Blipits

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Jason
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Re: Blipits

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US Kills ISIS Second-In-Command For 3rd Time In 2 Years
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-2 ... -live-feed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ISIS suicide bomber blows himself up at a FOOTBALL STADIUM near Baghdad, killing at least 65 people and injuring more than 60
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ng-60.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Armed police shoot man 'carrying a bomb in a rucksack after he takes a woman hostage' at Brussels tram station as they swoop on terror suspects linked to 'imminent attack in France'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... tacks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Belgium turns on immigrants after Brussels bloodbath as membership of far-right 'White Power' group DOUBLES in three days
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -days.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Refugee Crisis: Using Chaos to Build Power
http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-new ... uild-power" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yuan Weakens For 6th Straight Day - Longest Losing Streak In 2 Years
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-2 ... ak-2-years" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Red flags are rising on Corporate America’s debt. The average rating on U.S. corporate debt has hit nearly a 15-year low, according to a new report by Standard & Poor’s. “We believe corporate default rates could increase over the next few years,” according to S&P credit analysts Jacob Crooks and David Tesher. The average rating on companies that issue debt has fallen to ‘BB,’ or junk status. That is even below the average S&P rating for U.S. corporate debt during and in the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/24/investi ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The number of energy loans labeled as “classified,” or in danger of default, is on course to extend above 50% this year at several major banks, including Wells Fargo and Comerica, according to bankers and others in the industry. 51 North American oil-and-gas producers have already filed for bankruptcy since the start of 2015, cases totaling $17.4 billion in cumulative debt, according to law firm Haynes and Boone. That trails the number from September 2008 to December 2009 during the global financial crisis, when there were 62 filings, but is expected to grow: About 175 companies are at high risk of not being able to meet loan covenants, according to Deloitte. “This has the makings of a gigantic funding crisis” for energy companies, said William Snyder, head of Deloitte’s U.S. restructuring unit. If oil prices, which closed at $39.79 a barrel Wednesday, remain at around $40 a barrel this year, “that’s fairly catastrophic.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/coming-to-t ... 1458840050" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There was one financial feature of my grandfather's life that provided him with greater self-worth. Specifically, he refused to take on significant debt because he remained skeptical of credit. And with good reason. The siren's song of "you-can-pay-me-Tuesday-for-a-hamburger-today" only created an illusion of wealth in the Roaring Twenties; in fact, unchecked access to favorable borrowing terms as well as speculative excess in the use of debt contributed mightily to the country's eventual descent into the Great Depression. G-Pops wanted no part of the next debt-fueled crisis.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3960875 ... ustainable" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A number of banks and analysts have warned that Sweden’s housing market is overheating, with HSBC in January saying: “The pace of acceleration in the housing market points to a bubble.” House prices across the country were up 18pc last year. This compares to Britain’s house price rises in 2015 of between 5pc and 10pc, depending on which index is used. Now Sweden is dealing with its overheated housing market by reining in mortgage availability. Regulators introduced restrictions which will mean mortgage terms – the time homebuyers have to clear the debt – will be drastically reduced to just… 105 years. The move comes because historically there has been no time limit on mortgage duration. So as prices rose and affordability became tougher, Swedish banks’ response was to extend terms, as had been the case in other high-cost property markets including Japan in the Eighties. The average term is reported to be 140 years.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/personal-ban ... age-is-14/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Large unexpected Yuan drops have rippled through markets in recent months spoiling the party for many and tonight, by devaluing the Yuan fix by the most since January 7th, China made it clear that it really does not want The Fed to hike rates and cause a liquidity suck-out again. The last 4 days have seen nearly a 1% devaluation in the Yuan fix with today’s drop the biggest in over 2 months.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-2 ... t-2-months" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The People’s Bank of China lowered its reference rate by 0.33%, the most since Jan. 7, following an overnight advance in the dollar on comments from Federal Reserve officials on the possibility of an interest-rate increase as soon as April. The yuan, “by far the single biggest risk for the global economy and markets this year,” is expected to depreciate 7% against the dollar over the next year, according to a Pimco report issued Wednesday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -7-decline" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Total credit to the Chinese private non-financial sector stood at $21.5 trillion at the end of September 2015, accounting for 205% of the country’s GDP, according to the Bank for International Settlements. In Japan, the figure accounted for more than 200% of the nation’s GDP at the end of September 1989, when the country was in the late stage of its economic bubble. After that bubble burst, the number shot up to 221% by the end of December 1995. Japan had fallen victim to its own excessive debt, and banks wrestled with bad loans for the next 10 years. In the U.S., the boom in subprime housing loans for low-income borrowers evolved into a global financial crisis in 2008. At the end of September that year, total credit to the U.S. private sector reached its peak, accounting for 169% of the country’s GDP. It took U.S. banks about four years to overcome their bad loan problems. And now in China, the outstanding amount of total credit to the private sector has surged 300% from the end of December 2008. After the crisis triggered by the Lehman bankruptcy in 2008, Chinese companies began borrowing money and increasing investment, thanks to the Chinese government’s introduction of economic measures worth 4 trillion yuan (around $586 billion at the time). Despite the positive stance, though, total credit to Chinese non-financial companies stood at $17.4 trillion at the end of September 2015, accounting for 80% of the total.
http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy ... al-economy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Now the concern floating around the world of markets is that the third in China’s “triple bubble” is about to burst. That bubble is credit, especially corporate bonds, which have absolutely exploded over the past year as refugees from the other bubble bursts searched for yield. This one is going to be for a very straightforward reason, too — supply. Simply put, there are about to be too many bonds in China, and that could ultimately harm the weakest part of the Chinese economy, the debt-loaded zombie companies that helped form the property bubble and are now unable to turn a healthy profit.
http://www.businessinsider.com/china-co ... ?r=UK&IR=T" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

House prices in Shenzhen, the city which is a hub for technology hardware and known as China’s Silicon Valley, soared by almost 50% last year – the fastest growth in residential property prices worldwide. A new survey puts two Chinese cities – Shenzhen and Shanghai – in the top five fastest-growing property markets despite the Chinese stock market tumbling in 2015. The research, by the estate agents Knight Frank (pdf), also shows the impact of last year’s debt crisis in Greece. House prices in the two biggest Greek cities – Thessaloniki and Athens – were both ranked among the worst six in the survey of 165 cities, falling 5.9% and 4.8% respectively. There were also significant drops in some Italian cities, including Rome, Trieste and Genoa. Nicosia and Larnaca in Cyprus were also among the worst performers.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... use-prices" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Signs of stress are multiplying in Japan’s government bond market, which is crumbling under pressure from the central bank’s unprecedented asset-purchase program and negative interest rates...the BOJ is finding it harder to press on with bond purchases of as much as 12 trillion yen ($107 billion) a month, sparking sudden price swings leading to yield curve inversions that have nothing to do with economic fundamentals. “We hold a lot, and we’re not selling,” said Yoshiyuki Suzuki, the head of fixed income at Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance, which has $59 billion in assets. “We can get interest income. If we sell, there are no good alternatives.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... king-point" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Credit Suisse just got caught up in the same liquidity death spiral that has claimed a growing number of debt funds.Some of the bank’s traders increased holdings of distressed and other infrequently traded assets in recent months without telling some senior leaders, Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam said on Wednesday. The bank suffered $258 million of writedowns this year through March 11, and $495 million of losses in the fourth quarter, because of its holdings of distressed debt, leveraged loans and securitized products, including collateralized loan obligations [..] Credit Suisse is in a tough spot because it is trying to get out of its hard-to-trade assets at a bad time. About 40% of the bonds in the $1.4 trillion U.S. junk-debt market didn’t trade at all in the first two months of this year, according to data compiled from Finra’s Trace and Bloomberg.
http://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/article ... al-in-debt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As a new cycle of epic deflation engulfs the world and further compresses commodity prices and profits, the Russian economy is going down for the count; it’s already been shrunk by nearly 10% in real terms, and the bottom is a long way down from there...the 4 million Red Army is no more; and that the Soviet Empire, which enslaved 410 million souls to its economic and military service, vanished from the pages of history in December 1991. What is left is a pitiful remnant -145 million aging, Vodka-besotted Russians who subsist in what is essentially a failing third world economy...entire expenditure for national defense amounts to just $50 billion, but during the current year only $35 billion of that will actually go to the Russian Armed Forces. On an apples-to-apples basis, that’s about 3 weeks of Pentagon spending!
http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/t ... -nato-now/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...could be right...of course there's a serious Russian influence in the election cycle this year...

Countdown To Insolvency Begins For Chicago Pensions As State Supreme Court Rejects Reform Bid
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-2 ... reform-bid" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....not even touching on potential market crashes in the near future....

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US Marines Enter Ground Combat in Iraq to Defend Oil Fields
http://news.antiwar.com/2016/03/23/us-m ... il-fields/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Soldiers with the US Pacific Command (PACOM) conducted weapons of mass destruction training near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, PACOM spokesperson said in a media release on Friday.
http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160325/10 ... -zone.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last month, hedge funds participated in the fewest number of venture capital rounds in U.S. tech companies since 2013, inking just two deals, according to research firm PitchBook Data Inc. Even Tiger Global Management LLC, an early backer of Facebook and LinkedIn with $20 billion under management, has pulled back. Smaller firms are getting out altogether.

Like VCs, hedge funds are more circumspect because some startups have failed to live up to their billing. Plus, in the wake of several disappointing tech IPOs, many of the most promising firms are choosing to stay private longer, meaning it takes longer to cash out. Investors’ stinginess is forcing startups to cut costs, fire workers and accept more stringent terms when raising money.

“We’ve completely stopped investing in private tech,” said Jeremy Abelson, a portfolio manager at Irving Investors, a small hedge fund based in New York. “I’m done with intangible valuations, unknown exits, unknown liquidity, and I want something that if I put my money into it now, I’m not going to hit a grand slam, but I’m going to get something that’s immediately yielding.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -atrophies" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NSA is so overwhelmed with data, it's no longer effective, says whistleblower - One of the agency's first whistleblowers says the NSA is taking in too much data for it to handle, which can have disastrous -- if not deadly -- consequences. With about four billion people -- around two-thirds of the world's population -- under the NSA and partner agencies' watchful eyes, according to his estimates, there is too much data being collected. Binney said he estimated that a "maximum" of 72 companies were participating in the bulk records collection program -- including Verizon, but said it was a drop in the ocean. He also called PRISM, the clandestine surveillance program that grabs data from nine named Silicon Valley giants, including Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, just a "minor part" of the data collection process. With help from its British counterparts at GCHQ, the NSA is able to "buffer" more than 21 petabytes a day.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/nsa-whistl ... effective/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EBOLA IS BACK! 816 People Quarantined - Spreading (Again)
https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/1075" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Global Warming’s Terrifying New Chemistry - methane
http://www.thenation.com/article/global ... chemistry/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...if believable...

EU border agency Frontex on Wednesday said member states have provided less than a third of the personnel it requested to deal with the record influx of migrants. Frontex, which coordinates border patrols and collects intelligence about the bloc’s frontiers, had called on European countries Friday to provide 1,500 police and 50 readmission experts “to support Greece in returning migrants to Turkey.” Only 396 police officers and 47 re-admission experts have been offered, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Warsaw-based agency.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/207282/arti ... ted-police" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The government said Thursday it will fast-track procedures to create new centers to accommodate 30,000 people within the next 20 days as it finds itself in a race against time to meet an obligation to provide shelter to more than 50,000 asylum seekers stranded in the country, and to prevent an imminent humanitarian disaster. The current capacity of shelters is 38,000.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/207330/arti ... in-20-days" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Delta County School District in Colorado is going to allow Atheist and Satanic literature to be given away at the local high school and middle school on April 1, which is causing outrage among some parents (video below).

The school district has already been allowing the Gideons, a Christian organization, to place free bibles on tables in school libraries during class hours for children to pick up.

"This is the other side of that,” Kurt Clay, the assistant school district superintendent, told KJTC. “The way our policy is written is that we cannot discriminate what is handed out, we just have to follow the process.”
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion ... do-schools" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....par for the course in Colorado....

Supreme Court Confirms Second Amendment Applies to all Bearable Arms in Common Use, Including Stun Guns
http://www.prepperfortress.com/supreme- ... stun-guns/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A tightly wrapped storm system produced a wild array of weather-related impacts over the Great Plains and Midwest on Wednesday, including paralyzing snowfall, severe thunderstorms, and a massive prairie fire. The most widespread problems occurred with late-season snowfall that stretched along a frontal zone from the Colorado Rockies northeast more than 1,000 miles to Michigan. Dubbed Winter Storm Selene by the Weather Channel, the heavy snow and high winds knocked out power to thousands of residents. Snow totals of a foot or more were reported in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, according to TWC, with 31.6” falling near the mountain town of Pinecliff, CO.

To the south of the big snow, warm, bone-dry air and powerful southwest winds gusting above 60 mph kicked off a number of grass fires, including one gargantuan fire that crossed the Oklahoma-Kansas border. In less than 48 hours, this fire tore across a swath estimated by the Oklahoma Forestry Service as spanning an immense 400,000 acres (625 square miles). The fire sent a pall of smoke over much of southern Kansas, including the Wichita area (see Figure 4). At least two homes were destroyed in Medicine Lodge, KS, and the town of 2000 residents was under a voluntary evacuation. With the fire still out of control late Wednesday, Kansas governor Sam Brownback declared a state of disaster. Hundreds of firefighters were reportedly working on Thursday morning along a 30- to 40-mile-long fire line. The fire’s cause is under investigation. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) had warned of extreme fire risk from southeast New Mexico to eastern Kansas on Wednesday. A WU station at Medicine Lodge reported wind gusts of 51 mph on Wednesday afternoon as the relative humidity dipped below 10%.
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffM ... ing-blazes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
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Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

even greater threat than ISIS: the deteriorating Mosul Dam, whose collapse would send a wall of 11 billion cubic meters of water crashing toward Iraq’s second biggest city, killing more Iraqis in minutes than the total dead since the U.S. invasion of 2003. A recent U.S. government report concluded that between 500,000 to 1.47 million Iraqis who live along the Tigris downstream of the dam “probably would not survive” its collapse.
http://time.com/4272242/mosul-dam-iraq-isis-collapse/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
BAGHDAD, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A potential catastrophe posed by the condition of Iraq's largest dam raised alarms as the raining season is coming. The collapse of Mosul dam could unleash flood that may kill hundreds of thousands of people and trigger environmental disaster, experts say.

Mosul Dam, which is 113 meters high and 3.4 km long and located some 50 km north of Iraq's second largest city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province in northern Iraq, came into use in 1986.

The giant wall of concrete, spanning the valley of the river Tigris, holds back about 11.1 billion cubic meters of water at full capacity, creating vast lake behind the dam.

More reports by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirmed the structure "is at a significantly higher risk of failure than originally understood," after recent assessment. The engineers found evidence that new channels and cavities were formed by rock dissolution under the dam's foundation.

The dam was built from the beginning on layers of clay and gypsum, which dissolves upon contact with water, creating cavities beneath the dam foundation.

To stabilize the huge structure, hundreds of workers working in three shifts to maintain the dam by injecting cement grout mixture into the cavities to prevent foundation damage.

As part of precautions, the Iraqi government signed a 296 million U.S. dollars contract on March 2 with Italian engineering firm TREVI Group to carry out emergency repairs on the dam.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016- ... 231230.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Crumbling Mosul dam threatens northern Iraq
http://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/crum ... -1.3508406" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Iraqi engineers involved in building the Mosul dam 30 years ago have warned that the risk of its imminent collapse and the consequent death toll could be even worse than reported.

They pointed out that pressure on the dam’s compromised structure was building up rapidly as winter snows melted and more water flowed into the reservoir, bringing it up to its maximum capacity, while the sluice gates normally used to relieve that pressure were jammed shut.

The Iraqi engineers also said the failure to replace machinery or assemble a full workforce more than a year after Islamic State temporarily held the dam means that the chasms in the porous rock under the dam were getting bigger and more dangerous every day.

Italy has said it plans to send 450 troops to protect the dam site, but it is unclear how long it will take to replace damaged machinery and reassemble the required workforce.

“The fact that the bottom outlets are jammed is the thing that really worries us,” said Ansari, now an engineering professor at the Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. “In April and May, there will be a lot more snow melting and it will bring plenty of water into the reservoir. The water level is now 308 metres but it will go up to over 330 metres. And the dam is not as before. The caverns underneath have increased. I don’t think the dam will withstand that pressure.

“If the dam fails, the water will arrive in Mosul in four hours. It will arrive in Baghdad in 45 hours. Some people say there could be half a million people killed, some say a million. I imagine it will be more in the absence of a good evacuation plan.”

The US embassy in Baghdad has urged American citizens to leave the area.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/m ... -1m-people" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Trevi says it will take four months to prepare the work site. And the 2.2 mile (3.5 km)-long hydroelectric dam faces its highest risk between April and June from rising water levels due to melting snow.

Grout to reinforce the dam must be trucked in from Turkey, officials said, because the previous factory is in Mosul, now controlled by Islamic State militants.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-midea ... SKCN0WO0DS" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It may be a coincidence that apocalyptic American warnings that Mosul’s giant dam could imminently collapse, potentially killing 1 million Iraqis, come at the very moment when US and Iraqi forces are preparing an all-out assault on the city, the main stronghold of Islamic State (Isis) terrorists in the country.

But the alarmist language employed by the US embassy in Baghdad to describe a long-standing, well-documented problem – the dam has had serious issues since it was built in 1984 – suggests concerns over the safety of Mosul’s residents are not the only calculation at work.

In their dreams, US commanders tasked with vanquishing Isis might privately relish the thought of a flood of biblical proportions sweeping away the black-hearted evildoers. In a flash, the ancient lands of Mesopotamia, from contested areas north of Mosul all the way down the Tigris river valley to Baghdad, would be cleansed of the jihadist abomination.

But while that is sheer fantasy, the dramatic warnings issued on Sunday sound only too real and scary. “Mosul dam faces a serious and unprecedented risk of catastrophic failure with little warning. A catastrophic breach … would result in severe loss of life, mass population displacement, and destruction of the majority of the infrastructure within the path of the projected flood wave,” the US said.

A possible clue to American thinking was contained in the embassy’s statement. “Much of the territory projected to be damaged by a dam breach is contested or Isis-controlled, suggesting an authority-directed evacuation is unlikely, and that some evacuees may not have freedom of movement sufficient to escape,” it said.

But the biggest, most immediate and most likely catastrophe facing Mosul is the looming Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga military offensive to re-take it, backed by US airstrikes, weaponry, logistics and frontline combat “advisers”. Many months of fierce, highly destructive house-to-house fighting are anticipated, as in Ramadi last year.

Iraqi leaders have submitted their plans for the reconquest of Mosul to lieutenant-general Sean MacFarland, the senior US commander in Iraq and Syria. He awaits the Pentagon’s green light. Meanwhile, targeted ground, cyber, special forces, and propaganda operations to isolate the city and cut off its supply routes – and to rattle and divide Isis jihadists and Mosul residents – are in full swing.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... propaganda" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WASHINGTON — Marines at Fire Base Bell provided artillery support Thursday for Iraqi forces launching an attack to retake the Islamic State-controlled city of Mosul, the Pentagon confirmed. The initial advances by Iraqi security forces Thursday targeted several smaller villages south of Mosul, which the Islamic State captured in the summer of 2014. Since that time, the terrorist group has used the city as its de-facto capital in Iraq.
http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east ... k-1.401005" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

Pakistan's prime minister on Monday vowed to eliminate perpetrators of terror following the Sunday suicide bombing that targeted Christians gathered for Easter in the eastern city of Lahore, killing 70 people and injuring around 300.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/03/28 ... tians.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Desperate migrants scramble for food parcels from aid workers as they remain stranded in squalid camps and dozens block roads in protest at border closures
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... sures.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rio de Janeiro, March 29: Brazil has unveiled "Operation Air", a plan to attend to the nearly 1.5 million air passengers expected to arrive for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in August.
http://www.ianslive.in/index.php?param= ... 6/SPORTS/9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

During Mr. Lula’s reign, the Brazilian economy experienced an annual growth rate of more than 4%. However, amid the country’s biggest kickback scheme — Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) corruption scandal, low gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, and high inflation and unemployment rate, the economy has been pushed down to the worst ever downturn. The Brazilian real has depreciated while Petrobras’ debt position has worsened. The top rating agencies including S&P, Fitch Ratings, and Moody's have already downgraded the Brazilian sovereign debt rating to “junk status.” The rating firms cited fast-deteriorating economic situation, budget deficit and political downturn as the reasons for the downgrade.
http://www.bidnessetc.com/66255-petrobr ... s-defense/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The economy also shed more than double the amount of jobs analysts forecast in February, bringing the total net job losses in the 12 months through February to a record 1.75 million. With the economy on track to contract again this year, that will make 2015 and 2016 the first time in more than a century that the economy shrank more than 3 percent for two straight years, according to government economic research institute IPEA.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -recession" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Currently, the people of Venezuela are taking a government- mandated five-day Easter holiday because the nation’s power plants can’t produce enough electricity to operate businesses and schools. Venezuela managed to make a $1.5 billion bond payment early this month, but only by shipping gold bars to Switzerland in order to pay off billions of dollars in debt. And with cash reserves at their lowest in more than a decade and oil prices still too cheap to generate enough revenue, it would take an economic miracle to avoid eventual default. That’s bad news for Venezuelans, who wait in long lines to buy even such basic goods as a few small loaves of bread. Household goods are rationed and nearly impossible to come by. And inflation is in shocking triple digits with no relief in sight.
http://www.postandcourier.com/article/2 ... -venezuela" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Argentine government agreed to a settlement that would allow Singer’s fund to walk away with $2.4 billion for bonds that the government had failed to pay on, according to court documents. The bonds had been purchased for about $617 million more than a decade ago. Argentina’s Senate is scheduled to sign off on the deal this week. It would be a handsome, and historic, payoff for one of the most well-known brawlers in the New York.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/bus ... -collapse/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In coming weeks, Argentina is expected to start taking orders on a blockbuster bond worth US$12bn or more, which would allow the country to settle a decade-long dispute with holdout creditors and cure its 2014 default. Argentina - whose component on the EMBI Global Diversified returned over 26% in 2015, the second best performing credit behind Ukraine - is attracting accounts looking to buy into an economy on the mend.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latam-bo ... SL2N16W04W" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...borrowing to pay debt....fabulously old idea....

Argentina’s government welcomed on Monday a decision by a United Nations commission that expanded its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35 percent to include the disputed Falkland Islands and beyond. The Argentine Foreign Ministry said its waters had increased by 0.66 million square miles, and the decision will be important in its dispute with Britain over the islands.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/world ... .html?_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Falkland Islands have asked the UK to clarify the meaning of an international commission judgement that would leave the islands surrounded by Argentina's territorial waters.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35914839" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Commodity-rich Latin American economies were among the chief beneficiaries when China’s economy was cruising along with an annual growth of around 10 percent for decades. But last year, the Chinese economy grew just 6.9 percent — the slowest growth rate in a quarter century — putting a damper on China’s appetite for Latin American commodities and depressing prices. This year, the Chinese economy is projected to grow 6.4 percent.

GDP figures show that the Brazilian economy, the largest in Latin America, contracted by -3.8 percent in 2015. The Central Bank actually was predicting an even more severe contraction, but 2015 still was the worst recession since 1990 when the GDP was -4.35 percent. Last year, civil construction was down by a whopping 14.1 percent. And the bad news keeps on coming: Brazilian bonds have been downgraded even further into junk bond status, average salaries are falling, retail sales are down, inflation is running at about 12 percent, and auto sales were down by 27 percent last year. The decline in automobile sales means Brazil has fallen from the fourth-largest auto market in the world to the seventh-largest.

Colombia: On paper, Colombia is expected to have a spectacular year, with some of the strongest growth in South America at 3 percent. The peso has lost 20 percent of its value versus the U.S. dollar in the past year, and inflation of almost 7 percent is eating away at purchasing power. Earlier this month, tens of thousands of people took to the streets demanding higher wages and protesting a series of tax increases the government has proposed to make up for the loss in commodity income. To complicate matters, damage at a major power plant and the El Niño weather phenomenon are threatening the country with rolling blackouts. The government has said that if consumers don’t voluntarily lower power usage by 5 percent, the nation could see rolling blackouts that will slow economic growth.

Venezuela is undergoing “a slow-motion economic collapse,” Farnsworth said. “The ongoing political crisis is preventing any meaningful policy change and they’re selling gold reserves to pay current debt. There’s speculation Venezuela will default on debt, possibly by autumn.” According to Latinvest, a Caracas-based financial consulting company, the country has been blowing through its reserves to keep up with its international debt obligations. According to the Central Bank, those reserves now stand at $13 billion — lower than when President Hugo Chávez first took office in 1999.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation- ... 93232.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...and that's very optimistic because China is absolutely buried in debt....

When you’re owed $7 billion and the borrower asks for more time to pay, it tends to make you nervous. That’s why oil service companies are pinning hopes on Pemex’s new Chief Executive Officer Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya. Anaya told Congress last week that the state-owned oil company will pay what it owes to 90 percent of the service providers “in literally days” after securing a credit line from national development banks. Pemex’s urgency under Gonzalez Anaya to pay the companies is a far cry from the strategy employed by the previous administration, which last year cut contractors’ daily rates and extended the payment period to 180 days from 20 days as outstanding debts reached record levels. Pemex will turn to local development banks Banobras, Nafinsa and Bancomext for a 15 billion-peso credit line. That will allow the producer to begin to chip away at the debts, which ballooned to 147 billion pesos ($8.28 billion) last year, according to a Pemex statement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... on-payment" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...love that trend...debt to pay for old production...and a drop in the bucket at that (10%)...kick the can down the road just a little bit further...

U.S. consumer spending barely rose in February and inflation retreated, suggesting the Federal Reserve could remain cautious about raising interest rates this year even as the labor market rapidly tightens.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-e ... SKCN0WU0Z4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago's credit rating has been downgraded to one step above junk grade by Fitch Ratings after the Illinois Supreme Court struck down Mayor Rahm Emanuel's reform plan for two city pensions.
http://www.scnow.com/news/business/wire ... 02031.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the average credit rating for U.S. corporations is now lower than it was at any point during the last recession. This is yet another sign that we are in the early chapters of a major league economic crisis.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch ... ial-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Saudi economy is showing deepening signs of strain under the weight of cheap oil. Saudi consumers withdrew and spent less money in February, according to central bank data released on Monday. M3, one of the broadest measures of money supply, shrank for the first time since at least 2000, when Bloomberg started tracking the data. While the kingdom still has one of the world’s largest foreign-currency reserves, cuts in government spending to shore up public finances are taking a toll on the economy. And while bank credit to private businesses expanded about 10%, the growth likely reflects short-term borrowing, according to Monica Malik, the chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. “The rise in credit doesn’t indicate business expansion,” she said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... ding-drops" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
As Mario Draghi prepares to ramp up debt purchases starting Friday in his biggest assault against euro-area deflation risks, he’s about to get another sense of the magnitude of the challenge. Consumer prices in the currency zone probably fell for a second month in March and the unemployment rate remained in double digits in February, economists forecast in Bloomberg surveys before data this week.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... qe-expands" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

After years of ramping up production to fuel China’s expected growth, oil-producing countries from Saudi Arabia to Norway are facing grim decisions about their public finances. Russia is rapidly draining its sovereign wealth fund. Venezuela is pleading with China for loans – on top of the nearly $60 billion already doled out – to stave off collapse. Pundits are warning that the large debt load of U.S. shale-gas and oil producers could pose greater risks than sub-prime lending did a decade ago. No less so than China, the rest of the world needs to face up to some new realities. First, the golden age of Chinese construction is over. There’s now enormous surplus capacity in virtually every industry that requires fixed-asset investment. Companies can no longer rely on the “Beijing put” of new government stimulus to boost growth.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2 ... bout-china" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A state-owned Chinese steelmaker failed to make a 852 million yuan ($131 million) bond payment and expressed uncertainty about meeting a larger bill next week as the slowing economy weighs on debt-laden producers. Chinese firms are struggling with surging debt burdens as Premier Li Keqiang seeks to weed out zombie corporations amid the country’s worst economic slowdown in a quarter century.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... nd-payment" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“Chinese customers are accelerating the pace of moving assets outside China, especially through insurance products.” Multiple credit-card swiping to buy insurance products, even hundreds of times, isn’t illegal in Hong Kong, but it allows individuals to exceed limits on insurance purchases by mainlanders meant to control capital outflows from China. The widespread practice shows just how eager Chinese remain to move money abroad amid a weakening economy and expectations of further declines in the yuan, potentially putting pressure on authorities to impose stricter curbs. Since February, Chinese regulators have moved to control the booming business of citizens buying insurance in Hong Kong, first by putting a $5,000 limit on each transaction and later by limiting electronic transfers for such purchases.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... flow-curbs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Criminals around the world have discovered that a good way to liberate their dirty money is to send it to China, which is emerging as an international hub for money laundering, AP has found. Gangs from Israel and Spain, North African cannabis dealers and cartels from Mexico and Colombia are among those using China as a haven where they can safely hide money, clean it, and pump it back into the global financial system, according to police officials, European and U.S. court records and intelligence documents reviewed by AP.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7500da6e ... e-millions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The World Container Index, an average of spot freight rates on 11 global East-West routes connecting Asia, Europe, and the US, plunged last week to a record low of $666 per 40-foot equivalent unit container (FEU), down 73% from mid-2012! The China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) tells a similar story. It tracks contractual and spot-market rates for shipping containers from major ports in China to 14 regions around the world. On Friday, the index dropped 1.6% to 659.19, its lowest level ever!
http://wolfstreet.com/2016/03/28/ocean- ... outs-loom/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

STUTTGART, Germany – The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, has authorized the ordered departure of all DoD dependents not assigned to Chief of Mission authority from Adana (to include Incirlik Air Base), Ismir, and Mugla, Turkey.
http://eucom.dodlive.mil/2016/03/state- ... om-turkey/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The Pentagon is ordering nearly 700 military family members to leave Incirlik Air Base and two smaller military installations in Turkey because of concerns over the deteriorating security environment there. Families are expected to begin leaving Turkey on Wednesday, stopping first at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, before continuing on to the States or other duty locations, U.S. European Command told Stars and Stripes.
http://www.stripes.com/hundreds-of-mili ... y-1.401622" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ankara summons Berlin envoy for explanations over clip mocking Erdogan on German TV
https://www.rt.com/news/337509-turkey-e ... any-envoy/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Police briefly shut down two Washington, DC streets and an entrance to the United States Congress visitor's center on Tuesday while they investigated two suspicious packages left near the U.S. Capitol and determined they were not a threat. The incident came one day after the area around the Capitol was put on lockdown because of a suspected shooter.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-w ... SKCN0WV1I1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iranian President Postpones Austria Trip For Security Reasons
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran-presi ... 42556.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In Syria, militias armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Last month, US secretary of State John Kerry called for Syria to be partitioned saying it was “Plan B” if negotiations fail. But in reality this was always plan A. Plans to balkanize Syria, Iraq and other Middle Eastern states were laid out by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a 2006 trip to Tel Aviv. It was part of the so called “Project For a New Middle East”. This was a carbon copy of the Odid Yinon plan drawn up by Israel in 1982. The plan outlined the way in which Middle Eastern countries could be balkanized along sectarian lines. This would result in the creation of several weak landlocked micro-states that would be in perpetual war with each other and never united enough to resist Israeli expansionism.
http://journal-neo.org/2016/03/29/kerry ... ing-syria/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NATO's Russia warning: Europe must beef up air patrols in preparation for WAR
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/656 ... ration-WAR" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Putin Urges Europe To Restore 'Military-Technical' Cooperation With Russia
http://www.rferl.org/content/putin-urge ... 42509.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

North Koreans Told Prepare For Famine (Again)
https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/1090" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Reliance Defence signs JV with Israel’s Rafael for air-to-air missiles
http://www.thehindu.com/business/Indust ... 410092.ece" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

India’s Defence Exports Surged in 2015: Defence Ministry Report
http://www.thequint.com/business/2016/0 ... try-report" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

Reuters on Thursday reported heavy backlogs in tanker loadings at the port of Jose, which a union leader and a legislator said were the result of technical problems with loading arms. The company said that 70 percent of the production exported from Venezuela, equivalent to around 1.5 million barrels per day, are loaded at Jose. Thomson Reuters vessel tracking data shows some 70 tankers anchored around state-run PDVSA's ports in Venezuela and the Caribbean, most of them waiting to load oil for export and to offload imported crude and products.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-v ... SKCN0WS00V" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Serious delays to load and unload vessels at Venezuela's main crude port started to create a backlog of tankers last week that is now extending to the island of Curacao, according to traders, a union representative and Thomson Reuters data.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oil-vene ... SL2N16W1C7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Guayana’s basic industries had never reached a level of activity as low as they currently operate at, due to lack of spare parts, maintenance, and the Guri dam’s inability to generate electricity due to the severe drought. Henry Arias, Secretary General of the union at the ALCASA aluminum works reports the plant is working at 15.5% capacity.
http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Emp ... 18182.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

GENERAL MILLS, the company behind Cheerios and Häagen-Dazs ice cream, has called time on its operations in Venezuela. The US company said it has sold its subsidiary in the country to an unnamed third party in a move that will leave it with a US$ 35m charge. GENERAL MILLS’s exit follows that of bleach maker CLOROX, which took a charge of more than US$ 600m to end its operations there. Venezuela’s controls and the government’s frequently shifting currency policy has proved a headache for US multinationals, who have struggled to take cash out of the country. Venezuela, which is grappling with runaway inflation, a weak oil price and crumbling tax revenues, accounted for less than 1% of GENERAL MILLS’s net sales, the company said in its annual report.
http://www.ft.com/fastft/2016/03/23/che ... venezuela/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Swiss banks have a new money-laundering worry: Venezuela. At the request of U.S. authorities, Switzerland has agreed to turn over records from at least 18 banks involving Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, which is the subject of a widening corruption investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to Swiss regulators.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... robe-again" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The requests for information from two separate U.S. authorities were part of their investigations into alleged money laundering and corruption in connection with the conclusion of energy contracts with Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said on Friday. U.S. authorities say they have traced over $1 billion to a conspiracy involving a Venezuelan magnate who allegedly paid bribes to obtain contracts from PDVSA. They are separately investing representatives of Venezuelan energy company Derwick Associates, which has done business with PDVSA, based on the FOJ's statements.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pdvsa ... SKCN0WR0X0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CREDIT SUISSE is currently projecting that Venezuela’s 2016 inflation rate will hit 326.5% and social conditions here will worsen over the next months. It also says the contraction in Venezuela’s GDP – projected by them at 6.5% - will be one of the worst in the world, hit by FOREX scarcity, three-digit inflation, and an environment of political and economic uncertainty.
http://www.notitarde.com/Economia/Proye ... 27/924468/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Cre ... 18297.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

President Nicolas Maduro has reported that US$ 147 million entered this year in January and February. He explained that before the drop in oil prices, US$ 3.5 billion used to flow in the country. He spelled out that revenues last January amounted to US$ 77 million, down to US$ 70 million in February.
http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/160 ... ruary-2016" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

According to data released by the Swiss customs department on Tuesday, Venezuela has exported 11 tonnes of gold to Switzerland in February 2016 – which equates to about 443 million Swiss francs ($456 million) worth of gold. “Apparently, Venezuela sold $500 million of gold from its reserves in February and has sold at least that same amount thus far in March… this from data compiled by our friend, Mr. Russ Dallen, at Latinvest,” Gartman wrote. February's exports came on top of some 1.27 billion Swiss francs of gold sent to Switzerland in January, Swiss customs data showed.
http://www.kitco.com/news/2016-03-23/Ve ... rtman.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://snbchf.com/2016/03/durden-venez ... 016-paris/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Venezuela’s foreign exchange reserves are dwindling fast, from $24.2 billion dollars in February 2015 to $14.8 billion dollars in November 2015, while Inflation is said to be triple-digit and Credit Default Swap (CDS) data shows that traders see a 78 % chance on default, according Reuters. In an effort to avoid catastrophes the BCV has a very strong motive to employ its official gold reserves. Switzerland has net imported 35.8 tonnes of gold from Venezuela in January 2016. This unusual high tonnage must be gold from the central bank of Venezuela – Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) – that has been swapping metal with banks or simply sold it in the open market.
https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/koos- ... n-january/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Latinvest Venezuela Report - Bond Debts - 20 October 2015
http://www.scribd.com/doc/286044491/Lat ... tober-2015" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Venezuela has not reported its gold holdings since November 2015, when they were at $10.97 billion
http://blogs.barrons.com/emergingmarket ... hats-next/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....so essentially they have somewhere between 12-24 months (somewhere between $8-9 billion in gold reserves left and $1-2 billion in foreign currencies)...timing dependent on how fast interest rates increase on the $9.5 billion in foreign debt service, internal production declines - i.e. water level and electrical output at Guri dam, and where the price of oil goes/stays - 95% of Venezuela's exports) before reserves are wiped out and they have nothing left....
The Easter lull came and went without making much of a difference. The "calima" suffocated us in Caracas while the country went on a standstill to try to spare a few meters from the water gauge of the Guri dam, before El Niño, and regime's utter incompetence, forces a shut down of 50% of the country's electricity.

