Infinite

Netanyahu Heads To US To Tell Obama ‘Truth’ About Iran

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Flashback:

On record: Benjamin Netanyahu: ‘America is something that can easily be moved.’ ‘The world won’t say a thing.’ ‘The world will say we’re defending.’ (Video)

– Former PM Olmert: Netanyahu Wasted Billions On Iran ‘Hallucinations’

– Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu: I Don’t Care What UN Says About Settlement Activities

– Lunatic Netanyahu Exposed: What The Israelis Really Think Of Us (Video)

– Netanyahu heads to US to tell Obama ‘truth’ about Iran (RT, Sep 29, 2013):

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Barack Obama to discuss the “smokescreen” the Iranian president used to fool Western powers. The White House meeting will take place before Netanyahu addresses the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

“I intend to tell the truth in the face of the sweet talk and charm offensive of Iran,” Netanyahu said before boarding the plane to New York.

“Telling the truth at this time is essential for world peace and security and, of course, for Israel’s security,” AFP cites him as saying.

After Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addressed the United Nations General Assembly last week, Netanyahu called the speech “cynical” and “full of hypocrisy,” saying it was aimed at fooling the Western powers while Iran continues advancing towards a nuclear weapons capability.

Read moreNetanyahu Heads To US To Tell Obama ‘Truth’ About Iran

U.S. Government Shutdown Looms: A Q&A On What Happens Next (And Who Stays At Home)

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– The Government Shutdown Looms: A Q&A On What Happens Next (And Who Stays At Home) (ZeroHedge, Sep 29, 2013):

With a government’s October 1 shut down – temporary of course – now seemingly inevitable, and more importantly with the peak debt ceiling negotiations due in just about a week after which point the Treasury will run out of money, many wonder what comes next. That this is happening just two short years after the dramatic August 2011 debt ceiling impasse, when the market tumbled 20% and likely slowed economic growth is still fresh in everyone’s mind, is hardly helping matters. Add a potential political crisis in Greece and Italy, and suddenly a whole lot of unexpected variables have to be “priced in.”

Courtesy of AP, here are questions and answers about how the two standoffs, now intertwined, could affect the economy and financial markets:

Q. What exactly will happen within the next days and weeks?

Read moreU.S. Government Shutdown Looms: A Q&A On What Happens Next (And Who Stays At Home)

Boehner: ‘House Votes To Keep Govt’ Running’; US Troops Will Be Paid During Government Shutdown

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– Boehner: “House Votes To Keep Govt’ Running”; US Troops Will Be Paid During Government Shutdown (ZeroHedge, Sep 29, 2013):

Just like that, we are back to square minus one, with the House again punting to the senate:

  • HOUSE VOTES 231 TO 192 TO DELAY OBAMACARE FOR ONE YEAR, AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
  • 2 DEMOCRATS VOTE YES, 2 REPUBLICANS VOTE NO
  • HOUSE UNANIMOUSLY VOTES 423-0 ON “PAY OUR MILITARY ACT” ENSURING TROOPS ARE PAID DURING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Boehner promptly took to Twitter to be social-network(ally) hip:

As reported earlier, the Senate will promptly squash said bill once again as it did with the defunding CR, in effect leaving essentially no time to cobble a deal together ahead of the the October 1 government shutdown.

Read moreBoehner: ‘House Votes To Keep Govt’ Running’; US Troops Will Be Paid During Government Shutdown

Berlusconi Has Last Laugh As Italy Scrambles To Contain Fallout From Government Collapse

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– Berlusconi Has Last Laugh As Italy Scrambles To Contain Fallout From Government Collapse (ZeroHedge, Sep 29, 2013):

Following yesterday’s unexpected (if not shocking) news that ministers from Berlusconi’s PDL have resigned en masse in order to push for new elections, leading to the latest Italian government crisis (in a long and distinguished series), Italy’s premier Letta and president Napolitano are scrambling to preserve some stability, and not only they but moments ago Ansa reported that the management and supervisory boards of Italian megabank Intesa are set to meet at 6 pm, as not even the most optimistic see an easy way out of the political dead end Italy has found itself in now.

Read moreBerlusconi Has Last Laugh As Italy Scrambles To Contain Fallout From Government Collapse

House Votes To Delay Obamacare By One Year; Checks To Senate Democrats – Shutdown ‘Inevitable’?

