The World, and Everything in it

Bill · at 6:29 PM

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/white-house-senate-reach-fiscal-cliff-deal-2012-12-31?link=MW_home_latest_news

The White House and Senate Republicans have reached a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, multiple reports said Monday night, just hours ahead of a midnight deadline. The deal -- which would need to be approved by both chambers of Congress -- would reportedly delay across-the-board spending cuts by two months in addition to raising taxes on incomes of $450,000 and above. A Senate vote could come late Monday. The House has adjourned until Tuesday, and lawmakers could vote after reconvening at noon Eastern time. Reports said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have signed off on the agreement.

Bill · at 5:27 PM

http://whatisthatwhistlingsound.blogspot.com/2012/12/unintended-consequences-of-stricter-gun.html

It is interesting to observe the consequences of human interference in natural processes.

Before humans had a large impact on the deer population of Japan (or the US, Canada, Europe), a natural mechanism existed to prevent massive overpopulation and the resulting damage to plant populations from overgrazing.

That mechanism was wolves and other predators.

As the human population increased and displaced other predators, a new balance developed as human hunters replaced animal predators. The deer population remained stable.

Bill · at 5:11 PM

Again Happy New Year friends...

Bill · at 5:44 AM

"I do not know whether it is to yourself or Mr. Adams I am to give my thanks for the copy of the new constitution. I beg leave through you to place them where due. It will be yet three weeks before I shall receive them from America. There are very good articles in it: and very bad. I do not know which preponderate. What we have lately read in the history of Holland, in the chapter on the Stadtholder, would have sufficed to set me against a Chief magistrate eligible for a long duration, if I had ever been disposed towards one: and what we have always read of the elections of Polish kings should have forever excluded the idea of one continuable for life. Wonderful is the effect of impudent and persevering lying. The British ministry have so long hired their gazetteers to repeat and model into every form lies about our being in anarchy, that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, and what is more wonderful, we have believed them ourselves. Yet where does this anarchy exist? Where did it ever exist, except in the single instance of Massachusets? And can history produce an instance of a rebellion so honourably conducted? I say nothing of it's motives. They were founded in ignorance, not wickedness. God forbid we should ever be 20. years without such a rebellion. The people can not be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. We have had 13. states independant 11. years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half for each state. What country ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve it's liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it's natural manure. Our Convention has been too much impressed by the insurrection of Massachusets: and in the spur of the moment they are setting up a kite to keep the hen yard in order. I hope in god this article will be rectified before the new constitution is accepted." - Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, Paris, 13 Nov. 1787

History is like a road map, take the time and view these maps going forward you will be a smarter person for it. If you have Children they too will be much wiser though you in you're teachings. History provides us examples of success, as well as examples of failure. Take from these lessons and use them.

A prosperous and Happy 2013 Dear reader.

Bill · at 5:08 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/31/business/settlement-expected-with-banks-over-home-loans.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1356959217-SYS+6kYT7IzMhAZNilJSXA

Under the settlement, a significant amount of the money, $3.75 billion, would go to people who have already lost their homes, making it potentially more generous to former homeowners than a broad-reaching pact in February between state attorneys general and five large banks. That set aside $1.5 billion in cash relief for Americans.

Most of the relief in both agreements is meant for people who are struggling to stay in their homes and need the banks to reduce their payments or lower the amount of principal they owe.

Bill · at 4:42 AM

http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/30/news/economy/payroll-tax-consumer/index.html

That's because the government had temporarily lowered the payroll tax rate in 2011 to 4.2% from 6.2%, in an effort to keep more cash in the pockets of Americans and provide a boost to the economy. The tax cut, which applies on the first $113,700 in annual earnings, is expiring in December.
Come 2013, most of the country's 160 million workers will see smaller paychecks. No one is expecting the payroll tax cut to be extended, even as lawmakers in Washington meet for budget talks to avoid the fiscal cliff.
Monthly paychecks will have $50 less for those earning $30,000 annually, and will shave off $189.50 for those with incomes totaling $113,700.
The amounts could be large enough to deal a blow to middle class Americans' spending budgets, especially at a time when the economic recovery is still struggling to gain a foothold.

So much for the Tax the rich Meme. As usual Progressives fail. Our history books note these failures many times over if one chooses to look.

Bill · at 4:38 AM

Hedge funds reap record profits from bets on QE - Telegraph

Super-rich hedge fund financiers emerged as the big winners from the Bank of England’s money printing programme in 2012, as pensioners and savers were made to struggle with shrunken incomes.
Much of the high-rolling industry bet that quantitative easing (QE) would boost global markets and those that stuck to the strategy made record profits.
Hedge fund expert Philippe Bonnefoy said: “The masters of equity and credit trading strategies have done their homework in 2012 and reaped benefits turbocharged by an ocean of government-sponsored liquidity.”

Bill · at 4:31 AM

Hypocritical sell-outs, Beyonce has no room to talk, look at her husband. And the vast majority of those celebrities probably have armed bodyguards. But its cool the gun control only applies to us common folk.

Bill · at 8:12 PM

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-902515

CNN PRODUCER NOTE joshdb50 was a Marine and was deployed to Afghanistan between the years of 2004 through 2005. Although he is no longer in the military he acknowledges that he owns gun. He says he does not believe the government needs to what guns he owns because he believes registration would lead to confiscation. He says the laws that are in place for gun control are plenty, and adding more laws will remove a means of defense for people. 'I own the guns I own because I acknowledge mankind's shortcomings instead of pretending like they don't exist. There are evil men in this world and there just may be a time when I need to do the unthinkable to protect me or my family,' he said.
- Jareen, CNN iReport producer

Bill · at 8:05 PM

http://www.mfi-miami.com/2012/12/michigan-supreme-court-rules-3-75-billion-of-jpm-chase-held-mortgages-are-voidable/

On the Friday before Christmas, while the media was focused on the funerals of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre and pre-Christmas retail sales figures, the Michigan Supreme Court quietly handed down a significant ruling that will affect nearly $3.75 billion worth of mortgages former Washington Mutual mortgages that JPMorgan Chase acquired from the FDIC after Washington Mutual went into FDIC receivership in 2008. The Michigan Supreme Court upheld a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling from January that calls for a strict interpretation of a Michigan law that states that if a foreclosing party is not the originating note holder they must be able to show a record chain of the mortgage

Bill · at 6:49 PM

A BILL

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess120_...4/bills/85.htm

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 9 TO CHAPTER 31, TITLE 23, TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA FIREARMS FREEDOM ACT", TO PROVIDE THAT A FIREARM, FIREARM ACCESSORY, OR AMMUNITION MANUFACTURED AND RETAINED IN SOUTH CAROLINA IS EXEMPT FROM FEDERAL REGULATION UNDER THE COMMERCE CLAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

The first American revolution started when the British marched on Concord to sieze the armory. It would be wise for the gun grabbers to never forget that. I have no intention of giving up my arms to anyone for any reason and I guarantee I am NOT alone.

