In this 60 Minutes report, you’ll learn about a handful of Wall Street outsiders who realized the subprime mortgage business was a house of cards and found a way to bet against it. Michael Lewis talks about the current situation on Wall Street, the large bonuses still being paid and his predictions for the future of the industry.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Watch CBS News Videos Online
The second video details the tactics employed by Lehman Brothers to effectively hide their crumbling financial status.
March 31, 2010
March 30, 2010
Microchipping To Begin In 36 Months Under New Health Bill
The new Health Care Bill, H.R. 3200, just passed by Congress has within it the requirement that all people thereunder shall be microchiped. The plans for this microchipping has been in the hooper going back to December of 2004.
Witness the actual FDA (Food and Drug Administration) document dated December 10, 2004 entitled “Class II Special Guidance Document: Implantable Radiofrequency Transponder System for Patient Identification and Health Information. This ten page document may be read on the FDA website at
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/GuidanceDocuments/ucm072191.pdf
Now witness the wording within H.R. 3200, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009” found on Congresses’ House Ways and Means website,
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/111/AAHCA09001xml.pdf
On page 1001 is “Subtitle C – National Medical Device Registry” which states,
“The Secretary shall establish a national medical device registry (in this subsection referred to as the ‘registry’) to facilitate analysis of postmarket safety and outcomes data on each device that … is or has been used in or on a patient…”
In other words, everyone microchipped pursuant to the new Health Care Bill must be registered with the Secretary. The “Secretary” is defined as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The date by which this registry is to begin is mandated on page 1006, which is 36 months after the Health Bill becomes law.
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE. – The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish and begin implementation of the registry under section 519(g) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as added by paragraph (1) by not later than the date that is 36 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, without regard to whether of not final regulations to establish and operate the registry have been promulgated by such date.
Therefore, under the law of H.R. 3200 recently passed by Congress, microchipping of Americans must begin by the year 2013.
I cite to my often quoted Biblical Scripture in Revelation 13:16 and 17, “And he [the AntiChrist] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
Numerous times I have stated that our current Income Tax system shall be replaced with a tax upon all trade, and that everyone will have automatically deducted from every transaction of buying and selling a tax. But this tax is not the significant part. Along with this government-granted “privilege” of buying and selling, will be the required worship of the Man of Sin, that every knee shall bow and that every tongue shall confess that he is god to the glory of himself. Those refusing shall be certainly executed post haste!
Now you know what is behind the new Health Bill, H.R. 3200.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3vtjXEGy8&NR=1
Ron Branson
JAIL4Judges
Judicial Accountability Initiative Law
The only answer!
Massage4u@dock.net
Witness the actual FDA (Food and Drug Administration) document dated December 10, 2004 entitled “Class II Special Guidance Document: Implantable Radiofrequency Transponder System for Patient Identification and Health Information. This ten page document may be read on the FDA website at
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/GuidanceDocuments/ucm072191.pdf
Now witness the wording within H.R. 3200, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009” found on Congresses’ House Ways and Means website,
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/111/AAHCA09001xml.pdf
On page 1001 is “Subtitle C – National Medical Device Registry” which states,
“The Secretary shall establish a national medical device registry (in this subsection referred to as the ‘registry’) to facilitate analysis of postmarket safety and outcomes data on each device that … is or has been used in or on a patient…”
In other words, everyone microchipped pursuant to the new Health Care Bill must be registered with the Secretary. The “Secretary” is defined as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The date by which this registry is to begin is mandated on page 1006, which is 36 months after the Health Bill becomes law.
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE. – The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish and begin implementation of the registry under section 519(g) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as added by paragraph (1) by not later than the date that is 36 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, without regard to whether of not final regulations to establish and operate the registry have been promulgated by such date.
Therefore, under the law of H.R. 3200 recently passed by Congress, microchipping of Americans must begin by the year 2013.
I cite to my often quoted Biblical Scripture in Revelation 13:16 and 17, “And he [the AntiChrist] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
Numerous times I have stated that our current Income Tax system shall be replaced with a tax upon all trade, and that everyone will have automatically deducted from every transaction of buying and selling a tax. But this tax is not the significant part. Along with this government-granted “privilege” of buying and selling, will be the required worship of the Man of Sin, that every knee shall bow and that every tongue shall confess that he is god to the glory of himself. Those refusing shall be certainly executed post haste!