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– House Votes To Delay Obamacare By One Year; Checks To Senate Democrats – Shutdown ‘Inevitable’? (ZeroHedge, Sep 29, 2013):

On a rare Saturday session (now Sunday); in a not-too-surprising vote down party lines, the House has voted in favor of the continued-military-funding, medical-device-tax-repealing, Obamacare-delaying continuing resolution that keeps the government paid until December 15th…

  • *HOUSE PASSES 231-192 OBAMACARE DELAY IN U.S. SPENDING BILL
  • *HOUSE VOTES 423-0 TO FUND TROOPS IF GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN

Now it’s off to the Senate and Harry Reid’s ‘over-my-dead-body’ as the White House prepares for Government Shutdown.. (and/or veto) with little (or no) time to cobble together a last-minute deal.

Read moreHouse Votes To Delay Obamacare By One Year; Checks To Senate Democrats – Shutdown ‘Inevitable’?

Thanks To Obamacare, Employer-Based Health Insurance Is Becoming An Endangered Species

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– Thanks To Obamacare, Employer-Based Health Insurance Is Becoming An Endangered Species (Economic Colapse, Sep 28, 2013):

Barack Obama promised to fundamentally transform America, and when it comes to health care he has definitely kept his promise.  Thanks to Obamacare, health care spending is up, health insurance premiums are up, the number of hours Americans are working is down and employer-based health insurance is becoming an endangered species.  Of course employer-based health insurance will not disappear completely any time soon, but it has been steadily shrinking for over a decade, and Obamacare will greatly accelerate that decline.  If you go back to 1999, 64.1 percent of all Americans were covered by employment-based health insurance.  That was pretty good.  Today, only 54.9 percent of all Americans are covered by employment-based health insurance, and now thousands upon thousands of U.S. employers are considering reducing the scope of the health plans they offer to employees or eliminating them altogether due to Obamacare.  If you are thinking that this sounds like a potential nightmare for millions of Americans families, you would be exactly right.

Read moreThanks To Obamacare, Employer-Based Health Insurance Is Becoming An Endangered Species

Bashing Syria And Iran (Veterans Today)

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– Bashing Iran and Syria (Veterans Today, Sep 28, 2013):

A previous article called Iran bashing longstanding. It’s been ongoing for nearly 35 years. It’s unrelenting. Lies substitute for truth and full disclosure.

The same holds for Syria. Assad’s defending his country responsibly. He’s doing so against foreign invaders. He’s wrongfully blamed for Western-enlisted death squad crimes.

It doesn’t matter what’s true of false. Lying for power is longstanding major media practice.

Read moreBashing Syria And Iran (Veterans Today)

No. 2 U.S. Nuke Commander Tim Giardina Suspended & Under Investigation

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– Tim Giardina Suspended: No. 2 U.S. Nuke Commander Under Investigation (Huffington Post, Sep 28, 2013):

WASHINGTON — The No. 2 officer at the military command in charge of all U.S. nuclear war-fighting forces is suspected in a case involving counterfeit gambling chips at a western Iowa casino and has been suspended from his duties, officials said.

Navy Vice Adm. Tim Giardina has not been arrested or charged, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent David Dales said Saturday. The state investigation is ongoing.

Giardina, deputy commander at U.S. Strategic Command, was suspended on Sept. 3 and is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a Strategic Command spokeswoman said.

Read moreNo. 2 U.S. Nuke Commander Tim Giardina Suspended & Under Investigation

U.S. Bans Agricultural And Fishery Products From Japan Due To Radionuclide Contamination

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– FDA Import Alert: U.S. bans agricultural and fishery products from 14 prefectures in Japan due to Fukushima radionuclides — Top Newspaper: Concern over contamination is spreading to most countries around Pacific (ENENews, Sep 28, 2013):

Dong-A Ilbo, Sept. 28, 2013 (Korea’s top newspaper): […] Concerns over Japan’s radioactive contamination and its seafood is spreading to most countries in the Pacific basin. The United States has recently banned agricultural and fishery imports from 14 prefectures in Japan, up from eight. South Korea puts a similar ban on fishery imports from eight prefectures, while China and Taiwan does so for 10 and five prefectures, respectively. [… The IAEA’s] upcoming probe needs to shed light on the cause and situation of soil and sea water contamination. […] It would be much better if experts from South Korea, the United States and China participate in the investigation. It is natural for a global organization to intervene in an international issue. […]

