Global News

Japan: Increase In Number Of Giant Squid Catches Seen As ‘Omen’ By Puzzled Fishermen

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From the article:

“I wonder whether it may be some kind of omen.”

I’m wondering what these people have between their ears.

Hopeless.

Giant-squid
Behemoth of the seas: The giant squid

– Increase in number of giant squid catches seen as omen by puzzled fishermen (Mirror, Feb 20, 2014):

One creature was missing its two longest tentacles – which means it could have been eight metres long before it was caught.

Giant squids are being caught in increasing numbers along the coast of Japan – leading fishermen to fear it could be some kind of omen.

Read moreJapan: Increase In Number Of Giant Squid Catches Seen As ‘Omen’ By Puzzled Fishermen

Canadian Gov’t: ‘There’s going to be radiation from Fukushima for years to come… Testing will never stop’ – US Gov’t: There’s no reason to believe radioactive plume coming to West Coast

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– Canadian Gov’t: “There’s going to be radiation from Fukushima for years to come… Testing will never stop” — US Gov’t: There’s no reason to believe radioactive plume coming to West Coast (ENENews, Feb 21, 2014):

Coast Reporter (B.C., Canada), John Gleeson, Feb. 21, 2014 (emphasis added): [Sean Upton, a senior media relations officer] said Health Canada scientists tested 28 fish samples provided last year by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and no radiation from Fukushima was detected […] While the testing was not part of a formal research study, and was described by Health Canada as an ad hoc technical exercise, Upton said it was also linked to research on the transport of Fukushima radiation to B.C. coastal waters, first measured by DFO at “barely detectable” levels in June 2013. […] Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs joined other First Nation leaders in calling for Ottawa to start conducting regular testing of domestic Pacific seafood. […] While regular testing is not being contemplated at this time, that will change if circumstances warrant it, [Upton] said.

Read moreCanadian Gov’t: ‘There’s going to be radiation from Fukushima for years to come… Testing will never stop’ – US Gov’t: There’s no reason to believe radioactive plume coming to West Coast

TV: Radioactive waste containers may be “smashed and opened” after roof collapse at leaking U.S. nuclear site — Official: We believe there’s been a breach… “It’s a very serious thing” — ‘Seismic event’ mentioned — High levels of alpha and beta radiation detected (VIDEO)

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– TV: Radioactive waste containers may be “smashed and opened” after roof collapse at leaking U.S. nuclear site — Official: We believe there’s been a breach… “It’s a very serious thing” — ‘Seismic event’ mentioned — High levels of alpha and beta radiation detected (VIDEO) (ENENews, Feb 21, 2014):

Carlsbad Current Argus, Feb. 20, 2014 (emphasis added): […] the radiation leak occurred on the evening of Feb. 14, according to new information made public at a news conference Thursday afternoon. […] Joe Franco, manager of the DOE Carlsbad Field Office, said an underground air monitor detected high levels of alpha and beta radiation activity consistent the waste buried at WIPP. “We are assuming and believe that it is from one of our waste (sources) that we have underground […]” he added. […] It could be up to three or four weeks before workers can go underground to survey the possible source […]

Read moreTV: Radioactive waste containers may be “smashed and opened” after roof collapse at leaking U.S. nuclear site — Official: We believe there’s been a breach… “It’s a very serious thing” — ‘Seismic event’ mentioned — High levels of alpha and beta radiation detected (VIDEO)

Study Claims USS Ronald Reagan Crew Exposed To Extremely High Levels Of Radiation Near Fukushima

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Related info:

– Fukushima: Number Of Sick U.S. Military First Responders Doubles – Congress: Reports Are ‘Disconcerting’

– USS Ronald Reagan Navy Officers: “My body is falling apart” after Japan rescue mission, his right side “just didn’t work” — Another “can no longer use his legs” and unable to urinate — If 300 times normal radiation is OK, I don’t know what to tell you

– USS Ronald Reagan Sailor After Fukushima: I’m In A Wheelchair, Now It’s Spreading To My Arms And Hands

– USS Ronald Reagan: Sailors Were Vomiting And Losing Bowel Control After Fukushima Radiation Exposure

