankrupt america has become; most certainly not a thriving democracy. Though america’s suppression of speech, cover-ups, etc. ( see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ), are arguably less direct, indirect, circumlocuted, obfuscated, etc., the same is very real and one may say the communist Chinese have in essence taken a page out of america’s playbook. ]

Russia:  Putin warns of arms buildup (Washington Post) [ Drudgereport: RESET: PUTIN CRITICIZES USA OVER WIKILEAKS … Putin deserves the greatest deference in matters of global concern in light of his greater rationality; america’s self-serving accusations are merely envy and projection / displacement (in psychoanalytic terms) of america’s pervasively corrupt, criminal, broken system which is a far cry in reality from defacto bankrupt america’s propaganda... ]

Foreign-policy setbacks deepen Obama's election wounds (Washington Post) [ Wobama’s woes are a direct consequence of his perception as being a teleprompted b*** s*** artist who despite flowery rhetoric, has failed to deliver. Results count! What you do, not what you say, counts! ] Presidents have often turned to foreign policy after domestic setbacks - from Ronald Reagan's Latin American tour and speech calling the Soviet Union the "focus of evil in the modern world"[if Reagan was alive he’d be eatin’ plenty of crow since america’s the world’s biggest evil (with a little help from friends, ie., israel, etc.) with illegal wars, war crimes, torture, financial frauds of global reach, pervasive corruption in all governmental / judicial processes, etc.] in the months after his party's 1982 congressional losses to Bill Clinton's escape to Indonesia and the Phi...

The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

For the Same Reason I’ve Included Here a Web Site Archived FLV Version of Esoteric Agenda http://albertpeia.com/esotericagenda.flv

Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama? Get your very own BARRY SOETORO T-Shirt and ask the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". The REAL name of President Barack Obama is BARRY SOETORO so get a t-shirt with a picture of him on the front and the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/basot.html Obama’s Comeback Strategy: Appearing On “The View” Now we know how the President will turn his flagging political fortunes around… [More b*** s***!].

Is Obama a Marxist? He Works for the Bankers Glenn Beck, the Fox News talking heads, and no shortage of Tea Party activists like to characterize Barry Obama as a Marxist.

Poll: Waning support for Obama on wars usa today | Support for Obama’s wars fell to 36%, down from 48% in a February poll.

President Obama’s Real Name “Barry Soetoro” Tops Google Trends Yet another search term announced during the Alex Jones Show, “Barry Soetoro” has topped Google Trends’ hot searches, and that means a boost to exposing important keys to President Obama’s true history. The #1 search trend corresponds with a visit to Austin, Texas today from President Barack Obama, a.k.a. Barry Soetoro.

Barry Soetoro AKA Barack Obama’s Political Dynasty Crashes And Burns While Barry Soetoro’s family lavish themselves at a luxury Spanish resort amidst deepening economic turmoil, back home Obama’s political dynasty crashes and burns as his approval ratings plunge to a record low of 41 per cent with less than a few months to go before the October midterm elections.

The Fraud Of Barry Soetoro (a.k.a. Barack Hussein Obama) (Feb. 24 ...
February 11, 2009
’Dear Senators and Congressmen:
Thank you for taking the time to review the documentation relevant to the Constitutional legitimacy of the presidency Barack Obama.  There have been various problems with the vetting of Mr. Obama throughout the campaign and the present.  I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight the most pertinent and alarming issues that have been clearly revealed.  I’m sure you will agree that this information must be further investigated promptly before any damage is done to the United States and its citizens beyond the Constitutional compromises that currently exist.  Most  interesting, though, is the fact that Mr. Obama has not simply ordered the original vault copy of his birth certificate to be sealed and chosen to retain three (3) law firms to defend the various cases spending a reported $800,000 (of whose money?).  If Mr. Obama has nothing to hide, then why fight the more than  42 cases in federal courts alone (according to Justia) and similar number in state courts of which the merits are well-founded and substantiated through factual evidence, state and federal statutes, and international laws? Main issue is that the state of HI, according to statue 338 allows Foreign born  children of Hawaiian residents to obtain Hawaiian birth certificates and obtain them based on a statement of one relative only. There is plenty of evidence of Mr. Obama being born in Kenya and obtaining his Hawaiian birth certificate based on a statement of his grandparent only, who simply didn’t want to deal with immigration and not based on any records from any hospitals. Extensive searches in the State of Hawaii showed no birthing records for his mother [Stanley] Ann Dunham  in any hospital in Hawaii. … I request  all of this information to be forwarded to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Finance Committee, Senate Judicial Committee, Mr. Steven Whitlock, director of the whistle blower office of the IRS, ICE, State Department, and FBI for further investigation.
Respectfully submitted,  
Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq.’

Did Google Block “Barry Soetoro” Search Term? Screenshots obtained by a Prison Planet reader suggest that Google may have moved to de-list “Barry Soetoro” as a popular search term shortly after it rose to the top of the Google Trends charts after yesterday’s effort by radio talk show host Alex Jones to focus attention on Barack Obama’s real name.

Iran struggling to contain computer virus (Washington Post) Iran suspects that a foreign organization or nation designed the "Stuxnet" computer worm. [ Look westward (plus israel) , but not homeward, Angel … Riiiiight! Riiiiight! Riiiiight! Stuxnet False Flag Launched For Web Takeover Israel and the United States have emerged as the prime suspects behind the Stuxnet worm attack, which has infected the Iranian nuclear plant at Bushehr, following the discovery that a “wealthy group or nation” must have been responsible for the malware assault. Drudgereport: WORM HITS IRAN NUKE PLANT... ...new versions of virus spreading Pentagon silent... ]

'We need to trust each other' (Washington Post ) [ Yeah! That’s leader of nations Turkey ‘talking turkey’ while the israelis, with a plethora of illegal nukes, casually as if by some unbenounced entitlement, say that they won’t sign the Non-proliferation Treaty because it’s not in their interest to do so. You can’t make this stuff up; yet, there’s bewilderment as to why the u.s., mid-east, and world are in such a deplorable and chaotic state. ]A23 (Post) ...with the United States, Israel and Iran. Excerpts: Q...is also party to the Non-Proliferation...

Bush's fantasy world (Washington Post) [ I’m frankly surprised to see cohen bite the hand that feeds zionists( ie., dumbya bush, et als). After all, I’ve never seen cohen not like a pro israel policy, regardless of the cost to this nation in blood, sweat, tears, and geopolitical and general decline, particulary economic / financial; nor like a pro-american policy that negatively impacts israel. I think america particularly, and the rest of the world has sacrificed enough for the greedy, blood-thirsty, lawless israelis. ] Cohen: WikiLeaks shows the unreality of a presidential memoir. Jeffrey Smith: Fighting leaks

Palestinians counter israeli offer on settlements (Washington Post) [ The Palestinians, unlike the lawless israelis are cognizant of u.n. resolutions, prior accords, international law, etc., in their proposal. ] Israeli prime minister offers conditional settlements freeze (Washington Post ) [ Déjà vu all over again? Now why is there a familiar ring to this story … maybe ‘cause of the ‘been there done that ‘ reality. It’s really quite incredible since israel’s in violation of u.n. resolutions (242, 338, etc.), international law, nuclear proliferation treaty, a drain on the the u.s. globally / domestically, etc.. The u.s. / international community should impose a resolution. ]

Arab League backs Palestinian refusal on talks unless Israel halts West Bank settlements (Washington Post) [ Lots of backslappin’ in israel mission accomplished … yeah, another fine mess they’ve gotten the world into … another set of peace talks down the drain, again sabotaged by the israelis … not that the israelis had anything in mind other than literally … to talk … out of both sides of the mouths. ]

Israel plans housing in East Jerusalem (Washington Post) [netanayahu ‘cause everyone knows nuclear israel is greatest danger to world Jerusalem Post PM heckled repeatedly by activists at New Orleans GA protesting West Bank "occupation" and plans for loyalty oath. Israel is the greatest threat to the world, and its nuclear program must be stopped, Prime Minister ... US 'Deeply Disappointed' but committed to impotence by israel's Building Plan for East Jerusalem Voice of America Israel permits new settlement homes Aljazeera.net ] The move will likely complicate pm netanayahu's current visit to the United States for talks about reviving stalled peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Israel:  Defining 'Jewish state': For many, term has different meanings (Washington Post) [ Well ain’t that the truth! As per Forrestal’s warning (infra), it meant new york, pennsylvania, and California … for the greedy zionist israelis it means anything they want it to mean, borders, laws, u.n. resolutions, civilized behavior, etc., be damned! ]

Clinton wraps up Israeli, Palestinian talks - for now (Washington Post) [ That’s a wrap (Hollywood speak), or just a lot of crap (reality). Well some celluloid facetime (hill, I said celluloid, not cellulite), appearance of doing something (not). U.S. urges Arab states to drop israel nuclear treaty demand Reuters Oooooh! Wow! Sounds like a plan! … For world conflagration … Another step toward nuclear prone middle east … israel should be exempt because ….. ‘US – Israel’s partner in crime, not a referee’ … You really can’t make this stuff up; the preposterous s*** coming out of america! ]The U.S. envoy to the UN atomic watchdog urged Arab states to withdraw a resolution calling on Israel to sign an anti-nuclear arms treaty, warning it would send a negative signal to Middle East peace talks. Israelis, Palestinians already broaching tough topics in talks, envoy says (Washington Post) ‘US – Israel’s partner in crime, not a referee’ (Infowars.com) Israeli and Palestinian leaders are holding a new round of direct talks. Bombshell: Barack Obama conclusively outed as CIA creation Wayne Madsen | Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen has discovered CIA files that document the agency’s connections to the lives of Barack Obama and his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather. ] RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday wrapped up three days of intense Middle East diplomacy that produced good atmospherics but no sign that an impasse over Israeli settlement construction has been resolved. (Alex Brandon - AP)

A resurgent Syria alarms u.s., israel (Washington Post) [ Tell me! What doesn’t alarm these two paranoid, zionist neo-nazi regimes of oppression, suppression, aggression, and regression. If they were individuals, they’d undoubtedly be diagnosed as psychopaths, sociopaths totally ignorant of the rights of others, laws, civilized behavior as israel pads her illegal nuke arsenals with american supplied weaponry / support while expecting all other nations to ‘role over and die’. Bipolar / manic / depressive, the ups and downs are increasingly difficult for even americans to follow. Obssessive / compulsive thy names are zionist israel / america. Projection / displacement regarding their own illegal acts, war crimes, etc.; what they distinguished from what they do … dissociative identity disorder, dissociative fugue? Yes … the u.s. and israel are the world’s lunatics, sorely in need of therapy! ] Syria's fresh interference in Lebanon and its increasingly sophisticated weapons shipments to Hezbollah have alarm officials and prompt Israel's military to consider striking a Syrian weapons depot.

