Month: May 2014

The Truman Show US Economy: Real GDP Numbers Show -9% Annualized Drop

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FYI.

trumanshow

– The Truman Show US Economy: Real GDP Numbers Show -9% Annualized Drop (Activist Post, May 31, 2014):

Watching all aspects of the US economy from outside of the propaganda zone sometimes feels like you are watching The Truman Show.

The Truman Show, for those who haven’t seen the 1998 Jim Carrey film, centered around a completely false town.  In the movie everything about the town was fake except for one person, Truman Burbank, who wasn’t in on the plot.  In a sense your average person in the US, particularly when it comes to the economy, is akin to Truman.  They have grown up inside this completely false environment and don’t even know it is all fake.

Virtually everything in The Truman Show-esque US economy is misinformation and completely skewed in which the creators, the US government, the Federal Reserve and the mainstream media constantly propagate blatantly false and wrong information and the American public, like Truman, have no idea that anything is even amiss.

The latest hilarious plot twist, at least for those of us watching it as observers and not intimately tied into the story, were the latest GDP numbers released showing a -1% annualized rate in the first quarter of this year.

Read moreThe Truman Show US Economy: Real GDP Numbers Show -9% Annualized Drop

Here Comes QE In Financial Drag: Draghi’s New ABCP Monetization Ploy

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The Euro currency sign is seen in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt

– Here Comes QE In Financial Drag: Draghi’s New ABCP Monetization Ploy (David Stockman’s Contra Corner, May 30, 2014):

You can smell this one coming a mile away:

The European Central Bank and Bank of England on Friday outlined options to reinvigorate the market for bundled bank loans, which was “tarnished” by the global financial crisis, saying a better-functioning market for asset-backed securities can help boost lending to the private sector, particularly small businesses.

Yes, the ECB is now energetically trying to revive the a market for asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) – the very kind of “toxic-waste” that allegedly nearly took down the financial system during the panic of September 2008. The ECB would have you believe that getting more “liquidity” into the bank loan market for such things as credit card advances, auto paper and small business loans will somehow cause Europe’s debt-besotted businesses and consumers to start borrowing again  thereby reversing the mild (and constructive) trend toward debt reduction that has caused euro area bank loans to decline by about 3% over the past year.

What they are really up to, however, is money-printing and snookering the German sound money camp. That is, the ECB is getting set to launch QE in financial drag by purchasing or discounting ABCP while loudly proclaiming that it’s not “monetizing” any stinking sovereign debt!

Read moreHere Comes QE In Financial Drag: Draghi’s New ABCP Monetization Ploy

Home Equity Loans Jump 8% As Broke American Serfs Scramble For Cash

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Money

– Home Equity Loans Jump 8% as Broke American Serfs Scramble for Cash (Liberty Blitzkrieg, May 31, 2014):

With real incomes stagnant and the cost of everything from food, school tuition and healthcare premiums skyrocketing for millions of Americans, it appears that borrowing against one’s home is once again a key source for consumption, if not survival, for the nearly extinct socio-economic demographic known as the middle-class.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that home-equity lines of credit (Helocs) had increased at a 8% rate year-over-year in 1Q14. Some banks are more aggressive than others, and perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to see TBTF government welfare baby Bank of America leading the charge, with $1.98 billion in Helocs in the first quarter, up 77% versus 1Q13.

Read moreHome Equity Loans Jump 8% As Broke American Serfs Scramble For Cash

Israel Deploys 3 Nuclear-Armed Subs Off Iran Coast; Iran Warns Of Forceful Response To ‘Evil Acts’

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Flashback:

– Netanyahu Orders Israel Army To Prepare For Possible Military Strike Against Iran In 2014

– Israel Deploys 3 Nuclear-Armed Subs Off Iran Coast; Iran Warns Of Forceful Response To “Evil Acts” (ZeroHedge, May 31, 2014):

With tear-gas flying in the streets of Turkey, Ukraine’s civil-war raging in the south and east, US drones based in Japan to oversee the South China Sea, and Europe’s extremist parties gaining significant traction, today we get one more piece of considerably worrisome geopolitical news that global stock markets must ignore. The Sunday Times reports that Israel is to deploy three submarines equipped with nuclear cruise missiles in the Persian Gulf that are meant to act as a deterrent, gather intelligence and potentially to land Mossad agents. Iran is not happy, warning that “anyone who wishes to do an evil act in the Persian Gulf will receive a forceful response from us.”

Israel Deploys 3 Nuclear-Armed Subs Off Iran Coast

As Haaretz reports,

Israel is to deploy three submarines equipped with nuclear cruise missiles in the Persian Gulf, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.

