As Its Currency Collapses, India Doubles Down On Big Brother Surveillance

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– As its Currency Collapses, India Doubles Down on Big Brother Surveillance (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 19, 2013):

What’s a clueless government trying to micromanage the affairs of over a billion people supposed to do when the wheels start coming off the wagon? If you’re India, you blame the country’s financial and societal woes on the buying of gold and attempt to prevent people from purchasing it. When that doesn’t work, and your currency continues to collapse, then what?

Well, you decide to double down on a surveillance state. That’s precisely what the enlightened government bureaucrats at India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have decided to do.

From The Hindu:

Amid a raging global debate on privacy versus surveillance, monitoring and use of intrusive technologies by governments, the Directorate of Forensic Sciences in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is set to purchase a range of equipment and software that will allow it to conduct deep search, surveillance and monitoring of voice calls, SMS, email, video, Internet, chat, browsing and Skype sessions on an unprecedented scale.

Read moreAs Its Currency Collapses, India Doubles Down On Big Brother Surveillance

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: Terrible Things Are Happening Faster Than We Can Keep Up With Them

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Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

– Growing Up In America (Paul Craig Roberts, Aug 19, 2013):

Things Are Bad And Getting Worse

Terrible things are happening faster than we can keep up with them. Monsanto, widely regarded as a criminal enterprise, is expanding its monopoly over seeds and food production into Chile and Latin America. http://rt.com/news/chile-protest-monsanto-law-634/ Monsanto has given up for now on monopolizing Europe’s agriculture, but has brought the EU around to allowing it to market GMO food products. Money speaks, which perhaps is the reason that Chile’s former president, Michelle Bachelet, introduced the pro-Monsanto legislation that one of the legislative chambers has passed. There are mass demonstrations in Chile against the legislation that destroys Chile’s sovereignty over its food production, but just as Monsanto can purchase the US government it also can purchase the Chilean government. In our day and time, governments are just another commodity to be bought and sold by powerful corporations.

Read moreDr. Paul Craig Roberts: Terrible Things Are Happening Faster Than We Can Keep Up With Them

Fukushima: TEPCO Admits Most Severe Radioactive Leak Since March 2011 Meltdowns

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– Fukushima operator reveals leak of 300 tonnes of highly contaminated water (Guardian, Aug 20, 2013):

Spillage is most severe since March 2011 as Tepco says it does not know how the water leaked out or where it has leaked to

Frantic efforts to contain radioactive leaks at the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been dealt another blow after its operator said about 300 tonnes of highly contaminated water had seeped out of a storage tank at the site.

The leak is the worst such incident since the March 2011 meltdown and is separate from the contaminated water leaks, also of about 300 tonnes a day, reported recently.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said it did not know how the water leaked out or where it had leaked to, but it believed that the spillage had not flowed into the Pacific ocean.

Read moreFukushima: TEPCO Admits Most Severe Radioactive Leak Since March 2011 Meltdowns

David Miranda’s Lawyers Threaten Legal Action Over ‘Unlawful’ Detention

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– David Miranda’s lawyers threaten legal action over ‘unlawful’ detention (Guardian, Aug 20, 2013):

Partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald seeks return of equipment seized during nine-hour interrogation at Heathrow

Lawyers for the partner of the Guardian journalist who exposed mass email surveillance have written to home secretary Theresa May and the head of the Metropolitan police warning them that they are set to take legal action over what they say amounted to his “unlawful” detention at Heathrow airport under anti-terror laws.

In their letter to May and Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe they warn they are seeking immediate undertakings for the return David Miranda‘s laptop and all other electronic equipment within seven days.

Read moreDavid Miranda’s Lawyers Threaten Legal Action Over ‘Unlawful’ Detention

UK Authorities Raid Guardian’s London Office, Order To Destroy Hard Drives In Effort To Stop Snowden Revelations

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– UK ordered Guardian to destroy hard drives in effort to stop Snowden revelations (RT, Aug 20, 2013):

UK authorities reportedly raided the Guardian’s office in London to destroy hard drives in an effort to stop future publications of leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The action is unlikely to prevent new materials coming out.

Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger revealed in a Monday article posted on the British newspaper’s website that intelligence officials from the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) told him that he would either have to hand over all the classified documents or have the newspaper’s hard drives destroyed.

