Sunday, October 28, 2012

What Fiscal Cliff? Obama Planning Another "Tax Cut" Fiscal Stimulus


Since it would appear that QEternity has ostensibly failed in its main goal of pushing the stock market higher (and mortgage rates lower), the White House seems to be scrambling. Obama administration officials have concluded that the economy, while improved (apparently), is still fragile enough to warrant another bout of stimulus. The same old kitchen sink is being thrown at the problem as they are now resorting to the same fiscal stimulus that has also failed time and time again (as we noted here). As WaPo strawmans reports the White House is discussing the idea of a tax cut that it believes will lift American's take-home pay and boost a still-struggling economy (citing people familiar with the administration's thinking). This is Keynesian-based Einsteinian madness at its very best.



Congratulations Logan and Fara...
Military Hero Dog Who Served in Kuwait Returns to U.S.
 














(HealthNewsDigest.com) - WASHINGTON, D.C., October 26 -- Military Working Dog Fara H341, an explosives detection canine who helped keep our troops safe in Kuwait, returned home to a hero’s welcome at Baltimore’s BWI Airport, greeted by her adoptive handler, Military Working Dog Adoptions, and a cheering contingent from American Humane Association.
MA2 Logan McMichael and MWD Fara H341 became a team when Logan first got to Greece in the spring of 2008. They were then deployed to Kuwait from about July 2009 to April 2010. They returned to Greece and Logan returned to the States, where he is now stationed in Yorktown, Virginia. Before leaving Greece, Logan asked to adopt MWD Fara upon her retirement, but did not have the funds and necessary permissions to get her on a plane back home. Military Working Dog Adoptions worked to raise the money needed, and American Humane Association worked behind the scenes with the military to have them put MWD Fara H341 on a flight so she could get back from Greece to the United States, ensuring a happy ending for everyone involved.
Oct 27, 2012 - 10:42:36 AM



The Bread Aisle In Manhattan's Upper West Side Is Now Empty

 
It seems like it was just yesterday that we were posting pictures of empty shelves at New York supermarkets ahead of the epic dud that was Hurricane Irene. It is now one year later, and it is time for the obligatory snapshots of empty shelves, such as this one showing the bread isle at the Food Emporium on 68th and Broadway. Many more coming as all local New York food stores and pharmacies finally sell out their expired and extended inventory.


Emergency Preparedness Checklist for Perfect Storm Hurricane Sandy – Here’s what you need to get NOW

by Mike Adams, Natural News:
Called a “monster storm,” Hurricane Sandy is much more than a hurricane. It’s a hybrid monster storm system that weather experts are now warning could cause $1 billion in damage when it strikes the U.S. eastern seaboard early Tuesday morning.
If you’re living anywhere near Philadelphia, Boston, Delaware or surrounding states, you have a very limited window of opportunity to get ready with everything you’ll need to ride out this storm. That’s the purpose of this article: To give you an emergency preparedness checklist for surviving this “monster storm.”
Even if you don’t leave nearby, this storm can serve as an important reminder: We must ALL be prepared for unexpected events, or we can easily be caught empty-handed.
Read More @ NaturalNews.com


Australian Banks at Risk to the Core

by Dan Denning, Daily Reckoning.com.au:
Despite yesterday’s blowout $6 billion or so profit from ANZ, it turns out all is not entirely well in Australia’s financial services industry. For the last five years, the pattern in the markets has been the same. A crisis starts at the margin, with a peripheral player, and then moves its way up the food chain.
That’s what happened when non-bank US lenders got in trouble in 2006. Then it was the mortgage lenders in 2007. Then it was the highly-leveraged investment banks (all of them) in 2008. And then it was the big money-centre banks in 2009.
The same pattern held in Europe, with a few slight differences. The marginal players were marginal for different reasons. Iceland, Ireland, and Spain had bubbles in the property market. But in Greece, the low interest rates created a bubble in government debt. In all cases, the debt crisis struck first at the ragged edge and then moved inwards, like a financial tapeworm.
Read More @ DailyReckoning.com.au


The $43 Trillion Bankster Lawsuit and the Mysterious Murder of Two NY Toddlers

by Susanne Posel, Occupy Corporatism:

Last week, a horrific scene was discovered in a Manhattan apartment as the mother of two toddlers found her children dead in a bathtub and the nanny who was supposed to be caring for them began stabbing herself.
Marina Krim, wife of Kevin Krim senior vice president and general manager of digital media at CNBC, had entrusted the care of her two small children to Yoselyn Ortega, a newly naturalized US citizen from the Dominican Republic. Ortega had worked for the Krim family for just 2 years before this violent incident.
Read More @ OccupyCorporatism.com



Warm-up for WWIII...

