Politics, Legislation and Economy News – Friday March 16th, 2012

Politics and Legislation

The Hill: McKeon wants to stop sequestration—and previous Pentagon budget cuts

By Carlo Munoz and Jeremy Herb

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday he wants to reverse $487 billion in cuts to the Pentagon’s budget that were included in last summer’s deal to raise the debt ceiling.

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/budget-approriations/216125-mckeon-wants-to-stop-sequestrationand-previous-pentagon-budget-cuts

The Hill: Obama, Cameron toast ‘essential relationship’ at black-tie state dinner

By Meghashyam Mali

President Obama hosted British Prime Minister David Cameron at a black-tie state dinner in Washington on Wednesday night.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/banking-financial-institutions/216095-reform-groups-use-goldman-takedown-to-push-for-tough-wall-street-rules

The Hill: State lawmakers blast House GOP’s medical malpractice reform bill

By Julian Pecquet

The nation’s leading advocacy group for state lawmakers wrote to House leaders on Wednesday to share their “strong, bipartisan opposition” to federal medical malpractice reform because it would infringe upon states’ rights.

http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/state-issues/216099-state-lawmakers-blast-medical-malpractice-reform-bill-

The Hill: Dem presses USDA to ban ‘pink slime’ in school lunches

By Mike Lillis

A Maine Democrat is pressing the Obama administration to ban “pink slime” in school cafeterias.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/216109-dem-presses-usda-to-ban-pink-slime-in-school-lunches

Selling Out Pays
When a Congressman Becomes a Lobbyist, He Gets a 1,452% Raise (on Average)

By Lee Fang

What’s the best way to “buy” a member of Congress? Secretly promise them a million dollars or more in pay if they come to work for you after they leave office.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30817.htm

UN panel approves sidelined report praising Gaddafi’s human rights record :

A United Nations panel has adopted a report praising the human rights record of the former government of deposed Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, a year after it was sidelined amid international objection.

http://www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-173120.html

Economy

More austerity needed in Greece: EU/IMF

Greece will have to slash a further 5.5 percent of GDP in government spending in 2013 and 2014 to meet agreed fiscal targets underpinning the second international bailout for Athens, a European Commission report said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/13/us-eurozone-greece-austerity-idUSBRE82C0KP20120313

J.P. Morgan Chase’s Ugly Family Secrets Revealed

In a story that should be getting lots of attention, American Banker has released an excellent and disturbing exposé of J.P. Morgan Chase’s credit card services division, relying on multiple current and former Chase employees.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/j-p-morgan-chases-ugly-family-secrets-revealed-20120313#ixzz1p6CRq0i1

Bank of America: Too Crooked to Fail

The bank has defrauded everyone from investors and insurers to homeowners and the unemployed. So why does the government keep bailing it out?

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/bank-of-america-too-crooked-to-fail-20120314#ixzz1p7dZGHK5

11 Reasons Why America Would Be A Better Place Without Goldman Sachs

Would America be a better place without Goldman Sachs? Of course it would. The “vampire squid” of Wall Street does not care about the future of America. Sadly, Goldman Sachs apparently does not even care much about their own clients. What Goldman Sachs is all about is making as much money as humanly possible. In the end, there is nothing wrong with making money, but there are constructive ways to make money and there are destructive ways to make money. Unfortunately, Goldman Sachs seems to find the destructive path almost irresistible. Greg Smith, the head of the U.S. equity derivatives business for Goldman Sachs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa made headlines all over the world on Wednesday when he resigned publicly from Goldman Sachs in a scorching editorial in the New York Times. Smith said that he could “honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it”.

http://www.blacklistednews.com/11_Reasons_Why_America_Would_Be_A_Better_Place_Without_Goldman_Sachs/18458/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Greece on the breadline: HIV and malaria make a comeback

Jon Henley finds a medical aid organisation trying to plug the gaps as the health service nears breakdown

The savage cuts to Greece’s health service budget have led to a sharp rise in HIV/Aids and malaria in the beleaguered nation, said a leading aid organisation on Thursday.

The incidence of HIV/Aids among intravenous drug users in central Athens soared by 1,250% in the first 10 months of 2011 compared with the same period the previous year, according to the head of Médecins sans Frontières Greece, while malaria is becoming endemic in the south for the first time since the rule of the colonels, which ended in the 1970s.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2012/mar/15/greece-breadline-hiv-malaria

Israeli strike on Iran could mean $6-per-gallon gas

By Ben Geman

An Israeli military strike against Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would spike gas prices to between $5 and $6 per gallon, according to market analysts.