After more talks, two “security experts” from GCHQ – the British version of the National Security Agency – visited the Guardian’s London offices.

Rusbridger wrote that the government officials then watched as computers, which contained classified information passed on by Snowden, were physically destroyed in one of the newspaper building’s basements.

“We can call off the black helicopters,” Rusbridger said one of the officials joked.

Another source familiar with the event confirmed to Reuters that Guardian employees destroyed the computers as UK officials observed.

During negotiations with the government, Rusbridger said that the newspaper could not fulfill its journalistic duty if it satisfied the authorities’ requests.

But GCHQ reportedly responded by telling the Guardian that it had already sparked the debate, which was enough.

“You’ve had your debate. There’s no need to write any more,” Reuters quoted the unnamed official as saying.

Read moreUK Authorities Raid Guardian’s London Office, Order To Destroy Hard Drives In Effort To Stop Snowden Revelations

Japanese Nuclear Expert: Radiation Levels Detected In Pacific Ocean Too High To Be Explained By A Daily Leakage Of 300 Tons

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– Fukushima Mystery? TV: Japan expert says radiation levels in ocean too high to be explained by groundwater flow alone — Must be coming from “other contamination routes” entering Pacific — “Devastating impact” to come? (VIDEO) (ENENews, Aug 19, 2013):

Title: Nuclear Watch: Contaminated Water Leaks at Fukushima Daiichi
Source: NHK Newsline
Date: Aug 19, 2013

At 2:45 in

Yoichiro Tateiwa, NHK reporter: [Professor Jota] Kanda argues government statistics don’t add up. He says a daily leakage of 300 tons doesn’t explain the current levels of radiation in the water.

Jota Kanda, Tokyo University professor: According to my research there are now 3 gigabecquerels [3 billion becquerels] of cesium-137 flowing into the port at Fukushima Daiichi every day. But for the 300 tons of groundwater to contain this much cesium-137, one liter of groundwater has to contain 10,000 becquerels of the radioactive isotope.

Read moreJapanese Nuclear Expert: Radiation Levels Detected In Pacific Ocean Too High To Be Explained By A Daily Leakage Of 300 Tons

Researchers Find Significant Relation With Soda Consumption With Overall Measure Of Aggression

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– Soda may make children more likely to destroy things, attack others (CBS News, Aug 16, 2013):

Studies of young soda drinkers often focus on added risk for childhood obesity. But now, a new study suggests the sweet stuff could actually be making kids more violent.

Public health researchers looked at thousands of 5-year-olds, and found the more sugary soft drinks they consumed, the more likely they were to inflict damage and hurt others.

“We found a significant relation with soda consumption with the overall measure of aggression and with the three specific behaviors we felt were most indicative of aggression: destroying things belonging to others, getting into fights and physically attacking people,” wrote the authors, led by researcher Dr. Shakira Suglia, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, said in a written statement.

For the study, researchers at Columbia University, Harvard and the University of Vermont analyzed about 3,000 kids — mostly black and Hispanic children — from 20 large U.S. cities. They had been enrolled in a study that followed them since birth, in which moms were given surveys about their child’s behavior.

Read moreResearchers Find Significant Relation With Soda Consumption With Overall Measure Of Aggression

Tritium Measurement In Fukushima Bay Highest Ever As TEPCO Admits 40 Trillion Becquerels Have Spilled Into Pacific

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Related info:

– Fallout Researcher: Fukushima Worst Case Scenario Could Result In BILLONS Of DEATHS

– Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Reaching Critical Stage

– Tritium Measurement In Fukushima Bay Highest Ever As TEPCO Admits 40 Trillion Becquerels Have Spilled Into Pacific (ZeroHedge, Aug 19, 2013):

Over the weekend we posted an in-depth narrative of what may happen in a theoretical worst case scenario in Fukushima, one in which the government continues to do nothing and pretends all is well, and where the end casualties are millions of innocent Japanese (and other) citizens, whose only crime is believing their government. Sadly, with every passing day the theoretical is becoming all too real, and moments ago reality struck again, when the Nikkei newspaper reported that readings of tritium in seawater taken from the bay near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has shown 4700 becquerels per liter.

This was the highest tritium level in the measurement history.

RT has more:

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has detected the highest radiation level in seawater collected in the harbor of the crippled nuclear plant in the past 15 days, Nikkei reports.