– USS Ronald Reagan Sailors Had Radioactive Snow Ball Fights Off Fukushima – Crew ‘Pretty Well Toast’ After Weeks On Pacific … Significant Cancers, Incessant Bleeding From Anus Or Vagina, Blindness – Debris From USS Reagan Sent To Hanford Nuclear Waste Site

– ‘Constant Influx’ Of Sick USS Ronald Reagan Sailors Coming Forward – Arnie Gundersen: Health effects Are Real … They Were Exposed To High Levels Of Radiation

– Navy Officer Now Confined To Wheelchair After Fukushima Radiation Exposure — Doctors Can’t Explain ‘Puzzling’ Ailments, Leg Muscles Just Gave Up

– Fukushima Cover-Up Exposed: Former MSNBC host told not to warn people about Fukushima meltdowns: ‘The official gov’t position is that it’s safe’ – ‘Now go explain that to people who served on the USS Ronald Reagan’

– USS Ronald Reagan Navy Rescuer: Japan Refused To Let Us In During 3/11 Operation, Said Ship Too Radioactive; We Were Literally Chased By A Death Sentence, Radiation Was Everywhere

– Fukushima: 70 More USS Ronald Reagan Sailors File New Lawsuit – Thousands More Could Have Been Seriously Exposed – Cancers, Blindness, Etc.

– Judge Dimisses Sickened USS Ronald Reagan Crew Radiation Lawsuit

– Another 20 Navy Sailors Of USS Ronald Reagan Crew With Thyroid Cancers, Leukemia, Brain Tumors, Bleeding, Blindness After Fukushima Disaster

– USS Ronald Reagan Higher Ups, Senior Chiefs Now Say They’re Sick After Fukushima Exposure (Video)

– USS Ronald Reagan Radiation Levels On March 13, 2011: 370,000,000 Bq/cm3

– Eight Crew Members Of The USS Ronald Reagan Sue Tepco For Lying About Fukushima

US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan
US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan

– Study claims USS Reagan crew exposed to extremely high levels of radiation near Fukushima (RT, Feb 20, 2014):

A new report on the nuclear crisis that started to unfold in Fukushima, Japan almost three years ago suggests that American troops who assisted with disaster relief efforts were exposed to unheard of radiation levels while on assignment.

Kyle Cleveland, a sociology professor at Temple University Japan, makes a case for that argument in an academic paper published in the Asia-Pacific Journal this week titled Mobilizing Nuclear Bias: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of Uncertainty.

Read moreStudy Claims USS Ronald Reagan Crew Exposed To Extremely High Levels Of Radiation Near Fukushima

Ukraine May Or May Not Have A Deal As S&P Warns Of Sovereign Default

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– Ukraine May Or May Not Have A Deal As S&P Warns Of Sovereign Default (ZeroHedge, Feb 21, 2014):

Several hours ago, and a day after the latest truce lasted about a few minutes before the the shooting returned and resulted in the bloodiest day of Ukraine’s protests so far, there was hope that the situation in Ukraine may finally be getting resolved, when Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovich announced plans for early elections in a series of concessions to his pro-European opponents. As Reuters reported earlier, Russian-backed Yanukovich, under pressure to quit from mass demonstrations in central Kiev, promised a national unity government and constitutional change to reduce his powers, as well as the presidential polls. He made the announcement in a statement on the presidential website without waiting for a signed agreement with opposition leaders after at least 77 people were killed in the worst violence since Ukraine became independent 22 years ago. This comes in the aftermath of S&P’s announcement overnight that the Ukraine will default in absence of favorable changes.

Read moreUkraine May Or May Not Have A Deal As S&P Warns Of Sovereign Default

Madoff Said JPMorgan Executives Knew Of His Fraud – JPMorgen Admitted Guilt By Agreeing To Pay $2.6 Billion To Settle Lawsuits With The DOJ

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– Madoff said JPMorgan executives knew of his fraud: lawsuit (Reuters, Feb 20, 2104):

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two senior officials at JPMorgan Chase & Co and predecessor companies repeatedly confronted Bernard Madoff over irregularities in his business, a new lawsuit said, suggesting that bank leaders had “direct knowledge” of his Ponzi scheme.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday on behalf of shareholders against Chief Executive Jamie Dimon and 12 other current and former executives and directors was based in part by statements made by Madoff himself during a series of interviews.