FDA Import Alert 99-33, Sept. 9, 2013: Detention Without Physical Examination of Products from Japan Due to Radionuclide Contamination […] NOTE: Revision to this Import Alert dated September 9, 2013 adds multiple products to the list of products restricted by the Government of Japan […] Previous revisions to this Import Alert dated March 23, April 12, April 14, April 20, April 21, May 9, June 13, July 6, October 21, 2011, February 1, 2012 and July 25, 2012 provided updates to the products and/or prefectures subject to detention without physical examination. […] The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant houses several nuclear reactors that have posed signs of a potential threat of radiological contamination to the surrounding areas. Due to the public health concerns that are associated with radiation and nuclear contamination, FDA has increased surveillance of regulated products from Japan. […] Guidance: Districts may detain, without physical examination, the specified products from firms in the ***Fukushima, Aomori, Chiba, Gumna, Ibaraki, Iwate, Miyagi, Nagano, Niigata, Saitama Shizuoka, Tochigig, Yamagata and Yamanashi prefectures.*** […] FDA will continue monitoring the public health risks due to radionuclide contamination, and when appropriate will remove the Import Alert and resume routine coverage of entries. […]

The FBI Has Been Using Drones Domestically Since 2006

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– The FBI Has Been Using Drones Domestically Since 2006 (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Sep 28, 2013):

So about that whole drone debate in the USA…

It seems the feds decided to simply skip over such a quaint notion and deploy them without telling anyone. Back in December of last year, I highlighted a press release from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) about current drone flights in the U.S. They disclosed that:

Today EFF posted several thousand pages of new drone license records and a new map that tracks the location of drone flights across the United States.

These records, received as a result of EFF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), come from state and local law enforcement agencies, universities and—for the first time—three branches of the U.S. military: the Air Force, Marine Corps, and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

That story was big news to me at the time, and it was particularly disturbing in light of the fact that Congress has cleared the way for the Federal Aviation Administration to allow 30,000 drones in the nation’s skies by 2020. Well it appears that the whole drone debate was over before it even began, with the FBI having used drones domestically for at least seven years.

From the LA Times:

WASHINGTON – Operating with almost no public notice, the FBI has spent more than $3 million to operate a fleet of small drone aircraft in domestic investigations, according to a report released Thursday by a federal watchdog agency.

Senator Ron Wyden: NSA ‘Repeatedly Deceived The American People’

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– Sen. Ron Wyden: NSA ‘repeatedly deceived the American people’ (Guardian, Sep 27, 2013):

About the Snowden disclosures, the Oregon Democrat told the NSA chief: ‘the truth always manages to come out’

(updated below – Update II [Sat.])

The Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday held a hearing, ostensibly to investigate various issues raised about the NSA’s activities. What the hearing primarily achieved instead was to underscore what a farce the notion of Congressional oversight over the NSA is.

In particular, the current chair of the Senate Committee created in the mid-1970s to oversee the intelligence community just so happens to be one of the nation’s most steadfast and blind loyalists of and apologists for the National Security State: Dianne Feinstein. For years she has abused her position to shield and defend the NSA and related agencies rather than provide any meaningful oversight over it, which is a primary reason why it has grown into such an out-of-control and totally unaccountable behemoth.

Read moreSenator Ron Wyden: NSA ‘Repeatedly Deceived The American People’

Navy Yard Shooting: Suspect Bought a Rusty Used Gun? For $400? FBI Photos

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– Navy Yard Shooting: Suspect Bought a Rusty Used Gun? For $400? FBI Photos (American Everyman, Sep 27, 2013):

According to the official story of the Navy Yard Shooting, Aaron Alexis went to the store the weekend before the shooting and bought a Remington 870 Express Tactical shotgun. They claim there is video of him making that purchase, but the FBI has that video so we’ll never see it.

Anyway, when I saw the images of the shotgun released by the FBI this past week, something jumped out at me: he bought what appears to be a used piece of crap shotgun?

The gun has rust on it. RUST. And he supposedly bought it from a gun dealer just days before the shooting? Who would sell a POS gun like that in their store?

From the looks of it, I would be surprised if that gun even worked.

Read moreNavy Yard Shooting: Suspect Bought a Rusty Used Gun? For $400? FBI Photos

Banking Holiday in Panama Announced!

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– Banking Holiday in Panama Announced! (GoldSeek, Sep 26, 2013):

This morning the National Bank of Panama announced that it was suspending all services until Tuesday the 1st of October. The National Bank of Panama says that the reason is to upgrade systems. The Banking Holiday in Panama was announced this am.