A few minutes ago the National Assembly voted the final version of the amnesty law which aims, among other things, to free political prisoners incarcerated in kangaroo courts. An amnesty is needed since there is no way to get a truly fair trial in Venezuela these days.

But this law, which intents is also the start of some form of national reconciliation by forcing every side to face the reality that justice is in the hands of the executive (even though this cannot be said in the law), is far from being applied and Leopoldo Lopez is not out of jail yet. Maduro's regime has announced that he will not sign the law, that it will not be applied. Presidential veto power is limited in Venezuela, at best a delaying tactic. Thus within days, with or without the signature of Maduro the law will become the law of the land. Maduro can only stop this law application if the high court TSJ rules it to be unconstitutional. This is certainly the case as the TSJ has always managed to find any "unconstitutional" way to make a given an unconstitutional one, even if the means used is itself unconstitutional. Repetition intended.

Which brings us to the second point of this entry: after the vote the national Assembly went straight ahead in the modification of the laws describing how the TSJ is designated. The aim is to find a way to go around the latest crop of appointees who got their job through unconstitutional ways to allow for the pre-electoral packing of the court. Yes, it is that naked but then again the TSJ submission to the regime is that naked: nobody remembers when was the last time that the state/regime lost a case in court.

In short, the regime is going to be placed in front of this dilemma: either accept the revision of the latest appointments so those can be made according to the original intent of the law, or accept an expansion of the TSJ members so that there is at least dissenting opinions. A dilemma the regime will refuse by declaring that legal reform unconstitutional, even though it will violate the very own regime jurisprudence that was itself a constitutional violation. This is how things work in Venezuela: several wrongs are required to improve the odds of making a right.

But what is worse for the regime is that there is no food nor medicine, and soon there will be no electricity besides providing homes with a very few hours a day, forget about energy for production. Amen of the political capital lost abroad: the regime has no political capital left to spend at home.

Common sense would make the regime start negotiating a political solution to start taking measures to avoid the nation's collapse. But it seems that Maduro et al are seeking actively such collapse as there last desperate gambit to retain power.
http://daniel-venezuela.blogspot.com/20 ... zuela.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The United Nations is aiming to re-settle some 480,000 refugees, about 10% of those now in neighboring countries, by the end of 2018, but has conceded it needs to overcome widespread fear and political manipulation.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-midea ... SKCN0WW0L4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...I happen to know some people with some available land...

WMR's Paraguayan sources have confirmed that George W. Bush recently bought 42,000 hectares (over 100,000 acres) of land in Paraguay's northern "Chaco" region. It is also nearby a huge tract of land purchased by Sun Myung Moon that sits astride Latin America's largest water aquifer, the Guarani aquifer.
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/socio ... bush53.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Although Ban Ki-moon and Sun Myung Moon are not related, some UN members may sense that there is something amiss about the Bush administration's strong support for the South Korean Foreign Minister given the close links between some Bush officials and the "Moonies." There were a few "discourage" and "no opinion" ballots cast by Security Council members on Ban Ki-moon. Although the balloting is secret, it is believed that France and the United Kingdom are not thrilled with the Moon nomination and that Japan, a non-permanent member that holds the Security Council presidency for October, is also reportedly opposed to Moon.

Ban Ki-moon has lived in the United States for a number of years, having gone to graduate school at Harvard and serving two tours at South Korea's Washington embassy, a diplomatic mission that maintains close contacts with the Sun Myung Moon organization in Washington, DC. The Unification Church, in addition to owning the Washington Times, also owns United Press International.
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/061008/Intern ... /int1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

according to Argentine paper Clarín [Sp], US technicians constructed an air base in the Paraguayan Chaco town of Mariscal Estigarribia. In 2005, a correspondent from the paper visited the facility, describing the base as "an enormous aircraft carrier in the middle of the desert". Moreover, the air strip was very wide and could accommodate B-52 bombers, even though the Paraguayan air force didn't have any such planes in its arsenal. In 2006, still two years prior to Lugo's assumption of power, diplomats reported that US forces were operating in the Chaco to "survey possible locations for future humanitarian assistance exercises". In truth, however, the State Department itself seems to have had little idea of what the Pentagon was actually up to in Paraguay (indeed, according to the Washington Office on Latin America, two members of a US Special Forces team operating undercover were involved in a deadly firefight in 2004. Tragically, the shootout resulted in the death of a Paraguayan who was attempting to rob the soldiers. Apparently, the Pentagon had kept the team's existence a total secret from the US embassy in Asunción).
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinio ... 19807.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rumours of Mr Bush's supposed forays into South American real estate surfaced during a recent 10-day visit to the country by his daughter Jenna Bush. Little is known about her trip to Paraguay, although officially she travelled with the UN children's agency Unicef to visit social projects. Photographers from the Paraguayan newspaper ABC Color tracked her down to one restaurant in Paraguay's capital Asunción, where she was seen flanked by 10 security guards, and was also reported to have met Paraguay's president, Nicanor Duarte, and the US ambassador to Paraguay, James Cason. Reports in sections of the Paraguayan media suggested she was sent on a family "mission" to tie up the land purchase in the "chaco".
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/o ... omphillips" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The prospect of increased largess from the ECB has pushed government bonds higher, with the yield on German 10-year bunds headed for their biggest quarterly slide in almost five years. They dropped to 0.15% on Tuesday, half where they were when the ECB announced an increase to its quantitative-easing program on March 10. French bank Societe Generale predicts the bund yield will slide not only to the record low of 0.049% posted in April 2015, but to negative 0.05% by the end of the next quarter. The ECB cut its main interest rates, announced the increase to QE and revealed a new targeted-loan program earlier this month as it ramped up efforts to boost inflation in the 19-member currency bloc. A report on Thursday will show consumer prices in the currency zone probably fell for a second month in March, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... the-market" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Today, the entire human highway to Europe’s north, traveled by nearly a million refugees and other migrants last year, has been closed. The crackdown, complete with razor-wire fences guarded by riot police, has stranded about 50,000 migrants in Greece. Many are desperate to get out but too afraid to turn back. For those with cash left, smugglers are now the best hope.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/european-bo ... 1459260153" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The steel industry was dealt a hammer blow on Tuesday as it emerged that Tata plans to completely withdraw from its British operation, putting thousands of jobs at risk. The Indian conglomerate’s board decided to pull out of the UK after rejecting a turnaround plan for Port Talbot, the nation’s biggest steelworks. The South Wales plant employs around 4,000 who face an uncertain future as Tata now seeks a buyer for its British steel assets.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/201 ... -decision/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Japan’s industrial production dropped the most since the March 2011 earthquake as falling exports sapped demand and a steel-mill explosion halted domestic car production at Toyota. Output slumped 6.2% in February after rising in January, the trade ministry said on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a 5.9% drop.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... sap-demand" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
What does $13 billion of burning money smell like? Commodity investors are getting a nose for it. Japanese trading houses Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo have announced 767 billion yen ($6.8 billion) of writedowns on assets this year, including copper, nickel, iron-ore and natural-gas projects. PetroChina wrote 25 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) off the value of oil and gas fields that have “no hope” of making a profit at current prices, President Wang Dongjin said last week, while Citic posted a HK$12.5 billion ($1.6 billion) impairment on an Australian iron-ore mine. Cnooc’s annual results last Thursday count as a good news story against that backdrop, with impairments of 2.75 billion yuan that were lower than the previous year’s.

While gross mining and energy assets in the top chart now stand at $6.55 trillion, once liabilities are netted out there is only $3.28 trillion of shareholders' equity left. That gives the companies net gearing of about 29 percent when compared to their $1.37 trillion of net debts, an uncomfortably high number that's only going to rise if those mines and oil fields get written down further. A company can change the value of assets with the stroke of an accountant's pen, but its debt remains fixed.
http://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/article ... t-starting" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image
Virtually every aspect of the commodities bust has a China angle. Forecasts for China’s consumption of raw materials have proved wildly optimistic, while domestic production of certain resources have resulted in particularly severe gluts in commodities such as steel and coal. But in one respect, China has been putting an artificial degree of upward pressure on a select resource—copper—sparing it from the worst of the rout in commodities. For years, traders on the mainland have used copper as collateral to finance trades in which they borrowed foreign currencies and invested the proceeds in higher-yielding assets denominated in renminbi. This carry trade with Chinese characteristics allowed them to net a tidy profit.

This practice of warehousing copper to help engage in financial arbitrage “inflated demand, kept prices higher, and led miners to raise output,” according to Bloomberg Intelligence Analysts Kenneth Hoffman and Sean Gilmartin, who sought to identify the extent to which demand for copper has been buoyed by its use as collateral for such trades. The decline in Chinese copper demand for household appliances and electronics since 2011 doesn’t jibe with the headline demand statistics, the analysts note, which show the country’s total copper demand increased of 45% from 2011 to 2015.

Moreover, when benchmarked against cement—another material widely used for construction purposes—copper’s rapid rise in China looks particularly suspicious. While cement intensity, or percentage used per square meter, rose 11% in the time period, copper intensity surged an astounding 117%. Putting all this together, Hoffman and Gilmartin conclude that “real Chinese demand may be 54% lower than anticipated” after stripping out the demand for copper tied to the carry trade. That amounts to nearly 7 million metric tonnes of copper procured for use as collateral in 2015 alone, according to the pair’s calculations—equal to the mass of more than 30,000 Statues of Liberty.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -you-think" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
China’s proposal to deal with a potential bad-loan crisis by having banks convert their soured debt into equity is meeting with unexpected resistance from some of the biggest potential beneficiaries of the plan – the country’s large banks. Asked about the plan at the Boao Forum last week, China Construction Bank Chairman Wang Hongzhang said he needs to think of his shareholders and wouldn’t want to see a plan that simply converted “bad debt into bad equity.” China Citic Bank’s Vice President Sun Deshun said at a press conference last week that any compulsory conversion of debt into equity would have to be capped.

Behind the caution is a lack of clarity about how exactly the government will proceed with the conversion of up to 1.27 trillion yuan ($195 billion) of bad debt owed to the banks mostly by the country’s lumbering state-owned enterprises, and – crucially – about the level of support that will be available from the state. Bank of Communications, the first of China’s large banks to report 2015 earnings, said Tuesday it nearly doubled its bad-debt provisions in the fourth quarter of last year to 7.5 billion yuan. Without backing from the government, in the form of cash injections or easier capital rules for the banks, any debt-equity swaps would simply shift the bad-loan problem from the SOEs to the banks, with potentially disastrous consequences for the stability of the nation’s lenders. On the other hand it will be politically impossible to repeat the approach used in 1999 and again in 2004, when Chinese taxpayers effectively underwrote the bailouts, leaving the banks unscathed.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -bad-loans" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As rising tuition costs pile ever-higher debts on students, lenders and colleges are pushing for an alternative: Heap more on their parents. An increasing number of private student lenders are rolling out parent loans, which allow borrowers to get funds to pay for their children’s education without putting the students on the hook. The loans mimic a similar federal program but don’t charge the hefty upfront fee levied by the government, which could make them cheaper and encourage more use. SLM Corp., the largest U.S. private student lender by loan originations and better known as Sallie Mae, will introduce its version of the loan next month. Parents will be able to borrow at interest rates ranging from about 3.75% to 13%, with 10 years to pay it off.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/squeeze-the ... 1459205216" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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while the median income had fallen by 13% from 2004 levels over the next decade, expenditures had increased by nearly 14%. But nobody was more impacted than the one-third of households which the study defines as "low-income." Pew finds that while all households had less slack in their budgets in 2014 than in 2004, lower-income households went into the red by over $2,300. In other words, approximately one third of American households were no longer able to cover the core necessities - food, housing and transportation - with average income. This, together with our previous report that increasingly more US households are unable to afford to purchase a home, should put to rest any speculation whether those who point out the chronic deterioration of the economy for everyone, not just the 1% who truly are doing better than ever, are "peddling fiction."
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-3 ... d-rent-and" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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U.S. military families have been ordered to evacuate bases in Turkey to keep to them safe from possible attacks, officials announced Tuesday.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said the order to leave Turkey would affect about 670 of the total of 770 dependents in the country.

The 670 dependents are at the main Incirlik airbase and two other smaller bases at Izmir and Mugla, Cook said. The approximately 100 dependents who are being allowed to stay were with spouses assigned to Ankara, the Turkish capital, and Istanbul, which were considered safer postings, Cook said.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... urkey.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- U.S. European Command extended a travel restriction to Brussels Tuesday, a week after terrorist attacks that killed 35 people and wounded scores more.

After the March 22 attacks at Brussels' international airport and a subway station, EUCOM issued a travel restriction to Brussels that was set to expire Tuesday.

The decision to extend the prohibition comes as authorities are searching for suspects in the terrorist attacks.

The restriction doesn't apply to personnel stationed in and around Brussels, home to the headquarters of the U.S-led NATO alliance, according to EUCOM.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... ction.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
America’s electorate either wants to nominate a political outsider who talks tough and promises to restore our power in the world… or an avowed socialist to combat income and wealth inequality by attacking Wall Street and the top 1%.

I have said for a long time that the two countries I most expect to have the worst potential for civil unrest are China… and the U.S.

China because it created the greatest over-expansion and urbanization bubble in modern history. Now, it has 250 million unregistered migrant urban workers from rural areas that will be stuck without jobs (and nowhere to go) after they can’t keep building infrastructures for no one.

But the U.S. has the most polarized politics of any major country, and the greatest income and wealth inequality in the developed world. The politics are more polarized than even the Depression and more like the Civil War – and we have over 300 million guns in this country.

There’s also a 250-year cycle of social and political revolutions like the American Revolution in the late 1700s and the Protestant Revolution before that in the early 1500s. Now we’re in the early 2000s and we’re right on schedule for another shakeup. And add to that the 80-year winter season of debt and bubble deleveraging that started in 2008, and which will finally hit more strongly between 2016 and 2022.

This is when the people stand up and say, quoting Popeye: “That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!”

Europe and perhaps China will collapse sooner as we are still the best house in a bad neighborhood. But when the global slowdown and bubble collapse hits the U.S. more dramatically from mid-2016 through late 2017 (and beyond into 2022 or so), expect more widespread civil unrest in the U.S., especially in the latter half of 2017-forward.
http://economyandmarkets.com/economy/fo ... est-ahead/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...he leaves out wickedness and moral decline...

the exact day when reproductions of the arch that stood in front of the Temple of Baal are going to be erected in Times Square in New York City and in Trafalgar Square in London is also the exact day when a very important occult festival related to the worship of Baal begins. April 19th is the first day of a 13 day period of time known as “the Blood Sacrifice to the Beast” that culminates on the high occult holy day of Beltane on May 1st. In some parts of the world, Beltane is much better known as “May Day”, and it has been described as the “Illuminati’s second most sacred holiday”. As you will see below, we have indeed witnessed a disturbing series of “blood sacrifices” during the second half of April in recent years, and many people wonder if there is a connection. April 19th is also known as “the Feast of Moloch”. If you are not familiar with “Moloch” or “Molech”, it is an ancient Canaanite god that is repeatedly denounced in the Old Testament. Child sacrifice was a key feature of the worship of Moloch, and a giant statue of this pagan deity is set up at the Bohemian Grove in northern California every year.
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... ast-begins" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On April 19, 2016, in cooperation with national and international cultural heritage preservation organizations, and in conjunction with World Heritage Week 2016, the Institute for Digital Archaeology will install a monumental scale reconstruction of Palmyra's Triumphal Arch on Trafalgar Square. Through this project -- and others like it scheduled throughout 2016 in cities both inside and outside the Middle East -- the IDA seeks to provide an optimistic and constructive response to the ongoing threats to history and heritage that have captured headlines over the past year
http://digitalarchaeology.org.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The deputy commander of U.S. Pacific Command wasted government resources when he conducted "predominantly personal travel" to Alabama for his promotion ceremony in June 2014 instead of holding it in Hawaii, the Department of Defense inspector general found.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... funds.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A former Navy logistician will serve two years behind bars for taking some $25,000 in cash bribes while conducting humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... ribes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MSNBC Host Admits Democratic Primary Rigged, While Station Simultaneously Rigs Coverage
http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2016/03/29 ... more-32765" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
PHOENIX — The victim in a fatal shooting involving police plead for his life with the officers before one allegedly struck the final blow, according to a newly-released police report.

The police report in the death of Daniel Shaver, released Tuesday, quoted the man as saying “please don’t shoot me,” sobbing and appearing panicked before being fatally shot in a Mesa hotel room on Jan. 18.

Former Mesa Police Officer Philip Brailsford has been charged for the second-degree murder of Shaver and has since plead not guilty.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said prosecutors are considering offering Brailsford a plea deal in place of going to trial.

When Shaver was ordered to crawl to officers, he allegedly made a slight movement toward his waistline. Brailsford then allegedly opened fire, hitting Shaver five times and killing him.

No weapons were recovered from Shaver’s body, but officers found two pellet rifles in the hotel room, which they later determined were related to his pest control job, police said.

Maricopa County prosecutors and Mesa police have declined to release video of the shooting from Brailsford’s body camera.
http://ktar.com/story/989850/report-mes ... e-officer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The feds have resumed a controversial program that lets cops take stuff and keep it
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won ... ness_pop_b" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson is tired of “the corporate interests that we go abroad to slay monsters for.”

As the former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Wilkerson played an important role in the George W. Bush administration. In the years since, however, the former Bush official has established himself as a prominent critic of U.S. foreign policy.

“I think Smedley Butler was onto something,” explained Lawrence Wilkerson, in an extended interview with Salon.
http://www.salon.com/2016/03/29/we_are_ ... l_complex/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...duh....its not rocket science...

Between January 2010 and February 2015, the Defense Department donated roughly $858 million worth of real property to the Afghan government through the transition of military bases it operated in Afghanistan over the course of the war, a government watchdog agency said Monday.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... nment.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dunford: Military Has Significant Readiness Problem Across the Board
http://freebeacon.com/national-security ... the-board/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials say the Pentagon will be deploying an armored brigade combat team to Eastern Europe next February as part of the ongoing effort to rotate troops in and out of the region to reassure allies worried about threats from an increasingly aggressive Russia.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... urope.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran's Future Is In Missiles, Not Dialogue, And Anyone Who Says Otherwise Is "Ignorant Traitor": Ayatollah
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-3 ... traitor-ay" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Britain Wants to Hunt Submarines with These American Planes
http://www.defensetech.org/2016/03/28/b ... an-planes/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Revealed: Decorated Nazi commander became Mossad assasin
http://intelnews.org/2016/03/29/01-1878/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

March 2, 2016 — Early yesterday, in a federal courtroom in St. Paul, Minnesota, a defense attorney named Robert Richman uttered a sentence he once thought he might never get to say, and one that I thought I’d never hear. “Your honor, we call Paul Calder Le Roux.” On March 10, The Atavist Magazine will launch “The Mastermind,” a seven-week series following Le Roux’s rise, his downfall, and his turn as a U.S. informant.
https://mastermind.atavist.com/global-c ... appearance" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks to fracking, Oklahoma and Texas are now as earthquake-prone as California
http://boingboing.net/2016/03/29/oklaho ... -eart.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...the depth of the fracking makes a world of difference....

Vaxxed Official Documentary Trailer (vaccine coverup exposure)
http://www.vaxxedthemovie.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Madagascar, the African island nation that's one of the world's leading vanilla-bean producers, experienced a poor harvest in the past year, according to reports from Bloomberg News and The Guardian. The price of vanilla beans has more than tripled, according to Bloomberg , which cited data from Cook Flavoring Company. Cook says that high-end vanilla now goes for $250 a kilogram versus $80 a year ago.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/bus ... /82390742/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We’re also keeping an eye on a fairly classic set-up for early-spring severe weather in the nation’s midsection, especially from around Kansas City to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. At midday Tuesday, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center was calling for a slight risk of severe weather on Wednesday over much of the southern and central Great Plains, shifting on Thursday into the central Gulf Coast area. The chance of a major tornado outbreak did not appear large, given the moderate amounts of instability expected and a tendency toward southwest winds at most levels, which would tend to reduce vertical wind shear. Early-morning storms on Wednesday may also cut back on daytime heating. Still, it’s late March, and all of the ingredients should be present for the full gamut of severe weather, including tornadoes in some areas. SPC noted in its Tuesday update that the risk for Wednesday could be upgraded in subsequent outlooks.
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffM ... o-seasonal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

FBI investigating reports of Middle Eastern men firing hundreds of shots in Apple Valley
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WASHINGTON -- Working to display a united front, the United States and key Asian countries will seek Thursday to put more pressure on North Korea as world leaders open a nuclear security summit in Washington. President Barack Obama, the summit's host, will also seek to smooth over tensions with China over cybersecurity and maritime disputes as he and President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines. The summit also offers Obama his last major chance to focus global attention on disparate nuclear security threats before his term ends early next year.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... hreat.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BEIRUT -- The United States on Thursday delivered three military helicopters to Lebanon to help the country's armed forces in their battle against extremists near the border with Syria. Thursday's delivery of three Huey II helicopters raises to 10 the number of such U.S.-made aircraft in Lebanon's fleet.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... rs-us.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russia vows ‘totally asymmetrical’ response to major US troop build-up in Europe
https://www.rt.com/news/337818-russia-n ... -response/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Terror threat: Bomb alert at Sweden's second-largest airport, 'suspicious' plastic bags found
https://www.rt.com/news/337869-explosio ... andvetter/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Twenty years ago, a newspaper headline asked the question: “What’s the difference between a politician and a psychopath?” The answer, then and now, remains the same: None. There is no difference between psychopaths and politicians. Nor is there much of a difference between the havoc wreaked on innocent lives by uncaring, unfeeling, selfish, irresponsible, parasitic criminals and elected officials who lie to their constituents, trade political favors for campaign contributions, turn a blind eye to the wishes of the electorate, cheat taxpayers out of hard-earned dollars, favor the corporate elite, entrench the military industrial complex, and spare little thought for the impact their thoughtless actions and hastily passed legislation might have on defenseless citizens.

Once psychopaths gain power, the result is usually some form of totalitarian government or a pathocracy. “At that point, the government operates against the interests of its own people except for favoring certain groups,” author James G. Long notes. “We are currently witnessing deliberate polarizations of American citizens, illegal actions, and massive and needless acquisition of debt. This is typical of psychopathic systems, and very similar things happened in the Soviet Union as it overextended and collapsed.” In other words, electing a psychopath to public office is tantamount to national hara-kiri, the ritualized act of self-annihilation, self-destruction and suicide. It signals the demise of democratic government and lays the groundwork for a totalitarian regime that is legalistic, militaristic, inflexible, intolerant and inhuman.
https://www.rutherford.org/publications ... psychopath" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Saudi tourist brings four gold cars worth more than £1m to London
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03 ... to-london/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A massive leak of confidential documents has for the first time exposed the true extent of corruption within the oil industry, implicating dozens of leading companies, bureaucrats and politicians in a sophisticated global web of bribery and graft. After a six-month investigation across two continents, Fairfax Media and The Huffington Post can reveal that billions of dollars of government contracts were awarded as the direct result of bribes paid on behalf of firms including British icon Rolls-Royce, US giant Halliburton, Australia’s Leighton Holdings and Korean heavyweights Samsung and Hyundai. The investigation centres on a Monaco company called Unaoil, run by the jet-setting Ahsani clan. Following a coded ad in a French newspaper, a series of clandestine meetings and midnight phone calls led to our reporters obtaining hundreds of thousands of the Ahsanis’ leaked emails and documents.

The leaked files expose as corrupt two Iraqi oil ministers, a fixer linked to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, senior officials from Libya’s Gaddafi regime, Iranian oil figures, powerful officials in the United Arab Emirates and a Kuwaiti operator known as “the big cheese”. Western firms involved in Unaoil’s Middle East operation include some of the world’s wealthiest and most respected companies: Rolls-Royce and Petrofac from Britain; US companies FMC Technologies, Cameron and Weatherford; Italian giants Eni and Saipem; German companies MAN Turbo (now know as MAN Diesal & Turbo) and Siemens; Dutch firm SBM Offshore; and Indian giant Larsen & Toubro. They also show the offshore arm of Australian company Leighton Holdings was involved in serious, calculated corruption.
http://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2016/ ... world.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

While Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, Saudi Aramco, remains the world’s undisputed production leader, Western and Russian companies have added far more production over the past few years. The biggest contributor to new global oil production has been the U.S., where the shale oil boom added more than 4 million bpd of new production since 2010. In total, about two dozen countries expanded their oil production over the past five years, including Saudi Arabia, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait and Russia. On a corporate basis, many of the companies responsible for the production increase are on our list of the World’s 25 Largest Public Oil and Gas Companies. Russian companies dominate the top of the list, which is based on the most recently published production data, accounting for more production than any other region.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/201 ... companies/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Since 1980 China has gone from producing 5% of the world’s steel to making more than half of it – just over 800m tonnes.
http://www.edmundconway.com/2016/03/ste ... r-trouble/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China’s Shanghai Composite Index is closing out the first quarter as the world’s worst-performing global measure, down 15%, with a rebound in March failing to compensate for a terrible start to the year. Here are some key metrics that may show this month’s 12% recovery may extend into April, including growth in margin lending, a jump in the number of new investors and easing volatility. Leverage is increasing, suggesting individual investors are slowly regaining confidence after getting burned last year. The value of outstanding margin loans, the fuel for the 2015 boom, is up about 6% to about 874 billion yuan ($135 billion) since touching a 15-month low on March 16. A state-backed agency restarted offering some loans to brokerages to fund clients’ borrowed bets, signaling a loosening of policies put in place to stem the market rout. Almost 60% of the 240 Shanghai-listed companies with full-year earnings estimates compiled by Bloomberg have missed projections so far.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -in-charts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China’s biggest banks posted their lowest annual profit growth in a decade, as bad loans mount in an ailing economy that is pushing lenders toward riskier avenues of expansion. Three major banks that reported 2015 results on Wednesday said they wrote off 142 billion yuan ($21.85 billion) in irrecoverable debt last year, 1.4 times the volume in 2014, an indication that their customers—many of them state-owned industrial companies—are struggling to repay loans. Profits for the three banks were nearly flat, compared with industry growth rates of close to 40% just three years ago. On Wednesday, China’s largest bank by assets, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, posted 0.5% profit growth to 277.1 billion yuan ($42.65 billion) for 2015. Credit is souring so fast that commercial lenders are having a hard time expanding capital provisions to keep pace. Slowing profit growth has forced many Chinese banks, especially midsize lenders, to invest aggressively in shadow-banking assets such as trust and wealth-management products. Such holdings, termed “investment receivables,” are opaque cocktails of high-yield assets that could jeopardize liquidity should banks need to offload them if markets turn turbulent, analysts say.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-bank ... 1459342494" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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China’s eighth-largest investment bank, has defaulted on a Kong Kong-traded renminbi bond, according to a document seen by the Financial Times, marking the first debt breach by a state-owned enterprise in China’s offshore bond market in nearly two decades. The technical default by Guosen’s Hong Kong affiliate puts at risk a Rmb38m ($5.9m) coupon payment due April 24 on Rmb1.2bn in “dim sum” bonds sold in 2014. Guosen Securities (HK) Financial Holdings, has struggled to gain a foothold in Hong Kong’s capital markets, where foreign and mainland banks compete on a more level playing field. A special purpose vehicle owned by Guosen (HK) issued the bonds in April 2014 at an interest rate of 6.4%.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/348c6158-f6ac ... a263d.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Purchases by foreigners, many with a connection to China, helped drive an almost 55% jump in home prices across Australia’s capital cities in the past seven years as mortgage rates dropped to five-decade lows. The median Sydney home price reached a record A$800,000 in October, according to research firm CoreLogic data. It has since fallen after a regulatory clampdown led to a slowdown in mortgages to landlords and the first increase in borrowing costs in five years.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... arents-aid" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Repo Rate Soars Most Since September 2008
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-3 ... ember-2008" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

REVEALED: World’s Largest News Agency Worked with Hitler to Feed Americans Nazi Propaganda
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/reveal ... on-hitler/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Revealed: how Associated Press cooperated with the Nazis
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/m ... scharnberg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...hardly a blipit on Jade Helm II that is currently in operation....cointel did their job last year hyping it beyond proportion and now nobody cares anymore...

Forget Jade Helm 15, Sheeple, and Get Ready For UWEX 16
http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/forg ... 16-7761090" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jade Helm 2? UWEX 16 covert military operation in Texas looking for civilian actors
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas ... 627386.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No one cares about UWEX 16, aka Jade Helm 2
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/ ... lm-2.html/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Arrivals of refugees and migrants to Greece from Turkey rose sharply on Wednesday, just over a week since the European Union and Turkey struck a deal intended to cut off the flow. Greek authorities recorded 766 new arrivals between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, up from 192 the previous day. Most arrived on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesvos. Italy reported an even larger jump in arrivals on Tuesday, when officials there said 1,350 people – mostly from Africa – were rescued from small boats taking the longer migration route over the Mediterranean as the weather warmed up. The EU Commission said on Tuesday that the flows in the last week had reduced, with only 1,000 people arriving from Turkey on Greek islands, compared to an average of 2,000 a day in the last couple of months.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/207459/arti ... urkey-deal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In a stark reminder of the entrenched problems facing the French economy, today police used tear gas to disperse thousands of angry activists across the nation, who are protesting new labor reforms. French rail and air traffic suffered serious disruption on Thursday after transport staff stopped work and took to the streets along with high-school students to challenge plans for a pro-business loosening of the country's protective labor laws.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-3 ... rn-violent" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China unveils world’s longest-range nuclear weapon capable of hitting anywhere on earth - The DF-41 has gone through extensive testing with at least five trials since 2014. The impressive equipment is slated to be ready for service by the end of the year and heralds a huge advancement in China's military prowess. The DF-41, with an operational range of up to 9,000miles (14,500km), has entered its final test phase, according to Canada-based Kanwa Asian Defence. The missile could easily hit US military bases in the Pacific or mainland targets on both the east and west coast of the US. China's latest addition to its arsenal helps transform its military from a low-tech, land-based operation to a modern fighting force which can compete with global superpowers - namely Russia and the US.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/657 ... -this-year" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

North Korea has claimed it is preparing to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the U.S., after claiming its warheads are capable of reaching Manhattan.The country's Foreign Minister warned that the North Korean army has been ordered to move from preparing for potential military response to attacks on the country - to preparing to launch their own. Foreign Minister Lee Su-yong extended the threat to its neighbors in the south, adding that 'the Korean peninsula faces the dilemma: a thermonuclear war or peace'.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... st-US.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Study: most food cans contain the chemical BPA
http://wiat.com/2016/03/31/study-most-f ... mical-bpa/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(NaturalNews) As news of an illegal vaccine distribution scandal in China continues to emerge, outraged citizens are demanding to know why the government waited so long to inform the public that their children were at risk.