Read moreMadoff Said JPMorgan Executives Knew Of His Fraud – JPMorgen Admitted Guilt By Agreeing To Pay $2.6 Billion To Settle Lawsuits With The DOJ

RBS Plans Dramatic Scaling Back, To Fire 30,000 Of Its 120,000 Workers

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RBS

– RBS plans dramatic scaling back, to fire 30,000 of its 120,000 workers (Financial Times, Feb 20, 2014)

Royal Bank of Scotland is preparing a dramatic retrenchment that would see it become a much smaller UK retail and commercial bank in a move that is expected to slash staff numbers by at least 30,000 in the coming years.

The bank, which is 81 per cent owned by the government, is next week expected to announce its withdrawal from many of its riskier investment banking activities alongside a plan to offload much of its international business.

Read moreRBS Plans Dramatic Scaling Back, To Fire 30,000 Of Its 120,000 Workers

Insane Japan To Fast-Track Some Nuclear Restarts

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– Japan to fast-track some nuclear restarts (Reuters, Feb 19, 2014):

Japan will fast-track the restart of some nuclear reactors, the regulator said on Wednesday, potentially breaking a logjam that has kept the country without nuclear power in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Making a priority list for a few nuclear plants will move them forward in an approval process that has become bogged down in laborious safety checks and paperwork.

It remains unclear when any of Japan’s 48 reactors could come back on-line, but fast-tracking the process is good news for the nuclear industry, which had been hoping to begin the restarts by the middle of this year.

Read moreInsane Japan To Fast-Track Some Nuclear Restarts

Why Does Ukraine Seem So Much Like Syria?

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Related info:

– Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: US, EU Paying Ukrainian Rioters, Protesters

– U.S. State Department Confirms Authenticity Of Intercepted Ukraine ‘FUCK THE EU’ Phone Call, Accuses Russia Of Dirty Tricks

– ‘FUCK THE EU’ – US State Department Blasts Europe; Revealed As Alleged Mastermind Behind Ukraine Unrest

– Why Does Ukraine Seem So Much Like Syria? (Lew Rockwell, Feb 20, 2014):

In Ukraine, US-backed rebels seize weapons from a military depot and begin firing on police — killing at least ten. The rebel groups occupy and torch government buildings, trade union headquarters, the central post office, and political party headquarters. They occupy local government facilities in other cities and physically attack local authorities. Their goal is to overthrow the elected government.

Reports of rebel reinforcements arriving, with “bulky backpacks near the scene of the latest protests,” are suspiciously reminiscent of the “Internet in a Suitcase” project funded by the US government to provide tools for “activists” in regime-change candidate countries. The US has similarly trained and equipped the Syrian rebels.

Read moreWhy Does Ukraine Seem So Much Like Syria?

Homeland Security Cancels National License-Plate Tracking Plan

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– Department of Homeland Security cancels national license-plate tracking plan (Washington Post, Feb 19, 2014):

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of a plan by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to develop a national license-plate tracking system after privacy advocates raised concern about the initiative.

The order came just days after ICE solicited proposals from companies to compile a database of license-plate information from commercial and law enforcement tag readers. Officials said the database was intended to help apprehend fugitive illegal immigrants, but the plan raised concerns that the movements of ordinary citizens under no criminal suspicion could be scrutinized.

Read moreHomeland Security Cancels National License-Plate Tracking Plan

China’s Credit Bubble Hits Unprecedented Proportions – A Walk Thru Of China’s Hard Landing, And The Upcoming Global Harder Reset

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– “The Pig In The Python Is About To Be Expelled”: A Walk Thru Of China’s Hard Landing, And The Upcoming Global Harder Reset (ZeroHedge, Feb 20, 2014):

By now everyone knows that the Chinese credit bubble has hit unprecedented proportions. If they don’t, we remind them with the following chart of total bank “assets” (read debt) added since the collapse of Lehman: China literally puts the US to shame, where in addition to everything, the only actual source of incremental credit growth over the same time period has been the Fed as banks have used reserves as margin for risk purchases instead of lending.