Read moreTritium Measurement In Fukushima Bay Highest Ever As TEPCO Admits 40 Trillion Becquerels Have Spilled Into Pacific

Whooping Cough Vaccine Can Cause Brain Damage And Death

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– Whooping cough vaccine can cause brain damage and death (Natural News, Aug 19, 2013):

In July, the state of Missouri began offering for free a vaccine aimed at preventing, among other ailments, whooping cough. According to officials, the TDap vaccine, which reportedly prevents tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, was necessary because “of the rising incidence of whooping cough is reported to be related to the vaccine wearing off if given more than ten years earlier,” says an online report.

Citing a St. Louis Post Dispatch article, Michelle Goldstein of VacTruth.com says some 41,000 cases of pertussis occurred in the U.S. in 2012, compared to less than 19,000 cases in the previous year – thus the need for the new vaccine.

Read moreWhooping Cough Vaccine Can Cause Brain Damage And Death

Glenn Greenwald’s Partner David Miranda Detained For 9 Hours, Electronics Confiscated

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– Glenn Greenwald’s Partner Detained For 9 Hours, Electronics Confiscated (Liberty Blitzkrieg,, Aug 18, 2013):

A month ago, I wrote a piece titled: If Flying into the UK, Your Phone Can Be Seized and Data Downloaded Without Suspicion. As you might suspect, the focus of the piece was something called schedule 7 of the UK’s Terrorism Act of 2000, which allows authorities to stop and search  people “without prior authorization or reasonable suspicion.” Not only that, they are not automatically permitted access to legal counsel during the interrogation and they must cooperate. Oh, and your electronic devices can be confiscated.

I chose to write that article at the time to highlight the myriad ways it could be grossly abused. Well now we a very high profile example of such abuse as Glenn Greenwald’s partner, David Miranda was stopped for nine hours (the maximum allowed), his electronics were confiscated, and we have no explanation from the Home Office as to why he was considered a terrorist threat.

Here’s an idea for investigative journalists and activists worldwide. Do not fly through the UK unless you absolutely have to.

More from The Guardian:

The partner of the Guardian journalist who has written a series of stories revealing mass surveillance programmes by the US National Security Agency was held for almost nine hours on Sunday by UK authorities as he passed through London’s Heathrow airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro.

Read moreGlenn Greenwald’s Partner David Miranda Detained For 9 Hours, Electronics Confiscated

Egypt: Militants Execute At Least 25 Policemen In Northern Sinai, As Ex-dictator Mubarak Set To Be Freed

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– Egypt: Militants execute at least 25 policemen in northern Sinai, as ex-dictator Mubarak set to be freed (Independent, Aug 19, 2013):

Suspected militants attack police as officials announce former President Hosni Mubarak will be released

Bloody violence has continued today as Egyptian security officials say suspected militants have ambushed two police minibuses in northern Sinai, firing rocket-propelled grenades at the vehicles.

The attack is believed to have been carried out as the two vehicles were driving through a village near the border town of Rafah in the volatile Sinai Peninsula, located in the strategic region bordering the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Read moreEgypt: Militants Execute At Least 25 Policemen In Northern Sinai, As Ex-dictator Mubarak Set To Be Freed

Obamacare For Dummies: The ‘Affordable Care Act’ In One Chart

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– Obamacare For Dummies: The “Affordable Care Act” In One Chart (ZeroHedge, Aug 19, 2013):

Earlier today we learned that while some executives at Forever 21 were previously confused by Obamacare, subsequently they appear to have rectified their confusion… and full-time staffing levels. Of course, there would have been no confusion had Forever 21 known what it was getting with Obamacare. So for the benefit of all their executives, and for all others who may still be confused by America’s new healthcare system, here, once again, is the chart that should explain everything.

And if it doesn’t, here is an additional explanation

CIA Finally Admits It Is Behind Iran’s 1953 Coup

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– CIA Finally Admits It Is Behind Iran’s 1953 Coup (ZeroHedge, Aug 19, 2013):

In case Ben Affleck was looking for his next Oscar-winning CIA-o-mentary, the Central Intelligence Agency (which alas in a time of NSA permasnooping has become a bit of an anachronism) may have just provided the script, with the first official admission that the flipflops on the ground orchestrated at least one Iranian coup and is ostesnibly behind all other global coups (and non-coups coughegyptcough) in the past 50 years, but until they are confirmed they will remain merely “conspiracy theories.”