This would be well beyond the record highs hit in 2008, when nationwide average retail prices hit $4.11-per-gallon, analysts say.

“I think you will see $5 and $6 dollar a gallon gas,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/216179-iran-strike-could-mean-6-per-gallon-gas

5 Principles for Money and Banking in a New World System

Eric Blair Activist Post

Increasing numbers of global citizens are becoming aware that the monetary system and international cartel of banks are rotten to the core and represent the root cause of all economic disparity to mankind.

http://www.activistpost.com/2012/03/5-principles-for-money-and-banking-in.html

Foreign buyers are snapping up U.S. homes

With foreign entities wary of mortgage-backed securities, buyers are focusing on individual homes — a welcome occurrence in regions suffering from a glut of properties on the market.

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-lew-20120311,0,7203197.story

European Zombie Banks and Vampire Governments

The term “zombie banks” refers to banks that refuse to lend to the private sector. They are run by fearful bankers who do not trust other bankers. They do not trust many potential borrowers. According to legend, zombies survive by eating the brains of their victims. It seems to me that zombie bankers must be limiting their diet to brains of other bankers and investment fund managers.

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article33596.html

Making 9 Million Jobless ‘Vanish’: How The U.S. Government Manipulates Unemployment Statistics

When we look at broad measures of jobs and population, then the beginning of 2012 was one of the worst months in US history, with a total of 2.3 million people losing jobs or leaving the workforce in a single month. Yet, the official unemployment rate showed a decline from 8.5% to 8.3% in January – and was such cheering news that it set off a stock rally.

How can there be such a stark contrast between the cheerful surface and an underlying reality that is getting worse?

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article33590.html

Wall Street retreats after rally, but Apple up again

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 broke a five-day streak of gains on Wednesday as investors found little reason to extend a rally that took the benchmark index to four-year highs.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-index-futures-signal-mixed-094024399.html;_ylt=AidcdvEcpLn4Uz593cgZHlCiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTQzZXBscGdlBG1pdANGaW5hbmNlIEZQIEp1bWJvdHJvbiBMaXRlBHBrZwM1ZDVkNjdlYi1mZDU5LTMwYmYtOGJjMy1iMjQ4Y2EzMjU5ODAEcG9zAzEEc2VjA2p1bWJvdHJvbgR2ZXIDZGM5YzFkMjAtNmUxNi0xMWUxLWJiZmItMWM0NDJjOTRmZmI4;_ylg=X3oDMTFvdnRqYzJoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

Recovery for the 1%, Recession for the Rest

Christopher Petrella, Op-Ed:

“Historically, one of the most problematic features of a neoliberal economy has been the sharp rise in precarious employment, as employers have unwaveringly pursued strategies that ‘flexibilize’ work and destabilize the very concept of job security. Precarious labor in this sense refers to forms of work typically marked by temporary contracts, limited or no social benefits and statutory guarantees, high degrees of job insecurity, low job tenure, sub-standard wages, and high risks of occupational injury and disease.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/recovery-1-recession-rest-1331826118

13 Reasons Goldman’s Quitting Exec May Have a Point

Cora Currier, News Report:

“An executive at Goldman Sachs left the firm today with a bang, penning a New York Times op-ed accusing the company of increasingly putting profits ahead of clients. Greg Smith started as an intern 12 years ago and last headed a derivatives department. Not surprisingly, Goldman quickly and strongly disagreed with his take.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/13-reasons-goldman-s-quitting-exec-may-have-point-1331824190

Homeless In The USA
One Family’s Story In Pictures

By Lucy Nicholson

One in 45 children, totalling 1.6 million, is homeless, the highest number in United States history.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30818.htm

Wars and Rumors of War

Kony 2012, US War Crimes, Coltan & Depleted Uranium make “Invisible Children”

Uploaded by chatzefratz on Mar 12, 2012

When Americans talk about helping children, then things get real scary; depleted uranium in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Irak, Libya and soon in Uganda – Agent Orange in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Wrecked children, babies, offspring and human genetics for hundreds of thousands of years – all this while Americans sing about love, showing half naked ladies and their pharaonic signs and symbols. Watch “The Pharaoh Show” from user giureh for total understanding.