China vs US Bank Assets - Total and Change

Everyone should also know that like a metastatic cancer, the amount of non-performing, bad loans within the Chinese financial system is growing at an exponential pace.

China-non-performing-loans

Finally, what everyone learned over the past month, is that as the two massive, and unresolvable forces, come to a head, the first cracks in the facade are starting to appear as first one then another shadow-banking Trust product failed and had to be bailed out in the last minute.

However, as we showed last week, and then again last night, the default party in China is only just beginning as Trust failures in the coming months are set to accelerate at a breakneck pace.

Read moreChina’s Credit Bubble Hits Unprecedented Proportions – A Walk Thru Of China’s Hard Landing, And The Upcoming Global Harder Reset

Ukraine: 100 Protesters Dead, 577 Injured

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– Diplomatic talks in Ukraine last until dawn, a day after 100 may have died (CNN, Feb 20, 2014):

Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) — Protests. Talks. Violence. Protests. Talks. Violence.

By early Friday morning, the lone positive point was that — for the time being — Ukraine’s cycle of political and physical infighting was not then at its bloodiest point, as it had been hours earlier.

Opposition medics said that 100 protesters died Thursday in clashes with police, when gunfire was unleashed.

The government places the toll much lower.

The health ministry puts the total death toll since Tuesday at 77. Twenty-six of them had been previously reported for Tuesday alone.

Another 577 people have been injured; 369 of those were hospitalized, the ministry said.

The Foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland met with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and with the opposition overnight.

Read moreUkraine: 100 Protesters Dead, 577 Injured

China Starts To Make A Power Move Against The U.S. Dollar

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– China Starts To Make A Power Move Against The U.S. Dollar (Economic Collapse, Feb 20, 2014):

In order for our current level of debt-fueled prosperity to continue, the rest of the world must continue to use our dollars to trade with one another and must continue to buy our debt at ridiculously low interest rates.  Of course the number one foreign nation that we depend on to participate in our system is China.  China accounts for more global trade than anyone else on the planet (including the United States), and most of that trade is conducted in U.S. dollars.  This keeps demand for our dollars very high, and it ensures that we can import massive quantities of goods from overseas at very low cost.  As a major exporting nation, China ends up with gigantic piles of our dollars.  They lend many of those dollars back to us at ridiculously low interest rates.  At this point, China owns more of our national debt than any other country does.  But if China was to decide to quit playing our game and started moving away from U.S. dollars and U.S. debt, our economic prosperity could disappear very rapidly.  Demand for the U.S. dollar would fall and prices would go up.  And interest rates on our debt and everything else in our financial system would go up to crippling levels.  So it is absolutely critical to our financial future that China continues to play our game.

Read moreChina Starts To Make A Power Move Against The U.S. Dollar

Breakthrough Over 600-Year-Old Mystery Voynich Manuscript

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Voynich-Manuscript
The 15th Century Voynich Manuscript has been described as the world’s most mysterious book written in a complex code, an unknown language or simply a hoax

– Breakthrough over 600-year-old mystery manuscript (BBC News, Feb 18, 2014)

A breakthrough has been made in attempts to decipher a mysterious 600-year-old manuscript written in an unknown language, it has been claimed.

The Voynich Manuscript, carbon-dated to the 1400s, was rediscovered in 1912, but has defied codebreakers since.

Read moreBreakthrough Over 600-Year-Old Mystery Voynich Manuscript

DAILY Release From Fukushima Of 100+ Quadrillion Bq Of Cesium-137 Early On In Crisis – Chernobyl TOTAL Release Was ~70 Quadrillion Bq Of Cesium-137

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Flashback:

– Fukushima Now Equal To 50 Plus Chernobyls & 3,000 Billion Lethal Doses Of Radiation (Veterans Today, May 28, 2011):

“Three thousand billion (3,000,000,000,000) Lethal Doses of Radiation means there are 429 Lethal Doses chasing each and every one of us on the planet, to put it in a nutshell.”