From CNN:

A declassified CIA document acknowledges that the agency was involved in the 1953 coup that overthrew Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh.

The independent National Security Archive research institute, which published the document Monday, says the declassification is believed to mark the CIA’s first formal acknowledgment of its involvement.

According to Foreign Policy, which reviewed the document, this is the key passage:

“The military coup that overthrew Mosadeq and his National Front cabinet was carried out under CIA direction as an act of U.S. foreign policy, conceived and approved at the highest levels of government.”

The document was declassified in 2011. The institute published it Monday after obtaining it through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Good luck procuring the script rights, however: rumor has it the star of Chasing Amy already has an option on every CIA operation ever conducted.

Obamacare Strikes At Forever 21 Which Forcibly Demotes Some Workers To 29.5 Hours Per Week

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– Obamacare Strikes At Forever 21 Which Forcibly Demotes Some Workers To 29.5 Hours Per Week (ZeroHedge, Aug 19, 2013):

A firestorm broke out during the weekend over the latest part-timing impact from Obamacare (covered here extensively previously), this time in the form of a leaked memo by retailer Forever 21, which announced that some employees would be demoted to part-time status. The memo, which announced forcible part-time changes would take place on August 18 with full loss of benefits to take place by August 31, was leaked by a disgruntled employee on their Facebook page.

The highlight from the memo:

Company-wide, Forever 21 recently audited its staffing levels, staffing needs and payroll in conduction with reviewing its overall spending budget. As a result, we are reducing a number of full-time non-management positions…. As a Part-Time employee your regular schedule will not exceed 29.5 hours per week.

As is well known, with the ACA mandating companies who employ 50 full-time workers or more to provide health insurance coverage, one much exploited loophole is to cut full-time workers to part-time status, i.,e., have them work less than 30 hours. Or 29.5 hours in this case. Following this forcible full-time demotion, employees will lose medical, dental, vision and voluntary coverage on Aug. 31 and will no longer accrue paid time off.

The memo is below:

Read moreObamacare Strikes At Forever 21 Which Forcibly Demotes Some Workers To 29.5 Hours Per Week

Bitcoin Is Recognized As ‘Legal Tender’ In Germany

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– Bitcoin is Recognized as “Legal Tender” in Germany (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 19, 2013):

“We should have competition in the production of money. I have long been a proponent of Friedrich August von Hayek scheme to denationalize money. Bitcoins are a first step in this direction.”
– Frank Schaeffler, member of German parliament’s Finance Committee

The story of the German Finance Ministry stating Bitcoin is essentially “legal tender” has been making the rounds all over the virtual currency and technology world this morning and for good reason. This is a very, very big deal. Not just because some bureaucrat seemingly “legitimizes” the crypto-currency, but because it is the first commonsense approach from a major economy to-date.

While the U.S. government runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, issuing subpoenas and launching Senate investigations on Bitcoin, Germany is merely accepting the obvious. This is the wave of the future, you can either act like an incorrigible child and fight it, or you can accept reality and pave the way to the future. I’m pleased to see Germany, home to the most dynamic Bitcoin community on the planet, in Kreuzberg, taking a reasonable approach. Not to mention the fact I could never see a U.S. bureaucrat ever endorse Hayek or Austrian economics. The times they are a-changin’.

Read moreBitcoin Is Recognized As ‘Legal Tender’ In Germany

Those That Are Not Preparing For The Coming Economic Depression Are Going To Bitterly Regret It

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– Those That Are Not Preparing For The Coming Economic Depression Are Going To Bitterly Regret It (Economic Collapse, Aug 18, 2013):

The next great economic crisis is rapidly approaching, and most people are going to be totally blindsided by it.  Even though the warning signs are glaringly obvious, most Americans continue to believe that our “leaders” know what they are doing and that everything will be just fine.  But what will happen when the next great financial crash happens and trillions of dollars of “paper wealth” disappear into thin air?  What will happen when the coming credit crunch causes economic activity to dramatically slow down and millions upon millions of people lose their jobs?  This shouldn’t sound far-fetched to you.  Remember, this is exactly the kind of thing that we saw back in 2008, and the next great financial crisis is likely going to be significantly worse.  Our economy is in far worse shape than it was back in 2008, and government dependence is now at an all-time high even though most Americans are still enjoying debt-fueled false prosperity.  We are living in the largest debt bubble in the history of the planet, and when it bursts we are going to experience a crippling “adjustment” to our standard of loving.  Some people understand this and are busy preparing for what is ahead.  It has been estimated that there are approximately 3 million “preppers” in the United States, and that number is growing all the time.  Unfortunately, most Americans are not preparing for the coming economic depression and they are going to bitterly regret it.