Bill · at 5:48 PM

http://libertycrier.com/u-s-constitution/this-weeks-senate-scandal-scorn-for-the-4th-amendment/?utm_source=The+Liberty+Crier&utm_campaign=e714b4ee63-The_Liberty_Crier_Daily_News_12_29_2012&utm_medium=email

I haven’t passed the bar, but I know a little bit about the 4th Amendment. Have you read it lately? “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,” it states in plain English, “and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
That’s all of it.

Bill · at 5:47 PM

Agenda prevails over truth – Paul Craig Roberts

In the Western world truth no longer has any meaning. In its place stands agenda.
Agenda is all important, because it is the way Washington achieves hegemony over the world and the American people. 9/11 was the “new Pearl Harbor” that the neoconservatives declared to be necessary for their planned wars against Muslim countries. For the neoconservatives to go forward with their agenda, it was necessary for Americans to be connected to the agenda.
President George W. Bush’s first Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neil, said that prior to 9/11 the first cabinet meeting was about the need to invade Iraq.
9/11 was initially blamed on Afghanistan, and the blame was later shifted to Iraq. Washington’s mobilization against Afghanistan was in place prior to 9/11. The George W. Bush regime’s invasion of Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) occurred on October 7, 2001, less than a month after 9/11. Every military person knows that it is not possible to have mobilization for invading a country half way around the world ready in three weeks.
The Orwellian “PATRIOT Act” is another example of planning prior to the event. This vast police state measure could not possibly have been written in the short time between 9/11 and its introduction in Congress. The bill was already written, sitting on the shelf waiting its opportunity. Why? Who wrote it? Why has there been no media investigation of the advanced preparation of this police state legislation?

Bill · at 5:42 PM

Central banks are shifting from greenbacks into gold – Arabian Money

Why would some global central banks actually want the price of gold to rise? Well they hold a lot of it on their balance sheets and in order to balance their assets against their rising liabilities one way to achieve this is to allow the price of gold to go up.
So inflate away the debts of the world by allowing the price of gold to increase? It is not as mad as it sounds. If you want to reset the global financial system this is one method of achieving it: tie the currencies of the world more closely to gold. It worked before for several hundred years.

Of course they are, and they are also loading up on extremely cheap Mining shares.

Bill · at 8:56 PM

Bill · at 8:01 PM

Bill · at 7:59 PM

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2012/12/27/egypt-imposes-new-cash-controls-at-border/

Currency controls are now in place and there is a ban on traveling with more than $10,000 in cash. Egyptian officials are becoming worried as savings account withdrawals increase in the face of a depreciating pound and public rumors of central bank confiscation of deposits.

Bill · at 7:01 PM

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/12/warrantless-wiretapping-approved-yet-again-time-barely-fight

I didn't watch yesterday's Senate debate over the reauthorization of the 2008 FISA Amendments, but my Twitter feed suggested that it was a grim affair. A few senators tried to introduce amendments that would have provided a tiny bit of oversight of the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program—remember that?—but they were basically shouted down by my homestate senator, Dianne Feinstein, and the program was quickly reauthorized with essentially no public oversight at all. Glenn Greenwald is quite reasonably angry:

It's hard to put into words just how extreme was Feinstein's day-long fear-mongering tirade. "I've never seen a Congressional member argue so strongly against Executive Branch oversight as Sen. Feinstein did today re the FISA law," said Micah Zenko of the Council on Foreign Relations. Referring to Feinstein's alternating denials and justifications for warrantless eavesdropping on Americans, the ACLU's Jameel Jaffer observed: "This FISA debate reminds of the torture debate circa 2004: We don't torture! And anyway, we have to torture, we don't have any choice."
....Here we find yet again a defining attribute of the Obama legacy: the transformation of what was until recently a symbol of right-wing radicalism — warrantless eavesdropping — into meekly accepted bipartisan consensus. But it's not just the policies that are so transformed but the mentality and rhetoric that accompanies them: anyone who stands in the way of the US Government's demands for unaccountable, secret power is helping the Terrorists. "The administration has decided the program should be classified", decreed Feinstein, and that is that.

Feinstein's America,

Strangely, she wasn't always against guns...

Bill · at 6:27 PM

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/2012/12/29/animal-rights-group-settles-lawsuit-with-ringling/jJsUXsSLvJ9K6hpinKBamN/story.html

An animal rights group will pay Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus $9.3 million to settle a lawsuit the circus filed after courts found that activists paid a former circus worker for his help in claiming the circus abused elephants.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Friday it was not admitting any wrongdoing in settling the lawsuit. The New York-based animal rights group was one of several involved in a lawsuit filed in 2000 against the circus’ owner, Feld Entertainment Inc., claiming elephants were abused. Courts later found that the animal rights activists had paid a former Ringling barn helper involved in the lawsuit at least $190,000, making him ‘‘essentially a paid plaintiff’’ who lacked credibility.

Bill · at 5:17 PM

Progressives, Guns, and the Assault on Truth

With the recent re-election of Barack Obama and the overall resurgence of the left wing of the Democratic Party, Progressives must be thinking that E.J. Dionne was correct when he wrote They Only Look Dead: Why Progressives Will Dominate the Next Political Era nearly 20 years ago. With the Obama administration about to force a huge increase in taxes and government spending (the "Fiscal Cliff" being a sick joke), and with government agencies increasing their domination of ordinary American life, Progressives are in the driver’s seat and as Identity Politics is the dominant political movement, it looks as though we will see a rerun of the 1960s when Democratic Progressives ratcheted up the Welfare/Warfare State.