Read moreIsrael Deploys 3 Nuclear-Armed Subs Off Iran Coast; Iran Warns Of Forceful Response To ‘Evil Acts’

‘Squirming’ John Kerry Excused From Testifying On Benghazi Terror Attacks

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Related info:

– Pulitzer-Prize Winning Reporter Seymour Hersh: Benghazi Is A HUGE Scandal … But Not For The Reason You Think

– Crony Congress: Rep. Mike Rogers Has Links To The Benghazi Scandal Yet Is In Charge Of The Investigation

– Unclassified Navy Map Shows U.S. Military Had Multitude Of Forces In The Region During Benghazi Attack

– ‘Squirming’ John Kerry excused from testifying on Benghazi terror attacks (RT, May 31, 2014):

Republicans believe that President Barack Obama’s administration hushed up details of the Benghazi tragedy to protect his re-election campaign. Democrats accuse the Republicans of spinning the investigation to score political points ahead of the November mid-term elections.

The game of partisan politics, meanwhile, continues as the Republicans accuse the Democrats of stonewalling a proper investigation into the events of the attack, which include the release of communications and other documents related to the event.

“In attempting to cover up documents like the September-14 email from Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, President Obama, Secretary Kerry, and other officials have no one but themselves to blame for the increased scrutiny they should soon expect,” Issa said.

Read more‘Squirming’ John Kerry Excused From Testifying On Benghazi Terror Attacks

?Up To 80,000 Palestinians In East Jerusalem Left Without Tap Water For Three Months

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netanyahu-not-wrong-just-evil

– ?Up to 80,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem left without tap water for three months (RT, May 31, 2014):

Tens of thousands of Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem have spent three months without running water, despite petitions and calls from human rights bodies after an Israeli water utility company stopped supplies in March.

Hagihon, Jerusalem’s water utility company, stopped regular supplies of running water to several neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem, such as Shu’fat Refugee Camp, Ras Khamis, Ras Sh’hadeh and Dahiyat a-Salam, said a statement from the website of B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.

Read more?Up To 80,000 Palestinians In East Jerusalem Left Without Tap Water For Three Months

Billionaire Investor Carl Icahn Investigated In U.S. Insider Trading Probe

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– Icahn, Mickelson are investigated in U.S. insider trading probe: source (Reuters, May 31, 2014):

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating possible insider trading involving billionaire investor Carl Icahn, golfer Phil Mickelson and Las Vegas gambler William Walters, a source familiar with the matter said.

Federal investigators are looking into whether Mickelson and Walters may have traded illegally on private information provided by Icahn about his investments in public corporations, the source told Reuters, confirming reports on Friday.

Read moreBillionaire Investor Carl Icahn Investigated In U.S. Insider Trading Probe

LAPD Acquires Drone Capability

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Draganflyer X6

– LAPD acquires drone capability (RT, May 31, 2014):

For a city infamous for circling police helicopters, Los Angeles Police were surprisingly late to the drone game. All that has changed, however, as the department quietly added two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to its arsenal.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced they had acquired two Draganflyer X6 aircraft as “gifts” from the Seattle Police, the department said on Friday.

“These vehicles were purchased by the Seattle Police Department using federal grants. There was no cost to the city of Los Angeles,” CBS Los Angeles cites police as saying.

The 3.5-lbs. UAV, which looks like a small helicopter, is about three-feet-wide and boasts a camera, video recorder and infrared night-vision capabilities.

Read moreLAPD Acquires Drone Capability

Bilderberg Evacuates Airport Cause Of Independent Media (Video)

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Added: May 31, 2014

Description:

In this video Luke Rudkowski, Dan Dicks and Line Sejr go to the Copenhagen Airport to give a friendly greeting to the international 2014 Bilderberg Attendees. As you can see for some strange reason the bilderberg group was very timid and scared of people trying to talk to them for some reason. They sicked their naive marshmallow head security guards on Luke and Dan. After getting temporarily distracted by the security guards the bilderberg organizers moved to a remote non public location far away from anyone because they are afraid of their shadows.

1st Bilderberger confronted was Jason Kenney. He is the Canadian Minister of Employment and Social Development

Los Alamos To Miss Nuclear Waste Removal Deadline

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– Los Alamos to miss nuclear waste removal deadline (RT, May 31, 2014):

The US Department of Energy will not be able to meet a June-30 deadline for removing thousands of drums of nuclear waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where atomic bombs have been built for decades.

In a statement released on Friday, the department said it had notified the New Mexico Environment Department that the waste cannot be transported until officials are certain it poses no threat to public health.

“As we work to assess the conditions of the transuranic waste program at the (Los Alamos) lab, we have decided to halt further shipments until we can reassure the public that it is safe to do so,” Reuters cites David Klaus, an Energy Department secretary for management and performance, as saying in a statement.