According to the government, an illegal vaccine ring in operation since 2011, distributed $88 million worth of vaccines that had expired or been improperly refrigerated. This placed all children who got the shots at risk of disability or death. It is not known how many children were harmed by the illegal vaccines.

The government has known about the ring since April 2015, but did not announce its knowledge until this March.
http://www.naturalnews.com/053467_vacci ... ocide.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A flyover under construction in the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) has collapsed, killing at least 20 people and injuring nearly 100. A number of people are feared trapped under the concrete and steel bridge, which fell on a busy road.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35933452" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rand Paul Says He Has A "Major Announcement To Make Tomorrow"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-3 ... e-tomorrow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...after Trump's breakup party turned into a campaign success Hillary is probably trying to recruit Rand now to break up the Republican side and slow down the Donald...

NOAA forecasters estimate a 45% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on April 1st when a CIR is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. CIRs (co-rotating interaction regions) are transition zones between fast- and slow-moving solar wind streams. Density gradients and shock waves inside CIRs do a good job sparking auroras.
http://www.spaceweather.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
More severe weather is in store for Thursday and Friday after tornadoes hopskotched near and east of Tulsa on Thursday and flooding rains inundated other areas. A damage survey was underway in northeast Oklahoma on Tuesday morning in the wake of the tornadoes, which caused at least seven injuries and damaged a number of structures. One of the twisters was visible from Tulsa International Airport (see video here, from Twitter user Brandyn). In its roundup of severe weather reports from Wednesday, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) listed four preliminary tornado reports from the storm near Tulsa, along with two other reports from southeast Kansas and southeast Arkansas.

The greasest threat for severe weather Thursday afternoon and evening is across northern Mississippi, northwest Alabama, and western Tennessee, where the 11:30 am CDT outlook from SPC is calling for an enhanced risk of severe weather (Figure 1). An outflow boundary from previous storms is stretched east-west across northern MS and AL. As upper-level energy approaches, this boundary will serve to enhanced vertical wind shear, and a strong tornado or two could develop in supercells that form near the boundary. The upper-level trough and associated cold front will slide across the central Gulf Coast on Friday, leading to a continued risk of severe weather in that area--primarily high winds and large hail, together with heavy rain. Severe storms are also possible northward along the cold front to the mid-Atlantic, particularly in the Piedmont of Virginia and North Carolina if temperatures warm enough there on Friday.

Wettest March on record for Memphis, Little Rock
Today’s rains will serve as a capstone to a March that already ranks among the wettest on record for states bordering the lower Mississippi River. As of midnight Wednesday night, Memphis, TN, was sitting at 13.78” for the month. This already beats the previous March record of 13.04” from the region’s devastating spring of 1927, which brought the worst river flood in our nation’s history. Memphis records go back to 1872. In Little Rock, AR, an even 4.00” on Wednesday led to widespread flooding across the area. Little Rock has now racked up its wettest March by far since records began in 1875, with 12.22” this month beating out 10.43” (1897). Both Memphis and Little Rock will have added to their March totals before the day and month are done; Memphis will go up by at least 2.00” based on rains that had already fallen by midday Thursday.

Widespread freeze damage possible next week across East
Early April may bring a cruel surprise to many trees and shrubs that popped into premature bloom over the last several weeks across the Northeast. It finally dipped below freezing on Wednesday morning in Baltimore and in areas just west of I-95. However, from New York southward, it’s still been nearly a month since most of the urban corridor has seen a hard freeze. In New York and Philadelphia, the last temperature below 32°F was back on March 5, although Central Park touched 32° on March 20 and 21. During the 1981-2010 climatological period, the average date for the final reading of 31°F or colder in Central Park was on March 13. Making matters worse--though it seemed pleasant enough at the time--was the spell of record-smashing mid-March warmth that sent temperatures into the low 80s in parts of New York and New England.
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffM ... -northeast" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

China’s Anbang Insurance said on Thursday it has abandoned its $14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, paving the way for Marriott International to buy the Sheraton and Westin hotels operator. The surprise withdrawal marks an anticlimactic end to a bidding war that had pitted Marriott’s ambitions to create the world’s largest lodging company, with about 5,700 hotels, against Anbang’s drive to create a vast portfolio of U.S. real estate assets. It also represents a blow to corporate China’s growing ambitions to acquire U.S. assets. Anbang’s acquisition of Starwood would have been the largest takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese buyer.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-starw ... SKCN0WX2PE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China owns the Canadian real estate market: Chinese account for one-third of all Vancouver home sales volume in 2015.
http://www.mybudget360.com/china-invest ... investors/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Asian stocks headed for the biggest decline in seven weeks as Japanese corporate sentiment deteriorated and a broad-based selloff from consumer discretionary stocks to healthcare engulfed the region’s equities markets.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -jobs-data" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Hong Kong’s retail sales in February have plunged the most since 1999 as fewer Chinese tourists visited the city during the Lunar New Year holiday. Retail sales dropped 21% in February to HK$37 billion ($4.8 billion) year on year, according to a statement from Hong Kong’s statistics department. Combining January and February, sales fell 14%. The monthly decline is the worst since January 1999 when sales were also down 21%.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... n-17-years" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

S&P Lowers Outlook on China’s Credit Rating to Negative
http://www.wsj.com/articles/s-p-lowers- ... 1459427395" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russian Economy Shrunk 3.7 Percent Last Year
http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-eco ... 48891.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Britain’s current account deficit is the worst ever recorded in peace-time since the Bank of England started collecting records in 1772 under the reign of George III. Even during the grimmest moments of the First World War it only slightly exceeded the eye-watering figure of 7pc of GDP racked up in the fourth quarter of last year. No other country in the OECD club is close to this. It has been getting worse for the last four years in a row. Excuses are running thin. The Government can no longer blame the double-dip recession in the eurozone, our biggest export market. Europe has been recovering for three years and is currently enjoying as much growth as it is ever likely to see. The UK deficit is prima facie evidence of a nation living beyond its means, reliant on foreign capital to fund consumption. People are running through savings and taking on debt to fund their lifestyles and buy new cars. They are expected to spend £58bn more than they earn this year, rising to £68bn by the end of the decade. This roughly mirrors what was happening just before the 2007 financial crisis when people were treating their homes as a cash machine, drawing down £50bn a year in home equity. Events were to show brutally that this was not benign.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/201 ... it-in-his/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The U.K. once made nearly half the world’s steel. Soon it may produce almost none. Tata Steel plans to sell its U.K. business which include the country’s last blast furnace sites in Scunthorpe and Port Talbot. Used to turn iron ore into steel, these giant plants are the focus of the entire industry. They are also the assets that may prove the most difficult to unload, according to at least one potential buyer. Should Tata’s plants follow Redcar, shut last year, the U.K. would become the first member of the Group of Seven leading economies to operate no blast furnaces.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... king-steel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Steel demand in China is shrinking for the first time in a generation as growth slows and policy makers seek to steer the economy toward consumption. Faced with declining sales at home, mills in the top producer – which accounts for half of global supply – have shipped record volumes overseas, heightening competition from Europe to the U.S. Tata Steel Ltd. in India said this week it’s planning to sell off its loss-making U.K. plants, prompting Prime Minister David Cameron to call crisis talks on Thursday. The steel industry is set for a “severe winter,” Angang said, describing the market that it and others faced as complex. Output of steel by the country’s fourth-biggest producer contracted 4.4% last year, and the company is seeking to reduce costs and boost efficiency, it said. Benchmark steel prices sank 31% in China last year, pummeling mills’ margins and spurring the government to step up efforts to force the industry to shut overcapacity and shift workers to other jobs.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... eel-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What is the Eurozone if not a new gold standard, lacking even the flexibility to readjust the peg? For the war reparations demanded at Versailles, or the war debts owed by France and the UK to the US, we see the huge debts owed by the South of Europe to the North, particularly Germany. The growth model of the Eurozone now appears to be based largely on running a current account surplus. Competitive devaluation is required to make exports relatively cheap. While this may have been a very successful policy for Germany during a period of high economic growth in the rest of the world, it cannot work in the beggar-thy-neighbour demand-starved world economy of today.
http://www.coppolacomment.com/2016/03/a ... er-in.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In March the US economy added a healthy 215K jobs, beating expectations and more importantly, pushing the average hourly earnings up by 0.3% on the month. Which, however, is curious because a cursory look at the job additions in the month reveals that nearly two-third of all jobs, and the three top categories of all job additions, were once again all minimum wages jobs.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 ... -continues" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NY set to approve $15 wage minimum wage plan
http://poststar.com/ap/business/ny-set- ... 52e42.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

California lawmakers approve hiking minimum wage to $15
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bill-hiking- ... iness.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chicago Teachers, Workers Come Together for 'Unprecedented' Strike for Public Funding
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/0 ... ic-funding" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More than 500,000 Americans receiving food stamp benefits will no longer qualify for them beginning on April 1. This is a result of government requirements linking the assistance to an individual’s ability to find a job and work.
https://www.rt.com/usa/337926-americans ... -benefits/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Flood insurance rates set to increase April 1
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/pe ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Eminent domain is a tough pill to swallow for Americans who take their property rights very seriously, and the aggressive moves by Sabal Trail to seize property for a natural gas pipeline running through three southern states is turning into a drama of immense proportions.

Sabal Trail, the joint venture planning to build a 500-mile natural gas pipeline through Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, has gone to court in order to secure the right of way through the land where the pipeline should pass.

So far, Sabal Trail has filed 160 eminent domain suits and more are expected, according to a report by the Orlando Sentinel. The company is desperately trying to get the right of way through 346 more properties, though it says it has already secured the agreement of 1,248 landowners in the area along the route.
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/ ... tates.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With US crude production starting to drop, the lagged plunge in oil rig counts appears to be having some effect. Baker Hughes reports that the number of US oil rigs dropped 10 to 362 (14th weekly drop of last 15), the lowest since Nov 2009. The total rig count tumbled 14 to 450, fresh record 41-year lows. Crude was leaking lower into the data and rose modestly after.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 ... -year-lows" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Saudi Arabia Plans $2 Trillion Megafund for Post-Oil Era: Deputy Crown Prince
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... its-rivals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Saudi Arabia will only freeze its oil output if Iran and other major producers do so, the kingdom’s deputy crown prince said, challenging the country’s main regional rival to take an active role in stabilizing the over-supplied global crude market.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... joins-plan" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Police Raid Offices Of Monaco Firm Accused Of Bribing World's Oil Producers
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 ... -producers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Feds left 'explosives' material aboard school bus after training exercises, parents told
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/04/01/fe ... cmp=hplnws" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not April Fools — CIA Admittedly Leaves C-4 Expolsives on School Bus Transporting Kids
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cia-ad ... ting-kids/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Albuquerque, NM — The city of Albuquerque has paid out a settlement in the amount of $6.5 million this week, to one of their own officers who was repeatedly shot by a fellow cop. As we previously reported, Officer Jacob Grant was critically wounded after being shot multiple times by Lieutenant Greg Brachle during an undercover drug bust. Both officers were undercover at the time of the shooting.
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/horrif ... meth-bust/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Murder charges filed against six mobsters were dropped by the Canadian government Wednesday in order to keep details on cell phone surveillance technology concealed.
http://www.infowars.com/canadian-govern ... ngray-use/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Victims suffering side effects from cervical cancer vaccines that were once recommended by the government announced Wednesday they will file a lawsuit against the state and drugmakers. “Many victims are still suffering from side effects of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines Cervarix and Gardsil, which include overall pain and disorders of perception, movement and memory,” lawyer Masumi Minaguchi, a representative from the planned lawsuit’s defense team told a news conference in Tokyo. Minaguchi said the victims will file the suit sometime after June against the central government, GlaxoSmithKlien PLC, the maker of Cervarix, and Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., the maker of Gardsil, at four district courts in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/0 ... Vvw-AvkrJD_" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

New Mexico Bans Forced Psychiatric Drugging of Children
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/he ... f-children" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Canada will take in an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees, adding to the more than 25,000 already received in the last few months, said immigration minister John McCallum.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/m ... n-mccallum" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Turkish security forces have shot dead refugees escaping from the Syrian conflict, according to reports. UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights alleged 16 people seeking sanctuary in Turkey have been shot over the past four months. They said those killed included three children.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 60971.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Turkey has illegally returned thousands of Syrians to their war-torn homeland in recent months, highlighting the dangers for migrants sent back from Europe under a deal due to come into effect next week, Amnesty International said on Friday. Turkey agreed with the EU this month to take back all migrants and refugees who cross illegally to Greece in exchange for financial aid, faster visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated EU membership talks. But the legality of the deal hinges on Turkey being a safe country of asylum, which Amnesty said in its report was clearly not the case. It said it was likely that several thousand refugees had been sent back to Syria in mass returns in the past seven to nine weeks, flouting Turkish, EU and international law.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europ ... SKCN0WY33A" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As Greece prepares to deport an initial 500 migrants and refugees on Monday under a controversial agreement between the EU and Turkey, senior Greek officials say the pressure to process applications quickly has become too great, at the expense of legal and ethical standards.
https://www.irinnews.org/news/2016/03/3 ... king-point" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A senior French politician has revealed that the tax laws of France entitle a citizen to make a charitable, tax-deductible donation to the Israeli army. As the French politician Nathalie Goulet observes: “This represents a tax benefit by the French taxpayer for the benefit of a foreign army.”
http://truepublica.org.uk/global/france ... aeli-army/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

France: Exodus of 10,000 millionaires amid rising Muslim tensions - According to the report, Millionaire migration in 2015, France topped the list of countries with maximum millionaire outflows as it lost 10,000 millionaires, or 3% of its millionaire population. Among the cities that saw maximum millionaire outflow, Paris, was at the top – losing about 6% of its millionaire population or 7,000 millionaires in 2015 to the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and Israel.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/france-sees-mi ... se-1552423" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Malaysian PM Spent $130,000 In Embezzled Money At Hawaii Chanel Store ... Then Met Obama For 18 Holes. All told, Najib looks to have blown at least $15 million during the time period in question on “clothes, jewelry, and cars”. Of course any US taxpayers reading this shouldn't get too angry with Najib. After all, Obama spent more than $8 million on the very same Hawaii trip mentioned above.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 ... ma-18-hole" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

Central Bank President Nelson Merentes claims a new US$ 5 billion credit is about to be signed, but that creditors are demanding that a joint venture between Venezuela and Canada, aimed at exploiting the Orinoco Mining Arc gold reserve, must be established within 30 days. He says the 111,000 kilometer area is one of the best guarantees the nation has to offer.
http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/eco ... ones_11122" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The legislative commission investigating the disappearance of a group of gold miners this month in Southeastern Venezuela has received reports that another 10 miners were apparently slain as well. “We have received 10 reports about 10 different missing persons from 10 different mining areas” in Bolivar state, where murdering miners “is a common practice,” opposition lawmaker Americo de Grazia said.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?Article ... ryId=10717" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Last month, the National Assembly’s Comptroller Committee launched an investination into the FOREX allocation system, reviewing “suspicious” food and medicine imports for a total US$ 230 billion under the CADIVI (now CENCOEX) system from 2003 to 2014, Committee Chairman Freddy Guevara says “the closest estimate is that phantom companies have stolen up to US$ 300 billion…in PDVSA alone we have estimated over US$ 10 billion; and we calculate US$ 25 billion in CENCOEX, as was reported by former Chavez Planning Minister Jorge Giordani…the issue within the electricity sector we believe is over US$ 60 billion. Also in the Economic and Social Development Bank, the Sino-Venezuelan Fund, and the National Development Fund it is estimated that fraudulent operstions can be more tan US$ 100 billion”.
http://www.portafolio.co/internacional/ ... ano-493217" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Venezuelan Government Admits Failure of Holy Week Energy-Saving Plan. “I have to be very sincere – it didn’t have the hoped-for results, which is to say, we believed and calculated that during Holy Week we would have a considerable reduction” of energy use, but it didn’t turn out that way, said the deputy minister of electrical energy, Freddy Brito.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?Article ... ryId=10717" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A policeman and a policewoman were killed and four other officers injured during a violent protest in San Cristobal, the capital of Tachira state in the Venezuelan Andes during a protest against a nationwide increase in bus fares. The officers died during disturbances at the La Concordia bus terminal in the city of San Cristobal, police said on Twitter. The police officers were run over by a bus that had been commandeered by hooded protesters known as “encapuchados”, according to a tweet from Tachira state police. “Police were cordoning off the area to prevent encapuchados from attacking private vehicles,” one Tachira police tweet read.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?Article ... ryId=10717" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

North Korea fired another short-range missile off its east coast on Friday, South Korean officials said, as regional leaders met in Washington to discuss the threat of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. The launch came as the South Korean coast guard reported that around 70 fishing vessels had been forced back to port after GPS navigation issues caused by North Korean radio-wave jamming.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... stems.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Kim Jong-un has labelled China a 'detested enemy', in the wake of Beijing agreeing to implement the latest UN restrictions against North Korea. A government document believed to have been sent out to a majority of the population, urges all North Koreans to 'crush China's pressuring schemes with the force of a nuclear storm'. This comes as President Barack Obama met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday, and both called for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... nukes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Beijing's defence ministry on Thursday warned the US Navy to "be careful" in the South China Sea and slammed a newly signed agreement between Washington and the Philippines.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... a-sea.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A Marine artillery unit in northern Iraq has continued to come under sporadic attack while supporting Iraqi troops since Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin was killed eight and others were wounded on March 19 by ISIS rocket fire, a top coalition commander said Thursday.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... -iraq.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Believe it or not, the Iraqi army is on the verge of launching an attack on ISIS-held Mosul. The city - home to millions of Iraqis - is Bakr al-Baghdadi's most important urban stronghold. Raqqa is the ISIS "capital", but it's easier to command. Mosul is a major city with a population that numbers in the millions. If ISIS were to lose its grip there, it would almost surely mark the beginning of the end for the self-styled "caliphate." Over the past three weeks, Mosul has come under pressure from Russian-backed Shiite militias, US-supported Iraqi regulars, and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who at this point have no idea who is on their side and who isn't.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 ... arian-feud" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- Air National Guard F-15Cs and airmen are headed to Europe to augment U.S. forces on the Continent, part of ongoing efforts to boost peace and stability in the region while deterring Russian aggression in eastern Europe. They are deploying as a Theater Security Package in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, with the airmen expected to remain in Europe for about six months.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... force.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Why I’m for Bernie Sanders - Oliver Stone
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/oliver-st ... 459369253=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

State Dept suspends review into 'top secret' Clinton emails - WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has suspended its internal review into whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or her top aides mishandled emails containing information now deemed 'top secret." Spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said Friday the department had paused the review to avoid interfering with an ongoing FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a private server while she was America's top diplomat. She said the decision was made after the department sought the FBI's advice on how to proceed with the review and received word that it should follow its standard practice. Trudeau said the department's standard practice is to place internal reviews "on hold while there is an ongoing law enforcement investigation underway." An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/55cc50a7 ... ton-emails" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How to Hack an Election
http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016- ... -election/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Survival by Chicken: What a Few Backyard Birds Can Do For You in a Crisis
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/surviv ... you-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Sakurajima volcano erupted in southern Japan Friday morning, causing its highest ash cloud in almost a year.
https://www.rt.com/viral/338050-sakuraj ... ash-cloud/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
NOAA forecasters estimate a 45% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on April 1st when a CIR is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. CIRs (co-rotating interaction regions) are transition zones between fast- and slow-moving solar wind streams. Density gradients and shock waves inside CIRs often do a good job sparking auroras.
http://www.spaceweather.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A nearly 10 degree long, curved filament centered near S25W65 erupted along a SW vector between 31/0020-0110 UTC as visible in GONG-H/alpha and SDO AIA imagery. The associated CME, first visible at 31/0125 UTC in SOHO/LASCO C-2 imagery, was modeled and showed a clear miss to the west and south of Earths orbit.
http://www.solarham.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

Alibaba Surpasses Walmart As Largest Retail Company In The World
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 ... pany-world" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Chinese buyers, by and large, are far more indebted than the firms they are acquiring. Of the deals announced since the start of 2015, the median debt-to-equity ratio of Chinese buyers has been 71%, compared with 44% for the foreign targets, according to The Economist’s analysis of S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Cash cushions are generally also much thinner for Chinese buyers: their liquid assets are roughly a quarter lower than their immediate liabilities. The forbearance of their creditors makes these heavy debts more bearable in China than they would be elsewhere. But the Chinese buyers are financially stretched, all the same. Where, then, are they getting the money for the deals? For many, the answer is yet more debt. Chinese banks see lending to Chinese firms abroad as a safe way of gaining more international exposure.

For the buyers, there are two strong financial rationales for the deals, albeit ones that highlight distortions in the Chinese market. First, debt-funded buyouts can actually make their debt burdens more tolerable. Take the case of Zoomlion, a construction-equipment maker with 83 times more debt than it earns before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. It wants to buy Terex, an American rival with debt just 3.5 times larger than its earnings, for $3.4 billion. Even if the purchase consists entirely of borrowed cash, the combined entity would still have a debt-to-earnings multiple of roughly 18, a marked improvement for Zoomlion.
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-a ... money-bags" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At a recent workshop hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan U.S. think tank, participants—35 or so academic economists, Wall Street professionals and geopolitical strategists—lined up around three different growth scenarios for China. Only 31% chose the optimistic one, defined as 4% to 6% annual growth, dependent on leaders successfully implementing reforms; 61% foresaw a “lost decade” of 1% to 3% growth; the rest thought a so-called hard-landing, or contraction, was most likely. Of course it wasn’t a scientific survey, but what’s interesting is that apparently nobody considered the possibility that the Chinese government could deliver on its promise of “medium to fast” growth, meaning 6.5% or higher.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-bulls ... 1459829989" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
For the first time since the Great Depression, the world is in a global liquidity trap. The unintended consequence of many central banks pushing negative interest rate policy is conjuring deflationary headwinds, stronger currencies, and slower growth — the exact opposite of what struggling economies need. But when monetary policy is the only game in town, negative rates are likely to beget even more negative rates, creating a perverse cycle with important implications for investors.

There is a strong argument that when rates go negative it squeezes the speed at which money circulates through the economy, commonly referred to by economists as the velocity of money. We are already seeing this happen in Japan where citizens are clamouring for 10,000-yen bills (and home safes to store them in). People are taking their money out of the banking system to stuff it under their metaphorical mattresses. This may sound extreme, but whether paper money is stashed in home safes or moved into transaction substitutes or other stores of value like gold, the point is it’s not circulating in the economy.

The empirical data support this view — the velocity of money has declined precipitously as policymakers have moved aggressively to reduce rates. A decline in the velocity of money increases deflationary pressure. Each dollar (or yen or euro) generates less and less economic activity, so policymakers must pump more money into the system to generate growth. As consumers watch prices decline, they defer purchases, reducing consumption and slowing growth. Deflation also lifts real interest rates, which drives currency values higher. In today’s mercantilist, beggar-thy-neighbour world of global trade, a strong currency is a headwind to exports. Obviously, this is not the desired outcome of policymakers. But as central banks grasp for new, stimulative tools, they end up pushing on an ever-lengthening piece of string.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bb620cac-fb28 ... b613b.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Global bond yields fell to a record, a warning sign on the worldwide economy. The yield on the Bank of America Global Broad Market Index plunged to 1.3%, the lowest level in almost 20 years of data.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... rning-sign" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda stressed on Tuesday his readiness to expand monetary policy still further, saying that market moves would be key factors the central bank would examine in deciding when and how it might next expand stimulus.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan ... SKCN0X202B" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One of the epicenters of the global financial crisis that started during the second half of last year is Japan, and it looks like the markets in the land of the rising sun are entering yet another period of great turmoil. The Nikkei was down another 390 points last night, and it is now down more than 1,300 points since a week ago. Why this is so important for U.S. investors is because the Nikkei is often an early warning indicator of where the rest of the global markets are heading. For example, the Nikkei started crashing early last December about a month before U.S. markets started crashing really hard in early January. So the fact that the Nikkei has been falling very rapidly in recent days should be a huge red flag for investors in this country. The third largest economy on the entire planet is in a comatose state at this point, and Japanese authorities have been throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it in an attempt to revive it. Government stimulus programs have pushed the debt to GDP ratio to 229 percent, and the quantitative easing that the Bank of Japan has been engaged in has made the Federal Reserve look timid by comparison. I would keep a very close eye on the big banks in Japan. It is my conviction that there is a lot more brewing under the surface than we are being told about so far.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch ... rising-sun" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When taking into account the “money creation” functions of banking, it becomes clear that the USA and most advanced economies as well as many emerging economies have joined Japan in being balance-sheet constrained, and face their own “lost decade” as a consequence of low credit growth.
http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2016 ... st-decade/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Since 2007-2008, the globally intertwined and dependent fiscal system has suffered considerable declines in every conceivable area. Manufacturing around the world is in a slump, from Japan to China to Europe, with the minimal manufacturing accomplished in the U.S. also fading. Consumption is falling, most notably in petroleum and raw materials. Employment is truly dismal, with the U.S. posting over 94 million people as “non-participants” in the national work force. As anyone with any economic sense knows, you cannot have a faltering consumer sector in which people are buying less and force companies to pay their employees far more per hour than the job is worth. Those companies will simply lay off more employees, cut hours or shut down entire branches of their operation in order to maintain their profit margins. Either that, or those companies will go out of business.

Something has changed recently, though. Why, for example, did the Fed go against its long-time mandate of manipulating equities into positive territory and commit to the taper of QE3? Why did they then later commit to hiking interest rates, causing a massive downturn in stocks from December to February?

The jawboning of stocks in March back from the brink actually tells us a lot in terms of the central bank’s intentions. First, it tells us that the Fed does not intend to use tools such as rate cuts and stimulus measures to buy back market optimism. Rather, they are relying solely on investor faith that central banks are not going to leave them high and dry. They have decided to use manipulative language alone, rather than the manipulative monetary policy we have grown accustomed to.

Second, the action of the Fed in raising rates has torn away the veil and shown the public stocks truly cannot survive without central bank support. The moment the Fed leaves markets to their own devices, the only things left for investors to turn to are the fundamentals, and of course the fundamentals are ugly beyond belief. Thus, stocks begin to plummet.
http://patriotrising.com/2016/04/05/los ... -end-game/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A rush for credit exposure in Europe is manifesting in the swaps market because investors are struggling to find enough bonds to satisfy their demand. The ECB’s plan to purchase corporate bonds is fueling demand for securities in anticipation of a rally when the purchases start. Investment-grade bond funds in euros had inflows each week since the ECB said on March 10 that it would expand measures to stimulate the economy. That’s already suppressed yields and made it harder to obtain the notes, making credit derivatives more attractive. Wagers on European credit-default swap indexes have more than doubled since the ECB’s announcement. Investors had sold a net $25 billion of protection as of March 25, near the highest since at least December 2013 and up from $11 billion as of March 4.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... erivatives" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Investors worried by a potential second wave of defaults in the U.S. should be even more concerned about emerging markets.Moody’s Investors Service says default rates currently stand at about 4% and could soar to as high as 14.9% by the end of the year under the most pessimistic scenario, Bloomberg News reports today. Its best-case projection is a 5.05% rate.Edward Altman, New York University professor and creator of the widely used Z-Score method for predicting bankruptcies, has also forecast rising U.S. defaults this year, saying in January that recession could follow even with a rate of less than 10%, given the increase in debt since the financial crisis. A study by Moody’s published in February 2009 showed that the default rate among high-yield emerging-markets issues could reach as high as 22% in the five years following severe banking and sovereign crises. So far, most countries in the asset class have suffered currency and liquidity crises but have skirted the more severe sovereign and banking kind.
http://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/article ... ng-markets" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...going to hit harder and faster than anyone publicly predicts...is my prediction...fwiw...

LONDON--Commodities titan Glencore PLC said Wednesday it has agreed to sell a 40% stake in its agricultural business to Canada's largest pension fund for $2.5 billion in cash, marking a major milestone in the company's effort to reduce its near-$26 billion net debt load.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/glenco ... 2016-04-06" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Customs officials at the Greek-Turkish border crossing of Kipoi have confiscated the largest amount of gold that anyone has ever attempted to smuggle out of the country. The loot was found hidden in a taxi and consisted of 18 bars of unrefined gold, weighing 33.5 kilos, along with four crosses made of oure gold (11.6 grams).
http://www.ekathimerini.com/207662/arti ... -at-border" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...some much for holding gold...say bye bye to the gold...

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco became the first place in the country Tuesday to require businesses to provide fully paid leave for new parents in what was hailed as the latest move to address income inequality in the nation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gov. Jerry Brown, casting a living wage as a moral imperative while questioning its economic rationale, signed legislation Monday raising California’s mandatory minimum to $15 an hour by 2022, acting within hours of a similar bill signing in New York.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-gov ... 42317.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Number of Californians Moving to Texas Hits Highest Level in Nearly a Decade
http://freebeacon.com/issues/number-cal ... ly-decade/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Pfizer, Allergan Terminate $160 Billion "Inversion" Merger; Banks Lose Over $100MM In Fees
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 ... 100mm-fees" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The 50 Most Murderous Cities In The World
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 ... ties-world" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Disastrous Ticket Sales, Ongoing Political Turmoil Put Brazil Olympics In Jeopardy
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-0 ... s-jeopardy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Venezuela to cut energy output if key dam falls to critical low - The massive Guri dam in Venezuela's central jungle is now at just 244 meters - its lowest level ever and just 4 meters from a critical point where water cannot feed its turbines. "Without a doubt if the level reaches 240 meters we will have to apply certain operative measures, which authorities will announce in due time," Miguel Angel Romero, the head of generation at state-run energy firm Corpoelec, told Reuters in an interview.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venez ... SKCN0WY5TK" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A poll by the nation’s three major universities shows 87% of all Venezuelans do not have income enough to purchase necessary food, and most of their “survival” diet is based on carbohydrates. The poll shows that the items most consume are corn flour, rice, pasta, bread, margarine and mayonnaise, while at lower income levels most say they eat mortadella rather than beef. The study shows that 40% of basic foods consumed here are flours, rice and grease, and 12.1% eat only twice a day.
http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Enc ... 17960.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The price Venezuela receives for its mix of medium and heavy oil fell 6.7% this week -- back below US$ 30 a barrel after 2 weeks above -- as prices around the world slipped on oversupplied markets and Saudi Arabian comments that it would not join a production freeze if Iran did not also freeze production. According to figures released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, the average price of Venezuelan crude sold by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) during the week ending April 1 was US$ 29.75, down US$ 2.12 from the previous week's US$ 31.87.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?Article ... ryId=10717" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/dai ... 212_247684" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Venezuelan government released its 2015 budget data on Friday. Dallen, an investment banker and publisher, writes: “The most shocking number is the “Diverse FOREX Assets” on the assets side of the ledger, which went up US$ 137 billion dollars to $185.2 billion in 2015 (without a corresponding offset on the same debit side, of course)! While the make-up of that $185 billion is hidden in a footnote which we do not have access to yet (we are working on it)”. That footnote in early 2015 revealed billions in gold sales, Dallen notes, adding: “the Central Bank’s official 2015 closing figure for Venezuela’s gold reserves is US$ 10.01 billion (“Monetary Gold” under “Reserve Assets”). Venezuela started 2015 with US$ 14.5 billion in gold, so the country sold and/or mortgaged US$ 4.5 billion in gold from its reserves in 2015. … we believe that Venezuela’s gold holdings have now fallen to under US$ 8 billion....With the state of Venezuela’s finances and economy in tatters and knowing that Venezuela has now drawn down their Financial Reserves to US$ 13.237 billion (as of March 31) from the US$ 24.122 billion they were last year on March 1, 2015, you have to wonder under what standard of accounting the BCV can claim that their assets went up US$ 186 billion dollars at the same time?”
http://blogs.barrons.com/emergingmarket ... -dwindles/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice informed the Maricopa County Recorder's Office on Friday that it was investigating how the office handled the March 22 Presidential Preference Election. County Recorder Helen Purcell and her elections director, Karen Osborne, seriously misjudged voter turnout for the races pitting Donald Trump against Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton against Bernie Sanders. After the number of polling places was cut to 60 from a 2012 total of 200, voters waited in line for up to five hours to vote. Some polling places stayed open until after midnight to accommodate voters who were already in line at 7 p.m. when the polls officially closed.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/pol ... /82625974/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Senator and Democratic primary contender Bernie Sanders may very well have already come out ahead. In October 2011, Sanders criticized the Panama trade pact on the Senate floor.“Panama’s entire annual economic output is only $26.7 billion a year, or about two-tenths of one% of the U.S. economy. No one can legitimately make the claim that approving this free trade agreement will significantly increase American jobs.” Sanders then asks the Senate, “why would we be considering a standalone free trade agreement with Panama?” The agreement in question, which was ultimately passed despite Sanders’ objections, is called The United States—Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA). Sanders then answered his own question in a haunting premonition of things to come: “Well it turns out that Panama is a world leader when it comes to allowing wealthy Americans and large corporations to evade U.S. taxes by stashing their cash in offshore tax havens; and the Panama free trade agreement will make this bad situation much worse. Each and every year, the wealthiest people in our country and the largest corporations evade about $100 billion in U.S. taxes through abusive and illegal offshore tax havens in Panama and other countries…”
ahtribune.com/us/775-bernie-sanders-the-panama-papers.html

Although there have been no major American casualties over the leak at this stage, all of the presidential candidates will be questioned about the scandal. And nobody is going to be under more pressure than Hillary Clinton. For some Americans, she is the embodiment of a “global elite”, while Bernie Sanders is its antithesis. The huge leak exposes governments across the globe wilfully ignoring tax avoidance by the rich. Although Clinton has not been linked to any malfeasance in the leak, there is a sense that she is among the elite rich, some of whose members have benefited from such schemes. It has been revealed Clinton pushed through the Panama Free Trade Deal at the same time that Sanders vocally opposed it, citing research warning that it would strictly limit the government’s ability to clamp down on questionable or even illegal activity.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the ... 69481.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

if the United States really wanted to stop Panama or the Cayman Islands or other offshore tax havens from allowing the wealthy to avoid hundreds of billions in payments, they could do so in about 15 minutes.
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/05/this_is ... avoidance/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Over the past several years, amid increased scrutiny by journalists, regulators and law enforcers, the global tax-haven landscape has shifted. In an effort to catch tax dodgers, almost 100 countries and other jurisdictions have agreed since 2014 to impose new disclosure requirements for bank accounts, trusts and some other investments held by international customers – standards issued by the OECD, a government-funded international policy group. Places like Switzerland and Bermuda are agreeing, at least in principle, to share bank account information with tax authorities in other countries. Only a handful of nations have declined to sign on. The most prominent is the U.S. Another, Panama, is at the center of a storm over tax evasion and global cash flight that broke out over the weekend.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... fers-haven" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...wonder if the leak is another step to one world government???

