YouTube Added: 11.01.2013
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Politics
‘May The Farce Be With You’ – White House Responds To Imperial Death Star Petition
– “May The Farce Be With You” – White House Responds To Imperial Death Star Petition (ZeroHedge, Jan 12, 2013):
Almost a year ago, in February 2012, Zero Hedge decided to “think outside the box” and take Keynesianism and post-Chartalism (or whatever three letter acronym it is better known as these days) to their absurd, thought-experimental limits with “A Modest Proposal To Boost US GDP By $852 Quadrillion: Build The Imperial Death Star” – a suggestion that instead of growing US debt in dribs and drabs (because as any Ivy league tenured econ Ph.D will tell you, “debt is wealth“), that the US should go the whole hog and just splurge some $852 quadrillion in new debt (don’t worry, MMT says that’s just a token, no pun intended, amount) to build an Imperial Death Star, a project that would immediately hike US GDP by a factor of 56,000 and create several trillion new jobs, ensuring economic utopia in perpetuity, not to mention galactic dominance. We were mostly joking. We also assume that the creator of a White House petition launched in November to “Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016” was also mostly joking. However, as that petition promptly accumulated well over 34,000 signatures, the White House had no choice but to respond. Here are the White House’s thoughts on becoming the next iteration of the Galactic Empire (and, by implication, Barack Obama becoming Emperor Palpatine reincarnated).
Official White House Response to Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016.This Isn’t the Petition Response You’re Looking For
By Paul Shawcross
The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn’t on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:
Read more‘May The Farce Be With You’ – White House Responds To Imperial Death Star Petition
White House Petition To Publicly Assay And Validate The US Treasury’s 8,100 Tons Of Gold
– White House Petition To Publicly Assay And Validate The US Treasury’s 8,100 Tons Of Gold (ZeroHedge, Jan 11, 2013):
In the past few weeks there has been a veritable explosion of White House petitions ranging from the bizarre to the surreal to the outright absurd, including such demands as Texas (and other southern states) seceding, deporting Piers Morgan, not deporting Piers Morgan, creating a Joe Biden sitcom, and even making a total mockery out of the US, and global, monetary system and evading the debt ceiling using a cheap, platinum coin-based parlor trick.All of these are, for lack of a better word, a la carte distractions launched by bored American citizens, meant to evade the menial drudgery of everyday life, and, generally, reality. In short: entertainment. And, logically, virtually none have so far contained actual, actionable provisions, that stood to benefit all Americans, instead of just one half of the ideological or party split. At least not until a new petition appeared two days ago, one demanding that the administration do something that has never been done on the public record: perform an assayed public audit of all the 8,100 tons of gold owned by the US Treasury. And not just any audit, but one including “professional auditors outside of the Mint, Treasury, GAO, Inspector General and Federal Reserve system.”
That is one petition, which unlike all the other gimmicky wastes of time, that we (and certainly the German people if not the Bundesbank) would wholeheartedly endorse, and one which we hope promptly crosses the 25,000 signature threshold needed for a formal response from the White House.
Sadly, the response will be one denying what the people demand, but it will be interesting to see just what excuse the White House uses to shoot down an idea that is far more worthy of people’s time and attention than “minting” coins whose only real symbolism is that America is flat broke.
China Sends Fighter Jets To Counter Japanese Jets, Military On ‘High Alert’
– Chinese Military On “High Alert” After It Scrambles Fighter Jets To “Counter” Japanese Jets (ZeroHedge, Jan 11, 2013):
The one thing that most seem to forget in the epic 30 year old story (which has a very sad ending) that is the Japanese floundering economy, is that while the new Abe government may and will likely try everything to crush the Yen (which is already nearing the 90 USDJPY target, however briefly, before it resumes its grind lower once it dawns on investors what it will mean for the Japanese Treasury when bond yields soar), the main reason it has posted three massive monthly trade deficits in a row has nothing to do with its currency, and everything to do with what is now a permanent boycott of Japanese exports by China.
The paradox is that Abe, a well-known nationalist, may well crush the Yen but he will only aggravate Chinese tensions (thus hurting Japanese exports, GDP, and the current account even more) which recently approached boiling point on several occasions over the past few months, most notably in the spat over who owns the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, and soon over other symbols of nationalist pride. And with the escalations coming faster and more frequent with each passing day, there is little room for optimism that despite all Japan is doing that its economy stands any hope of recovery in 2013 (or later).
