Month: December 2013

Expert: ‘High Risk Of Nuclear Holocaust At Fukushima – Plant To keep Emitting Radioactive Materials ‘For A Thousand Years Or So’

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– Risk Expert: “High risk” of nuclear holocaust at Fukushima — Plant to keep emitting radioactive materials “for a thousand years or so” (AUDIO) (ENENews, Dec 2, 2013):

Interview with Dr. Charles Perrow, professor emeritus at Yale University and author of the award-winning book Normal Accidents: Living With High Risk Technologies, Nov. 11, 2013:

At 46:30 in

It is still emitting radioactive materials [to the atmosphere] […] not in a gigantic form, but it’s going to keep emitting that for a thousand years or so. I think the only thing they can do with it is cover it over with cement like they did at Chernboyl.

At 54:15 in

Q: Are we literally on the verge of seeing Japan ceasing to exist as a nation — Is it this serious? A: If we have a serious accident […] or a serious earthquake, yes. The chances are we will get through it. I don’t think that it’s guaranteed that there’s going to be a nuclear holocaust from these events — but there is a high risk.

Full broadcast available here

Veterans Today’s Gordon Duff: US National Security Agency (NSA) ‘Spies On US For Israel’

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Gordon Duff is a Marine Vietnam veteran, a combat infantryman, and Senior Editor at Veterans Today. His career has included extensive experience in international banking along with such diverse areas as consulting on counter insurgency, defense technologies or acting as diplomatic representative for UN humanitarian and economic development efforts. Gordon Duff has traveled to over 80 nations. His articles are published around the world and translated into a number of languages. He is regularly on TV and radio, a popular and sometimes controversial guest.

– US National Security Agency (NSA) ‘spies on US for Israel’ (PressTV, by Gordon Duff, Dec 2, 2013):

An American company bids on a military project in Africa. It finds its prime competitor is an Israeli company that submitted not just a superficially identical proposal but the same typographical and syntax errors as well.

The Anti-Defamation League publishes the names of Americans invited to Iran for a film festival. Ten days later, Iran contacts the same journalists asking if they would be interested in attending.

The source of this information was the National Security Agency (NSA), in this case, not just spying on Iran or American journalists but American defense contracting firms, and doing so on behalf of foreign competitors.

Read moreVeterans Today’s Gordon Duff: US National Security Agency (NSA) ‘Spies On US For Israel’

Over 700,000 People On US Watch List: And Once You Get On, There’s No Way Off

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– Over 700,000 people on US watch list: and once you get on, there’s no way off (RT, Dec 2, 2013):

The names of nearly three-quarters of a million individuals have been secretly added to watch lists administered by the United States government, but federal officials are adamant about keeping information about these rosters under wraps.

A report by the New York Times’ Susan Stellin published over the weekend attempted to shine much-deserved light on an otherwise largely unexposed program of federal watch lists, but details about these directories — including the names of individuals on them and what they did to get there — remain as elusive as ever.

Read moreOver 700,000 People On US Watch List: And Once You Get On, There’s No Way Off

California Now Confiscating Legally Purchased Guns

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– California Now Confiscating Legally Purchased Guns (The Free Patriot, Nov 30, 2013):

The first police raids to take legally purchased guns commenced in California. The state has the strictest gun laws in the country now, and is definitely not pro Second Amendment in the state.

California has been gearing up for this moment. Now they have made a move to confiscate legally purchased fire arms. They have expanded on their list of “prohibited persons” to have fire arms to include minor misdemeanors and “mental health concerns”. Some of the people are being not allowed their Second Amendment rights for various reasons including being behind on their taxes.

The state hired 20,000 more officers in preparation for the new confiscation legislation. They also authorized more than $24 million in new gear and weapons for their confiscation team. One of their targets was a man by the name of Joe Mendez.

Read moreCalifornia Now Confiscating Legally Purchased Guns

Japan LDP Secretary-General: Secrecy Law Protests ‘Act Of Terrorism’

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Related info:

– Fascism: Spain And Japan Move To Criminalize Protests

– Japan Times: “Japan: The New Uzbekistan Of Press Freedom In Asia”

– MANIAC FASCISM: New Secrecy Law Meant To Suppress Fukushima News – Japan Public Stunned, Ordinary Citizens Could Face Up To 5 Years In Prison

– Japan: Approved ‘Secrecy Law Represents A Coup D’Etat’ – Prison For ‘Inappropriate Reporting’ – Official: We’re On Path To Be A Fascist State

– Secrecy law protests ‘act of terrorism’: LDP secretary-general (Japan Times, Dec 1, 2013):

Citizens demonstrating against the controversial state secrets bill are committing “an act terrorism,” according to Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba.

