The Obama team will tell you "Fast and Furious" was just a phony scandal...

But are there bigger reasons why the Obama White House invoked executive privilege to keep the truth about Fast and Furious under wraps?

From The Blaze:

John Dodson, the federal agent who blew the lid off the Justice Department’s “Fast and Furious” gun-walking scandal, claims the FBI had ties to the men who killed U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in 2010 near Nogales, Ariz. In fact, Dodson says the Mexican bandits who gunned down Terry were working for FBI operatives and had been sent to the border to do a “drug rip-off” using intelligence gathered by the DEA. 

The Obama agenda benefits from a lawless border so it can justify moving forward on "reforms" - both in firearms restrictions and immigration.

Nothing about Fast and Furious seems too far fetched. Except the administration's instance that there's nothing to see here.

Wall Street advisor recommends guns, ammo for protection – Washington Examiner

  Wall Street advisor recommends guns, ammo for protection – Washington Examiner

A top financial advisor, worried that Obamacare, the NSA spying scandal and spiraling national debt is increasing the chances for a fiscal and social disaster, is recommending that Americans prepare a “bug-out bag” that includes food, a gun and ammo to help them stay alive.
David John Marotta, a Wall Street expert and financial advisor and Forbes contributor, said in a note to investors, “Firearms are the last item on the list, but they are on the list. There are some terrible people in this world. And you are safer when your trusted neighbors have firearms.”

I took a trip to the local shop over the weekend it was standing room only... and the price of Ammo was sticker shock.

The Future Samsung Sees for You

Hundreds of Teens Trash Mall in Wild Flash Mob

NyPo reports:

Hundreds of teenagers stormed and trashed a Brooklyn mall in a wild flash mob that forced the shopping center to close its doors during day-after Christmas sales, sources said on Friday.
More than 400 crazed teens grabbed and smashed jars of candy, stole cheap items such as baby balloons and beat up security guards at Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Mill Basin between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., merchants said.

A violent game of “Knockout” also broke out on the upper level of the mall — and one teen may have been carrying a gun, sources said.

The teens used social media to plan the mass looting, vowing to put the mall “on tilt” – or to raid it, according to posts on Facebook and Twitter.

Clerks, who scrambled to close up their shops, said they were terrified.

If they had jobs they would not have the time to do this. Hooray for minimum wage laws and guilt subsidizing mommies and daddies.

I shudder when I look ( SPY )

No comment needed

DHS insider gives final warning

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/60129

For this contact, my source took unprecedented measures to be certain that our contact was far off the radar of prying government eyes and ears. I was stunned at the lengths he employed, and even found myself somewhat annoyed by the inconvenience that his cloak-and-dagger approach caused. It was necessary, according to my source, because all department heads under FEMA and DHS are under orders to identify anyone disclosing any information for termination and potential criminal prosecution.
 “‘It’s the economy, stupid,’” he began, paraphrasing a campaign slogan coined by James Carville for Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign.  “Just as I disclosed in our first meeting, the crisis will be rooted in an economic collapse. I told you last year, at a time when gold and silver were setting record highs, one specific indicator that time is very short. It is the final ‘smack down’ of the metals, gold and silver, that will presage the orchestrated economic collapse that is being planned by the bankers of Wall Street. Everybody needs to understand that this is a deliberate collapse of the U.S. economy with the oversight of the White House and the full knowledge of the Justice Department.  Everyone seems to be waiting for some big, history making event that will signal the start of the collapse. The fact is that the collapse has already started. It’s incremental, like a snowball rolling down a hill. It gets bigger and rolls faster. Well, this snowball is well on its way down the hill.”


As much as this seems like tin foil hattery the DHS insider pretty much nailed the Boston bombing and  a few others calls, most note worthy his call on  METALS.

Swiss Private Bank Lombard Odier Signs Up to U.S. Tax Deal

The global intimidation/enforcement reach of the US government is really overpowering. If Bitcoin holders somehow think that the USG will not crackdown on Bitcoin if it sees Bitcoin as a major tax collection threat, they are sadly mistake.

Read on as to the how and why of private Swiss banks and their new co-operation with the USG.

From Reuters:

Lombard Odier & Cie on Friday became the latest Swiss bank to say it would work with U.S. officials in a crackdown on Swiss lenders suspected of helping wealthy Americans evade taxes through hidden offshore accounts.

The Geneva-based bank with 203 billion Swiss francs ($227 billion) in client assets is the biggest privately-held firm so far to say publicly it will take part in a government-brokered scheme to make amends for aiding tax evasion.

The deal between the United States and Switzerland is part of a U.S. drive to lift the veil on bank secrecy in the Alpine country, the world's largest offshore finance center with more than $2 trillion in assets.

Under the deal, Swiss banks have until the end of the year to sign up to the program which requires the firms to hand out some previously hidden information and face penalties of up to 50 percent of assets they managed on behalf of U.S. clients.

A host of smaller listed Swiss banks have come forward, but the majority of Switzerland's private banks are unlisted and often family-run firms like Lombard Odier.

"After a detailed analysis of the program and its implications, the Bank has decided to take the prudent step of signing up to category 2 within the required deadline of 31 December 2013. It reserves the right to join category 3 which opens in the summer of 2014," the bank said in a statement.

Swiss banks putting themselves in the second category have reason to believe they may have committed tax offences, and are eligible for a non-prosecution agreement if they come clean and face fines.

So-called category 3 banks have not engaged in criminal conduct or are deemed "compliant" under U.S. tax rules. They would receive a "non-target letter", or a promise from prosecutors they won't be charged later, and not have to pay fines.

Images from George Orwell's 1984 manuscript – George Orwell Novels

Images from George Orwell's 1984 manuscript – George Orwell Novels

Preliminary drafts representing about 44% of the published text of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four have survived and were reproduced in a facsimile edition published in 1984. As Sonia Orwell wrote on 28 August 1974 to Daniel G. Siegel, who now owns the manuscript, “it is such a rare document” for “unfortunately George always threw away all his mss. letters etc., so his actual working methods are very badly documented.”