David Cameron was left dangerously exposed on Tuesday after repeatedly failing to provide a clear and full account about links to an offshore fund set up by his late father, as the storm over the Panama Papers gathered strength in both the UK and elsewhere around the world. The prime minister and his office have now offered three partial answers about the fund set up by his father Ian, which avoided ever paying tax in Britain.
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/ap ... rs-fallout" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...Or maybe its just justice???
WASHINGTON (AP) — IRS headquarters in Washington will remain closed for the rest of the week while repairs are made after a basement fire in the building. The agency said in a news release Tuesday that Monday afternoon's fire affected the air handling system. No one was hurt in the fire.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/831987e5 ... ement-fire" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....coincidental fire two days after Panama Papers released???

Panama 'tax scam' lawyer is son of Nazi SS officer from dreaded Death's Head division who fled to South America then SPIED on Cuba for the CIA, brother reveals
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z44vmvDBhs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

From the Archive: On Dec. 20, 1989, President George H.W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama to arrest Gen. Manuel Noriega on drug charges. The U.S. news media viewed the assault as a case of Bush seeking justice, but there was a darker back story of U.S. guilt, as Robert Parry reported in 1997.
https://consortiumnews.com/2013/12/19/c ... y-and-cia/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Authorities in Greece have temporarily suspended deportations to Turkey and acknowledged that most migrants and refugees detained on Greek islands have applied for asylum. The EU began sending back migrants Monday under an agreement with Turkey, but no transfers were planned Tuesday. Maria Stavropoulou, director of Greece’s Asylum Service, told state TV that some 3,000 people held in deportation camps on the islands are seeking asylum, with the application process to formally start by the end of the week. She says asylum applications typically take about three months to process, but would be “considerably faster” for those held in detention.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/207640/arti ... aims-mount" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

California authorities raid home of anti-Planned Parenthood videographer
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... eographer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Soros Co-opting Churches to Push New World Order
http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-new ... orld-order" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russian Intelligence Historian: American Intelligence is a Branch of Wall Street
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/04/russia ... rican.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A South Korean official said they believe the outcast nation is capable of firing a medium-range Rodong missile following its fourth nuclear test this year. The Rodong missile can fire a 1 tonne warhead a distance of up to 1,250 miles, the official said, placing all of South Korea, most of Japan and parts of Russia and China in range.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... South.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
When the United States revealed in January that it is testing a more nimble, more precise version of its B61 atom bomb, some were immediately alarmed. General James Cartwright, a former strategist for President Obama, warned that “going smaller” could make nuclear weapons “more thinkable” and “more usable.”

However, what is little known is that for the past 25 years, the United States and its allies have routinely used radioactive weapons in battle, in the form of warheads and explosives made with depleted, undepleted, or slightly enriched uranium. While the Department of Defense (DOD) calls these weapons “conventional” (non-nuclear), they are radioactive and chemically toxic. In Iraq, where the United States and its partners waged two wars, toxic waste covers the country and poisons the people. U.S. veterans are also sick and dying.

Scott Ritter, a former Marine Corps officer in Iraq and United Nations weapons inspector, told me, “The irony is we invaded Iraq in 2003 to destroy its non-existent WMD [weapons of mass destruction]. To do it, we fired these new weapons, causing radioactive casualties.”
http://washingtonspectator.org/irradiat ... nightmare/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Global military spending rose in 2015 to nearly $1.7 trillion, the first increase in several years, driven by conflicts including the battle against the Islamic State group, the Saudi-led war in Yemen and fears about Iran, a report released Tuesday shows. The study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute also noted that the Chinese expansion in the South China Sea and Russia's annexation of Crimea and support of Ukrainian separatists also accounted for nudging spending up 1 percent in real terms, compared to 2014.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... licts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Army Lt. Col. Lynn Ray has become one of the key female officers in the Pentagon's grand design to have them serve as combination role models and taskmasters in moving women into previously restricted military occupational specialties.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... neers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...its going to be a disaster....

The Media Are The Enemy Within
http://gumshoenews.com/2016/04/05/the-m ... my-within/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Southern California braces for summer blackouts due to Porter Ranch gas leak
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Earth's magnetic field is under the weak influence of a solar wind stream blowing high above our planet's north pole. As a result there is a slight chance (35%) of minor geomagnetic storms and Arctic auroras on April 6th.
http://www.spaceweather.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

It has been an exceptionally painful year for Venezuelans, suffering from violent crime, chronic shortages, plummeting oil prices on which they depend, declining health and fractured government. Yet this past week it seemed to reach a new low. A kind of resigned misery spread across a city that had once been the envy of Latin America. A sudden combination of natural disasters joined man-made failures. The smog, called calima, is a meteorological phenomenon that involves ash and dust clouds fairly common for this time of year. Meanwhile a prolonged drought blamed on El Nino and related forest fires has arrived. Levels at the Guri dam in the south, which produces 40 percent of the country’s electricity, fell to a record low of 242.33 meters on Monday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -a-new-low" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The reservoir in southern Bolivar state, which provides about 60 percent of the nation's 16,000 megawatt power demand, hit a historic low of 243 meters (797 feet) this week.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-venezu ... KKCN0XA1WL" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This week Venezuela paid up US$ 199.6 million in interest for its 2019 and 2024 sovereign bonds. In 2016 and 2017 the nation and state oil company PDVSA must still repay US$ 9.6 billion, of which US$ 8.1 billion pertain to PDVSA. President Nicolas Maduro has said Venezuela has paid out “US$ 30 billion in debt, a powerful amount”, and denies any default projections.
http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/econ ... z45nQ6rNkw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/notic ... nos-2.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oilfield services provider Schlumberger Ltd said it would reduce its operations in Venezuela due to payment problems, a further sign of the cash crunch facing this nation because of weak oil markets. State oil company PDVSA, the exclusive operator of the country's oilfields, has built up billions of dollars in unpaid bills to service providers as a result of cash-flow problems. Schlumberger in 2013 gave PDVSA a $1 billion credit line to allow it to continue delivering services despite the accumulating debts. It took a $49 million loss last year due to Venezuela's currency devaluation and another $472 million in 2014 for the same reason.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-schlu ... SKCN0X92P0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In October, Schlumberger was said to be shifting some of its workers from Brazil to Venezuela, reinforcing the contractor’s commitment at the time as others in the industry pulled back. By late January, Schlumberger said it had entered into a deal with Petroleos de Venezuela SA during the fourth quarter to receive certain fixed assets in lieu of payment of about $200 million of accounts receivable. "PDVSA doesn’t have the cash flow to pay oilfield service companies," Anderson wrote. "And yet it needs oilfield service companies to maximize production to increase cash flow."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... f-payments" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"This measure is a result of insufficient payments received in recent quarters and a lack of progress in establishing new mechanisms that address past and future accounts receivable," Schlumberger said in a statement.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?Article ... ryId=10717" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Juan Pablo Olalquiaga, president of the Venezuelan Confederation of Industries (CONINDUSTRIA) reported that 83% basic basket products are unavailable in the country.
http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/dai ... ela_258718" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Douglas Leon Natera, President of Venezuela’s Medical Association, says that hospitals are operating with 4-5% of all materials and medicines they need due to supply difficulties, and called the government “irresponsible” for abandoning them.
http://www.infolatam.com/2016/04/13/hos ... on-medica/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has adjusted its projections for Latin America, showing that Venezuela’s economy will contract 8% this year and 4.5% in 2017, following a 5.7% contraction in 2015. The IMF projects the drop in oil prices makes existing macroeconomic distortions worse, and will bring 500% inflation in 2016 and 1600% inflation in 2017.
http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/FMI ... 17096.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BRASILIA — Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff vowed on Monday to fight impeachment tooth-and-nail in the Senate after a heavy defeat in the lower house of Congress raised the likelihood of an end to 13 years of leftist rule in Latin America's largest economy. The crisis has paralyzed the government as it struggles to revive the economy from its worst recession in decades. It has also sparked a bitter struggle between Rousseff, a 68-year-old former Communist guerrilla, and her Vice President Michel Temer, 75, who would take power if she is impeached.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/04/ ... f=americas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff may be unfair, but it’s not unjust. Brazil and its broken economy has been weighed down by government incompetence and corruption for far too long, retarding the nation’s recovery from recession. But the Congressional members who voted on the impeachment measure over the weekend need to take another step in the right direction if they want to regain the trust of the Brazilian people and foreign investors; they should impeach themselves. Nearly half of Brazil’s Congress is either under investigation or has been charged with graft in connection with one of the various corruption scandals that have been plaguing the country for the last two years.
http://fortune.com/2016/04/18/dilma-rou ... n-economy/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With a faltering economy and an $11 billion investment at stake, Brazil wants nothing more than to stage a successful Olympic Games come August. The government is building new transportation and sports venues, hiring security guards and deploying soldiers, and sprucing up Rio de Janeiro’s most-visited areas. But “cleaning the streets,” as the project is euphemistically known, is not an effort to haul garbage but to sweep away homeless people and drug dealers — including the often drug-addicted children who live on the sidewalks of some of Rio’s wealthiest neighborhoods.
http://www.ibtimes.com/road-rio-police- ... cs-2353865" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Two years later, the antidrug czar’s top adviser, Alfredo Landaverde Hernández, was assassinated in exactly the same way, days after he publicly accused police commanders of allowing criminal gangs to infiltrate the police force. Once again, an investigation concluded that the chief suspects were the same commanders, aided by lower-ranking officers. A full report was sent to the police chief. But in public, the case remained unsolved. Now, the details of the investigations — witness testimony, descriptions of videos, and phone call records — are emerging in Honduras, shaking the country once again. In terse language, the documents paint a chilling portrait of impunity at the very top of Honduras’s police hierarchy: the unchallenged power to carry out assassinations and force a cover-up of the investigation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/world ... f=americas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

as the United Nations prepares to discuss its failed “war on drugs” in New York this week, Delmonte is under intense scrutiny as the CEO of International Cannabis Corp, one of two firms now legally growing dope on behalf of the Uruguayan government.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016 ... -marijuana" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Washington (AFP) - Argentina will resume annual fiscal checkups with the International Monetary Fund this year after a 10-year hiatus, an IMF official said Friday. The move marks a repairing of relations that soured in the wake of the country's default on $100 billion in debt in 2001.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/31366181/ar ... er-decade/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Bans Government Workers From Traveling to Acapulco - New U.S. State Department travel guidelines now place most of Mexico's Guerrero state, including Acapulco, off limits for U.S. government employees
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-bans-go ... 1460818033" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fears of 'THE BIG ONE' as SEVEN major earthquakes strike Pacific region in just 96 hours
http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/6 ... n-48-hours" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At least 350 people died and more than 2,000 were injured in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Ecuador this weekend, the biggest to hit the country in decades, leaving a stretch of ruin through provinces bordering the Pacific Coast. The tremors flattened buildings, fractured highways and knocked out electricity to much of the region. On Monday, residents were still digging through the rubble for survivors and victims, the government was scrambling to find shelter for thousands of people left homeless and rescue crews from around the world had begun arriving in this Andean nation to help. This city of nearly 300,000, the provincial capital of Manabí Province, was hit particularly hard, with officials reporting more than 100 deaths and at least 370 buildings destroyed. Survivors described how the earthquake, from one moment to the next, turned a normal, placid Saturday night into a disaster zone.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/world ... .html?_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The 7.8-magnitude quake, which struck Saturday night, has killed at least 413 people, officials said Monday. More than 2,500 more were injured.
The hardest-hit area of the South American nation was the coastal Manabi Province, where about 200 people died, said Ricardo Peñaherrera of Ecuador's national emergency management office. The cities of Manta, Portoviejo and Pedernales, a tourist destination, saw the most devastation, but damage was widespread throughout the country.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/18/americas/ ... arthquake/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dozens Of Large Earthquakes Strike As Speculation Mounts That Japan’s Southern Island May Split
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch ... -splitting" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MINAMI-ASO — Japan on Monday enlisted U.S. help to airlift supplies to some of the 100,000 people made homeless by earthquakes in the country’s south, as rescuers struggled to find those still missing in a massive landslide.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/nati ... ng-in-cars" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Food was scarce as roads remained cut by landslides. Evacuees made an SOS signal out of chairs at a school playground, hoping to catch the attention of supply helicopters, Japanese media reported. Of more than 500 quakes hitting Kyushu since Thursday, more than 70 have been at least a four on Japan's intensity scale, strong enough to shake buildings.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan ... SKCN0XD0ZL" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The vulnerabilities of the tight production supply chains at Japanese companies including Toyota Motor Corp. , are back in the spotlight after earthquakes in southern Japan forced several to curtail output this week. Toyota’s decision to shut 26 car assembly lines this week nationwide due to production halts by a supplier shows how the auto maker’s lean manufacturing system, often viewed as a model of efficiency, can be impacted by disasters. The latest shutdowns drew parallels to the aftermath of Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-earth ... 1460986805" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MOSUL DAM, Iraq-- A team of Italian specialists arrived Thursday at the site of the Mosul Dam as part of an emergency campaign to repair Iraq's largest dam before it collapses. The advance team from the Italian engineering firm Trevi Group will set up a camp for the group of engineers who are expected to arrive within a few weeks.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/italian-tea ... r-project/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(ANSA) - Beirut, April 14 - An advanced team of Italian soldiers has arrived at the Mosul Dam in Iraq to reconnoitre in view of the deployment of an Italian contingent to protect Trevi Group workers as they repair the structure soon, local sources told ANSA Thursday.
http://www.ansa.it/english/news/general ... bdcb8.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The U.S. military will send Apache attack helicopters and additional troops to assist the Iraq army in the fight for Mosul, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Monday.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... fight.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Mosul Dam was largely a vanity project ordered by Saddam Hussein in 1981, even as the Iran-Iraq war was raging. It was finished and put into use in 1986, providing electricity to more than two million people in Mosul and the surrounding area. The problem, however, is that little thought was given to its location and it was constructed atop a bed of gypsum, a mineral that dissolves in water. Meanwhile, the spring runoff from the mountains north of the dam is beginning to build on the Tigris.

“The dam is in a very dangerous situation now,” said Dr. Nasrat Adamo, who oversaw the dam for several years until 2014. The floods of March and April “will definitely raise the water to alarming levels,” he told the BBC. “My feeling is the dam will fail some time in the [near] future.”

To make matters worse, the embassy noted, the underwater safety gates that can be opened to release water and reduce pressure are not working properly.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/mos ... e29569107/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Department of Defense announced today that it will invite vetted hackers to test the department’s cybersecurity under a unique pilot program. The “Hack the Pentagon” initiative is the first cyber bug bounty program in the history of the federal government.
http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releas ... tagon-cybe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's president said Monday that there are signs that North Korea is preparing for a fifth nuclear bomb test amid reports of increased activity at the country's main nuclear test site.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... -test.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. pledges 'strong response' in event of another North Korean nuclear test
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-north ... SKCN0XF0VB" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Beijing landed a military plane on a disputed South China Sea reef it has built up into an artificial island, state media said Monday, in the first official confirmation of such a flight.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... media.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Pentagon's once-secret submarine drones programme is being discussed in the open, with US defence secretary Ashton Carter hinting at their potential use in the disputed South China Sea.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... hreat.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Growing Militarization of the South China Sea, US-China Confrontation
http://www.globalresearch.ca/growing-mi ... on/5520564" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A US Air Force reconnaissance plane was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 jet in an "unsafe and unprofessional" manner while in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Pentagon said.

"The US aircraft was operating in international airspace and at no time crossed into Russian territory," Laura Seal, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said of Thursday's incident.

It came shortly after Russian aircraft repeatedly buzzed the USS Donald Cook this past week, including an incident Tuesday in which a Russian Su-24 flew 30 feet (nine meters) above the war ship in a "simulated attack profile," according to the US military's European Command.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... anner.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NATO’s “Exercise Joint Warrior” regrouping some 3400 NATO army, navy and air force personnel from 12 NATO countries is ongoing in Scotland. These war games follow those conducted last year in Scotland involving 13,000 Troops, 54 Warships, 70 Planes, as well as Submarines.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/huge-war-g ... al/5520542" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thousands of troops on Paris streets but are they France's new Maginot line?
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/a ... ance-safer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So far this year, 46 companies have defaulted on their debt, the highest level since 2009, according to S&P Ratings Services. Five companies defaulted this week, based on the latest data available from S&P Ratings Services. That includes New Jersey-based specialty chemical company Vertellus Specialties and Ohio-based iron ore producer Cliffs Natural. Of the world's defaults this year, 37 are of companies based in the U.S.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/mar ... /83003002/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In 2016, Americans will pay roughly 20% more for their federal, state and local taxes than for the their housing, food and clothing combined, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research organization.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/americ ... 2016-04-13" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An estimated 45.3% of American households — roughly 77.5 million — will pay no federal individual income tax, according to data for the 2015 tax year from the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan Washington-based research group. (Note that this does not necessarily mean they won’t owe their states income tax.)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/45-of- ... 2016-02-24" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Americans who face being named in the Panama Papers have been told to come clean before any illegal activity is discovered by officials. More than 200 people with U.S. addresses have so far been identified by authorities combing the Mossack Fonseca documents, which were leaked earlier this month. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has now advised anyone using offshore accounts to contact them as the investigation gains momentum.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... inues.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obamacare Exodus Accelerates: After Georgia And Arkansas, Biggest Health Insurer Exits Michigan And Oklahoma
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-1 ... urer-exits" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Days After Wells Fargo Admits Defrauding The Government, NY Fed Rewards It With Primary Dealer Status
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-1 ... -it-reward" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Dow Jones industrial average, which was down about 50 points at the open of trading, quickly turned higher and ended the day and ended the day up 107 points, or 0.6%, at 18,004, closing above 18,000 for the first time since July 20, 2015. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 stock index was up 0.7% to 2094, threatening to top 2100 for the first time since Dec. 2. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.4% to 4960.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/mar ... /83177888/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The moving 12-month sum of Moody’s credit rating downgrades of US companies, jumped from 32 in March 2015, to 48 in December 2015, and to 61 in March 2016, nearly doubling within a year. The last time the number of downgrades attributed to financial engineering reached 61 was in early 2007. It would hit its peak of 79 in mid- 2007, a few months before the beginning of the Great Recession in Q4 2007. At the time, stocks were on the verge of commencing their epic crash.
http://wolfstreet.com/2016/04/18/financ ... t-crashes/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WASHINGTON (AP) — Five of the biggest U.S. banks have six months to get their disaster plans in shape. That's the message regulators issued Wednesday after giving the banks failing grades for the strategies they would deploy if they tumbled into bankruptcy.
http://www.allgov.com/news/controversie ... ews=858676" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

80% of U.S. households own multiple cards, and they account for just under $1 trillion of consumer debt.
http://www.visualcapitalist.com/video-t ... dit-cards/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The most striking feature of the US economy’s performance in 2015, according to Lacy, was a massive advance in nonfinancial debt that kept the economy stuck in the doldrums of subpar growth. US nonfinancial debt rose 3.5 times faster than GDP last year. (Nonfinancial debt is the sum of household debt, business debt, federal debt, and state and local government debt.)
http://www.mauldineconomics.com/editori ... r-than-gdp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The public debt will fall due someday. It will have to be repaid or refinanced. If repaid, where would the money come from? It would come from you, naturally. The debt is ultimately a deferred tax. You can calculate your pro rata obligation on your smartphone. Just visit the Treasury website, which posts the debt to the penny, then the Census Bureau’s website, which reports the up-to-the-minute size of the population. Divide the latter by the former and you have the scary truth: $42,998.12 for every man, woman and child, as I write this. In the short term, the debt would no doubt be refinanced, but at which interest rate? At 4.8%, the rate prevailing as recently as 2007, the government would pay more in interest expense –$654 billion– than it does for national defense.
http://time.com/4293549/james-grant-united-states-debt/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Britain 'set for BANKRUPTCY amid £1.85trillion of hidden debt'
http://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/6 ... IDDEN-debt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The bad smell hovering over the global economy
http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... pter-money" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Untried, Untested, Ready: Remedies for the Global Economy
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2 ... r-remedies" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...and if they are just creating false hopes with helicopter talk???

The Canadian and Australian dollars dropped as crude tumbled after oil-producing nations failed to reach an accord to freeze output. The yen, used by investors as a haven, rose toward a 17-month high. The currencies of Australia, Canada, Malaysia and Norway all retreated at least 0.7% after negotiations in Doha ended without an agreement from OPEC and other oil producers to freeze supplies. Foreign-exchange traders sought the safety of Japan’s currency as the diplomatic failure threatens to send crude back toward the more than 13-year lows reached in February. World leaders at the end of last week signaled opposition to any efforts from Japan to directly halt the yen’s 11% climb this year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... talks-fail" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China’s growth rates for quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year GDP for the past year don’t match. That, combined with confirmation that 1Q output was underpinned by an unsustainable resurgence in real estate, tarnishes the newly acquired shine on the country’s economic prospects.
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1soiu10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China’s state-owned enterprises are likely to suffer more defaults over the next year as the government shows its readiness to shut companies in industries struggling with overcapacity, according to Standard & Poor’s. “In a major policy shift, the central government appears willing to close and liquidate struggling enterprises in the steel, mining, building materials, and shipbuilding industries,” S&P analyst Christopher Lee wrote in a report Monday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... s-s-p-says" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

New guidelines released by seven Chinese ministries over the weekend build on previously announced commitments to restructure the coal and steel industries, whose excess production is dragging on the economy, and to take care of an estimated 1.8 million workers who will be displaced. The new measures place priority on finding jobs and cushioning the transition to reduce the unemployment that the authoritarian government sees as a threat to social stability. Government plans call for reducing some 10% to 15% of the excess capacity in the steel and coal sectors over the next several years. That is less than half the portion analysts say is needed to bring supply closer in line with demand. And steel and coal are only two of numerous other industries plagued by overcapacity that haven’t been addressed. The large number of ministries that have signed off on the plan dated April 7 but released more than a week later underscore the sensitivity, importance and breadth of resources China is devoting to the unemployment problem.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-makes ... 1460881263" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Germany, Austria, France and Sweden, among others, have reintroduced border checkpoints in some places. They are pressured by Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II – about 1 million migrants arrived in Greece and Italy in 2015 – terrorist attacks, and the growth of anti-immigration movements. But the economic cost of dumping Schengen, at a time when growth across the continent is still weak, would be massive. A permanent return to border controls could lop €470 billion of GDP growth from the European economy over the next 10 years, based on a relatively conservative assumption of costs, according to research published by Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation. That’s like losing a company almost the size of BMW AG every year for a decade.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -s-economy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Britain would be “permanently poorer” if voters choose to leave the EU, George Osborne has warned, as a Treasury study claimed the economy would shrink by 6% by 2030, costing every household the equivalent of £4,300 a year. In the starkest warning so far by the government in the referendum campaign, the chancellor describes Brexit as the “most extraordinary self-inflicted wound”. Osborne will embark on one of the government’s most significant moves in the referendum campaign on Monday when he publishes a 200-page Treasury report which sets out the costs and benefits of EU membership.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... referendum" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...lots of campaigning to keep EUROpe together...

Hundreds of migrants drowned when their boat capsized in the Mediterranean, survivors have told the BBC - although there is no official confirmation. The 41 survivors say they were transferred to another vessel when it sank in the middle of the night. They said that up to 500 people died, but coastguards in the region have been unable to confirm their accounts.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mig ... li=BBnb7Kz" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Australia’s general government net debt is projected to peak at 19.9% in 2017, lower than any Group of Seven economy, according to the IMF’s fiscal monitor. That number has climbed from minus 0.6% in 2009. “One differentiating feature between Australia and other Aaa rated sovereigns is that, while government debt has increased markedly in Australia, it has been more stable for other Aaa sovereigns,” Marie Diron at Moody’s in Singapore wrote. “We expect a further increase in debt and will look at policy measures and the economic environment to review our analysis on this.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... dget-nears" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon misled Congress with inaccurate and vague information about sexual assault cases that portrayed civilian law enforcement officials as less willing than military commanders to punish sex offenders, an Associated Press investigation found.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... cases.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Department of Veterans Affairs investigators conducted spot checks at 10 veterans benefits offices around the country and came to a disturbing conclusion: The VA has been systemically shredding documents related to veterans' claims -- some potentially affecting their benefits.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... ments.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obama Administration Backs Lockheed Sale of F-35 Fighter Jets in Violation of Contract with Partner Nations
http://www.allgov.com/news/controversie ... ews=858674" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obama Responds To Saudi Threat To Dump Treasuries If Its Role In Sept 11 Is Probed
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-1 ... -11-probed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obama Administration Makes Stunning Admission: "Seed Money For Al Qaeda Came From Saudi Arabia"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-1 ... udi-arabia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WTC Security Firm Held Its Meetings in Saudi Offices
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2016/04/ ... fices.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Both Parties’ Presidential Front-Runners Increasingly Unpopular
http://www.wsj.com/articles/both-partie ... 1460898001" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just 6 percent of people say they have a lot of confidence in the media, putting the news industry about equal to Congress and well below the public's view of other institutions. In this presidential campaign year, Democrats were more likely to trust the news media than Republicans or independents.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/35c59590 ... news-media" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Political violence contagion - A framework for understanding the emergence and spread of civil unrest
http://www.lloyds.com/~/media/files/new ... tagion.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Path of an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Member
https://info.publicintelligence.net/RIS ... ngPath.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On Thursday, Beth Chelle Austin and Marie Parker (no relation to Eric Parker, who was arrested last week) were arrested by the FBI, interrogated and then released without charge over their participation at the Bundy Ranch siege in 2014.
http://freedomoutpost.com/fbi-roundup-o ... th-arrest/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Army North Prepared Remarks for the 10 June 2015 Closed Session to the National Commission on the Future of the Army
https://info.publicintelligence.net/ARN ... meland.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Smoke is causing a nuisance in Kansas and neighboring states. In Omaha, Nebraska, public health officials said air quality had reached unhealthy levels. Meanwhile, schools in Lincoln, Nebraska, called off outdoor athletic activities because of the smoke.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natura ... &src=nhrss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Common medicines including cold and flu tablets, heartburn drugs and sleeping pills 'SHRINK the brain and slow down thinking'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... nking.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In 1906, Alfred Henry Lewis stated, “There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy.”
http://www.internationalman.com/article ... om-anarchy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Desk-Size Turbine Produces Electricity from Carbon Dioxide and Can Power 10,000 Homes!
http://themindunleashed.org/2016/04/tur ... oxide.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rise Armament New RA-200 Ripper AR-15 Stripped Lower Receiver
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016 ... -receiver/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

OATH 12 Gauge TSR Slug
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016 ... -tsr-slug/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

UZKON AS46-OP2 12 Gauge, 76 mm Chamber,4140 Steel Inner Mechanism,35 cm 4140 Hardened Steel Barrel,Vertical Magazine, 7075 Aluminum Receiver,Flash Hider, Picatiny Rail Over the Handguard,Side Folding & Telescopic Stock,2 Pcs Five Round Magazines
http://www.uzkon.com.tr/Uzkon_Product/details.php?id=34" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

UZKON BR99(CL1)
http://www.uzkon.com.tr/Uzkon_Product/details.php?id=48" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

UZKON TR100(CL13)
http://www.uzkon.com.tr/Uzkon_Product/details.php?id=50" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Fierce Tropical Cyclone Fantala stormed to Category 5 strength north of Madagascar over the weekend with an impressive burst of strengthening, making the cyclone the most powerful on record anywhere in the Indian Ocean. Fantala’s estimated peak sustained winds of 150 knots (173 mph), averaged over 1 minute by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, topped the previous record holders for the Southwest Indian Ocean (Tropical Cyclone Eunice, Feb-Mar 2015, peak 1-minute winds of 140 knots) and the North Indian Ocean (Super Cyclonic Storm Gonu, June 2007, peak 1-minute winds of 145 knots). Reliable satellite-based records for the Indian Ocean only go back to 1990, but Fantala’s power is still remarkable, and quite evident in satellite imagery.

Houston walloped by massive flash flooding
At least two fatalities and more than 1200 high-water rescues were reported as the Houston area was socked on Monday morning by a huge mesoscale convective system (MCS) that drifted southeast across the area, dumping eye-popping amounts of rain: 6” - 8” over central Houston, with 12” - 18” common over the far western suburbs (see Figure 7). While individual thunderstorms often weaken after dark, the large mass of thunderstorms that makes up an MCS will often persist overnight and into the next morning, as the MCS cloud tops radiate heat to space and instability is enhanced. Countless roads and homes were flooded throughout the Houston area on Monday morning, and at one point power was out to more than 100,000 customers. City offices and mass transit lines were forced to close.

As of midday Monday, the Buffalo Bayou in west Houston (Piney Point Village) was projected to crest at 61 feet, only about 3 inches short of its record 61.2-foot crest from March 4, 1992. However, as shown in Figure 7, it looks unlikely to hit that projection. Downtown, the Buffalo Bayou’s expected crest of 33.1 feet is far below the 42 feet observed in Allison and the 1935 record of 49 feet.

The complex of storms across Houston developed in weak upper-level flow near the edge of a sprawling upper-level low that brought 40” to 50” of snow across the foothills west of Denver, Colorado. At lower elevations, a foot or more of wet snow was recorded across large parts of the Front Range urban corridor. As expected, a rich stream of moist air from Texas to Nebraska led to streaks of very heavy rain throughout the Southern and Central Plains. Amounts over the weekend topped 7” west of Fort Worth, TX, and moderate to major river flooding is occurring over parts of southwest Oklahoma and northwest Texas. Amount of 4” - 6” were common across southwest Nebraska.

https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffM ... e-flash-fl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Houston Flooding Is The 8th Historic Flood To Hit America Since The End Of September
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... -september" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Surprise! Quiet sunspot AR2529 isn't so quiet, after all. The heart-shaped active region erupted on April 18th (00:39 UT), producing a strong M6.7-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the flare's extreme ultraviolet flash: NOAA forecasters say that a CME hurled into space by today's M6.7-flare might deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on April 20th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras during a possible G1-class geomagnetic storm.
http://www.spaceweather.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
CME UPDATE: Updated coronagraph imagery courtesy of the STEREO Ahead spacecraft confirms that a coronal mass ejection (CME) was generated by the M6.7 solar flare this evening around region 2529. Because the active region is approaching the west limb, the explosion is likely directed mostly towards the west. Will provide another update in the morning once Earth facing LASCO imagery is available.

CME UPDATE #2: As expected, Earth facing coronagraph imagery confirms that the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) following the M6.7 solar flare is directed to the west and is not likely to deliver a noteworthy impact to our geomagnetic field. Image by LASCO C2.
http://www.solarham.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

Venezuela has the world's largest known oil reserves...

CARACAS, April 22 (Reuters) - U.S. oil services firm Halliburton Co has decided to begin curtailing activity in Venezuela, the company said on Friday, less than two weeks after Schlumberger Ltd announced a similar decision as a result of payment difficulties. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has struggled to settle unpaid bills to service firms as a result of low oil prices and heavy bond payments that the company must make this year.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hallibur ... 39886.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CARACAS (AP) – As if daily life in Venezuela wasn't hard enough, people across the crisis-wracked South American country will now have to add electricity to the long list of things they'll have to do without. President Nicolás Maduro's government on Monday began rationing power in 18 of 24 states. The rolling blackouts of up to four hours a day are a last-minute attempt to save energy until water levels stabilize at the Guri Dam, which provides the bulk of the country's electricity. The daily power cuts are just the latest in a long list of energy-saving measures announced in recent weeks. Maduro has also given public workers Fridays off, declared new national holidays, and said he will shift the country's time zone to help to ease the crisis. He's also suggested that women stop blow drying their hair and that everyone leave off ironing their clothes. Although the government says that its so-called Electric Load Management Plan will only last for 40 days, areas that will be subjected to the blackouts are bracing for more hardship.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2 ... -protests/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/04 ... .html?_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

according to Venezuelan journal El Nacional, reports from Twitter indicate that the cuts began shortly after sunrise. What’s more, some areas in the country even remained up to 29 continuous hours without electricity at home. According to the official report, the rationing plan will be applied in all entire regions except Caracas, the state of Vargas and the northeastern region of Venezuela, which includes the island of Margarita. Urban areas where hospitals, airports and security forces’ headquarters are located will have electricity all the time, President Maduro said.
http://www.pulseheadlines.com/real-elec ... ela/27816/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Beginning this week, the central government will start to ration electricity nationwide with the exception of Vargas, Nueva Esparta and the Caracas capital district, introducing daily four-hour suspensions of electrical service that will vary according to day and region. No suspensions will occur between the hours of 8:00pm and 12:00am. The plan is aimed at halting declining water levels in the Guri reservoir in eastern Bolivar state, which supplies around 70% of the country’s electricity. The measures are set to last for 40 days or until the rainy season begins. Earlier this month, the Venezuelan government unveiled further energy saving steps, including instituting a four-day work week and announcing a half-hour, daylight saving change of time zone that will take effect on May 1st. According to the government, the new measures successfully saved 400 megawatts of energy in March and prevented a 22-centimeter drop in the Guri hydroelectric dam.
http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11947" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...of course now production is down to 4 days a week when they need about 16 days of production a week to meet debt demands...
But power outages, which have gone on for years, are only part of Venezuela’s problems. “It’s not just electricity; it’s the whole infrastructure of the country that’s crumbling.” says Jean Daudelin, a professor of development and conflict at Carleton University. “It’s the road systems, it’s the ports, it’s the water, it’s everything.”