Suicide attack at Camp Bastion today looking like more pro war propaganda…

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is feared to have been the target of a suicide attack at Camp Bastion today.

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Suicide_attack_at_Camp_Bastion_today_looking_like_more_pro_war_propaganda…/18452/0/0/0/Y/M.html

Australian ‘special forces gathering intelligence in Africa’

The Sydney Morning Herald said 4 Squadron of the elite Special Air Service (SAS) had mounted dozens of clandestine operations in places such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Kenya in a role normally carried out by spies.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/9139759/Australian-special-forces-gathering-intelligence-in-Africa.html

Terror, Trauma, and the Endless Afghan War

Amy Goodman, Op-Ed:

“We may never know what drove a U.S. Army staff sergeant to head out into the Afghan night and allegedly murder at least 16 civilians in their homes, among them nine children and three women. The massacre near Belambai, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, has shocked the world and intensified the calls for an end to the longest war in U.S. history. The attack has been called tragic, which it surely is. But when Afghans attack U.S. forces, they are called “terrorists.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/terror-trauma-and-endless-afghan-war-1331826602

Taliban Suspend Talks with U.S.; Karzai Calls for Faster Transition

Ali Safi, News Report:

“The Taliban said Thursday that they had suspended negotiations with the United States and Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on international troops to withdraw from villages in the latest apparent fallout from a U.S. soldier’s alleged murder of 16 Afghan villagers.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/taliban-suspend-talks-us-karzai-calls-faster-transition-1331827784

Netanyahu is Preparing Israeli Public Opinion for a War on Iran

By Aluf Benn

Haaretz’s editor-in-chief says that what looks like a preparation for war, acts like a preparation for war, and quacks like a preparation for war, is a preparation for war.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30821.htm

Top Ten Media Failures in the Iran War Debate

By Stephen M. Walt

Americans haven’t been well-served by media coverage of the Iran debate.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30819.htm

Cold-blooded Murder
Targeted Killings: US and Israeli Specialties

By Stephen Lendman

International law permits justifiable self-defense. Targeted killings are prohibited, especially premeditated ones like America and Israel repeatedly commit for reasons other than claimed.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30828.htm

Why is President Obama Keeping Yemeni Journalist in Prison?

By Democracy Now!

The Obama administration is facing scrutiny for its role in the imprisonment of a Yemeni journalist who exposed how the United States was behind a 2009 bombing in Yemen that killed 14 women and 21 children.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30820.htm

Pakistan Says End Drone Strikes:

Pakistan has told the White House it no longer will permit U.S. drones to use its airspace to attack militants and collect intelligence on al-Qaeda and other groups, according to officials involved in the talks.

http://bloom.bg/ypQzVv

Netanyahu warns: Israel has defied U.S. wishes before:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday told the Knesset that Tehran was behind the recent rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip and ratcheted up his rhetoric regarding a possible military strike on Iran, broadly hinting that Israel might act even without American approval

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-warns-israel-has-defied-u-s-wishes-before-1.418719

AIPAC’s Iran “Expert” Briefs Hill Staff on Tehran’s “Terror Threat”:

Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, briefed some 40 congressional staffers on Iran’s support for terrorism worldwide.

http://www.aipac.org/in-the-news?newsid=F3BF617C-9E77-4D33-A0F7-62B160A7798E

Iran strike imminent: Russian diplomat:

“The attack will be mounted before the end of this year. Israel is blackmailing [U.S. President Barack] Obama by confronting him with a dilemma: either he supports the war option or will lose the support [of the U.S. Jews],” a high-ranking official of the Russian Foreign Ministry told the newspaper ahead of the U.N. Security Council meeting on Syria on Monday.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2995203.ece

SWIFT Cuts Off Iran As Sanctions Vice Tightens :

Iran was effectively cut off from global commerce on Thursday, when the company that handles financial transactions said it was severing ties with many Iranian banks

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/15/swift-iran-sanctions_n_1347361.html?ref=world

Iran food stockpiling grows as grain ships near port: –

Vessels carrying at least 360,000 tonnes of grain are lined up to unload in Iran, Reuters shipping data showed on Thursday, a sign that Tehran is succeeding in stockpiling food to blunt the impact of tougher Western sanctions.