Now you know what is behind the new Health Bill, H.R. 3200.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3vtjXEGy8&NR=1
Ron Branson
JAIL4Judges
Judicial Accountability Initiative Law
The only answer!
Massage4u@dock.net
March 29, 2010
Update: Official: Gun charges after FBI raids in Midwest
ADRIAN, Mich. – The FBI said Sunday that agents conducted weekend raids in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio and arrested at least three people, and a militia leader in Michigan said the target of at least one of the raids was a Christian militia group.
Federal warrants were sealed, but a federal law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said some of those arrested face gun charges and officials are pursuing other suspects.
FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said there had been activity in two southeast Michigan counties near the Ohio state line. She wouldn't say whether they were tied to the raids in the other states.
FBI spokesman Scott Wilson in Cleveland said agents arrested two people Saturday after raids in two towns in Ohio. A third arrest was made in northeast Illinois on Sunday, a day after a raid took place just over the border in northwest Indiana.
George Ponce, 18, who works at a pizzeria next door to a home raided in Hammond, Ind., said he and a few co-workers stepped outside for a break Saturday night and saw a swarm of law enforcement.
"I heard a yell, 'Get back inside!' and saw a squad member pointing a rifle at us," Ponce said. "They told us the bomb squad was going in, sweeping the house looking for bombs."
He said another agent was in the bushes near the house, and law enforcement vehicles were "all over." He estimated that agents took more than two dozen guns from the house.
Michael Lackomar, a spokesman for the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, said one of his team leaders got a frantic phone call Saturday evening from members of Hutaree, a Christian militia group, who said their property in southwest Michigan was being raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Read Full Story:
Federal warrants were sealed, but a federal law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said some of those arrested face gun charges and officials are pursuing other suspects.
FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said there had been activity in two southeast Michigan counties near the Ohio state line. She wouldn't say whether they were tied to the raids in the other states.
FBI spokesman Scott Wilson in Cleveland said agents arrested two people Saturday after raids in two towns in Ohio. A third arrest was made in northeast Illinois on Sunday, a day after a raid took place just over the border in northwest Indiana.
George Ponce, 18, who works at a pizzeria next door to a home raided in Hammond, Ind., said he and a few co-workers stepped outside for a break Saturday night and saw a swarm of law enforcement.
"I heard a yell, 'Get back inside!' and saw a squad member pointing a rifle at us," Ponce said. "They told us the bomb squad was going in, sweeping the house looking for bombs."
He said another agent was in the bushes near the house, and law enforcement vehicles were "all over." He estimated that agents took more than two dozen guns from the house.
Michael Lackomar, a spokesman for the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, said one of his team leaders got a frantic phone call Saturday evening from members of Hutaree, a Christian militia group, who said their property in southwest Michigan was being raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Read Full Story:
March 28, 2010
FBI Raids Michigan Militia Men
The FBI conducted raids Saturday night in Washtenaw County and Lenawee County in an investigation involving members of Hutaree, a Christian-oriented militia group based in Lenawee County, AnnArbor.com has learned.
The nature of those raids has not been made public. FBI Special Agent Jason Pack, who is based in Washington, D.C., said he did not know how many people were taken into custody. Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit, could not be reached for comment today.
Michigan militia members assist in the recent search for a missing Bridgewater Township man in this recent AnnArbor.com file photo.
"I can confirm that there is ongoing law enforcement activity in the Ann Arbor general area," Pack said in a written statement. "Since the federal warrants are under court ordered seal, legally we cannot provide further comment at this time."
Local Michigan militia member Jimmy Schiel said he was told five people were arrested - including one known member of Hutaree. Schiel said the five were reportedly arrested during a raid at a service in the Ann Arbor area for a Hutaree member who died recently. Schiel was told about eight Hutaree members were present. Schiel, who said he was invited but did not attend, spoke to a Hutaree member who was at the service, he said.