So what does preparing for the coming economic depression look like?

Well, it doesn’t have to be complicated.  Most of the things that you should do are just common sense.

Read moreThose That Are Not Preparing For The Coming Economic Depression Are Going To Bitterly Regret It

The White House Credibility Deficit (The Guardian)

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Related article:

– Meet The NSA’s ‘Fat Finger’

The NSA leaks ended the power of Obama officials to ration access. No self-respecting journalist believes what they say


Director of national intelligence James Clapper made misleading statements to Congress about the NSA’s domestic surveillance programs. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP

– The White House credibility deficit (Guardian, Aug 18, 2013):

According to Britons, Americans are incapable of irony – and our president is certainly proving their point.In his address about Egypt’s military coup – or whatever bowdlerizing euphemism is permitted this week in Washington – Obama condemned the notion that “security trumps individual freedom.” Really?

After his press conference announcing an oversight commission for the NSA, it emerged that the NSA’s truth-challenged director of national intelligence, James Clapper, would apparently oversee the oversight. The White House had to explain the joke, and then said Clapper would merely facilitate.

Read moreThe White House Credibility Deficit (The Guardian)

Want To Be ‘Liked’? There’s A Virus For That

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– Want To Be “Liked”? There’s A Virus For That (ZeroHedge, Aug 18, 2013):

There was a time when the shadier online “element” was mostly interested in procuring credit card numbers, usually from Eastern European sources, in order to turn a quick buck. However, over time, interest in credit card fraud declined and according to RSA the going rate for 1000 credit card numbers has now dropped to a mere $6. What has taken the place of monetary online fraud, is artificial “likability” and “popularity.” Reuters reports that with the rise of social networking, instead of obtaining credit card numbers, hackers have used their computer skills to create and sell false endorsements – such as “likes” and “followers” – that purport to come from users of Facebook, its photo-sharing app Instagram, Twitter, Google’s YouTube, LinkedIn and other popular websites. This can be seen in the costs charged by “service” providers: 1,000 Instagram “followers” can be bought for $15, while 1,000 Instagram “likes” cost $30. It is likely that the going rates for fake popularity on other online social networks, FaceBook and Twitter is comparable.

In other words, being “liked” and “followed” online – traditionally an indication of influence, importance and power – has become more important than having instant access to liquidity, and naturally, since there is demand for online popularity shortcuts, there is also supply.

Enter Zeus: a computer virus that was once widely used to steal credit card numbers, has now been modified to create bogus likes that can be used to generate buzz for a company or individual.

In short: marketing and self-promotion is now the most impotant gray market commodity on the internet.

From Reuters:

These fake “likes” are sold in batches of 1,000 on Internet hacker forums, where cyber criminals also flog credit card numbers and other information stolen from PCs. According to RSA, 1,000 Instagram “followers” can be bought for $15 and 1,000 Instagram “likes” go for $30, whereas 1,000 credit card numbers cost as little as $6.

Read moreWant To Be ‘Liked’? There’s A Virus For That

At Least 16 Idaho National Laboratory Workers Inhaled PLUTONIUM-239

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… whose half-life is 24,100 years!

Plutonium is the deadliest substance on the planet.

Those workers need real help NOW.

– Radiation-exposed workers demand release of nuke plant accident video (RT, Aug 19, 2013):

Two workers have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Energy for failing to comply with the Freedom of Information Act by refusing to hand over a video of an incident in which 16 men, including the two plaintiffs, were exposed to radiation.

Brian Simmons and Ralph Stanton, two operators from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Boise, are trying to force the agency to release the video through a lawsuit filed in federal court.