http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E8EF6BE20120315

No sanctions on US wheat?
Iran makes second US wheat purchase-USDA:

A weekly export sales report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday showed that Iran has bought an additional 60,000 tonnes of U.S. wheat.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/15/usa-wheat-iran-idUSL2E8EF25S20120315?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews&rpc=401

U.S. May Sanction India Over Level of Iran-Oil Imports:

India has failed to reduce its purchases of Iranian oil, and if it doesn’t do so, President Barack Obama may be forced to impose sanctions on one of Asia’s most important nations, Obama administration officials said yesterday.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-15/u-s-may-sanction-india-over-level-of-iran-oil-imports.html

Pro-government rallies held across Syria:

Millions of Syrian government supporters dashed through streets and main squares nationwide, to stage rallies in support of embattled President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday, according to Xinhua.

http://www.inform.kz/eng/article/2448700

Activism

Reclaiming the Commons: Taking Human Lessons in the Era of H.R. 347, Corporatism and Perpetual War

Phil Rockstroh, Op-Ed:

“With increasing velocity, since the advent of the post-Second World War national security state, then gaining speed with the incessant search and destroy mission waged on the U.S. Constitution known as the War on Drugs, and kicking into a runaway trajectory in the post Sept. 11, 2001 era — the increase in totalitarian impulses, among both the general population and corporate and governmental elite of the nation, has proceeded at an alarming rate.”

http://www.nationofchange.org/reclaiming-commons-taking-human-lessons-era-hr-347-corporatism-and-perpetual-war-1331820296

Cyber Space

US Government Admits It Has Seized Hundreds Of Domains Registered Outside The US
from the this-has-been-happening-for-a-while dept

After the US seized Bodog.com, we pointed to a writeup by EasyDNS that has created quite a stir, claiming that this was the first time that the US had seized a domain that was registered through a non-US registrar by going straight to the register (in this case VeriSign). But as we pointed out, that’s simply untrue. Back in 2010 we wrote about how most of the federal government’s domain seizures went directly to the register.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120309/04064518045/us-government-admits-it-has-seized-hundreds-domains-registered-outside-us.shtml

US e-voting system cracked in less than 48 hours

Broken Padlock Icon Researchers at the University of Michigan have reported that it took them only a short time to break through the security functions of a pilot project for online voting in Washington, D.C. “Within 48 hours of the system going live, we had gained near complete control of the election server”, the researchers wrote in a paperPDF that has now been released. “We successfully changed every vote and revealed almost every secret ballot.” The hack was only discovered after about two business days – and most likely only because the intruders left a visible trail on purpose.

http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/US-e-voting-system-cracked-in-less-than-48-hours-1463881.html

Misc

KONY 2012: Merchandising and Branding Support for US Military Intervention in Central Africa

Edward Bernays believed that society could not be trusted to make rational and informed decisions on their own, and that guiding public opinion was essential within a democratic society. Bernays founded the Council on Public Relations and his 1928 book, Propaganda cites the methodology used in the application of effective emotional communication. He discovered that such communication is capable of manipulating the unconscious in an effort to produce a desired effect –

http://www.blacklistednews.com/KONY_2012%3A_Merchandising_and_Branding_Support_for_US_Military_Intervention_in_Central_Africa/18461/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Justice Department Investigating Whether MEK Speakers Accepted Illegal Fees From Terror Group

Did Alan Dershowitz accept blood money (aka speaker’s fee) from the MEK, a designated terror group? If so, he may’ve violated federal law.

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2012/03/13/justice-department-investigating-whether-mek-speakers-accepted-illegal-fees-from-terror-group/

In ‘highly unusual’ move, Marines asked to disarm before Leon Panetta speech

In a highly unusual move, around 200 U.S. Marines were asked to leave their weapons outside the tent where U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was set to speak during his trip to Afghanistan on Wednesday.

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/14/10684063-in-highly-unusual-move-marines-asked-to-disarm-before-leon-panetta-speech

Automated License Plate Recognition

Uploaded by DeputyKen on Dec 19, 2006

Automated License Plate Recognition currently being used in Central Florida.