– Russian Study: Fukushima released 100 quadrillion becquerels of cesium into atmosphere… In just ONE day — About equal to Chernobyl’s total release

– Study: Daily release from Fukushima of 100+ Quadrillion becquerels of cesium-137 early on in crisis “seems reasonable” — Chernobyl total release was ~70 Quadrillion Bq of cs-137 (ENENews, Feb 19, 2014):

Comparison between modelling and measurement of marine dispersion, environmental half-time and 137Cs inventories after the Fukushima Daiichi accident (pdf), January 2014: The 137Cs total atmospheric source term varies […] (Schöppner et al. 2012) implies a much higher activity (1,000 – 10,000 PBq*) in the total inventory of radionuclides released. […]

*PBq = petabecquerel = quadrillion becquerels

Daily release from Fukushima of 100plus Quadrillion becquerels of cesium-137 early on in crisis

Read moreDAILY Release From Fukushima Of 100+ Quadrillion Bq Of Cesium-137 Early On In Crisis – Chernobyl TOTAL Release Was ~70 Quadrillion Bq Of Cesium-137

Extremely High Radiation Leak At Fukushima Plant: 25 TRILLION Bq Of Strontium-90 And Other Beta Emitters

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– TV: “Extremely high levels of radioactive substances” leaked Wednesday night at Fukushima plant — 25 trillion becquerels of Strontium-90 and other beta emitters estimated to have flowed out — “Investigation is still underway” (VIDEO) (ENENews, Feb 19, 2014):

NHK, Feb. 19, 2014: Highly radioactive water leaks at Fukushima plant […] [Tepco] says water containing extremely high levels of radioactive substances has leaked from a storage tank. [and] was found on Wednesday night […] the water leaked from a seam near the top of the tank. It traveled along a rainwater pipe and flowed outside the barrier that surrounds the tank. […] Officials say their investigation is still underway.

Bloomberg, Feb. 19, 2014: Tepco Says New Leak of Radioactive Water Found at Fukushima Site […] About 100 metric tons (26,400 gallons) of water […] Beta radiation readings of 230 million becquerels per liter were taken in a water sample collected today near the H6 tank area […] About 300 tons of contaminated groundwater seep into the ocean each day […]

Read moreExtremely High Radiation Leak At Fukushima Plant: 25 TRILLION Bq Of Strontium-90 And Other Beta Emitters

Plutonium Release At U.S. Nuclear Facility: ‘We Don’t Know What Happened … Don’t Know Whether It Could Happen Again’

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– Plutonium release at U.S. nuclear facility: “We don’t know what happened… don’t know whether it could happen again” — “Big problem… how much is continuing to be released?” — Officials “know very little about extent of problem or how to solve it” (ENENews, Feb 20, 2014):

KUNM (NPR affiliate), Feb. 20, 2014: Highest Ever Radiation Levels Detected In Air Above Nuclear Waste Facility […] Russell Hardy, director of the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center, said Wednesday a monitor near the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico has detected trace amounts of the radioactive isotopes americium and plutonium. He says the levels are the highest ever detected at or around the site […]

Read morePlutonium Release At U.S. Nuclear Facility: ‘We Don’t Know What Happened … Don’t Know Whether It Could Happen Again’

Airborne Plutonium Detected Outside Troubled U.S. Nuclear Facility – ‘Levels Are Highest Ever Detected’ Around Site

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– Airborne plutonium detected outside troubled U.S. nuclear facility — Expert: ‘Radiation event’ appears to have occurred, leading to a release; “Levels are highest ever detected” around site (ENENews, Feb 19, 2014):

Carlsbad Current-Argus, Feb. 19, 2014: Traces of radiation have been found approximately half a mile northwest of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant […] Tests by the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center […] showed evidence of trace amounts of americium and plutonium on an air filter Wednesday afternoon […] [CEMRC director Russell] Hardy said even though trace amounts of radiation were detected between Tuesday and Sunday, it’s important to note that radiation levels have been “very low and are well below any level of public and environmental hazard.”