Against a volatile political landscape, Maduro has repeatedly refuse to dramatically scale back those subsidies. (The last time Venezuela eliminated gas subsidies, in 1989, it led to the caracazo, a wave of violent protests that left thousands dead and led to the eventual collapse of the previous government.)

“Maduro won’t give his enemies a card that they could use to draw him out,” Daudelin tells CityLab. “The government is extremely fragile and needs to keep a large amount of people happy, so it spent the money there in subsidies and social services, and in corruption.” In February, for the first time in 20 years, the government raised gas prices by 6,000 percent—a staggering number until you realize that a tank of gasoline still costs less than a quarter. But that’s probably as far as Maduro will go, he says.
http://www.wired.com/2016/04/venezuelas ... ty-crisis/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On a tour of the hydroelectric complex on the Caroni river, Electricity Minister Luis Motta told Reuters that forecasts showed a 70 to 80 percent chance of rain toward the end of April or in May to stop the waters behind the dam falling to a critical depth of 240 meters (790 feet). The reservoir in southern Bolivar state, which provides about 60 percent of the nation's 16,000 megawatt power demand, hit a historic low of 243 meters (797 feet) this week.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venez ... SKCN0XA1WL" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...that was a couple weeks ago....lips are silent as to where the water level is today...
US warnings that the Mosul Dam in Iraq is on the verge of collapse are mostly propaganda, local engineers say who have worked on it for years. Judit Neurink reports from Mosul Dam. "Look at the water level; see how far below the normal levels it is." Marwan points to the markings at the emergency outlet of the lake behind Iraq's infamous Mosul Dam, that according to American warnings is about to collapse. But standing at the dam overlooking the still blue lake that reaches to the horizon, nothing seems to point to an imminent disaster. Which is exactly the point engineers like Marwan who work at the dam are making.

"Nobody has asked us to leave," Marwan, who has been working at the power plant of the dam for almost 30 years, told DW. Like most engineers he lives in a village next to the dam that will be hit first if it collapses. But that is not even possible right now, he claims: "The water level is too low for this to happen, and we are careful not to let it rise too much." His colleague Khaleel pipes in: "When my wife called me after she heard of the warning, I told her that I was working as normal."

The local engineers also stress that the situation is not acute. For instance, there are still American engineers working on the dam and they live in their village too. Surely they would have been evacuated if the danger was really acute?

But less visible is the damage caused by the pause in the cement injections. It cannot be detected at the levels that his equipment can reach, says Khaleel. "But what it looks like below the 120-meters mark we simply do not know." US army engineers have placed sensors on the dam, and base their warning on the readings. They claim the gaps in the soil are forming faster than concrete gets injected. "Only they have the data, we do not," Khaleel complains.

Professor Kamel al-Mohsin, who specializes in dams and water resources at Mosul University, confirms the problem. The Americans, he says, monopolize their data, without it nobody really knows what is going on. "I only have a report, but none of the measurements it is based on," he told DW. Although the professor thinks one should take the American warning seriously, as "they are experts; they have some 10,000 dams themselves," and even though he worries about his family in Mosul in case of a flood, at the same time he admits that he does not think that "the danger is imminent."

One of the defects the Americans base their warnings on - the sluice door in the dam that is not opening - does not worry him. It can be repaired, and for the time being the other one can be used to discharge water into the Tigris.
http://www.dw.com/en/mosul-dam-engineer ... a-19214468" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Following the dramatic April 17 vote to impeach Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, Pepe Escobar unpacks the layers of corruption in his native country and suspects an American role in the effort to take down the pro-workers PT party based on NSA surveillance of the state oil firm, Petrobras, and of Rousseff personally. We talk about the “Car Wash” corruption scandal that touches most elected officials, the brazen effort to remove a president who has not been charged with a “crime of responsibility” as required by law, and the scheming of the vice president, Michel Temer, who will serve as acting president if the Senate sustains the impeachment attempt.
http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2016/04 ... in-brazil/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

United Nations, United States: The United Nations on Monday described North Korea's latest missile test as "extremely troubling" and called on Pyongyang to "cease any further provocative action." North Korea launched the ballistic missile from a submarine on Saturday, prompting the Security Council to issue a strong condemnation of the latest test-launch.
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/un-says- ... ng-1399396" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea is believed to have placed a new, powerful midrange missile on standby for an impending launch, a news report said Tuesday. The reported launch plans came two days after North Korea said it successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in a continuation of its weapons tests amid ongoing South Korea-U.S. military drills. Seoul officials said they could not confirm whether Sunday's test-firing was a success.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... -says.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SEOUL, South Korea -- Images of a submarine-launched missile shooting out of the sea and apparent preparations for a fifth nuclear test are raising concerns that North Korea's weapons development is moving along even faster than feared.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... ought.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The United States has not ruled out the option of using nuclear weapons "first," due in part to North Korea's potential threat to South Korea, a former senior U.S. official said Tuesday, stressing that America's security commitment to its Asian ally remains credible.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160426001018" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

North Korea reportedly readies another missile test launch
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-north ... SKCN0XN0QQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CONSTANTA, Romania — The U.S. Air Force on Monday flew in two F-22 Raptor fighter jets to Romania as a show of strength to deter Russian intervention in Ukraine. The fighter jets landed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, near the Black Sea port of Constanta in southeast Romania. A U.S. statement says they possess sophisticated sensors allowing the pilot to track, identify, shoot and kill air-to-air threats before being detected. The fighters also have a significant capability to attack surface targets.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... ussia.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MOSCOW- Syria and Russia have signed agreements worth 850 million euros to restore infrastructure in the Arab nation, Russia's RIA news agency quoted Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halaki as saying on Monday.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/russia-an ... ?r=US&IR=T" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HANNOVER, Germany -- President Barack Obama on Monday announced the deployment to Syria of an additional 250 U.S. special operations forces to assist local troops who are trying to dislodge Islamic State extremists, significantly broadening the American presence in the war-torn country. The move will bring the number of personnel to roughly 300, up from about 50 special operations forces currently in Syria.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... ntial.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The US plans to deploy its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to Turkey to help fight Islamic State in Syria, Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu has told local media. The deployment is part of an agreement to seal off the bordering Manbji region.
https://www.rt.com/news/340973-us-rocket-isis-turkey/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Syria’s war has destroyed agricultural infrastructure and fractured the state system that provides farmers with seeds and buys their crops, deepening a humanitarian crisis in a country struggling to produce enough grain to feed its people. The country’s shortage of its main staple wheat is worsening. The area of land sown with the cereal – used to make bread – and with barley has fallen again this year, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told Reuters. The northeast province of Hasaka, which accounts for almost half the country’s wheat production has seen heavy fighting between the Kurdish YPG militia, backed by the US-led air strikes, and Islamic State militants.

Farming infrastructure, including irrigation canals and grain depots, has been destroyed, according to the FAO. It said the storage facilities of the state seeds body across the country had also been damaged, so it had distributed just a tenth of the 450,000 tonnes of seeds that farmers needed to cultivate their land this season. Farmers are also struggling to get their produce to market so it can be sold and distributed to the population. The conflict has led to the number of state collection centers falling to 22 in 2015, from 31 the year before and about 140 before civil war broke out between government forces and rebels five years ago, according to the General Organisation for Cereal Processing and Trade (Hoboob), the state agency that runs them.

The worsening wheat shortage is another hammer blow to a country where the population numbered around 22 million before the civil war but more than 250,000 have been killed in the fighting and millions have become refugees. Last year, farmers sold just over 450,000 tonnes of wheat, a fraction of the 1-1.5 million tonnes that is needed to provide enough bread to government-held areas of the country alone, government sources and traders said. Before the conflict, by contrast, Syria could produce 4 million tonnes of wheat in a good year, with around 2.5 million tonnes going to the state and the surplus exported.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-midea ... SKCN0XN0G0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

REPORTING FROM CAIRO -- The Pentagon has shifted more than 100 U.S. soldiers from a desert camp near the Egypt-Israeli border in the Sinai Peninsula after a barrage of attacks by militants linked to Islamic State. The U.S. troops, part of a little-known peacekeeping force that helps maintain the 1979 treaty between Egypt and Israel, were transferred about 300 miles south to a more secure area.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... tants.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's president on Monday called on Pakistan to battle the Taliban rather than try to bring them into peace talks. Ashraf Ghani made the remarks during an address to parliament a week after a Taliban assault on the Afghan capital, Kabul, killed 64 people and wounded another 340.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... liban.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Foreign ‘dirty bomb’ responders will start training in Nevada
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/milit ... ing-nevada" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The number of sorties needed to ward off Chinese aircraft infringing on Japan's airspace has hit an all-time high, Japanese officials say. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force scrambled its jets 571 times to intercept the Chinese in fiscal 2015, which runs through March 31. That number is up from the record 464 set the previous year, JASDF said in a statement.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... japan.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russia’s electronic warfare equipment producer launched tests of a tactical electromagnetic combat complex fully integrated with latest air-defense systems. It guarantees complete neutralization of all enemy electronics. Factory testing is underway for components of the new system, capable of protecting troops and civilian facilities from air and space attacks, a representative of Russia’s leading producer of electronic warfare systems, Radio-Electronic Technologies Concern (KRET), told TASS. The tests are expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
https://www.rt.com/news/340862-electron ... tem-tests/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

President Xi Jinping’s Most Dangerous Venture Yet: Remaking China’s Military
http://www.wsj.com/articles/president-x ... 1461608795" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Crony capitalism and the rigged system: 0.01% of households gave 33% of money raised by political parties and Congressmen.
http://www.mybudget360.com/rigged-syste ... lionaires/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How Bribes to Politicians From Arms Dealers Keep Wars Going
http://whowhatwhy.org/2016/04/25/bribes ... ars-going/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Trump, Clinton Both Refuse To Explain Why They Share Same Address In Delaware
http://www.mintpressnews.com/trump-clin ... re/215907/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wilmington, DE — As it turns out, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump share something pertinent in common, after all — a tax haven cozily nested inside the United States.
http://theantimedia.org/trump-hillary-s ... e-address/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US President Barack Obama has said that the controversial Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership should be signed “by the end of the year”.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 99456.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Excluding the Great Recession, the 6 million Americans who work part-time but want full-time jobs today are at the highest level in about 30 years or so.
http://www.wlwt.com/money/americas-part ... e/39202602" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With more than 24,000 retail-sector job cuts already announced in 2016, layoffs are on track to hit their highest since 2010, according to Credit Suisse analysts. Credit Suisse said in a Monday note there could be more than 37,000 layoffs in 2016 based on Bloomberg data. But analysts there believe that number could top those projections due to the number of retailers filing for bankruptcy recently. About two-thirds of layoffs tend to come in the first one-third of the year.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/retail ... 2016-04-25" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Core Durable Goods Tumble For 14th Month, Longest Non-Recessionary Stretch In 60 Years
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-2 ... h-60-years" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Japan’s government might issue spending vouchers and promote national discount-sales events similar to Black Friday in the United States to boost its lackluster consumer spending and accelerate GDP growth. The government could decide the details as soon as next month as it finalizes the policies for its annual growth strategy, which could potentially help the Bank of Japan in its struggle to accelerate inflation.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan ... SKCN0XM12E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Economic data offer plenty of reasons for easing at the central bank’s two-day meeting, which concludes Thursday. The economy is at risk of shrinking in second quarter because of big earthquakes that shook southern Japan recently. Inflation—including energy—is stuck near zero, while inflation expectations are by some measures the weakest in three years. Wage growth has slowed and the yen has strengthened. All of that runs counter to Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda’s three-year-old campaign to deliver 2% inflation and put Japan on a steady growth path.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-long-ca ... 1461644226" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lessons from Japan: Decades of Decay, Unavoidable Collapse
http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/20 ... decay.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China moved to clamp down on excessive speculation in commodities on Monday after weeks of frenzied trading boosted prices and ignited fears of another bubble in its domestic markets. Activity on China’s largest commodity exchanges has surged in recent days with turnover in key steel contracts exceeding the combined volume of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges on one day last week. Investors around the world have zeroed in on the latest trading binge as the prices of many commodities have risen sharply, with iron ore gaining almost a third in just two weeks. Cash has started to flow into raw materials in part because Chinese officials imposed curbs on equities trading last year. “China’s latest speculative spike has stunned global markets,” said Tom Price, a Morgan Stanley analyst.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/25/china-cl ... renzy.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Goldman Sachs has expressed its concern about the surge in speculative trading in iron ore futures in China, saying that daily volumes are now so large that they sometimes exceed annual imports. “There have been two days in the past month where futures volumes have been greater than the total amount of iron ore that China actually imported for the whole of 2015 (950 million tons),” the Goldman analysts wrote.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... s-the-most" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In the aftermath of China’s gargantuan, record new loan injection in Q1, which saw a whopping $1 trillion in new bank and shadow loans created in the first three months of the year, many were wondering where much of this newly created cash was ending up. We now know where most of it went: soaring imports of crude oil. We know this because as the chart below shows, Chinese crude imports via Qingdao port in Shandong province surged to record 9.86 million metric tons last month based on data from General Administration of Customs.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-2 ... l-has-gone" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

Global investors are expected to pull $538 billion out of China’s slowing economy in 2016, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) estimated on Monday, although the pace of outflows has dropped. That number would be down a fifth from the $674 billion pulled out last year, the industry association said, but could accelerate again if fears re-emerge of a “disorderly” drop in the yuan, or the renminbi, as the currency is also known.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china ... SKCN0XM1HI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Freeport Fires 25% Of Its Oil And Gas Workers
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-2 ... as-workers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Saudi Arabia confirmed on Monday that it planned to sell a stake of its state oil giant Saudi Aramco which was expected to be valued at more than $2 trillion. The sale would be less than 5 percent of the company and would be via an initial public offering (IPO), Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a television interview with the Al Arabiya News Channel.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/25/saudi-de ... llion.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Saudi Arabia has launched a radical ‘Thatcherite’ shake-up to an avert economic crisis and prepare the kingdom for the post-carbon world, stunning analysts with claims that it could break reliance on oil within just four years. Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler, vowed to build a $3 trillion wealth fund and break onto the world stage as an investment superpower, the spearhead of an historic package of measures intended to bring the deformed economy kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. “We have an addiction to oil. This is dangerous. I think that by 2020 we can live without it,” he told Al Arabiya television. It is an extraordinary claim for a government that has historically relied on oil exports for 90pc of its income and has yet to achieve much success in building alternative industries.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/201 ... -from-oil/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

Major UK Pension Fund Slashes Benefits As Funding Crisis Spreads
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-2 ... is-spreads" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mitsubishi Motors admits using wrong tests since 1991
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36137719" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Norway Offers Refugees Cash To Leave The Country
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-2 ... ve-country" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fourteen months after they arrived to investigate the disappearance of 43 college students, a panel of international experts is leaving Mexico, their case unsolved.
https://theintercept.com/2016/04/25/ind ... -students/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The first-ever all-out doctors' strike is a "bleak day", ministers say, but hospitals seem to be coping well during Tuesday's stoppage in England. Junior doctors walked out of routine and emergency care at 08:00 BST. The strike affects A&E, maternity and intensive care for the first time.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36134103" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In a randomized, single-blind pilot study, researchers found that anticonvulsive epilepsy drug carbamazepine, which is released in urine, can accumulate in crops irrigated with recycled water—treated sewage—and end up in the urine of produce-eaters not on the drugs. The study, published Tuesday in Environmental Science & Technology, is the first to validate the long-held suspicion that pharmaceuticals may get trapped in infinite pee-to-food-to-pee loops, exposing consumers to drug doses with unknown health effects.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/04/ ... t-re-peed/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FLINT, MI – Already reeling from the news of criminal charges against one of its workers in the wake of the Flint water crisis, city workers are now dealing with the sudden death of a foreman at the plant. Water Treatment Plant Foreman Matthew McFarland, 43, of Otter Lake died suddenly on on Saturday, April 16, according to his obituary.
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.s ... ies_a.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Doctor Andrew Wakefield: Hero or Quack?
https://vactruth.com/2016/04/23/doctor- ... wakefield/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More Outrageous Medical Practices: Kickbacks and Taxation
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=3406961" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tavistock Institute of Human Relations: The Best Kept Secret in America
http://evil-exposed.org/125/Tavistock-I ... in-America" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It appears that Australia has approved a license application from Big Pharma company PaxVax for the intentional release of a GMO vaccine consisting of live bacteria into Queensland, via the use of chemtrails distributed by airplane emissions.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/australia- ... ne/5521887" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

California is in its third straight year of “unusual mortality” rates for sea lions. The dismal state was first declared in January of 2013 and death rates have increased each year since.
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/21/dead_an ... a_beaches/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Target lets transgender people use the restroom, chaos ensues
http://www.isustudentmedia.com/indiana_ ... e52dc.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

392,000 Signers Pledge to Boycott Retailer Target Over Transgender Bathroom Decision
http://www.christianpost.com/news/targe ... na-162480/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Illinois Police Department Pulls Plug On Body Cameras Because Accountability Is 'A Bit Burdensome'
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160 ... some.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The New York Times has filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security over access to department assessments of DHS-funded “fusion centers” written between 2009 and 2014. The centers—created by DHS after 9/11 in an attempt to facilitate information sharing about terrorism among local, state, and federal agencies—have been roundly criticized as duplicative of other counterterrorism efforts, wasteful, and threatening to First Amendment rights. DHS released some assessments to the Times, but in heavily redacted form. The department ignored the Times appeal, and so the newspaper filed suit.
https://privacysos.org/blog/new-york-ti ... n-centers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What's erupting? List & map of currently active volcanoes
http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/erupting_volcanoes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Earthquake swarm in NW Arizona keeps rolling on
http://www.azfamily.com/story/31803279/ ... rolling-on" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In late April 2016, record rainfall fell in the Houston area, and some areas received nearly a season’s worth of rain in one night. The deluge led to deadly flooding, and nine counties were declared to be in a state of disaster.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natura ... &src=nhrss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
In classic late-April fashion, the ingredients are coming into play for severe thunderstorms to prowl the central United States across several days over the coming week. The whole gamut of severe threats is likely to materialize before the week is out, from tornadoes to enormous hail, strong downburst winds, and torrential downpours. Residents of Texas and Louisiana hard-hit by flooding in recent weeks face another stretch with the potential for very heavy rain that would add to record amounts observed in the past 12 months. The storminess kicked off on Sunday with dozens of large-hail reports and at least 10 preliminary tornado reports from southern Minnesota to northern Kansas. Two storm chasers were injured, according to the Weather Channel.

Plenty of atmospheric juice for big hail-makers
Summerlike dewpoints of 70-73°F (21-23°C) were streaming onto the Texas coast on Monday morning. This very humid low-level air mass has plenty of time to be pulled north into the moderate-risk area by Tuesday afternoon. With cold upper-level air overspreading the sultry surface air, lifted indices may get as low as -10 to -12; this would be close to the most extreme levels of instability seen in springtime tornado outbreaks across the Southern and Central Plains. The vertical wind shear (change in wind direction and/or speed with height) will also be more than adequate for tornadic storms, if not exceptionally strong. Wind speeds at 850 mb and 700 mb (about one to two miles aloft) will generally be in the 45 to 55 mph range, whereas they can sometimes top 60 mph in major tornado outbreaks. A strong “cap” (warm layer aloft) at these heights may keep storms from developing along the dry line till late afternoon or early evening. The cap will be weakest and the wind shear strongest near the warm front in northern Kansas and southern Nebraska, which is where I would expect the greatest tornado risk to evolve.

https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffM ... midsection" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On April 28th, probably late in the day, Earth will cross a fold in the heliospheric current sheet--a vast wavy structure in interplanetary space separating regions of opposite magnetic polarity. The crossing could trigger geomagnetic activity and auroras around Earth's poles.
http://www.spaceweather.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

Venezuelan state agencies have run up close to US$1 billion in debts with shipping firms due to delays in returning containers, potentially boosting the cost of importing staple goods as the country struggles with product shortages and an economic crisis. The agencies have held containers for months or simply never returned them, at times leaving the truck-sized steel boxes for years in oil industry facilities or on provincial farms even though this costs US$ 100 per day per container, according to industry sources. The debts have piled up over the last six years, coinciding with a steady rise in the role of state agencies in importing goods to Venezuela, particularly food. The country is served by industry giants such as MAERSK of Denmark and HAMBURG SUD of Germany. The container debts put shipping lines on a long list of industries ranging from international airlines to telecommunications giants that have complained of being unable to collect on billions of dollars in unpaid Venezuelan bills.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venez ... SKCN0XJ1HK" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CARACAS – Vast areas of the Venezuelan capital report electricity blackouts, even though Caracas was excluded from the 4-hour-a-day ration ordered by the government and which is being imposed on the rest of the country for at least 40 days.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?Article ... ryId=10717" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are one million government-provided houses that lack meters in Venezuela. People there do not pay for the electricity and do not even know how much they use. De Lima said that implementing four-hour power cuts in areas near those housing developments is especially tricky. “You have to cut the power at transmission substation level. That means you are leaving a huge area, geographically, without power: not only residential, where you could reduce with less trauma, but also hospitals, traffic lights, gas stations, etc.,” the expert said. “You can’t be selective, there will be wholesale cuts”. “Wholesale cuts” in electric power for several hours a day spell additional trouble for the already ailing Venezuelan economy. In 2016 and for the second year in a row, Venezuela will be the country with the largest GDP drop in the Latin American region (21 countries), according to the IMF. Venezuela is expected to shed 8.5% of its GDP this year, after losing some 5% already in 2015. About half of all of the electricity generated in Venezuela is stolen during transmission, according to De Lima and other sources. Most of the theft is carried out in poor and dangerous areas, Venezuelan “barrios”, slums inaccessible to the police, not to mention to electricity service crews and where the bulk of the “chavista” constituency (that hasn’t yet received a free government house) lives.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?Article ... ryId=10717" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Francisco Martínez, President of the nation’s largest business federation (FEDECÁMARAS) has charged the government with poor planning on electricity here. “The electricity problem is a consequence of poor management, poor planning”, he said. He also said this problem involves corruption: “Venezuelans need to know what they have done with US$ 95 billion invested into the electricity system in order to have the disaster we have in Venezuela”
http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/eco ... ion_306056" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

70% of all industries report drops in their production levels, according to Juan Pablo Olalquiaga, President of the Venezuelan Confederation of Industries (CONINDUSTRIA). He reports that manufacturing is operating at 43.87% capacity “and the trend is for it to continue dropping if emergency measures are not taken.”
http://www.notitarde.com/Economia/70-de ... 21/948368/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...hard to produce without power....and stable money & banking...

The World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has ordered Venezuela to pay almost US$ 100 million to Britain’s VESTEY cattle group for taking over a number of the company’s estates here. The late President Hugo Chavez ordered a takeover of VESTEY properties in 2005. ICSID has now ordered Venezuela to pay up US$ 98 million plus interest.
http://www.notitarde.com/Economia/Ciadi ... 22/948388/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Ban ... 16839.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Omaira Sayago, executive director of the Beer Manufacturers Chamber, reports that the only manufacturer not receiving FOREX is POLAR, which has a US$ 200 million in debts with suppliers dating back to 2014 and has run out of inventories. The company had planned to migrate to the DICOM (controlled official FOREX rate) system rival manufacturers are using, but has received no reply from the government. Four of its plants will shut down this week, impacting 80% if the population.
http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/dai ... ion_306553" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Carlos Albornoz, head of the National Cattlemen’s Federation, reports that agricultural production has dropped by more than 50%, Last Thursday, Venezuelan rural producers demonstrated in the city of Valle de la Pascua to demand better working conditions from the government. “We are barely producing 31% of the beef we eat, a Little over 35% of milk, merely 32% of White corn and 22% of yellow corn, and 60% of rice…we have no machinery, security or profitability”. He reported a lot of cattle is perishing due to lack of food and supplies.
http://www.notitarde.com/Economia/Feden ... 21/948371/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Robert Rennhack, Deputy Director in the Western Hemisphere Department of the International Monetary Fund, has issued a statement warning that Venezuela’s economy could collapse completely in one and a half years of government financial policies are not corrected. This could happen in 12 to 18 months. He also warns that inflation will reach 2,200% in 2017, and believes annual inflation could be up to 13,000%, which is what experts call full hyperinflation.
http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/FMI ... 16878.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Yesterday the water levels at Guri dam reached a record low of 241.67 meters, according to state power utility Corpoelec. If levels drop below 240 meters, the dam’s operator may be forced to shut down units at the plant that produces about 75 percent of the electricity that Caracas, the country’s capital and largest city, consumes.

Alas, since this plan was doomed to fail as the Venezuela economy would produce even less output as a result of the extended weekend, things went from comical to farcical overnight when the Venezuelan gift kept on giving, and the nation expanded the three-day weekend to five days, declaring a two-day work week for government workers, adding it was seeking international help to save its power grid amid a drought that threatens the capital’s main source of electricity.

The two-day work week, after the government added Wednesdays and Thursdays as non-working days to save more power, will last at least two weeks, President Nicolas Maduro said on his weekly program broadcast on state television. Schools will be closed on Fridays starting this week, he said.

“The public sector will work Monday and Tuesday, while we go through these critical and extreme weeks where we are doing everything to save the Guri,” Maduro said, referring to the giant hydroelectric dam that has become like a “desert.” The collection of electricity-saving measures have reduced Guri’s daily drop from 22 centimeters a day to 10 centimeters, he added.

Looking forward, we doubt that the decision to expand the weekend from 3 to 5 days will be reversed any time soon (after all the initial 3-day weekend expansion was supposed to be temporary as well), and the most likely outcome is that in his next decree, Maduro will announce that public workers can just take a 7 day weekend, and no longer show to work. They will also receive a commesurate wage.

At that point, we assume, is when the Venezuela experiment in creating a socialist paradise finally concludes.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-2 ... lic-worker" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It now seems inevitable that Venezuela, for decades touted as a “socialist paradise”, will disintegrate by the end of the year.

It’s the ultimate case of “Dutch disease”, a country now rotten from depending far too much on the export of a primary product and, as a result, facing a currency so bloated it can’t maintain productivity and competitiveness.

Now, the inevitable violence and chaos is starting to spill over. On Sunday, the Financial Times cited reports of the morgue in the capital city of Caracas overwhelmed with the stench of dead bodies piling up.

There’s been no official homicide data from Venezuela since 2006, but El Nacional is claiming “5186” murders in 2016 to date. One local think tank puts the rate at 92 killings per 100,000 citizens – about 22,000 Australians a year in local terms, or 84 murders every week in Sydney.

It’s almost fives times the rate in the year before Hugo Chavez came to power.

“No guns” notices are present in every public space, every restaurant. The security guard at his hotel was hiding behind the door when they knocked, because he’s not allowed to carry a weapon.

The FT spoke to local man Luis Mejía, who said three members of his family had been shot in the past fortnight.

“This is now wilder than the wild west,” he said, adding the morgue attendant who a decade ago received seven or eight bodies every weekend is now faced with 40 and 50.

17 years ago Chavez brought his socialist revolution to Venezuela. Now, barely two years after his death, lynchings, prison breakouts, deadly student protests and mafia executions dominate the pages of national newspapers.

While the Venezuelan government still denies it, for nearly two years now, people have been saying they must wait several days in lines to enter government grocery stores for basic essential items which may not even be on the shelf when they finally get through the door.

Standing in line has actually become one of the better paid professions in Caracas. The queues are solely outside state-run supermarkets which see government subsidised staples selling for as much as four times cheaper than in private stores.

The other edge of the sword is that when Venezuelans eventually get inside the stores, they’re leaving with much more than they need, because reselling it across the border into Colombia and Brazil is extremely lucrative.

There’s huge pressure on the government to maintain the subsidies or face a political backlash from the country’s significant chunk of voters beset by poverty.

Since 2013, the Venezuelan government has been seizing toilet paper factories. That’s because toilet paper is an essential item that receives “preferential dollars”.

If you need to know why that’s a huge problem – aside from causing a chronic shortage of toilet paper – here’s an example dolartoday used back in November, updated with the most recent valuations:

Say you import 10 million bolivars worth of toilet paper. Officially, that’s about $US1 million worth.
Toilet paper is a preferential item, so it can only be sold at the official government bolivar rate, and as such, you are only allowed to make a maximum of 20% profit on it in Venezuela.
So you send 5 million bolivars worth back across the border and sell it for $US500,000, which you spend on iPhones.
iPhones receives no preferential dollars, so you can sell them in Venezuela at the black market rate of 1142 bolivars per US dollar.
You receive $571 million bolivars for your $US500,000 worth of iPhones, which, converted back at the official rate, snag you $57.1 million – a staggering 11,320% return.

You can see why the Venezuelan government is trying to shut down and sue dolartoday, which is a US website.

If you’re not subsidised, there’s no point buying any stock because people can’t afford to buy it off you.

If you are subsidised, you’ll just take the money the government gives you and exchange it for a whole lot more on the black market, rather than buy more stock.

Both outcomes result in less stock. Less food, less toilet paper. Reuters reported in March that things were so bad, the Venezuelan government was using bonds to pay for pharmaceutical imports.

Perhaps Venezuelans should be growing more food rather than exporting it, right? Except in the middle of Chavez’s reign, the government seized control of some 3 million hectares of agricultural land in an effort to control production and prices. Now it sits idle, because the overvalued currency means it’s cheaper to import food than grow and distribute it. Cheaper, but still too expensive for your average Venezuelan family.

And because of the lack of imported barley, Venezuela also faces running out of beer.

It even imports its own banknotes from Europe.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the Venezuelan economy shrank 10 per cent last year, and will shrink a further 8 per cent this year as inflation surges to 720% compared to 250% last year. Going by black market rates, Venezuela’s currency has lost 93 per cent of its value in the past two years.

It’s almost impossible to see the country not defaulting soon on external debt fast approaching $200 billion. Traders have put the chances of a default at up to 88% through to next June.

$US14 billion is due in the next 12 months, but no one’s exactly sure how big Venezuela’s reserves are.

At the end of February, with crude hovering in the low $30 range, Siobhan Morden of Nomura said Venezuela had about $20 billion in oil revenues coming to it in 2016. Out of that, it has to find $35bn to pay for imports and $12bn to cover capital outflows – on top of the $10.5 billion in repayments.

April’s a relatively modest payment – $782 million. May pushes up close to a billion and if Venezuela can get through those, there’s some breathing spce until October and November, where it will have to cough up nearly $5 billion.

A recent update has the Bank of America thinking Venezuela might have assets and reserves around the $50 billion mark. Nomura Holdings reckons it’s closer to $10 billion.

Okay, it looks tight. But at the end of last year, the country’s reserves were dropping by around $3 billion a month.

The only thing in Venezuela’s favour right now is the fact its finances are nothing if not murky.

In February, everyone wondered how it would make a monthly downpayment of $US1.5 billion, but a shipment of 35.8 tonnes of gold miraculously turned up on the doorstep of Swiss customs officials, a sign of good faith the country could just about cover it.

If Venezuela’s government have managed one thing effectively, it’s making bond payments, most likely because it fears what will happen if it doesn’t. Essentially, the same thing that happened when Argentina defaulted in 2001 and more than half the country suddenly living in poverty took it out on the politicians.

The latest note from Deutsche Bank says even a return to $US100 a barrel for oil won’t help Venezuela. It needs closer to $US200 just to balance its budget.

Communications services are now being cut. The government owes some $US700 million to private telecoms and cable firms, one of which, the giant Telefonica, has suspended long distance calls to the US, Europe and crucial South American partners Colombia, Brazil and Panama.

And now Venezuelans face the next stage in their seemingly inevitable decline – switching off the lights.
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/venez ... ion-2016-4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I never expected to witness the slow suicide of a country, a civilization. I suppose nobody does.

Let me tell you, there’s nothing epic about it. We who have the privilege of travel often look down in satisfaction at the ruins of ancient Greece; the Parthenon lit up in blues and greens. The acropolis. The Colosseum in Rome. We walk through the dusty streets of Timbuktu and gaze in wonder at the old mud mosques as we reflect on when these places had energy and purpose. They are not sad musings, for those of us who are tourists. Time has polished over the disaster. Now all that is left are great old buildings that tell a story of when things were remarkable – not of how they quietly fell away. “There was no reason, not really,” we tell each other as we disembark our air-conditioned buses. “These things just happen. Nothing is forever; and nobody is at fault. It’s just the way of the world,” our plastic wine glass in hand. Time ebbs and flows, slowly wearing away the foundations of a civilization until it collapses in upon itself – at least that’s what we say to comfort ourselves. There’s nothing to do about it. These things can’t be stopped. They just are.

This is what people will say in a hundred years, a thousand years about Caracas, Venezuela. Or Maracay, or Valencia, or Maracaibo. Those great sweltering South American cities with their malls and super-highways and skyscrapers and colossal stadiums. When the archeologists of the future dredge the waters of the Caribbean and find the remains of sunken boats; putting them on display in futuristic museums to tell of the time when this place had hosted a civilization.