Good article - from a college professor about the true believers in progressivism.After the CT shooting it seems (IMHO) - that a lot of gun owners just don't "get it" - in that they don't understand at all why anybody would want to take their guns away from them. Maybe they need to read this to try and get a grip on how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Guns are a MAJOR political football in this country - and the ownership of guns by individuals are in DIRECT opposition to "progressive" goals and the "progressive" mindset.

Which is of course is why their ownership was specifically called out in the Second Amendment.
Gun owners need to start making better arguments for their ownership - better than " But...... they're protected by the second!" - that I typically hear .

In other words: Gun owners need to wake the Fu*k up and see what they're truly up against.

Progressives should beware. Patriots will always rule the day. Patriots lead. Progressives follow. Patriots fight, Progressives whine. Patriots kick ass and take names. Progressives kiss ass to make friends. Patriots love their liberty and will fight and if necessary die to keep it. Forget about writing your rep, or your Senator. Maybe at the state level. But my suggestion?

Buy guns. That runs NICS checks. NICS checks are published. Published data transforms into information.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nic...rly_totals.pdf

There's likely going to be over 18,000,000+ checks. And remember, these are for new purchases. Not FTF, unless mandated by state law.

Imagine if NICS data was running at 2,000,000 a month. Or 3,000,000 each and every month? That would send a serious message to Congress, the President and every other moonbat that thinks they can infringe on our Constitutionally-protected rights.

Yes we can.

Bill · at 4:28 PM

http://lewrockwell.com/orig13/hathaway2.1.1.html

Are you doing due diligence with nickels? As many LRC readers know, nickels are the only real "money" being distributed by the U.S. Government at this point in time. The value of the metal in a nickel equals the fiat value assigned to it by the state. This cannot be said about the currently produced pennies, dimes, quarters, or half dollars and certainly cannot be said about the paper money or the even more insidious and plentiful computer digit money that we are forced to use. Nickels are uniformly marked, impractical to counterfeit, and easily recognizable for their metallic content (75% copper, 25% nickel)

Bill · at 4:25 PM

Bill · at 4:08 PM

From WSJ:

The last-minute tax and spending deal being discussed in the Senate would do little to reduce the deficit, and could actually expand it[...]This weekend, with talks moving closer to the deadline, the only item being discussed that would reduce the deficit is a White House proposal to let the Bush-era tax cuts expire for upper-income households. White House officials believe raising tax rates on income above $250,000, combined with changes in capital-gains, dividend, and estate-tax rules, would raise roughly $950 billion over 10 years.

The WSJ piece fails to note that it appears that any deal will also result in an increase in the payroll tax by 2%, which will hit almost everyone taking home regular paychecks. Happy New Year.

WSJ does subtly point out that Social Security recipients will also get whacked:

$200 billion in savings [will come] from changing the government's measure of inflation, among other things.

Among the items that would increase spending:

One would extend emergency unemployment benefits for one year, at a cost of roughly $30 billion. Another would prevent Medicare payments to doctors from being cut close to 27%. This change would cost another $10 billion, according to estimates.

And tax increases (aside from the increase in the payroll tax) would raise only between $50 billion and $60 billion in new revenue in its first year, less than 10% of the projected budget deficit.

Bill · at 6:57 PM

Weakened Filibuster Reform Plan Unveiled In Congress By John McCain, Carl Levin

WASHINGTON -- "In a bid to head off the "nuclear option" for changing the Senate filibuster, a bipartisan group of senators Friday offered watered-down reforms they suggested would restore Washington to a place the fabled Mr. Smith of the 1939 movie would recognize."What we're proposing on a bipartisan basis is a way to end the major sources of gridlock around here," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), one of eight senators who crafted the proposal that would give the Senate two new ways to end filibusters.
The filibuster has been used nearly 400 times in the 112th Congress, which will go down as the least productive since the 1940s. The classic filibuster -- made famous in the film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" starring Jimmy Stewart -- involves a lawmaker taking to the floor and doggedly making his point.
In the modern Senate, the invoking of cloture to stop such debating requires 60 votes. But it's been decades since the objecting senator has had to take floor..."

Bill · at 6:05 PM

http://m.cbsnews.com/storysynopsis.rbml?pageType=general&catid=57561115&feed_id=999&videofeed=999

Too funny not to post ROFL

Some good police work right there, took that training aid right off the streets.The media isn't trying to push an agenda, right?

Another useless feel good waist of resources. But hey we feel safer now that this Trainer is off the street don't we? And look at all the important people clucking about and doing ass slaps and high fives..

Saddest part of this entire moment is that there is not one Military person amongst the rank and file here saying " Umm sir respectfully, are you retarded? its a TRAINER "?

Wake from your slumber sheep, this is an agenda grab.

Bill · at 12:32 PM

I leave you with a few thoughts:

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of 
 civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. . .
 The People cannot be safe without information. When the press
 is free, and every man is able to read, all is safe."
 -- Thomas Jefferson

Much of what we are dealing with today is a larger power grab by the federal government. It's not for any Hitler-like agenda, it's just to gain as much control over and insight into the population as possible. They want to ensure that the current system continues because the current system enables the same people to alternate between being in power and profiting from the use of that power. They have structured the system so that the vast majority of Americans are working hard to funnel money into friendly corporations, allow representatives of those corporations to become regulators and in return those corporations give out of work politicos jobs and manipulate the media and campaign finance issues so that only friendly politicians can ever get elected.

The current economic situation is, of course, unsustainable...but I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count as to who will be in the best position of all of us when the inevitable happens.

In the mean time they placate us with jobs we can bust our asses at in order to consume more things that we "need". Look at the difference in society over the last 50 years. It use to be that you could support a household on one income...not anymore. That is not an accident!

This is why I laugh at "Conservatives" who defend Corporate America, as though Corporate America had anything to do with free market capitalism at all, or had anything in mind for them other than exploitation. It's also why I consider anyone who votes for the two prominent parties my enemy. Don't worry, I have enemies in my family and amongst my friends too. Most people are just not capable of thinking far enough ahead to see the larger pattern that is being followed.

I know what this sounds like, but I really am not talking about some great conspiracy theory. All of this has happened in small increments and through small but opportunistic moves by those in power. The Media becomes corporatized and why would any good capitalistic corporation not want to use it's media outlets to promote an agenda friendly to their interests? Why would they not want to use their media outlets to promote candidates friendly to their interests?