---

Opening paragraph of 1984:
Draft version: It was a bright/cold, blowy day in early April and a million radios were striking thirteen.
Final version: It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

Sea of Red: US Treasury 10 Yields Breaks Through 3%, Global Sovereign Rates Rising

http://confoundedinterest.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/sea-of-red-us-treasury-10-yields-breaks-through-3-global-sovereign-rates-rising/

The U.S. is seeing a return to normalcy for initial jobless claims and rising consumer confidence. The U.S. Treasury 10 year yield broke through 3% this morning before subsiding to just under 3%.

Judge sides with NSA over ACLU in phone-surveillance case

Judge sides with NSA over ACLU in phone-surveillance case
 

The decision by U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III came just days after another federal judge, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, ruled that the NSA program "almost certainly" violated constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.

The ACLU lawsuit was regarded as the first significant legal challenge against the NSA program after it was disclosed in June.

"The natural tension between protecting the nation and preserving civil liberty is squarely presented by the Government's bulk telephony metadata collection program," wrote Judge Pauley in his 53-page ruling as he dismissed the ACLU lawsuit.

"While robust discussions are underway across the nation, in Congress, and at the White House, the question for this Court is whether the Government's bulk telephony metadata program is lawful. This Court finds it is. But the question of whether that program should be conducted is for the other two coordinate branches of Government to decide."

During arguments last month, Judge Pauley appeared receptive to the idea that Americans enjoy some level of privacy in their phone records.

Bottom line folks the Courts as well as the Justice system is corrupt to the core. The Government is waging war on the American people....Nothing to see here GO SHOPPING! SHEEPLETONS!

 Makes you wonder what the .gov had on this piece of trash, or was the payoff to great not to take.

Benefits to end Saturday for long-term jobless - The Washington Post

Benefits to end Saturday for long-term jobless - The Washington Post

Kathy Biscotti cut back to two meals a day after losing her job over the summer. On Saturday, she must swallow an even more bitter pill: the end of her federal unemployment benefits.
An estimated 1.3 million long-term unemployed workers like Biscotti are expected to be affected when the program expires. The extended benefits, staunchly opposed by Republicans, were left out of the bipartisan federal budget agreement reached this month. Senate Democrats have vowed to make the issue a top priority when they return to Washington in January, but Biscotti says she can’t wait that long.

Gold chart update

We have been keeping a closer eye on gold lately as gold has been hammered pretty badly in 2013 which is pretty obvious. The thing is you zoom back on gold, and you can see that longer term the damage is not only tiny, but insignificant. I think it would be even safe to say that if gold came down some more that would be ok, even to the 1100 area there is still no reason to panic. But from there, if there was a bounce, it might be pretty big bounce coming, if you look back on this chart.

Millions of Tons of Metals Stashed in Shadow Warehouses

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304244904579276830893405644

The world's metal is slipping into the shadows.

Banks, hedge funds, commodity merchants and others are stashing tens of millions of tons of aluminum, copper, nickel and zinc in a hidden system of warehouses that span the globe.

These facilities are known to some in the industry as "shadow warehouses" because they are unregulated and don't disclose their holdings.

They operate outside the London Metal Exchange system of warehouses, the traditional home for these metals.

As of October, a record seven million to 10 million tons of aluminum were being housed in these facilities, in countries as far apart as Malaysia and the Netherlands, according to estimates from several analysts.

Key wording 
As a result, producers and consumers are bracing for potentially wild swings in metals prices as market participants have difficulty accurately gauging supplies of these metals. With no clear insight into how much metal is in the shadow system, setting prices will become increasingly difficult, they say.

Note: May be behind a pay wall copy and paste the title in Google

Get yours while the getting is good.

Ron Paul vs. the Campaign for Liberty

By Philip Giraldi

Former Congressman Ron Paul of Texas is a genuine American hero. He stood for a new way of thinking about America’s place in the world and recognized that the war party and its policies were both destructive to the US Constitution and imperiling liberties at home. He is a national treasure. But I sometimes have to wonder why he has surrounded himself with so many grifters? I keep getting emails from the Campaign for Liberty (C4L), which represents itself as an heir to the Paul legacy, even though it is nothing of the sort. It is a money generating machine preying on the millions of Americans who have fond memories of Dr. Paul, constantly promising to do something important tomorrow but never quite delivering. It ultimately benefits no one outside the small group of scalawags that did so little so poorly in the 2012 election campaign, failing disastrously to get Ron Paul either nominated or at least having a seat at the GOP table to advance his views. They cut deals with the Romney campaign and even kept Paul’s unhappy supporters from disrupting the convention’s proceedings. In return Dr. Paul got nothing.


Some of the folks associated with the campaign and C4L have been linked recently to bribery in Iowa and other malfeasance. The campaign manager Jesse Benton, became the $1.1 million dollar man while mismanaging the effort and is now working for the lugubrious Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Benton has stated that he does so holding his nose, which says a lot about the integrity of Benton and also reveals the cunning of perpetual Washington fixture McConnell, who hopes to attract Paul supporters and teabaggers when he runs in 2014.

Ron Paul had enormous appeal in 2012 which was not capitalized on by his handlers. In my state of Virginia, which was the only state where Paul ran head-to-head against Mitt Romney, the campaign was invisible even though well-connected contractor Mike Rothfeld reportedly billed the Paul campaign for $1,196,376 for “advertising, bulk mail, and email services” in Virginia in 2011 alone. I live in a battleground county but did not receive a single mailing, did not hear a radio ad or see a television commercial supporting Dr. Paul. A swing of 10% would have delivered Virginia to Ron Paul and it could have happened. If he had won the state it might have shifted the momentum of the entire campaign.

Read the rest here.

Applebee's Will Install 100,000 Intel-Backed Tablets Next Year In Record Rollout - Forbes

Applebee's Will Install 100,000 Intel-Backed Tablets Next Year In Record Rollout - Forbes

There are several ways that companies will try to make money off these types of deals moving forward. From the restaurant or bar perspective, there’s basic value in being able to get diners out the door faster once they’re ready to pay. The hope for DineEquity and other franchisors like Brinker, which operates Chili’s, is that diners will also start spending money on the tablets themselves for games and music. Suri thinks of each tablet as an individual jukebox, but diners can also expect young families to be distracting their children with game applications on the tablets that cost a small fee.
Companies like Ziosk and E la Carte argue that their systems are actually a net benefit for waitstaff who often receive higher tips from diners paying over the tablet. Right now, both Chili’s and Applebee’s have chosen systems that don’t allow you to order your meal over the device but only put in requests for additional drinks and dessert.
As diners become acclimated to these systems, however, the use cases will increase to include video streaming and social media interaction. When tablets become the norm at restaurants, users may start complaining that they’re being held back by being able to place a drink order but not their entrees. 

