Global News

Israel Launches Ground Invasion Of Gaza

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Gaza-Under-Attack
(Reuters)

– Israel launches ground incursion in Gaza Strip   LIVE UPDATES  (RT, July 17, 2014)

– Israel Launches Ground Invasion Of Gaza (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

While the mainstream media busily speculates on just which Russians (because they are sure it’s not the Ukrainians) shot the jet out of the sky, Al Jazeera, via Bloomberg, reports that Israel has decided not to let a crisis go to waste and invade Gaza:

  • ISRAEL GROUND INVASION OF GAZA HAS STARTED: AL JAZEERA
  • ISRAELI ARMY DECLINES TO COMMENT ON REPORT OF GROUND INVASION

The operation is reportedly on a wide scale.

  • HEAVY ARTILLERY FIRE, EXPLOSIONS, HEARD THROUGHOUT GAZA

As Blomberg reports,

Read moreIsrael Launches Ground Invasion Of Gaza

If This Keeps Up, They Will Have To Start Putting Armed Guards On Food Trucks

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– If This Keeps Up, They Will Have To Start Putting Armed Guards On Food Trucks (Economic Collapse, July 16, 2014):

The basic necessities in life just keep getting more expensive.  On Tuesday, Hershey announced that the price of all of their chocolate bars is going to go up by about 8 percent.  That is particularly distressing to me, because I am known to love chocolate.  But if it was just chocolate that was becoming significantly more expensive perhaps that would be okay.  Last month, it was coffee.  J.M. Smucker, one of the largest coffee producers in the United States, announced that it planned to raise coffee prices by about 9 percent.  And Starbucks has announced a bunch of price increases across the board on their coffee products.  Of course we could all survive without chocolate and coffee, but as you will see below just about every food category is becoming more expensive.  If this keeps up, could we eventually see armed guards in grocery stores and on food trucks?

Read moreIf This Keeps Up, They Will Have To Start Putting Armed Guards On Food Trucks

Israeli MP Ayelet Shaked: Mothers Of All Palestinians Must Be Killed

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Ayelet-Shaked
Former bureau manager for Benjamin Netanyahu, while he was the opposition leader. (Source)

– Mothers of all Palestinians must be killed – Israeli MP (Veterans Today,, July 17, 2014):

A well-known Israeli politician and parliament member has branded  Palestinians as terrorists, saying mothers of all Palestinians should also be killed during the ongoing Israeli assault on the besieged Gaza Strip, Daily Sabah reported.

Ayelet Shaked of the ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party called for the slaughter of Palestinian mothers who give birth to “little snakes.”

“They have to die and their houses should be demolished so that they cannot bear any more terrorists,” Shaked said, adding, “They are all our enemies and their blood should be on our hands. This also applies to the mothers of the dead terrorists.”

The remarks are considered as a call for genocide as she declared that all Palestinians are Israel’s enemies and must be killed. On Monday (July 7) Shaked quoted this on her Facebook page:

“Behind every terrorist stand dozens of men and women, without whom he could not engage in terrorism. They are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs, who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. They should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there.”

Read moreIsraeli MP Ayelet Shaked: Mothers Of All Palestinians Must Be Killed

20 Signs The Epic Drought In The Western United States Is Starting To Become Apocalyptic

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US-drought-monitor

– 20 Signs The Epic Drought In The Western United States Is Starting To Become Apocalyptic (Economic Collapse, July 15, 2014):

When scientists start using phrases such as “the worst drought” and “as bad as you can imagine” to describe what is going on in the western half of the country, you know that things are bad.  Thanks to an epic drought that never seems to end, we are witnessing the beginning of a water crisis that most people never even dreamed was possible in this day and age.  The state of California is getting ready to ban people from watering their lawns and washing their cars, but if this drought persists we will eventually see far more extreme water conservation measures than that.  And the fact that nearly half of all of the produce in America comes out of the state of California means that ultimately this drought is going to deeply affect all of us.  Food prices have already been rising at an alarming rate, and the longer this drought goes on the higher they will go.   Let us hope and pray that this drought is permanently broken at some point, because otherwise we could very well be entering an era of extreme water rationing, gigantic dust storms and crippling food prices.