No one in the 50's said, "hey, in 2012 I bet we can take everyone's guns" and then engineered some master plan to get it done. It started with the erosion of our fourth amendment rights, laws which had overwhelming support when they were passed. The government realized how convenient this is for them...people are literally begging them to data mine everything they do online which will enable them to tailor their message and responses to events more accurately.

Then, a bunch of high profile school shootings happen. If people were so hyped to give up their fourth amendment protections, why not the second amendment? It's not some nefarious plot to enslave everyone, it's just good politics. First, politicians get to, "look like they are doing something" about these terrible tragedies. The facts about the efficacy of gun control are hardly well known. On top of all of this, you are starting to take power away from the most well armed population in the world at a time when civil unrest is becoming VERY common place in countries all over the world. The government sees the writing on the wall, so they want to try and hang on to this power structure as long as they can. If we survive the economic crisis so much the better...they have a compliant, impotent population they can exploit for their own gain.

The truth lies between conspiracy theories and a belief that the government is doing the best it can at any given moment. The principle which governs each and every one of us, in every action, is self-interest. Every move a career politician makes it weighed against how it will help them and their agenda. This is why religion has become so popular on the right...it gives this illusion of altruism which obfuscates the fact that Republicans are not even slightly conservative or supportive of the constitution anymore. This self interest, over time, has created a system which GREATLY benefits those in power. It works tremendously well.

How did a society that was engineered to avoid this very thing get to this point? If you lean left, then it's the loosening of regulations, the drift of the governments focus from serving the people to serving corporations, corporate welfare, the corruption of the media, etc. If you lean right then it's the Fed, the curtailing of our freedoms, the staggering size of government and the waste inherent in that, the unions, the corruption of the media, etc.

Truthfully, I think it's possible to imagine a world where either method would have prevented us from getting to this state or at least getting to it so quickly. You can point, quite easily, to regulations which were the direct cause of some of our more recent miseries. Being a Libertarian, though, I obviously tend to believe that it's the size and reach of government...but I am always open to discussion.

One thing is for sure, though. If you lean left, it's the rights fault. If you lean right, it's the left's fault. That is undeniable truth! We must erradicate these vermin from our world like Carl Marx and his reeducation camps! Oh, wait, never mind that.

This bickering allows the people in power, the people who all share one agenda, to keep us fighting while they do their thing. This fiscal crisis...people realize this "crisis" is entirely the design of congress, right? And they realize that NEITHER party is offering a solution which, if adopted wholesale and without revision, would solve the financial crisis we're in, right? This conflict is good for business. It keeps the stock market fluctuating which makes people money, it creates uncertainty which keeps prices high, and it keeps the population at each others throats and desperate to vote in the next bureaucrat with the belief that things will be much better when they do.

That's why no one, conservative or liberal, is satisfied with the current state of things. Conservative interests are not being served. Liberal interests are not being served. The interests of those in POWER are being served. It's very simple, it's very obvious, and it makes absolutely perfect sense, but they have managed to conceal this from most people and to set up a system of "the lesser of two evils" which encourages paralysis.

Be well

Bill · at 11:47 AM

ESA Taking Iceland To EFTA Court Over More Charges

The European Free Trade Agreement Surveillance Authority (ESA) is taking Iceland to EFTA court over two charges now - one related to finance, and the other to livestock feed.
As many know, EFTA believes Iceland may have broken the terms of the country's treaty with the organisation by delaying repayment to foreign depositors in Icesave. Specifically, EFTA contends that part of the treaty dictates that governments ensure depositors of any national origin should be able to withdraw their many from a bank within an EFTA country.

Bill · at 10:56 AM

Obama Orders Pay Raise for Biden, Members of Congress, Federal Workers | The Weekly Standard

President Barack Obama issued an executive order to end the pay freeze on federal employees, in effect giving some federal workers a raise. One federal worker now to receive a pay increase is Vice President Joe Biden.
According to disclosure forms, Biden made a cool $225,521 last year. After the pay increase, he'll now make $231,900 per year.
Members of Congress, from the House and Senate, also will receive a little bump, as their annual salary will go from $174,000 to 174,900. Leadership in Congress, including the speaker of the House, will likewise get an increase.
Here's the list of new wages, as attached to President Obama's executive order:

Bill · at 10:51 AM

Major Borrowers to Reduce Bank Deposits: Fed Survey

The Fed surveyed 22 institutions to look at the terms and conditions in the securities financing and over-the-counter derivatives markets. It found little change in credit terms and financial leverage compared to previous months.
The survey, which began in 2010, is meant to capture conditions in the so-called shadow banking system that was at the center of the 2007-2009 financial crisis. A separate longstanding Fed survey of loan officers tracks traditional lending to households and businesses.

Hmm Market crash tell?

Bill · at 10:30 AM

Social Security Ran $47.8B Deficit in FY 2012; Disabled Workers Hit New Record in December: 8,827,795 | CNS News

The Social Security program ran a $47.8 billion deficit in fiscal 2012 as the program brought in $725.429 billion in cash and paid $773.247 for benefits and overhead expenses, according to official data published by Social Security Administration.
The Social Security Administration also released new data revealing that the number of workers collecting disability benefits hit a record 8,827,795 in December--up from 8,805,353 in November.

Speechless...

Bill · at 10:04 AM

Obama to Offer 'Mini Deal' on Fiscal Cliff: What's at Stake for Today's Meeting? - Yahoo! Finance

CNBC is also reporting that if agreed to, the deal in the works would not be a permanent fix, but a 60-90 [day] patch that would prevent taxes from going up on most Americans and avoiding the worst consequences of the cliff rules.

Bill · at 9:56 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-reaches-500-homicides-fatal-shooting-145951769.html

The last time the city reached the 500-homicide mark was in 2008, when the year ended with 512 killings. Last year, city records show Chicago had 435 homicides.

On Thursday, officials with the Chicago Police Department said the city was one homicide away from the 500 mark. Hours later, a 40-year-old man was fatally shot in the Austin neighborhood on the city's West Side. Police say Nathaniel Jackson was found on the sidewalk outside a convenience store with a gunshot wound to the head late Thursday.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office says Jackson was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital early Friday.

Jackson's death remains under investigation. No arrests have been made.

I'll just leave this right here...