In fact, the latest escalation in the seemingly neverending saga over a strategically located rock in the East China Sea, came hours ago, when Xinhua reported that Beijing has scrambled two J-10 jets to counter “Japanese military aircraft disrupting the routine patrols of Chinese administrative aircraft.”
From Xinhua:
At a press conference, an official with the ministry confirmed that China sent two J-10 fighters to the East China Sea after a Y-8 aircraft was closely followed by two Japanese F-15 fighters as it patrolled the southwest airspace of the East China Sea oil platform on Thursday.
The two J-10 fighters were sent to monitor the Japanese fighter jets tailing the Y-8 as well as another Japanese reconnaissance plane spotted in the same airspace, the official said.
Furthermore, the official said Japanese military aircraft have been increasingly active in closely scouting Chinese aircraft. The activity zone of Japanese military aircraft has also expanded recently, which is the root cause of security disputes concerning territorial waters and airspace between the two countries.
The Chinese military will be on high alert and China will resolutely protect the security of its air defense force and uphold its legitimate rights, the official said.
Suddenly very real concerns over a flare up in military escalations aside, it doesn’t look like anyone is ready to back down in what is becoming an ever more heated and rancorous expression of nationalist pride, and it certainly does not appear likely that China will lift its “blockade” on Japanese imports any time soon.
As to how China continues to see what is going on in Japan, we go to another Op-Ed from China Daily printed earlier today, titled “Unwise foreign policy turns Japan into own enemy” and this time even the Chinese propaganda is 100% accurate:
Read moreChina Sends Fighter Jets To Counter Japanese Jets, Military On ‘High Alert’
Japan May Allow Jets To Fire Warning Shots At Chinese Aircraft
– Japan may allow jets to fire warning shots at Chinese aircraft (South China Morning Post, Jan 10, 2013):
Tokyo considers authorising Japanese military aircraft to take action if China’s planes enter air space near disputed waters
Japan’s defence ministry is considering authorising the country’s Air Self-Defence Force (ASDF) jets to fire warning shots when Chinese planes enter air space claimed by Japan, Japanese media reported yesterday.
Citing sources close to the Japanese government, the Sankei newspaper reported that Tokyo had instructed the defence ministry and ASDF to look at stepping up warnings to People’s Liberation Army planes and Chinese government aircraft that “intrude into Japanese air space”.
In Beijing, the foreign ministry said China opposed any infringement of its sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands committed by Japanese aircraft or vessels and remained vigilant against attempts to commit such acts.
Read moreJapan May Allow Jets To Fire Warning Shots At Chinese Aircraft
‘Firearms Protection Act’: Wyoming Lawmakers Propose ‘Gun Protection’ Legislation
– Wyoming Lawmakers Propose ‘Gun Protection’ Legislation (K2, Jan 10, 2013):
Several Wyoming lawmakers are proposing legislation designed to protect gun-owners from any potential federal firearm ban.
The “Firearms Protection Act” bill, introduced this week, would make any federal law banning semi-automatic firearms or limiting the size of gun magazines unenforceable within the state’s boundaries.
Anyone trying to enforce a federal gun ban could face felony charges under the proposal. It also includes a provision allowing the Wyoming Attorney General’s office to defend any state resident against any federal firearm ban.
Up To 3.5% Of US 2013 GDP Could Evaporate Due To Enacted Tax Hikes
– Up To 3.5% Of US 2013 GDP Could Evaporate Due To Enacted Tax Hikes (ZeroHedge, Jan 11, 2013):
When it comes to the impact of the just enacted 2013 tax hikes (payroll tax cut expiration affecting everyone together with the tax hike on those making over $400K), economists are in broad agreement on one thing: the first half of 2013 will be impacted by roughly a 1.0%-1.5% drop in GDP. However, a big question emerges when attempting to quantify the adverse impact on US growth as the year progresses past June 30. Most strategists and economists ignore this issue, and instead chose to believe that all shall be well as by July, the US population will be habituated to getting a smaller paycheck and general consuming behavior will no longer be impacted relative to a previous baseline.