Read Full Article:
The nature of those raids has not been made public. FBI Special Agent Jason Pack, who is based in Washington, D.C., said he did not know how many people were taken into custody. Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit, could not be reached for comment today.
Michigan militia members assist in the recent search for a missing Bridgewater Township man in this recent AnnArbor.com file photo.
"I can confirm that there is ongoing law enforcement activity in the Ann Arbor general area," Pack said in a written statement. "Since the federal warrants are under court ordered seal, legally we cannot provide further comment at this time."
Local Michigan militia member Jimmy Schiel said he was told five people were arrested - including one known member of Hutaree. Schiel said the five were reportedly arrested during a raid at a service in the Ann Arbor area for a Hutaree member who died recently. Schiel was told about eight Hutaree members were present. Schiel, who said he was invited but did not attend, spoke to a Hutaree member who was at the service, he said.
Read Full Article:
March 27, 2010
American Terror Suspect Worked for D.E.A.
An American charged with helping plan the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, moved effortlessly between the United States, Pakistan and India for nearly seven years, training at a militant camp in Pakistan on five occasions, according to a plea agreement released by the Justice Department last week.
The odyssey of David C. Headley, 49, included scouting targets in several cities in India and meeting with a senior operative of Al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal areas. These and other new details of Mr. Headley’s activities, contained in the plea agreement, raise troubling questions about how an American citizen could travel for so long undetected from his home base in Chicago to well-established terrorist training camps in Pakistan.
The document shows that Mr. Headley made two trips to North Waziristan, the heart of Qaeda operations in the tribal area where the United States is still pushing Pakistan for a military offensive to clear out militants. His handlers, the document reveals, included a former Pakistani military commander with ties to a Pakistani extremist group and even Al Qaeda.
Read Full Story:
The odyssey of David C. Headley, 49, included scouting targets in several cities in India and meeting with a senior operative of Al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal areas. These and other new details of Mr. Headley’s activities, contained in the plea agreement, raise troubling questions about how an American citizen could travel for so long undetected from his home base in Chicago to well-established terrorist training camps in Pakistan.
The document shows that Mr. Headley made two trips to North Waziristan, the heart of Qaeda operations in the tribal area where the United States is still pushing Pakistan for a military offensive to clear out militants. His handlers, the document reveals, included a former Pakistani military commander with ties to a Pakistani extremist group and even Al Qaeda.
Read Full Story:
March 26, 2010
South Korean Ship Sinks; Gold Rises
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- New York spot gold prices have risen early afternoon, driven by a combination of partially Greece-driven debt worries in the European Union, earthquake news out of Chile, and reports that North Korea may have hit and sunk a South Korean naval ship with a torpedo Friday.
The ship sank early Saturday morning near a disputed border with North Korea.
According to a South Korean naval commodore, 58 of the ship's 104 crew members had been rescued by early Saturday morning; rescue operations are ongoing.
It has also been reported that a South Korean battleship had earlier fired at an unidentified vessel nearby. South Korean cabinet members have promptly convened an emergency meeting.
Read Full Article:
CITY PREPPERS
I've launched an alternative site dedicated to preppers or people who want to be preppers that live in inner cities or just don't have a lot of space. So come on by and check it out. http://citypreppers.blogspot.com
March 25, 2010
Castro Praises Obama Care
It perhaps was not the endorsement President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress were looking for.
Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Thursday declared passage of American health care reform "a miracle" and a major victory for Obama's presidency, but couldn't help chide the United States for taking so long to enact what communist Cuba achieved decades ago.
"We consider health reform to have been an important battle and a success of his (Obama's) government," Castro wrote in an essay published in state media, adding that it would strengthen the president's hand against lobbyists and "mercenaries."
But the Cuban leader also used the lengthy piece to criticize the American president for his lack of leadership on climate change and immigration reform, and for his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, among many other things.
And he said it was remarkable that the most powerful country on earth took more than two centuries from its founding to approve something as basic as health benefits for all.
Read Full Article:
Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Thursday declared passage of American health care reform "a miracle" and a major victory for Obama's presidency, but couldn't help chide the United States for taking so long to enact what communist Cuba achieved decades ago.