Read moreAirborne Plutonium Detected Outside Troubled U.S. Nuclear Facility – ‘Levels Are Highest Ever Detected’ Around Site

Nun sentenced to years in prison for nuclear site sabotage – Sister Rice pleads with judge to give her life behind bars, ‘Greatest honor you could give me’ – Yale scholar mentions her along with Gandhi, MLK

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– Nun sentenced to years in prison for nuclear site sabotage — Sister Rice pleads with judge to give her life behind bars, “Greatest honor you could give me” — Yale scholar mentions her along with Gandhi, MLK — TV: Highly unusual hearing, judge repeatedly says how much sway they have to affect change (ENENews, Feb 19, 2014):

Reuters, Feb. 18, 2014: A U.S. judge sentenced an 84-year-old nun, Sister Megan Rice, on Tuesday to 35 months in prison for breaking into a Tennessee defense facility where enriched uranium for nuclear bombs is stored.

AP, Feb. 18, 2014: Rice asked the judge to sentence her to life in prison […] “Please have no leniency with me,” she said. “To remain in prison for the rest of my life would be the greatest gift you could give me.”’ […] God was using them to raise awareness about nuclear weapons and they viewed their break-in as a miracle. […] Rice testified at trial that she was surprised the group made it all the way to the interior of the secured zone without being challenged and that plant operations were suspended. “That stunned me,” she said. “I can’t believe they shut down the whole place.” […] U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar said he was concerned they showed no remorse and he wanted the punishment to be a deterrent for other activists.

Read moreNun sentenced to years in prison for nuclear site sabotage – Sister Rice pleads with judge to give her life behind bars, ‘Greatest honor you could give me’ – Yale scholar mentions her along with Gandhi, MLK

29 Percent Of All U.S. Adults Under The Age Of 35 Are Living With Their Parents

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– 29 Percent Of All U.S. Adults Under The Age Of 35 Are Living With Their Parents (Economic Collapse, Feb 19, 2014):

Why are so many young adults in America living with their parents?  According to a stunning Gallup survey that was recently released, nearly three out of every ten adults in the United States under the age of 35 are still living at home with Mom and Dad.  This closely lines up with a Pew Research Center analysis of Census data that looked at a younger sample of Americans which found that 36 percent of Americans 18 to 31 years old were still living with their parents.  That was the highest level that had ever been recorded.  Overall, approximately 25 million U.S. adults are currently living at home with their parents according to Time Magazine.  So what is causing all of this?  Well, there are certainly a lot of factors.  Overwhelming student loan debt, a depressing lack of jobs and the high cost of living are all definitely playing a role.  But many would argue that what we are witnessing goes far beyond temporary economic conditions.  There are many that believe that we have fundamentally failed our young people and have neglected to equip them with the skills and values that they need to be successful in the real world.

Read more29 Percent Of All U.S. Adults Under The Age Of 35 Are Living With Their Parents

Dozens Killed In Ukraine’s (Not Quite) Civil War, White House Outraged Again

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– Dozens Killed In Ukraine’s (Not Quite) Civil War, White House Outraged Again (ZeroHedge, Feb 20, 2014):

The Ukrainian health minister just state that at least 64 have died since February 18th; protesters claim the number is over 100 – either way, this is horrific (and we suspect, once the Olympics is over, will get worse). As Martin Armstrong outlines below, Ukraine is the pawn on the chessboard. The propaganda war is East v West.

  • WHITE HOUSE URGES UKRAINE PRESIDENT TO IMMEDIATELY WITHDRAW SECURITY FORCES FROM DOWNTOWN KIEV, RESOLVE CRISIS BY POLITICAL MEANS
  • WHITE HOUSE SAYS OUTRAGED BY IMAGES OF UKRAINIAN SECURITY FORCES “FIRING AUTOMATIC WEAPONS ON THEIR OWN PEOPLE” (more YouTube justifications)

And Russia proclaims US/EU calls for sanctions as “Blackmail”

Via NY Times,

Read moreDozens Killed In Ukraine’s (Not Quite) Civil War, White House Outraged Again