In a blog post Friday, he wrote: “If you want to realize your ideas and principles, you should follow the democratic principles, by gaining as much support as you can. I think the strategy of merely shouting one’s opinions at the top of one’s lungs is not so fundamentally different from an act of terrorism.”

Read moreJapan LDP Secretary-General: Secrecy Law Protests ‘Act Of Terrorism’

Fascism: Spain And Japan Move To Criminalize Protests

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– War on Democracy: Spain and Japan Move to Criminalize Protests (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Dec 2, 2013):

As might be expected as political and economic policy failures pile up and citizens become increasingly mad, the status quo is becoming increasingly authoritarian (recall blogger “Mish” was just fined 8,000 euros for a blog post).

In the latest disturbing news from a desperate power structure, the conservative government in Spain has passed an Orwellian bill titled the Citizens’ Security Law, which allows for fines of up to 600,000 euros ($816,000) for “unauthorized” street protests, and a 30,000 fine for merely having signs with “offensive” slogans against Spain or for wearing a mask.

Read moreFascism: Spain And Japan Move To Criminalize Protests

The Fed Now Owns One Third Of The Entire US Bond Market (Chart Of The Day)

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– Chart Of The Day: The Fed Now Owns One Third Of The Entire US Bond Market (ZeroHedge, Dec 2, 2013):

The most important chart that nobody at the Fed seems to pay any attention to, and certainly none of the economists who urge the Fed to accelerate its monetization of Treasury paper, is shown below: it shows the Fed’s total holdings of the entire bond market expressed in 10 Year equivalents (because as a reminder to the Krugmans and Bullards of the world a 3 Year is not the same as a 30 Year). As we, and the TBAC, have been pounding the table over the past year (here, here and here as a sample), the amount of securities that the Fed can absorb without crushing the liquidity in the “deepest” bond market in the world is rapidly declining, and specifically now that the Fed has refused to taper, it is absorbing over 0.3% of all Ten Year Equivalents, also known as “High Quality Collateral”, from the private sector every week. The total number as per the most recent weekly update is now a whopping 33.18%, up from 32.85% the week before. Or, said otherwise, the Fed now owns a third of the entire US bond market.

Read moreThe Fed Now Owns One Third Of The Entire US Bond Market (Chart Of The Day)

Are Another 1.3 Million Americans About To Drop Out Of Labor Force (And Send Unemployment Plunging)?

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– Are Another 1.3 Million Americans About To Drop Out Of Labor Force (And Send Unemployment Plunging)? (ZeroHedge, Dec 2, 2013):

With even the Fed somewhat challenging the credibility of the official unemployment rate – as labor force participation collapses structurally – the possibility that if Congress does not act by Dec 28th, a further 1.3 million people will lose emergency aid and may be deemed ‘out’ of the labor force merely exaggerates an already farcical situation. As JPM’s Mike Feroli notes, the “official” unemployment rate may drop up to 0.8 percentage points, but it won’t mean the economy is any better. Is this the ‘excuse’ the Fed needs to transition from QE to forward guidance (with the public seeing only a rapidly collapsing unemployment rate as evidence of their success) even as the data that they are so “dependent” on becomes worse than useless?

As we warned in November, the only two charts that matter ahead of Friday’s likely distorted nonfarm payrolls report.

First, the labor force participation rate, which plunged from 63.2% to 62.8% – the lowest since 1978!

But more importantly, the number of people not in the labor force exploded by nearly 1 million, or 932,000 to be exact, in just the month of October, to a record 91.5 million Americans! This was the third highest monthly increase in people falling out of the labor force in US history.

At this pace the people out of the labor force will surpass the working Americans in about 4 years.

And if the Congress does not pass the bill to extend emergency aid – set to expire Dec 28th – then up to 1.3 million more people will be added to that list of 91.5 million already our of the labor force (and another 800,000 more to come in further months)…

This has profound implications for the oh-so-important unemployment rate that  the Fed is so dependent upon…

Read moreAre Another 1.3 Million Americans About To Drop Out Of Labor Force (And Send Unemployment Plunging)?