In their complaint, the workers described the radiation incident, which occurred on Nov. 8, 2011. Together with workers from two other facilities, Simmons and Stanton were packaging plutonium reactor fuel plates. Two of the fuel storage containers had “unusual labels” indicating that there could be some abnormalities with the fuel plates that were inside. But the labels did not warn of any danger, and when workers came across a fuel plate wrapped in plastic and tape, they unwrapped it. A black powder spilled out of the box, and at least 16 of the workers inhaled plutonium-239, which can damage internal organs and cause cancer. Seven of the employees came in direct contact with the powder, suffering external contamination of the skin.

“When the workers attempted to remove the wrapping material, an uncontrolled release of radioactive contaminants occurred, resulting in contamination of 16 workers and the facility, including plaintiffs Brian Simmons and Ralph Stanton,” the lawsuit states. “The sequence of events leading up to the release of contaminants, the uncontrolled release itself, and the emergency response at the [Zero Power Physics Reactor] facility were all recorded on video.”

In 2012, the INL announced that none of the workers suffered from any adverse health effects as a result of the incident, but they also refused to release employee-specific internal radiological dosage numbers.

But according to Seattle attorney John Sheridan, who filed a complaint with the US Department of Labor, the two workers suffered “symptoms of radiation poisoning including nausea, vomiting, confusion, diarrhea, and high blood pressure, which lasted for months.”

Read moreAt Least 16 Idaho National Laboratory Workers Inhaled PLUTONIUM-239

Obama Administration Wants Online Streaming To Be A Felony

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– Obama to Fill Prisons with File Sharers Instead of Pot Smokers? (Activist Post, Aug 18, 2013):

The most ridiculous provisions of the defeated SOPA are put back on the table. Obama Administration wants online streaming to be a felony.

…

The Washington Post reports:

You probably remember the online outrage over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) copyright enforcement proposal. Last week, the Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force released a report on digital copyright policy that endorsed one piece of the controversial proposal: making the streaming of copyrighted works a felony.

As it stands now, streaming a copyrighted work over the Internet is considered a violation of the public performance right. The violation is only punishable as a misdemeanor, rather than the felony charges that accompany the reproduction and distribution of copyrighted material.

SOPA attempted to change that in Section 201, aptly titled “Streaming of copyrighted works in violation of criminal law.” Some have suggested that the SOPA version and an earlier stand-alone piece of legislation from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) would have criminalized covers of songs shared on Youtube.

A slightly more colorful explanation of this development is in the video below:

…

The Total Destruction Of America’s Middle Class … In Under Seven Minutes (Video)

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FYI.

– The Destruction Of America’s Middle Class (In Under Seven Minutes) (ZeroHedge, Aug 18, 2013):

While hardly news to frequent visitors, especially those who recall the following list, anyone who needs a 7 minute refresher into why the US middle class is on collision course with extinction is urged to watch the following brief video which highlights all the salient facts such as:

  • 76% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck
  • 27% of American have no savings at all
  • 46% of Americans have less than $800 in savings
  • The conversion of America into a part-time working society and the country’s second largest employer – a temp agency.
  • The college trap and the student loan bubble
  • And of course, foodstamps, foodstamps, foodstamps and the nearly 50 million poverty-level Americans who need them to survive

Why seven minutes? Because everyone knows that just like you can’t get “six minute abs“, so it is impossible to recap the doom of America’s middle class in only six minutes (or, gasp, less).


YouTube Added: 16.08.2013

JPMorgan Puzzled By Record Gold Backwardation

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– JPMorgan Puzzled By Record Gold Backwardation (ZeroHedge, Aug 18, 2013):

Curious where all the demand for (immediate) physical gold (delivery) is coming from (as detailed here first in April)? As it turns out, so is JPMorgan.From this week’s Flows & Liquidity

SEC filings showed that the largest hedge fund holders of the gold ETFs liquidated most of their positions in Q2, although the single largest holder commented that they had simply switched their exposure from ETFs to the OTC derivative market as the current downward sloping forward curve makes it cheaper to be long gold through futures than via the ETF. Figure 7 shows the annualized % difference between the 1st and 2nd COMEX gold futures contracts going back over the past 30 years on a weekly basis. As the figure shows, a backwardated (downward sloping) gold forward curve is very unusual. This is an indicator of how strong physical demand is, i.e. spot is bid up relative to forward prices due to strong demand for immediate delivery of gold.

Ostensibly, this means that until the Bundesbank and/or PBOC finally issue a relevant 8-K, the “confusion” will continue.