Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Poverty Is Rising Much Faster in Suburbs Than in Cities
BillMoyers | Katie Rose Quandt | 01/29/15

Years into an economic recovery, millions of Americans continue to struggle to make ends meet. In 2013, 48.7 million people -- 15.5 percent of the population -- lived in poverty, according to a report from the US Census Bureau. And a Brookings Institute analysis of 68 large US metro areas found the poor population increased significantly from 2007-2013 in all but one of them.

But the location of the struggling households within these metro areas goes against our ingrained notions about poverty and the inner-city. So far this century, more than two-thirds of the poverty increase occurred in households located in the suburbs, not the cities proper. In fact, in 2013, suburban poverty levels exceeded those of urban areas: 56 percent of people living in poverty in major metro areas lived in the suburbs. ... Read more or Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Netanyahu Is Talking to Leading Democrats to Little Effect So Far
NYTimes | Carl Hulse | 01/29/15

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has been reaching out to leading Capitol Hill Democrats to try to ease criticism over his coming address to Congress, but has made little progress.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said Thursday that Mr. Netanyahu had called him the previous afternoon to explain why the White House had been circumvented before he was invited to speak before Congress. The prime minister has also called Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, and Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the Senate's No. 3 Democrat. ... Read more

It Begins: Energy Giant Chevron Suspends Stock Buyback, Blames "Cash Flow Squeeze"
ZeroHedge | author | 01/30/15

It was less than 24 hours after we posted that either oil will double from here allowing energy companies to grow into a normal P/E multiple, or energy stocks will have to crash by over 40% for the ridiculous 23x to return to its normal, long-term average of 13.6x. Moments ago energy giant Chevron admitted that not only does it not see oil doubling any time soon, but that energy prices are almost certain to go far lower from here, and as a result the company decided that after buying back $5 billion of its shares in 2014, i.e., buying high and higher before the stock crashes may not be the best use of dwindling cash flow, and as a result has just suspended its stock buyback program of the rest of 2015. Yes, energy giant Chevron just ended its buyback! ... Read more

Why Does Washington Still Romanticize Kissinger, Scowcroft, and Brzezinksi?
MotherJones & TomDispatch | Andrew Bacevich | 01/30/15

... Writing at the Daily Beast, Gelb urges the president to fire his entire national security team and replace them with "strong and strategic people of proven foreign policy experience." Translation: the sort of people who sip sherry and nibble on brie in the august precincts of the Council of Foreign Relations. In addition to offering his own slate of nominees, including several veterans of the storied George W. Bush administration, Gelb suggests that Obama consult regularly with Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and James Baker. These distinguished war-horses range in age from 84 to 91. By implication, only white males born prior to World War II are eligible for induction into the ranks of the Truly Wise Men. ... Read more

What if Six Years Ago the GOP had Won the Presidency?
What if six years ago the GOP had won the Presidency, and then John McCain had a heart attack... this is what we would have been left with.

Palin TV - Just As Stupid As You'd Expect (older, 09/11/14) [1:46]

Iowa Freedom Summit
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Governor Scott Walker (R-WI), Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ), Governor Rick Perry (R-TX), former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR), Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), and others spoke at the 2015 Iowa Freedom Summit. The summit took place on January 24 at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines, Iowa.
Iowa Freedom Summit (01/24/15) [9:18:52] (Note: Scroll down about 3/4" to video window. Start the video. Then use the Progressbar to scroll, back and forth, between speeches. Sarah Palin is at 07:18:00)

White House Drops The Hammer
NYTimes | Julie Hirschfeld Davis | 01/28/15/span>

The Obama administration, after days of mounting tension, signaled on Wednesday how angry it is with Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted Republican leaders' invitation to address Congress on Iran without consulting the White House.

The outrage the episode has incited within President Obama's inner circle became clear in unusually sharp criticism by a senior administration official who said that the Israeli ambassador, Ron Dermer, who helped orchestrate the invitation, had repeatedly placed Mr. Netanyahu's political fortunes above the relationship between Israel and the United States. ... Read more

Who Doubts Yellen's Policies? Summers for One
Bloomberg | Rich Miller | 01/29/15

Janet Yellen is betting she has the formula for fending off deflationary forces. Investors and some of her fellow economists aren't so sure.

The Fed chair says history and theory suggest wages will pick up as the job market tightens, and prices will rise in line with the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target. Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers argues policy makers can't count on this, while Richard Clarida of Columbia University in New York says it hasn't happened in the last few economic expansions. ... Read more

Bill Gross Slams Broken Capitalism: "Policymakers Must Promote A Future Which Offers Hope As Opposed To Despair"
ZeroHedge | author | 01/29/15

... It appears however, that since 2008 the rules of the finance-based economy have been substantially changed. Perhaps Parker Brothers will have to come with a new version of Monopoly which incorporates the modern day methodology of central banks using Quantitative Easing and the outright purchase and occasional guarantee of private securities and public stocks to keep the game going. It's as if Monopoly's bank, which has a limited amount of 1, 5, 10 ... dollar bills in each game box had "virtually" added trillions of dollars more in order to keep players solvent, in the hopes that some of it would trickle out to the real economy. With interest rates near zero and banks and other financial intermediaries sitting on trillions of Dollars, Euros, and Yen, why wouldn't they lend it out to the private economy in hopes that they could obtain a higher return on their money? Sounds commonsensical, doesn't it? Not in reality. ... Read more

All Major US Equity Indices Are In The Red Post-QE3
ZeroHedge | author | 01/29/15

It appears the Central Bank control is failing... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Iowa Freedom Summit
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Governor Scott Walker (R-WI), Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ), Governor Rick Perry (R-TX), former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR), Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), and others spoke at the 2015 Iowa Freedom Summit. The summit took place on January 24 at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines, Iowa.
Iowa Freedom Summit (01/24/15) [9:18:52] (Note: use the Progressbar to scroll between speeches)

Jon Stewart | The Koch brothers bring campaign financing to the next level when they pledge close to $1 billion to Republican causes in the 2016 presidential election. (01/28/15) [8:04]

HBO | John Oliver: Fifty Shades #NotMyChristian Apology (01/25/15) [4:05]

Syria's President Speaks | A Conversation With Bashar al-Assad
magazine | author | date

The civil war in Syria will soon enter its fifth year, with no end in sight. On January 20, Foreign Affairs managing editor Jonathan Tepperman met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus to discuss the conflict in an exclusive interview.

I would like to start by asking you about the war. It has now been going on for almost four years, and you know the statistics: more than 200,000 people have been killed, a million wounded, and more than three million Syrians have fled the country, according to the UN. Your forces have also suffered heavy casualties. The war cannot go on forever. How do you see the war ending? All wars anywhere in the world have ended with a political solution, because war itself is not the solution; war is one of the instruments of politics. ... Read more

Greek Stocks Crash, Bonds Plummet, Banks Have Worst Day Ever
ZeoHedge | author | 01/28/15

In the two days after Syriza's dramatic victory in the local Greek election, global investors assumed this loud cry against European policies would mean... more of the same, and as a result not much changed in the risk assessment of Greek assets. Then, overnight, following the previous report that not only does Syriza mean business but it is actively pivoting away from Europe (and toward Russia?), and everyone started paying attention, with a waterfall of selling engulfing not only the Greek stock market but also its bonds, which are crashing in the process sending the 3 Year yield to 16.4%, the highest since the restructuring, and the 10 Year either below or above 10%, depending on which data source is used ... Read more

The Kochs put a price on 2016: $889 million
Politico | Kenneth Vogel | 01/26/15

The Koch brothers' operation intends to spend $889 million in the run-up to the 2016 elections -- a historic sum that in many ways would mark Charles and David Koch and their fellow conservative megadonors as more powerful than the official Republican Party. ... Read more
The Kochs put a price on 2016: $889 million (current) [3:13]

The Netanyahu Disaster
TheAtlantic | Jeffrey Goldberg | 01/27/15

Benjamin Netanyahu believes he has just one job, and that is to stop Iran from getting hold of nuclear weapons. He might argue that this description of his mission as Israel's prime minister is too limiting, though such an argument would not be particularly credible. Israel's very existence, he has argued, consistently, and at times convincingly, is predicated on stopping Iran, a country ruled by a regime that seeks both Israel's annihilation and the means to carry it out.