Israel Conducts Air Strike On Sudan Missile Base In 'Dry Run' For Iran Attack

This past Wednesday, nobody reported that a squadron of 8 Israeli F-15 jets dropped 4 two-ton bombs on the giant Yarmouk missile factory on the outskirts of Sudan's capital Khartoum. Which is just as Israel wanted it. Because what otherwise would be a provocative incursion tantamount to war (if only Sudan wasn't a complete basket case of a country), was really nothing short of a dry-run for an Israeli attack on Iran. At least according to the Sunday Times. "A long-range Israeli bombing raid last week that was seen as a dry run for a forthcoming attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has destroyed an Iranian-run plant making rockets and ballistic missiles in Sudan.... The raid, in which two people died, triggered panic across the city. Witnesses said they heard a series of loud blasts followed by the sound of ammunition exploding. “It was a double impact — the explosion at the factory and then the ammunition flying into the neighbourhood,” said Abd-al Ghadir Mohammed, 31, a resident. "The ground shook. Some homes were badly damaged." And... nobody cares. Here we leave it up to readers to imagine the epic horror, deep revulsion that would greet news that Iran had conducted a pre-emptive strike against Israel by blowing up a missile factory in Turkey, killing two innocent people, just to make sure it can.


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In Final Days of the Race, Fighting County by County

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 42 minutes ago
Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The 2012 Presidential race could easily be compared to a choice between sugar and high fructose corn syrup. While both sweeteners sound different, they're indistinguishable to our bodies. The choice between socialism and austerity represents a similar choice. While each option provides voters a clear choice,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

 

Invisible Hand Buying Dips In Bond Suggests Little Has Changed For Now

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 4 hours ago
The invisible hand continues to accumulate US Treasury bonds into weakness as a growing number of experts turn bearish on them. The heavy green illustrates aggressive accumulation through 10/23 (chart) despite the pessimism. This "buy the dip" money flows suggests that very little has changed since 2008. In other words, it suggests that the world is still dealing with consequences... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

 

NYC to Close Schools, Subways, and Orders Evacuations - CME Closes Trading Floor 


Charting The Undoing Of Credit-Fueled Globalization

For two decades the rate of growth of world trade volumes considerably outstripped that of industrial production as credit-fueled globalization created huge imbalances in the world. As Diapason Commodities' Sean Corrigan indicates in these three simple charts, all that vendor-financed circular exuberance has come to an end. The bottom-line is that forced deleveraging (not least of which in Europe) is crushing the credit-fueled (and unsustainable) dream of endless growth as debt saturation has been reached (on private and now public balance sheets). To wit: Global Trade Volume growth is deep in the danger zone and about to turn negative; as the hopes of so many Sinomaniacs and Pollyannas is slowly peeled back to a righteous recognition of reality.


"Algos-Only" Tomorrow As NYSE Shuts Floor Trading Due To Sandy

The NYSE has just released a statement clarifying its hours tomorrow - due to the storm:
*NYSE TRADING FLOOR TO CLOSE TOMORROW; ALL TRADING TO BE ON ARCA
So, hold tight as all those low-lying humans will have left the building in the calm thoughtful hands of Johnny-5 and his friends.


On The Fullness And Boldness Of QE's Manipulation Of American's Behavior

Baupost's Seth Klarman provides the most clarifying and thought-provoking assessment of both the Fed's actions (quantitative easings specifically) and the moral hazard implicit in their deeds (as well as words):
"...we must question the morality of Fed programs that trick people (as if they were Pavlov's dogs) into behaviors that are adverse to their own long-term best interest. What kind of government entity cajoles savers to spend, when years of under-saving and overspending have left the consumer in terrible shape? What kind of entity tricks its citizens into paying higher and higher prices to buy stocks? What kind of entity drives the return on retirees' savings to zero for seven years (2008-2015 and counting) in order to rescue poorly managed banks? Not the kind that should play this large a role in the economy."
 