Both The Market and Government Are Irrational

By Paul Craig Roberts

Those dependent on Social Security and Medicare are finding that these programs are being blamed for budget deficits caused by multi-trillion dollar wars of choice.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30822.htm

Welcome to the USA:

Canadian women allege U.S. border groping:

Four female U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Detroit are being sued by three Canadian women who allege they were sexually fondled at the border.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/03/14/Canadian-women-allege-US-border-groping/UPI-46311331743360/#ixzz1p7C7mig1

Soledad O’Brien on Breitbart’s Bombshell:

‘Where’s the Bombshell?’:

In this CNN clip, Breitbart.com editor Joel Pollak is grilled by Soledad O’Brien in a way I wish more journalists would follow

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/40034_Soledad_OBrien_on_Breitbarts_Bombshell-_Wheres_the_Bombshell

Afghanistan massacre by U.S. sergeant reveals epidemic of psychiatric drugging of soldiers

By Mike Adams,

(NaturalNews) The recent massacre of 16 civilians in Afghanistan by a rampaging U.S. military sergeant has something in common with nearly every school shooting in the USA — something the mainstream media typically refuses to report: These shooters frequently have a history of psychiatric drug “treatment” by psychiatrists. Psychiatric drugs are now being routinely used across the U.S. military, where violent suicides have skyrocketed to levels never before seen in human history. 18 veterans commit…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035232_US_troops_psychiatric_drugs_Afghanistan.html

Politics, Legislation and Economy News – riday March 9th, 2012

Politics  and  Legislation

House passes JOBS act

By Pete Kasperowicz

The House Thursday afternoon overwhelmingly approved legislation aimed at easing the rules for capital formation for small companies, which Republicans hailed as a major job-creation bill but Democrats said is just a minor fix for the economy.

Members approved the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) act in a 390-23 vote that saw 158 Democrats join every voting Republican in support of the bill. All “no” votes were Democrats.

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/214979-house-passes-jobs-act-sends-to-senate

Senate blocks Keystone pipeline approval plan

By Ben Geman

The Senate has rejected a GOP plan to approve construction of the Keystone oil pipeline after President Obama made personal calls to Democrats urging them to oppose it.

The 56-42 vote staves of an election-year rebuke of Obama, but will give political ammunition to backers of TransCanada Corp.’s plan to build a pipeline connecting Alberta’s massive tar sands projects to Gulf Coast refineries.

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/215051-senate-blocks-keystone-pipeline-approval-plan

The Bipartisan Force Behind the For-Profit College Scam: Big Money
Zaid Jilani, Republic Report:

“As we head into an election year, we’re going to increasingly hear that Democrats and Republicans fight like cats and dogs, that there is a civil war in Washington. This describes the state of play on some issues, but on others there is bipartisan agreement to do the wrong thing: Both parties do what the money tells them to do.”

http://www.truth-out.org/bipartisan-force-behind-profit-college-scam-big-money/1331141403

 

Economy

Asia Buys Gold After Massive Single Trade Sell Off During Bernanke’s Testimony

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/asia-buys-gold-after-massive-single-trade-sell-during-bernanke%E2%80%99s-testimony

China faces huge employment pressure: minister

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) — China faces huge employment challenges in 2012 brought by a large number of job seekers and unbalanced job market, Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, said Wednesday.

Chinese cities and towns will see 25 million more people join the workforce this year, half of whom will be university and college graduates, while another 9 to 10 million rural residents will seek jobs away from home, Yin said at a press conference during the ongoing parliamentary session.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012npc/2012-03/07/content_14782010.htm

Financial Survival Network: Darryl Schoon Sees the Mother of All Crashes Coming Soon–02-28-2012

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1840/261/Financial_Survival_Network:_Darryl_Schoon_Sees_the_Mother_of_All_Crashes_Coming_Soon02-28-2012.html

Economic Recovery for Whom?