Read moreLos Alamos To Miss Nuclear Waste Removal Deadline

The Wrath of Abenomics: Sales Collapse, Inflation Soars

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Shinzo Abe

– The Wrath of Abenomics: Sales Collapse, Inflation Soars (Testosterone Pit, May 30, 2014):

Even the soothsayers and Abenomics spin doctors expected a downdraft after Japan’s consumption tax was jacked up to 8% from 5%, effective April 1. But not this.

The tax hike had been pushed through parliament by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s predecessor. It was supposed to save Japan. But no one wants to pay for government spending. The tax proved to be so unpopular that Prime Minister Noda and his government were unceremoniously ousted at the end of 2012.

Japan is in terrible fiscal trouble. Half of every yen the government spends is borrowed, now printed by the Bank of Japan. Expenditures can’t be cut, apparently, and government handouts to Japan Inc. had to be increased. Yet something had to be done to keep the gargantuan deficit from blowing up the machinery altogether, and it was done to those who spend money.

Read moreThe Wrath of Abenomics: Sales Collapse, Inflation Soars

Keiser Report: Crack Boosted GDP (Video)

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Added: May 29, 2014
Description:

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss driving GDP high on cocaine, banking fraud and new-fangled derivatives products. In the second half, Max interviews Satyajit Das about China’s debt problems and central banks’ printing presses.

U.S. Gasoline Consumption Plummets By Nearly 75%

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– U.S. Gasoline Consumption Plummets By Nearly 75% (Buillion Bulls Canada, May 25, 2014):

Regular readers are familiar with my narratives on the U.S. Greater Depression, and (in particular) some of the government’s own charts which depict this economic meltdown most vividly. The collapse in the “civilian participation rate” (the number of people working in the economy) and the “velocity of money” (the heartbeat of the economy) indicate an economy which is not merely in decline, but rather is being sucked downward in a terminal (and accelerating) death-spiral.

However, even that previously published data, and the grim analyses which accompanied it could not prepare me for the horror story contained in data passed along by an alert reader. U.S. “gasoline consumption” – as measured by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) itself – has plummeted by nearly 75%, from its all-time peak in July of 1998. A near-75% collapse in U.S. gasoline consumption has occurred in little more than 15 years.

Before getting into an analysis of the repercussions of this data, however, it’s necessary to properly qualify the data. Obviously, even in the most-nightmarish economic Armageddon, a (relatively short-term) 75% collapse in gasoline consumption is simply not possible. Unless we were dealing with a nation whose economy had been suddenly ripped apart by civil war, or some small nation devastated by a massive earthquake or tsunami; it’s simply not possible for any economy to just disintegrate that rapidly, without there being some ultra-powerful exogenous force also at work.

…

Top Science Journal: “Time bombs” at WIPP nuclear site? “High alert over risk of new explosions” in hundreds of plutonium-contaminated drums – AP: 4 years may be needed just to seal off area where drums stored – Experts go down to check if ground ‘still stable’

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– Top Science Journal: “Time bombs” at WIPP nuclear site? “High alert over risk of new explosions” in hundreds of plutonium-contaminated drums — AP: 4 years may be needed just to seal off area where drums stored — Experts go down to check if ground ‘still stable’ (VIDEO) (ENENews, May 31, 2014):

Nature, May 28, 2014: Nuclear-waste facility on high alert over risk of new explosions — US repository scrambles to seal off barrels […] Time bombs may be ticking at the United States’ only deep geological repository for nuclear waste. US authorities concluded last week that at least 368 drums of waste at the site could be susceptible to the chemical reaction suspected to have caused a drum to rupture there in February. That accident caused radioactive material to spill into the repository and leak into the environment above ground. […] To mitigate the threat of further exploding drums, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) in Santa Fe issued an order on 20 May giving the US Department of Energy […] until 30 May to come up with a plan to “expedite” the sealing of panel 6 and part of panel 7. [A reaction] blew the lid off of the container [an official cautioned,] “It is not yet known how, or if, the reaction created the rupture in the drum(s)” […] The DOE added that current assumptions and precautions about the hazards of operating the WIPP are being “evaluated and revised”.

Read moreTop Science Journal: “Time bombs” at WIPP nuclear site? “High alert over risk of new explosions” in hundreds of plutonium-contaminated drums – AP: 4 years may be needed just to seal off area where drums stored – Experts go down to check if ground ‘still stable’

Putin Develops Plan For Economic Union Of Former Soviet States

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putin-massimov

– Putin develops plan for economic union of former Soviet states (Independent, May 30, 2014):

Vladimir Putin has moThe President met his counterparts from Kazakhstan and Belarus in the Kazakh capital, Astana, to initiate the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union. He has long sought to form the bloc in hopes that it would provide an eastern counterweight to economic and political powerhouses such as the EU and the US.

The codes of the union, set for launch on 1 January 2015, will give the citizens of member states equal employment and education opportunities across all three nations. The three presidents also said that the deal would involve collaborative policies on energy, technology, industry, agriculture and transportation.