The following are 20 signs that the epic drought in the western half of the United States is starting to become apocalyptic…

Read more20 Signs The Epic Drought In The Western United States Is Starting To Become Apocalyptic

Housing Starts Tumble, Miss Most Since January 2007; Permits Have Biggest Two-Month Plunge Since Lehman

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– Housing Starts Tumble, Miss Most Since January 2007; Permits Have Biggest Two-Month Plunge Since Lehman (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

“Epic disaster.” Those two words best explain what just happened with US housing starts and permits in June.Those who want a slightly more detailed narrative of what the Department of Commerce just reported here it is: in June housing starts were expected to print at a solid 1020K, to validate the sustainable “recovery.” Instead, what happened was that the May downward revised number of 985K, which was a consensus beating 1001K last month, crashed to 893K, a drop of 92K which was the biggest since the January “polar vortex” effect, the biggest miss to permaoptimistic expectations since January 2007, and which brought the total number of starts to the lowest level since September 2013. Was it the harsh weather’s fault this time too?

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Busted Again! Another American ‘Mystery Plane’

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cia-cocaine-trafficking

Don’t miss!

Full article here:

– Busted Again! Another American “Mystery Plane” (MadCow Morning News, July 15, 2014):

At the heart of the story of Australia’s current experience with the latest American-registered drug plane busted overseas is that this is not just another American “mystery plane.”

It’s a “stealth” mystery plane.

buzted

Another American “mystery plane” was busted last week, this time in Australia, at the Illawarra regional airport in the seaside city of Wollongong, an hour south of Sydney.

Police seized a cache of 35 kilos of illegal drugs found on an American-registered Swearingen Merlin twin–engine turbo-prop during an initial search, sources told ABC Australia, and said one local man, already known to police, had been arrested. 

The drug seized went unspecified, but speculation focused on heroin. 

The news sent local media in Australia into a three-day tizzy. One newspaper published seventeen separate photographs showing police swarming over the aircraft from a variety of different angles, to no particular effect. 

mystery1

“Mystery plane raided: Pilot flew across Pacific, left it in Philippines” reported ABC Australia.

“Mystery surrounds THREE DAY police ‘drug’ raid on 43-year-old light plane” headlined London’s Daily Mail. 

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It Has Begun! UN Building a World Army to Usher in NWO and Disarm Citizens Everywhere! High Treason is Being Committed Right Under Our Noses!!

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FYI.

– It Has Begun! UN Building a World Army to Usher in NWO and Disarm Citizens Everywhere! High Treason is Being Committed Right Under Our Noses!! (Before It’s News, July 15, 2014):

The United Nations has set the world on fire! They are building an army of soldiers ready to disarm citizens at the verbal command of their leader. Their goal is to take over the world and implement their tyrannical rule and it is only a matter of time before it happens. They are recruiting soldiers from countries all across the globe and are building up their military arsenal; from MRAPS to machine guns. If you are still a skeptic on the New World Order, you won’t be after this….

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The Marginal ‘Benefit’ Of A Terminated Microsoft Employee: $1.5 Million

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– The Marginal “Benefit” Of A Terminated Microsoft Employee: $1.5 Million (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

Since the advance reports of layoffs at Microsoft started circulating this Sunday, the giant tech company has surged over 8%. This has raised the market cap of the behemoth by almost $28 Billion. Today we get the ‘news’ that Microsoft was laying off a record 18,000 employees (more than tripled the 2009 dump of 5,900 employees).That means – for all activist investors out there looking to raise MSFT share price – a $1.5 million market cap boost for each scalp, which, in other words, is the marginal “value added” of every currently employed Microsoft worker.