Netanyahu's options are limited. A country possessing scientific knowledge, material resources, and the will to cross the nuclear threshold is very difficult to stop. One way for Netanyahu to stop Iran, or to slow down its progress toward a bomb, would be to launch a preventative attack on its nuclear facilities. He has threatened to do so (credibly, according to officials of the Obama administration) but he has not yet done it, perhaps because American warnings against such a strike have been dire; perhaps because he understands that such an attack might not work; or perhaps because he is by nature cautious, despite his rhetoric. ... Read more

WikiLeaks Leaks Controversial Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership [4:54]

What is the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership? [4:08]

East Coast Snow Storm Shuts Down New York City, Snarls Travel Plans
AP & HP | author | 01/27/15

A storm packing blizzard conditions spun up the East Coast early Tuesday, pounding coastal eastern Long Island into Maine with high winds and heavy snow, but it failed to live up to the hype in big cities like Philadelphia and New York, which canceled its travel ban amid better-than-expected weather conditions.

Massachusetts was pounded by snow and lashed by strong winds early Tuesday as bands of heavy snow left some towns including Sandwich on Cape Cod and Oxford in central Massachusetts reporting more than 18 inches of snow. Total accumulation was expected to reach or exceed two feet in most of Massachusetts, potentially making it one of the top snowstorms of all time. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Greece's New FinMin Explains "This Is What Happens When You Humiliate A Nation & Give It No Hope"
ZeroHedge | author | 01/27/15

"This is not blackmail," explains new Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, "we simply want to end this seemingly never-ending Greek Crisis." In what must be worryingly calm and simple to comprehend words for Brussels, Varoufakis tells CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, "this is what happens when you humilate a nation and don't give it any hope." Carefully noting that membership in the Euro is not imperative, Varoufakis concludes "bankruptcy cannot be dealt with by borrowing more," asking rhetorically, "how can I look the German and Finnish taxpayer in the eye and tell them you know I can't really pay you the money I have already borrowed from you..." but lend me more so I can pay back the ECB? ... Read more

Greece At The Crossroads: The Oligarchs Blew It
ZeroHedge | author | 01/27/15

A great many narratives invoking Greece are being tossed around, but only one really encapsulates the unvarnished truth: the Oligarchs blew it. The oligarchs in both Greece and the European Union/ECB had the opportunity a few years ago to trade some of their outsized wealth and political power for stability and sustainable expansion.

Instead, they chose to not just cling to every shred of their outsized wealth and power but to actively increase it. Their greed and hubris has now put their entire system of parasitic wealth extraction at risk of collapse. Their political stranglehold on power has been weakened, and there's no going back: they blew it, and now it's too late. The debt-serfs have finally had enough. ... Read more

Brace Yourselves 2 to 3 Feet
HP | Verena Dobnik | date

Officials cautioned Northeast residents to not be misled by a relatively smooth Monday morning commute, and pressed their cautions to prepare for a "crippling and potentially historic" storm that could bury communities from northern New Jersey to southern Maine in up to 2 feet of snow starting later in the day.

The National Weather Service said the nor'easter would bring heavy snow, powerful winds and widespread coastal flooding through Tuesday. A blizzard warning was issued for a 250-mile stretch of the Northeast, including New York and Boston. ... Read more and here
"We are facing, most likely, one of the largest snowstorms in the history of this city," Mayor de Blasio told reporters Sunday.(01/25/15) [1:00] (Note: slow to load)

How Is 'Citizens United' Ruining Democracy and How Can We Stop It?
BillMoyers | Katie Rose Quandt | 01/22/15

The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision changed our political landscape, allowing outside spending groups (and their often undisclosed donors) more influence than ever before. How bad is it?

Which Cut of Meat Is Least Likely to Make You Sick?
MotherJones | Kiera Butler |01/26/15

Every time you eat, you're rolling the germ dice. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 6 Americans contracts a foodborne illness annually; 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die. Pathogens from meat kill more people than those from any other food group. A CDC study found that between 1998 and 2008, contaminated meat was responsible for 29 percent of all deaths from foodborne illness (23 percent of deaths were from produce, 15 percent from dairy and eggs, and 6.4 percent from fish and shellfish).

Most carnivores don't let the risk of sickness stop them from eating meat--and a lot of it. The average American eats nearly 271 pounds of meat a year. ... Read more

*60 Minutes | Inside Syria Homs: video from inside the besieged city of Homs offer a rare and disturbing window into the cruel realities of the Syrian civil war. (12/13/14) [13:27]

New Saudi King Salman Names Heirs And Promises Stability
AP & HP | Abdullah Al-Shihri | 01/23/15

King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud's actions came as the Sunni-ruled kingdom mourned King Abdullah, who died early Friday at the age of 90 after nearly two decades in power.

A royal decree affirmed Crown Prince Muqrin as his immediate successor. After Muqrin, Salman named Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as deputy crown prince, making him second-in-line to the throne. Mohammed is the first grandson of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, to be named as a future heir. ... Read more

[Hillary] Clinton plans to astound, intimidate with fundraising 'like nothing you've seen'
TheHill | Amie Parnes | 01/21/15

Major donors are ready to announce huge financial commitments to Hillary Clinton as soon as she announces a second run for the White House, according to Clinton allies and Democratic fundraisers.

The Clinton team wants to build excitement about her campaign launch, which is expected in March or April. The money blitz would be a show of Clinton's strength meant to scare away potential primary rivals.

"The floodgates are going to open immediately, and there's going to be a rush to get on the team," said Don Peebles, the real estate mogul who served on President Obama's national finance committee. "There's nobody in the Democratic Party who can match her. Not even close." ... Read more

Read All of FP's Davos 2015 Coverage
foreignpolicy.com | author | 01/23/15

Davos Wants You to Know It Really, Really Cares About Inequality

Davos: Home of the $43 hotdog (01/23/15) [1:47]

30 Hours After Unleashing ECB QE, Coeure Suggests QE2
ZeroHedge | author | 01/23/15

With US equities down 0.5% this morning and European inflation expectations having given back all their ECB QE gains, it was only a matter of time before some half-witted central-planner felt the need to speak... ... Read more

Jeb Bush's Reverse Midas Touch
thinkprogress.org/ | Josh Israel | older

Eight years ago, Bush -- best known by the acronym "Jeb" -- departed from Florida's governor's mansion determined to boost his $1,288,000 net worth in the private sector. Since, he has made millions in corporate board fees, speaking gigs, and consulting payments -- but, much like his tenure before getting into public life, has done so with a series of companies that have found their way into legal or financial quagmires.

Jeb Bush has often been portrayed as a "successful businessman," but ThinkProgress reviewed Bush's current and past business record and found a great deal of controversy and struggle. ... Read more

Saudi Arabia foreign policy: 'Enacted not by Abdullah, but by oligarch consensus'
RT | Eric Draitser | 01/23/15

Wahhabi extremism is a direct outcome of the foreign policy that the oligarch consensus in Saudi Arabia has pursued for decades, thus there won't be any substantive policy changes, geopolitical analyst Eric Draitser, told RT.

There are a number of things we should consider. I think the most obvious is the five hundred pound gorilla in the room, the exporting of Wahhabi extremism, the continued export from Saudi Arabia of precisely the kind of extremism that has been fought in Syria that has been fought in Iraq and all throughout the region. This specter, this global threat of Wahhabi extremism emanating from Saudi Arabia a direct outgrowth of the foreign policy that Saudi Arabia has pursued going on for decades. And it's certainly not all at the feet of one individual, but rather I think it could be described more specifically as an oligarchy, a familiar oligarchy, but an oligarchy nonetheless. And I think that is probably the principle reason why the report there is correct in saying that there won't be substantive policy changes because those policies were not simply enacted by Abdullah; those are enacted by an oligarch consensus in Saudi Arabia. ... Read more

Draghi Is Pushing Boundaries of Euro Region with QE Program
Bloomberg | Jana Randow | 01/22/15

Mario Draghi is about to bring Europe's integration project across the Rubicon.