Bill · at 7:46 AM

http://www.markiteconomics.com/MarkitFiles/Pages/ViewPressRelease.aspx?ID=10466

The Eurozone Retail PMI is a seasonally adjustedindicator of changes in the value of sales at
retailers. Any figure greater than 50.0 signalsgrowth compared with one month earlier.The PMI fell from 45.8 in November to 44.5 inDecember, indicative of a sharp fall in retail sales.The average for Q4 (45.2) is among the lowest forany quarter of the survey’s operation. Moreover, thetrend for 2012 (45.5) is the lowest annual averageof any year since the series started in 2004. Theprevious record low was in 2008 (46.1).

Bill · at 7:45 AM

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/12/28

But in July 2008, once he had secured the nomination, a bill came before the Senate that did exactly that - the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 - and Obama not only failed to filibuster as promised, but far worse, he voted against the filibuster brought by other Senators, and then voted in favor of enacting the bill itself. That blatant, unblinking violation of his own clear promise - actively supporting a bill he had sworn months earlier he would block from a vote - caused a serious rift even in the middle of an election year between Obama and his own supporters.

Among other things, what this disgusting exercise shows is how false the "partisan gridlock" meme is. When it comes to maintaining unaccountable power in the hands of a tiny and shadowy group, there is no partisan divide, just a handful of members of Congress, from both parties, who have the quaint notion that their oath to uphold the Constitution requires them to vote against assaults on the Bill of Rights.

Bill · at 7:43 AM

Japan heading over the waterfall ... better hope the pool at the bottom is deep and wide ... the US "cannonball" bringing up the rear ...

After adjusting for seasonal factors, the headline Markit/JMMA Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI™) registered a level of 45.0 in December. Down from 46.5, the PMI subsequently posted a 44-month low.
Output continued to decline markedly, with the sharpest contraction again seen in the capital goods producing sector. Total manufacturing production has now fallen for seven months in a row, with the latest reduction the sharpest seen since April 2011.
Falling volumes of incoming new business was the primary factor driving manufacturing output lower in December. As was the case with output, the fall in new order volumes was the steepest since April 2011, although the rate of decline was considerably sharper than seen for production.

http://www.markiteconomics.com/MarkitFiles/Pages/ViewPressRelease.aspx?ID=10470

Bill · at 7:23 AM

http://12160.info/profiles/blogs/dick-act-of-1902

Have you ever heard of the “Dick Act of 1902?” More properly known as the “Efficiency of Militia Bill H.R. 11654″. Oddly enough it is not available online from government sources, only a “catalog page” found at The Library of Congress . The Dick Act’s most quoted synopsis is: The Dick Act of 1902 also known as the Efficiency of Militia Bill H.R. 11654, of June 28, 1902 invalidates all so-called gun-control laws. It also divides the militia into three distinct and separate entities. The three classes H.R. 11654 provides for are the organized militia, henceforth known as the National Guard of the State, Territory and District of Columbia, the unorganized militia and the regular army. The militia encompasses every able-bodied male between the ages of 18 and 45. All members of the unorganized militia have the absolute personal right and 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms of any type, and as many as they can afford to buy.

And here as well http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/government/us_constitution/gun_control/news.php?q=1237163642

Bill · at 7:11 AM

http://www.classicpersuasion.org/cbo/chatham/chat14.htm

My Lords, this is a dying moment; perhaps but six weeks left to arrest the dangers that surround us. The gathering storm may break; it has already opened, and in part burst. It is difficult for government, after all that has passed, to shake hands with defiers of the King, defiers of the Parliament, defiers of the people. I am a defier of nobody; but if an end is not put to this war, there is an end to this country. I do not trust my judgment in my present state of health; this is the judgment of my better days--the result of forty years' attention to America. They are rebels; but for what? Surely not for defending their unquestionable rights! What have these rebels done heretofore? I remember when they raised four regiments on their own bottom, and took Louisbourg from the veteran troops of France. But their excesses have been great: I do not mean their panegyric; but must observe, in extenuation, the erroneous and infatuated counsels which have prevailed; the door to mercy and justice has been shut against them; but they may still be taken up upon the grounds of their former submission. [Referring to their petition.]

Fast forward to 2007 and The American Empire.

His Highness, Rudy Giuliani, gives a completely ignorant and arrogant response, and the empire mentality is almost tangible in the thunderous applause from the peanut gallery.

Like Lord Chatham, Ron Paul's plea for non-aggression has fallen on deaf ears.

Bill · at 7:04 AM

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/28/cop-gun-fires-twice-inside-new-york-mall-bathroom/

Authorities say a police officer's personal handgun discharged twice when someone tried to steal his jacket while he was in the bathroom at an upstate New York shopping mall.
The Times Herald-Record of Middletown reports that Lt. Paul Pratti of the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office had hung his jacket on a stall door in a restroom at the Galleria in Wallkill in neighboring Orange County last Saturday night.
Officials say someone reached over the door and tried to grab his jacket, with the gun inside. Police say the gun fired twice, with both bullets hitting the ceiling. No one was injured.

Wait is a Law Officer ( cough ) all is well. Maybe a little time off with pay would help...

Bill · at 6:58 AM

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chicago-pmi-climbs-to-516-in-december-2012-12-28?link=MW_home_latest_news

The Chicago purchasing managers index rose to 51.6% in December from 50.4% in November to mark the best performance in four months. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the Chicago PMI to edge up to 51.0%. New orders posted the biggest increase in 19 months, advancing to 54.0% from 45.3% in November. The production index fell slightly, however, to 53.8%, while employment tumbled to 45.9% from 55.2%. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The latest report suggests some businesses took advantage of expiring investment credits, but they also pulled back on hiring because of worries about the fiscal cliff.

Bill · at 6:20 AM

Central Bank Balance Sheets: China, EU and US

Bill · at 5:07 AM

http://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/80344/structural-endgame-fiscal-cliff

To understand this endgame, we need to start with the financial and political basics of wealth and power in the U.S.

Bill · at 5:01 AM

http://www.thelonestarwatchdog.com/2012/12/23/why-they-want-america-disarmed/

Do the people really trust the government will be nice to us if we all turn in our weapons? Do you think they will keep their word and protect us if we surrender our firearms? Do not bet on it. If you think the government is abusive now with the people being armed. It will be hell on earth to give up our guns to these wicked men.