Some Follow-Up Questions For The Bundesbank, And Its Gold

Yesterday we posted the official statement of Bundesbank executive board member Carl-Ludwig Thiele, which in turn was a response to a recent surge in concerns about the safety and sanctity of German sovereign gold, held mostly abroad (if a major part of it held in London had been secretly repatriated), and demands by the general public - i.e., those who actually own the gold - for either an audit, or full repatriation, or both. There are, however, some problems with the official Bundesbank statement: the statistics cited in it, as well as the various explanations, are wrong, incorrect or misleading. Below we present some of the "facts" stated by Herr Thiele, and what the truth is.


New York Mayor Orders Evacuation Of "Zone A" Residents

First it was governor Cuomo, now it is Mike Bloomberg holding a press conference discussing advance preparations for Sandy, and just like last year, the first thing to be done, is the order of a mandatory evacuation of all low-lying areas, where some 375,000 New Yorkers live, contained in Zone A - those who don't voluntarily evacuate will not be arrested, but are being "selfish" according to Mayor Mike (it is unclear what happens if the non-evacuatees are also found to be in possession of a highly illegal 32 Oz coke container... that may be a felony offense). Depending on the storm surge, if any, it is likely that Zones B and C will also be evacuated. To find if you live in a zone to be evacuated, go to this website, alternatively the full hurricane evacuation preparedness map is presented below. And remember: if packing a go bag: no sugar... anything but sugar, or else Nurse Sam will be very angry.


The Burden Of Government Debt...

What this data does not show are the reverse transfers via interest payments. There is no data (that I can find) on treasury interest payments received by income quintile, but assuming that the top quintile dominates income from interest (as they dominate ownership of financial assets, owning over 95% of all financial assets) this leaves the lower income quintiles benefiting from transfer payments, the top quintile benefiting from interest (as well as policies like bank bailouts, corporate subsidies, and quantitative easing, whose benefits overwhelmingly benefit the top quintile), and squeezing the taxpaying middle quintiles who receive neither the benefits of interest payments, nor significant welfare transfers. To misquote George Orwell, when it comes to the national debt and who takes its burden, some pigs are definitely more equal than others.


On Europe's Three Year Insolvency Anniversary - The Definitive Interactive Infographic

Looking back, it seems like only yesterday that the world's realized, "out of the blue" that Europe was, gasp, insovlent. Alas, as the following terrific "walk through memory lane" interactive infographic from the Guardian reveals, it has now been well over three years and counting, with everything starting with this October 2009 article in the FT, "Greece vows action to cut budget deficit" in which then-PM G-Pap revealed a massive hole in the Greek official economic data and that its budget deficit would be double what was previously forecast. The rest is history, and now Greece is a shell, with unemployment off the charts, its finances and economy in shambles, and the whole country serving as a passthru funding vehicle for Europe to keep its own banks, and the ECB, solvent.


America’s New “Defense Concept”

The Western Hemisphere Defense Policy Statement
by Andrei Akulov, Global Research:

The USA has come up with a new Americas defense concept. On October 4 the Western Hemisphere Defense Policy Statement saw light outlining the major security vision for the next decade or longer.It makes precise how the January 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance will shape the US Department of Defense engagement in the region.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said “a remarkable transformation has taken place in the Western Hemisphere” and “the United States is provided with a historic opportunity to renew and strengthen its defense partnerships in the region.” The 11-page statement describes US defense policy goals of promoting mature, professional national defense institutions, fostering integration and interoperability among partners and promoting hemispheric defense institutions. The strategy seeks to renew U.S. military ties with Latin America after a decade of neglect when Washington was focused on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Read More @ GlobalResearch.ca



Wish I had just one of those bars...