"We consider health reform to have been an important battle and a success of his (Obama's) government," Castro wrote in an essay published in state media, adding that it would strengthen the president's hand against lobbyists and "mercenaries."
But the Cuban leader also used the lengthy piece to criticize the American president for his lack of leadership on climate change and immigration reform, and for his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, among many other things.
And he said it was remarkable that the most powerful country on earth took more than two centuries from its founding to approve something as basic as health benefits for all.
Read Full Article:
ARE YOU READY FOR NEXT EARTHQUAKE?
Did You Know?
Doorways are no stronger than any other part of the structure. During and earthquake, get under a sturdy piece of furniture and hold on. This will provide some protection from falling objects that can injure you during an earthquake.
BeRedCrossReady and check out their Earthquake Safety Checklist.
Doorways are no stronger than any other part of the structure. During and earthquake, get under a sturdy piece of furniture and hold on. This will provide some protection from falling objects that can injure you during an earthquake.
BeRedCrossReady and check out their Earthquake Safety Checklist.
55% Favor Repeal of Health Care Bill
Just before the House of Representatives passed sweeping health care legislation last Sunday, 41% of voters nationwide favored the legislation while 54% were opposed. Now that President Obama has signed the legislation into law, most voters want to see it repealed.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, conducted on the first two nights after the president signed the bill, shows that 55% favor repealing the legislation. Forty-two percent (42%) oppose repeal. Those figures include 46% who Strongly Favor repeal and 35% who Strongly Oppose it.
In terms of Election 2010, 52% say they’d vote for a candidate who favors repeal over one who does not. Forty-one percent (41%) would cast their vote for someone who opposes repeal.
Not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelmingly favor repeal while most Democrats are opposed. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 59% favor repeal, and 35% are against it.
Read Full Story:
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, conducted on the first two nights after the president signed the bill, shows that 55% favor repealing the legislation. Forty-two percent (42%) oppose repeal. Those figures include 46% who Strongly Favor repeal and 35% who Strongly Oppose it.
In terms of Election 2010, 52% say they’d vote for a candidate who favors repeal over one who does not. Forty-one percent (41%) would cast their vote for someone who opposes repeal.
Not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelmingly favor repeal while most Democrats are opposed. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 59% favor repeal, and 35% are against it.
Read Full Story:
March 24, 2010
March 23, 2010
Majority of Americans Disaprrove of Health Care Bill
According to a recent Rasmussen Poll 53% of Americans disapproved the Health Care Bill and yet here we have it.
CNN's Research Opinion Poll has the number as high as 59%.
If the majority of Americans disapproved of this bill and the Democratic majority still passed the it, who's interest are they really serving?
As Obama stands in front of the camera's smiling championing his victory his approval rating is falling out of orbit, down to 43%.
Now maybe I fell asleep in government class but I was under the impression that in a Democracy the elected officials served the will of the people.
As I watch the all the commentators on MSM go back and forth with politicians on both sides I see two issues getting fused together in order to support this bill:
1. This bill provides Health Care to 32 million Americans.
2. It provides legal boundaries that the insurance companies can't go outside of.
Ok, to me both of these are reasonable and they do help people, no doubt about it. However, the thing I think most supporters don't look at is the mandate. Why not let individual people opt? If you need it or want it good, go get it. But for those who don't want it shouldn't they be allowed to opt out? Isn't this apart of the freedom that makes America, well...America? Isn't this apart of that freedom we go all over the globe to protect and establish, topple governments to enforce, over throw dictators to establish?
How can we go anywhere in the world and tell people we're fighting for freedom and democracy when we the majority at home yell a big collective, "NO" and the government still says "yes".
CNN's Research Opinion Poll has the number as high as 59%.
If the majority of Americans disapproved of this bill and the Democratic majority still passed the it, who's interest are they really serving?
As Obama stands in front of the camera's smiling championing his victory his approval rating is falling out of orbit, down to 43%.
Now maybe I fell asleep in government class but I was under the impression that in a Democracy the elected officials served the will of the people.