At about 2:30 p.m. in Frankfurt, the European Central Bank president will probably commit to a quantitative-easing program that may exceed 1 trillion euros ($1.2 trillion). While the move comes much later than that of the Federal Reserve, which ended its own QE three months ago, the ECB's arrival at this point still marks a critical juncture in the history of the currency and the European unity it embodies. ... Read more

As European Central Bank Is Set to Unleash a Massive Round of Quantitative Easing, Central Bank Heads Admit QE Doesn't Work
ZeroHedge | author | 01/21/15

The former head of the Bank of England -- Mervyn King -- said yesterday that more QE will not help the economy: "We have had the biggest monetary stimulus that the world must have ever seen, and we still have not solved the problem of weak demand. The idea that monetary stimulus after six years … is the answer doesn't seem (right) to me." William White -- the brilliant economist who called the 2008 crisis well ahead of time, who is head of the OECD's Review Committee and was former chief economist for BIS (the central banks' central bank) slammed QE: "QE is not going to help at all. Europe has far greater reliance than the US on small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and they get their money from banks, not from the bond market." Read more

'American Sniper' Is Almost Too Dumb to Criticize
RollingStone | Matt Taibbi | 01/21/15

I saw American Sniper last night, and hated it slightly less than I expected to. Like most Clint Eastwood movies -- and I like Clint Eastwood movies for the most part -- it's a simple, well-lit little fairy tale with the nutritional value of a fortune cookie that serves up a neatly-arranged helping of cheers and tears for target audiences, and panics at the thought of embracing more than one or two ideas at any time.

The Beginning of the End of the $100 TRILLION Bond Bubble
ZeroHedge | author | 01/19/15

The big story in the world is the bond bubble. For over 30 years, sovereign nations, particularly in the West have been buying votes by offering social payments in the form of welfare, Medicare, social security, and the like. Read more

Mitt Romney Has a Koch Problem
MotherJones | Andy Kroll | 01/22/15

This weekend, a select group of Republican presidential hopefuls will arrive in southern California to attend one of Charles and David Koch's biannual donor retreats, a coveted invite for GOP politicians seeking the backing of the billionaire brothers and their elite club of conservative and libertarian mega-donors. Featured guests at the conclave will include Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was also invited to the confab but is unlikely to attend. ... Notably absent from the guest list for the Koch winter seminar: Mitt Romney. ... Read more

We're Destroying the Planet in Ways That Are Even Worse Than Global Warming
MotherJones | Oliver Milman | 01/16/15

Two major new studies by an international team of researchers have pinpointed the key factors that ensure a livable planet for humans, with stark results.

Of nine worldwide processes that underpin life on Earth, four have exceeded "safe" levels: human-driven climate change, loss of biosphere integrity, land system change, and the high level of phosphorus and nitrogen flowing into the oceans due to fertilizer use. ...

... Since 1950, urban populations have increased sevenfold, primary energy use has soared by a factor of five, while the amount of fertilizer used is now eight times higher. The amount of nitrogen entering the oceans has quadrupled. All of these changes are shifting Earth into a "new state" that is becoming less hospitable to human life, researchers said. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Fact-Checking Obama's State Of The Union Speech
ZeroHedge | author | 01/21/15

Why 2015 Is a Make-or-Break Year for the Global Economy
HP | Christine Lagarde | 01/20/15

As 2015 begins, policymakers around the world are faced with three fundamental choices: to strive for economic growth or accept stagnation; to work to improve stability or risk succumbing to fragility; and to cooperate or go it alone. The stakes could not be higher; 2015 promises to be a make-or-break year for the global community. ... Read more

How Do You Unmanipulate A Manipulated Economy?
ZeroHedge | author | 01/21/15

Breaking the stranglehold of vested interests is the essential step to rebuilding an economy that isn't totally dependent on manipulated money and statistics. ...

Swiss Franc 'Nuclear Explosion' Spreading, Credit Suisse, Saxo Hurt
Bloomberg | Elena Logutenkova | 01/20/15

... The full force of the decision won't be known for months and is "closer to a nuclear explosion than a 1,000-kilogram conventional bomb," Javier Paz, senior analyst in wealth management at Aite Group, said in an e-mail Tuesday. "The aftermath is like a black hole that can suck massive amounts of credit from currency trading as we have known it."

Citigroup Inc. (C), Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays Plc (BARC) suffered about $400 million in cumulative trading losses, people familiar with developments said last week. At Morgan Stanley (MS), owner of the world's largest brokerage, Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said the effect was minimal. ... Read more

The Next SNB? Goldman Warns Bank Of Japan "At Risk Of Losing Credibility"
ZeroHedge | author | 01/21/15

"...with the large downward revision to its core CPI outlook, the bank is more or less acknowledging a much lower possibility of achieving the 2% price stability target by around FY2015. Yet, at the press conference following the MPM, Governor Kuroda said he still held the view that 2% could be achieved by around FY2015. Domestic investors have been skeptical of the BOJ's target from the outset, and now foreign investors are also beginning to question the BOJ's logic and communication with the market. We believe the mixed signals the BOJ is sending may well serve to further undermine confidence in the bank." - Goldman ... Read more

I Helped Start the Religious Right: Here's How We Tried to Undermine Secular America -- and Build a Theocracy
Salon & AlterNet | Frank Schaeffer | 01/20/15

As someone who participated in the rise of the religious right in the 1970s and 1980s, I can tell you that you can't understand the modern Republican Party and its hatred of government unless you understand the evangelical home-school movement. Nor can the Democrats hope to defeat the GOP in 2016 unless they grasp what I'll be explaining here: religious war carried on by other means.

The Christian home-school movement drove the Evangelical school movement to the ever-harsher world-rejecting far right. The movement saw itself as separating from evil "secular" America. Therein lies the heart of the Tea Party, GOP and religious right's paranoid view of the rest of us. And since my late father and evangelist Francis Schaeffer and I were instrumental in starting the religious right -- I have since left the movement and recently wrote a book titled "Why I Am an Atheist who Believes in God: How to Give Love, Create Beauty and Find Peace" -- believe me when I tell you that the evangelical schools and home school movement were, by design, founded to undermine a secular and free vision of America and replace it by stealth with a form of theocracy. ... Read more

Seniors and Vertical Farming, Together at Last
ModernFarmer | Meaghan Agnew | 01/19/15

Much of the dialogue surrounding the future of agriculture laments farming's aging demographic. But SPARK, a global architectural firm, has proposed a "living and farming typology" that marries innovative growing initiatives with the over-55 set. ... Read more

The US Military's Stunning Conspiracy Theory Emerges From The Archives: "ISIS Leader Does Not Exist"
ZeroHedge | author | 01/20/15

Having noted that voter angst has been riled, propagandized, and fear-mongered to the point at which the most pressing priority for Congress is to 'fix' terrorism, it is perhaps not entirely surprising that we discover - deep down in the archives - that giving the public someone to 'hate' as opposed to something may have been an entire fiction. As The New York Times exposed in 2007 (see article below), Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi, the titular head of the Islamic State, according to Brigadier General Kevin Bergner - the chief American military spokesman at the time - never existed (and was actually a fictional character whose audio-taped declarations were provided by an elderly actor named Abu Adullah al-Naima). So he was a ghost back then.... is he a ghost again, designed purely to put a face on ISIS and the biggest bogeyman of the current global anti-terrorist mania? ... Read more

Leader of Al Qaeda group in Iraq was fictional, U.S. military says
NYTimes | Michael R. Gordon | 07/18/07

Another Former Central Banker Finally Gets It: "The Idea That Monetary Stimulus Is The Answer Doesn't Seem Right"
ZeroHedge | author | 01/20/15

What is it about central bankers who wait to tell the truth only after they have quit their post. First it was the maestro himself, the Fed's Alan Greenspan (most recently in "Greenspan's Stunning Admission: "Gold Is Currency; No Fiat Currency, Including the Dollar, Can Match It"), and now it is the Bank of England's former head, Mervyn King, who yesterday told an audience at the LSE that "more monetary stimulus will not help the world economy return to strong growth." That this is happening just as we learn that in one year the world's 1% will collectively own more wealth than the rest of the world combined, and two days before Goldman's Mario Draghi unleashed up to €1 trillion (if not unlimited) in QE, is hardly as surprise, and will be surely ignored by everyone until the inevitable outcome of another "French revolution" finally arrives. ...