Note : Tablets do not require Minimum wage

The Bond Volatility Haircut

http://viableopposition.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-bond-volatility-haircut.html

The Federal Reserve's long experiment with its zero interest rate policy is looking like it is going to wind down over the coming months.  As the Fed withdraws its support from the bond markets, the price of Treasuries is likely to fall and, since interest rates move in the opposite direction to bond prices, the rates on government bonds will rise.  We're already seeing some evidence of that in the fixed income market as shown here:

More On The West To East Gold Exodus

http://www.ingoldwetrust.ch/more-on-the-west-to-east-gold-exodus

The most significant parameter to measure the gold distribution from west to east is the trade vein that runs from the UK through Switzerland through Hong Kong, eventually reaching Shanghai.


In October the UK has net exported 90 tons of gold to Switzerland, – 16 % m/m, year to date the Swiss have net received 1199 tons. The UK net exported 1326 tons in total in the first ten months of this year, of which 477,9 tons were sourced by GLD. The unusual outflows remain elevated throughout the entire year. Also note, the UK is hardly importing any gold this year, as if physical gold is difficult to source.

ACA state exchange premiums

http://www.pwc.com/us/en/health-industries/health-research-institute/aca-state-exchanges.jhtml

The Pain heat map

Don’t fear the rate rise: Philadelphia Trust

Don’t fear the rate rise: Philadelphia Trust

In addition, the financial sector is set for a boost, he said. "Financial companies, banks, insurance companies, brokerage firms (and) money management firms, all will do extremely well in a rising interest rate environment because their margins will actually expand," Crofton said.
= =
He expects sector winners will include big players JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America andWells Fargo, as well as some of the "super-regionals," such as PNC and US Bancorp.
"Banks that will lose will be community banks, regional banks that don't have a diverse product offering or a diverse client base," he said.

The battle of Trenton took place on the morning of December 26, 1776.

http://www.mountvernon.org/educational-resources/encyclopedia/battle-trenton

When is the "knockout game" a federal crime?

Apparently only when the victim is black, and the suspected perp is white.

“Suspected crimes of this nature will simply not be tolerated,” said Kenneth Magidson, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Texas. “Evidence of hate crimes will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted with the assistance of all our partners to the fullest extent of the law.”

How many black-on-white knockout attacks have federal authorities ignored?

Seems there's a double standard at Holder's DOJ.

A Doctor Sums Up Obamacare in One Sentence

Outrageous HSBC Settlement Proves the Drug War is a Joke

Via: Rolling Stone:

If you’ve ever been arrested on a drug charge, if you’ve ever spent even a day in jail for having a stem of marijuana in your pocket or “drug paraphernalia” in your gym bag, Assistant Attorney General and longtime Bill Clinton pal Lanny Breuer has a message for you: Bite me.
Breuer this week signed off on a settlement deal with the British banking giant HSBC that is the ultimate insult to every ordinary person who’s ever had his life altered by a narcotics charge. Despite the fact that HSBC admitted to laundering billions of dollars for Colombian and Mexican drug cartels (among others) and violating a host of important banking laws (from the Bank Secrecy Act to the Trading With the Enemy Act), Breuer and his Justice Department elected not to pursue criminal prosecutions of the bank, opting instead for a “record” financial settlement of $1.9 billion, which as one analyst noted is about five weeks of income for the bank.

Pentagon Spending Billions of Dollars on Accounting Boondoggles; Yes, Trillions Still Missing

Black hole.

Via: Reuters:
With its efforts to build reliable accounting systems in disarray, the Pentagon isn’t likely to meet a congressionally mandated 2017 deadline to be audit-ready. All other federal agencies are audited annually, in accordance with a 1990 law, and with rare exceptions, they pass every year. The Pentagon alone has never been audited, leaving roughly $8.5 trillion in taxpayer dollars unaccounted for since 1996, the first year it was supposed to be audited.

$19M AIDS Vaccine Fraud

  Via: Medical Daily:
Iowa State University researcher, Dr. Dong-Pyou Han, resigned after news broke of an investigation into the validity of his AIDS research. Han is believed to have tampered with research results for a possible AIDS vaccine.
“At Iowa State’s request, the research samples in question were examined by researchers at another university; they confirmed samples had been spiked,” ISU spokesman John McCarroll wrote in an email to the Des Moines Register. “He later admitted responsibility and resigned from Iowa State, effective Oct. 4, 2013.”

Related:
Scientific Fraud in Medicine: More Than a Few Bad Apples
American Society for Microbiology: ‘Has Modern Science Become Dysfunctional?’
Scientific Fraud: ‘Nobody Had Noticed the Whole Thing Was Rotten’
The Science-Is-Self-Correcting Myth
Only 6 of 53 Landmark Cancer Studies Could be Proved Valid
France: Half of Drugs Prescribed Useless or Dangerous

War On Terror?

 http://truthingold.blogspot.com/2013/12/war-on-terror.html

As it turns out, the U.S. Government is the most deadly terrorist in the world.   Here's an example that the people who still support Obama either look the other to or don't have a problem with.
U.N. experts urge U.S., Yemen to explain erroneous drone strikes:

United Nations human rights experts told the United States and Yemen on Thursday to say whether they were complicit in drone attacks that mistakenly killed civilians in wedding processions this month.

Too Much Eggnog For This Statist

By, Chris Rossini

It looks like someone spiked Michael Tomasky's eggnog last night. He lets his universal healthcare colors fly this morning in The Daily Beast.

Tomasky starts off with a "birthright" hallucination:

Some day in the future, this year will be remembered as the one when the U.S. recognized people’s birthright to health care.

Oftentimes, statist wolves like to drape themselves in sheep's clothing. The key is to not let the sheep see your salivating teeth.

But not Tomasky. Universal healthcare is coming and Obamacare is merely part of the transition:

Sometime in the 2030s, after Medicare for all has passed and we’re finally and sensibly paying taxes for preventive cradle-to-grave care, people will note—with pride!—that the long process started with Obamacare (yes, conservatives: I’m admitting gleefully that the elephant’s nose is under the door, so spare yourselves the trouble of thinking you’re clever by tweeting it!).