Richard D. Wolff, Truthout:

“The truth about ‘economic recovery’ is that, for the mass of people, it is untrue. For the top 10 percent and especially the top 1 percent – those who brought global capitalism into crisis in 2007 – recovery has been real…. ‘Recovery’ is the go-to word when business and government impose conditions to make the US more profitable especially for big business. ‘Recovery,’ in this capitalist economy, refers to profits, not to people.”

http://www.truth-out.org/economic-recovery-whom/1331043859

Fractal Analysis: Gold to $3,500 this year still likely despite crash

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page103855?oid=146416&sn=Detail&pid=102055

 

On the News With Thom Hartmann: A New Study Shows That Extreme Poverty in America Has Doubled in the Last 15 Years, and More

In today’s On the News segment: A new study shows that extreme poverty in America has doubled in the last 15 years, a new front has opened up in the battle against Citizens United, European austerity continues to take its toll, and more.

http://www.truth-out.org/news-thom-hartmann-new-study-shows-extreme-poverty-america-has-doubled-last-15-years-and-more/1331-0

 

U.S. jobs data lift world stocks

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. and European stocks advanced on Wednesday after promising U.S. jobs data, and the euro rebounded after hitting a three-week low on renewed optimism that Greek will complete its debt restructuring after major banks and pension funds pledged their support.

Completion of the debt restructuring is crucial for Greece to secure 130 billion euros in international rescue funds needed so it can avert a chaotic default.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/world-markets-fall-over-greece-003835021.html;_ylt=AgHLLR6iqbYbhHOWakoVR2miuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTNyMzByb2Z2BG1pdANGUCBUb3AgU3RvcnkgTGVmdARwa2cDMjE2YzM2MDItYmFmYy0zNTEyLTk0NzItMjEyZTE2MWNlOTRkBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyAzY5N2MwOTQwLTY4YTMtMTFlMS1iOGZmLThmYmExODlkMzgzZA–;_ylg=X3oDMTFvdnRqYzJoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

 

Banks and Congress Grapple With Stubborn, Stupid Facts
Michael Winship, Moyers & Co.:

“Facts are stubborn things, said founding father John Adams, a basic truth Ronald Reagan famously mangled at the Republican National Convention in 1988, when he tried to quote Adams and declared, ‘Facts are stupid things,’ before correcting himself…. Witness the resistance on the part of banking institutions and certain members of the congressional leadership, despite regulations demanding that they allow facts and figures to be reported, information that could keep us from the edge of yet another economic meltdown.”

http://www.truth-out.org/banks-and-congress-grapple-stubborn-stupid-facts/1331148612

 

U.S. Consumers Stronger Than Expected: Barry Ritholtz Isn’t Buying It

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/u-consumers-stronger-expected-barry-ritholtz-isn-t-142319259.html;_ylt=AkbDaUHVXt18IkWPqd7LdiCiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTQ0NXRmOGwzBG1pdANGaW5hbmNlIEZQIFRvcCBTdG9yeSBSaWdodARwa2cDYTJmODViODItMmNmZS0zMzNjLTlhMDMtMTI2NTQyZThmYzY3BHBvcwM2BHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyAzE4NTlhNGIwLTY4NjEtMTFlMS1hZmJmLWY2NWQ5NzMyMDc5ZQ–;_ylg=X3oDMTFvdnRqYzJoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

 

In Troubled Europe, Agonizing Options
Paul Krugman, Krugman & Co.:

“It’s not too hard to see what Europe as a whole should be doing: less in terms of demands for austerity, much more general reflation … And you can make the case that austerity, at least at this level of harshness, is actually counterproductive even in fiscal terms: it depresses growth, so that the debt position becomes worse even if the current budget deficit is reduced. It’s much harder, however, to say what the leaders of such peripheral economies should do.”

http://www.truth-out.org/troubled-europe-agonizing-options/1331147478

 

Illinois state ‘on brink of collapse’

Source: FT

Illinois’ financial problems are forcing it to choose between its pensions and its teeth.

Governor Pat Quinn says the state needs to face its “rendezvous with reality” and tackle its dysfunctional budget habits. Top of the list, Mr Quinn says, is to slash spending on Medicaid, a federal programme that provides healthcare to poor Americans.

To save a system he says is “on the brink of collapse”, Mr Quinn proposes cutting $2.7bn from Illinois’ $11.5bn Medicaid bill. Few would dispute that the state needs to change its behaviour. Last year, Illinois underfunded Medicaid by $2bn as it struggled with debts totalling more than $280bn, an $86bn hole in its public pension funds and a $9bn backlog of unpaid bills.

http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/4494

 

OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Chu, White House rebut gas price claims

State of play: Energy Secretary Steven Chu will appear before a House Energy and Commerce Committee panel Wednesday to defend the Obama administration’s fiscal 2013 budget request.

As with previous budget hearings, expect Republican lawmakers to pepper Chu with questions about gasoline prices and the administration’s $535 million loan guarantee to failed solar panel firm Solyndra. Chu has become a top target for Republicans over the issues.