Which is not only ironic but hypocritical because under King, the BoE bought £375bn of government bonds between 2009 and 2011. Mr King said this was right just after the crisis, but that using loose monetary policy to bring forward spending was not a long-term strategy.

Actually, wrong: since the entire global economy has been hijacked by the same people (bankers) who would be sleeping under bridges had they not received a multi-trillion bailout in 2008, and since the global financial system now exists only to serve them, and to raise them from billionaire to trillionaire status, QE is precisely that: a long-term strategy, one which will ultimately pillage all the wealth of the middle class and hand it on a golden platter in some non-extradition country to the 0.001%.

Well, long-term at least until the 99% realize they have been subject to the most epic, historic robbery in the history of the world. Of course, by the time what was formerly the world's middle class realizes what happened, there will be nothing left. Original article

The richest 80 people on Earth are now as wealthy as the world's 3.5 billion poorest people.
HP | Emily Cohn | 01/20/15

If you find it hard to grasp just how unequal the global economy is, here's one stat that should put it all in perspective: The richest 80 people on Earth are now as wealthy as the world's 3.5 billion poorest people. In other words, 80 people control as much wealth as half the population of the planet.

That's one of the most shocking findings from a report released Monday by Oxfam, an international charity dedicated to finding solutions to global poverty. The report's overall point is that global inequality is soaring to amazingly high levels as the world's richest just keep getting richer. ... Read more

Richest 1 Percent To Own More Than Half Of The World's Wealth By 2016, Oxfam Finds
HP | Jade Walker | 01/19/15

The rich keep getting richer, and by next year, just a handful of the upper-class will have accumulated more than half of the world's wealth. A new report released on Monday by Oxfam warns that this deepening global inequality is unlike anything seen in recent years.

Using research from Credit Suisse and Forbes' annual billionaires list, the anti-poverty charity was able to determine that the richest 1 percent of the world's population currently controls 48 percent of the world's total wealth.

Drill down the numbers even more and you'll learn that the 80 wealthiest people in the world possess $1.9 trillion, which is almost the same amount shared by some 3.5 billion people at the bottom half of the world's income scale. Thirty-five of the lucky 80 were Americans with a combined wealth of $941 billion. Germany and Russia shared second place, with seven uber-rich individuals apiece. ... Read more

Republicans and Wall Street Say to Hell With Protecting the Public!
BillMoyers | Bill Moyers | 01/17/15

Since December, Congress has twice passed measures to weaken regulations in the Dodd-Frank financial law that are intended to reduce the risk of another financial meltdown.

In the last election cycle, Wall Street banks and financial interests spent over $1.2 billion on lobbying and campaign contributions, according to Americans for Financial Reform. Their spending strategy appears to be working. Just this week, the House passed further legislation that would delay by two years some key provisions of Dodd-Frank. "[Banks] want to be able to do things their way, and that's very dangerous." MIT economist Simon Johnson tells Bill.

"'Here we go again' -- I think that's exactly the motto, or the bumper sticker for this Congress. It's crazy, it's unconscionable, but that is the reality."... Read more

Obama To Propose Tax Hikes On Wealthy, Breaks For Middle Class
HP | Dave Jamieson | 01/17/15

During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Barack Obama will lay out a plan to extend tax credits to the middle class by hiking taxes on wealthier Americans and big banks, according to senior administration officials.

Under the plan, the capital gains tax for couples with income over $500,000 per year would be raised from its current level of 23.8 percent up to 28. The plan would also strip a tax break, known as a "step-up," that allows heirs to avoid capital gains taxes on large inheritances.

In addition, the plan would institute a new tax on the biggest financial institutions, basing the fee on liabilities in order to discourage risky borrowing. The administration says the fee would hit the roughly 100 banks that have assets of $50 billion or more. ... Read more

Franc-ly Speaking: What If It Were All A Set Up?
ZeroHedge | author | 01/19/15

... I make that point because when I first thought about the Swiss National Bank's (SNB) declaration to rescind its commitment to the Euro peg, I wondered why when just mere days before they assured their commitment to it.

A decision of this scale and magnitude with all its disruption directly thrust upon its own business infrastructure (i.e. The immediate throwing of profits into the waste-heap via a new exchange rate.) there had to be a reason far more onerous to the SNB than previously imagined. And that's when my first thoughts went to thinking that maybe the SNB -- was set up. ... Read more

Saudi Arabia Constructing 600-Mile Wall To Keep Out ISIS
Newsweek | Damien Sharkov | 01/15/15

Saudi Arabia is building a 600-mile long wall along its northern border with Iraq in order to keep ISIS at bay, the Telegraph newspaper reported today. Once completed, the wall will consist of a ditch and a triple-layered steel fence, with 40 watchtowers spread out along it. Each watchtower will be equipped with high-tech surveillance radars that are capable of detecting low-flying helicopters and approaching vehicles, as well as being able to spot a human from the range of about 20km. ... Read more

It's Time for a Revolution: Bankrupt Policies, Historic Losses Call for New Generation of Leaders
AlterNet | Bill Curry | 01/18/15

It's always "Groundhog Day" for Democratic leaders who can't adjust, can't organize and can't win. Let's dump them.

As a wise man once said, never underestimate the capacity of an entire social order to commit suicide. The Democratic Party's old order is doing it now. It may seem strange but make no mistake, the Democrats' leaders are already unconscious. If they don't wake up soon, they'll go the way of the Whigs. If progressives don't wake up now, they'll go with them.

... Life is change and these Democrats never change. It's like watching "Groundhog Day" but without laughs, a love interest or a learning curve. Democrats in Congress ran the same race in 2014 they ran in 1994, lost badly, and then reelected all their leaders. Obama handled the budget this year the same way he does every year, with the same result. Hillary Clinton is poised to run the same awful race in 2016 she ran in 2008. ... Read more

Mitt Romney Has a Huge New Conflict-of-Interest Problem
MotherJones | David Corn | 01/16/15

... But there's another matter that will be be added to the pile of financial controversies for Romney to face: Solamere Capital, the $700 million private equity firm cofounded by his son Taggart that Romney has helped run since March 2013. Who has Romney been investing with, and what has he been investing in? These are questions that Romney 2016 will confront and that, no doubt, the firm will not want to answer. ...

... In the 2012 campaign, Romney was the candidate who defied transparency. (In one memorable moment, an irritated Ann Romney huffed that she and her husband had disclosed "all you people need to know.") ... Read more

If the Tea Party hates Wall Street, why isn't it protesting GOP efforts to dismantle Dodd-Frank?
TheWeek | Jeff Spross | 01/13/15

For a movement supposedly founded on opposition to the Wall Street bailout, the Tea Party's people in Congress seem awfully keen to take the reins off the financial sector.