Accountability is unclear in israeli probe of flotilla raid (Washington Post) Oh, come on! An israeli probe of an israeli massacre of civilians. Time for israel to pay; for illegal nukes, for violations of international law, for continued violations of u.n. resolutions, for provocations as pretexts to sabotage peace talks, and on and on ad nauseum. Why does america among other nations feel compelled to sacrifice themselves for the sake of a global criminal nation with an insatiable greed and blood-thirst as israel?

Murder on the high seas JERUSALEM: Israeli marines stormed aid ships bound for Gaza on Monday and at least 10 rights activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an emergency session of the UN Security Council. European nations, as well as the United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to the international campaigners' bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip

How does anyone take the u.s. seriously in light of their credibility problems, war crimes, etc.? What nuke technology israel didn’t steal from the u.s., the u.s. gave them along with missile, armaments, etc.. and paid for with taxpayer money that u.s. taxpayers and the defacto bankrupt nation don’t have.

It's time to expel israel from the UN Without doubt, the israeli attack on the Gaza-bound "Freedom Flotilla" in the dawn of Monday, May 31, 2010 is one of the most savage crimes in recent history. It seems the ruling power in Tel Aviv has been afflicted with a variant of mad cow disease; otherwise, how could it be so cruel to unleash such a beastly raid on the "Mavi Marmara," the Turkish flagship of a flotilla carrying medical and humanitarian supplies to the hapless people of Gaza Strip?

The israeli Spin-Machine in Overdrive: dershowitz to the Rescue?  Armed Israeli commandos, the elite of the elites, rappelled to the deck of a Turkish ship carrying humanitarian relief supplies to the 1.5 million prisoners in the Gaza concentration camp.

Bombs more lethal than in Dec. 25 attempt (Washington Post) [ Truth be told, there’s no shortage of pre-election skepticism … ] The package bombs discovered on cargo flights last week contained far more explosive material than the device that the alleged underwear bomber planned to use last Christmas to down a Detroit-bound jetliner, officials said. [Did Obama Order British Authorities To Find Non-Existent Ink Bomb? Paul Joseph Watson | Only after President’s speech did East Midlands security officials reverse earlier announcement that suspicious device was a dud..

The Cult Of Obama Crashes And Burns Steve Watson | The hope has gone, the change never came – now people are just pissed off.

Toner Bomb Plot Used to Empower CIA Kurt Nimmo | Absurd toner bomb plot provides excuse to rationalize the global reach of the CIA into Arabian peninsula.

CIA Stooge Awlaki Prime Suspect Behind Plane Bomb Plot Paul Joseph Watson | Evidence screams “false flag” as authorities seek to crush resistance against invasive airport security measures, while Obama exploits event for domestic and geopolitical gain.

Israel Knew About Toner Bomb Plot Before Devices Were Found Transportation minister hints state knew about mail terror plot before it was publicly revealed Friday. ‘Since Thursday Israeli representatives have been securing shipments to Israel from airports worldwide,’ he says.

Did Obama Order British Authorities To Find Non-Existent Ink Bomb? After having examined the suspicious ink toner device for six hours and found it to be a dud, bomb experts at East Midlands Airport only reversed their decision after being ordered to re-inspect the package by US authorities following President Obama’s Friday afternoon speech in which he claimed that the devices did in fact contain explosives.

Toner Bomb Plot Used to Empower CIA In addition to adding new urgency and a fresh dose of hysteria to the flagging war on manufactured terror, the toner bomb plot has provided an excuse to rationalize the global reach of the CIA.

No U.S. Commercial or Private Plane left Yemen to the U.S. over last 48 hours; Yemeni Official A Yemeni official told Yemen Post that no U.S. cargo aircraft of any American company flew out of Yemen over the last 48 hours.

Yemen Insists No Packages Sent 48 Hours Prior to Toner Bomb Hysteria Kurt Nimmo | As usual, the government has not done a very good job of making the latest al-CIA-duh plot credible.

Obama ‘Fake Terror’ Alert Story Hits #1 on Google Efforts to warn the population that the Obama Administration, like the Bush Administration before it, has engaged in issuing fake terror alerts has gone viral, with the search term “fake terror” reaching #1 on Google Trends. It is yet another success in the Infowar, initiated on the Alex Jones Show.

Obama Issues Fake Terror Alert On Eve Of Elections As we predicted on four separate occasions would happen, the Obama White House has deliberately contrived a fake terror scare on the eve of the mid-term elections in an effort to subdue the rampaging political appetite for anti-big government candidates that threatens to sweep aside establishment incumbents next week. ]

Obama: Suspicious packages are a 'credible terrorist threat' (Washington Post) [October suprprise anyone … still October … trick or treat … there are skeptics … then there are some who’ll say … just jewish synagogues, no big deal … nothing of strategic value … healthy dose of skepticism … Obama ‘Fake Terror’ Alert Story Hits #1 on Google Aaron Dykes Infowars.com October 29, 2010 Efforts to warn the population that the Obama Administration, like the Bush Administration before it, has engaged in issuing fake terror alerts has gone viral, with the search term “fake terror” reaching #1 on Google Trends. It is yet another success in the Infowar, initiated on the Alex Jones Show. As we are just days out from the 2010 midterm elections, voters must realize that the establishment has willfully engaged in hyping up false alerts to scare the public into believing that we are under siege by potential terrorist acts at all moments. Various “officials” have been warning that an attack is likely to occur for weeks now, and it is no surprise to see the Obama Administration trying to use the fear to its advantage. Recall that Obama advisor and former top Clinton official, Robert Shapiro, alluded to the idea that only a terror attack could save Obama’s presidency earlier in the year.

“The bottom line here is that Americans don’t believe in President Obama’s leadership,” said Shapiro, adding, “He has to find some way between now and November of demonstrating that he is a leader who can command confidence and, short of a 9/11 event or an Oklahoma City bombing, I can’t think of how he could do that.”

Read the original story by Paul Joseph Watson here, as it has been updated.

The general scare of the fake terror alert is all the more alarming, as President Obama has gone on to contradict announcements from his own administration, claiming that the suspicious package “did apparently contain explosive material” in a press conference. This, after it was already admitted the suspicious package, which originated from the UK, was harmless and contained no explosives Obama Issues Fake Terror Alert On Eve Of Elections Paul Joseph Watson | Establishment media fearmongers about “mail bomb plot” despite no bombs being found. Corporate Media On High Alert Over “Manipulated” Toner Cartridge On UK Plane Kurt Nimmo | Officialdom and authorities jack up the scary pre-election rhetoric ]

GOP's Palin paradox (Washington Post) Parker: She's too powerful to ignore, and too (fill-in-the-blank) to take seriously. [ Say it! … Dumb! … Everybody knows it! … Cher even said it! … I believe that this further evinces the leadership vacuum in america and is a testament to how unequivocally far america has fallen. Powerful? I don’t think so! ]

Sarah Palin: The Next Teleprompter Reader in the White House [ Not gonna’ happen … she’s just too embarrassingly dumb … and all that fake macho / zionist b*** s*** … unless her gal o’donnel casts a spell … which is a whole new ball game … witches … really … how ‘bout dumb *******s …. she’s really dumb enough to press the button. ] ? Kurt Nimmo | In 2008, Tea Party Sarah trekked to New York to kiss Henry Kissinger’s ring.

Sarah Palin: The Next Teleprompter Reader in the White House? [ Not gonna’ happen … she’s just too embarrassingly dumb … unless her gal o’donnel casts a spell … which is a whole new ball game … witches … really … how ‘bout dumb *******s ... and all that fake macho / zionist b*** s*** ... she’s really dumb enough to press the button. ] It looks like the establishment is grooming Tea Party Sarah for a run. She says as much in the Newsmax interview below.

Palin calls reporters 'impotent' and 'limp' (Washington Post) [ I must reiterate, she, palin’s so embarrassingly dumb! She truly is the joke that keeps on giving! I really mean it! I mean, what next? ] The former Alaska governor weighed in herself: "Those who are impotent and limp and gutless and they go on their anonymous -- sources that are anonymous -- and impotent, limp and gutless reporters take anonymous sources and cite them as being factual references," she told Sean Hannity. "It just slays me ( this could be a somewhat Freudian slip as she contemplates the uselessness of sexually non-interested reporters while she meant lays and I think her supposed / purported attractiveness / desirability is vastly overstated; but, this makes for great SNL skits; you know, those reporters not man enough to service her ) because it's so absolutely clear what the state of yellow journalism is today that they would take these anonymous sources as fact."

The power of Palin's touch (Washington Post) [Wow! Talk about stupid. Murphy could have eliminated the middle-man (person) and appeared on SNL himself; maybe reprising a familiar (Eddie) Murphy role as Gumby 2, Son of Gumby. The only thing funnier is palin herself. She’s so embarrassingly dumb!] .Endorsement lifts little-known candidate in Md., giving the struggling campaign a "megaphone."