This jives with a statement that Tomasky made last month: "Obamacare will never be a raging success."

But here come the real fireworks:

We support [Obamacare] because we think health care coverage should be a right, and this is a big step down that road, or the best step we could make under current reality. Like any right, it comes with responsibility, so that’s why you have to buy it. But it’s a right. It’s not an extravagance or something you earn by having a better-than-Walmart-level job. You “earn” it by doing something a lot simpler than that—you earn it by being born.

Very impressive...One paragraph that literally destroys the meaning of the words "right", "responsibility", "buy", and "earn".

What Chinese Consumers Are Rushing To Buy This Christmas

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-26/what-chinese-consumers-are-rushing-buy-christmas


While the US consumer is rushing to spend what little savings they have left and grab that last for 2013 "X% off" deal from the local inventory-clearance bin on plastic Made in China trinkets or marked-down clothing, Chinese consumers are likewise scrambling to buy products. Only, unlike in the US, the object of China's affection is not some gizmo that will end up in the local landfill within 3-6 months. China News Network shows what it is.
Google Translated from Chinanews:

Investors Expected To Continue Absorbing Silver

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kitconews/2013/12/24/investors-expected-to-continue-absorbing-silver/

Investment demand will remain a key factor for the silver market in 2014, as there will likely be little slowdown in buyers’ appetite for the metal.
Industrial demand should pick up as the global economy grows, particularly in the U.S., although how much this will affect silver is up for debate. However, continued growth in mine supply and a lackluster outlook for gold will keep silver tethered.
Most bank analysts see average silver prices rising next year, with a range of $19 to $23.

All in play in the New Great Game

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-03-231213.html

Then there's the element of Saudi paranoia, extrapolating from the future of Afghanistan to the prospect of a fully "rehabilitated" Iran becoming accepted by Western political/financial elites. This, by the way, has nothing to do with that fiction, the "international community"; after all, Iran was never banished by the BRICS, (ie Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), the Non-Aligned Movement and the bulk of the developing world.

Bigger, Badder NDAA 2014 Quietly Passed The House And Senate – And It Is On the Way to Obama’s Desk

http://libertycrier.com/bigger-badder-ndaa-2014-quietly-passed-house-senate-way-obamas-desk/?utm_source=The+Liberty+Crier&utm_campaign=be59e57672-The_Liberty_Crier_Daily_News_12_23_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_600843dec4-be59e57672-284746541

The indefinite detention allowed by the original NDAA is still here, and it’s actually worse now, because there are provisions that will make it easier for the government to target those who disagree.  Section 1071 outlines the creation of the “Conflict Records Research Center”, where the unconstitutionally obtained information that the NSA has collected is compiled and shared with the Department of Defense.  The information, called in the wording  “captured records,” can be anything from your phone records, emails, browsing history or posts on social media sites.
The New American reports in detail on the expansion of powers:

AFP holds Kuster accountable for Obamacare

( SPY ) Low volume melt up...

We are very much aware of the goal here...200 is the goal, can the HFT and Low volume push get us there before the EOY?  We shall see...Get those Bonuses people....and!

Local courts reviving 'debtors' prison' for overdue fines, fees

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/26/local-courts-reviving-debtors-prison-for-overdue-fines-fees/

As if out of a Charles Dickens novel, people struggling to pay overdue fines and fees associated with court costs for even the simplest traffic infractions are being thrown in jail across the United States. 
Critics are calling the practice the new "debtors' prison" -- referring to the jails that flourished in the U.S. and Western Europe over 150 years ago. Before the time of bankruptcy laws and social safety nets, poor folks and ruined business owners were locked up until their debts were paid off. 
Reforms eventually outlawed the practice. But groups like the Brennan Center for Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union say it's been reborn in local courts which may not be aware it's against the law to send indigent people to jail over unpaid fines and fees -- or they just haven't been called on it until now.

Simple cure to this problem, stay debt free.

Dish and DirecTV hike prices for 2014

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/24/technology/dish-directv-price-hike/index.html?iid=HP_LN

DirecTV's (DTV, Fortune 500) 4.4% average price increase is higher than last year's 3.2% hike, according to Nomura Equity analyst Adam Ilkowitz. Its base "Entertainment" package will cost $58 per month next year, up $3 from last year's price, and the top-of-the-line "Premier" package will cost $130, up $5 from a year ago.
Ilkowitz attributes a significant part of DirecTV's price hike to the rising cost of content and the desire to keep the satellite TV provider's operating profit flat. 

The only thing deflating as far as I can see,  is the value of my dollar.

States About to Lose the Most Unemployment Ins.

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/12/24/states-about-to-lose-the-most-unemployment-insurance/?link=mktw

If the program is not restored, by the end of 2014 4.9 million Americans will not receive EUC benefits they would have otherwise qualified for. If this happens, a number of states will have more than 100,000 residents who will lose access to federal aid. In California, more than 800,000 people could lose these benefits. Based on CBPP figures, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 states with the most workers who stand to lose access to federal jobless benefits.
One of the most important factors influencing how many people could lose benefits within a state is the size of its population. In California, the nation’s most populous state with 38 million residents, more than 836,000 workers are expected to lose access to EUC benefits next year. Eight of the 10 most populous states are among the 10 states with the most people losing benefits due to the expiration of the EUC program.

http://www.cbpp.org/

Rev. Jackson: Phil Robertson 'More Offensive' Than Rosa Parks Bus Driver

http://news.yahoo.com/rev-jackson-phil-robertson-39-more-offensive-39-163444371.html

In an interview with Drew Magary, the "Duck Dynasty" star said the Nazis needed Jesus, that he never saw the mistreatment of African Americans while growing up in Louisiana before the civil rights era and that homosexuality was a sin.

A&E has already suspended Robertson, but Reverend Jackson, his Rainbow PUSH Coalition and GLAAD are demanding to meet with network execs, along with Cracker Barrel's CEO, to discuss the future of all "Duck Dynasty" memorabilia or content.

This from a  man who's son was sentenced to prison for stealing three quarters of a Million dollars from various people.    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/29/jesse-jackson-jr-jail_n_4173745.html

The Liberal Left Ladies and Gentlemen prove to us on a daily basis they are truly mentally disturbed individuals, the same individuals teaching our children in a classroom near you.