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years." -- Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor 1787

Bill · at 4:52 AM

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/24/279917/great-depression-deepens-across-globe/

In this spirit, let us briefly examine the economic condition of humanity at the close of 2012.

Our finding is sadly that the ongoing world economic depression continues to increase the needless privations of the vast majority of the inhabitants of this planet. The great scourges of mankind remain poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, disease, unemployment, homelessness, inadequate sanitation, low social mobility, and exclusion -- and many of these are getting worse.

Bill · at 4:46 AM

The liberal version: You're a gun nut if you own a gun or are thinking about owning a gun.

Bill · at 7:47 PM

Bill · at 7:44 PM

Japan’s Production Slumps to 2011 Quake-Aftermath Low: Economy - Bloomberg

The 1.7 percent drop in November from October exceeded all 27 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey, a government report showed today in Tokyo. The nation also remained mired in deflation, with consumer prices excluding fresh food dropping 0.1 percent from a year before, compared with a central bank goal of 1 percent and Abe’s desired target of 2 percent.

Bill · at 7:01 PM

Massive act of censorship sees alternative media pages disappeared - Max Keiser

Facebook Purges Pro-Gun Accounts

The following is a list of Facebook accounts operated by individuals in the alternative media that have been shut down by Facebook staff over the past 24 hours.
Michael F Rivero (account inactive)
Anthony J Hilder (account inactive)
William Lewis (account inactive)
Richard Gage (account inactive)
William Rodriguez (account inactive)
Infowar Artist (account inactive)
We are Change (account inactive)
Wacboston At Twitter (account inactive)
Michael Murphy Tmp (account inactive)
Robert M Bowman (account inactive)
Peter Dale Scott (account inactive)
Jason Infowars (account inactive)
Mike Skuthan (account inactive)
Packy Savvenas (account inactive)
Sean Wright (account inactive)
Katherine Albrect (account inactive)

It is important to stress that most of these accounts have not simply been temporarily suspended, they have been shut down completely.
A 24 hour suspension was also placed on the Alex Jones Facebook account due to an image that another user had posted in which Alex Jones was tagged. In the days before 9-11, the FBI went around the nation shutting down the websites of Muslim charities, so that no opposing voice could be heard to challenge the "Muslims did it" propaganda. Looks like a repeat, which may herald a major false-flag event in the immediate future.

Bill · at 6:48 PM

http://bastiat.mises.org/2012/12/swedens-war-on-cash-runs-into-a-wall-and-a-heroic-bank/

The war on cash in Sweden may be stalling. The anti-cash movement has been vigorously promoted by major Swedish commercial banks as well as the Riksbank, the Swedish central bank. In fact, for three of the four major Swedish banks combined, 530 of their 780 office no longer accept or pay out cash. In the case of the Nordea Bank, 200 of its 300 branches are now cashless, and three-quarters of Swedbank’s branches no longer handle cash. As Peter Borsos, a spokesman for Swedbank, freely admits, his bank is working “actively to reduce the [amount] of cash in society.” The reasons for this push toward a cashless society, of course, have nothing to do with pumping up earnings from bank card fees or, more important, freeing fractional-reserve banks from the constraints of bank runs. No, according to Borsos, the reasons are the environment, cost, and security: ”We ourselves emit 700 tons of carbon dioxide by cash transport. It costs society 11 billion per year. And cash helps robberies everywhere.” Hans Jacobson, head of Nordea Bank, argues similarly: ”Our mission is to make people understand the point of cards, cards are more secure than cash.”

Bill · at 6:22 PM

Major Silver Producer: Thousands Of “Generalist” Pension & Mutual Funds Now Eyeing Gold And Silver Producers | Bull Market Thinking

I just got off the phone with a major silver producer. Of worthy note, is that over the last 3 months, phone calls from what this gentlemen referred to as “generalists” have spiked, and are continuing during this quiet holiday period.
“What is a generalist?” I asked.
“A generalist is a fund manager oriented towards general market investments—not precious metals specifically,” he replied.
“What is occurring due to the extremely low valuations of gold and specifically quality silver producers,” he explained, is that “general market growth and value-focused funds are now eyeing these companies.”
Further, this gentlemen joked that generalists are also referred too as cockroaches, in that when you see one—there are usually ten more hiding behind them, looking to buy.

Bill · at 6:13 PM

The Farce Is Complete: In The Case Of Countrywide, Congress Finds Itself Innocent Of Being "Friends Of Angelo" | ZeroHedge

Just when you thought the seemingly endless rabbit hole of Wall Street-Washington corruption, cronyism, co-option, crime and kickbacks may have finally come to an end, here comes the House Ethic Committee to pronounce that no ethics breaches were found among House members in its investigation involving the scandal surrounding Countrywide "VIP loans" and the "Friends of Angelo." And in just doing so, the House effectively cleared itself of any wrongdoing and that's it, case closed - move along... Move along.

Bill · at 5:49 PM

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/content/en/mineweb-gold-analysis?oid=168203&sn=Detail

India’s community of high net worth individuals is growing fast and, for them, the most favoured form of investment is gold.
The HNI population in India rose by around 20.86% in 2010, and their wealth is estimated to have grown by more than 11%, to $530 billion. India is one of the fastest growing HNI segments in the world, currently contributing approximately 1.2% to the global HNI wealth.

“The number and wealth of the ultra HNIs has leapfrogged in the last decade. With an estimate that in the next five years, there would be about 219,000 such households, up from the current 62,000 households, their net worth is also expected to grow five times,'' says Rupesh Nagoria, product head at broking firm, Alchemist House.
And, importantly, while their assets are growing the members of this class are also getting younger.
The average age of Indian high networth individuals (HNIs) has fallen to the mid-40s from the early 50s in just five years. Though precious metals still holds the roost, Indian HNIs are experimenting with a gamut of investments, from fixed income instruments, commodities to art and private equity firms.

Bill · at 5:15 PM

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/27/gen-norman-schwarzkopf-who-led-coalition-forces-in-persian-gulf-war-dies/

Rest in Peace General..