Comment on: 5 Myths about Sarah Palin at 10/14/2010 9:39 PM EDT

Test yourself to find out how much you know about Sarah Palin. Take the quiz and after, check out The Washington Post's 'Five Myths about Palin.' (Washington Post) [ Geeh! I scoured the quiz / 5 myths and nowhere did I see the obvious myth; viz., that she really has a brain. Maybe gal pal pol protégé o’donnell can help her out … a few mysterious words, a slimy newt (gingrich) in a caldron of b*** s*** , and voila … a new reality which is what o’donnell herself is sorely in need of … O'Donnell, evolved Milbank: She didn't mention mice with human brains in Wednesday's debate. But she said silly things. Stromberg: O'Donnell is... wow The CNN host, moderating the long awaited Delaware senatorial debate Wednesday night, was trying to get the Republican nominee to talk about her 1998 statement on the Bill Maher show that "evolution is a myth."
"Do you believe evolution is a myth?" Blitzer asked.
"I believe that the local ... " O'Donnell began, then started anew. "I was talking about what a local school taught, and that should be taught, that should be decided on the local community."
"Do you believe evolution is a myth?" the moderator repeated.
"Local schools should make that decision."
"What do you believe?"
"What I believe is irrelevant."
"Why is it irrelevant? Voters want to know."
"What I will support in Washington, D.C. is the ability of the local school system to decide what is taught in their classrooms," O'Donnell repeated.
The answer, though, was obvious: Of course she believes in evolution; she is a product of evolution herself. She has evolved from a very odd woman who spoke about the evils of masturbation and of mice with fully functioning human brains and of her experience in sorcery (but she didn't join a coven!). …

In interview, Bush defends Iraq war and waterboarding (Washington Post) [ Defending the indefensible … what choice does he have … then there’s the lies … ] Bush breaks silence, writes next chapter (Washington Post) [ As a failed president and war criminal himself, moron dumbya bush is among the few in the world that makes failed president wobama look plausibly good in comparison … wobama merely continued the failed policies of dumbya (perpetual war, no pros the frauds on wallstreet, etc.) that got pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america to this point of decline and failure. ] Anne E. Kornblut Your take: His most memorable moment? [ Like regrets in that old song (his way) he’s had a few – http://albertpeia.com/evilonthetarmac.htm here’s a few: bushisms from bush the brain-damaged moron http://albertpeia.com/bushisms.htm :

"After standing on the stage, after the debates, I made it very plain, we will not have an all-volunteer army. And yet, this week—we will have an all-volunteer army. Let me restate that."—Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 16, 2004

"The CIA laid out several scenarios and said life could be lousy, life could be OK, life could be better, and they were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like."—New York, Sept. 21, 2004

"Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat."—Washington, D.C., Sept. 17, 2004 (Thanks to David Stanford.)

"That's why I went to the Congress last September and proposed fundamental—supplemental funding, which is money for armor and body parts and ammunition and fuel."—Erie, Pa., Sept. 4, 2004

"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."—Sept. 6, 2004, Poplar Bluff, Mo.

"They've seen me make decisions, they've seen me under trying times, they've seen me weep, they've seen me laugh, they've seen me hug. And they know who I am, and I believe they're comfortable with the fact that they know I'm not going to shift principles or shift positions based upon polls and focus groups." —Interview with USA Today, Aug. 27, 2004

"I didn't join the International Criminal Court because I don't want to put our troops in the hands of prosecutors from other nations. Look, if somebody has done some wrong in our military, we'll take care of it. We got plenty of capability of dealing with justice."—Niceville, Fla., Aug. 10, 2004

"So community colleges are accessible, they're available, they're affordable, and their curriculums don't get stuck. In other words, if there's a need for a certain kind of worker, I presume your curriculums evolved over time."—Niceville, Fla., Aug. 10, 2004

"Tribal sovereignty means that, it's sovereign. You're a—you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And, therefore, the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities."—Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004

"Secondly, the tactics of our—as you know, we don't have relationships with Iran. I mean, that's—ever since the late '70s, we have no contacts with them, and we've totally sanctioned them. In other words, there's no sanctions—you can't—we're out of sanctions."—Annandale, Va., Aug. 9, 2004

"I mean, if you've ever been a governor of a state, you understand the vast potential of broadband technology, you understand how hard it is to make sure that physics, for example, is taught in every classroom in the state. It's difficult to do. It's, like, cost-prohibitive."—Washington, D.C., June 24, 2004 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."—Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 (Thanks to Alicia Butler.)

"And I am an optimistic person. I guess if you want to try to find something to be pessimistic about, you can find it, no matter how hard you look, you know?"—Washington, D.C., June 15, 2004 (Thanks to Robert Irwin.)

"[A] free Iraq is essential to our respective securities."—Washington, D.C., June 1, 2004

"I want to thank my friend, Sen. Bill Frist, for joining us today. … He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. (Laughter.) Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me."—Nashville, Tenn., May 27, 2004

"I'm honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein."—Washington, D.C., May 25, 2004

"This has been tough weeks in that country."—Washington, D.C., April 13, 2004 (Thanks to David Huddleston.)

"[B]y the way, we rank 10^th amongst the industrialized world in broadband technology and its availability. That's not good enough for America. Tenth is 10 spots too low as far as I'm concerned."—Minneapolis, Minn., April 26, 2004

"My job is to, like, think beyond the immediate."—Washington, D.C., April 21, 2004

"This is historic times."—New York, N.Y., April 20, 2004

"Obviously, I pray every day there's less casualty."—Fort Hood, Texas, April 11, 2004 (Thanks to Pat Gallagher.)

"Recession means that people's incomes, at the employer level, are going down, basically, relative to costs, people are getting laid off."—Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2004 (Thanks to Garry Trudeau.)

"God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear."—Los Angeles, Calif., March 3, 2004 (Thanks to Tanny Bear.)

"The march to war affected the people's confidence. It's hard to make investment. See, if you're a small business owner or a large business owner and you're thinking about investing, you've got to be optimistic when you invest. Except when you're marching to war, it's not a very optimistic thought, is it? In other words, it's the opposite of optimistic when you're thinking you're going to war." —Springfield, Mo., Feb. 9, 2004 (Thanks to Garry Trudeau.)

"See, one of the interesting things in the Oval Office—I love to bring people into the Oval Office—right around the corner from here—and say, this is where I office, but I want you to know the office is always bigger than the person."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"More Muslims have died at the hands of killers than—I say more Muslims—a lot of Muslims have died—I don't know the exact count—at Istanbul. Look at these different places around the world where there's been tremendous death and destruction because killers kill."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"In an economic recession, I'd rather that in order to get out of this recession, that the people be spending their money, not the government trying to figure out how to spend the people's money."—Tampa, Fla., Feb. 16, 2004

"King Abdullah of Jordan, the King of Morocco, I mean, there's a series of places—Qatar, Oman—I mean, places that are developing—Bahrain—they're all developing the habits of free societies."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004

"But the true strength of America is found in the hearts and souls of people like Travis, people who are willing to love their neighbor, just like they would like to love themselves."—Springfield, Mo., Feb. 9, 2004 (Thanks to George Dupper.)

"My views are one that speaks to freedom."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004

"In my judgment, when the United States says there will be serious consequences, and if there isn't serious consequences, it creates adverse consequences."

"There is no such thing necessarily in a dictatorial regime of iron-clad absolutely solid evidence. The evidence I had was the best possible evidence that he had a weapon."

"The recession started upon my arrival. t could have been—some say February, some say March, some speculate maybe earlier it started—but nevertheless, it happened as we showed up here. The attacks on our country affected our economy. Corporate scandals affected the confidence of people and therefore affected the economy. My decision on Iraq, this kind of march to war, affected the economy."—Meet the Press, Feb. 8, 2004

"I was a prisoner too, but for bad reasons."—To Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, on being told that all but one of the Argentine delegates to a summit meeting were imprisoned during the military dictatorship, Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 13, 2004

"[T]he illiteracy level of our children are appalling."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004 (Thanks to Lewell Gunter.)

"Just remember it's the birds that's supposed to suffer, not the hunter."—Advising quail hunter and New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, Roswell, N.M., Jan. 22, 2004

"One of the most meaningful things that's happened to me since I've been the governor—the president—governor—president. Oops. Ex-governor. I went to Bethesda Naval Hospital to give a fellow a Purple Heart, and at the same moment I watched him—get a Purple Heart for action in Iraq—and at that same—right after I gave him the Purple Heart, he was sworn in as a citizen of the United States—a Mexican citizen, now a United States citizen."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 9, 2004

"I want to thank the astronauts who are with us, the courageous spacial entrepreneurs who set such a wonderful example for the young of our country."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 14, 2004

"And if you're interested in the quality of education and you're paying attention to what you hear at Laclede, why don't you volunteer? Why don't you mentor a child how to read?"—St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 5, 2004

"So thank you for reminding me about the importance of being a good mom and a great volunteer as well."—St. Louis, Jan. 5, 2004

"I want to remind you all that in order to fight and win the war, it requires an expenditure of money that is commiserate with keeping a promise to our troops to make sure that they're well-paid, well-trained, well-equipped."

"See, without the tax relief package, there would have been a deficit, but there wouldn't have been the commiserate—not 'commiserate'—the kick to our economy that occurred as a result of the tax relief."

"[T]he best way to find these terrorists who hide in holes is to get people coming forth to describe the location of the hole, is to give clues and data."

"Justice was being delivered to a man who defied that gift from the Almighty to the people of Iraq."—Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2003

"[A]s you know, these are open forums, you're able to come and listen to what I have to say."—Washington, D.C., Oct. 28, 2003

"The ambassador and the general were briefing me on the—the vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice."—Washington, D.C., Oct. 27, 2003 (Thanks to Robert Hack.)

"[W]hether they be Christian, Jew, or Muslim, or Hindu, people have heard the universal call to love a neighbor just like they'd like to be called themselves."—Washington, Oct. 8, 2003 (Thanks to George Dupper.)

"See, free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction."—Milwaukee, Wis., Oct. 3, 2003

"[W]e've had leaks out of the administrative branch, had leaks out of the legislative branch, and out of the executive branch and the legislative branch, and I've spoken out consistently against them, and I want to know who the leakers are."—Chicago, Sept. 30, 2003

"Washington is a town where there's all kinds of allegations. You've heard much of the allegations. And if people have got solid information, please come forward with it. And that would be people inside the information who are the so-called anonymous sources, or people outside the information—outside the administration."—Chicago, Sept. 30, 2003 (Thanks to Andy Bowers.)

"[T]hat's just the nature of democracy. Sometimes pure politics enters into the rhetoric."—Crawford, Texas, Aug. 8, 2003 (Thanks to Inigo Thomas.)

"I glance at the headlines just to kind of get a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves."—Washington, D.C., Sept. 21, 2003

"I'm so pleased to be able to say hello to Bill Scranton. He's one of the  great Pennsylvania political families."—Drexel Hill, Penn., Sept. 15, 2003 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"We had a good Cabinet meeting, talked about a lot of issues. Secretary of State and Defense brought us up to date about our desires to spread freedom and peace around the world."—Washington, D.C., Aug. 1, 2003 (Thanks to Tanny Bear.)

"Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the road map to peace."—Washington, D.C., July 25, 2003

"Our country puts $1 billion a year up to help feed the hungry. And we're by far the most generous nation in the world when it comes to that, and I'm proud to report that. This isn't a contest of who's the most generous. I'm just telling you as an aside. We're generous. We shouldn't be bragging about it. But we are. We're very generous."—Washington, D.C., July 16, 2003

"It's very interesting when you think about it, the slaves who left here to go to America, because of their steadfast and their religion and their belief in freedom, helped change America."—Dakar, Senegal, July 8, 2003 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"My answer is bring them on."—On Iraqi militants attacking U.S. forces, Washington, D.C., July 3, 2003

"You've also got to measure in order to begin to effect change that's just more—when there's more than talk, there's just actual—a paradigm shift."—Washington, D.C., July 1, 2003 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"I urge the leaders in Europe and around the world to take swift, decisive action against terror groups such as Hamas, to cut off their funding, and to support—cut funding and support, as the United States has done."—Washington, D.C., June 25, 2003

"Iran would be dangerous if they have a nuclear weapon."—Washington, D.C., June 18, 2003

"Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history—revisionist historians is what I like to call them."—Elizabeth, N.J., June 16, 2003

"I am determined to keep the process on the road to peace."—Washington, D.C., June 10, 2003 (Thanks to Tanny Bear.)

"The true strength of America happens when a neighbor loves a neighbor just like they'd like to be loved themselves."—Elizabeth, N.J., June 16, 2003

"We are making steadfast progress."—Washington, D.C., June 9, 2003 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"I'm the master of low expectations."—Aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003

"I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things."—Aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003

"I recently met with the finance minister of the Palestinian Authority, was very impressed by his grasp of finances."—Washington, D.C., May 29, 2003

"Oftentimes, we live in a processed world—you know, people focus on the process and not results."—Washington, D.C., May 29, 2003

"I've got very good relations with President Mubarak and Crown Prince Abdallah and the King of Jordan, Gulf Coast countries."—Washington, D.C., May 29, 2003

"All up and down the different aspects of our society, we had meaningful discussions. Not only in the Cabinet Room, but prior to this and after this day, our secretaries, respective secretaries, will continue to interact to create the conditions necessary for prosperity to reign."—Washington, D.C., May 19, 2003

"First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill."—Washington, D.C., May 19, 2003

"We ended the rule of one of history's worst tyrants, and in so doing, we not only freed the American people, we made our own people more secure."—Crawford, Texas, May 3, 2003 (Thanks to Tony Marciniec.)

"We've had a great weekend here in the Land of the Enchanted."—Albuquerque, N.M., May 12, 2003 (New Mexico's state nickname is "Land of Enchantment.")

"We've got hundreds of sites to exploit, looking for the chemical and biological weapons that we know Saddam Hussein had prior to our entrance into Iraq."—Santa Clara, Calif., May 2, 2003 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"I think war is a dangerous place."—Washington, D.C., May 7, 2003

"I don't bring God into my life to—to, you know, kind of be a political person."—Interview with Tom Brokaw aboard Air Force One, April 24, 2003

"You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order—order out of chaos. But we will."—Washington, D.C., April 13, 2003

"Perhaps one way will be, if we use military force, in the post-Saddam Iraq the U.N. will definitely need to have a role. And that way it can begin to get its legs, legs of responsibility back."—the Azores, Portugal, March 16, 2003

"I know there's a lot of young ladies who are growing up wondering whether or not they can be champs. And they see the championship teams from USC and University of Portland here, girls who worked hard to get to where they are, and they're wondering about the example they're setting. What is life choices about?"—Washington, D.C., Feb. 24, 2003

"Now, we talked to Joan Hanover. She and her husband, George, were visiting with us. They are near retirement—retiring—in the process of retiring, meaning they're very smart, active, capable people who are retirement age and are retiring."—Alexandria, Va., Feb. 12, 2003 (Thanks to Dennis Doubleday.)

"Columbia carried in its payroll classroom experiments from some of our students in America."—Bethesda, Md., Feb. 3, 2003

"And, most importantly, Alma Powell, secretary of Colin Powell, is with us."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 2003

"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself."—Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 29, 2003

"When Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried, and persecuted as a war criminal."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 22, 2003 (Thanks to Chad Conwell.)

"Many of the punditry—of course, not you (laughter)—but other punditry were quick to say, no one is going to follow the United States of America."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 21, 2003

"One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 8, 2003

"I think the American people—I hope the American–I don't think, let me—I hope the American people trust me."—Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2002

"The goals for this country are peace in the world. And the goals for this country are a compassionate American for every single citizen. That compassion is found in the hearts and souls of the American citizens."—Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2002 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"There's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me and I know what it's like."—Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2002

"In other words, I don't think people ought to be compelled to make the decision which they think is best for their family."—Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2002 (Thanks to Stephanie Nichols.)

"Sometimes, Washington is one of these towns where the person—people who think they've got the sharp elbow is the most effective person." —New Orleans, Dec. 3, 2002 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"The law I sign today directs new funds and new focus to the task of collecting vital intelligence on terrorist threats and on weapons of mass production."—Washington, D.C., Nov. 27, 2002

"These people don't have tanks. They don't have ships. They hide in caves. They send suiciders out."—Speaking about terrorists, Portsmouth, N.H., Nov. 1, 2002

"I know something about being a government. And you've got a good one."—Stumping for Gov. Mike Huckabee, Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 4, 2002

"I need to be able to move the right people to the right place at the right time to protect you, and I'm not going to accept a lousy bill out of the United Nations Senate."—South Bend, Ind., Oct. 31, 2002

 "John Thune has got a common-sense vision for good forest policy. I look forward to working with him in the United Nations Senate to preserve these national heritages."

"Any time we've got any kind of inkling that somebody is thinking about doing something to an American and something to our homeland, you've just got to know we're moving on it, to protect the United Nations Constitution, and at the same time, we're protecting you."—Aberdeen, S.D., same day (Thanks to George Dupper.)

"Let me tell you my thoughts about tax relief. When your economy is kind of ooching along, it's important to let people have more of their own money."—Boston, Oct. 4, 2002

"I was proud the other day when both Republicans and Democrats stood with me in the Rose Garden to announce their support for a clear statement of purpose: you disarm, or we will."—Speaking about Saddam Hussein, Manchester, N.H., Oct. 5, 2002 (Thanks to George Dupper.)

"You see, the Senate wants to take away some of the powers of the administrative branch."—Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

"We need an energy bill that encourages consumption."—Trenton, N.J., Sept. 23, 2002

"People say, how can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil? You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you."—Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

"I'm plowed of the leadership of Chuck Grassley and Greg Ganske and Jim Leach."—Davenport, Iowa, Sept. 16, 2002

"There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."—Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

"There's no doubt in my mind that we should allow the world worst leaders to hold America hostage, to threaten our peace, to threaten our friends and allies with the world's worst weapons."—South Bend, Ind., Sept. 5, 2002

"If you don't have any ambitions, the minimum-wage job isn't going to get you to where you want to get, for example. In other words, what is your ambitions? And oh, by the way, if that is your ambition, here's what it's going to take to achieve it."—Speech to students in Little Rock, Ark., Aug. 29, 2002 (Thanks to George Dupper.)

"See, we love—we love freedom. That's what they didn't understand. They hate things; we love things. They act out of hatred; we don't seek revenge, we seek justice out of love."—Oklahoma City, Aug. 29, 2002

"There's no cave deep enough for America, or dark enough to hide."—Oklahoma City, Aug. 29, 2002 (Thanks to Michael Shively.)

"President Musharraf, he's still tight with us on the war against terror, and that's what I appreciate. He's a—he understands that we've got to keep al-Qaida on the run, and that by keeping him on the run, it's more likely we will bring him to justice."—Ruch, Ore., Aug. 22, 2002 (Thanks to Scott Miller.)

"I'm a patient man. And when I say I'm a patient man, I mean I'm a patient man."

"Nothing he [Saddam Hussein] has done has convinced me—I'm confident the Secretary of Defense—that he is the kind of fellow that is willing to forgo weapons of mass destruction, is willing to be a peaceful neighbor, that is—will honor the people—the Iraqi people of all stripes, will—values human life. He hasn't convinced me, nor has he convinced my administration."—Crawford, Texas, Aug. 21, 2002

"I'm thrilled to be here in the bread basket of America because it gives me a chance to remind our fellow citizens that we have an advantage here in America—we can feed ourselves."—Stockton, Calif., Aug. 23, 2002 (Thanks to Christopher Baird.)

"There's no bigger task than protecting the homeland of our country."

"The federal government and the state government must not fear programs who change lives, but must welcome those faith-based programs for the embetterment of mankind."—Stockton, Calif., Aug. 23, 2002 (Thanks to George Dupper.)

"I love the idea of a school in which people come to get educated and stay in the state in which they're educated."

"There may be some tough times here in America. But this country has gone through tough times before, and we're going to do it again."

"I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn't here."

"I can assure you that, even though I won't be sitting through every single moment of the seminars, nor will the vice president, we will look at the summaries."

"Tommy [Thompson, Health and Human Services secretary,] is a good listener, and he's a pretty good actor, too."

"The trial lawyers are very politically powerful. … But here in Texas we took them on and got some good medical—medical malpractice.""I firmly believe the death tax is good for people from all walks of life all throughout our society."

—Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002

"There was no malfeance involved. This was an honest disagreement about accounting procedures. ... There was no malfeance, no attempt to hide anything."—White House press conference, Washington, D.C., July 8, 2002

"I also understand how tender the free enterprise system can be."—White House press conference, Washington, D.C., July 9, 2002

"Over 75 percent of white Americans own their home, and less than 50 percent of Hispanos and African Americans don't own their home. And that's a gap, that's a homeownership gap. And we've got to do something about it."—Cleveland, Ohio, July 1, 2002

"Whether you're here by birth, or whether you're in America by choice, you contribute to the vitality of our life. And for that, we are grateful."—Washington, D.C., May 17, 2002

"I'd rather have them sacrificing on behalf of our nation than, you know, endless hours of testimony on congressional hill."—National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Maryland, June 4, 2002

"We're working with Chancellor Schröder on what's called 10-plus-10-over-10: $10 billion from the U.S.,$10 billion from other members of the G7 over a 10-year period, to help Russia securitize the dismantling—the dismantled nuclear warheads."—Berlin, Germany, May 23, 2002

"Do you have blacks, too?"—To Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001

"This is a nation that loves our freedom, loves our country."—Washington, D.C, May 17, 2002

"The public education system in America is one of the most important foundations of our democracy. After all, it is where children from all over America learn to be responsible citizens, and learn to have the skills necessary to take advantage of our fantastic opportunistic society."—Santa Clara, Calif., May 1, 2002

"After all, a week ago, there were—Yasser Arafat was boarded up in his building in Ramallah, a building full of, evidently, German peace protestors and all kinds of people. They're now out. He's now free to show leadership, to lead the world."—Washington, D.C., May 2, 2002 (Thanks to M. Bateman.)