On Wednesday, House Republicans amended the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform bill to delay for two years a requirement that big banks sell off risky debt bundles that entangle them with hedge funds and private equity firms. At the end of last year, they rolled back a provision that would've forced banks to trade credit default swaps using subsidiaries that aren't federally insured. The GOP is also taking a run at lessening federal oversight over certain private equity activities and derivatives trading. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) -- a Tea Party ally -- has spearheaded many of the efforts. ... Read more

Exclusive: ISIS Gaining Ground in Syria, Despite U.S. Strikes
DailyBeast | author | 01/15/15

American jets are pounding Syria. But ISIS is taking key terrain -- and putting more and more people under its black banners. ISIS continues to gain substantial ground in Syria, despite nearly 800 airstrikes in the American-led campaign to break its grip there.

At least one-third of the country's territory is now under ISIS influence, with recent gains in rural areas that can serve as a conduit to major cities that the so-called Islamic State hopes to eventually claim as part of its caliphate. Meanwhile, the Islamic extremist group does not appear to have suffered any major ground losses since the strikes began. The result is a net ground gain for ISIS, according to information compiled by two groups with on-the-ground sources. ... Read more

Numerous FX Brokers Shutter After Suffering "Significant Losses" Following SNB Stunner
ZeroHedge | author | 01/16/15 6:22am
Read more

Largest Retail FX Broker Stock Crashes 90% As Swiss Contagion Spreads
ZeroHedge | author | 01/16/15 8:26am

As we first reported last night, FXCM was among the first of many retail FX brokers (and the largest) to see its clients suffer massive losses from yesterday's Swiss Franc surge following the SNB decision to unleash market forces. There are now at least 4 retail FX brokers (FXCM, Excel Markets, OANDA, and Alpari) who have announced "issues" but FXCM, being among the largest and publicly traded is the most transparent example of wjust what can go wrong when average joes are allowed 100:1 leverage. FXCM is now stuck chasing clients for money they do not (and will never) have.. and its stock is down 90%, trading a $2 this morning (down from $17 on Wednesday). ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Thank the SNB for the Truth
ZeroHedge | author | 01/15/15 21:21 (9:21pm)

Remember, years ago, when the markets were a mechanism for honest price discovery and a gathering place for buyers and sellers to participate in open, unvarnished capitalism? Yes, I know it was years ago, but I'm sure you can think back to those days.

And do you sometimes ask yourself, "What would it be like if markets were normal again? What if the world's central bankers all decided to go f*ck themselves and leave the markets to act naturally on their own? And how much would I pay to see Janet Yellen commit suicide on pay-per-view?" OK, maybe not that last one, but I bet you've asked the first two.

Well, my friends, the Swiss National Bank has, by their own actions, provided a sort of answer. Look no further than the Euro/Swiss Franc exchange rate graph: (see below)

There are, contained herein, three distinct section. The cyan (that's "blue" to the color illiterates out there) area is Markets As God Intended. The green section is the rigidly-controlled, ruled-by-doctrine, price-by-decree market, which went on for nearly three years. And the magenta area, which is just a single price bar, neatly represents what happens when the markets are allowed, pushing and shoving, back into reality. And that single price bar, my friends, is really all you need to see in order to understand what's ahead. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

The Next Round of the Great Crisis as Begun
ZeroHedge | author | 01/15/15 17:10 (5:10pm)

The entire rally in stocks post-2009 has been due to Central Bank intervention of one kind or another. Whether it be by cutting interest rates, printing money, buying bonds, or promising to do more/ verbal intervention, the Fed and others have done everything they can to push stocks higher.

As a result, today, more than 90% of market price action is based on investors' perceptions of what the Central Banks will do… NOT fundamentals. For instance, if bad economic data hits the tape, the market tends to rally because investors believe this will result in the Fed having to print more money. Again, the primary driver of stocks is no longer fundamentals, but Central Bank intervention. ... Read more

What did the SNB do to EURCHF options markets?
ft.com | Matthew C Klein | 01/15/15 17:50 (5:50pm)

The Swiss National Bank made G10 FX a lot more fun to watch today. One interesting thing is how the options markets responded.

Via Jared Woodard of BGC, here's a chart comparing the move in one-week implied volatility in the exchange rate between the Swiss franc and the euro -- basically, the cost of hedging the risk that the franc appreciates plus the cost of hedging the risk that it depreciates -- against the actual move in the EURCHF exchange rate: ... Read more

How Wall Street Occupies America: Rising Debt and Runaway Inequality
AlterNet & HP | Les Leopold | 01/14/15

In our society we've given that power to private financial corporations, and they've done a masterful job in pushing us to the brink of debt peonage. The problem extends far beyond the much ballyhooed federal debt. The power of debt extends to nearly every aspect of modern life. Our homes, schools, roads, bridges, highways, utilities, corporations and virtually every product and good produced and sold depend on debt. By some estimates as much as 30 cents of every dollar we spend goes to cover interest payments on the debt accrued to make and sell all that we buy. (For example, of the $6.5 billion of private enterprise income in 2012, 36.8 percent went to interest payments.)

With our banking system in private hands, the simple truth is that as the debt levels accelerate, so does runaway inequality. Therefore key to controlling runaway inequality is to dramatically curtail the power of high finance. ... Read more

Who Needs Lobbyists? See What Big Business Spends To Win American Minds
Center for Public Integrity & HP | author | 01/15/15

Forget lobbying. When Washington, D.C.'s biggest trade associations want to wield influence, they often put far more of their money into advertising and public relations, according to a new Center for Public Integrity investigation.

Take, for example, the American Petroleum Institute. The oil and gas industry trade group spent more than $7 million lobbying federal officials in 2012. But that sum was dwarfed by the $85.5 million it paid to four public relations and advertising firms to, in effect, lobby the American public -- including $51.9 million just to global PR giant Edelman.

From 2008 through 2012, annual tax filings show, the API paid Edelman a staggering $327.4 million for advertising and public relations services, more than any other contractor. Read more

Best Buy Is Worst Buy: Stock Crashes After Goldman "Buy" Upgrade
ZeroHedge | author | 01/15/15

Time to Pull the Plug on a $30B Nuclear Fuel Boondoggle
HP | Elliott Negin | 01/14/15

It sounded like a good idea back in 2000. Two decades after the Cold War ended, the United States and Russia each agreed to dispose of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium -- enough for about 20,000 warheads -- by combining most of it with uranium to create mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for commercial nuclear reactors. Proponents boasted it was a modern-day fulfillment of the biblical call for nations to "beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks."

Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be that simple. The bilateral agreement resulted in the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility, now under construction at the Savannah River Site, a 310-acre federal nuclear reservation near Aiken, South Carolina, that employs more than 10,000 people. The facility was originally slated to be finished by 2016, but its completion date has been extended to 2025. Meanwhile, the program's projected "life cycle" cost, which includes construction, operation and decommissioning, has ballooned from an initial estimate of $1.6 billion to more than $30 billion. Why? According to the Government Accountability Office, because of the Department of Energy's (DOE) "record of inadequate management and oversight." ... Read more

The GOP's Absurd, Hilarious Ploy to Pretend They Care About Poor People
AlterNet | Steven Rosenfeld | 01/12/15

Across the GOP, there's been an outbreak of claims by party leaders and presidential candidates that Republicans deserve credit for a slow-but-steady economic recovery, and that the GOP is the emerging champion of still-struggling working Americans.

Both of these assertions are brazen falsehoods.The first of these claims, by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is the latest effort to dilute the White House's achievements; while the second--by likely 2016 candidates including Florida's ex-Gov. Jeb Bush--is another variety of political theft, all but plagarizing Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA. Read more

'STEALTH ATTACK' ON GOV'T RULES
HP | Michael McAuliff | 01/14/15

The House passed a measure Tuesday to dramatically restrict the government's ability to enact any significant new regulations or safety standards, potentially hamstringing the efforts of every federal agency, from financial regulators to safety watchdogs. The measure, called the Regulatory Accountability Act, has been passed by the House before, but stood no chance in the Senate when it was controlled by Democrats. With the GOP in the majority, it is at least likely to get a vote in the upper chamber. The White House has threatened to veto it. ... Read more

Washington Needs to Be Shaken Up so the Next Generation of Americans Can Get a Fair Shake
HP | Tom Steyer | 01/13/15

... Just last week, our great governor, Jerry Brown, set bold climate goals for California, making clear he intends to build on our state's leadership when it comes to clean energy jobs

But there is a different picture in Washington. There, strong interests oppose recognizing global warming and fight against the rights and futures of average Americans. There, they are winning. They don't want to give all of our people a fair shake at the American Dream if it means any threat to their corporate interests.