Inflation Watch 2013; Price Of Christmas Surges 7.7%

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– Inflation Watch 2013; Price Of Christmas Surges 7.7% (ZeroHedge, Dec 2, 2013):

Over the past 30 years, the rise in the price of Christmas according to PNC’s annual 12-days-of-Christmas price index has matched the CPI at around 2.9% YoY. However, in recent years, the reality is considerably worse than the well-managed inflation data the government profers. The price of Christmas in 2013 is up a stunning 7.7% over 2012 – the biggest jump since 2010′ 9.2% rise. The biggest driver of the increase were the dancing ladies (must be the minimum wage decree?) though 8 items saw modest increases also. Once again, it seems the government’s benign inflation data is fictionalized by reality’s rising price of everything.

Read moreInflation Watch 2013; Price Of Christmas Surges 7.7%

Fukushima’s Gigantic Strontium-90 Release

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– Study finds giant strontium-90 release into body of water begins around 1,000 days after meltdown — Dec. 5, 2013 = thousand days after 3/11 — Graphic shows very high levels being discharged for up to 50,000 days (ENENEws, Dec 2, 2013):

Background information on Fukushima

Arjun Makhijani, nuclear expert and President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research: Ground water is contacting the molten fuel and becoming extremely contaminated […] The fuel is molten and the bottom of the reactor building is undoubtedly damaged. So that’s why the ground water flowing past the trenches and pipes and past the basement of the reactor building is getting into the reactor building where the molten fuel is. It may also be that the molten fuel is in the cracks of the foundation.

Associated Press: The turbine buildings at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant are about 150 meters (500 feet) from the ocean. According to a Japan Atomic Energy Agency document, the contaminated underground water is spreading toward the sea at a rate of about 4 meters (13 feet) a month. At that rate, “the water from that area is just about to reach the coast,” if it hasn’t already, said Atsunao Marui, an underground water expert […] on a government committee studying the contaminated water problem. “We must contain the problem as quickly as possible.”

Read moreFukushima’s Gigantic Strontium-90 Release

CNN Tests ‘Fixed’ Obamacare Website And … It Crashes (Video)

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– CNN Tests “Fixed” Obamacare Website And… It Crashes (ZeroHedge, Dec 1, 2013):

‘If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.’
–  P.J. O’Rourke

If CNN was doing its best this morning to prove that the second coming of healthcare.gov is fixed, it… failed.

Transcript:

GEORGE HOWELL, HOST: We know the first thing you have to do when you go to this website you have to select your state. Is that working?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And what’s funny is I was talking with Matt, and, yeah, that seemed to work, right, when you logged on. But then came the road blocks. So tell me about what happened, because we’re getting another error message here, and it’s supposed to be running smoothly. We’re just not seeing that.

MATT SLOANE, CNN MEDICAL PRODUCER: Yeah, so, you know, we’ve been trying to get into the site since October 1 on and off again. I have to say it did work a lot more smoothly this morning. I got through. I picked my state. I put in all of my information and I got through the whole process in eight minutes. And then it said my status was in progress. So I went to refresh it and I got the error message.

But fear not. According to David Plouffe, 2008 campaign manager for Barack Obama, Obamacare “will work reall well”… by 2017. To wit:

This program was designed to be implemented by the states. And in most of the states it is going quite well. You talked about Medicaid expansion. I think it’s just a fact, and it may take until 2017 when this president leaves office, you’re going to see almost every state in this country running their own exchanges eventually and expanding Medicaid. And I think it’ll work really well, then.

Japanese Senator: ‘The Path That Japan Is Taking Is The Recreation Of A Fascist State’

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Related info:

– Fascism: Spain And Japan Move To Criminalize Protests

– Japan Times: “Japan: The New Uzbekistan Of Press Freedom In Asia”

– MANIAC FASCISM: New Secrecy Law Meant To Suppress Fukushima News – Japan Public Stunned, Ordinary Citizens Could Face Up To 5 Years In Prison

– Japan: Approved ‘Secrecy Law Represents A Coup D’Etat’ – Prison For ‘Inappropriate Reporting’ – Official: We’re On Path To Be A Fascist State

– Japanese Senator: “The Path That Japan Is Taking Is The Recreation Of A Fascist State” (Washington’s Blog, Nov 30, 2013):

Japanese (And American) Governments Go to Extreme Lengths to Cover Up Their Mess

Japan and the U.S. are doing everything they can to cover up the danger of the Fukushima crisis.