"This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating."—as quoted by the New York Daily News, April 23, 2002

"I want to thank the dozens of welfare to work stories, the actual examples of people who made the firm and solemn commitment to work hard to embetter themselves."—Washington, D.C., April 18, 2002 (Thanks to George Dupper.)

"And so, in my State of the—my State of the Union—or state—my speech to the nation, whatever you want to call it, speech to the nation—I asked Americans to give 4,000 years—4,000 hours over the next—the rest of your life—of service to America. That's what I asked—4,000 hours." —Bridgeport, Conn., April 9, 2002 …(there are many more)

]

51 Iraqi worshipers, 7 troops killed in church siege (Washington Post) [ Yes, and even more sounds of silence … which of course smells like napalm in the morning … you know … that victory thing. ] Suicide bomber in Iraq kills at least 26 people, many of them police (Washington Post) [ Ah, yes … those sounds of silence … the birthing of a new american-style democracy … like napalm in the morning … smells like victory … (lucky for them bush / bushies / neo-cons lied about those wmd’s) … and all for the sake of israel and the military industrial complex. ]

Election outcome may complicate Obama's foreign policy (Washington Post) [ Wow! That’s all this country needs … a more self-destructive zionist-leaning foreign policy which, as obvious to the rest of the world, ignores israel’s transgressions (ie., violations of international law, u.n. resolutions, nuclear non-proliferation treaty, etc.) while focusing on geopolitically detrimental or otherwise, non-events. I see an already zionist-leaning foreign policy with wobama and co. which begs the question … What foreign policy? James Forrestal made the point infra: ]

Obama cites Indonesia as model for Muslims (Washington Post)[ Drudgereport: Obama slams israel from Jakarta … [ Wow! Who woulda’ thunk it … Wobama growing gonads in Indonesia … He is quite correct, albeit in one of those sparingly infrequent moments … But, alas … he’ll be returning to ‘little israel’ soon (usa) and I’m sure his rhetoric will return to typical pro-israeli (anti-american interest) actions and words (b*** s***)! ]...
netanayahu takes Flight Back...
Confronts Anti-israel Reality/Truth Movement in USA...
China Ratings Agency Downgrades America... ] In city he once lived in as a boy, Obama heralds nation's "spirit of tolerance" that allows mosques, churches and temples to co-exist in a democracy.

Progress in Afghan war called 'uneven' ( Washington Post ) [ Uneven? Riiiiight! The real question consonant with reality: Is there EVEN progress at all … just a little bit … un petit peux … teeny weeny, itsy bitsy, one iota of progress … A resounding NO! … unless you’re counting the magnitude of america’s defacto bankruptcy, anti-american sentiment, etc.. ]

Visiting U.S. senators praise Afghan progress, say drawdown date is unrealistic (Washington Post) [ I’ll tell you what’s unrealistic: having compromised senators ( ie., non-war-heroe senile mccain, closet homosexual graham, incompetent zelig zionist lieberman, new york sinkhole slug Kirsten Gillibrand chided As 'Schumer's (zionist) Little Girl' ) stay the course with already failed pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt american policy … Paul Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs  Kurt Nimmo | John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is:  http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm  ‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the "songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) click Here, Here.  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm ]  But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the (corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed, prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street" has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention, and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn"; huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)…’…Oh and they so can afford it Deficit panel proposes huge cuts (Washington Post) [ Cuts? I heard the corrupt, incompetent lawmakers were giving themselves a raise. They actually deserve at least a 10% paycut and abolition of those lifetime appointments / permanent corrupt bureaucracies. Nothing succeeds like failure and crime in pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america! ] Lawmakers propose curbs on Social Security, cuts in spending and tax hikes if long-term goals aren't met.

In 1948, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, an opponent of the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, warned that, even though failure to go along with the Zionists might cost President Truman the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and California, it was about time that somebody should pay some consideration to whether we might not lose the United States. Mr. Forrestal was absolutely correct! Isn’t that exactly what’s happened to defacto bankrupt america in intractable decline. 

TIME TO REVOKE AND NULLIFY THE BALFOUR DECLARATION AND ABROGATE THE CREATION OF THE NATION STATE OF ISRAEL IN THE INTERESTS OF FAIRNESS, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PROSPECTIVE PROSPERITY FOR THIS WORLD!

Families remember USS Cole 10 years later (Washington Post) [ If only Americans remembered the uss liberty, they’d understand the israeli albatross strangling and bleeding the life out of america as they have since that fateful day.] In the Middle East, it's still 1947 (Washington Post) [ Indeed it should be! Among the few times the cia was correct, and they’ve been trying to put square pegs in round holes ever since, to america’s substantial detriment. I wonder what what those american sailors of the US Liberty killed by the israelis would say? USS Liberty Survivor Threatened by Unknown Israeli This is what happened to Phillip F. Tourney, decorated war hero and survivor of Israel’s premeditated attack on the USS Liberty 43 years ago. On the evening of Aug. 6, Tourney was verbally threatened by a foreign national claiming to work for the government of israel. As for the purported disdain shown for war mongerer netanayahu, if only wobama’s actions matched his words, the same would represent a major plus for him and the nation of america, so sorely in need of pluses whether the same be budgetary or economic or geopolitical. In fact, for America to abrogate 1948 would guarantee America’s survival, prosperity, and global hegemony in the most positive sense. ]

The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored A viral You Tube upload of one of Alex Jones’ most popular feature films ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored following a spur of the moment campaign to elevate the movie’s title to the top of the major internet search engines.

In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Censorship Alert: Obama Deception Illegally Removed from You Tube Made to look like a hack, Thought Police Block Mega-Viral Anti-Establishment Documentary After More than a Year of Dominating Viewcounts, Ranking #1 in Search Engines and Waking Up Millions to the False Left-Right Paradigm Perpetuated by Obama.

Public confidence in Obama reaches new low (Washington Post). Six in 10 Americans lack faith in Obama and hold lower esteem for members of Congress, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. Such stats as this tend to typify scenarios as this where you break every significant campaign promise that got you elected, from endless war (ie., Afghanistan, etc.) to not prosecuting the frauds on wall street, and the growing realization of ‘typical’: Public confidence in Obama reaches new low (Washington Post) Six in 10 Americans lack faith in Obama and hold lower esteem for members of Congress, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. Such stats as this tend to typify scenarios as this where you break every significant campaign promise that got you elected, from endless war (ie., Afghanistan, etc.) to not prosecuting the frauds on wall street, and the growing realization of ‘typical’:

But still it’s ‘hands off fraudulent wall street’ to theirs, the nation’s, and the world’s detriment. Firms subpoenaed in attempt to regain Fannie, Freddie losses (Washington Post). But there’s a reason:

The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating fraud thus far. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ‘In emotional and personal testimony, an ex-Justice official who quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims ...’  US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Washington Post | Obama has promised to hold Wall Street accountable for the meltdown. ):

‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 – well worth a look. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

While boner and barton are indeed jokes / vegetables that bespeak the single-digit approval rate for congress, obama’s failure to deliver on promises with as well, endless war spending despite defacto bankruptcy of the nation and a watered down nothing financial regulation bill for talking points but little substance, make him as big a joker. This well researched / produced video tells the real story : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 ‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ – well worth the view. [ The Obama Deception Number 1 on U.S. Google Trends ]

‘The Obama Deception’ Censored A viral You Tube upload of one of Alex Jones’ most popular feature films ‘The Obama Deception’ has been censored following a spur of the moment campaign to elevate the movie’s title to the top of the major internet search engines. In light of this development, I provide an archived site version which appears to be complete (but will be compared with earlier version and replaced with same if incomplete) http://albertpeia.com/obamadeceptionhighqualityversion.flv

Then there is the well researched, produced, and informative ‘ESOTERIC AGENDA’ which explains how we’ve gotten to this forlorn point: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7052400717834950257#

Judges rule without title, lenders can't foreclose (Washington Post) [ Rules of law? I didn’t think they cared. That’s certainly the direct experience I’ve had with the pervasively corrupt american legal / judicial system (along with the other two branches of the u.s. government and defact bankrupt america generally). Court decisions could call into doubt the ownership of mortgages, raising urgent challenges for both the real estate market, wider financial system. Connecticut, California join probe of Ally (Washington Post) [I’d be much more impressed if they initiated a probe of more readily discernible criminal offenses in violation of the RICO Act http://albertpeia.com Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers)Covering Up for Other Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). In Productive Societies as China, Japan, etc., Fraudulent Liars (sic-lawyers) and the Fraudulent u.s. System They're a Part of Are Unheard Of/Non-existent. List of Files Regarding Filed Attorney Grievance Against Fraud coan et als Or Here For A Clearer View Of Filed Grievance Complaint, Response, Exhibits, and Related RICO Filings Note the Committee of Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). Included are DOJ Rep., State Court Rep., State Atty. General Office Rep., and even a Vegetable Garden yale law prof who probably never practiced law in his life. How Pathetic! http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ] Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally.

October 5, 2010 (*see infra)

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include 1 copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’). The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ].

The correspondence I received from the Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

1. A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
2. Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
3. The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
4. Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
5. Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
6. Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******* (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

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*The foregoing and as indicated therein was previously send 9-14-10 but delivery confirmation was flawed as set forth below and my inquiries to the u.s. postal service rebuffed (I believe tampered with inasmuch as your office could not locate same). This cover letter (9-13-10) is on the 3 disks with navigable hyperlinks to the subject files for ease of reference, including the files in the RICO action as indicated.

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Label/Receipt Number: 0310 1230 0000 0862 8183

Expected Delivery Date: September 15, 2010

Class: Priority Mail®

Service(s): Delivery Confirmation™

Status: Delivered

Your item was delivered at 10:14 am on September 15, 2010 in LOS ANGELES, CA 90024.

Track and Confirm

Enter Label/Receipt Number.

Enter Label / Receipt Number.