20140717_MSFT

 

The Largest Landfill On Earth: The ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’

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Flashback:

– Drowning in plastic: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of France

– Debris From Japanese Tsunami Headed For Pacific ‘Garbage Patch’

– Scientists Map North Atlantic Garbage Patch For The First Time

– The Pacific Ocean Is Now “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”

– The Largest Landfill On Earth: Plastic Garbage In The Oceans? (OilPrice, July 15, 2014):

Think about the last time you got takeout or ate at a fast food restaurant. Or the last time you bought a pre-packaged food item from a store, or drank a bottle of water or soda. Chances are, plastic was involved in all those items — plastic that will still be around up to 1,000 years from now.

Americans throw away over 30 million tons of plastic every year, of which only about 25 percent is recycled. The rest goes to landfills. Unfortunately, the largest “landfill” on Earth is actually in the North Pacific Ocean.

The “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is estimated to be anywhere from 3,100 square miles to twice the size of Texas.

Read moreThe Largest Landfill On Earth: The ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’

Second Chinese Bond Default On Deck … Why A Deluge Of Defaults Is Inevitable, Whether Beijing Likes It Or Not

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From the article:

“Actually, the main reason why a deluge of defaults is inevitable, whether Beijing likes it or not, is that as we will report shortly, far from enaging in any deleveraging or “tapering” of credit injections, in the first quarter, Chinese banks saw the biggest increase in their assets in history! And since the bulk of these are in the form of loans going to already insolvent and materially impaired business, all China is doing now is throwing trillions in good money after bad. Which also means that in deciding to delay the Minsky unwind if only by a few months, China has just assured that when the collapse finally comes, it will be that much more acute.”

–  Second Chinese Bond Default On Deck (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

It seems like it was only yesterday when the first official Chinese corporate default in history (there have been many other ones in the past but all were quickly masked by the government to avoid a panic), Chaori Solar, entered the history books. Now it’s time for default number in the country’s onshore bond market as Huatong Road & Bridge Group, a company whose businesses includ bridge and highway construction, real estate, coal, eco-friendly construction materials and agriculture-related projects, based in the northern province of Shanxi, said it may miss a 400 million yuan ($64.5 million) note payment due July 23, according to a statement to the Shanghai Clearing House yesterday.

Read moreSecond Chinese Bond Default On Deck … Why A Deluge Of Defaults Is Inevitable, Whether Beijing Likes It Or Not

Mega Police Op: 660 Arrested In UK’s Biggest Anti-Child Abuse Raid

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– Mega Police Op: 660 arrested in UK’s biggest anti-child abuse raid (RT, July 16, 2014):

British police have arrested 660 people in a massive six-month operation against accessing child abuse images online, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed.

The operation saw 45 police forces involved, 833 properties searched and nearly 10,000 computer hard drives examined.

Teachers, doctors and social care workers were among those arrested, on charges ranging from possessing indecent images of children to serious sexual assault.

Read moreMega Police Op: 660 Arrested In UK’s Biggest Anti-Child Abuse Raid

Israeli Military ‘Denies Targeting Children’ Slammed For ‘Not Having The Courage To Talk To Hamas’

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– Israeli Military “Denies Targeting Children” Slammed For “Not Having The Courage To Talk To Hamas” (ZeroHedge, July 16, 2014):

In one of the most uncomfortable (and must-see) interviews, UK Channel 4’s John Snow ‘discusses’ Israel’s bombing raids and policies towards Hamas with Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. The interview starts with a punch, “How does killing children on a beach contribute to your purpose of protecting Israeli civilians?” Regev ducks and weaves from question to question, flummoxed when Snow jabs, “if you couldn’t tell these were 4 young Palestinian children playing football on a Gaza beach, you need better equipment,” only to be slammed towards the end with, “why not be brave and talk directly to Hamas? You haven’t got the courage.” Not the kind of interview one is likely to see on US TV.

The 4 children hit by Israeli shells while playing on the beach

The aftermath…

And the rather stunning interview…

Putin Says ‘Ukraine Responsible For Crash … Wouldn’t Happen If At Peace’

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– Putin Says “Ukraine Responsible For Crash… Wouldn’t Happen If At Peace” (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

According to Russian news agency Interfax, Vladimir Putin remarked during a government meeting today that:

  • *PUTIN SAYS UKRAINE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MALAYSIA JET CRASH: IFX
  • *MALAYSIA CRASH WOULDN’T HAPPEN IF UKRAINE WAS AT PEACE: IFX

But ordered Russia’s government to all it can to investigate the crash.