The Daily Beast notes:

The Japanese government, which already has a long history of cover-ups and opaqueness, is on its way to becoming even less open and transparent after the lower house the Diet, Japan’s parliament, passed the Designated Secrets Bill on Tuesday. With new powers to classify nearly anything as a state secret and harsh punishments for leakers that can easily be used to intimidate whistleblowers and stifle press freedom, many in Japan worry that the if the bill becomes law it will be only the first step towards even more severe erosions of freedom in the country.

Read moreJapanese Senator: ‘The Path That Japan Is Taking Is The Recreation Of A Fascist State’

Whale Expert Near Vancouver: In 30 Years I’ve Never Ever Seen This Kind Of Behavior, ‘They Must Sense This Is A Safe Place To Be’

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“They must sense this is a safe place to be”

They do not sense this to be a safe place.

It’s just that the land makes it impossible for them to flee any further from the Fukushima radiation plume.

– The Pacific Is Broken: ‘After We Left Japan, It Felt As If The Ocean itself Was Dead’ – ‘I’m Used To Seeing Turtles, Dolphins, Sharks And Big Flurries Of Feeding Birds’ – ‘But This Time For 3000 Nautical Miles There Was Nothing Alive To Be Seen’

– Scientist: Leading edge of Fukushima plume is now showing up on West Coast

– Fukushima Radiation Plume To Hit U.S. West Coast Any Day Now – Senior Scientist: ‘Really Bizarre’ U.S. Not Testing

They are trapped.

If those whales could ‘swim’ to another planet, I am sure they would not hesitate for one moment and leave planet earth immediately.

– Whale Expert near Vancouver: In 30 years I’ve never ever seen this kind of behavior, “They must sense this is a safe place to be” — Captain: I’ve never seen anything like it in 50 years on Pacific — “One even placed its head on the boat” (VIDEO) (ENENews, Dec 1, 2013):

Vancouver Sun, Nov. 27, 2013: Michael Harris, executive-director of the Pacific Whale Watch Association […] said he’s been working in Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia for 30 years and has “never ever seen this kind of behaviour going on. They must sense this is a safe place to be.” […] Wild Whales Vancouver had up to 10 close encounters this season in the southern Strait of Georgia, mainly near Galiano Island […] The whales typically rolled on their backs and sides next to the boat and looked up at the passengers. One even placed its head on the boat while spyhopping, a behaviour in which the whale rises up vertically to look above the water […]

Global News, Nov. 27, 2013: Capt. Jim Maya […] who runs Maya’s Westside Whale Watch Charters, has been working on the waters of the Pacific since 1965 and says he has never seen anything like what they saw that day. […] Maya says he estimates the whale was about 35 to 40 feet long and was an immature female. She hung around the boat for about an hour […] Chad Nordstrom, a researcher with the Cetacean Research Lab at the Vancouver Aquarium, says they have been receiving more and more reports of humpback whale sightings along the B.C. coast, especially in the lower Strait of Georgia.

Read moreWhale Expert Near Vancouver: In 30 Years I’ve Never Ever Seen This Kind Of Behavior, ‘They Must Sense This Is A Safe Place To Be’

NBC Nightly News: “Another highly troubling report about what’s going on in the Pacific” — Millions of starfish ‘melt away’ from Alaska to California — Expert: Fukushima radiation ‘not ruled out’ as factor in epidemic — Very, very different than anything seen before

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– NBC Nightly News: “Another highly troubling report about what’s going on in the Pacific” — Millions of starfish ‘melt away’ from Alaska to California — Expert: Fukushima radiation ‘not ruled out’ as factor in epidemic — Very, very different than anything seen before (VIDEO) (ENENEws, Dec 1, 2013)

West Seattle Blog, Nov. 25, 2013: […] nothing brings it home like seeing what “Diver Laura” James observed in West Seattle waters this weekend. She recorded video off Seacrest on Saturday and uploaded the clip […] “I knew it was bad, but I hadn’t seen it in a couple weeks, and it was crushing to see bodies [of sea stars] piled on top of bodies and the pilings bare.” […] >> Watch the video