Detailed Results:

Bullet Delivered, September 15, 2010, 10:14 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Bullet Arrival at Post Office, September 15, 2010, 4:12 am, LOS ANGELES, CA 90024

Bullet Processed through Sort Facility, September 14, 2010, 8:29 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90052

Bullet Acceptance, September 14, 2010, 4:04 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

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Sent Postage Prepaid: United States Mail - VIA Priority Mail, Delivery Confirmation and VIA Certified Mail this 5th day of October, 2010.

Signed: ___________________________________

Albert L. Peia

Part 2: Woodward's 'Obama's Wars' Don't get 'locked into Vietnam,' Biden warns (Washington Post) [ Yeah, when you have a lobotomized VP you tend not to trust their opinion; but, I think they just cover their bases … you know, that Kerryish both sides of all issues thing. In any event, wobama bought this continued debacle and bears fault with the other zionist war mongers. Previously (on Iraq and Afghanistan, infra): Obama: 'It is time to turn the page' on Iraq war (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! How patronizing to have wobama spew his b*** s*** which b.s. has become synonomous with wobama; ‘to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future’… Iraq’s been destroyed, covered in cancer-causing depleted uranium, america’s defacto bankrupt, etc. If only teleprompters had a brain of their own. ] He says the U.S. "has paid a huge price" to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future -- a price that now includes more than 4,400 U.S. dead. ) On Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, Vice President Biden counsels President Obama about sending more troops to Afghanistan.

• Full coverage: 'Obama's Wars'

• Audio: Obama on length of the war

• Audio: Obama on attack possibility

• Audio: Obama on terrorism tactics

A subtler tack to fight Afghan corruption? (Washington Post) [ How about a not so subtler tack to fight corruption starting right here in the u.s. of a. where corruption and crime are pervasive and in fact, at the root of the Afghanistan problems, from american reinvigorated heroin trade to bribery attendant thereto to killing civilians, etc.. Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless, War Criminal Nation america, the leader of nations … in crime:

Though having but 5% of the world’s population, america can boast 76% of the world’s serial killers, followed by Europe with England/UK then Germany leading the way for the eu [excerpt, 6 minute video, Serial Killers: Real Life Hannibal Lechters http://www.albertpeia.com/realifeamericaserialkillers.mpg (as is consistent with crime generally, see infra)]. Defacto bankrupt, fraudulent america also spends more on offensive (defensive a misnomer / propaganda) military spending than all the nations of the world combined, and by a large margin at that. Do you see a pattern emerging here [ I unfortunately only belatedly did, and the feds, fed employees, cia, all 3 branches of the u.s. government, etc., are included in this evolved american trait of inherent criminality in the most nefarious sense ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      )   ]:

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	11,877,218
# 2	United Kingdom:	6,523,706
# 3	Germany:	6,507,394

… ]

Goldman agrees to pay $550M (Washington Post) My own skepticism based on the disparate numbers (the size of the frauds compared to the relatively small fine) and as set forth in the initial reactions / headlines that immediately follow has been allayed somewhat by an interview on NBR with former SEC head Ruder who explained the very narrow scope of the settlement which in no way shelters goldman from the huge frauds they have perpetrated. So long as this is true in fact as well as law and in application, the SEC deserves praise as has been so under the auspices of ‘Mother Mary’ who appears to have the gonads lacking in prior SEC heads. The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.

Iran connects U.S./israel to deadly blasts I believe Iran!

‘West, israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated “the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.

De-classified Vietnam-era Transcripts Show Senators Knew Gulf Of Tonkin Was A Staged False Flag Event Over 1,100 pages of previously classified Vietnam-era transcripts released this week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee highlight the fact that several Senators knew that the White House and the Pentagon had deceived the American people over the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It Zach Carter | Wachovia was moving money behind literally tons of cocaine from violent drug cartels. It wasn’t an accident.

Vegetable zionist Zelig joe lieberman’s Model For America: Purging The Internet of Dissent When political Zelig joe lieberman attempted to justify draconian legislation that would provide President Obama with a figurative kill switch to shut down parts of the Internet, he cited the Chinese system of Internet policing as model which america should move towards

Stepped-up efforts fail to stem drug money (Washington Post) [ Come on! Wake up! That’s american, yes american big business. The stuff that the war in Afghanistan is made of; viz., ie., heroin, etc.. ]Stashing cash in spare tires, engine transmissions and truckloads of baby diapers, couriers for Mexican drug cartels are moving tens of billions of dollars in profits south across the border each year, a river of dirty money that has overwhelmed U.S. and Mexican customs agents.

Carlyle-owned toy supplier files for bankruptcy (Washington Post) [ What is a bush-involved company of paper (leveraged instruments, etc.) pushers doing with any company doing business in the u.s. or elsewhere for that matter. The bushes are vegetables who really can’t do anything well, except maybe, war, war crimes, fraud, illegal drug deals (Iran contra, etc., http://albertpeia.com/CIAAgentAffidavit1.jpg ) ]

State Dept. faces skyrocketing costs as it prepares to expand role in Iraq:  Waning resources could endanger security gains, lawmakers are told (Washington Post) [ The ‘new never ending story’! america’s defacto bankrupt! Dat’s the story, jerry! What gains? Iraq’s destroyed. Iraq’s ‘covered’ in depleted uranium. The people are devastated. america’s defacto bankrupt. Come on! We’re getting close to biblical stuff here! There’s just no excuse for this compounding of war crimes committed by the u.s. and ‘friends’.]

Mideast Digest:  Iran's Ahmadinejad calls for regional solution to Afghan crisis (Washington Post) And appropriately so, as leader of a nation in the region as opposed to invading nations from outside the region (particularly as one targeted by assassins the likely assigns of those outside the region).

One of those … Daaaaah! Moments … Panetta says Afghan progress slower than expected Los Angeles Times -  Days after President Obama installed a new US military commander in Afghanistan, CIA Director Leon E. Panetta conceded Sunday that progress in the war has been "harder" and "slower than I think ...     Panetta says Afghan insurgents show no real interest in reconciliation talks Washington Post CIA Retains Controversial Security Firm in Afghanistan Wall Street Journal CIA: AFGHAN PROGRESS 'SLOWER' THAN ANTICIPATED… Daaaaah! ...

GOP chairman: Afghan 'war of Obama's choosing' (AP)  - Republican chairman Michael Steele drew criticism from within his own party Friday, including calls to resign, after saying the 9-year-old commitment of U.S. troops to Afghanistan was a mistaken ... [Steele is quite right and wobama and war facilitators deserve criticism; not Steele.]      

Judge: 'Don't ask, don't tell' is unconstitutional (Washington Post) [ Well, we all know that judge walker is alledgedly a homo, so the question here is whether judge phillips is a lesbian… just kidding! Not to slight homosexuals but to emphasize judicial bias / corruption which is pervasive in america and I’ve observed, experienced, and have been substantially damaged by pervasive and systemic corruption in the american judicial process which has become more blatant and which justifies the abolition of these costly, corrupt lifetime appointment / bureaucracies. The fact is that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is the policy throughout the pervasively corrupt federal system which is indeed as illegal as it is unconstitutional! ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ). ]

Ex-Justice official: CIA may have exceeded limits (Washington Post) Wee doggies! This sounds like the stuff that SNL Weekend Update ‘Really’ skits are made of; also fitting into that list of queries as, ‘Is the Pope Catholic?’, ‘Do bears **** in the woods?’, etc.. Come on! Wake up! This is the kind of complicit cover-up / corruption found betwixt and between all three branches of the u.s. government leading ineluctably to america’s current decline and to which I’ve attested under penalty of perjury in the context of the RICO litigation  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ].

Wall Street Is Laundering Drug Money And Getting Away With It Zach Carter | Wachovia was moving money behind literally tons of cocaine from violent drug cartels. It wasn’t an accident.

There is really no way to rationalize or attempt to justify what america is / has become since they have with open eyes chosen this contra-indicated course of ineluctable decline, from illegal wars, to war crimes, to backing war criminal nations as israel, to huge frauds, to war profiteering, to illicit drug trafficking and money laundering, and this list goes on and on …:

(Previously) I’d say this alito vs. wobama is a tempest in a teapot inasmuch as alito is more than just a lightweight, hack, liar, fraud etc., as set forth in the comments. alito is a criminal who should have served / should be serving time in prison for obstruction of justice, bribery, among other RICO violations. To alito, drug money is as green as corporate money and worth his vote as well. In addition to being an inept [I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches)] and corrupt (see below and particularly the summary provided to the FBI under penalty of perjury  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ] )  u.s. attorney.

You’re naïve to think that the so-called supreme court is any different from the rest of the meaningfully lawless and pervasively corrupt american ‘system’. I knew well an accomplished trial lawyer, fellow american college of trial lawyers / and a bar examiner, who pondered from time to time becoming a judge “so he’d never have to work again” – his words.

Some comments on alito…all appropriate:

Probably the worst appointment in one hundred years.

Posted by: mnjam

-----------------------

Really? That's a pretty sweeping statement to make about someone who's only been on the court a short few years.

And I thought that liberals were in universal agreement that Clarence Thomas was the worst appointment in all of history?

Posted by: blert | January 28, 2010 2:11 AM | Report abuse
----------------------------
Yes. Really. Alito is a total lightweight and hack. He makes Thomas look like John Marshall or Oliver Wendell Holmes. I KNOW ALITO.
Posted by: mnjam | January 28, 2010 2:24 AM |

the loser here is alito.lost his composure not good for a judge especially afederal or supreme justice .loser big time this will live with guy for a very time.roberts and the other justices will have a talk with him that is a given.this relly larger than o one day news cycle.
Posted by: donaldtucker | January 28, 2010 1:12 AM |

Should Alito resign or be impeached?
Posted by: jdmca | January 28, 2010 1:05 AM |

Manchurian Candidates: Supreme Court allows China and others unlimited spending in US elections Greg Palast | Our future elections may come down to a three-way battle between China, Saudi Arabia and Goldman Sachs.       Call For Immediate Arrest of 5 Supreme Court Justices for Treason Gordon Duff | The bloated corpse we are creating in Washington is emitting a stench we can no longer abide.     The aforesaid would be shocking to anyone without a modicum of knowledge of the reality of pervasive corruption within the u.s. courts themselves and america generally, including all three branches of the u.s. government.