Republicans have pounced on Chu’s recent comments to allege that the administration wants higher gas prices, a claim both the Energy Department and the White House have strongly denied.

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/213695-overnight-energy

Obama Phone: Gov to Spend $2.4 Billion On Millions of Free Phones In 2012

One of the complaints about the U.S. Constitution recently, being as outdated as it is, is that it fails to guarantee certain unalienable rights such as free medical care, housing , food, and of course, the right to bear cell phones. And, although the founders failed to specifically cite social programs as a necessary element for promoting the general welfare, the living nature of our founding document has been interpreted by political and legal scholars alike to allow for the seizure of assets by force from one group of people in order to redistribute those assets in a fair and responsible manner to those less fortunate.

As such, if you’re one of the 100 million Americans living below or at the edge of the poverty line, you’ll be happy to know that you more than likely qualify for a free cellular phone, also known as the Obama Phone, from the US government:

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/free-obamaphone-gov-to-spend-2-4-billion-on-millions-of-free-phones-in-2012_02092012

 

Wars and Rumors of War

 

Attacking Iran: Just Because We Can, Doesn’t Mean We Should
Camillo “Mac” Bica, Truthout:

“The debate regarding Iran’s nuclear program has focused upon pragmatic, tactical, strategic and economic issues regarding the feasibility and consequences of continuing and/or escalating military action against Iran…. While such discussions may have media and political appeal, they are premature and miss the point entirely. They either take for granted or completely ignore the more fundamental question of whether continuing/escalating a war with Iran is the right thing to do, not militarily or pragmatically, but legally and morally.”

http://www.truthout.org/attacking-iran-just-because-we-can-doesnt-mean-we-should/1330726438

 

By conjuring the Holocaust, Netanyahu brought Israel closer to war with Iran

Haaretz’s editor-in-chief says that the Prime Minister publicly booby-trapped himself to war with Iran by comparing the need to strike its nuclear program with the Jewish request to bomb Auschwitz.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/by-conjuring-the-holocaust-netanyahu-brought-israel-closer-to-war-with-iran-1.416847

 

Netanyahu, Obama divided on price of Israeli strike against Iran

Netanyahu considers missiles on Tel Aviv preferable to nukes in Iran, says senior Israeli official.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-obama-divided-on-price-of-israeli-strike-against-iran-1.416909

 

Stratfor leaks: NATO commandos in illegal special ops in Syria

Wikileaks is a part of the covert operations, a part of the perception management, a part of the forged agenda to have you psychologically prepared for the coming war. When the times comes and you turn on the radio or TV with news that Israel/US have initiated airstrikes in Syria and/or Iran you will not even think twice about it and go about your day not giving a shit about what the hell is really going on in the Middle East .

-Phantom Report

http://www.phantomreport.com/stratfor-leaks-nato-commandos-in-illegal-special-ops-in-syria

 

Environmental

 

Amy Goodman | The Bipartisan Nuclear Bailout

Amy Goodman, Op-Ed: While the Republican candidates attack Barack Obama daily for the high cost of gasoline, both sides are traveling down the same perilous road in their support of nuclear power. This is mind-boggling, on the first anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, with the chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission warning that lessons from Fukushima have not been implemented in this country.

http://www.nationofchange.org/bipartisan-nuclear-bailout-1331216800

 

Misc

 

Despite Risks, Undocumented Immigrants Stage “Coming Out of the Shadows” Week
Yana Kunichoff, Truthout:

“Despite a year of record deportations and little movement on a progressive immigration policy, undocumented people are coming out and publicly declaring their immigration status for the third year in a row, telling American society that they are ‘undocumented, unafraid and unapologetic.’ March 10 will be the first day of a weeklong set of actions by a coalition of groups in Illinois to highlight the continuing crisis caused by enforcement and lack of rights in immigrant communities.”

http://www.truth-out.org/despite-risks-undocumented-immigrants-stage-coming-out-shadows-week/1331146237

 

Reclaiming the Commons (Graphic Journalism)

Susie Cagle, Truthout:

“Founded by squatters more than 150 years ago, full of foreclosed buildings, and shrinking by thousands per year, Oakland in many ways presents as a tremendously attractive target for occupation. But it’s been a bumpy road since the first camps were cleared on October 26.”