As I watch the all the commentators on MSM go back and forth with politicians on both sides I see two issues getting fused together in order to support this bill:
1. This bill provides Health Care to 32 million Americans.
2. It provides legal boundaries that the insurance companies can't go outside of.
Ok, to me both of these are reasonable and they do help people, no doubt about it. However, the thing I think most supporters don't look at is the mandate. Why not let individual people opt? If you need it or want it good, go get it. But for those who don't want it shouldn't they be allowed to opt out? Isn't this apart of the freedom that makes America, well...America? Isn't this apart of that freedom we go all over the globe to protect and establish, topple governments to enforce, over throw dictators to establish?
How can we go anywhere in the world and tell people we're fighting for freedom and democracy when we the majority at home yell a big collective, "NO" and the government still says "yes".
Wachovia Pays $160 Million to Settle Drug Money Probe
Wachovia Bank has agreed to pay $160 million to settle U.S. charges that it failed to stop more than $100 million of Colombian and Mexican drug traffickers' money being laundered through accounts at the bank, U.S. authorities said Wednesday.
March 17, 2010 MIAMI, - Wachovia Bank has agreed to pay $160 million to settle U.S. charges that it failed to stop more than $100 million of Colombian and Mexican drug traffickers' money being laundered through accounts at the bank, U.S. authorities said Wednesday.
The deferred prosecution agreement announced in Miami, which included a $50 million fine to be paid to the U.S. Treasury, was the largest penalty ever imposed for a violation of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jeffrey H. Sloman told reporters.
Sloman said a "systematic" failure by Wachovia, now a unit of Wells Fargo & Co , to maintain effective anti-money laundering (AML) controls had led to more than $400 billion in unmonitored funds being channelled to accounts at the bank between 2004 and 2007 by currency exchange houses in Mexico, mostly through wire transfers
He added this money included millions of dollars that were used by Mexican and Colombian cartels to purchase airplanes in the United States for cross-border drug trafficking operations, according to a U.S. investigation lasting more than four years, which also involved the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Read More:
March 22, 2010
Greek economy 'to worsen' in 2010
Greece's economy is in a "vicious circle" and will contract more severely than the government says, according to the country's central bank.The Bank of Greece (BoG) said economic output in 2010 will fall by 2%, worse than the government's prediction of between 1.2% and 1.7%.
BoG says the recession will be worse due to planned public spending cuts.
The report comes ahead of a European Union summit which may discuss Greece's economic crisis.
BoG said that it approves of Athens' strategy to bring down the country's budget deficit, but that the impact will be worse than first thought.
"The Greek economy has fallen into a vicious circle with only one way out: the drastic reduction of the deficit and debt," the Bank's annual monetary policy report says.
The report warned that the eurozone's economic recovery remains fragile, having relied to a large extent on fiscal stimulus, which must gradually be reversed as it is leading to large budget deficits.
The report said: "The economic policy that has been announced is the start of this effort.
"Its efficient implementation will lead to a virtuous circle that will bring the Greek economy back on a sustainable growth orbit."
European aid
Greece's budget deficit last year was 12.9% of GDP, more than four times the limit under eurozone rules.
There have been conflicting reports about whether eurozone countries will discuss Greece's plight at a summit on Thursday.
Germany has irritated some of its European partners with its opposition to a financial aid to help Greece overcome its debt crisis, believing that Athens itself can solve the problem.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Sunday that the European Union was ready to "do what is necessary to preserve the stability of the eurozone".
Yet, in a radio interview, she said she opposed any move by EU leaders to take a firm decision on the Greek question at Thursday's summit, as Greece does not need money at the moment.
Financial markets have intensified pressure on Greece, which must refinance more than 50bn euros (£44.8bn) in debt this year, including more than 20bn euros by the end of May.
Athens must now pay roughly twice the interest that Germany does to borrow money, and has asked the EU to either guarantee loans or lend money outright if Greece cannot raise the funds it needs at reasonable rates.
Google Side-Steps China Censorship
Google Inc., following through on a promise to stop censoring search results in China, began redirecting traffic from its Chinese home page to the company’s unfiltered Hong Kong site, outside of mainland China.Google is "totally wrong" to stop censoring its searches, the official Xinhua news agency said after the announcement.