Ron Paul: After ‘CIA coup,’ agency ‘runs military’  US House Rep. Ron Paul says the CIA has has in effect carried out a “coup” against the US government, and the intelligence agency needs to be “taken out.”  I also personally believe there has been a defacto coup d’etat which has manifested in various substantial, blatant, brazened frauds, ie., wall street, missing 360 tons of $100 bills in Iraq, war profiteering, etc., without any fear of prosecution, and of course concomitant decline for u.s. as the treasury is looted. But I also believe its scope is beyond just the CIA with many complicit within the corrupted 3 branches of u.s. government (fed judges, us attorneys, illegal system, etc.) plus the military and private big money, ie., Goldman Sachs / wall street men, etc., among other organized crime. america is defacto bankrupt in every way!

Rendition: Where the War on Terror Meets the War on Drugs Patrick Henningsen | It’s time to ditch the policies we have come to tolerate for decades before they consume what is left of our moral core. I’ve experienced the corrupt inter-relationship of the government (all 3 corrupt branches) and the illegal drug trade / obstruction of justice / bribery first hand, particularly the courts / u.s. attorneys offices (ie., alito – now u.s. supreme court justice – quid pro quo for his complicity / cover-up), feds; see immediately after article excerpt for links / summary.

…“Evidence points to aircraft – familiarly known as “torture taxis” – used by the CIA to move captives seized in its kidnapping or “extraordinary rendition” operations through Gatwick and other airports in the EU being simultaneously used for drug distribution in the Western hemisphere. A Gulfstream II jet aircraft N9875A identified by the British Government and the European Parliament as being involved in this traffic crashed in Mexico…” In 2004, another torture taxi crashed in a field in Nicaragua with a ton of cocaine aboard… Mexican soldiers found ..132 bags containing 3.3 metric tons of cocaine. The origination of the Gulfstream’s flight is unknown but it was destined for Cancun when it crash landed. Again, here is the important point: that same Gulf Stream II was one of the very same planes chartered to the CIA for the rendition of suspected terrorists prisoners. Gulf Stream II crashed in Mexico with 3 tons of cocaine on board ..it should not be surprising that this illegal practice of rendition has in some part, been used as a well-run smokescreen for another borderless illegal operation- an extremely lucrative international transfer and delivery of cash and narcotics.,,These flights are not subject to regular customs checks, inspections or normal regulations as they move seamlessly between destinations in the US, Britain, Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Cuba and possibly through US bases in Turkey, Greece and Morocco…

Corrupt u.s. courts / judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and costly bureaucracies. Rules of law mean nothing to these typically corrupt americans. Most, including sam alito of the u.s. supreme court, concerning  drug money laundering and obstruction of justice in the 3^rd circuit ( also maryanne trump barry who covered-up drug money laundering through her brother’s casinos in a civil RICO case) should have gone to or belong in jail. Contrary to popular belief, they do it for the money, personal money, big, cash, untraceable money. The fog of war is great for such things (360 tons $100 bills flown into Iraq and missing, etc.).

 [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm  ]. america’s just a fraudulent and failed defacto bankrupt nation.

NSA beats warrantless wiretap rap A Federal judge has dismissed a complaint against the National Security Agency’s (NSA)

Corrupt u.s. courts / judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and corrupt costly bureaucracies.

There must be such things as parallel universes (I don’t really believe that, because there isn’t) or how else do you explain the disconnect between reality, current and prospective, and the wet dreams posited to keep the war funding / corporate welfare programs alive in collectively what has already become a trillion dollar boondoggle (not counting prospective medical costs, etc.) and promises to go much higher. Even israel apologist Cohen of The Washington Post alludes to the Vietnam analogy. However, even if there were real goals beyond the poppy / heroin trade which the Taliban had all but eradicated (there isn’t); even if america wasn’t defacto bankrupt (america is); even if america wasn’t killing innocent civilians in large numbers (war criminal nation america is); even if america’s allies haven’t similarly helped to bankrupt themselves by way of this war (they have); even if I hadn’t told you so (I did) ….. this war still was, is, and remains a very bad idea!

Afghan war overtakes Vietnam to become the longest conflict in U.S. history Mail Online | The war entered its 104th month yesterday, with 30,000 American troops being deployed in the first half of this year alone.

How does anyone take the u.s. seriously in light of their credibility problems, war crimes, etc.? What nuke technology israel didn’t steal from the u.s., the u.s. gave them along with missile, armaments, etc.. and paid for with taxpayer money that u.s. taxpayers and the defacto bankrupt nation don’t have.

It's time to expel israel from the UN Without doubt, the israeli attack on the Gaza-bound "Freedom Flotilla" in the dawn of Monday, May 31, 2010 is one of the most savage crimes in recent history. It seems the ruling power in Tel Aviv has been afflicted with a variant of mad cow disease; otherwise, how could it be so cruel to unleash such a beastly raid on the "Mavi Marmara," the Turkish flagship of a flotilla carrying medical and humanitarian supplies to the hapless people of Gaza Strip?

The israeli Spin-Machine in Overdrive: dershowitz to the Rescue?  Armed Israeli commandos, the elite of the elites, rappelled to the deck of a Turkish ship carrying humanitarian relief supplies to the 1.5 million prisoners in the Gaza concentration camp.

You think Iraq was bad? Invading Iran ‘would be lunacy’ Ivan Eland, Director of the Center on Peace and Liberty at the Independent Institute in Washington DC, gives his opinion on new sanctions imposed on Iran.

I include the first two comments to the foregoing headline:

Billo Says:

June 11th, 2010 at 6:15 am

Lunacy? Keep in mind that this country is run and controlled by lunatics. Our press government and military seem to take their orders from Israel. Isarel wants to be known as a pack of “mad dogs. Do we want “mad dogs” controlling us?

Here we see a bunch of phony accusations against Iran just like we did in the run up to the bogus wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan. The boy has cried wold ten thousand times. It’s time to identify the “lunatics” and kindly take away the car keys. If you won’t let your friends drive drunk, why do we let a bunch of “lunatic” enemies run this place.

Glen Reply:

June 11th, 2010 at 6:47 am

Lunacy it would be.

But it is also to their great credit that the Iranians have not made their own threats.

Everyone knows there are 3 WMD threats, Nuclear Biological and chemical. The scariest of which is Biological.

Any attack done under the threat of immediate biological retaliation would deter only the insane.

Watch out america home of the insane, home of the leaders who want an 80% population reduction.

General McChrystal’s Burning Contempt for the Puppet Obama The farce that is the war in Afghanistan is coming apart at the seams. General Stanley McChrystal’s sharp comments about Obama, Biden, and the administration published by Rolling Stone are not so much about disrespect, as the script-reading corporate media talking heads would have it, but rather about a policy in disarray in Afghanistan.

Gaza blockade illegal, must be lifted — UN rights official Israeli blockade of Gaza unsustainable: White House US Jewish opinion and the ‘Beinart moment’ The controversial book, The Israel Lobby, in which the political scientists, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, argued that US foreign policy has been hijacked by organized Zionism went strangely unnoticed by the leading journal of American intellectual opinion, the New York Review of Books.      Doubts Grow Over Israel’s Value as U.S. Ally Jim Lobe | The notion is that Israel and its actions have since the Cold War increasingly become a “strategic liability” to U.S. interests in the region.

In 1948, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, an opponent of the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, warned that, even though failure to go along with the Zionists might cost President Truman the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and California, it was about time that somebody should pay some consideration to whether we might not lose the United States. Mr. Forrestal was absolutely correct! Isn’t that exactly what’s happened to defacto bankrupt america in intractable decline. 

TIME TO REVOKE AND NULLIFY THE BALFOUR DECLARATION AND ABROGATE THE CREATION OF THE NATION STATE OF ISRAEL IN THE INTERESTS OF FAIRNESS, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PROSPECTIVE PROSPERITY FOR THIS WORLD!

OOOOH! ISRAEL NOW IN FAVOR OF NUKES IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN SUDDEN SHIFT IN POLICY TO FAVOR IRAN IN A VERY BIG WAY! ISRAEL SEES THE LIGHT AND SIDES WITH IRAN ON NUCLEAR ISSUE; ESSENTIALLY SAYS TO THE WORLD AND IRAN ‘TO PRESS ON WITH NUCLEAR AMBITIONS’.

Paul Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs  Kurt Nimmo | John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is:  http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm  ‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the "songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) click Here, Here.  [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm ]  But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the (corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed, prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street" has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention, and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn"; huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)…’

Coalition wants UK space lift-off [ Don’t make me laugh! ]

Israel’s Nukes Out of the Shadows  Israel faces unprecedented pressure to abandon its official policy of “ambiguity” on its possession of nuclear weapons as the international community meets at the United Nations in New York this week to consider banning such arsenals from the Middle East.

NASA wants mission to bring Martian rocks to Earth (AP) Why? They already have that and more:

Launch of secret US space ship masks even more secret launch of new weapon

The Militarization of Outer Space: The Pentagon’s “Space Warriors” Global Research | It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on planet earth. Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new, destabilizing weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit into another “battlespace.”     

buzz aldrin wants to colonize Mars … Riiiiight buzzed! Better check with DePalma to see if he already has the footage in the can since you won’t be able to use the moon footage for the new boondoggle video ...

OBAMA SPEECH OUTLINES PLANS FOR RETURNING DEFACTO BANKRUPT U.S. TO SPACE – OOOOOH! SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN … FOR INNER SPACE (IMAGINATION).

NASA's New Asteroid Mission Could Save the Planet Space.com - Tariq Malik - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - President Barack Obama set a lofty next goal this week for Americans in space: Visiting an asteroid by 2025. Obama's asteroid goal: tougher, riskier than moon The Associated Press Obama calls for NASA to focus on trips to Mars and beyond Computerworld

New Boondoggle promised to save NASA boondoggle defacto bankrupt budget piece of pie. And don’t forget, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, et als, have already done this so it’s not as if they’re starting from ‘ground zero’, so to speak; and Brian DePalma already has ‘Mission to Mars’ in the can, but beware say the producers of ‘Species II’ since Eve, the cloned daughter of Sill, might want to mate with astronaut Paddy Ross who has returned from Mars as a space alien host body.