People rail that democracy has been subverted to powerful economic interests -- that "We the People" have been overlooked. Based on what I have seen over the last several years, I fear there's some truth in that charge, and it scares me -- badly. ... Read more

Oil Collapse of 1986 Shows Rebound Could Be Years Away
Bloomberg | Mark Shenk | 01/14/15

The CHART OF THE DAY shows how West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil benchmark, tumbled 69 percent from $31.82 a barrel in November 1985 to $9.75 in April 1986 when Saudi Arabia, tiring of cutting output to support prices, flooded the market. Prices didn't claw back the losses until 1990. Oil has dropped 57 percent since June and OPEC members say they're willing to let prices sink further.

... In the 1980s, Saudi Arabia "was tired of the other members cheating and just opened the spigots," Walter Zimmerman, the chief technical strategist for United-ICAP who predicted last year's drop, said by phone from Jersey City, New Jersey yesterday. After the plunge in prices "the Saudis lost their nerve and they resumed the role of swing producer. If they hadn't lost their nerve, we wouldn't be seeing the shale oil boom today and North Sea production would be substantially lower because investment would have been less," he said. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Forget Commodities, There's Another 'C' Word Flashing Red For Stocks
ZeroHedge | author | 01/14/15

'Higher leverage is great for stocks... at the expense of credit' until it reaches a tipping point. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Why ISIS Used A Child Soldier For Its Latest Execution Video
vocativ.com | author | 01/14/15

It's shocking, it demonstrates the group's power and it's a darkly effective recruitment technique

Al Hayat Media, the official media wing of the Islamic State, released a video Tuesday featuring a child soldier shooting two supposed spies from the Russian Federal Security Service in the back of the head. The boy then repeatedly fired on the two flailing men until they lay motionless. An older, bearded fighter announced the spies' deaths and called the boy a "lion cub." The child raised his gun in the air, beaming with pride. ... Read more

Reading On A Screen Before Bed Might Be Killing You
HP | Damon Beres | older, 12/13/14

You've heard that using screens before bedtime can mess with your sleep, but new research suggests the problem is even more serious.

Reading from an iPad before bed not only makes it harder to fall asleep, but also impacts how sleepy and alert you are the next day, according to new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, said the findings could impact anyone who uses an eReader, laptop, smartphone, or certain TVs before bed. ... Read more

Charlie Hebdo Cover Features Muhammad Holding 'Je Suis Charlie' Sign
HP | Alana Horowitz | 01/12/15

Charlie Hebdo revealed their cover image for this week's issue, printed just days after two gunmen opened fire on the newspaper's Paris office, killing 12 people. Four of the Charlie's cartoonists were killed in the attack. The cover shows the Prophet Muhammad holding a "Je Suis Charlie" sign with the caption, "All is forgiven." The newspaper said that it will print over 1 million copies this week, with financial help from Google, Le Monde and other organizations. They may even ... Read more

Second Verse, Same As The First: Republicans Prepare Another Dodd-Frank Attack
HP | Zach Carter | 01/12/15

The vote will come within days, if not hours. Under conditions laid down by the House Rules Committee late Monday, the GOP will be able to easily pass the legislation as part of an 11-point deregulation plan without Democratic support, while ignoring any Democratic amendments. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill.

The Volcker Rule bans banks from speculating in financial markets with government-backed funds. When federal regulators approved the rule in late 2013, they banned banks from owning complex securities known as collateralized debt obligations -- risky pools of corporate debt that are sliced into smaller packages for sale to banks. The GOP bill slated for a vote on Tuesday would let banks hold onto CLOs until July 2019 -- a provision that many banking experts view as part of a piecemeal effort to repeal the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law in its entirety. ... Read more

Lake Michigan's Ice Boulders Are Back, And Some Say They're Bigger Than Ever [0:41]

Two Climate Denying Senators Will Now Supervise the Nation's Climate Science
MotherJones | Phil Plait | 01/13/15

So, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was just named to be the chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness as Republicans take over the Senate. This subcommittee (which used to be just Space and Science but was recently renamed) is in charge of oversight of, among other things, NASA.

But that's not to say he doesn't pose a clear danger: Cruz is a staunch denier of global warming. In 2014, he said this in an CNN interview: The last 15 years, there has been no recorded warming. Contrary to all the theories that--that they are expounding, there should have been warming over the last 15 years. It hasn't happened. ... Read more

What Makes Muslims Laugh?
www.politico.com/ | Maz Jobrani | 01/12/14

As an Iranian-American comedian, I can tell you that plenty does. Just stay away from sex, religion and politics.

Then I had to reflect on the United States, where I grew up and have spent most of my life. Let's not forget that only 50 to 60 years ago, Lenny Bruce was getting arrested for things he was saying at comedy clubs around the country. After him, it was comedians like George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Dick Gregory who were pushing the envelope of free speech in the United States and often being shut down for it.

The attacks in France have put satire in the Muslim world front and center. I am a standup comedian who has performed comedy in the Middle East in front of thousands of Muslims. And believe it or not, they laughed at plenty, especially when we poked fun at local culture. The Lebanese loved it when you would make fun of their driving and how in Lebanon a red light is just a suggestion to stop. In Dubai, they laughed when you would point out their obsession with doing everything big: the biggest building in the world, the biggest mall, the biggest fireworks show ever--so big that neighboring Bahrain thought it was under attack. The Jordanians laughed when I told them I found out our comedy DVD had a Jordanian distribution deal--which is when one Jordanian buys it and everyone else sees it. Also known as a bootleg. ... Read more

'Avengers' Meet James Spader-Voiced Evil Robot in New (Trailer) (01/13/15) [1:40]

NYTimes | Lentil Salad With Roasted Vegetables | Melissa Clark Recipes | The New York Times (01/10/15) [4:10]

Is This Country Crazy?
ThomDispatch.com | Ann Jones | 01/11/15

Americans who live abroad -- more than six million of us worldwide (not counting those who work for the U.S. government) -- often face hard questions about our country from people we live among. Europeans, Asians, and Africans ask us to explain everything that baffles them about the increasingly odd and troubling conduct of the United States. Polite people, normally reluctant to risk offending a guest, complain that America's trigger-happiness, cutthroat free-marketeering, and "exceptionality" have gone on for too long to be considered just an adolescent phase. Which means that we Americans abroad are regularly asked to account for the behavior of our rebranded "homeland," now conspicuously in decline and increasingly out of step with the rest of the world.

In my long nomadic life, I've had the good fortune to live, work, or travel in all but a handful of countries on this planet. I've been to both poles and a great many places in between, and nosy as I am, I've talked with people all along the way. I still remember a time when to be an American was to be envied. The country where I grew up after World War II seemed to be respected and admired around the world for way too many reasons to go into here.

That's changed, of course. Even after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, I still met people -- in the Middle East, no less -- willing to withhold judgment on the U.S. Many thought that the Supreme Court's installation of George W. Bush as president was a blunder American voters would correct in the election of 2004. His return to office truly spelled the end of America as the world had known it. Bush had started a war, opposed by the entire world, because he wanted to and he could. A majority of Americans supported him. And that was when all the uncomfortable questions really began. ... Read more

$50 Oil Kills Bonanza Dream Making Greenlanders Millionaires
Bloomberg | Peter Levring | 01/12/15

Greenland, an island that may be sitting on trillions of dollars of oil, has had to acknowledge that its dream of tapping into that wealth looks increasingly far-fetched.