Venezuela is slowly, and very publically, dying; an act that has spanned more than fifteen years. National suicide is not product of any one moment. But instead one bad idea, upon another, upon another and another and another and another and the wheels that move the country began to grind slower and slower; rust covering their once shiny facades. Revolution – cold and angry. Hate, as a political strategy. Law, used to divide and conquer. Regulation used to punish. Elections used to cement dictatorship. Corruption bleeding out the lifeblood in drips. Good men and women stuck in a two-decade old debate from which there is no escape. Videos of nightly sacking of supermarkets that are fortuitous enough to have had a supply of something. Tonight there are no lights. They blame the weather – the government does – like the tribal shamans of old who made sacrifices to the gods in the hopes of an intervention. There is no food either; they tell the people to hold on, to raise chickens on the terraces of their apartments. There is no water – and they give lessons on state TV of how to wash with a cup of water. The money is worthless; people now pay with potatoes, if they can find them. Doctors operate using the light of their smart phones; when there is power enough to charge them. Without anesthesia, of course – or antibiotics, like the days before the advent of modern medicine. The phone service has been cut – soon the internet will go and an all-pervading darkness will fall over a feral land. The marathon of destruction is almost finished; the lifeblood of the nation is almost gone. No, there is nothing heroic or epic here; ruins in the making are sad affairs – bereft of the comforting mantle of time which lends intrigue and inevitability.
https://joelhirst.wordpress.com/2016/04 ... venezuela/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

Apple’s sales in China tumbled in the second quarter after currency headwinds hurt Hong Kong sales, the company said in Tuesday’s earnings. “The vast majority of the weakness sits in Hong Kong,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts in an earnings call. “The Hong Kong dollar being pegged to the U.S. dollar, and therefore it carries the burden of strength of U.S. dollar.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/26/apples-c ... rcent.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Companies in China must repay 547 billion yuan ($86 billion) of onshore notes in May, the most in any month ever, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Investors are avoiding risky debt, with the yield premium on three-year AA- rated local bonds, considered junk in China, widening 43 basis points in April, the most since 2014. “An explosion of credit risks is spreading,” said He Qian at HFT Investment Management. “The risks are spreading from privately held companies to state-owned companies, from overcapacity industries to all other industries.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... bond-slump" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chinese company to build $1 billion mill in south Arkansas
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese- ... 34732.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China successfully flight tested its new high-speed maneuvering warhead last week, days after Russia carried out its own hypersonic glider test, according to Pentagon officials. The test of the developmental DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle was monitored after launch Friday atop a ballistic missile fired from the Wuzhai missile launch center in central China, said officials familiar with reports of the test.
http://freebeacon.com/national-security ... c-missile/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

According to Andrew Lapthorne of Société Générale, the reality is that “US corporates appear to be spending way too much (over 35% more than their gross operating cash flow, the biggest deficit in over 20 years of data) and are using debt issuance to make up the difference”. The decline in earnings and cash flows in the past year has accentuated the problem, and brought it to the top of investors’ consciousness.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/92efa126-0ba4 ... 53ff3.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Moody’s Investors Service stripped Alberta of its Aaa credit rating on Monday, becoming the latest ratings agency to downgrade the Canadian province after the oil price shock pushed its finances deep into the red. Citing its worsening fiscal position and resulting rapid rise in debt, Moody’s downgraded the province’s long-term rating to Aa1 from Aaa and maintained a negative outlook. The downgrade “reflects the province’s growing and unconstrained debt burden, extended timeframe back to balance, weakened liquidity, and risks surrounding the success of the province’s medium-term fiscal plan,” Moody’s Assistant Vice President Adam Hardi said in a statement. Earlier this month, Dominion Bond Rating Service also downgraded the province after the provincial government forecast a budget deficit of C$10.4 billion ($8.21 billion) this fiscal year.
http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-r ... SL2N17S1ON" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Greece and its lenders were unable on Tuesday to reach an agreement on how to line up €3.6 billion in contingent austerity measures, leading to plans for an extra meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Thursday being dropped.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/208217/arti ... -eu-summit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SPOKANE, Washington — Officials for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation are trying to determine if a second giant underground tank containing radioactive waste from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons is leaking, the U.S. Department of Energy revealed on Tuesday.
http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/ ... ford-Tanks" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

From Germany to the US, authorities want access to Panama Papers
http://www.dw.com/en/from-germany-to-th ... a-19209191" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On April 29th or 30th, Earth will cross a fold in the heliospheric current sheet--a vast wavy structure in interplanetary space separating regions of opposite magnetic polarity. This is called a "solar sector boundary crossing," and it could trigger geomagnetic activity around Earth's poles. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms on April 29th.
http://www.spaceweather.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
iWriteStuff
blithering blabbermouth
Posts: 5523
Location: Sinope
Contact:

Re: Blipits

Post by iWriteStuff »

hey where's all the new Blipits?! I'm desperate for some good news and analysis, Jason!

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

iWriteStuff wrote:hey where's all the new Blipits?! I'm desperate for some good news and analysis, Jason!
I'm trying to break myself of LDSFF addiction. Too much contention...and I suspect it will only get worse as things progress down the spiral (Hegelian dialect & Asch Paradigm; political, economic and moral decay, etc etc etc). In an effort (failed today) to keep myself focused and positive...that's my goal is to break away from this forum.

By way of small service to you though...

Flight logs show Bill Clinton flew on sex offender's jet much more than previously known
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/05/13/fl ... known.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Other politicians, celebrities and businessmen, including presidential candidate Donald Trump, have been accused of fraternizing with Epstein. Trump lawyer Alan Garten told FoxNews.com in a statement Trump and Epstein are not pals.

“There was no relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump,” he said. “They were not friends and they did not socialize together.”
from link above....media is doing a good job of pushing people for one side or the other (both offensively and defensively)...

Scandal: A new investigation reveals that Bill and Hillary Clinton took in at least $100 million from Middle East leaders.
http://www.thelibertybeacon.com/hillary ... t-leaders/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Deep History and the Global Drug Connection, Part 4: Enter al-Qaeda
http://whowhatwhy.org/2016/05/12/deep-h ... -al-qaeda/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Protecting al-Qaeda: Guest Analysis by Steven Chovanec
https://levantreport.com/2016/03/01/pro ... -chovanec/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

THERE’S MORE ON THOSE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS ABOUT 9/11
http://gizadeathstar.com/2016/05/theres ... ouse-saud/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Meanwhile...

Scenes From The Venezuela Apocalypse: "Countless Wounded" After 5,000 Loot Supermarket Looking For Food
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-1 ... looking-fo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An Incoherent Empire: What Is Obama Doing Sending Troops to Yemen?
http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-projec ... oops-yemen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Troops Staying in Yemen for Now, Pentagon Official Says
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... -says.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...to add to the current "official" list...Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria...

On a more strategic note...

Saudi Arabia Loses No. 1 Spot to Iraq in Crude Exports to India
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/ ... India.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran Hits Saudis Where It Hurts, Offers Discounts On Asian Crude
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gener ... Crude.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mohamed Bin Salman: The accidental Saudi “King”
http://thesaker.is/mohamed-bin-salman-t ... audi-king/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

By way of fishing...a few of my latest go-to sources which I believe you already fish at a couple...

http://venezuelandailybrief.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://daniel-venezuela.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://thesaker.is/latest-articles/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.jacobinmag.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://oilprice.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.zerohedge.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://gizadeathstar.com/farrell/1-anno ... ts-events/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://levantreport.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.outdoorlife.com/people/tim-macwelch" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.thepreparednesspodcast.com/author/rob/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://newslinksandbundles.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.shininginthedark.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (click Hot ET News)
http://www.thelibertybeacon.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.decodedscience.org/topics/science-news" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.blacklistednews.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.cryptogon.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.military.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.rferl.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.theautomaticearth.com/the-automatic-earth/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://revolutionradio.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dailyjobcuts.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.spaceweather.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.solarham.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...and last of all my old blog - see list of links (some dysfunction on some though as I haven't maintained this since 2013) on right hand side...and if you get far enough down blog updates from a host of blogs I used to follow...but still quick way to get some updates.

http://yophat.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Godspeed friends in building the kingdom!

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Blipits

Post by Silver »

Small doses, Brother Jason, small doses. Just stop by and say 'hi' when you can. I'm extremely positive about the future. The obvious selection by the elites of two of the worst possible people in a country of 300+ million as presidential candidates shows how proud they are. They have ascended, in their minds, to sides of the mount, and plan on staying there and ruling us lowly troglodytes in perpetuity. Well, how great shall be the fall thereof.

Yes, one day, when we're like the Balkans or Greece or Libya or Venezuela, we'll have some very tough times. However, it will also purify those who hold on to the Iron Rod, those that stay on the boat.

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

Short rant...
Detroit, Fresh Out of Bankruptcy, Discovers $195M Pension Shortfall
https://mishtalk.com/2016/05/24/detroit ... shortfall/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Choice For Venezuela Is Stark: Either Print Money and Fail or Establish Sound Money (USD to the Rescue?)
http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/20 ... stark.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

France Goes Dark? Staff In 19 French Nuclear Power Plants To Go On Strike Tomorrow
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-2 ... e-tomorrow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some common themes.

In so many ways I perceive we are being mislead as to the causes of our demise. Hard to address the myriad attempts. In terms of some very basic ones though...our decline (worldwide across all civilization) is both financial/economic as well as spiritual/moral/ethical.

For example on the financial front using the focus on Venezuela which is in the process of failing...the blame and intended solution is stated as sound money. In my limited experience...capital is not drawn to sound money. Money doesn't chase gold, silver, etc anymore than any other commodity, good, and/or service. Its based on supply/demand with the notion of obtaining a return on investment (for paper example Japanese Yen). In other words if one cannot profit from an endeavor...why engage? See that throughout Venezuela right now with price controls. In some instances those price controls diminish market capacity (supply) by taking away profitability (sugar production for example). In other cases they encourage illicit behavior (obtaining 1200% return by selling toilet paper across border to Columbia rather than keeping it in country).

The basic premise is wanting something for nothing. Unwilling to make the effort or to pay a profit to someone else to obtain. The hucksters are only successful in their power & money grabs because the majority are selling themselves short wanting something for nothing. Or at a minimum...play now and pay later.

Venezuela can change their money to gold. It won't make the debt disappear. It won't make production increase. It won't turn the lights back on. It won't fix the crime and poverty. It won't make the food appear.

They have oil. They've borrowed against their oil production (not their money but black gold). They can't produce enough to satisfy their debts and keep the infrastructure in place.

The core problem is the dismissal of core values and work ethic. In other words proper religion (principles) and morality. Until that gets fixed...they will continue to spiral down until they kill each other. That is what is going to happen everywhere else as well. See the cycle over and over throughout history.

I believe the ones who make it through will be those that pull together (unity), solid principles and work ethic, and strong moral basis. As long as there is a group of people willing to do this...they will survive the rabble....and lay the foundation for the next round of civilization.

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

A Timeline of CIA Atrocities
https://anticorruptionsociety.com/2016/ ... trocities/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It costs $150 to buy a dozen eggs in Venezuela right now

To understand what that kind of inflation means, we spoke to Maria Linares, a 42-year-old single mother who works as an accounting assistant at a government ministry and lives in an impoverished neighborhood of the capital, Caracas.

Her monthly pay, including a food allowance, is 27,000 bolivars.

That’s $2,700 a month at the official exchange rate of 10 bolivars to the dollar. But Venezuelans have so little faith in their currency -- or the government's ability to fix the country's deepening economic crisis -- that a dollar can fetch upward of 1,000 bolivars on the black market. At that rate, Linares earns just $27 a month.


Either way, it’s not enough.

At the Mercal, a dozen eggs cost 450 bolivars in December.

The official price is now 1,020 bolivars. But Linares said she never finds eggs at the Mercal.

So she buys them from street vendors for around 1,500 bolivars -- a staggering $150 at the official exchange rate, or about $1.50 at the black market rate.
http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-ame ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The $1.50 is pretty accurate....problem is that means her monthly income is $27 per month. Month's worth of work as accounting assistant for government agency gets you 18 dozen eggs. I think I'd rather be the farmer with the chickens selling eggs at the market...that by simply owning 15-20 chickens averaging dozens eggs a day...would net me a months worth of accounting income in 18 days vs 30. And inflation proof for the most part at that.

8 Lessons That We Can Learn From The Epic Economic Meltdown In Venezuela
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... -venezuela" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
What Happens When Thousands Of Chinese Cab Drivers Get Pissed At Uber
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-0 ... issed-uber" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Saudi Arabia Sovereign Wealth Fund Buys 5% Stake In Uber For $3.5 Billion
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-0 ... 35-billion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...lots of disruption taking place in the global marketplace...and attempts to corral or control that disruption...

Unproductive debt in China—that is, debt that’s used to drive up asset prices—swelled in 2015, eclipsing the level seen in the U.S. in the run-up to the Great Financial Crisis, said Torsten Slok, chief international economist at Deutsche Bank, in a note to clients published Tuesday.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chart- ... 2016-05-31" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Shanghai’s money market is braced for higher borrowing costs as a credit-fueled economic recovery coincides with the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates in June, a month that has historically seen funding crunches in China. The overnight interbank lending rate averaged 1.99% in May, up from 1.18% a year ago, as Federal Reserve tightening weakened the yuan, spurring capital outflow pressures. That borrowing cost has climbed every June since 2011, as lenders hoard deposits ahead of quarter-end regulatory checks. The cost of fixing rates in the swap market is surging as data showed property leading a rebound in investment in the world’s second-biggest economy.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ash-crunch" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hong Kong’s retail sales fell for the 14th successive month in April, as a drop in tourists and weak local consumption deepened the pain for retailers in the city. Retail sales in April slid 7.5% from a year earlier to HK$35.2 billion ($4.5 billion) in value terms, less than a 9.8% slump in March. In volume terms, April sales dropped 7.6%, government data showed on Tuesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/hongkong ... SL4N18R2Z9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

operating conditions in Japan worsened at the sharpest pace in 40 months…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-3 ... month-lows" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“Stocks are just ownership, and they can go to zero. Private equity can also go to zero,” said Mr. Kloepfer, noting bonds will almost always pay back what was borrowed, plus a coupon. “The perverse result is you need more of that to get the extra oomph.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/pension-fun ... 1464713013" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image
Will there be another huge financial crisis? As Hamlet said of the fall of a sparrow: “If it be now, ’tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come – the readiness is all.” So it is with banks. They are designed to fall. So fall they surely will.

As Lord King remarks, the alchemy is “the belief that money kept in banks can be taken out whenever depositors ask for it”. This is a confidence trick in two senses: it works if, and only if, confidence is strong; and it is fraudulent. Financial institutions make promises that, in likely states of the world, they cannot keep. In good times, this is a lucrative business. In bad times, the authorities have to come to the rescue. It is little wonder, then, that financial institutions have become so large and pay so well. Consider any large bank. It will have a wide range of long-term and risky assets on its books, mortgages and corporate loans prominent among them. It will finance these with deposits (supposedly redeemable on demand), short-term loans and longer-term loans. Perhaps 5% will be financed by equity.

Without aid from the central bank, the only institution able to create money without limit, banks will fail to meet that demand. Since a generalised collapse would be economically devastating, needed support is forthcoming. Over time, this reality has created a “Red Queen’s race”: governments try to make finance safer and finance exploits the support to make itself riskier. Broadly speaking, two radical solutions are on offer. One is to force banks to fund themselves with far more equity. The other is to make banks match liquid liabilities with liquid and safe assets. The 100% reserve requirements of the “Chicago plan”, proposed during the Great Depression, is such a scheme.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e4931794-2696-1 ... false.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

...always the pretense that central banks are controlled by government....when reality is couldn't be further from the truth...

Brazil's economy, the largest in Latin America, shrank 5.4% in the first quarter of this year, according to government figures released Wednesday. The news comes as Brazil is only 65 days away from hosting the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the country is in the midst of immense political turmoil.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/01/news/ec ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...of course things like this spot in Germany over the weekend...
EDMONTON, Alberta -- A phased return of more than 80,000 residents of the fire-damaged oil sands city Fort McMurray will begin Wednesday as planned, Alberta's premier announced Tuesday.

Rachel Notley said that the wildfire is no longer an imminent threat to the city and critical infrastructure has been repaired. The massive wildfire destroyed about 2,400 structures almost a month ago in Fort McMurray but 90 percent of the city remains intact. Residents of three neighborhoods won't be able to return because of environmental concerns.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fort-mcmurr ... -oil-city/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...are happening around the world with greater frequency...and certainly don't boost production...and help service debt...

Image
On this basis the researchers concluded that nearly half of Americans are “financially fragile” – and that necessarily includes a sizeable chunk of the middle classes, as the details of the studies mentioned above show. Some 44% of middle-income households said they would struggle to raise the $400. Nearly half of college graduates would not cover a $500-$1,000 emergency with savings.

A quarter of people living in households earning $100,000-$150,000 a year (at the higher-income end of the middle class) claim not to be able to raise $2,000 within a month. Even if you take some of this with a pinch of salt – better off households are likely to have access to other forms of net wealth, albeit less liquid – the picture it paints of a middle-class crisis is stark.
http://moneyweek.com/the-end-of-the-american-dream/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
JPMorgan's Four Catalysts For Chaos In 2016

1) The Fed. Do they move in June or Jul? The former has the Brexit problem on June 23 (although the odds of an “out” vote have declined enormously) and the latter lacks a press conf. Will two hikes this year (one in the summer and another ostensibly in Dec after the elections) spark another steep rally in the USD or will currency markets stay calm?;

2) China FX – the CNY hit a high of ~6.60 vs. the USD earlier in the year, rallied to ~6.45 as of the end of Mar, and has since rebounded to ~6.58. It isn’t so much the absolute level that investors watch (although that is clearly important) but instead the pace of weakness that is most important (Aug saw a sharp devaluation and that repeated around the end of Dec/early Jan). The messaging from Chinese officials suggests they will avoid additional sudden 1x devaluations but further CNY weakness should be expected (JPM is assuming 6.63 by the end of Q3 and 6.75 by the end of the year);

3) Japan policy – the surprise adoption of NIRP on 1/29 was a major negative not only b/c it drove a global sell-off in bank stocks but also as it undermined central bank confidence in general. The BOJ is likely gearing up additional action (at either its 6/16 or 7/29 meeting) and it will be important for it avoid a repeat of 1/29;

4) US elections – the consensus expectation right now assumes a Clinton victory but current trends suggest such an outcome is far from certain. Hillary hasn’t even secured the Democratic nomination and appears headed for a very acrimonious convention. The GOP meanwhile is quickly unifying behind Trump and recent polls are pointing to a very close election in Nov. Note that control of the Senate is very much up for grabs this year too (the House seems safely in Republican hands).
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-0 ... chaos-2016" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The central banker said: “Shadow banking money is much more run prone than bank money. A stable deposit franchise gives a bank the ability to ride out transitory valuation changes of the sort that might come from noise-trader shocks or fire sales, without being forced to liquidate assets at temporarily depressed prices.”

While the “banks have government insurance for the deposits they hold and are relatively well capitalized compared to other financial institutions thanks to the regulation that comes along with that insurance. It’s other financial institutions, generally called shadow banks that are much more prone to runs.”

Shadow banking is an unregulated alternative and comes in several forms, including:

• Advanced check cashing stores
• Crowd-funding websites
• Money-market funds
• Repurchase agreements

Stein said that “part of the reason for this instability is that non-bank financial institutions often give investors the option to seize collateral in a transaction at a moment’s notice.”
https://occupycorporatism.com/dnc-chair ... necessary/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Despite many promises, there has been no sustainable economic recovery. The United States, and the developed world for that matter, have made repetitive attempts over the last 16 years to return economic growth to the pace of years long past. These nations are stuck in a cycle in which hopes for economic “escape velocity” get crushed by economic recession and asset price collapse. Following each failure is an increasingly anemic pattern of economic growth accompanied by rising mountains of debt, which ultimately lead to another failure. The perpetual excuse from the central bankers is that not enough was done to foster “lift-off”. In their view, lower interest rates, more fiscal spending and additional quantitative easing will eventually provide the needed spark that will cause the economic engine to fire on all cylinders. In the profound words of Mark Twain, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

Two Primary Factors of Economic Growth

The impact of misguided economic policy is best understood through an evaluation of the two key components of economic growth.

1.) Demographics – the size of the working population

2.) Productivity – the amount of goods and services that can be produced in a unit of time

Why is Productivity Falling?

The question of why U.S. productivity growth is so weak has been a topic of much debate. Explanations include employer and worker behavior patterns, the influence of a rising service sector economy and the most commonly cited excuse, measurement error. The disparity of explanations implies that most economists do not have a sound diagnosis for this “economic mystery” as Neil Irwin of The New York Times recently called it. One thing is certain to economists – to the extent that productivity is in fact weak and even potentially in decline, a continuation of this trend will have important implications for U.S. and developed world economic growth and, of course, asset prices whose returns are predicated on growth.

No Economic Mystery

Dear experts,

The solution to the mystery is straight-forward. Rising productivity depends upon the perpetuation of evolving complex production which hinges upon saving, otherwise known as consumption deferred. The accumulation of, and refinements to, physical capital through savings and investment provides the cornerstone for the advancement of labor and technology. In other words, productivity requires savings to feed the Virtuous Cycle.

Maybe the success of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are reflective of the erosion in confidence and trust. Perhaps current generations have realized they are not likely to be wealthier than their parents. Certainly the secular decline in our economic and productivity growth offers clues. Whatever the reasons, the system on which our affluence was built has been quietly dismantled.

A durable, time-tested model of prosperity, Savings-Investment-Production-Income, has been hi-jacked by a model focused solely on consumption, requiring ever increasing levels of debt to grow. It is an impatient, undisciplined model. Not only is such a model unsustainable, it is destructive.
http://wallstreetexaminer.com/2016/06/d ... ous-cycle/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nearly 50 percent of recent college graduates are working in jobs where no college degree is required.
http://www.mybudget360.com/college-grad ... s-careers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s 41-Year U.S. Debt Secret
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/ ... ebt-secret" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Chicago police telling CNN that six people were shot and killed, and 42 were injured in gunfire from Friday evening through midnight Monday,

However, an analysis by the Chicago Tribune had a higher figure, finding at least 69 people were shot over the weekend.
What's clear though are that police are gearing up for what traditionally is a busy season after this winter saw a marked rise in violence over last year. Gun violence in the Windy City tends to be lower during the brutal winter months.
By the end of March, 141 people had been killed, according to Chicago police, marking a 71.9% jump from the same period in 2015 when 82 people were killed.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/31/us/chicag ... -violence/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
With just a few million dollars and a phone number, you can snoop on any call or text that phone makes – no matter where you are or where the device is located.

That’s the bold claim of Israel’s Ability Inc, which offers its set of bleeding-edge spy tools to governments the world over. And it’s plotting to flog its kit to American cops in the coming months.

“ULIN enables interception of voice calls, SMS messages and call-related information of GSM/UMTS/LTE phones, without the need to be close to the intercepted phone and without the consent of mobile network operators [emphasis by FORBES] and requires only the mobile device’s phone number or IMSI. Customers can use ULIN to intercept calls, and gather other information, from anywhere in the world.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrews ... 79fc075959" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Starting on June 7th, FEMA will be conducting a large scale drill that has been named “Cascadia Rising” that will simulate the effects of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone and an accompanying west coast tsunami dozens of feet tall. According to the official flyer for the event, more than “50 counties, plus major cities, tribal nations, state and federal agencies, private sector businesses, and non-governmental organizations across three states – Washington, Oregon, and Idaho – will be participating”. In addition to “Cascadia Rising”, U.S. Northern Command will be holding five other exercises simultaneously. According to the final draft of the Cascadia Rising drill plan, those five exercises are entitled “Ardent Sentry 2016″, “Vigilant Guard”, “Special Focus Exercise”, “Turbo Challenge” and “Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore”. The primary scenario that of all of these participants will be focusing on will be one that involves a magnitude 9.0 earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone followed by a giant tsunami that could displace up to a million people from northern California to southern Canada.

We have never seen such a disaster before in all of U.S. history.

Do they know something that the rest of us do not?
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... nd-tsunami" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pakistani Woman Burned Alive For Refusing Marriage
http://www.rferl.org/content/pakistan-w ... 72859.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

France train chaos as labour unrest spreads
http://www.news24.com/World/News/france ... s-20160601" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Former Zurich Insurance (ZURN.S) boss Martin Senn has committed suicide six months after leaving the company under a cloud, a tragedy that comes less than three years after Zurich's finance chief took his own life.

Senn, 59, shot himself at his family's Alpine resort home in Klosters, Swiss newspaper Blick reported. He had quit as chief executive of Zurich in December following a series of profit warnings and a botched takeover of British rival RSA (RSA.L).

His death follows the suicide of Zurich's finance chief Pierre Wauthier in August 2013, which brought into sharp focus the pressures facing senior corporate executives in Switzerland and elsewhere.

Weeks before Wauthier's death, Swisscom (SCMN.S) Chief Executive Carsten Schloter had taken his own life.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-zuric ... SKCN0YL0N2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Donald Trump’s now infamous university was put on display with four hundred pages of documents showing how the operation successfully swindled money out of students.

For inspiration, Donald himself added a “personal message” to new recruits to the scheme: “Only doers get rich. I know that in these three packed days, you will learn everything to make a million dollars within the next 12 months.”
https://occupycorporatism.com/donalds-t ... ndle-much/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Clinton doesn’t have an economic plan for us. Nobody has an economic plan for us. There is no economic plan for us, ever. We keep driving trucks around and keep the margins above gas money and maybe take an odd job here or there, but essentially, we’re history and nobody seems to mind saying so.

And let me be honest again- Trump doesn’t have an economic plan for me either. What Trump’s boys have for me is a noose- but that’s the choice I’m facing, a lifetime of grueling poverty, or apocalypse.

https://morecrows.wordpress.com/2016/05 ... cessariat/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The strongest geomagnetic storm of 2016 happened almost one month ago, on May 8th (Mother's Day), when a solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field. Is it about to happen again? The same stream of solar wind is returning. ETA: June 4th and 5th.
http://www.spaceweather.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

...quick snapshot and by no means exhaustive....

Shooting reported at Dallas Love Field airport
https://www.rt.com/usa/346162-shooting- ... ove-field/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anchorage police have charged an Anchorage man suspected of shooting another man near 37th Avenue and Wyoming Drive Thursday evening. Police say Cody Randall Hess, 21, has been charged with assault, weapons misconduct and reckless endangerment.
http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/shots- ... 50521.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Authorities in Ohio Friday arrested a man accused of wounding two people, including a sheriff’s deputy, in an apartment complex shooting.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/10/ma ... oting.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Details revealed about Landen shooting that injured deputy
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/20 ... /85678948/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SEDGWICK COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH) One person is dead after a shooting near Oaklawn Friday morning.
http://www.kwch.com/content/news/One-pe ... 58541.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (WISH) — A man was found dead in a Brownsburg apartment after a neighbor reported hearing gunshots Thursday evening, according to police. It happened in the 7000 block of Meadow Trial, also known as Maple Lane.
http://wishtv.com/2016/06/09/brownsburg ... -shooting/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Police are investigating a fatal overnight shooting at the Motel 6 on Williamsburg Road in Henrico's East End.
http://wtvr.com/2016/06/10/motel-6-shooting/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) — One man was hospitalized and another man was arrested following a shooting in Allegan Thursday night.
http://woodtv.com/2016/06/10/1-hospital ... n-allegan/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

20-year-old man was killed and another person was injured when gunfire erupted inside a Long Beach home on Thursday morning, police said.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HAYWARD (KTVU) -- Police in Hayward are investigating a shooting that may have occurred between two vehicles.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/156675937-story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A Hempstead man was killed at his home and a teenager was wounded in a double shooting early Thursday morning, authorities said.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/crim ... 1.11894388" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Monterey Park police found Saieed Ivey with a bullet wound in his chest, tucked inside a locked Mercedes Benz in a parking lot on Thursday morning.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/c ... -1.2667990" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....

How Often Do Mass Shootings Occur? On Average, Every Day, Records Show
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/us/ho ... -show.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Knives Kill More People Each Year Than Rifles: Time For Knife Control?
http://thefederalist.com/2014/11/11/kni ... e-control/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Murder Victims, by Weapons Used
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004888.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...data doesn't look accurate...and likely under-reported.

Chicago shooting victims (on track to break last years total by a ways)
Jan. 1, 2016 - June 10, 2016: 1,5991
Jan. 1, 2015 - Dec. 31, 2015: 2,988
http://crime.chicagotribune.com/chicago/shootings/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...another Chicago shot tracker...
http://heyjackass.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

"The political climate is changing, because the economy is tanking." - Raul Meijer

Image

The numbers are simply mad: total debt rose from around USD 100 billion ca 2006 to almost USD 1 trillion by the end of 2015. On a per capita of student population basis, same period rise was from around USD 16,000 per student to over USD100,000 per student. More recent data, through May 2016 shows that average student debt is now at USD133,000 and the total quantum of student loans outstanding is at over USD 1.2 trillion.
http://trueeconomics.blogspot.gr/2016/0 ... -bomb.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“It’s a dysfunctional system,” he says. A new book, “A Pound of Flesh,” by Alexes Harris of the University of Washington, notes that these modern debtors’ prisons now exist across America. Harris writes that in Rhode Island in 2007, 18 people were incarcerated a day, on average, for failure to pay court debt, while in Ferguson, Mo., the average household paid $272 in fines in 2012, and the average adult had 1.6 arrest warrants issued that year.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/op ... -poor.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Puerto Rico Bonds Jump As Supreme Court Strikes Down Debt Restructuring: Only Congress Can Bail Them Out Now
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... congress-c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Saudi Arabia Has Funded 20% Of Hillary's Presidential Campaign, Saudi Crown Prince Claims
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... nce-claims" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Congress Still Sending Mixed Signals on Women in the Draft
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... draft.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When I document the death of the US Constitution and the rise of the American Police State, “law and order” conservatives admonish me that the police state only appies to terrorists and criminals and does not apply to law abiding citizens. They are convinced that Snowden and Assange are traitors, and no amount of evidence or reason can convince them otherwise. Neither can they be convinced that in the 21st century, law has become a weapon in the hands of government and no longer is a shield of the people. The Rule of Law in America is dead.
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2016/06 ... g-roberts/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
OKLAHOMA CITY - You may have heard of civil asset forfeiture.

That's where police can seize property and cash without first proving a person committed a crime; without a warrant and without arresting them, as long as they suspect that the property is somehow tied to a crime.

Now, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has a device that also allows them to seize money on prepaid cards.

It's called an ERAD, or Electronic Recovery and Access to Data machine, and OHP began using 16 of them last month.

http://www.news9.com/story/32168555/ohp ... of-a-crime" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Several industries have become notorious for the millions they spend on influencing legislation and getting friendly candidates into office: Big Oil, Big Pharma and the gun lobby among them. But one has managed to quickly build influence with comparatively little scrutiny: Private prisons. The two largest for-profit prison companies in the United States – GEO and Corrections Corporation of America – and their associates have funneled more than $10 million to candidates since 1989 and have spent nearly $25 million on lobbying efforts. Meanwhile, these private companies have seen their revenue and market share soar. They now rake in a combined $3.3 billion in annual revenue and the private federal prison population more than doubled between 2000 and 2010, according to a report by the Justice Policy Institute.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/postever ... ing-about/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Depending on the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, the US could double down on these policies or reverse course by reforming the immigration system and rolling back mass incarceration. The industry doubled in size between 2000 and 2010 as the US cracked down on undocumented immigrants, and the two largest private prison corporations, the GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), now take in a combined $3.2 billion in annual revenue. Advocates see next year's vote as a moment of truth.
https://news.vice.com/article/how-priva ... immigrants" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...doesn't matter which puppet head figure gets elected...the result will be the same.

US Forces in Afghanistan Get Obama OK for Offensive Operations
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... tions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some 4,000 Iraqis Flee Fallujah As Army Advances
http://www.rferl.org/content/iraq-civil ... 94875.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

University Of Toronto Under Lockdown After Reports Of Armed Man On Campus
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... man-campus" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Multi-million pound foreign aid grant spent on encouraging terrorism
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06 ... ing-terro/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The selloff comes as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note slumped to a three-year low of 1.639%, as part of a global bond rush that pushed yields on several government benchmarks to record lows.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-o ... 2016-06-10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Deutsche Bank Tumbles Near Record Lows As Yield Curve Crashes
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... ve-crashes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Asian markets were sharply lower Monday, ahead of central bank meetings in the U.S. and Japan this week and amid jitters over the upcoming referendum on whether the U.K. would remain in the EU.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/12/asia-sto ... japan.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Equity derivatives sales in Asia are on track to drop at least 50%, while prime brokerage is down roughly 20%, two of the executives said. “Because overall revenue is down, further cuts are likely across the industry,” said Taichi Takahashi at UBS in Hong Kong. “Some second-tier players will throw in the towel because their market share is shrinking.” Revenue for the industry in Asia slumped 32% to $2.6 billion in the first quarter from a year earlier, compared with a 20% drop worldwide, according to estimates from Coalition, a banking research firm.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... ace-the-ax" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China must act quickly to address mounting corporate debt, a major source of worry about the world’s second-largest economy, a senior IMF official said on Saturday. David Lipton, first deputy managing director of the IMF, warned in a speech to a group of economists in the southern city of Shenzhen that companies’ indebtedness is a “key fault line in the Chinese economy.” “Company debt problems today can become systemic debt problems tomorrow. Systemic debt problems can lead to much lower economic growth, or a banking crisis. Or both,” Lipton said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks provided to Reuters.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/11/imf-says ... -risk.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chinese state-owned companies seeking to buy European assets are going to face greater regulatory scrutiny following a landmark European Commission decision on a recent deal.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china ... SKCN0YZ00U" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In recent years European pension fund managers have been moving down the credit spectrum, wading into private markets, putting money into infrastructure and other illiquid assets; in short, doing almost anything to generate yield. But with negative interest rates strengthening their grip on Europe, many plan sponsors are realizing they can’t earn their way out of today’s dilemma. In recent weeks the country’s two largest plans -ABP, the €358 billion pension fund for civil servants, and PFZW, the €billion plan for health care workers- have warned that they may have to cut benefit payments to existing retirees next year because low interest rates have reduced their funding ratios to just a hair above 90%, the threshold that triggers mandatory remedial action.
http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/ar ... funds.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With sadness and tortured by doubts, I will cast my vote as an ordinary citizen for withdrawal from the European Union. Let there be no illusion about the trauma of Brexit. Anybody who claims that Britain can lightly disengage after 43 years enmeshed in EU affairs is a charlatan, or a dreamer, or has little contact with the realities of global finance and geopolitics. Stripped of distractions, it comes down to an elemental choice: whether to restore the full self-government of this nation, or to continue living under a higher supranational regime, ruled by a European Council that we do not elect in any meaningful sense, and that the British people can never remove, even when it persists in error. For some of us – and we do not take our cue from the Leave campaign – it has nothing to do with payments into the EU budget. We are deciding whether to be guided by a Commission with quasi-executive powers that operates more like the priesthood of the 13th Century papacy than a modern civil service; and whether to submit to a European Court (ECJ) that claims sweeping supremacy, with no right of appeal.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/201 ... thing-els/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
In 2013, biologist Dr. Brian Hooker received a call from a Senior Scientist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who led the agency’s 2004 study on the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine and its link to autism.