Read moreUp To 3.5% Of US 2013 GDP Could Evaporate Due To Enacted Tax Hikes
John Brennan, ‘Czar Of The Drones’
– Czar of the drones (Jan 10, 2013):
In October 2011, 16-year-old Tariq Aziz attended a gathering in Islamabad where he was taught how to use a video camera so he could document the drones that were constantly circling over his Pakistani village, terrorizing and killing his family and neighbors. Two days later, when Aziz was driving with his 12-year-old cousin to a village near his home in Waziristan to pick up his aunt, his car was struck by a Hellfire missile. With the push of a button by a pilot at a U.S. base thousands of miles away, both boys were instantly vaporized-only a few chunks of flesh remained.
Afterwards, the U.S. government refused to acknowledge the boys’ deaths or explain why they were targeted. Why should they? This is a covert program where no one is held accountable for their actions.
The main architect of this drone policy that has killed hundreds, if not thousands, of innocents, including 176 children in Pakistan alone, is President Obama’s counterterrorism chief and his pick for the next director of the CIA: John Brennan.
On my recent trip to Pakistan, I met with people whose loved ones had been blown to bits by drone attacks, people who have been maimed for life, young victims with no hope for the future and aching for revenge. For all of them, there has been no apology, no compensation, not even an acknowledgement of their losses. Nothing.
MSM Silent On Fukushima Radiation Impact In US
– Media Silent on Fukushima Radiation Impact in US (OpEdNews, Jan 10, 2013)
The Federal Government Hands Out Money To 128 Million Americans Every Month
– The Federal Government Hands Out Money To 128 Million Americans Every Month (Economic Collapse, Jan 10, 2013):
The number of Americans receiving money directly from the federal government has grown from 94 million in the year 2000 to over 128 million today. A shocking new research paper by Patrick Tyrrell and William W. Beach contains that statistic and a whole bunch of other very revealing numbers. According to their research, the federal government hands out money to 41.3 percent of the entire population of the United States each month. Overall, more than 70 percent of all federal spending goes to what they call “dependence-creating programs”. It is the most massive wealth redistribution scheme in the history of the world, and it continues to grow at a very rapid pace with each passing month. But can we really afford this? Of course we never want to see a single person go without food to eat or a roof to sleep under, but can the federal government really afford to support 128 million Americans every month? If millions more Americans keep jumping on to the “safety net” each year, how long will it be before it breaks and it is not there for anyone? The federal government is already drowning in debt. This year the U.S. national debt will easily blow past the 17 trillion dollar mark and we are rapidly heading toward financial oblivion. We are stealing more than 100 million dollars from our children and our grandchildren every single hour of every single day with no end in sight. If we don’t get our finances in order as a nation, what will the end result be?
Read moreThe Federal Government Hands Out Money To 128 Million Americans Every Month
To ‘The Precious Metal Purchasing Act’ From Executive Order 6102
– To “The Precious Metal Purchasing Act” From Executive Order 6102 – Santelli’s Take (ZeroHedge, Jan 10, 2013):
“Ever heard of SB3341?” is Rick Santelli’s opening salvo in today’s rantless discussion of the concerns he has with Illinois’ ‘Precious Metal Purchasing Act’. While passed in the Illinois Senate last year, and moth-balled in the House since, Rick notes that “the long and short of it is is they want an audit trail to any precious metals, whether you’re talking coins or bullion.” It does not seem too much of a stretch to this Chicagoan to the 1933 Executive Order #6102 that confiscated gold and cleared the way eventually for Nixon’s 1971 disconnect of the dollar from gold. As Liberty Blitzkrieg’s Mike Krieger notes: “So let me get this straight. First they want gun registration and now precious metal registration? I’m sure the government would only use such information in our best interests, because as we all know: Your Government Loves You. Sounds reasonable, after all, only ‘terrorists’ buy guns and gold anyway.”
From the bill (found here)
Read moreTo ‘The Precious Metal Purchasing Act’ From Executive Order 6102
Gold And Silver Registration Coming To Illinois?
– Is Gold and Silver Registration Coming to Illinois? (Liberty Blitzkrieg Blog, Jan 10, 2013):
So let me get this straight. First they want gun registration and now precious metal registration? I’m sure the government would only use such information in our best interests, because as we all know: Your Government Loves You. Sounds reasonable, after all, only “terrorists” buy guns and gold anyway.