Via The Kremlin,

Read morePutin Says ‘Ukraine Responsible For Crash … Wouldn’t Happen If At Peace’

US Intelligence Confirms Malaysian Jet Brought Down By Surface-To-Air Missile

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–  US Intelligence Confirms Malaysian Jet Brought Down By Surface-To-Air Missile (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

Details are starting to come together. The WSJ reports that US Intelligence detected a surface missile launch and tracked the explosion of the plane.

  • *U.S. INTELLIGENCE SAYS SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILE FIRED PLANE: WSJ

However, Intelligence Community Divided Over Whether Missile From Russia or E. Ukraine.

As WSJ earlier noted,

Read moreUS Intelligence Confirms Malaysian Jet Brought Down By Surface-To-Air Missile

And Now The White House Is On Lockdown

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– And Now The White House Is On Lockdown (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

A day that couldn’t get any more bizarre, just did.

  • WHITE HOUSE PLACED ON LOCKDOWN, ABC NEWS TWEETS

Why, was Obama trying to run away?

* * *

Update: It’s all good, Obama is not running away:

  • WHITE HOUSE LOCKDOWN FOR ’UNATTENDED PACKAGE’: FLY CITES ABC

Obama And Putin Speak, Mention Plane Crash; Obama Threatens With More Sanctions

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As I’ve said before (EU Gives Russia Three Days to De-Escalate Ukraine Crisis, Threatens Sanctions):

It’s Ukraine vs East Ukraine, but Russia is now told to solve the problem the U.S. and the EU have created in the first place?

– Obama And Putin Speak, Mention Plane Crash; Obama Threatens With More Sanctions (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

While the world was riveted by the latest Malaysian Airlines tragedy, Obama and Putin spoke. According to Reuters, Obama warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the United States and its allies are prepared to impose additional sanctions on Moscow if it does not change course in Ukraine.

More:

The blunt warning came during a phone call on Thursday.

Read moreObama And Putin Speak, Mention Plane Crash; Obama Threatens With More Sanctions

Veterans Today: 777 Shot Down Over Ukraine – Unconfirmed: Malaysian Plane Mistaken For Putin’s Private Jet Which Had Fflown Over The Area Only Moments Before

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– 777 Shot Down Over Ukraine (Veterans Today, July 17, 2014):

Unconfirmed: Malaysian plane mistaken for Putin’s private jet which had flown over the area only moments before, leaving Israel and the Kiev junta as prime suspects. This may well have been an assassination attempt on Putin.

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Baroness Forced To Step Down In UK Pedophile Investigation

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– Baroness forced to step down in UK Pedophile Investigation (RT, July 14, 2014):

Saying she was “not the right person” for the job, Baroness Butler-Sloss has stepped down as head of the UK government’s inquiry that looks into reports of at least 20 senior figures including MPs and cabinet ministers abusing children over decades.

Butler-Sloss, 80, had been under pressure to quit by both MPs and victims due to her family links. Sir Michael Havers, who is the Baroness’ late brother, served as attorney general in the 1980’s, and is suspected of turning a blind eye to incidents of child abuse conducted by politicians during the time.

Read moreBaroness Forced To Step Down In UK Pedophile Investigation

Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 Shot Down Over Ukraine, … Had 280 Passengers On Board

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Update:

– Here Is The Real-Time Flight Path Of The Shot Down Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 17

– Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 Reportedly Shot Down Over Ukraine (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

Update: so yes, it was shot down according to flashing headlines.