Back when oil was headed for $150 a barrel, Greenlanders girded for a production boom after inviting in some of the world's biggest explorers, including Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) Now, with Brent crude dipping below $50 last week, Deputy Prime Minister Andreas Uldum says Greenland's hope of growing rich quickly on fossil fuels was "naïve." ... Read more

The Confessions Begin: Goldman, BofA Warn Crude Crash Will Have Negative Impact On GDP, Earnings
ZeroHedge | author | 01/12/15

Virtually every "pundit" with a business suit, who collected a $200 CNBC appearance in the past 3 months. A week ago we showed that, using Gallup polling data, the crude crush has clearly led to a "spending surge" among US consumers: whereas a year ago all US consumers spent $96 per day, this December, with crude and gasoline prices roughly half off, Americans spent a self-reported whopping, drumroll, $98 per day. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Billionaire Paulson Hit by 2014 Losses; Advantage Plus Fund Declines 36%
Bloomberg | Kelly Bit | 01/12/15

Billionaire John Paulson posted the second-worst trading year of his career in 2014 as a wrong-way energy bet added to declines tied to a failed merger and investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ... Read more

Democrats, in a stark shift in messaging, to make big tax-break pitch for middle class
WashingtonPost | Lori Montgomery | 01/11/15

Senior Democrats, dissatisfied with the party's tepid prescriptions for combating income inequality, are drafting an "action plan" that calls for a massive transfer of wealth from the super-rich and Wall Street traders to the heart of the middle class.

The centerpiece of the proposal, set to be unveiled Monday by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), is a "paycheck bonus credit" that would shave $2,000 a year off the tax bills of couples earning less than $200,000. Other provisions would nearly triple the tax credit for child care and reward people who save at least $500 a year. ... Read more

French Terror Suspects Surrounded, Second Hostage Situation In Paris
HP & AP | Lori Hinnant | d01/09/15

France (AP) -- French security forces struggled with two rapidly developing hostage-taking situations Friday, one northeast of Paris where two terror suspects were holed up with a hostage in a printing plant and the other an attack on a kosher market in Paris involving at least five hostages.

France has been high alert for more attacks since the country's worst terror attack in decades -- the massacre Wednesday in Paris that left 12 people dead at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. ... Read more

The Republican Strategy to Deregulate Wall Street (Again)
BillMoyers | Simon Johnson | 01/08/15

On day two of the new Congress, the House Republicans put their cards on the table with regard to the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reforms. The Republicans will chip away along all possible dimensions, using a combination of legislation and pressure on regulators -- with the ultimate goal of relaxing the restrictions that have been placed on the activities of very large banks (such as Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase).

The initial target is the Volcker Rule, which limits the ability of mega-banks to place very large proprietary bets -- and their ability to incur massive losses, with big negative consequences for the rest of us. It was that type of Wall Street risk-taking that led to the 2008 financial crisis. But we should expect the House Republican strategy to be applied more broadly, including all kinds of measures that will reduce capital requirements (i.e., making it easier for the largest banks to fund themselves with relatively more debt and less equity, taking more risk while remaining Too Big To Fail and thus benefiting from larger implicit government subsidies.) ... Read more

Labor Participation Rate Drops To Fresh 38 Year Low; Record 92.9 Million Americans Not In Labor Force
ZeroHedge | author | 01/09/15

Another month, another attempt by the BLS to mask the collapse in the US labor force with a goalseeked seasonally-adjusted surge in waiter, bartender and other low-paying jobs. Case in point: after a modest rebound by 0.1% in November, the labor participation rate just slid once more, dropping to 62.7%, or the lowest print since December 1977. This happened because the number of Americans not in the labor forced soared by 451,000 in December, far outpacing the 111,000 jobs added according to the Household Survey, and is the primary reason why the number of uenmployed Americans dropped by 383,000. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

RT CrossTalk | US vs Russia (12/15/14) [24:23]

RT CrossTalk | Is World War III on? (10/06/14) [24:00]

FCC Chief Tom Wheeler Suggests That He Will Back Strict Net Neutrality Rules
HP & Reuters | author | 01/07/15

WASHINGTON/LAS VEGAS, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The top U.S. communications regulator on Wednesday endorsed the regulatory standard applied to telephone companies in remarks seen as the strongest indication yet that he planned to side with President Barack Obama on strict "net neutrality" rules. ... Read more

Greek Default Risk Soars As "Independent" ECB Dictates Greek Policy... Or Else
ZeroHedge | author | 01/08/15

Despite stressing time and again that the ECB cannot dictate policy within individual nation states in Europe, Reuters reports Draghi's henchmen are playing 'bad cop' to Germany's 'good cop' for now as they threaten the withdrawal of Greek financial system funding if reforms are not carried out post election. Greek stocks are falling once again (led by the banks) and default risk has soared, with 5Y CDS +250bps at 1555bps. ... Read more

Elizabeth Warren and the Four Corners of American Politics
HP | Mike Lux | 01/07/15

The last couple of days have been a provocative view of the near-term future of American politics. There are four major teams on the scene at the same time, coming from four different corners of the field, and they all have some amount of political juice. How they end up interacting and competing with each other will be the driving political story for quite a while into the future.

On the Republican side, there is the increasingly conservative -- but apparently never extreme enough -- establishment wing of the party led by Boehner and McConnell and the big business lobby, and there is the Tea Party anti-establishment wing. The establishment guys, pretty much all guys, have the upper hand for now but clearly got a little surprised by the strength of the anti-Boehner rebellion in the Speaker election. Knowing the strength of the Tea Party gang in primary election fights, they are a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future -- as evidenced by the fact that the Republican Party's establishment has moved so far to the right on most issues in the last five years. The establishment team certainly has embraced the Ayn Rand worldview so popular with the tea partiers, as evidenced by how on day one, they passed a rule that will probably result in cutting benefits and stealing from the disabled.

The biggest policy difference between the two wings of the Republicans is that the establishment wing invariably does whatever the big business lobby want them to do, even if it violates small government and free market principles -- note how the Wall Street provision snuck into December's budget bill that caused all the trouble allows more bailouts of the biggest banks' riskiest bets -- which isn't exactly Adam Smith's idea of free market economics. Tea Party types have been railing against these kinds of Wall Street bank bailouts since the last round of them in 2008. The biggest political difference is that the establishment will go along with the company line when push comes to shove, while the Tea Party still doesn't mind-blowing up Congress to get what they want.

The two wings of the Democratic Party are similarly the insiders and the populists. The difference between these two corners of the party was of course, also on display in the blow-up over the budget bill with that nasty Wall St bailout. However, there are more ugly policy fights coming soon with the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal/abomination being at the top of the list, and the Antonio Weiss nomination fight also in the queue.

Representing the establishment point of view was Obama's Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez. I should just say at the outset of this discussion that Perez is actually a strong progressive and great friend of labor, in my view the best of Obama's Cabinet Secretaries, and he certainly gave a good speech extolling progressive values on jobs and wages. But because he does represent the administration, the message he gave was an establishment message: that because of Obama's great economic policies, the macro-economy is getting a lot better and things are looking up. He acknowledged that there was "progress yet to be made," but made the case that the economy is recovering strongly because of Obama's leadership.

Representing the populist progressive wing of the party was Elizabeth Warren, and while she gave props to the president's leadership on economic issues for the good things that are happening, she cast a starker picture for the bottom 90 percent of Americans income-wise: ... Read more

The First Shale Casualty: WBH Energy Files For Bankruptcy; Many More Coming
ZeroHedge | author | 01/07/15

On Sunday, a private company that drills in Texas, WBH Energy LP, and its partners, filed for bankruptcy protection, saying a lender refused to advance more money. There are many more to come.