Meet the ” Precious Metal Purchasing Act” or SB3341, brought to you by the lovely folks at the Illinois 97th General Assembly:
US Surveillance Act ‘Grave Threat’ To EU Sovereignty
– Cloud surfing: US surveilance act ‘grave threat’ to EU sovereignty (RT, Jan 9, 2013):
An intelligence bill has put the frighteners on EU citizens as it allows the US access to their personal data stored in internet clouds like those used on Facebook and Google. The law is a ‘grave risk’ to the rights of EU citizens, says an EU report.
The amendments to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on Monday.
Read moreUS Surveillance Act ‘Grave Threat’ To EU Sovereignty
EU Demands Access To Details Of All UK Drivers: ‘Orwellian’ Move To Hand Out Personal Information To Foreign Police Forces
– EU demands access to details of all UK drivers: ‘Orwellian’ move to hand out personal information to foreign police forces (Daily Mail, Jan 9, 2013):
Brussels is demanding that 26 police forces across the EU should have access to the personal details of every motorist in Britain.
The Government is being threatened with fines totalling millions of pounds unless it obeys the ‘Orwellian’ edict.
Foreign police also want open access to the UK’s national DNA database and fingerprint records so they can check them against crime scenes and camera footage.
48 Iranians Freed By Syrian Rebels ‘In Exchange For 2,000 Prisoners’
– 48 Iranians freed by Syrian rebels ‘in exchange for 2,000 prisoners’ (Telegraph, Jan 9, 2013):
Syrian rebels have freed 48 Iranians they had been holding for months in a swap for 2,130 prisoners detained by the Assad regime, according to a rebel spokesman and Iranian state television.
Chinese November Gold Imports Soar To 91 Tons; 2012 Total 720 Tons (Chart Of The Day)
– Chart Of The Day: Chinese November Gold Imports Soar To 91 Tons; 2012 Total 720 Tons (ZeroHedge, Jan 10, 2013):
Regular readers are familiar with our monthly series showing the inexorable surge in Chinese gold imports. It is time for the November update, and it’s a doozy: at 90.8 tons, this was the second highest gross import number of 2012, double the 47 tons imported in October (which many saw, incorrectly, as an indication of China’s waning interest in the yellow metal), and brings the Year to Date total to a massive 720 tons of gold through November. If last year is any indication, the December total will be roughly the same amount, and will bring the total 2012 import amount to over 800 tons, double the 392.6 tons imported in 2011.
Read moreChinese November Gold Imports Soar To 91 Tons; 2012 Total 720 Tons (Chart Of The Day)
Collapse: More Than 128 Million Americans Now On Government Programmes
– 128 million Americans are now on government programmes. Can America survive as the world’s superpower? (Telegraph, Jan 8, 2013):
I have just read a staggering report written by my colleagues Patrick D. Tyrell and William W. Beach for the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis (I direct the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom at Heritage.) It is a real eye-opener for anyone who cares about America’s future as the world’s superpower, on either side of the Atlantic. Ironically, Britain, through the tremendous determination of Iain Duncan Smith and his team at the Department of Work and Pensions, is starting to roll back the welfare state, precisely at the same time the current US administration is expanding it.
The United States isn’t just gliding towards a continental European-style future of vast welfare systems, economic decline, and massive debts – it is accelerating towards it at full speed. Or as Acton Institute research director Samuel Gregg puts it in his excellent new book published today by Encounter, America is already “becoming Europe,” with the United States moving far closer to a European-style welfare state than most Americans realize.
Tyrell and Beach point out in their Heritage paper, which is based on extensive analysis of the recently released March 2011 US Census Bureau Current Population Survey (CPS), that more than two in five Americans are now on government programs:
The number of people receiving benefits from the federal government in the United States has grown from under 94 million people in 2000 to more than 128 million people in 2011. That means that 41.3 percent of the US population is now on a federal government program.
Read moreCollapse: More Than 128 Million Americans Now On Government Programmes
Joe Biden: Obama Prepared To Use Executive Action On Gun Control
– Joe Biden: Obama prepared to use executive action on gun control (Guardian, Jan 10, 2013):
President Barack Obama is considering the use of an executive order to restrict access to guns or ammunition in the wake of nationwide revulsion in the US over the Connecticut school shootings, vice-president Joe Biden said Wednesday.
Such a move would be deeply controversial in the gun lobby, but Biden said the president was determined to explore every legislative avenue.