Thoughts about the President's enrollment in Obamacare

The Washington Post reported that on Monday, December 23 President Obama enrolled in a Bronze-level Obamacare plan. 

Obama promised early on that he would enroll in Obamacare, and apparently expects the public to view his enrollment as an act of leadership.  But keep in mind Obama and his family are covered by another, better, federal plan and so none of them needs Obamacare.  In other words, his Obamacare enrollment is a meaningless act that signifies nothing.   It’s empty showmanship, not “leadership.”

However, it’s important that everyone at least read down to the 4^th paragraph of the Washington Post article.  You will find that Obama did NOT enroll Michelle or either of their two children. 

Besides not needing Obamacare, I think there's another reason Obama decided not to enroll his family.  Obama knows everyone's personal information on the government websites is ridiculously vulnerable to hackers.  So of course he chose to protect his family members’ privacy.  Given his situation, that’s a simple choice. 

But Americans who qualify for subsidized premiums thru an Exchange don't have a simple choice not to enroll family members.  These Americans only have the "choice" (1) to buy subsidized insurance they can afford - and expose their whole family’s health, financial, and tax information to hackers - or (2) stay out of the Exchanges and be unable to find insurance they can afford.

Some choice.

Unbelievable Liberal Reaction to my Walmart Video

Rob Kirby - Colossal Fraud: How The ESF Uses Derivatives To Keep Interest Rates From Rising -

http://usawatchdog.com/colossal-fraud-there-are-no-free-markets-rob-kirby/

Financial analyst Rob Kirby says, “There is colossal fraud and price control going on.  There are no free markets.”  Kirby goes on to say, “What we’ve seen over the last six months is a ramp-up in interest rate swaps to the tune of $12 trillion . . . . What the build in these interest rate swaps is achieving, it’s stemming the rise in interest rates.”  Kirby, who has 15 years experience in trading derivatives, says these complicated derivatives overseen by the U.S. Treasury control the price of virtually everything.  Kirby contends, “I refer to this as a price control grid.  They are able to dictate and arbitrarily set the price of all strategic goods in the market, whether it’s capitol, whether it’s energy or whether it’s precious metals.”  As an example of control, Kirby explains, “We have 10-year U.S. bond rates under 3%, and I would say the United States is actually insolvent, and we have countries like Greece where 10-year bonds are yielding over 9%.”  When does this end?  Kirby points to the finite physical gold market and massive Chinese global buying for a clue.  Kirby says, “When China doesn’t get their gold, that’s when this ends, and that might be when we have a war.”   Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with Rob Kirby of KirbyAnalytics.com.       

Hmm hows that working out?

Noting to see here move along

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/TMUBMUSD10Y?countrycode=BX

SGE Physical Delivery 2073 Tons YTD, 50 Tons From 9-13 December

Lets jump out the gate with a Gold update.

http://www.ingoldwetrust.ch/sge-physical-delivery-2073-tons-ytd

The amount of gold withdrawn from the Shanghai Gold Exchange vaults has been increasing in recent weeks. After an explosive week in April, when 117 tons of gold were withdrawn, weekly averages came down to a constant 40 tons throughout the year. At the end of October it seemed Chinese demand for physical gold was declining, but since  November weekly physical delivery has been north of 40 tons. In between 9 and 13 December 50.4 tons of gold were withdrawn from the vaults. Year to date 2073 tons have been withdrawn, which equals to Chinese gold demand according to the PBOC.

Premiums in Shanghai have remained around 1 % over international spot in recent weeks.

The thirst for physical Gold continues unabated...Stay the course and be right and sit tight.

A Christmas Message from Edward Snowden

Nothing to see here

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/TMUBMUSD10Y?countrycode=BX

God like figure

http://pubsecrets.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/cult-of-personality-watch-us-embassy-becomes-obama-embassy/

Sure, all US embassies and consulates have portraits of the current president hanging in the offices; he is, after all, Head of State. But… Well… This is just a bit much:

Large tapestry portraits of President Barack Obama were unveiled for guests at the U.S. Embassy in London over the weekend.

The recently-installed, large-scale tapestry portraits were created by National Medal of Arts winner and renowned American painter, photographer Chuck Close.

Which begs the question why is this crony banker shill being praised as if he had accomplished anything ? Which he has not!

The Times of India: “Almost Every Passenger on a Flight from Dubai to Calicut Was Found Carrying 1kg of Gold”

http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2013/12/23/the-times-of-india-almost-every-passenger-on-a-flight-from-dubai-to-calicut-was-found-carrying-1kg-of-gold/

Watching Indian bureaucrats attempt to halt more than one billion human beings’ desire for gold has been one of the more entertaining and pathetic stories of all of 2013. It is one that I have covered on many occasions, the latest being my post from earlier this month:  Gold Smuggling Increases 7x in India and Surpasses Illegal Drug Trade.

What is the labor participation rate telling us?

  What is the labor participation rate telling us?

Minimum Wage Increase Blowback: Hamburger Ordering Automation

Craig Newmark writes:

"Bolt Burgers: the most high-tech burger you’ll ever order, coming soon"

Go ahead, Liberals, raise the minimum wage. You'll see a lot more stuff like this.You can order food without having a single interaction with another human being . .

70 US Navy Sailors Left Sickened by Radiation After Japan Rescue

By Laura Italiano and Kerry Murtha

Navy sailor Lindsay Cooper knew something was wrong when billows of metallic-tasting snow began drifting over USS Ronald Reagan.

“I was standing on the flight deck, and we felt this warm gust of air, and, suddenly, it was snowing,” Cooper recalled of the day in March 2011 when she and scores of crewmates watched a sudden storm blow toward them from the tsunami-torn coast of Fukushima, Japan.
The tall 24-year-old with a winning smile didn’t know it then, but the snow was caused by the freezing Pacific air mixing with a plume of radioactive steam from the city’s shattered nuclear reactor.

Now, nearly three years after their deployment on a humanitarian mission to Japan’s ravaged coast, Cooper and scores of her fellow crew members on the aircraft carrier and a half-dozen other support ships are battling cancers, thyroid disease, uterine bleeding and other ailments.
“We joked about it: ‘Hey, it’s radioactive snow!’ ” Cooper recalled. “I took pictures and video.”
But now “my thyroid is so out of whack that I can lose 60 to 70 pounds in one month and then gain it back the next,” said Cooper, fighting tears. “My menstrual cycle lasts for six months at a time, and I cannot get pregnant. It’s ruined me.”