First fake moonwalker blasts Obama's space plan msnbc.com - Bill Ingalls - The first man to pretend to walk on the moon blasted President Barack Obama's decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program on Tuesday, saying that not going with the new movie is “devastating” to america's boondoggle spaced out effort. Fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed a treasured piece at the dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, ...bbc news bbc news | europe | fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed prized moon rock a fake - a piece of moon rock given to an overseas politician by the united states is actually a lump of petrified wood, museum authorities revealed yesterday. ... 'Moon rock' in dutch museum is just petrified wood aug 27, 2009 ... Fake moon rock at dutch national museum. Rijksmuseum / ap. This rock, supposedly brought back from the moon by american astronauts, ...    http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm

In reality it is just a piece of petrified wood ... Another piece of evidence that shows again that apollo program is indeed a fake and a typical american fraud!

http://www.albertpeia.com/UFOetryWeNeverWentToTheMoonPNTV.wmv

Editorial: US in quagmire Seeing the warm welcome extended to the Afghan president on his US trip, it is hard to believe that only weeks ago Washington was seething with anger and frustration at Hamid Karzai’s behavior and there were even dark mutterings by US officials that he might be mad.

War in Afghanistan and Iraq costs America $1trillion From the Old | On May 30th at 10:06 the United States reached the point where they have spent $1trillion on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.        Sinking of the Cheonan: A Classic False Flag Operation Russia Today | Sinking of the warship was really intended to convince Japan not to move US forces off Okinawa as well as divert the attention of Americans from the dire economic situation at home.     .      Israel: IDF Troops Who Murdered Unarmed Innocent People Are ‘Brave Heroes’  The government of israel, aided by many quarters of the international media, is attempting to spin today’s deadly IDF assault on a humanitarian aid ship carrying supplies to Gaza as the fault of the murdered activists on board the vessel, ludicrously characterizing machine-gun carrying Israeli troops who killed over a dozen innocent people as the victims of the incident.

Murder on the high seas JERUSALEM: Israeli marines stormed aid ships bound for Gaza on Monday and at least 10 rights activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an emergency session of the UN Security Council. European nations, as well as the United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to the international campaigners' bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip

Israeli American Microbiologist Linked to Deadly Fungus Kurt Nimmo | A report links labs in the United States and Israel to the Cryptococcus gatti fungus that has killed several people in the United States.

Iraqi doctors demand cancer probe Al Jazeera | Iraqi doctors believe depleted uranium from US military equipment used in the 2003 invasion is spreading cancer through the population. [This is all too true and real; and I’m surprised this hasn’t gotten more attention, coverage … well, maybe not that surprised ].

Anthropologists adopt a more favorable view of Neanderthals (Washington Post) [ Well, I’m a bit surprised and somewhat disappointed that with a little more effort, rather than rely upon inference, they could have taken a trip to the new york / new jersey / connecticut metropolitan area (etc.) and observed directly these lower italian modern-day archaic humans! Then there are the other modern day archaics / ape-like creatures that warrant greater scrutiny. ]

"What this means is that Neanderthals are not totally extinct. In some of us, they live on," Paabo … With regard to that extinction thing, I’d say they’re still working on it (ultimately, decades, extinction, the distinction, without a difference).  Actually, prior to studying the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology (Michael Park text), I too had some misconceptions about the group known as Neandertals (recent spelling drops the ‘h’) and actually mis-referenced same by the stereotypical image of members of said clade even as the debate continues as to whether they are within the species homo sapiens or a separate species. I believe these to be distinctions without important differences, so humble the origins and evolution of man truly are. Parenthetically, I wonder what that anthropological scientist Heidi Klum thinks on the subject.

Neanderthals, Humans Interbred, DNA Proves

Signs of Neanderthals Mating With Humans - Neanderthals mated with some modern humans after all and left their imprint in the human genome.  Genome hints humans, Neanderthals rolled in prehistoric hay You're a Neanderthal: Genes say yes — a little bit (AP) Neanderthals and people interbred, fossil analysis finds  For more info on man’s humble beginnings, see here     http://www.albertpeia.com/anthroindex1.htm    

Previously I wrote:

FOUND: MISSING LINK BETWEEN APES AND MAN.... These stories, and the many like it, are old news and I subscribe to the more studied view that there is no “missing link” per se and in my view they are distinctions without significant differences. I previously wrote:

To Learn More About From Whence Man Came, This Link's For You

  [To the Professor at the beginning of the course]    

   10-5-09 Postscript: Professor *****,
I felt compelled to thank you again for the add; not to curry your favor but indeed to express profound thanks inasmuch as this is probably the last formal course at a formal educational institution I'll ever take; and among the most important. While I had bought at discount a library-discarded 1993 Anthropology by Embers text, though meaning to read same never quite got to it. I am astounded by the substantial amount of time involved in the evolutionary process, not that I ever stopped to think about it, and one must come away with the sense of 'and all that...for this?'. This course should be required curriculum along with psychology, sociology, etc., but probably won't be owing to what is, as it should be, a very humbling educational experience for any member of the human race.
             Regards,
                                  Al Peia

[Interestingly, my intuitive (but unstudied) thoughts prior to closer examination of the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology remain what I believe to be the correct scenario. Specifically, very simply stated, for the most part, the more “enlightened” (but not by much; by mutation, accident, luck, intervention, etc.) left the unvarying confines of their Sub-Saharan origins, experienced diverse new environs, challenges, etc., experienced what has been described (by neuroscientists, psychologists, etc.) as neurogenesis in varying degrees and forms thereby over time, which trait was selected for and is consistent with the purported multi-regional evolutionary model which does not overtly contradict ultimately, initial African origins. Races, sub-species, missing links, etc., are subsumed in this very humbling and sorrowful tale of the “dawn of man”.]

[Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case [  http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]    

Don’t Tread On Me: A Refresher Course on the Constitution

Sen. Levin urges State Department to put Afghan Taliban on list of terror groups (Washington Post) Oooooh! … Sounds like a plan … and emanating from washington (and a thriving Michigan jew no less) … who says they don’t do anything? … And, consistent with that apocalyptic vision set forth in the Bible [albeit a book of truth from a very limited perspective (for which literal interpretations are misleading); after all, the Wise Men thought it was a movable star that was guiding them and shone the bright ‘spotlight’ upon the manger with the Christ]; the jews and some other entity against the rest of the world for that final Armageddon … oh, they’ll make that happen … it gets them through their day with every step closer to apocalypse but not to the place called heaven will they go. The end of this world? You might say america / israel / and theirs are feverishly working on just that, one way or another!

Roman Polanski freed after Swiss reject U.S. extradition request (Washington Post, July 13, 2010) Without diminishing in any way the seriousness of the crime, this result is the direct consequence of the growing global recognition of the pervasiveness of corruption in american courts, state and federal, and america generally; so much so, that said corrupt american courts cannot be relied on anywhere, anytime. Indeed, my own sampling, though hardly random to be candid, is 5 for 5 (new jersey, new york, connecticut, virginia, california) pervasively and egregiously corrupt to the point where these costly, corrupt bureaucracies should be abolished and supplanted with alternatives as I’ve previously set forth in prior comments.

BUDGET CRISIS PUTS LOS ANGELES COURT SYSTEM AT RISK ...  [Judge sends Lohan to jail for probation violation (AP) – They got her! That globe-trotting danger / threat to society, the infamous public enemy Lindsey Lohan. Guess she couldn’t cough up that direct or indirect bribe. How pathetic these corrupt, kangaroo courts are! If only she was a drug dealer, armed robber, etc., she would have had the pre-paid connections to avoid this preposterous (known substantial criminals walk about freely, without fear) outcome. This, even as they are releasing substantial felons owing to budgetary considerations. ]  ABOLISH THE CORRUPT, ECONOMICALLY WASTEFUL SO-CALLED SYSTEM, FROM MY DIRECT OBSERVATION AND EXPERIENCE .     (PREVIOUSLY ARCHIVED) HOWEVER, THIS LATEST "CALIFORNIA/LA DISTRACTION" REQUIRES ELUCIDATION AS FOLLOWS:

· Response to App. Div. OSC

· STATE OF CALIFORNIA ethics complaint

· Response to Sup.Ct. OSC

· designation of record on appeal

· The so-called "order" appealed from.
How embarrassing for the superior court of the state of california!

· Typical corrupt banana republic america/california court

Dirty money digitally laundered … a wall street, atlantic city, and american story … a very bad one and  [also see RICO case http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]     Fraud: It’s Much Bigger Than Goldman Sachs Regulatory reform debate obscures key fact: Everybody’s getting money bribes from Wall Street

Blagojevich calls feds 'cowards and liars'…[Yes. This is a rare moment for one to say that a sleazy hypocrite like blago, who is on corrupt federale-connected mobster trump’s celebrity apprentice, happens to be correct based upon facts / reality and my own direct observation and experience and the law – Don’t forget to include corrupt federal judges as maryanne trump barry, sam alito, shiff, matz, hall, underhill, dorsey, etc.. Defacto bankrupt america’s so-called system is pervasively corrupt and broken] (AP) [Abolish the corrupt, costly, economically wasteful lifetime extravagantly appointed federal courts - see RICO case [  http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm      ]    

Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.scribd.com/alpeia
http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

Drudgereport: JUNE UNEMPLOYMENT 9.5%... 125,000 JOBS LOST...
Rate dips as 652,000 give up search...
Depressing... [That’s why they’re called depressions (just kidding … but no laughing matter) …  At this rate, with all those lost jobs and jobseekers no longer seeking those lost jobs that aren’t there, by their calculations (9.5% the bright spot … riiiiight!) we should be at full employment very soon … you can’t make this stuff up … really!].
New jobless claims rise [again]...
'Surprise'...
Pending home sales plunge record 30%...
Weak economic data suggest 'recovery' fizzling...
Fears mount over slowing global demand...
UN committee calls for dumping US dollar...
Six Months to Go Until the Largest Tax Hikes in History...
KRUGMAN: 'We are now, I fear, in the early stages of a third depression'...
STOCKS HIT LOWEST OF YEAR...
DEBT SOARS TO HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE WWII...
PRIVATE SECTOR SEES WEAKER JUNE JOBS...
Sputtering...
Bilderberg 2010: Between the sword and the wall...
Protesters 'being detained, searched, questioned'...
Final List of Participants...
Stephen Hawking: Aliens exist but don't talk to them -- it's too dangerous … might not like us… Oh pshaw! … Human nature, man’s inhumanity to man? … Such humble beginnings and evolutionary history  … What’s not to like? … Besides, not to worry.  With their advanced technologies that defy human understanding, the aliens already know you’re here … to stay. So, not to worry. After all, as we know from that documentary of that same name, ‘Earth Girls Are Easy’ … and then there’s photosynthesis on earth in a very big way also going for it! ...
Seeing Aliens Will Likely Take Centuries. Centuries? Not goin’ to happen; at best, decades.