The scientist, Dr. William Thompson, confessed that the CDC had omitted crucial data in their final report that revealed a causal relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. Over several months, Dr. Hooker records the phone calls made to him by Dr. Thompson who provides the confidential data destroyed by his colleagues at the CDC.

Dr. Hooker enlists the help of Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the British gastroenterologist falsely accused of starting the anti-vax movement when he first reported in 1998 that the MMR vaccine may cause autism. In his ongoing effort to advocate for children’s health, Wakefield directs this documentary examining the evidence behind an appalling cover-up committed by the government agency charged with protecting the health of American citizens.
http://vaxxedthemovie.com/about/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Master Manipulator: The Explosive True Story of Fraud, Embezzlement, and Government Betrayal at the CDC
https://www.amazon.com/Master-Manipulat ... 96-7926627" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

Apache Gunships Deploy to Mosul, But Not Fallujah: Pentagon
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... tagon.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Trucks Stuck At Afghanistan-Pakistan Border After Gun Battle
http://www.rferl.org/media/video/pakist ... 99639.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...as we well know...sabre rattling or "rumors of war" are in abundance and have been for some time now...but I wonder if the current round isn't building up to something more meaningful and impactful...

U.S. Third Fleet expands East Asia role as tensions rise with China
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-south ... SKCN0Z02UN" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chinese Spy Ship Spotted in Japanese Waters
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... aters.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chinese Spy Ship "Shadows" US, Japanese Naval Drill In Western Pacific
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... rn-pacific" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Six Aircraft Carriers Underway Marks Milestone for Navy
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... ficer.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russia Accuses NATO Of Fanning 'Russophobic Hysteria'
http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-nat ... 00699.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Kerry Tells Russia U.S. Patience On Syria Running Out
http://www.rferl.org/content/syria-us-r ... 99633.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Warsaw NATO Summit Ultimatum to Russia: Waiting for Yalta-2 Part II: by Scott Humor

We’re just three weeks away from NATO Warsaw Summit said to become “the most critical” since the inception of NATO. Let’s see what NATO apparatchiks have to say about this meeting, and also what the members of Russian government know about it.

Highlights

Summit meetings are often held at key moments in the Alliance’s evolution – they are not regular meetings, but important junctures in the Alliance’s decision-making process.
Summits are used, for instance, to introduce new policy, invite new members into the Alliance, launch major initiatives and reinforce partnerships.
They are meetings of the North Atlantic Council at its highest level possible – that of Heads of State and Government.
Since 1949, there have been 26 NATO summits. The last one took place in Newport, Wales, the United Kingdom, 4-5 September 2014 and the next one will be hosted by Poland (Warsaw) in July 2016.
NATO summits are always held in a NATO member country and are chaired by the NATO Secretary General.
http://thesaker.is/warsaw-nato-summit-u ... ott-humor/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


ALBANY -- New York's $178 billion pension fund posted a mere 0.19 percent return on investments for the fiscal year that ended March 31, the lowest return since 2009, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced Monday.
http://www.wgrz.com/money/economy/ny-pe ... /242612354" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When American companies began switching from traditional pensions to self-directed 401(k)-like plans in the 1980s and 1990s, it was supposed to lead to a golden age of retirement security. No longer would workers be at the mercy of the company’s generosity or of Social Security’s solvency; workers themselves would be responsible for saving enough for a comfortable retirement. Some 30 years later, the results are in: The median working-age couple has saved only $5,000 for their retirement, according to an analysis of the Federal Reserve’s 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances by economist Monique Morrissey of the Economic Policy Institute. The do-it-yourself pension system is a disaster.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-ty ... 2016-04-28" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

Industrial Production Plunges For 9th Straight Month - Longest Non-Recession Streak In 100 Years
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... eak-100-ye" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spanish and Italian banks scoop up more than half of the money the European Central Bank provides in its regular refinancing operations, signaling that borrowing in financial markets remains difficult or unattractive for them eight years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Banks’ balance sheets remain cluttered with non-performing loans and foreclosed assets just as revenue generation is damped by sluggish credit demand and low interest rates depressing margins. In addition to the weekly and three-months operations, the ECB will offer targeted longer-term loans next week that’ll mature in 2020.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... able-chart" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A growing number of economists seem convinced that the U.S., European Union and China are all headed for a prolonged period of sluggish growth -- secular stagnation, in the words of former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. A close parallel would seem to be 1990s Japan. There, too, the bursting of debt-funded asset price bubbles gave way to multiple rounds of fiscal stimulus, massive monetary easing and rock-bottom interest rates. Rescue efforts stabilized conditions but couldn't spark a sustainable recovery, leaving the economy mired in low growth, low inflation and high debt.

Japan enjoyed modest levels of government debt -- around 20 percent of GDP -- as well as strong domestic savings and an abnormally high home bias in investment. Even now, around 90 percent of government bonds are held by Japanese buyers. This has allowed successive Japanese governments to run large budget deficits and finance their spending domestically, assisted by an accommodative central bank that's kept the cost of servicing debt low.

By contrast, many problem economies today suffer from high levels of government debt -- around 80 percent to 100 percent of GDP -- as well as total debt. China's official government debt is lower, around 55 percent of GDP. But that number doesn't take into account borrowing by large banks and other state-owned enterprises, which is backed up to varying degrees by the government. Some countries also have low domestic savings and are reliant on foreign capital, limiting their ability to finance budget deficits.

Second, Japan's downturn at least unfolded during a period of strong global growth. Exports thus partially offset the lack of domestic demand, while healthy international markets allowed Japanese to invest abroad in search of returns. Now, sluggish demand and gloomy markets mean countries can't look outside their borders for help. To make matters worse, cross-border trade and capital flows increased throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Today, globalization is under pressure, further limiting the ability of individual nations to tap external demand and funds.

Third, over the last quarter century, Japan has intermittently been able to weaken the yen in order to boost economic activity; the currency's plunge after the Bank of Japan began its massive bond-buying program in 2013 led to record corporate profits among big exporters. Today, the fact that everyone is suffering means that any attempt to gain competitive advantage by weakening one's currency is likely to provoke swift retaliation.

Fourth, by the time its bubble economy collapsed, Japan was already relatively rich and technologically advanced, with world-class automobile, consumer electronics and advanced manufacturing industries. Countries such as China aren't anywhere near the same stage of development.

Fifth, even though Japan's aging population is now complicating efforts at rejuvenating the economy, its demographics at the beginning of the crisis were helpful. An older population had accumulated considerable wealth. Declining birth rates meant fewer workers who needed to be absorbed into the labor force, which kept unemployment low. By contrast, high unemployment or underemployment rates in many countries today, especially among younger workers, pose a major social and political challenge.

Finally, Japan is an insular, homogenous society. It's also de facto a one-party state, where the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is able to pursue its policies with little political opposition. Japan’s culture is based around a strong national consciousness and stoicism shaped by the experiences of World War II and the hardship of the immediate postwar period. Citizens have accepted the sacrifices made necessary by their country's economic woes.

China possesses some of these characteristics as well. But more diverse and politically volatile societies may not so easily accept the measures required to manage their economic challenges. The political polarization and resistance to austerity policies evident in Europe and elsewhere underscores just how messy a prolonged economic downturn is likely to be.
http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/ ... -countries" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China Devalues Yuan To Weakest Since Jan 2011
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... t-jan-2011" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jeffrey Gundlach, the chief executive of DoubleLine Capital, said on Tuesday investors are dropping risky assets and turning to safer securities including Treasuries and gold because they are losing faith in central banks.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-funds ... SKCN0Z02JO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

George Osborne: vote for Brexit and face £30bn of taxes and spending cuts
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... o-leave-eu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The driving force in this mega crisis is that under the concept of world justice and transparency a few dozens of the higher up in the regime know they will never be able to find peace and solace once out of office. Their fate for them is jail, tomorrow, in a decade, it does not matter. If they do not die first they will end up in jail. They know that.

See, they have stolen too much money, abused too many human rights, played too much on the drug traffic front. They are doomed and thus under no circumstance they can surrender power. Period. They will do what it takes to remain in office. Whatever. Second period.

I am not asking you to understand this, I am asking you to get this. If you do not get the implications of the above you cannot make sense of what is going on in Venezuela these days. Might as well stop reading now.
http://daniel-venezuela.blogspot.com/20 ... .html#more" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....I think this analysis is globally applicable...and that Venezuela is just on the bleeding edge of the long term repercussions of socialism/communism (and rapidly declining moral/ethical/lawful behavior). Canary in the coal mine. The rest of us aren't far behind...

Surging local and international demand for avocados is fuelling a crime wave in New Zealand. Since January there have been close to 40 large-scale thefts from avocado orchards in the north island of New Zealand, with as many as 350 fruit stolen at a time. Avocados are selling for between NZ$4-6 each (£2-3) across the country, after a poor season last year and increasing local demand.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ ... ew-zealand" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Violent, Bloody Scenes From Tuesday's Massive Protests In Paris
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... ests-paris" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nigeria Hyperinflation Looms As Central Bank Throws In The Towel, Devalues Currency
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... s-currency" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China's corporate bond market, one of the fastest growing sources of cheap credit, did something in May it hasn't done in in six years: it shrank. The outstanding amount of bonds contracted last month by nearly 40 billion yuan ($6 billion), as can be seen in the table above. The last time the corporate bond market contracted was 2010, but that was long before Chinese companies had wide access to bond financing.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... redit-data" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Vast social and financial hierarchies reward psychopathic behavior (which is regarded as professionalism) while punishing altruism and compassion (which is regarded as weakness or corruption). Co-workers arbitrarily thrown together by managerial whim often spend more time with each other than with their own families, trapped in a world of stunted, superficial relationships that gradually erode their humanity. Parents often have no choice but to pay strangers to raise their children for them. These strangers work for a wage rather than out of love for the children, and when their contract ends, so does the bond between the child and caregiver, undermining the child’s faith in humanity. When parents do get to see their children, they are often tired and distracted, conditioning the children to treat them no better than they treat the strangers who take care of them the rest of the time.

Growing up with a constant deficit of sensitivity, sincerity, security and warmth, once they reach adulthood these children expect their relationships to be either manipulative and abusive, or regulated by contract. Their humanity becomes reduced to a set of selfish and materialistic drives. Their misshapen psyches are balanced on a knife’s edge between a morbid fear of exclusion, which drives them toward mimicry and conformism, and an unnatural, hypertrophied competitive drive that destroys their instinct for spontaneous cooperation. When you take a step back from it all and look at it, the impression is one of a society-wide mental disorder.

http://cluborlov.blogspot.gr/2016/06/th ... ction.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...of course the core failure (which the Piled Higher and Deeper crew...although not all...like to ignore) is living in harmony with God and God's principles/commandments....and the "Law of Attraction" as the headline of the post above....is a new age thought/attempt at making an unsuccessful end run around that.

2EstablishZion
captain of 100
Posts: 337

Re: Blipits

Post by 2EstablishZion »

Thought this was a good one today also

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... over-again" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Fast forward eight years and the banks are dusting off the old playbook once again.

Here’s the skinny: through these special new loan programs, borrowers are able to obtain a mortgage with just 3% down.

Now, 3% isn’t as magical as 0% down, but just wait ‘til you hear the rest.

At Wells Fargo, borrowers who have almost no savings for a down payment can actually qualify for a LOWER interest rate as long as you go to some silly government-sponsored personal finance class.

I looked at the interest rates: today, Wells Fargo is offering the exact same interest rate of 3.75% on a 30-year fixed rate, whether you have bad credit and put down 3%, or have great credit and put down 30%.

But if you put down 3% and take the government’s personal finance class, they’ll shave an eighth of a percent off the interest rate.

In other words, if you are a creditworthy borrower with ample savings and a hefty down payment, you will actually end up getting penalized with a HIGHER interest rate.

The banks have also drastically lowered their credit guidelines as well… so if you have bad credit, or difficulty demonstrating any credit at all, they’re now willing to accept documentation from “nontraditional sources”.

In its heroic effort to lead this gaggle of madness, Bank of America’s subprime loan program actually requires you to prove that your income is below-average in order to qualify.

Think about that again: this bank is making home loans with just 3% down (because, of course, housing prices always go up) to borrowers with bad credit who MUST PROVE that their income is below average.

[As an aside, it’s amazing to see banks actively competing for consumers with bad credit and minimal savings… apparently this market of subprime borrowers is extremely large, another depressing sign of how rapidly the American Middle Class is vanishing.]

Now, here’s the craziest part: the US government is in on the scam.

The federal housing agencies, specifically Fannie Mae, are all set up to buy these subprime loans from the banks.

Wells Fargo even puts this on its website: “Wells Fargo will service the loans, but Fannie Mae will buy them.” Hilarious.

They might as well say, “Wells Fargo will make the profit, but the taxpayer will assume the risk.
More at the link. That last sentence, especially the bolded part, should get blood boiling.

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

$28 bln invested in cluster weapon producers in 4 years - Report finds 158 financial institutions involved in funding production of weapons, despite int’l law banning cluster bombs
http://aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/-28-bl ... ars/590785" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Banks Top Cluster Bomb Investment 'Hall of Shame': Report - Bank of America, JP Morgan among 74 of 158 financial institutions that invest in companies producing internationally banned weapons
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/0 ... ame-report" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Commander in Afghanistan Submits His 3-month Take on War
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... e-war.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia and the Syrian government on Wednesday to respect a "frayed" ceasefire, as vicious fighting south of second city Aleppo left dozens dead.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... truce.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NATO Says It Might Now Have Grounds to Attack Russia
http://thesaker.is/nato-says-it-might-n ... ck-russia/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Senate passes $602bn NDAA defense bill in defiance of Obama’s veto threat
https://www.rt.com/usa/346698-senate-pa ... ense-bill/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iraqi Forces Advancing from North and South in Fallujah to Divide ISIS Pocket
https://southfront.org/iraqi-forces-adv ... is-pocket/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

11 Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Dead in Clashes with Kurdish Rebels
https://southfront.org/11-iranian-islam ... s-reports/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Turkish Medics Confirm Daesh Terrorists Treated in Turkish Hospitals
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160 ... -help.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russian airstrikes pound ISIS insurgents at Deir Ezzor as sandstorm clears up
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/ru ... rm-clears/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
On June 8, Iran said that it had stopped exports of liquefied petroleum gas to Japan. According to the semi-official Mehr news agency, there were “other customers” available to buy the Iranian LPG. The reports did not give a reason for the move. This will lead to increasing Chinese invovelement in the Iranian energy sector.

There are two most likely reasons for this decision:

Tehran has decided that China is a top-priority partner. Chinese state firms have exclusive rights to work at the Iranian oilfields: the Yadavaran and North Azadegan oilfields. In turn, they will set up operations support facilities in the Islamic Republic and hand over some of these to their Iranian parters.
Recently, Iran and China have intensified their military cooperation. In June, Iran reportedly recieved a batch of TL-7 anti-ship missiles from China. This could mark a new phase of military-technical cooperation between the countries. There are reports that Chinese companies produce C-802 and C-602 anti-ship missiles in order to equip the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Air Force.
https://southfront.org/asian-interst-fo ... resources/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Since 2014, international sanctions combined with declining oil prices have decreased production rates, which the government fixed in 2012. Moreover, when the ruble collapsed on the international currency markets at the end of 2014, Medvedev openly admitted that Russia “has yet to emerge from the crisis of 2008.”

The global crisis, then, hit Russians doubly hard. Not only did it weaken Russia’s economy, it also provoked the real-time unraveling of the entire post-Soviet capitalist system, which depended on increased military activities and the consolidation of Putin’s government. But in the past two years, sharp declines in oil revenues, together with Russian banks’ inability to refinance loans in the West, have left the government with even less room to maneuver. Its old strategy — plugging holes in the economy with help from a colossal reserve fund — is nearly exhausted. Meanwhile, the current crisis’s scale brings the possibility of social collapse nearer and nearer.

By the end of 2015, the Russian economy had shrunk 3.7 percent, with inflation topping off at 15.5 percent. Impoverishment rates in this short period are stunning: the number of people below the poverty line rose from 16.1 million to 19.2 million (13.4 percent of the population).

The number may be even higher. Last year the government set the monthly minimum sustainable income at 9,452 rubles — 149 US dollars — but there are certainly many Russians who earn incomes barely above this paltry figure. Were they included, the poverty statistics would likely balloon. Further, recent polls report that 73 percent of Russians have no savings and survive paycheck to paycheck.

The government’s endless stream of comforting statements can only partially be explained as an attempt to suppress widespread panic. It also demonstrates that the Putinist elite does not have a long-term plan to rescue the economy. The anti-crisis measures put in place aim principally to preserve the status quo until external factors — like oil prices, for example — return to pre-crisis levels.

The Russian Development Bank estimates that if incomes continue to fall and comprehensive indexation does not take place, the share of gross revenues through 2017–18 will exceed the cost of labor, making the country more attractive to investors.

Meanwhile, the government is considering privatizing state assets, such as the Russian Railways and the enormous Sberbank of Russia. It is not surprising that, even with international sanctions still in place, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s joint mission in Moscow this March praised the government’s anti-crisis measures.

Large-scale investment in arms manufacture remains one of the government’s top priorities: the 2016 military budget was 4 percent of GDP (a 0.8 percent increase over the previous year). Military operations in Syria both served Putin’s foreign policy and advertised the latest in Russian military technology. Accordingly, India, Algeria, and other countries ordered $7 billion in bombers and military helicopters.

Vladimir Putin’s March 2012 presidential victory redefined what support for his presidency means. In his first two terms, he spoke in somewhat soft terms of “sovereign democracy.” But at the start of his third term, he abandoned his persona of a reasonable technocrat promising economic growth and instead became a charismatic leader around whom the nation must rally in the face of foreign threats and conspiracies.

A few well-known leaders, like Sergei Udaltsov and Alexei Gaskarov, remain in prison on charges of organizing the “mass disorder” of May 6, 2012 preceding Putin’s third inauguration.

Putin’s aggressiveness — exemplified by the government’s reaction to the Kiev Maidan uprising, its annexation of Crimea that swiftly followed, and its “hybrid” intervention in eastern Ukraine — have fundamentally altered the relationship of Russians to their president. In this sense, 2014’s events confirmed Clausewitz’s old dictum that war is the continuation of politics by other means. From that moment on, support for the existing government was not a rational choice, but a civic obligation, identical to patriotic devotion to one’s country and its national interests.

Kremlin chief of staff Vyacheslav Volodin put it most clearly: “Putin is Russia: No Putin, no Russia.” In practical terms, this personification allows Putin to rise above everyday politics and become a symbolic father figure.

The parliamentary elections scheduled for September are set to take place against this strange backdrop. They demonstrate the Putin government’s new tactics for staying in power despite the public’s growing discontent.

Last summer, the government decided to move the parliamentary elections forward from December 2017 to September 2016, while pushing back the presidential election to March 2018 to account for the presidential term’s extension from five to six years. The thinking is clear: the parliamentary and presidential elections are no longer two parts of a single process, but two wholly discrete events stage-managed to produce unwavering support for Putin.
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/06/russ ... pposition/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Global oil production in May was 590,000 barrels per day less than it was a year ago.

• Nigeria’s oil sector is under attack and the situation seems to be getting worse

• OPEC production fell by 110,000 barrels per day as increases in Iranian production were more than offset by big losses in Nigeria, Libya and Venezuela

• Global demand is up 1,600,000 barrels per day year-over-year as Chinese demand has held up and demand from India is very strong

Canadian wildfires at their peak took 1,500,000 barrels per day off the market. This production should be restored in the 3rd quarter. The situations in Nigeria, Libya and Venezuela are much worse. Inf fact, there is now concern that the government in Venezuela may collapse under the debt load created by low oil prices.
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gener ... n-End.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Suncor’s Losses In Alberta Could Hit $1 Billion C.
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/ ... ion-C.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Afek Oil and Gas will now begin analyzing samples drawn from the Ness-2 drilling site, euphemistically dubbed “Deborah’s Well,” in the Israeli-occupied region of Syria known as the Golan Heights. New Jersey-based Genie Energy, Ltd., Afek’s parent company, claims a dubious cadre of investors cum war profiteers, including Rupert Murdoch, Dick Cheney, Lord Jacob Rothschild, James Woolsey — as well as a number of current and former U.S. politicians.
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cheney ... -intl-law/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Google Search Engine Picked-Up ORLANDO ATTACK NEWS STORY 6 Hours BEFORE attack took place!
http://www.thelibertybeacon.com/google- ... ook-place/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Tuesday said that gun control is now a critical element of protecting the U.S. homeland and keeping Americans safe.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/orlando-nig ... -security/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FBI Told Orlando Shooter’s Wife Not To Tell US Media He Was Gay
http://www.mintpressnews.com/fbi-told-o ... ay/217270/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Push For Disarmament Begins: “The Globalists Are Waiting in the Wings To Take Down America And Confiscate Firearms”
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/t ... s_06142016" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
...look familiar?

CIA Director Says ISIS Will Intensify Global Terror Campaign
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... -says.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CIA Director Warns Islamic State Militants Are Coming, Smuggled As Refugees
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... d-refugees" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DHS: 527,127 Foreign Nationals Overstayed Their Visas in 2015; 2,456 Deported
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/jea ... -2015-2456" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mainstream Media Finally Admits Mass Banker ‘Suicides’ Were Likely a Vast Criminal Conspiracy
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/mainst ... onspiracy/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As part of a pending state budget deal with fellow Democrats, Gov. Jerry Brown has agreed to repeal the so-called maximum family grant policy that prohibits people from receiving increased welfare income if they have more children while receiving public assistance. The change would cost the state about $220 million a year.
http://www.krcrtv.com/news/politics/cal ... y/40057386" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

California debt clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-debt-c ... clock.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

15 Facts About The Imploding U.S. Economy
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch ... you-to-see" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Advisory to Financial Institutions on the Financing of Foreign Terrorist Fighters
https://info.publicintelligence.net/FIN ... ghters.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...released the end of May...one of the advisory warnings is campers...if you go camping...

Survival Hacks: Over 200 Ways to Use Everyday Items for Wilderness Survival
https://www.amazon.com/Survival-Hacks-E ... 1440593345" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Earth’s warmest year on record so far will make its presence felt in North America during the latter half of June. A massive dome of high pressure at upper levels will take shape across the United States this weekend and persist through next week. The upcoming scorcher could give the great heat wave of June 1990 a run for its money in some areas.
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffM ... june-highs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

US Carrier Strike Groups Locations Map – June 17, 2016
https://southfront.org/wp-content/uploa ... 2016-0.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Russia Assails NATO's Move to Deploy Troops Near Its Border
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... order.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military says that for the first time in the nearly two-year-old air campaign against the Islamic State, strike aircraft flew counter-IS missions from Navy warships in two different regions -- the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... gions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Blames Russia For Syrian Air Strikes; Moscow Countercharges
http://www.rferl.org/content/us-blames- ... 04152.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Untold Story Behind The "Mutiny At The State Department" Where Dozens Demand War With Syria
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... -war-syria" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Should Bomb Assad: Dissident Diplomat Cable
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... cable.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

State Dept Demands US Military Attack Assad Instead of ISIS
http://www.mintpressnews.com/state-dept ... is/217305/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Navy Sends Growlers to Philippines amid Continuing China Tensions
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... nsion.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oregon Looks To Ban Crude-Oil-Only Trains Following Derailment And Fire
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gener ... -Fire.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Why is the money supply growth rate declining? Since the plunge in oil prices, the Saudis’ current account has dipped into negative territory. This has to be financed, and the Saudis have used their stash of foreign reserves to do the financing.

When the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) sells foreign currency to finance the current account deficit (and maintain the Riyal/USD peg), it debits the reserve accounts (in Riyals) of the Saudi banks at the SAMA. This causes the domestic money markets to tighten, which works its way through the banking system. Not surprisingly then, there has been a marked slowdown in the growth of broad money since the oil price plunge and associated current account deficit.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-16/saudi-squeeze" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"It's Only A Matter Of Time Before Many Of Them Blow Up" - The Default Cycle Has Begun
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... -has-begun" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BofA's Michael Hartnett not only validating this forecast just days later, but also laying out the framework for a disturbing new outlook, one which looks at a world in which central banks have lost the "war against deflation", and what will happen once Quantitative Failure spreads from Europe and Japan to the US.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... rning-bofa" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Double-digit ObamaCare premium hikes projected in 2017
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/06 ... -2017.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China’s total debt was more than double its GDP in 2015, a government economist has said, warning that debt linkages between the state and industry could be “fatal” for the world’s second largest economy.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ent-expert" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The father of the Orlando mass murderer has been a frequent visitor to Washington. He has had several meetings with Hitlery Clinton’s State Department.
http://powderedwigsociety.com/s-mateen/#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

Image

Wife of Omar Mateen 'no longer here,' not in area, Mateen's father says in Fort Pierce; deputies visit house
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florid ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gun Shop Owner: We Called FBI After Mateen Tried To Buy Body Armor, Bulk Ammunition
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/06/16/ ... ody-armor/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Orlando shootings: Democrats in 14-hour gun control filibuster
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36545432" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FBI says utility pole surveillance cam locations must be kept secret
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016 ... pt-secret/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Navy Discussing Plans To Microchip First Soldiers Then All American Citizens
http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/us-navy- ... nt-1416432" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The U.S. Air Force has lost records concerning 100,000 investigations into everything from workplace disputes to fraud.
http://www.govexec.com/defense/2016/06/ ... ds/129058/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NSA surveillance extends to biomedical implants including pacemakers to collect data on unsuspecting Americans
http://www.naturalnews.com/054387_NSA_m ... akers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The National Academies of Sciences (NAS) met five times behind closed doors this past year to discuss the possibility of reviving Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) experiments exposing humans to harmful air pollutants.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/06/16/feds- ... g-program/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2018 FEMA Project Deadline Moved Up To June 30th, 2016 - Why? Do They Know Something That We Don't Know? 'It Can All Come Crashing Down Again, And It Will - Everyone Can Feel It'
http://allnewspipeline.com/June_30_Dead ... o_2016.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Australian Electoral Commission Refuses To Allow Researchers To Check E-Voting Software
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160 ... ware.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Federal Reserve has brought back “taxation without representation”
https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/the ... ion-19906/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DeGeneres teases transgender stingray in 'Dory'
http://www.usatoday.com/videos/life/mov ... /85733488/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Canada Approves Gender Neutral National Anthem
http://www.lifezette.com/quickzette/can ... al-anthem/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Teen girl reports dressing room peeper at Target
http://www.wday.com/news/north-dakota/4 ... per-target" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Police Looking for Target Peeper in Revere, Massachusetts
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government ... achusetts/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Police are searching for a ‘peeping tom’ who used his cell phone to record video of an underage girl inside a Frisco Target dressing room. Investigators say the suspect put his cell phone over the wall of a female changing room and shot video of the girl.
http://www.fox4news.com/news/136937491-story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dead Sea drying: A new low-point for Earth
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36477284" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Las Vegas Going Dry? Largest Reservoir In America Reaches Record Low
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-1 ... record-low" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

The Mexican government's deadly crackdown on a teacher's union protest has rattled the nation in recent days, as 200,000 doctors on Wednesday joined the ongoing national strike against President Enrique Peña Nieto's neoliberal reforms.

Anti-government sentiment is mounting after police forces opened fire on a teacher protest in Oaxaca on Sunday, killing at least eight.
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/0 ... ion-mexico" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina pulling out?, others???
LA VICTORIA, VENEZUELA – I am surrounded by a sea of salt, and I’m not even at the beach. The supermarket in this city of 150,000 souls where I do most of my shopping has filled up nearly an entire aisle of shelves with salt, to disguise the fact that they have little else to sell.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/v ... /86253586/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The government has declared a state of emergency, food is now being transported under armed guard, and basic necessities are being rationed. People have to queue for hours and sometimes overnight on their assigned days to receive staples like rice and cooking oil.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ ... n-briefing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Venezuela's second-largest city, Maracaibo is one of the hardest hit places in a country that seems to be running out of almost everything — from bread to beer, from car parts to electricity. Four people were killed during separate incidents last week as looters clashed with security forces. More than 400 people were arrested in the coastal city of Cumana, which was briefly placed under a de facto curfew after 20 stores were cleaned out.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/venezuela- ... -1.3647320" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s largest airline says it has indefinitely suspended flights to Venezuela’s capital due to the complicated economic situation in the South American nation.
http://wsvn.com/news/us-world/aeromexic ... venezuela/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Aeromexico, Mexico’s largest carrier, announced on Thursday it had halted flights to Venezuela.
https://next.ft.com/content/356ff15e-7c ... b5aff89cab" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Organization of American States will meet Thursday to discuss the deepening crisis in Venezuela, where the opposition is pushing forward with efforts to activate a recall referendum of President Nicolas Maduro amid acute shortages and sporadic looting.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... is-deepens" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CARACAS, Venezuela — A senior U.S. diplomat met with Venezuela’s socialist president Wednesday, apparently hoping to prevent a humanitarian disaster and ease a political crisis in this deeply polarized nation - Thomas Shannon, the U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs. Shannon headed a similar mission last year, with little result. They two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/th ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are close to resuming manufacturing in Venezuela after the government allowed them to sell output in dollars.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... o-industry" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LDS Missionary Killed in Accident in Venezuela
http://www.good4utah.com/news/local-new ... -venezuela" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mormon missionary killed in taxi accident in Venezuela
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8656 ... tml?pg=all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Brazil has been big in all the wrong ways. The country is facing its biggest recession. It is engulfed by its biggest corruption scandal. It has the world’s most indebted oil company, Petrobras. This week, it witnessed its biggest-ever corporate bankruptcy, after Oi, a telecoms company, filed for “judicial recuperation”, the Brazilian equivalent of Chapter 11 protection.

In general terms, there are two distinct pools of debt. The first is corporate debt. Some of this is now turning sour following the usual cycle of over-optimism, inflated asset prices and cheap debt going into reverse. Much of this debt is also denominated in foreign currency, following a borrowing spree that has now returned to haunt Brazilian corporates given the depreciation of the real, the national currency. That is largely the story of Oi, which has around two-thirds of its R$65bn ($20bn) of debt in foreign currency.

Then there is public debt. This is very big in domestic terms. At 68 per cent of gross domestic output, it is also growing fast due to a steep fall in tax revenues and punishing local interest rates, which are among the highest in the world. (The central bank’s benchmark rate is 14.25 per cent, versus 9 per cent inflation).

https://next.ft.com/content/17bd7ffa-39 ... a9b15a8ee7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Monday everything changed with the death of one of the leading characters. Oi, Brazil’s only major national operator, filed for bankruptcy protection — the country’s largest on record. It was forced to seek protection from creditors on R$65bn ($19bn) in debt after restructuring talks broke down ahead of the imminent maturation of a €231m euro-denominated bond.
https://next.ft.com/content/56e92e94-39 ... a9b15a8ee7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Abortion Requests ‘Double’ in Brazil Due to Zika Concerns
http://www.newsweek.com/abortion-reques ... udy-473504" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Brazil police on Thursday arrested former Minister Paulo Bernardo and raided Workers Party offices in a spinoff of a massive corruption probe targeting the country's main parties and some of its most powerful executives.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazi ... SKCN0Z913Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Brazil's suspended parliamentary leader faces additional charges
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/ ... 466700482/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A jaguar featured at an Olympic torch ceremony was shot dead by a soldier shortly after the event in the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus as the animal escaped from its handlers, an army statement said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olymp ... SKCN0Z72P4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Brazil beefs up security for the Olympics after high-profile attacks
http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-ame ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The continent of Europe, from western Ireland to the Russian border, from Norway’s North Cape to Malta’s Valletta harbour, must be unified into one huge superstate. Politically, socially, economically, militarily and constitutionally.

In Germany, Italy and elsewhere desperate people had flocked to the demagogues who promised full bellies and a job in exchange for marching, chanting columns.

So democracy must go. It could not be the governmental system of the new Utopia. It was not fit to be. (He was already president of the Action Committee for the Superstate, his official title. There is nothing new about the word superstate).

Instead there would be a new system: government by an enlightened elite of bureaucrats .

No, democracy was unsafe and had to be replaced. (This is not propaganda, he wrote it all down).

How could the various peoples ever be persuaded to hand over their countries from democracy to oligarchy, the government of the elite? Let me quote from what he wrote:
Europe’s nations should be guided towards the Super-state without their people understanding what is happening. This can be accomplished by successive steps, each disguised as having an economic purpose, but which will eventually and irreversibly lead to federation.
In other words he could not force them (he had no tanks). He could not bribe them (he had no money). He could not persuade them (his arguments were offensive). Hence the deliberate recourse to government by deception. Both nostrums continue to this day.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/ ... ized-power" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EU referendum voters wade through water as floods hit south-east - There were concerns that heavy rain could affect turnout, but there were reports of long queues at polling stations despite the downpours.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... rendum-day" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Prime Minister David Cameron, together with the heads of the IMF, the OECD and various EU agencies have given dire warnings that economic growth will drop, the fiscal position will deteriorate, the currency will weaken and UK exports will decline precipitously. George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer has threatened to cut pensions if pensioners dare to vote for exit.
https://professorwerner.wordpress.com/2 ... embership/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I was talking to the officers and they said in all their years no one has ever asked for a pen (they give you pencils to mark your choice) and they said today a number of people used pens; so others are slowly realising how easily rigged votes are swayed...that's a small step across the giant chasm of the illusion of democracy.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... -some-hope" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The ECB has restored a key waiver that will let Greek banks tap emergency central bank credit, one step toward putting the country’s financial institutions back on their feet. The decision announced Wednesday permits Greek government bonds to be used by banks as collateral to get cheap money from the ECB — even though those bonds are rated too low under the usual rules.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/22/ecb-rest ... redit.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The European Union on Wednesday agreed on setting up a common external border agency and coast guard to be deployed in countries struggling with a massive influx of migrants. The new agency will also comprise a network of national authorities responsible for border management and will have a reserve pool of 1,500 border guards to be deployed in emergency cases within a week.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-approves ... 1466599542" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ukraine Cuts Key Interest Rate For Third Month
http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-cu ... 15880.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will be in Switzerland as the results are announced of the U.K.’s June 23 vote on whether to remain in the European Union. Kuroda will be traveling from June 23 to June 28 to attend meetings of the Bank for International Settlements, where other central bankers also will gather, the BOJ said Wednesday. Given the travel time between Europe and Japan, Kuroda would be unable to chair an emergency meeting if the central bank decides to hold one Friday Tokyo time in the event the U.K. votes to leave the EU. “This raises the likelihood of the BOJ not taking drastic measures right after the results come out,” said Daiju Aoki, an economist at UBS in Tokyo.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -announced" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...must be big deal if all the bankers are hunkering down together?