Marine biologist Pete Raimondi interviewed on KRCB, Nov. 21, 2013: There’s something about this outbreak that is very, very different […] It’s always been associated with warm water in the past — an El Nino event. We’re not in an El Nino event. […] There’s 2 thingas that are really bewildering. One, we aren’t in an El Nino event. The second thing is the spatial thing, from Alaska down to Orange County. It’s hard to think of a mechanism that is consistent across that whole area of geography. >> Listen to the broadcast

NBC Nightly News, Nov. 29, 2013:

Brian Williams, anchor: Environmental officials in California say there’s been another highly troubling report about what’s going on in the Pacific. […] Something is killing the starfish and they don’t know why. They have been dying in record numbers on the West Coast […]

Pete Raimondi, marine biologist: It’s happened so rapidly that some species are just missing. […]

Read moreNBC Nightly News: “Another highly troubling report about what’s going on in the Pacific” — Millions of starfish ‘melt away’ from Alaska to California — Expert: Fukushima radiation ‘not ruled out’ as factor in epidemic — Very, very different than anything seen before

Expert: People On West Coast Right To Be Concerned About Fukushima Plume – Things ‘Could Get Much Worse’ – Gov’t NOT Testing Water Or Fish

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– Expert: People on West Coast right to be concerned about Fukushima plume — Things “could get much worse” — Lots of radioactivity flowing into ocean — Gov’t not testing water or fish (AUDIO) (ENENews, Dec 1, 2013):

The following three nearly identical Letters-to-the-Editor are signed by a John Lewallen of Philo, California.  According to the www.johnlewallenforcongress.org website, “my wife […] Barbara and I own and operate the Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company devoted to hand-harvesting […] seaweed”:

  • Times-Standard, Dec. 1, 2013 (emphasis added): Fukushima rads won’t hurt us here […] “The situation is of concern near Japan coast where fisheries remain closed,” [WHOI Senior Scientist] Ken Buesseler wrote in an email to me on Nov. 17. “There is a lot of radioactivity left in the tanks (they have removed much of the cesium, but strontium-90 is still very high), contaminated groundwater that flows to the ocean, and spent fuel pool. Something could get much worse“
  • Anderson Valley Advertiser, Nov. 28, 2013: Scientific team finds no harmful radiation from Fukushima on West Coast
  • Sonoma Index-Tribune, Nov. 21, 2013: No Fukushima radiation on West Coast

Here is what Buesseler said on the radio two days ago (at 10:00 in): “I completely agree that no radiation has been seen in the regards that we’re not really testing for it ((laughter)) in any organized way […] We have very few data; it’s not really being organized. The government says we don’t really need to do that because we’re predicting very low levels. On the other hand, you could argue I’d very much like to see study on our side of the ocean just to confirm these values and build some confidence with the public that’s been concerned about this. They’re right to be concerned — as scientists we’re telling them they shouldn’t be, but it’d be nice to have a few more data points to fill that gap […] I’ve been told that there’s very little testing going on.”

Buesseler statements on Friday give new meaning to headlines like ‘No Fukushima radiation on West Coast‘ and ‘Scientific team finds no harmful radiation from Fukushima on West Coast‘.

Listen to Buesseler on the radio here (at 10:00 in)

Black Friday Sales Tumble 13% On Thanksgiving Thursday Opening Scramble

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– Black Friday Sales Tumble 13% On Thanksgiving Thursday Opening Scramble (ZeroHedge, Dec 1, 2013):

Update: more data trickling in from the NRF, and since it is not pretty,  so expect much more blame to fall on the weather.

  • U.S. consumers spent $57.4b over Black Friday weekend, down from last year’s $59.1b, National Retail Federation says
  • Consumers spent avg. $407.02 (planned), down from $423.55 in 2012

* * *

If somehow the scramble to open stores earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving day, until such time as the very Thanksgiving dinner had to be interrupted early for the annual rush out to the (un)friendly neighborhood Thug-Mart (Toys’R’Us opened at a ridiculous 5pm on Thanksgiving day) and punching people in the face just to get that 42 inch, 2010-model Plasma TV for $99, was supposed to boost overall sales instead of merely pulling them forward (see cash for clunkers), it didn’t work. According to ShopperTrak, total Black Friday traffic plunged 11% and total sales fell 13.2%, the second consecutive year of declines following last year’s 1.8%. The reason, as largely expected, is that a substantial portion of Friday shopping was pulled back to Thursday: as ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin said, “if retailers continue to promote Thanksgiving as the start of the holiday buying season, he thinks the holiday will eventually surpass Black Friday in sales. “We’re just taking Black Friday sales and spreading them across a larger number of days,” Martin said.”