The fallout of those four days spent off the Fukushima coast has been tragic to many of the 5,000 sailors who were there.

At least 70 have been stricken with some form of radiation sickness, and of those, “at least half . . . are suffering from some form of cancer,” their lawyer, Paul Garner, told The Post Saturday.
“We’re seeing leukemia, testicular cancer and unremitting gynecological bleeding requiring transfusions and other intervention,” said Garner, who is representing 51 crew members suing the Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the Fukushima Daiichi energy plant.

Read the rest here.

China Successfully Hunts Where There is Gold

http://winteractionables.com/?p=8274#more-8274

JP Morgan is procuring gold on behalf of China. That’s according to TPMetalsReport’s “Turd Ferguson,” who wrote an article on this topic on Wednesday. I think it’s basically true, keeping in mind that other offshore agents are working for China through JP Morgan. It’s logical when one considers that JPM is the largest bullion bankster and, as the banker participation report indicates, it has a huge reported long position [see "One for the Ages"].  China and its agents hunt where there is treasure.

Follow the money.. 

California to introduce first 'smartphone killswitch' bill

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/20/technology/mobile/smartphone-killswitch-california/index.html?iid=HP_LN

Lawmakers in San Francisco and New York have already asked smartphone makers to install "killswitch" technology that would render a stolen device useless -- but now, a California representative plans to try to make it a law.

California State Sen. Mark Leno announced on his website late Thursday that he plans to introduce a bill in January, in an effort to make smartphones less attractive for thieves. Leno is working on the legislation with San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, for whom the smartphone killswitch has been a particular focus.

Algae to Crude Oil: Million-Year Natural Process Takes Minutes in the Lab

Via: U.S. Department of Energy / Pacific Northwest National Laboratory:

Billionaire Eric Sprott: “You Have To Be A Buyer When People Are Non-Believers”

http://bullmarketthinking.com/billionaire-eric-sprott-%E2%80%9Cyou-have-to-be-a-buyer-when-people-are-non-believers/

I had the opportunity recently to reconnect with Eric Sprott, Chief Executive Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager of Sprott Asset Management.

It was a powerful conversation as Eric spoke to the key philosophies which resulted in him becoming a billionaire; which market offers the greatest gain potential from here, as well as the most important rule precious metals investors need to keep in mind during these tough market periods.

When asked of the investment philosophy which resulted in him becoming a billionaire, Eric explained that, “You have to be a buyer when people are non-believers. You have to believe in something based on data that says you’re right when the world will tell you you’re wrong, because when the world says you’re wrong and you’re right, you know that the return will be outsized because no one is there. It’s like buying gold stocks in 2000 which I did to a very large extent. The HUI index was at 35 and it went to over 600. It went up 1700% in eight years. And that’s because everyone was against it. It was like a killing field for an investor to go in and buy things cheap and I really believe it’s kind of [a similar] opportunity again today.”

Shanghai Gold Exchange contract volume surges on price slump

Shanghai Gold Exchange contract volume surges on price slump

 
Gold volumes for the benchmark cash contract on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, China’s biggest spot bullion market, climbed to a 10-week high as a price slump spurred buying.
The volume for bullion of 99.99 percent purity climbed to 19,775 kilograms yesterday, the biggest since Oct. 8, from 13,673 kilograms the previous day, according to exchange data compiled by Bloomberg. That compared with a record 43,272 kilograms reached on April 22. Prices fell today for a third day, losing as much as 2.1 percent to 235.85 yuan a gram ($1,208 an ounce), the lowest since February 2010.

Dire times ahead

Seriously, people. Things seem to be getting worse by the day. 2014 is going to be a critical year.

So, I'll pass along what I think is a great verbal essay from Bill Whittle.

The only thing that I think would have enhanced this presentation is if Whittle had included some Republican sellouts in the rogues gallery shown behind him.

Republicans, you've been sold out.

I've been in several discussions this week with people who don't understand why conservatives are upset and outraged with Republican Party leadership. To them, conservatives are dividing the party - lessening chances of Republican victories next November.

My counter point is that GOP leadership has sold-out and now embraces Obama's fundamental transformation of America. Were it not for conservative outrage and grassroots lobbying, the Obama agenda would be moving forward much, much faster.

Alas, my friends don't see it. They seem to insist the GOP is fully engaged in fighting the Dems.

Odd.

Even the New York Times noted earlier this year that Speaker Boehner had become more an ally than a foe of O.

USAsks Google to Remove Almost 4,000 Political Iitems from Search.

Ben Swann reports:

The report was presented on the blog of Susan Infantino, the Legal Director of Google. She and her legal team launched the annual Transparency Report three years ago, in hopes it would “shine light on the scale and scope of government requests for censorship and data around the globe.”

From January to June 2013, the search giant received 3,846 government requests to remove content from its search services, which represents a 68% increase over the second half of 2012.

http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/government/?hl=en

Google’s Legal Director, Susan Infantino, goes on: “Over the past four years, one worrying trend has remained consistent: governments continue to ask us to remove political content. Judges have asked us to remove information that’s critical of them, police departments ask us to take down videos or blogs that shine a light on their conduct, and local institutions like town councils don’t want people to be able to find information about their decision-making processes.”

“These officials often cite defamation, privacy, and even copyright laws in attempts to remove political speech from our services,” says Infantino.

One example is a request from a UK law firm representing a former member of Parliament to remove a preview from Google Books that allegedly defamed the MP by suggesting he was engaged in illegal activity. The preview was removed.

“We have removed content in response to less than one third of requests,” Infantino adds.

From January to June 2013, the following countries made the most requests to remove content:

Turkey (1,673 requests detailing 12,162 items)
United States (545 requests detailing 3,887 items)
Brazil (321 requests detailing 1,635 items)
India (163 requests detailing 714 items)
Russia (257 requests detailing 277 items)
UK (117 requests for 556 items)

Economist Peter Klein discuss government intervention in healthcare and the resulting market distortions.