“The president is going to act,” Biden said in a briefing to reporters before the inaugural meeting of a new national task force on gun control. “Executive order, executive action that can be taken; we haven’t decided what that is yet. But we’re compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and all the rest of the cabinet members as well as legislative action, we believe, is required.”
Read moreJoe Biden: Obama Prepared To Use Executive Action On Gun Control
President Obama Plans To Use Executive Orders For Gun Control
– Biden, Meeting Gun Control Advocates, Vows Action (New York Times, Jan 9, 2013):
WASHINGTON — President Obama is planning a comprehensive effort to pass legislation and use executive orders to prevent gun violence, representatives of about a dozen gun control organizations were told Wednesday at a White House meeting.
“The president and I are determined to take action. This is not an exercise in photo opportunities,” Vice President Joseph R. Biden said as photographers were given a chance to take pictures before the closed-door meeting.
During the two-hour meeting, Mr. Biden and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. vowed to move swiftly.
Read morePresident Obama Plans To Use Executive Orders For Gun Control
New Poll: 85% Of Americans Distrust Congress
– New US poll reveals 85% of Americans distrust congressmen (PressTV, Jan 9, 2013):
A new US poll once again highlights the extreme unpopularity of American lawmakers among their constituents but marks a record low in public trust of the nation’s legislative branch with only nine percent voicing a favorable view.
A whopping 85 percent of 830 Americans taking part in the Public Policy Polling survey conducted over the past week and released on Tuesday said they were distrustful of their legislators in the US Congress.
The poll was taken January 3rd through the 6th, just following a last minute congressional vote that averted the much dreaded “fiscal cliff” of tax hikes and spending cuts.
Police & Military – Time To Choose (Video)
YouTube Added: 07.01.2013
Matt Taibbi: Secrets And Lies Of The Bailout (Rolling Stone)
– Secrets and Lies of the Bailout (Rolling Stone, Jan 4, 2013):
It has been four long winters since the federal government, in the hulking, shaven-skulled, Alien Nation-esque form of then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, committed $700 billion in taxpayer money to rescue Wall Street from its own chicanery and greed. To listen to the bankers and their allies in Washington tell it, you’d think the bailout was the best thing to hit the American economy since the invention of the assembly line. Not only did it prevent another Great Depression, we’ve been told, but the money has all been paid back, and the government even made a profit. No harm, no foul – right?
Wrong.
It was all a lie – one of the biggest and most elaborate falsehoods ever sold to the American people. We were told that the taxpayer was stepping in – only temporarily, mind you – to prop up the economy and save the world from financial catastrophe. What we actually ended up doing was the exact opposite: committing American taxpayers to permanent, blind support of an ungovernable, unregulatable, hyperconcentrated new financial system that exacerbates the greed and inequality that caused the crash, and forces Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to increase risk rather than reduce it. The result is one of those deals where one wrong decision early on blossoms into a lush nightmare of unintended consequences. We thought we were just letting a friend crash at the house for a few days; we ended up with a family of hillbillies who moved in forever, sleeping nine to a bed and building a meth lab on the front lawn.
Read moreMatt Taibbi: Secrets And Lies Of The Bailout (Rolling Stone)
20 Facts About The Collapse Of Europe That Everyone Should Know
– By The Numbers: 20 Facts About The Collapse Of Europe That Everyone Should Know (Economic Collapse, Jan 8, 2013):
The economic implosion of Europe is accelerating. Even while the mainstream media continues to proclaim that the financial crisis in Europe has been “averted”, the economic statistics that are coming out of Europe just continue to get worse. Manufacturing activity in Europe has been contracting month after month, the unemployment rate in the eurozone has hit yet another brand new record high, and the official unemployment rates in both Greece and Spain are now much higher than the peak unemployment rate in the United States during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The economic situation in Europe is far worse than it was a year ago, and it is going to continue to get worse as austerity continues to take a huge toll on the economies of the eurozone. It would be hard to understate how bad things have gotten – particularly in southern Europe. The truth is that most of southern Europe is experiencing a full-blown economic depression right now. Sadly, most Americans are paying very little attention to what is going on across the Atlantic. But they should be watching, because this is what happens when nations accumulate too much debt. The United States has the biggest debt burden of all, and eventually what is happening over in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Greece is going to happen over here as well.
The following are 20 facts about the collapse of Europe that everyone should know…
Read more20 Facts About The Collapse Of Europe That Everyone Should Know