Bill · at 11:18 AM

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/12/middle-class-tax-hike.php

When lawmakers vow to make sure middle class taxes don’t rise by a penny, there’s one thing they’re invariably ignoring. Working Americans are poised to face a tax hike next year no matter the outcome of fiscal cliff negotiations.
Employees’ share of the Social Security payroll tax is set to rise by 2 percentage points in 2013 after being lowered to 4.2 percent for two years. President Obama and Speaker John Boehner are at an impasse in fiscal cliff talks, but they’ve effectively agreed to end the payroll tax holiday.
That alone means the average working American would take home $40 less per paycheck. Although it would raise the federal government’s revenue by more than $100 billion for the year, it would also cause a hit to the economy because those with lower incomes spend more of their earnings.

Silly thinking that they were only Taxing the rich lol...

Bill · at 9:23 AM

Hot Commodities: CFTC Staffers - WSJ.com

After working long hours over many months crafting new rules for Wall Street, a number of government regulators are switching sides to work for the firms that will have to follow and interpret them.

Whenever there is a major policy change in Washington like the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul, it enhances the marketability of government employees with specialized skills and contacts. But in the past, it was officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department in particular who found their expertise and contacts most highly valued in the financial industry[...]

At least nine CFTC employees have decamped since June for firms in finance, law and accounting that are figuring out how to comply with the Dodd-Frank overhaul. Six of the staffers were directly involved in rule making and three were in enforcement.

Among the firms doing the hiring are J.P. Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank AG, Nomura Securities, Covington & Burling LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Some are subject to the rules, while others advise clients who are[...]

Carl Kennedy, a staffer to Commissioner Scott O'Malia, went to J.P. Morgan, and Adedayo Banwo, a lawyer in the agency's general counsel's office, joined Deutsche Bank. Both firms and several other large banks are expected early next year to register as "swap dealers," a designation that carries with it governance rules and capital requirements.[...] critics of the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street say they worry ex-staffers could use their personal connections to pressure the agency into crafting rules favorable to their new employers.

What's really evil here is not just that these characters will provide workarounds to legislation they just crafted, but that they will influence the creation of new rules and regulations that will provide an edge for their crony firms, and create a moat that makes it extremely difficult for others to enter a sector.

Bill · at 8:48 AM

Plays here: http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/119364/No_AR15_Found_at_Sandy_Hook_Massacre/

This was playing fine now all of a sudden it has been halted. You are Labeled a Conspiracy Theorist if you ask questions. What is it called when the Main Stream Media fails to do their job?

Bought and Paid for maybe?

They admitted he was buzzed into the school. They also admitted that there was a new security system in the school - which I am going to assume included a video camera. If he was carrying a rifle with him - I'm pretty sure that would have lessened the chances that he would get buzzed in - ya think?

So now it's four pistols he had. So once again the story changes. How many pistols did the mother have registered to her? He carried four pistols in - what did he do - unload one on the victims and then just take out another one and keep shooting? That pretty much blows the high cap "clip" argument out of the water. Who cares about 10 round clips - just bring four guns.

Why is the investigation "so complex"? Maybe because so much of it is bullshit?

Bill · at 8:34 AM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20797917

As the global economic crisis continues, there is a rush on gold, as it is increasingly regarded as one of the only safe commodities around.
The world's four major gold refineries are in Switzerland and most of the world's gold is processed there.
Last year a record 2600 metric tonnes or almost $100bn-worth (75.9bn euros) was imported and refined in Switzerland.
Imogen Foulkes gained rare access to one of the refineries for a look at this highly secretive industry

Bill · at 8:31 AM

http://vimeo.com/52009124

Here is an article right after the election talking about how China is happy with the O reelection:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/07/us-usa-campaign-china-idUSBRE8A615720121107

Bill · at 8:28 AM

IMF Head Lagarde Warns Germany over Possible Austerity Plan - SPIEGEL ONLINE

International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde has said that Germany should not be looking at measures aimed at consolidating its finances, apparently in concern over a SPIEGEL report indicating that the German Finance Ministry is working on a far-reaching package of spending cuts and tax hikes for introduction following general elections next autumn. In an interview with the Thursday edition of the influential weekly Die Zeit, she said that Germany needs to continue to work as a counterbalance to the biting austerity programs passed in crisis-stricken countries in Southern Europe.
Germany and other countries "can afford to move ahead with consolidation at a slower pace than others," Lagarde said. "That serves to counteract the negative effects on growth that emanate from the cuts made in crisis countries."

Bill · at 8:18 AM

Record number of claims against NYC police in FY 2011: report - Yahoo! News

A record number of legal claims were filed against the New York City Police Department in fiscal year 2011, according to a report scheduled for release on Thursday.

In fiscal 2011, which ended June 30, 2011, a total of 8,882 claims were filed against the NYPD, up from the previous high of 8,110 filed in fiscal year 2010, New York City Comptroller John Liu said in the report.

The city also settled $185.6 million of personal injury and other tort claims that involved the NYPD, a 35 percent increase from fiscal 2010, the report said.

The city should "explore a unified method to track individual officers named in claim suits and the payouts," Liu's report said.

The claims against police don't include those filed in conjunction with the Occupy Wall Street protests that took place in lower Manhattan in September 2011.

Bill · at 8:14 AM

Good overview of the Canadian RRE market...Canadian government is now backstops 800 billion in mortgages...

Ottawa’s $800-billion housing problem - The Globe and Mail

Bill · at 8:03 AM

Russia had been one of the few bright spots ... will the last to leave please turn out the lights ...
The PMI equalled the no-change mark of 50.0 in
December, ending a 14-month period of positive
readings. The fall in the PMI from November’s 52.2 was
among the steepest registered in the past four years,
and took the average for the final quarter of 2012 below
those for both Q2 and Q3. The downward movement in
the index was primarily influenced by its three main
components – new orders, output and employment.

Russian manufacturers reduced headcounts for the
second month running in December, the first back-toback
fall in employment in the sector for over a year.
Moreover, the rate of job shedding was the fastest since
August 2009.

http://www.markiteconomics.com/MarkitFiles/Pages/ViewPressRelease.aspx?ID=10499

Bill · at 7:46 AM

The great Free State Project (FSP) involves having pro-freedom individuals and families move to the Granite State in order to create an environment for the realization of "liberty in our lifetime," as the FSP puts it. Democratic State Rep. Cynthia Chase calls them "the single biggest threat the state is facing today."Whatever can be done about these people who favor nonviolence in interpersonal relations?