Read morePutin Develops Plan For Economic Union Of Former Soviet States

Slavyansk Kids And Women Cross Russian Border On Foot After Ukraine Seizes Bus

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– Slavyansk kids and women cross Russian border on foot after Ukraine seizes bus (RT, May 31, 2014):

A bus carrying women and children from Slavyansk, including toddlers, was stopped at a border checkpoint by Ukrainian guards. The refugees managed to cross into Russia on foot and find new transport.

The incident happened on Friday night at a border crossing between Ukraine’s Donetsk region and Russia’s Rostov region. The bus was carrying people from Slavyansk, the city that has become the scene of constant battles between local militia and troops loyal to Kiev.

There were 38 refugees on board, including 21 children aged between 2 months and 12 years, and 17 women, Rostov region spokesman Aleksandr Titov told Itar-Tass. As the vehicle was seized, they went across the border on foot with the help of Russian border guards.

Read moreSlavyansk Kids And Women Cross Russian Border On Foot After Ukraine Seizes Bus

New Massive Federal Database To Hold Financial Information On HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS

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obama-big-brother

– New Massive Federal Database to Hold Financial Information on Hundreds of Millions of Americans (Liberty Blitzkrieg, May 30, 2014):

The war on privacy continues unabated, as the U.S. government continues to prove time and time again that it views the citizenry as a bunch of cattle to be branded, herded and dealt with at will. It doesn’t seem to bother anyone in the establishment that the public has lost all faith in institutions and so-called “authority” (a concept which I do not believe in to begin with). The evidence of a growing number of Orwellian databases being created has been available for quite some time. Most recently, I covered this topic in the following articles:

FBI Plans to Have 52 Million Photos in Facial Recognition Database by 2015

Guess What’s Hidden in the Immigration Bill? A National Biometric Database for Citizens

Moving along, the public faces another sinister and unacceptable invasion to our privacy. A national financial database is being planned, which would contain the most intimate details of our entire financial lives. It may apply to as many as 227 million Americans.

We learn from the Washington Examiner that:

Read moreNew Massive Federal Database To Hold Financial Information On HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS

Official in Fukushima: “Please Please HELP US!” – Hot particles of melted fuel are inhaled by children everyday – We are forced to have it in our bodies – “Please let all people in the world know the life we are living”

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– Official in Fukushima: “Please Please HELP US!” — Hot particles of melted fuel are inhaled by children everyday — We are forced to have it in our bodies — “Please let all people in the world know the life we are living” (ENENews, May 30, 2014):

Excerpts from Oyama Koichi of the Minamisoma City Council, May 13, 2014 — Translation by Dissensus Japan, May 25, 2014:

Japan Scientist: We gave butterflies food from Fukushima… then, they died; Deformities get worse with each generation — TV: “Truly horrifying… it doesn’t really even look like a butterfly anymore”

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Fukushima-butterly-deformities

– Japan Scientist: We gave butterflies food from Fukushima… then, they died; Deformities get worse with each generation — TV: “Truly horrifying… it doesn’t really even look like a butterfly anymore” (ENENews, May 29, 2014):

Vice on HBO, Season 2 Episode 10, May 24, 2014 (at 5:30 in):

Pepe Escobar: ?Brave Old (Exceptionalist) World

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FYI.

Pepe Escobar is the roving correspondent for Asia Times/Hong Kong, an analyst for RT and TomDispatch, and a frequent contributor to websites and radio shows ranging from the US to East Asia.

– ?Brave old (exceptionalist) world (RT, May 30, 2014):

By Pepe Escobar

“I believe in American exceptionalism with every fiber of my being.” So there it is, straight from the lion’s mouth, as in US President Barack Obama.

The rest are details: deadly details, as in the US military remaining “at the core” of the exceptional worldview; the Pentagon reserving for itself “the power to launch unilateral attacks when America’s interests are directly threatened”; eight or nine proxy wars deployed in the immediate future with no end in sight; and the most startling admission – that the “fulcrum” of US foreign policy from now on will be to curb “aggression” by Russia and China.

Read morePepe Escobar: ?Brave Old (Exceptionalist) World

Military op to continue in E. Ukraine until ‘stability’ restored – defense minister

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– Military op to continue in E. Ukraine until ‘stability’ restored – defense minister (RT, May 30, 2014):

Kiev army will continue military operation against the country’s east until the situation in the region stabilizes, says Ukraine’s Defense Minister.

Read RT’s live updates on the violence in Ukraine

Kiev government has launched a massive military offensive in the east of Ukraine which claimed dozens of lives, both among the militias and local civilians. Schools, kindergarten and hospitals in several cities came under fire.

Read moreMilitary op to continue in E. Ukraine until ‘stability’ restored – defense minister