Read moreBlack Friday Sales Tumble 13% On Thanksgiving Thursday Opening Scramble

Beta Radiation At 1.1 BILLION Bq/m3 Detected At Fukushima Reactor No. 2 – Another Record High!

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– The highest reading of all ? nuclides detected in seaside of reactor2 / 1,100,000,000 Bq/m3 (Fukushima Diary, Nov 30, 2013):

Even after Tepco built the impervious wall on the coastal line, the radiation level of the groundwater is still high in the seaside of reactor2.

The highest reading of all ? nuclides (Including Strontium-90) was detected on 11/28/2013. The reading was 1,100,000,000 Bq/m3.

On 11/25/2013, 910,000,000 Bq/m3 of all ? nuclides was detected at the same boring, which was the former highest reading.

It rose up by 120 % within 3 days.

About the possible cause, Tepco hasn’t made any announcement.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2013/images/2tb-east_13112901-j.pdf

Japan Times: “Japan: The New Uzbekistan Of Press Freedom In Asia”

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Related info:

– MANIAC FASCISM: New Secrecy Law Meant To Suppress Fukushima News – Japan Public Stunned, Ordinary Citizens Could Face Up To 5 Years In Prison

– Japan: Approved ‘Secrecy Law Represents A Coup D’Etat’ – Prison For ‘Inappropriate Reporting’ – Official: We’re On Path To Be A Fascist State

– Japan: The new Uzbekistan of press freedom in Asia (Japan Times, Nov 30, 2013):

If you’re living in Japan, you may be surprised to know that your right to know has been replaced by the right to remain silent. Shhh … don’t protest. It’s practically a done deal.

The first rule of the pending state secrets bill is that a secret is a secret. The second rule is that anyone who leaks a secret and/or a reporter who makes it public via a published report or broadcast can face up to 10 years in prison. The third rule is that there are no rules as to which government agencies can declare information to be a state secret and no checks on them to determine that they don’t abuse the privilege; even defunct agencies can rule their information to be secret. The fourth rule is that anything pertaining to nuclear energy is a state secret, which means there will no longer be any problems with nuclear power in this country because we won’t know anything about it. And what we don’t know can’t hurt us.

Read moreJapan Times: “Japan: The New Uzbekistan Of Press Freedom In Asia”

Ron ‘Austrian’ Paul Vs. Paul ‘Keynesian’ Krugman – You Decide (Video)

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– Ron “Austrian” Paul Vs. Paul “Keynesian” Krugman – You Decide (ZeroHedge, Dec 1, 2013):

The concept of the business cycle and its un-natural intervention-inspired boom-bust process is at the core of the following three minutes of dueling quotes from two of the most infamous public proponents of change (Ron Paul) and the status quo (Paul Krugman).

  • “Cut interest rates a couple of percentage points, provide plenty of liquidity, and call me in the morning.” – Krugman
  • “Printing money is not an answer… Like all artificially-created bubbles, the boom… cannot last forever.” – Paul

You decide who “was” right, and who “will be” right again…

(h/t Jim Quinn’s Burning Platform)

Of course, we’ve seen them head-to-head before…

UK Embarks On Biggest Food Handout Since Second World War

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Related info:

– Food Poverty: 37% Of British Families Choosing Between Heating And Eating This Winter

– UK embarks on biggest food drive since second world war (Guardian, Nov 29, 2013):

60,000 people to receive help over festive season as ministers reject claim of link to welfare changes

The reality of the UK’s cost of living crisis has come under the spotlight this weekend as Britain embarks on its biggest charity food drive since the second world war, with the aim of collecting tonnes of groceries to give to hungry and penniless families over Christmas.

The effort involves the British Red Cross (BRC) – the first time the charity has been engaged in mass food aid collection in the UK since 1945 – working alongside the Neighbourhood Food Collection, which has been set up by the Trussell Trust food bank network, the food aid distribution charity Fare Share and Tesco.

Read moreUK Embarks On Biggest Food Handout Since Second World War