Her answer: "There is, legally, nothing we can do to prevent them from moving here to take over the state, which is their openly stated goal. In this country you can move anywhere you choose and they have that same right. What we can do is to make the environment here so unwelcoming that some will choose not to come, and some may actually leave. One way is to pass measures that will restrict the 'freedoms' that they think they will find here.... Cheshire County is a welcoming community but not to those whose stated goal is to move in enough ideologues to steal our state, and our way of life."

Let's translate this from Politico into English: "Unfortunately, people have the right to move anywhere they like in this country. There's nothing we can do about that. But if we make New Hampshire a less desirable place to live, with fewer freedoms, maybe people seeking freedom will be less likely to settle here. We have a way of life here, you see. Our way of life consists of sticking a gun in people's ribs and taking their things, in order that those things may be distributed to powerful constituencies from whom we public servants expect to win votes. This is one of our sacred traditions. If you are philosophically opposed to the use of violence in the service of political ends, you are an ideologue. Ideologues are not welcome here. We are welcoming to everyone who delights in having a gun shoved in his ribs."

The above originally appeared in Tom's free monthly email newsletter. You can sign up here.

Bill · at 7:14 AM

November new U.S. home sales rise 4.4% to 377,000 - MarketWatch

Sales of new U.S. homes jumped 4.4% in November to an annual rate of 377,000, the highest level since April 2010, the Commerce Department said Thursday. In October, sales were revised down to 361,000 from an initial reading of 368,000. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast new home sales to rise to 380,000 last month on a seasonally adjusted basis. The median price of new homes climbed 3.7% to $246,200 in November from $237,500 in the prior month. The supply of new homes available for purchase fell to 4.7 months in November at the current sales rate from 4.9 months in October. New home sales are 15.3% higher compared to one year ago and the median sales price is 14.9% higher.

LMAO! jobs are hard to come by, Loans are being nit picked, yet home sales are rising lol. Hitler would be proud of our current leadership.

Bill · at 7:11 AM

Consumer confidence drops in December - MarketWatch

A gauge of consumer confidence dropped in December to the lowest level in four months as short-term expectations plunged on fiscal-cliff concerns, according to data released Thursday. The Conference Board said its consumer-confidence index fell to 65.1 in December from a downwardly revised 71.5 in November. A prior November estimate pegged the level at 73.7. A barometer of expectations plunged to 66.5 in December - the lowest reading since November 2011 - from 80.9 in November. Meanwhile, a gauge of consumers' view on the present situation increased to 62.8 from 57.4. "A similar decline in expectations was experienced in August 2011 during the debt ceiling discussions," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board. "While consumers are quite negative about the short-term outlook, they are more upbeat than last month about current business and labor market conditions." Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a December reading of 70, with fiscal-cliff concerns outweighing positive jobs news

Bill · at 5:33 AM

U.S. jobless claims drop 12,000 to 350,000 - MarketWatch

*Some data made up...

U.S. applications for new unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 to 350,000 in the week ended Dec. 22, but the decline may have been exaggerated by the Christmas holiday. The federal government was closed Monday and Tuesday and many states also closed for both days. As a result, the Labor Department had to use estimates to gauge the level of jobless claims for 19 states, including California and Texas, because of paperwork delays. Rarely does the government need to use estimates for more than one or two states in any week. Initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 362,000 from an original reading of 361,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected claims to total 361,000. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, fell by 11,250 to 356,750 to mark the lowest level since March 2008. The four-week average reduces seasonal volatility in the weekly data and is seen as a more accurate barometer of labor-market trends. Also, Labor said continuing claims decreased by 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.21 million in the week ended Dec. 15. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits.

Bill · at 4:55 AM

Spain's Bankia wipes out shareholders in revival bid
| Reuters

A source close to the Bank of Spain said Bankia would receive 18 billion euros of European money by Friday and launch a capital increase in the first half of January when current shareholders will lose practically their entire investment.
Under the European Union plan to prop up Spain's banking sector, shareholders must be the first in the queue to suffer losses. This has already been the case in Ireland where shareholders in Anglo Irish Bank were left with nothing.
"Are we looking into leaving shareholders with something? Yes. How much? That's too soon to say. Will it be very little? For sure," said the source on condition of anonymity.
"But that will be purely symbolic. I can assure you they will lose up to the shirt on their back."
The source also said the issue was under discussion with the EU authorities and that the final figure would be known when the capital increase takes place in January.

And out of thin air! I need to plant one of these....

Bill · at 4:47 AM

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2012/12/26/hows-this-for-an-inflation-rate.html

The cost of gasoline in 1940 was just 18 cents per gallon, a price that ballooned during the subsequent 72 years to the vicinity of $3.25 today (based on the national average).
That's an increase of 1,705 percent, according to a report issued this morning by On Numbers, an online service of Business First's parent company, American City Business Journals Inc.
But it's not quite as bad as it seems. Inflation has hiked the general cost of living by 1,544 percent since 1940, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index (CPI).

Of course the Cronie Capitalists have stripped this measure to the bone so it is pretty much meaningless at this point.

Bill · at 4:31 AM

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/ex-u-president-george-h-w-bush-intensive-001224863.html

Former President George H.W. Bush is in the intensive care unit of a Houston hospital and is in "guarded condition," family spokesman Jim McGrath said Wednesday.
"The president is alert and conversing with medical staff, and is surrounded by family," McGrath said in a statement.
"Following a series of setbacks including a persistent fever, President Bush was admitted to the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital on Sunday where he remains in guarded condition," McGrath said. "Doctors at Methodist continue to be cautiously optimistic about the current course of treatment."
The 88-year-old was admitted to the hospital November 23 for bronchitis.

Life's visions are vanished, it's dreams are no more.
Dear friends of my bosom, why bathed in tears?
I go to my fathers; I welcome the shore,
which crowns all my hopes, or which buries my cares.
Then farewell my dear, my lov'd daughter, Adieu!
The last pang of life is in parting from you!
Two Seraphs await me, long shrouded in death:
I will bear them your love on my last parting breath.

Thomas Jefferson 1826

Bill · at 4:26 AM

http://howestreet.com/2012/12/consumers-love-imaginary-money/

Monday, December 31, 2012

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Friday, December 28, 2012

Fast forward to 2007 and The American Empire.

Thursday, December 27, 2012