Did some digging on the Obamcare law that the ( One ) decided to change with the wave of his hand

Here's the relevant section from the ObamaTax itself (emphasis added):

 (e) CATASTROPHIC PLAN.— (1) IN GENERAL.—A health plan not providing a bronze, silver, gold, or platinum level of coverage shall be treated as meeting the requirements of subsection (d) with respect to any plan year if—

(i) except as provided in clause (ii), the essential health benefits determined under subsection (b), except that the plan provides no benefits for any plan year until the individual has incurred cost-sharing expenses in an amount equal to the annual limitation in effect under subsection (c)(1) for the plan year (except as provided for in section 2713); (2) INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE FOR ENROLLMENT.—An individual is described in this paragraph for any plan year if the individual— (A) has not attained the age of 30 before the beginning of the plan year; or (B) has a certification in effect for any plan year under this title that the individual is exempt from the requirement under section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by reason of— (i) section 5000A(e)(1) of such Code (relating to individuals without affordable coverage); or (ii) section 5000A(e)(5) of such Code (relating to individuals with hardships).

Seems pretty clear-cut to me.
But in case it's not, the helpful folks who provided training to become certified to sell on the Exchange confirm:

Eligibility for catastrophic plans is limited to: • Individuals under age 30 • Individuals who otherwise do not have an affordable coverage option, or who otherwise qualify for a hardship exemption to the minimum essential coverage rule

So again, we just throw the actual reg's out the window because they're, well, "inconvenient."
But that's not the only problem. With roughly 84 hours left on the clock - and a weekend taking up most of that - carriers are supposed to price these plans for people aged, oh, 35 or 45 or 55. This, despite the fact that rates have already been reviewed and approved (or not) by the 58 different states' departments of insurance, which will now also have to review and approve (or not), these new rates.
Umm ya good luck with that.
BUT It gets better, if by "better" we mean "worse:" what if you've already bought an ACA-compliant policy (hey, it could happen!) but would prefer the less expensive catastrophic plan? The good news is that it appears that you can make this change (or pretty much any other) during the Open Enrollment season. Of course, you'd still be stuck with the old plan for a month, and good luck getting through to 404care.gov, but at least it's an option. Most likely..
 It's also worth noting that - as the ObamaTax legislation is written (not that this continues to have any significance) - Catastrophic plans are not eligible for premium subsidies. So folks who opt for this choice may be in for a rude surprise.

In closing

Have a delightful weekend America...

SPX & IYT

Transports are your pathway to the future...

9-11 families can sue Saudi Arabia, court rules

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/20/21985200-9-11-families-can-sue-saudi-arabia-court-rules?lite

A federal appeals court on Thursday reinstated Saudi Arabia as a defendant in lawsuits claiming it provided support to al-Qaeda before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. 
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said restoring Saudi Arabia was necessary to be consistent with a ruling by a different 2nd Circuit panel that allowed another lawsuit to go forward in which a man sued Afghanistan and other defendants for the death of his wife in the Sept. 11 attacks. 
The 2nd Circuit and a lower court had previously ruled that Saudi Arabia was protected by sovereign immunity, which generally means that foreign countries can't be sued in American courts. But in its latest ruling, the 2nd Circuit said a legal exception existed that would allow Saudi Arabia to remain as a defendant, just as Afghanistan remained in the similar case.

Investigation Chairman: “One Fukushima may destroy the whole country” — “Collapse of a whole country possible”

Presentation by Professor Koichi Kitazawa, chairman of the Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident and former chairman of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, ISES 2013:
Slide 23

People’s desire of de-nuclearization if possible

• Finite risk does remain. nuclear plant not “fail safe”
• A gigantic risk →collapse of a whole country possible + Nuclear waste negative heritage >10000yrs

Longevity Risk Transfers - The Next Financial Crisis?

http://viableopposition.blogspot.ca/2013/12/longevity-risk-transfers-next-financial.html

At the end of 2011, there were about $20 trillion worth of private pension assets globally with about 65 percent of them being defined benefit, a type of pension plan that is proving to be quite worrisome given the large pool of retirees who are planning to live to be 100 years of age looming in most developed nations.   From a financial perspective, the total risk associated with each additional year of life adds between three and four percent to the present value of liabilities of a defined benefit pension plan.  With the total global amount of annuity and pension-related longevity risk ranging from $15 trillion to $25 trillion, a one year increase in longevity will cost pension plans an additional $450 billion to $1 trillion, a huge risk.

Obama Caves

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/obama-administration-relaxes-rules-of-health-care-law-four-days-before-deadline/2013/12/19/81bc3132-690b-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html

The Obama administration on Thursday night significantly relaxed the rules of the federal health-care law for millions of consumers whose individual insurance policies have been canceled, saying they can buy bare-bones plans or entirely avoid a requirement that most Americans have health coverage.
The surprise announcement, days before the Dec. 23 deadline for people to choose plans that will begin Jan. 1, triggered an immediate backlash from the health insurance industry and raised fairness questions about a law intended to promote affordable and comprehensive coverage on a widespread basis.

 I HAVE SPOKEN!

Funny how this guy feels he can change laws with the wave of his hand? Who the F@#k is running this ship?
Arbitrary and is capricious disregard for law is text book definition for dictator.

BIZARRE New York City Council Bans Public E-Cigarette Vaping Because It Looks Too Much Like Smoking

Power freak freedom-haters know no bounds.

The New York City Council approved legislation Thursday to ban the use of electronic cigarettes from indoor public spaces where smoking is already prohibited, reports CBS New York.

Under the bill, e-cigarettes would be prohibited in the same places as traditional cigarettes and other tobacco products throughout the city. This despite the fact that e-cigarettes contain no tobacco and produce no smoke

The "logic" behind this move as explained by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is simply mind boggling. She said the ban would make it easier to enforce the city’s Smoke-Free Air Act, which banned smoking in bars, restaurants and other indoor public spaces.

“Because many of the e-cigarettes are designed to look like cigarettes and be used just like them, they can lead to confusion or confrontation,” Quinn said, according to CBS.

The speaker added that the ban will end what she called the re-normalization of smoking in public places, 1010 WINS’ Al Jones reported.

Outgoing Mayor Bloomberg is expect to sign the legislation.

 

New York the Cesspool of the New World formerly known as America.