http://www.truth-out.org/occupied-oakland/1331135674

UN top torture official denounces Bradley Manning’s detention

In December, 2010, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on torture announced a formal investigation into the conditions of Bradley Manning’s detention that endured for the eight months he was held at a Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia. The Army Private has been detained since May, 2010, on charges that he leaked classified documents to WikiLeaks, but has not yet been tried. Yesterday, the U.N. official overseeing the investigation pronounced that “Bradley Manning was subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in the excessive and prolonged isolation“ to which he was subjected at Quantico. That official, Juan Ernesto Mendez, heads the U.N. office created by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, bestowed with the mandate “to examine questions relevant to torture.”

http://www.salon.com/2012/03/07/un_top_torture_official_denounces_bradley_mannings_detention/?source=newsletter

 

Two Murdoch journalists reportedly attempt suicide as pressure mounts

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Two senior journalists working for Rupert Murdoch’s News International have attempted suicide as pressure mounts at the scandal-hit publisher of the now-defunct News of the World, according to media reports.

The suicide attempts follow weeks of intense scrutiny of the role of The Sun, another Murdoch paper, in the phone-hacking scandal and police bribery case.

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/06/10594806-two-murdoch-journalists-reportedly-attempt-suicide-as-pressure-mounts

 

High- end Madam for running upper East Side brothel is a suburban mom with four children
Arrest was culmination of five-year investigation by Manhattan DA’s office

A high-end madam who boasted she used cops as security and made millions by peddling flesh — including underage girls — to rich and powerful clients has been busted after a five-year probe, prosecutors said.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office indicted petite, blond, green-eyed Anna Gristina, 44, in a corruption investigation that amassed 50 to 100 hours of audio and video recordings, some showing prostitutes doing the deed, according to court records.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan-madam-busted-running-upper-east-side-brothel-catering-wealthy-clients-court-records-article-1.1033622#ixzz1oacGeC5L

 

“Journalist” Paul Conroy is MI6 operative

Portrayed as a photojournalist for The Sunday Times, Paul Conroy, who has recently escaped from the Islamic Emirate of Baba Amr, is a British MI6 agent.

http://www.voltairenet.org/a173025

 

Engineer reveals shockingly simple method to defeat any airport body scanner and smuggle guns, explosives onto airplanes without being detected

By Mike Adams, March 7 2012
(NaturalNews) The following is an article by Steve Watson, an in-house reporter for InfoWars (www.InfoWars.com). Steve covered the astonishing breaking news of an engineer who revealed a shockingly simple loophole that completely defeats the TSA’s “naked body scanners” and would allow anyone to smuggle guns, explosives, box cutters or practically any metallic objects directly onto airplanes. Even more astonishingly, as this story reports, YouTube immediately censored the video of this engineer…

http://www.naturalnews.com/035175_naked_body_scanners_defeated_engineer.html

155 resignations from global banks, investment houses, and money funds

155 RESIGNATIONS FROM WORLD BANKS, INVESTMENT HOUSES, MONEY FUNDS
I don’t mind if you re-blog this listing. Save yourself the wear and tear on your karma and do me the favor of including http://americankabuki.blogspot.com in your reposting. Thanks to all who have caught minor errors. Special thank to Gabriel at Facebook Global Mass Resignations for some resignations I did not find in my searches.

From:
American Kabuki
Updated 3/7/12 Huge amount of resignations today. Special thanks to Gabriel of Facebook GLOBAL MASS RESIGNATIONS for the heads up on a number of new banking resignations that I missed. Gabriel will be tracking Insurance, Government and Healthcare Resignations. There’s been a large number of Healthcare resignations lately.

█▓▒░ End of list as of 3/7/12 ░▒▓█
Addendum:
It is not known under what circumstances these individuals have left their positions, I make no judgement on that. I find the timing of so many resignations extremely curious and a temporal marker in history of high significance. No one should assume I make any judgement about the character of these people. I frankly don’t know their reputations except for a few rather famous ones.
This list includes Banks, Investment Houses, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Equity Funds, Savings Retirement Funds and other shadow banking organizations. The line is very blurry between these entities, some are owned by banks some are banks, some invest in banks as well as owning entire industries (common in Hong Kong and Japan).

http://americankabuki.blogspot.com