... American oil and gas companies have gone heavily into debt during the energy boom, increasing their borrowings by 55% since 2010, to almost $200 billion. Their need to service that debt helps explain why U.S. producers plan to continue pumping oil even as crude trades for less than $50 a barrel, down 55% since last June. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

How $50 Oil Changes Almost Everything
Bloomberg | Isaac Arnsdorf | 01/07/15

The biggest collapse in energy prices since the 2008 global recession is shifting wealth and power from autocratic petro-states to industrialized consumers, which could make the world safer, according to a Berenberg Bank AG report. Surging U.S. shale supply, weakening Asian and European demand and a stronger dollar are pushing oil past threshold after threshold to a five-and-half-year low, with a dip below $40 a barrel "not out of the question," said Rob Haworth, a Seattle-based senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees about $120 billion. ... Read more
Bloomberg | Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer discusses: Oil Causing Dramatic Shift in Global Power in 2015. (01/07/15) [7:25]

MSLaw | The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allan Dulles & Their Secret World War (12/18/14) [1:00:00]

By the Numbers: US Poverty
BillMoyers | Greg Haufmann | older

The (Real) Bank of America
Politico | Michael Grunwald | 01-02/15

The USA has a bizarre $3 trillion portfolio of loans on its books -- and no one in charge.

... That bank currently has a portfolio of more than $3 trillion in loans, the bulk of them to about 8 million homeowners and 40 million students, the rest to a motley collection of farmers and fishermen, small businesses and giant exporters, clean-energy firms and fuel-efficient automakers, managed-care networks and historically black colleges, even countries like Israel and Tunisia. It has about 120 different credit programs but no consistent credit policy, requiring some borrowers to demonstrate credit-worthiness and others to demonstrate need, while giving student loans to just about anyone who wants one. It runs a dozen unconnected mortgage programs, including separate ones targeting borrowers in need, Native Americans in need, veterans in need and, yes, Native American veteran borrowers in need. Its problems extend well beyond deadbeat shipbuilders.

For starters, its goal is not profit, although it is profitable on paper, and its loans are supposed to help its borrowers rather than its shareholders, better known as taxpayers. Its lending programs sprawl across 30 agencies at a dozen Cabinet departments, with no one responsible for managing its overall portfolio, evaluating its performance or worrying about its risks. The closest it gets to coordination is an overwhelmed group of four midlevel Office of Management and Budget employees known as "the credit crew." They're literally "non-essential" employees--they were sent home during the 2013 government shutdown--and they're now down to three, because their leader is on loan to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. When I suggested to OMB officials that the crew seemed understaffed to oversee a credit portfolio 25 percent larger than JPMorgan Chase's, someone pointed out that it's hiring an intern. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Top 10 Charts on Income Inequality and Wages
BillMoyers & Economic Policy Institute | 01/05/15

In 2014 the pace of job growth picked up, a welcome development. Yet the economy remains far from healthy. The twin issues of income inequality and stagnant wage growth for the vast majority of Americans took center stage. Better late than never. Read more

2014 Was The Hottest Year On Record Globally By Far
ThinkProgress.org | Joe Romm | 01/05/15

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has announced that 2014 was the hottest year in more than 120 years of record-keeping -- by far. NOAA is expected to make a similar call in a couple of weeks and so is NASA. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Russia's "Startling" Proposal To Europe: Dump The US, Join The Eurasian Economic Union
ZeroHedge | author | 01/05/15

"Russia has presented a startling proposal to overcome the tensions with the EU: The EU should renounce the free trade agreement with the United States TTIP and enter into a partnership with the newly established Eurasian Economic Union instead. A free trade zone with the neighbors would make more sense than a deal with the US." ... Read more

Steak, strippers & sweet rides: Wall Street's back
CNBC | Raj Mahal | 01/03/15

So if Main Street is spending money again, 2015 just may be the year that Wall Street and the rest of the 1 percent go back to doing what they love -- and what the 99 percent loves to hate them for -- spending money. ... Read more

I Never Expected My Mother to Be Diagnosed With Alzheimer's When I Was 26
HP | Rebecca Emily Darling | 01/05/15

"Oh look," said my mother in a sing-song voice, pointing wistfully ahead, "it's the man in the moon. We haven't seen him in a while, but there he is. He's so bright tonight, but that's him."

We were driving down the street I grew up on and the sun was large and orange and just beginning its trek down toward the horizon. We slowed to a stop at a red light and were squinting into the brightness, and while I have grown used to odd exclamations from my mother, this one struck me as something different, as a magical clue to the dwindling world inside her head. ... Read more

Iraq TV show makes 'terrorists' confront victims
AP | Vivian Salama | 12/22/14

Haider Ali Motar was convicted of terrorism charges about a month ago for helping to carry out a string of Baghdad car bombings on behalf of the Islamic State extremist group. Now, the 21-year old is a reluctant cast member in a popular reality TV show.

"In the Grip of the Law," brings convicted terrorists face-to-face with victims in surreal encounters and celebrates the country's beleaguered security forces. The show, produced by state-run Iraqiyya TV, is among dozens of programs, cartoons and musical public service announcements aimed at shoring up support for the troops after their humiliating defeat last summer at the hands of the Islamic State group, which now controls about a third of the country. ... Read more
TYT | New Reality Show: Terrorists Meets Their Victims (01/04/15) [6:38]

Leaked 'kill list' shows NATO killed Afghan children, civilians in pursuit of low-level Taliban fighters
RawStory | Tom Boggioni | 12/29/14

As the war in Afghanistan draws to a close after 13 years, new information is becoming available describing NATO conduct in the war-torn nation. According to the newly released documents, NATO maintained an extensive list -- including up to 750 names at times -- of Afghans (found here) slated for death, including mid- and lower-level Taliban operatives along with drug dealers who allegedly supported the insurgents.

Drawing on field reports and internal documents, Der Spiegel documents an attempted attack on a Taliban member named Mullah Niaz Mohammed -- nicknamed "Doody" in reports -- in 2011 that instead resulted in the death of a nearby child, while critically injuring the child's father. ... Read more
TYT | Leaked 'Kill List' Shows They Knew Kids Were Dying (01/04/15) [6:43]

The 52 Best Photographs From Around The World In 2014
HP | Katherine Brooks | 12/29/14

Behold, the 52 best photographs from around the world in 2014. Photos

The State, the Deep State.mobi (article not book) (right click and do "SaveAs")

Bad News Is Bad News, Stocks & Bond Yields Tumble After Data Triple Whammy
ZeroHedge | author | 01/02/15

Well this is not supposed to happen. 2015 appears to have started with the "bad news is bad news" meme engaged as the standard USDJPY-driven opening ramp has collapsed on the back of a triple whammy of terrible data (US PMI, Construction Spending, and ISM). ... Read more

Turkmenistan Devalues Currency By 18%, Armstrong Warns Of "Economic Collapse On A Global Scale"
ZeroHedge | author | 01/02/15

The energy-rich former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan Thursday devalued its currency against the US dollar by 18%, as AFP notes, in the latest sign of contagion among Russia's neighbors from the plunging ruble (following Krgyzstan's 17% plunge in 2014 and Kazakhstan's 14% tumble). However, as Martin Armstrong warns, this is symptomatic of a deflationary contagion that "will contribute to now force the dollar higher... We are in a major economic collapse on a global scale. Most people do not understand that this is the real threat we face." ... Read more

Paul Krugman: How Soaring Inequality May Lead the World Down the Path of Fascism
AlterNet | Paul Krugman | 01/02/15

We live in scary times, Paul Krugman writes in his Friday New York Times column. So scary that they put the esteemed economist in mind of 1930s Europe.

The rising inequality problem, well established by Thomas Piketty's " Capital in the Twenty-First Century", has concentrated so much wealth in the hands of so few, while millions of other live in what Krugman poetically calls the "Valley of the despond."

The only other group that is doing well, besides the global elite, says Krugman, is "what we might call the global middle -- largely consisting of the rising middle classes of China and India." For a crystal clear view if what is going on he suggests consulting a remarkable chart of income gains around the world produced by Branko Milanovic of the City University of New York Graduate Center. ... Read more
Click picture to zoom in

Global Income Distribution, From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession by Branko Milanovic.pdf