Try Not to be too Worried by the Volatility of Silver – It’s the Price of Outperformance

by Peter Cooper, Silver Seek:

The gold price is down almost $100 and silver has shed a couple of dollars an ounce. That is bad news if you have just bought gold and silver. But if you have bought and hold for the past few years you would know it is only what to expect from these precious metals.
Price volatility is a price worth paying. Over the past five years the silver price has dropped suddenly by 60 per cent and rebounded to twice the price of silver at the outset. The gold price has been less dramatic but still ranged in huge 30 per cent price swings.
Winning asset class
Yet no other asset class has topped precious metals in that timeframe. The S&P 500 might be ahead so far this year, but it’s dead in the water over five years.
Read More @ SilverSeek.com


Civilization at the Crossroads

by John Meyer, SilverBearCafe.com:

In our last letter we stated that, “American capitalism ended in 1913 and remains “An Unknown Ideal.” We also commented that, “A troubling question arises: Has the financial community hijacked government?”
We are going to discuss those issues in an historical and philosophical context. We all today live in a twilight zone where things seemingly are and yet aren’t. We must travel down some roads, which are troubling and rather dark. But, it is necessary, because it is today’s reality. We can say at the start that you will find the trip unbelievable – I know I did when I first stumbled down this path. Matter of fact, at first I totally dismissed it as absolute insanity and therefore not possible. For, it was inconceivable that the morality of man could descend to such naked malevolence.
Read More @ SilverBearCafe.com


Obama and Romney – Gangsters for Fascism

by Sean Kerrigan, Activist Post

I honestly don’t think it matters who wins the election. Like all elections in the modern era, real choices are never provided. The politicians and the media concentrate on “faux issues” designed to create the appearance of an intense debate, meanwhile the pressing issues of our times are decided by connected elites behind closed doors. On these issues, the politicians are in complete agreement. The system is rigged to ensure that only corporate tools can rise to the level of “Actor in Chief.”
Take any issue of substance. Try to spot the difference of opinion between Obama and Romney: trade policy, the unaccountable Federal Reserve, the gulag prison system, the war on drugs, military spending, NSA surveillance, the destruction of civil liberties, banking regulations, gerrymandering, the role of international banking institutions like the World Bank and the IMF, Israel, energy policy, the wars, drone strikes…the list goes on I can assure you.
If you’re an intellectually enslaved partisan, you’re already probably grasping at straws, trying to justify your position choosing the “lesser of two evils.”
Read More @ Activist Post


Jeff Clark – Casey Research’s Unabashed Silver Bull

from FinancialSurvivalNetwork.com:
We caught up with Jeff Clark, publisher of Casey Research’s Big Gold after a rousing discussion about where silver is and where it’s heading. The market is so small with so little surplus capacity, that a demand spike could easily result in a major mania. Of course the tree does not grow to the sky, but it can get very tall. Jeff offered a number of scenarios that put silver’s peak price well over $100, approaching several multiples of that. It’s not very difficult to envision these types of situations emerging from the world’s chaotic economic system.
CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO INTERVIEW


Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme?

from Robert Wenzel:

Robert Pozen is the former vice-chairman of Fidelity Investments, former chairman of MFS Investment Management, the oldest mutual fund company in the United States, with $250 billion in assets. He is also a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. In 2001 and 2002, he served as a member of President George W. Bush’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. At the state level, Pozen served as Secretary of Economic Affairs in 2003 under then-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. In 2007, Pozen served as chairman of the SEC’s Committee to Improve Financial Reporting.
In this interview, Bob discusses Pozen’s new book “Extreme Productivity,” as well as Pozen’s view on Social Security. Is Social Security a Ponzi scheme?


Stand Down Obama and Biden, Stand Down

by Clarice Feldman, American Thinker:
Normally, I have no difficulty writing this column. I see it as a way to provide busy readers a coherent narrative of the best of the week’s most important news — largely as reported by the alternative media and ignored by its richer, fatter and lazier media opposition.
This week is sadly different. The latest news coming out about the murder of our ambassador and three other brave Americans in Ben Ghazi is so horrifying and shocking I can take no pleasure in writing about it. It’s still largely unreported by the legacy media. Fox News has been a leader and there’s been some coverage at CNN by Anderson Cooper, but PBS and the alphabets have been doing their best to keep from you the incompetence, treachery and outrageous behavior of the President, Vice President, Secretaries of State and Defense.
Luckily, their “firewall” — blaming the tragedy on a hapless producer of a video trailer, the CIA, and lower level State Department officials — seem (as one might have predicted, and I did), to result in numerous leaks to the press, undercutting that pack of lies.
Read More @ AmericanThinker.com

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