Russia Denies Downing Ukraine Warplane, Accuses Ukraine Of Ethnic Cleansing, Says ‘Does Not Want War’

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– Russia Denies Downing Ukraine Warplane, Accuses Ukraine Of Ethnic Cleansing, Says “Does Not Want War” (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

We were wondering how long it would take Russia to officially deny Ukraine’s latest propaganda that it had shot down a Ukraine Su-25 fighter jet. The answer: just about 4 hours since the story was first “reported” by Ukraine media, give or take. As reported moments ago via RIA, Russia’s Defence Ministry denied on Thursday it had shot down a Ukrainian airplane and called the accusation by Kiev “absurd.” “It is absurd, just like all the previous accusations from Kiev’s leadership against Russia’s Defence Ministry,” a ministry spokesman was quoted as saying.

So much for that. But what was more troubling was what Russia said in addition:

  • RUSSIA SAYS ETHNIC CLEANSING HAPPENING IN UKRAINE: RIA

And as is widely known, Russia has repeatedly state that the one reason it could get involved kinetically in Ukraine, is if the local government engages in mass extermination of ethnic Russians. Which probably explains the following veiled threat:

Read moreRussia Denies Downing Ukraine Warplane, Accuses Ukraine Of Ethnic Cleansing, Says ‘Does Not Want War’

Microsoft Announces Record 18,000 Layoffs, Three Time More Than Expected

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Microsoft

–  Microsoft Announces Record 18,000 Layoffs, Three Time More Than Expected (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

While the news was reported earlier this week, it is perhaps notable that what was once considered the leading US tech company has also succumbed to the great “jobless” US recovery (in which the US economy is somehow adding 200K+ jobs every month even as it is firing millions). Furthermore, what was supposed to be 6,000 layoffs has just tripled to 18,000, which also happens to be the largest round of layoffs in MSFT history, surpassing the previous record of 5,800 set back in 2009.

From the PR:

Read moreMicrosoft Announces Record 18,000 Layoffs, Three Time More Than Expected

Kiev Reports Ukraine Warplane Was Shot Down By A Russian Fighter Jet

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– Kiev Reports Ukraine Warplane Was Shot Down By A Russian Fighter Jet (ZeroHedge, July 17, 2014):

While most news coming out of Ukraine regarding the ongoing civil war are merely propaganda designed to make Russia look bad, and hence irrelevant (and vice versa from Russia of course – the only news that matters re: Ukraine is i) what happens with gas deliveries to Europe via Ukraine and ii) the fate of the South Stream pipeline; the rest is mostly noise), it is perhaps a testament to how the global media will observe Russia’s response to the latest US sanctions, and hardly improve risk appetite, that as Reuters reports a Russian jet shot down a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter plane that was on military operations over the east of Ukraine.

While we have yet to receive the official Kremlin denial of this major escalation in hostilities between the two countries, and one which would otherwise be grounds for war by Ukraine and thus essentially denies the report (since Ukraine did not declare war on Russia for rather obvious reasons), here are the alleged details:

Read moreKiev Reports Ukraine Warplane Was Shot Down By A Russian Fighter Jet

Putin Responds: ‘US Sanctions Will Boomerang And Cause Very Serious Damage’

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Vladimir-Putin1

– Putin Responds: “US Sanctions Will Boomerang And Cause Very Serious Damage” (ZeroHedge, July 16, 2014):

It took just a little over an hour for Vladimir Putin to respond to the latest, most provocative and toughest round of US sanctions yet. The response, appropriately enough, came just after the BRICS summit in Brazil, where the world’s developing countries yesterday announced the formation of both a BRIC bank and a $100 billion currency reserve to provide a liquidity alternative to the insolvent developed world’s central banks. Here Vladimir Putin was asked to comment on the new package of sanctions against Russia announced just minutes earlier by Obama.

Putin’s response: “We aren’t the ones introducing sanctions, you should ask them.”

“Sanctions have a boomerang effect and without any doubt they will push U.S.-Russian relations into a dead end, and cause very serious damage, and it undermines the long term security interests of the US State and its people.” he said to reporters while elaborating that said he needed to see the details of the sanctions to understand their full scope Reuters added.

And as was largely expected, Putin’s next jab was right where it hurt: energy.

Read morePutin Responds: ‘US Sanctions Will Boomerang And Cause Very Serious Damage’