The US has been warned about its high poverty rate in the International Monetary Fund’s annual assessment of the economy. The fund said about one in seven people were living in poverty and that it needed to be tackled urgently. It recommended raising the minimum wage and offering paid maternity leave to women to encourage them to work.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36599316" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Still Has No Definition for Cyber Act of War
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... f-war.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...Pretend Russian's hacking Hillary's server?

State Department Turns Blind Eye to Evidence of Honduran Military’s Activist Kill List
https://theintercept.com/2016/06/23/sta ... kill-list/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Commander Warns NATO Couldn't Repel Russian Baltic Invasion
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... asion.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Marine Corps Forced to Pull Warbirds Out of 'Boneyard'
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... eyard.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Social Security trust fund projected to run dry by 2034
http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/22/pf/soci ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
China's Xi lauds new Silk Road, says $15 billion invested last year

The initiative envisages the revival of the ancient Silk Road routes from China to Europe to open new trade markets for its firms as the domestic market slows.

Forty nine countries along the economic corridor invested $8.2 billion in China in 2015, up 25 percent, Xi said, adding that over 70 countries and international organizations have taken part in the initiative.

Xi will also attend a meeting in Uzbek capital Tashkent of the Chinese and Russia-lead Shanghai Cooperation Organisation security bloc.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uzbek ... SKCN0Z90C9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At Least 78 Deaths in China Tornado; Midwest Dodges Major Damage
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffM ... jor-damage" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

List & map of currently active volcanoes
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/erupti ... anoes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...growing....

Doctors issue warning about LED streetlights
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/21/healt ... ights-ama/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Derails California Commercial Crab Fishing
http://www.trueactivist.com/fukushima-n ... b-fishing/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hundreds of Doctors and Nurses across U.S. Charged in $900-Million Medicare Fraud Sweep
http://www.allgov.com/news/controversie ... ews=859040" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Orlando Shooter Spent Final Days Obsessing Over Psychotropic Drugs — Feds Suppressed This Info
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/06/orl ... essed.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CIA psychologists admit creating post-9/11 ‘torture’ practice for $81mn
https://www.rt.com/usa/347872-cia-psych ... t-torture/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Stockton man arrested by FBI has an extreme hatred for federal government
http://kutv.com/news/local/stockton-man ... overnment/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FBI Arrest Utah Man For Attempting to Blow Up BLM Building
http://americanintelligencereport.com/f ... government" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

New Cleveland RNC Police & Military Docs: FEMA Base to Setup at NASA
http://www.unicornriot.ninja/?p=7078" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Meet the Senators Who Earlier Today Voted to Destroy Your Civil Liberties
http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2016/06/22 ... liberties/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The driving force in this mega crisis is that under the concept of world justice and transparency a few dozens of the higher up in the regime know they will never be able to find peace and solace once out of office. Their fate for them is jail, tomorrow, in a decade, it does not matter. If they do not die first they will end up in jail. They know that.


See, they have stolen too much money, abused too many human rights, played too much on the drug traffic front. They are doomed and thus under no circumstance they can surrender power. Period. They will do what it takes to remain in office. Whatever. Second period.

I am not asking you to understand this, I am asking you to get this. If you do not get the implications of the above you cannot make sense of what is going on in [the world] these days. Might as well stop reading now.
http://daniel-venezuela.blogspot.com/20 ... zuela.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

Full text of Xinhua’s exclusive interview with President Putin
http://thesaker.is/full-text-of-xinhuas ... ent-putin/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. display of military power act of hegemony
http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0622/c90000-9075995.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PYONGYANG, North Korea — The top North Korean official for U.S. relations told The Associated Press on Friday that his country is now a nuclear threat to be reckoned with, and Washington can expect more nuclear tests and missile launches like the ones earlier this week as long as it attempts to force his government's collapse through a policy of pressure and punishment.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... -head.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russia to deploy NUCLEAR-capable ballistic missiles in the heart of EUROPE
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/682 ... r-tensions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Moscow Building Spy Site in Nicaragua
http://freebeacon.com/national-security ... nicaragua/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Shanghai Group Declines Russian Bid To Enlist Iran
http://www.rferl.org/content/china-shan ... 16956.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chinese Bankruptcies Surge More Than 50% In Q1; Worse To Come
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... worse-come" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The UK Votes To LEAVE The European Union
http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/us/b ... pean-union" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Britain Votes to Leave EU: Cameron to Resign
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... ocked.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oil Tumbles As Britain Votes Out
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gener ... s-Out.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

British Money-Changer Imposes Capital Controls, Suspends Online FX Transactions
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... ansactions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Greenspan: "This Is The Worst Period I Recall; There's Nothing Like It, Including the Crisis"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... nothing-it" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Well, they did it. A majority of Britons made clear they’re so fed up with David Cameron and everything he says or does, including promoting the EU, that they voted against that EU. They detest Cameron much more than they like Nigel Farage or Boris Johnson. It seems that everyone has underestimated that.

Cameron just announced he’s stepping down. And that points to a very large hole in the ground somewhere in London town. Because going through a list of potential leaders, you get the strong impression there are none left. Not to run the country, and not to negotiate anything with Brussels. Which has a deep leadership -credibility- hole of itself, even though the incumbents are completely blind to that.

But first Britain. The Leave victory was as much a vote against Chancellor George Osborne as it was against Cameron. So Osborne is out as potential leader of the Conservatives. Boris Johnson? Not nearly enough people like him, and he fumbled his side of the Leave campaign so badly his credibility, though perhaps not being fully shot, is far too much of an uncertainty for the Tories to enter the upcoming inevitable general elections with.

The main reason for this is a fast fading economy, which all politicians just try to hide from their people, but which those same people get hit by every single day.

A second reason is that politicians of traditional parties are not perceived as standing up for either their people nor their societies, but as a class in themselves.

In Britain, there now seems to be a unique opportunity to organize a movement like (Unidos) Podemos in Spain, the European Union’s next big headache coming up in a few days. Podemos is proof that this can be done fast, and there’s a big gaping hole to fill.

Much of what’s next in politics may be pre-empted in the markets. Though it’s hard to say where it all leads, this morning there’s obviously a lot of panic, short covering etc going on, fact is that as I write this, Germany’s DAX index loses 6% (-16.3% YoY), France’s CAC is down 7.7% (-18.5%) and Spain’s IBEX no less than 10.3% (-30%). Ironically, the losses in Britain’s FTSE are ‘only’ 4.5% (-11%).

These are numbers that can move entire societies, countries and political systems. But we’ll see. Currency moves are already abating, and on the 22nd floor of a well-protected building in Basel, all of the relevant central bankers in the world are conspiring to buy whatever they can get their hands on. Losses will be big but can perhaps be contained up to a point, and tomorrow is Saturday.

By the way, from a purely legal point of view, Cameron et al could try and push aside the referendum, which is not legally binding. I got only one thing on that: please let them try.

As an aside, wouldn’t it be a great irony if the England soccer (football) team now go on to win the Euro Cup? Or even Wales, which voted massively against the EU?

Holland, France, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Hungary, they will all have calls for referendums. Greece already had one a year ago. The center cannot hold. Nor can the system. If referendums were held in all remaining 27 EU member states, the union would be a lot smaller the next morning. The Unholy Union depends on people not getting a say.

The overwhelming underlying principle that we see at work here is that centralization is dead, because the economy has perished. Or at least the growth of the economy has, which is the same in a system that relies on perpetual growth to ‘function’.

But that is something we can be sure no politician or bureaucrat or economist is willing to acknowledge. They’re all going to continue to claim that their specific theories and plans are capable of regenerating the growth the system depends on. Only to see them fail.

It’s high time for something completely different, because we’re in a dead end street. If the Brexit vote shows us one thing, it’s that. But that is not what people -wish to- see.

Unfortunately, the kinds of wholesale changes needed now hardly ever take place in a peaceful manner. I guess that’s my main preoccupation right now.
http://www.theautomaticearth.com/2016/0 ... nnot-hold/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....silver went up a buck...
http://www.kitco.com/charts/livesilver.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This crisis prompted massive demand for USDollars, sending basis swaps (and other funding vehicles) spiking
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... ing-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mexico’s Classroom Wars
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/06/mexi ... as-strike/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

President Nicolas Maduro is in Havana, taking part in the cease fire agreement between the Government of Colombia and that nation’s “Revolutionary Armed Forces” (FARC).
http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/maduro ... o-colombia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/Mad ... 13218.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Venezuela’s oil production could fall by a half million barrels per day in 2016, according to a recent estimate from Barclays. Electricity blackouts, financial distress, lack of maintenance, and a shortage of imported light oil for processing could lead to faster declines in the South America nation.
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gener ... 0-bpd.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are between 4,000-6,000 containers in the hands of government agencies, some of them for over a year. The use and delay in returning these assets has generated a US$ 1 billion debts, which keeps growing by the day”, says Eddy Meayke, President of Venezuela’s Shipping Line Association
http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Gob ... 13202.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russian oil firm ROSNEFT and Venezuela’s PDVSA have signed an agreement on the basic terms of a joint venture for the extraction, preparation and monetization of gas fields of Patao, Mejillones and potentially of Rio Caribe. Venezuelan Petroleum and Mining Minister Eulogio Del Pino said that PDVSA and ROSNEFT might sign documents on the establishment of a joint gas project in Venezuela within two months, possibly in July, during a Venezuelan visit of Igor Sechin on May 22-24.
http://www.1prime.biz/news/_Report_Russ ... 2D8%7D.uif" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Police Confirm Attack On Shell Facility In Nigeria
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/ ... geria.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ISIS Oil Ministry Headquarters In Iraq Destroyed In 34 New Strikes
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/ ... rikes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

$5B Panama Canal Expansion Opens Sunday, Promising To Change Global Trade - Some 40,000 workers toiled away for almost a decade to dig the canal’s new access lane—the first expansion of the Panama Canal since it was built in 1914. The expanded canal will allow ships carrying up to 14,000 containers to traverse trading coasts between the U.S. and Asia much faster.
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/ ... Trade.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


We are on the precipice of a food fight among 7 billion people, and potash will be right at the center of it. Potash, and various potassium-containing compounds are used to fertilize crops as a necessary resource for the growth of plants. In many regions of the world, there are large potash-bearing deposits from ancient sea beds that dried up millions of years ago. Most potash comes from these sources and is separated from the salt and other minerals and then graded into a form that can be used to make fertilizer. Russia, Belarus, China, Germany, the U.S., Israel, Jordan and China are all major potash miners, with Canada currently holding the top position for the commodity--producing 11 million tons last year and the year before, compared to Number 2 producer Russia’s 7.4 million tons. Canada is also home to the world’s largest fertilizer company by capacity—Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, or Potash Corp.—the target of BHP Billiton’s long-running covetousness.
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gener ... lions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Senators have a bipartisan deal to require labeling of genetically modified ingredients nationally, a week before a labeling law in Vermont goes into effect.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStor ... g-40080776" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Shocking Story of How Aspartame Became Legal
http://www.collective-evolution.com/201 ... ame-legal/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Donald Rumsfeld and the Strange History of Aspartame - Yes, that Donald Rumsfeld, the “knowns and unknowns” guy who remarkably executed some of the worst decisions in American foreign policy and got a medal for it. I have been reading up on this strange chapter in the history of Donald Rumsfeld and have learned two things. One, the chemical additive aspartame is very potentially a cancer and brain tumor-causing substance that has no place in our food. And two, the reasons and means by which Rumsfeld helped get it approved are nefarious at best, criminal at worst.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-ge ... 05581.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Heroin Use In The United States Reaches A 20 Year High
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... -year-high" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Spread of Wicca In The US
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/articl ... ews_id=440" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

New Study Proves Teens More Likely to Get Pregnant in Schools That Distribute Condoms
http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/us/n ... te-condoms" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ex-Defense Department Employee Pleads Guilty in Navy Bribery Scandal
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... ibery.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Study Shows Police Crime is Rampant — 3 Cops Arrested a Day, Over 1,100 Every Year
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/study-police-crime/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FORT JACKSON, S.C. — Fort Jackson has become a guide for other military organizations trying to expand training for women now able to enter additional combat-related jobs, the post's departing commander said.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... ample.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NYPD shows support for gay pride with new-look patrol SUV
http://nypost.com/2016/06/22/nypd-shows ... atrol-suv/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

founder and CEO of Just Like Us, Tim Ramsey, said: "School Diversity Week is an amazing chance for schools to unite their whole community in promoting positive views among young people about LGBT people."
http://www.charismanews.com/world/58016 ... gbt-agenda" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Family Policy Institute of Washington is stressing to parents that come the 2017-2018 school year, their kindergarten students will be subjected to a new set of health and physical education learning standards adopted by the state's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in March of this year. According to the standards, a "core idea" for health education is teaching children of all grades about "self-identity." The document lists, in the form of a table, different concepts that children of each grade level should be able to comprehend.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/washi ... er-165248/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If a medical doctor, based on biological evidence, sees a male patient, but the patient claims to be a female, the doctor must treat the patient as a female. Failure to do so could leave the doctor vulnerable to lawsuits, lost federal funding, and federal investigation by the Office of Civil Rights, the HHS arm implementing this policy.
http://thefederalist.com/2016/06/22/new ... etend-sex/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Confirmed: Orlando Cops Told to Stand Down — Not to Pursue Shooter for “15-20 Minutes”
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/06/con ... -down.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There Are Now More Bureaucrats With Guns Than U.S. Marines - Report: Non-military federal agencies spend $1.48 billion on guns and ammo since 2006
http://freebeacon.com/issues/now-bureau ... s-marines/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Robert Spencer in FrontPage: Muslim Migrant Sex Assault Comes to Idaho
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/06/robe ... s-to-idaho" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Intense Calif. wildfire quickly scorches dozens of homes
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/intense-cal ... kersfield/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...better get it out before next week when its 100+ temps and wind...

"Tired Of The Expense Of Living Here" - Californians Continue To Leave State In Droves
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... ate-droves" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Rumsfeld Says He'll Vote for 'Known Unknown' Donald Trump

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who oversaw the Pentagon during the early years of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, says he'll be voting for Donald Trump for president in November -- principally because the celebrity billionaire is "a known unknown."

"On the Democrat side, we have a known known. On the Republican side, we have a recent entry who's a known unknown," he said, drawing on a phrase he made famous as defense secretary and used as the tile of a memoir in 2011.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... trump.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....Hillary has too much baggage and can't play the game anymore (known known...vs...known unknown)....

The driving force in this mega crisis is that under the concept of world justice and transparency a few dozens of the higher up in the regime know they will never be able to find peace and solace once out of office. Their fate for them is jail, tomorrow, in a decade, it does not matter. If they do not die first they will end up in jail. They know that.


See, they have stolen too much money, abused too many human rights, played too much on the drug traffic front. They are doomed and thus under no circumstance they can surrender power. Period. They will do what it takes to remain in office. Whatever. Second period.


I am not asking you to understand this, I am asking you to get this. If you do not get the implications of the above you cannot make sense of what is going on in [the world] these days. Might as well stop reading now.
http://daniel-venezuela.blogspot.com/20 ... zuela.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

The $2.08 trillion wiped off global equity markets on Friday after Britain voted to leave the European Union was the biggest daily loss ever, trumping the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy during the 2008 financial crisis and the Black Monday stock market crash of 1987, according to Standard & Poor’s Dow Jones Indices.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brita ... SKCN0ZC12G" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In a somewhat shockingly honest admission of the frgaility of the global financial system, Chinese Premier Li warns that a disillusioned British butterfly has flapped its wings and the entire global financial system could collapse. Responding to the plunge in offshore Yuan since the Brexit vote (down 7 handles to 5-month lows over 6.65), PBOC devalued Yuan fix by 0.9% (6 handles) – the most since the August crash – to Dec 2010 lows. Finally, we note USD liquidity pressures building as EUR-USD basis swaps plunge.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... t-financia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As the U.S. dollar flexes its muscles once again and broader markets adopt a decidedly risk-off stance, oil prices are charging lower amid unknowns surrounding last week’s Brexit decision.
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gener ... ainty.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....silver chugging along in the $17's...
http://www.kitco.com/charts/livesilver.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Britain “may never” trigger the formal divorce process with the EU despite last week’s referendum in which the country voted to leave, EU diplomats said Sunday.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/britain-may- ... 51444.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

President Of The European Parliament: "It Is Not The EU Philosophy That The Crowd Can Decide Its Fate"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... e-its-fate" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Greenspan Calls Brexit a ‘Terrible Outcome’
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... rea-tested" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The $100 Trillion Bond Market’s Got Bigger Concerns Than Brexit
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... han-brexit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Greenspan Warns A Crisis Is Imminent, Urges A Return To The Gold Standard - I don't know how it's going to resolve, but there's going to be a crisis.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... d-standard" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....of course the central banks own all the gold now...as he mentioned. Pathway into a one world government? Ron Paul certainly thinks so....

Homes Burned, Looted in Iraqi City after Defeat of Militants
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... tants.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...so whose the "militants"???

Member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including forces from the US, have launched a large-scale military exercise in westerns Ukraine. The war games, dubbed Rapid Trident, kicked off at 9:00 am local time on Monday at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center (IPSC) in Yavoriv in western Ukraine, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/06/2 ... id-Trident" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Should U.S. forces find themselves in a land war with Russia, he said, they would be in for a rude, cold awakening. “We spend a long time talking about winning long-range missile duels,” said McMaster. But long-range missiles only get you through the front door. The question then becomes what will you do when you get there.
http://www.defenseone.com/technology/20 ... enseOneTCO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Secret U.S. Army Study That Targets Moscow
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/ ... 213811?o=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Four multinational flotillas have set sail toward Hawaii for the biennial Rim of the Pacific exercise. RIMPAC, which began in 1971, is hosted by U.S. Pacific Fleet and executed by U.S. Third Fleet in the Hawaiian operating area. Twenty-six nations, 45 ships, five submarines, 200-plus aircraft and 25,000 personnel will participate this year, with Denmark, Germany and Italy participating for the first time. Other participants include Australia, Brunei, Colombia, Denmark, France, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Tonga and the United Kingdom.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... rcise.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russia and China to become 'supreme world leaders after Brexit destroys EU'
http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/683 ... estroys-EU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The West has already lost the Middle East. Russia and its allies control the Middle Eastern oil, and what they don’t physically controls, they hold in a crosshair. Most Europeans have not even started realizing that. After Kazakhstan has re-united with Russia, the next step is underway to reunite Kirgizstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Then, Azerbaijan will be reunited with Russia. After that it expected that Turkey will be divided, and the Great Armenia will be restored in its historical borders. As we know, in 1915 Turkey conducted not just an Armenian genocide, but Christian genocide. Along with 1.5 million Armenian, Turks killed over 1 million of Greeks, and other Christians. This is the main question that is going to be raised soon as a pretext for the division of Turkey. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is not just a powerful union, it’s a super-power union of nuclear countries with fast growing economies, with the majority of population on earth, and with an unlimited perspective for development.
http://thesaker.is/after-brexit-russia- ... ott-humor/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

India Stocks Up on Howitzers to Defend Its Border with China
http://www.defenseone.com/business/2016 ... na/129430/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama opened the long-delayed $5.4 billion expansion of its shipping canal amid cheering crowds on Sunday, despite looming economic uncertainty in the shipping industry and a heated battle over billions in cost overruns.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/panama-o ... nance.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What are military UN trucks doing in Virginia? Bemused motorists spot white 'combat vehicles' on the interstate
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... state.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In two stunning geopolitical developments over the past 24 hours, Turkey - which is finding itself increasingly snubbed by not only Europe but also the US - has pivoted dramatically and shortly after restoring full deplomatic ties with another country that has recently seen the cold shoulder from the Obama administration, namely Israel, moments ago apologized to Russia for last year's downing of a Russian jet which allegedly crossed above its territory as part of the Russian campaign against ISIS.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... ores-ties-" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Europe just lost a big chunk of production from one of its most critical natural gas fields, and not for any of the usual reasons — technical problems, pipeline constraints, or terrorist disruptions. These cuts are due to earthquakes.
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/ ... By-44.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For its part, OPEC put out a more dire assessment of its own finances, putting its losses last year at $438 billion, much higher than the $349 billion estimated by the EIA. That came even though overall exports climbed by an average of 400,000 barrels per day, or a 1.7 percent increase, largely because of production gains in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The plunging revenue led to OPEC members to post a current account deficit of $99.6 billion, the first deficit since 1998. That compared to the 2014 surplus of $238.1 billion. The largest losses came from Saudi Arabia, which saw revenues plunge nearly in half from $247 billion to just $130 billion last year.
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gener ... 11384.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Internet connections have been down in large parts of Turkmenistan following a reported fatal explosion at an oil refinery in the western city of Turkmenbashi.
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/ ... inery.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Analysis: Oil and gas pipelines in the Middle East
https://southfront.org/analysis-oil-and ... iddle-eas/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The MBTA retirement system’s unfunded pension obligation is about to increase again.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/20 ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Augusta Police say two bystanders legally armed with handguns stepped in during a shooting incident at a Walmart in Augusta. Police say four suspects were taken into custody by police Sunday after allegedly firing gunshots in the parking lot of a Walmart. The occupants of one vehicle fired at the occupants of the other, which resulted in a return in gunfire. When the shooting stopped, police said one suspect exited their vehicle to confront the occupants of the other vehicle. This is when two bystanders, who were legally carrying, interfered and stopped the incident, police said. Augusta police say even though no one was hurt during the incident, they don't encourage people o step in.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/augusta ... /257256957" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mom kills stranger in child’s SE Portland bedroom
http://koin.com/2016/06/26/woman-shoots ... land-home/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

Image

Gun Salesman-In-Chef: 52,600 Guns Sold Daily Under Obama Admin
http://planetfreewill.com/2016/06/27/gu ... ama-admin/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

Online Gun Store Sells 30,000 AR-15s In Week After Orlando
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... er-orlando" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Gun sales are on a pace to break last year's record of more than 23 million, a boon to the U.S. industry and gun stores thanks to election-year worries about gun control and recent terror attacks, according to government figures and experts.

Under Obama, background checks for guns reached 141.4 million through the end of May, amounting to sales of about 52,600 a day, according to the FBI. Last year, the FBI conducted more than 23 million background checks, which are generally used to figure sales of new and used weapons.

Domestically, manufacturers have reported producing about 21,000 guns a day, or more than 46 million in Obama's first six years in office.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gun-s ... le/2594961" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oregon standoff: Case of possible misconduct by FBI in LaVoy Finicum shooting now before grand jury
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-stando ... le_mi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chicago Is Pushing For A Massive Bailout Of Its Public School System
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... ool-system" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, who is on the shortlist to be Hillary Clinton’s vice president, called for limiting the size of magazines on semi-automatic rifles.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/06/26/democ ... rol-video/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bay Area News Group investigation found hundreds of police-issued weapons have been either stolen, lost or can’t be accounted for since 2010, often disappearing onto the streets without a trace.
http://extras.mercurynews.com/policeguns/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(INTELLIHUB) — The science and technology branch is the most funded sector of the FBI, garnering a yearly budget of between $600M and $800M that is directly spent to target Americans both domestically and abroad.
https://www.intellihub.com/fbi-spending ... americans/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On Wednesday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced at the United Nations that her office would be working in several American cities to form what she called the Strong Cities Network (SCN), a law enforcement initiative that would encompass the globe.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government ... sm-in-u-s/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PHOTOS: UN military vehicles seen rolling down Virginia interstate
http://www.theamericanmirror.com/photos ... nterstate/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

C.I.A. Arms for Syrian Rebels [ISIS] Supplied Black Market, Officials Say
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/27/world ... s-say.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Clinton White House was den of coke, mistresses: ex-Secret Service officer
http://nypost.com/2016/06/25/clinton-wh ... e-officer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hillary's Lead Over Trump Is Either 1% Or 12% Depending On Which Poll You Believe
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... ou-believe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Landmark Study: Tracing Dark Money in Political Ads is Getting Harder
https://occupycorporatism.com/landmark- ... ng-harder/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they had treated them. Speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him back to Rome from Armenia, he also said the Church should ask forgiveness for the way it has treated women, for turning a blind eye to child labor and for "blessing so many weapons" in the past.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/pope-says-chu ... 28573.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Pentagon is set to lift its ban on transgender troops within the coming weeks, US media reported on Friday. The move would be another major milestone for America's vast military, which up until five years ago still banned gay troops from openly discussing their sexuality under a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... r-ban.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Federal Court Rules Govt Can Hack Your Computer Without a Warrant, No Probable Cause
http://rinf.com/alt-news/latest-news/fe ... ble-cause/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Supreme Court today struck down a Texas law that imposed significant restrictions on abortion clinics — a major victory for abortion rights activists and a blow to the campaign to limit the procedures. In a 5-to-3 decision, the justices struck down a law that set strict regulations governing how abortion clinics operate. The Texas law, enacted in 2013, mainly required clinics providing abortion services to beef up their facilities to match walk-in surgical centers and mandated physicians performing abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals.
https://gma.yahoo.com/supreme-court-str ... ories.html#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...another sign of the times...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Diet Pepsi made with aspartame is returning to shelves in the U.S., after PepsiCo saw sales plummet following its reformulation of the drink last summer to remove the artificial sweetener.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pepsi-re ... nance.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...like the poison...not that sucralose wasn't much different (a little less deadly)...

SB-792 Day care facilities: immunizations: exemptions.
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces ... 20160SB792" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

While Brazil Was Eradicating Zika Mosquitoes, America Made Them Into Weapons
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/wh ... to-weapons" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FEMA Contractor Predicts 'Social Unrest' Caused by 395% Food Price Spikes
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/fema-c ... ice-spikes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Inside the World of Large-Scale Food Heists
http://www.eater.com/2016/6/22/11994836/food-theft" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The staying power of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” with Chinese viewers is a wonder to behold. The most watched U.S. show in China even has mainlanders flocking to California for the July 4 opening of Universal Studios Hollywood’s newest attraction: a walk-through park that lets you act the part of post-apocalyptic survivor fleeing the flesh-eating undead.
http://www.barrons.com/articles/why-xi- ... 1466988192" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Last 10 Months Have Been The Worst Period For Floods AND The Worst Period For Fires In U.S. History
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... -s-history" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

West Virginia in Shock after Flash Floods Kill At Least 23
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffM ... t-least-23" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Jason
Master of Puppets
Posts: 18296

Re: Blipits

Post by Jason »

Defying the Investors
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/06/ferg ... rty-trump/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russia: US Destroyer Got Too Close to Its Ships in Europe
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... urope.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting fact that Northrop Grumman via its subsidiary Sperry Marine is peddling its marine navigation systems, like NORTHROP GRUMMAN SPERRY MARINE NAVIGAT X MK2, to the Russian consumers. They even maintain several offices in Russia, despite of the Washington imposed sanctions.
http://thesaker.is/northrop-grumman-on- ... ott-humor/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...long history of that stuff...Ford built Russia's largest automotive plant in '68 during proxy war in Vietnam...and on and on...
WASHINGTON -- The United States has authorized a Russian surveillance jet to overfly U.S. territory as part of an international treaty, closing a dispute that had elicited vocal criticism from some lawmakers over the technology being used by the Russians.

The decision, made by an interagency government group, focused on the scope of the Open Skies Treaty, a 14-year-old agreement that aims to increase transparency and international security by allowing member nations to fly over each other's territory and monitor military installations or other objects.

The final decision to authorize the Russian flights was made after consultations in Moscow that wrapped up June 28, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the process.
http://www.rferl.org/content/us-oks-rus ... 26694.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...play nice when its convenient (and inconvenient for US citizens)...

Russia Calls Former U.S. Ambassador 'Incompetent,' Complains Of FBI, CIA Harassment
http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-cal ... 26757.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US to deploy Israeli missile system on Russian borders: General
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/06/28/472 ... me-Patriot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Department of State Not Comments Situation with CIA Arms Stolen in Jordan
https://southfront.org/u-s-department-o ... in-jordan/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US investigates reports hostages killed in Afghanistan airstrike
https://bangordailynews.com/2016/06/27/ ... airstrike/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syrian Army in 1,5 km from the Militants’ Last Supply Line to Aleppo City
https://southfront.org/syrian-army-in-1 ... eppo-city/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Saudis Lobby Washington Insiders To Support U.S. Led Regime Change In Syria
http://www.mintpressnews.com/saudis-lob ... ia/217801/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At least 80 persons have been killed in recent clashes and air strikes in Yemen, AFP reported on June 28. According to the report, at least 37 killed people were civilians.
https://southfront.org/clashes-air-stri ... -in-yemen/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran believes it can move from producing 3.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) in May to 4.8 mb/d by 2021, but to do that the country needs $70 billion in foreign capital to hit the target.
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gener ... -Fast.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A fire is still burning after an overnight explosion at an Enterprise Gas Processing, LLC natural gas plant in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/ ... sippi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Select Committee on Benghazi Releases Proposed Report
http://benghazi.house.gov/NewInfo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Republicans Release Final Benghazi Report, Reveals SHOCKING Secret…
http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/us/r ... ing-secret" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Benghazi Probe Finds Marines' Response Was Slowed by Uniform Changes
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016 ... anges.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Clinton Slams Benghazi Report As "Discredited, Conspiracy Theories"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... y-theories" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"People Need To Know The Real Hillary Clinton And How Dangerous She Is"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-2 ... gerous-she" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obama’s exact words: “If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it’s less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it’s in the tens of thousands.”
http://www.usapoliticstoday.com/obama-s ... terrorism/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

New NATO Headquarters
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49287.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...moving in in 2017...
http://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/ ... et-eng.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

...nearly complete future home of the SS...

I see absolutely no value to a judge of spending decades, years, months, weeks, day, hours, minutes, or seconds studying the Constitution, the history of its enactment, its amendments, and its implementation (across the centuries—well, just a little more than two centuries, and of course less for many of the amendments). Eighteenth-century guys, however smart, could not foresee the culture, technology, etc., of the 21st century. Which means that the original Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the post–Civil War amendments (including the 14th), do not speak to today. - 7th Circuit Court Judge
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_ ... mob_tw_top" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Whistle-Blower: House Committee Hung Me Out To Dry After Using My Info Against DHS
http://dailycaller.com/2016/06/27/whist ... ainst-dhs/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The UK’s decision to leave the European Union will lead to an economic crisis more severe than what the world faced in 2008, according to legendary investor Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings. “This is going to be worse than any bear market you’ve seen in your lifetime,” he said. “2008 was bad because of debt. The debt all over the world is much, much higher now.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jim-roger ... 17566.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In voting to leave the EU, the U.K. has confirmed many of the Chinese Communist Party’s worst fears about democracy.
http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/ ... na-s-fears" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...not just the Chinese.....plenty of Libertarians like Peter Thiel agree as well...

New EU 'superstate plan’ by France, Germany: report
http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/2589 ... uses-alarm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Italy is preparing a €40bn rescue of its financial system as bank shares collapse on the Milan bourse and the powerful after-shocks of Brexit shake European markets. An Italian government task force is watching events hour by hour, pledging all steps necessary to ensure the stability of the banks.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/201 ... ino-falls/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The cost of buying protection against a default on British sovereign debt using credit default swaps rose to a three-year high on Tuesday, after rating agencies rushed to slash the U.K.’s debt rating following last week’s vote to leave the EU. It now costs $48,500 a year to protect $10 million of U.K. sovereign debt for five years, compared with levels near $32,000 before the June 23 referendum.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/28/uk-credi ... rades.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Britain could have a new prime minister by early September, the ruling Conservative Party said on Monday, after David Cameron started laying the groundwork for his successor to trigger the country’s exit from the EU.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brita ... SKCN0ZD1HW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Stores accepting food stamps — including Wal-Mart — face stricter rules
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stores ... 2016-06-28" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to $14.7 billion to settle claims stemming from its diesel emissions cheating scandal, in what would be one of the largest consumer class-action settlements ever in the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/28/busin ... .html?_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Mexico's police and armed forces routinely torture and mistreat women, sometimes using sexual violence during arrest and interrogation, Amnesty International wrote in a damning report released on Tuesday. Seven in ten of the women reported sexual violence during arrest or in the hours that followed.
http://www.france24.com/en/20160628-mex ... en-amnesty" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some girls at La Guardia HS of Music & Art and Performing Arts were not amused that a boy stole their stiletto-heeled thunder and became this year’s prom queen — and their claws have come out on social ­media.
http://nypost.com/2016/06/26/girls-jeal ... rom-queen/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A yellow fever epidemic in Angola could turn into a global crisis
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/world/ ... low-fever/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Inside A Secret Government Warehouse Prepped For Health Catastrophes
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shot ... tastrophes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A wildfire burning northeast of Bakersfield, California, is the state’s largest so far in 2016, according to news reports. It has also been called the season’s a most destructive fire. As of June 27, the Erskine fire had scorched 18,368 hectares (45,388 acres), destroyed at least 250 structures, and was responsible for at least two deaths.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natura ... &src=nhrss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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