Yellen nomination advances in Senate

Yellen nomination advances in Senate

Janet Yellen's nomination to lead the Federal Reserve advanced in the Senate on Friday, bringing her a step closer to heading the central bank. On a 59-to-34 vote, senators limited debate on her nomination, paving the way for a final vote on Jan. 6. If confirmed by the full Senate, Yellen's term as Fed chairman would begin Feb. 1. She is expected to be confirmed easily in the upper chamber.

An ex-Morgan Stanley employee has to give back the $31,067,356.76 the bank paid him

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/12/20/an-ex-morgan-stanley-employee-has-to-give-back-the-31067356-76-the-bank-paid-him/?mod=MW_latest_news

Turns out that $31,067,356.76 is what the fund manager, Joseph “Chip” Skowron III, took home for about three and a half years of work, from April 2007 through November 2010. It came from an annual salary of $1.5 million, plus “management fees and incentive fees” based on the size and performance of the investment funds he helped manage.
Skowron had pleaded guilty in 2011 to conspiracy to commit insider trading for at least the period where his pay is being clawed back. Another judge at the time sentenced him to five years in prison and ordered him to give back 20% of the money he’d made at the bank during the period in question.

Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in October

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm

    Regional and state unemployment rates were generally lower in November. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from October and five states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
    ...
    Nevada and Rhode Island had the highest unemployment rates among the states in November, 9.0 percent each. The next highest rates were in Michigan, 8.8 percent, and Illinois, 8.7 percent. North Dakota continued to have the lowest jobless rate, 2.6 percent.

Why Didn’t the Stock Market Sell Off on the Fed’s Taper Announcement?

http://wallstreetonparade.com/2013/12/why-didn%E2%80%99t-the-stock-market-sell-off-on-the-fed%E2%80%99s-taper-announcement/

What actually happened in the stock market yesterday is the following: The stock market did not initially rally at 2 p.m. on the Fed's announcement -- it did a bungee jump downward, as you can see on the daily chart here from BigCharts.com. That plunge is the patently normal reaction any sane market watcher would have expected after all previous hints from the Fed that it would begin tapering have sent the market into panic losses.''

Yellen Confirmation by U.S. Senate Delayed Until January

A final confirmation vote on Janet Yellen to head the Federal Reserve was delayed until early January after the U.S. Senate dropped plans to consider her nomination this weekend, reports Bloomberg.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid late yesterday announced an agreement under which senators will vote to advance Yellen’s nomination today, then take a holiday break and return Jan. 6 for the final vote. Confirmation votes for three other presidential nominees are set for today.

According to Bloomberg,  faced with vows by Republicans to use all the available time to delay a confirmation vote on Yellen until 6 p.m. tomorrow, Reid agreed to take up the matter next month in exchange for locking in votes on three other nominees.

The Senate today will vote on confirming John Koskinen to be the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Alejandro Mayorkas to be deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Brian Davis to be a federal judge in Florida.

Bottom line: It appears that the delay is so senators can leave for their home states today and that extended Republican debate on the Yellen nomination, which will do nothing to prevent her eventual nomination,will take place in Jnauary.

SPY

Monetary policy under financial repression

Monetary policy under financial repression

So was Chinese monetary expansion excessive or not, or to put it differently, why is it that what seemed by most measures to be an extraordinary surge in money creation did not also result in significant wage and consumer price inflation? The answer, I will argue, has to do with the nature of money growth in financially repressed economies. Because the Chinese financial system is so severely repressed, money growth in China cannot be compared to money growth in a market-based financial system. Monetary growth is effectively bifurcated and affects producers and consumers in very different ways.
What does it mean to say that monetary growth was bifurcated? By this all I mean is that nominal money growth showed up as different rates of money growth for different parts of the economy. More specifically the rate of monetary growth for producers exceeded the rate of monetary growth for consumers, and this becomes clear by measuring the monetary impact on different sectors within the economy of monetary expansion under financial repression.
Countries with significant financial repression can experience periods of rapid monetary expansion with results that do not conform to normal expectations precisely because of this bifurcation in the monetary impact of credit creation. On the production side of the economy it is easy to see in China over the past decade what looked like the consequence of rapid monetary expansion – rapid growth in credit, rising productive capacity, surging production of manufacturing goods], asset bubbles, etc.
On the demand side of the economy, however, and especially considering household consumption, one gets a very different view – monetary expansion seemed to have been very subdued. Household consumption typically grew much more slowly than GDP and its share of GDP declined steadily. Consumer price inflation also tended to be low or moderate even in the face of what seemed like rapid monetary expansion.

Wall Street Unlocks Profits From Distress With Rental Revolution

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-20/wall-street-unlocks-profits-from-distress-with-rental-revolution.html

On a rainy night in November, Mark Futral, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, approached a white ranch house in Flowery Branch, a northeastern suburb of Atlanta, crowbar in hand.
He adjusted a headlamp and slid his fingers under a front window to lift it open. His dog Bella, a 40-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, barreled through and Futral followed, squeezing into an empty room with tan carpet peeling from the floor. It was the sixth home he’d broken into that day.

My Thoughts on Last Night’s BTC Crash and a Guest Post on “Why Bitcoin Will Succeed”

http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2013/12/18/my-thoughts-on-last-nights-btc-crash-and-a-guest-post-on-why-bitcoin-will-succeed/#more-9854

I haven’t seen action in Bitcoin like we saw last night since earlier this year in the spring when the price went from $10 in January to $260 in April, and then crashed down to $50 before stabilizing in the $80-$120 range for months before beginning the latest parabolic move. I was so taken by the action in BTC China last night that I wasn’t able to sleep until 5am Rocky Mountain time, trying to buy what I could at the best prices possible. I saw every single tick. It was a crazy evening.
Yesterday I posted that while I thought BTC was at the lower end of the range at $650, there was the potential for some near-term headline risk. I thought that it might come from the U.S. banking system, but instead it came from China when they banned new renminbi deposits into the leading global exchange BTC China. While I am not saying that the price will now quickly launch to new highs, there was complete and total panic in the air last night. No question about that. In addition I tweeted that:

Sen. Reid hospitalized, office says

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is in the hospital Friday morning but everything is "normal," his office said. The Nevada Democrat wasn't feeling well and went to the hospital "as a precaution," his spokesman said. "Tests have been conducted and everything is normal. He is alert, resting and feeling better." Reid's doctors asked that he remain in the hospital for observation so he will not be working Friday. 

 This is the kind of Hope and Change I've been waiting for!