This system wide shutdown has country wide implications. The National Bank of Panama did not warn the people before making the announcement and shutting down the banks. The people do not have access to ATM’s either. We received word of this from family members first. This weekend is payday for people across Panama.

Read moreBanking Holiday in Panama Announced!

Yesterday …

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… I wasn’t able to provide any updates, because we visited a friend who went into coma in the hospital.

He has a lot of major health problems.

We left home early in the morning and came back home shortly before midnight.

When Bubbles Fail: Albert Edwards Explains What Happens When The Fed Can No Longer Contain The Fury Of The ‘99%

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– When Bubbles Fail: Albert Edwards Explains What Happens When The Fed Can No Longer Contain The Fury Of The “99%” (ZeroHedge, Sep 27, 2013):

The premise in Albert Edwards’ latest letter “Is the Fed blowing bubbles to cover up growing inequality… again” is simple: the unprecedented social inequality in the US (and the rest of the world – as pointed out here), and what it will ultimately lead to. Regarding what it will lead to, Edwards believes, is that “growing inequality drains the swimming pool dry. The crunch, when it comes, will be ugly.” Simple enough.

Read moreWhen Bubbles Fail: Albert Edwards Explains What Happens When The Fed Can No Longer Contain The Fury Of The ‘99%

‘A Scam Of Unmatchable Balls And Cruelty’ – Matt Taibbi On Wall Street’s ‘Triple-Fucking Of Ordinary People’

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– “A Scam Of Unmatchable Balls And Cruelty” – Matt Taibbi On Wall Street’s “Triple-Fucking Of Ordinary People” (ZeroHedge, Sep 27, 2013):

What can one say: vintage Matt Taibbi.

From Rolling Stone

Looting the Pension Funds

All across America, Wall Street is grabbing money meant for public workers

In the final months of 2011, almost two years before the city of Detroit would shock America by declaring bankruptcy in the face of what it claimed were insurmountable pension costs, the state of Rhode Island took bold action to avert what it called its own looming pension crisis. Led by its newly elected treasurer, Gina Raimondo – an ostentatiously ambitious 42-year-old Rhodes scholar and former venture capitalist – the state declared war on public pensions, ramming through an ingenious new law slashing benefits of state employees with a speed and ferocity seldom before seen by any local government.

Read more‘A Scam Of Unmatchable Balls And Cruelty’ – Matt Taibbi On Wall Street’s ‘Triple-Fucking Of Ordinary People’

Fukushima Reactor No. 4 SFP: Fuel Racks Moved And Damaged; Fallen Debris Distorted Tops

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– Nuclear Industry Report: ‘Reduced stability’ of fuel pool in Fukushima Unit 4; Admits there’s damaged fuel inside? — Gundersen: Fuel racks moved and damaged; Fallen debris distorted tops (AUDIO) (ENENews, Sep 27, 2013):

World Nuclear News, Sept. 26, 2013 (Emphasis Added): […] Underwater inspections in the [Unit 4] pond have shown most of the fuel to be undamaged, but the pond contains a lot of dust and debris which will complicate operations. […] Its full core load of fuel, plus used fuel from previous operation, was being stored in a fuel pool at the top of the reactor building. […] The stability of the pool was then reduced by major structural damage to the building caused by the ignition of hydrogen […]

World Nuclear News is funded by the World Nuclear Association. The WNA represents the interests of the international nuclear industry. –Source

Fairewinds Energy Education Podcast, Sept. 26, 2013 (at 21:15 in) – Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds Chief Engineer: These racks [in the Unit 4 fuel pool] have moved, they’ve been distorted by the earthquake, there’s junk that’s fallen on top of them and distorted the tops. […] One of two things is going to happen. They’re either going to pull too hard and snap the bundle, or they’re going to be unable to pull all of the fuel out of the pool.

Full podcast available here

The Ugly Face of Tyranny: Dianne Feinstein Comes For Your Right To Speak Freely Online

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– The Ugly Face of Tyranny: Feinstein Comes For Your Right To Speak Freely Online (SHFTplan, Sep 26, 2013):

Senator Dianne Feinstein has taken up the fight for truth and liberty, just as she has done for health care and the widespread disarmament of American citizens.

This month Congess has been debating a new media shield law, which according to its authors, aims to protect journalists and bloggers from being forced to testify about their work should their sources or information come into question.

Read moreThe Ugly Face of Tyranny: Dianne Feinstein Comes For Your Right To Speak Freely Online