Google will offer uncensored results in simplified Chinese, designed for users on the mainland, according to a blog post today. The move follows a two-month dispute between the company and the Chinese government over censorship.
“The Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement,” Google said on the blog. “We believe this new approach of providing uncensored search in simplified Chinese from Google.com.hk is a sensible solution to the challenges we’ve faced -- it’s entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China.”
The question now is whether China will block access to the site from the mainland, said Aaron Kessler, an analyst at Kaufman Brothers LP in San Francisco. The Hong Kong site isn’t subject to the same censorship requirements as mainland sites. For example, it was displaying several results on the search term “Tiananmen Square massacre” today.
While part of China, Hong Kong has a separate government and economy -- a legacy of its role as a British territory until 1997. At the time of the handover, China promised to preserve Hong Kong’s capitalist system and free press for another 50 years.
Read More:
Commentary on Health Care Reform
Let me start of by saying that I am not opposed to making health care available to more people or people who could not afford it otherwise.
However, I am against a mandate that says you will purchase a product. If the Dems want to make health care more available, more accessible, more cheaper, great! I'm all for it. I agree and applaud with not allowing insurance companies to drop people when they need coverage the most or denying people because they have preexisting conditions. I agree with allowing college students to stay on their parent insurance until they are 26.
What I don't agree with is a mandate to buy, the sleazy way Congress slid the bill through, or the way the bill will operate.
Instead of placing extra burdens on tax payers (who may or may not be employed)and businesses at a time when the economy is struggling to get out of a depression, they could have opted to regulate the insurance industry in the same way they regulate other public utilities.
Then there is the IRS aspect of the bill. So now, you'll have to include your health care coverage with your tax forms ever January. According to the Washington Examiner:
The Democrats' plan would require all Americans to have "acceptable" insurance coverage (the legislation includes long and complex definitions of "acceptable") and would designate the IRS as the agency charged with enforcing that requirement. On your yearly 1040 tax return, you would be required to attest that you have "acceptable" coverage. Of course, you might be lying, or simply confused about whether or not you are covered, so the IRS would need a way to check your claim for accuracy. Under current plans, insurers would be required to submit to the IRS something like the 1099 form in which taxpayers report outside income. The IRS would then check the information it receives from the insurers against what you have submitted on your tax form.
If it all matches up, you're fine. If it doesn't, you will hear from the IRS. And if you don't have "acceptable" coverage, you will be subject to substantial fines — fines that will be administered by the IRS.
Looking at this article something else comes to mind. Who's to say that the fines for not having "acceptable" insurance won't be $1000, $2000, or $5000 in the next 5 to 10 years?
On top of that you have companies like Walgreens who are refusing to accept any new Medicaid prescriptions because they're losing money. Doctors are Medicare patients or raising patient fees because of the cuts to Medicare to fund this new health care bill.
If the states Attorney Generals fail at their constitutionality challenge to this bill and the GOP can't get it repealed in November, then boys and girls we have officially crossed that plane into European style Socialism.
However, I am against a mandate that says you will purchase a product. If the Dems want to make health care more available, more accessible, more cheaper, great! I'm all for it. I agree and applaud with not allowing insurance companies to drop people when they need coverage the most or denying people because they have preexisting conditions. I agree with allowing college students to stay on their parent insurance until they are 26.
What I don't agree with is a mandate to buy, the sleazy way Congress slid the bill through, or the way the bill will operate.
Instead of placing extra burdens on tax payers (who may or may not be employed)and businesses at a time when the economy is struggling to get out of a depression, they could have opted to regulate the insurance industry in the same way they regulate other public utilities.
Then there is the IRS aspect of the bill. So now, you'll have to include your health care coverage with your tax forms ever January. According to the Washington Examiner:
The Democrats' plan would require all Americans to have "acceptable" insurance coverage (the legislation includes long and complex definitions of "acceptable") and would designate the IRS as the agency charged with enforcing that requirement. On your yearly 1040 tax return, you would be required to attest that you have "acceptable" coverage. Of course, you might be lying, or simply confused about whether or not you are covered, so the IRS would need a way to check your claim for accuracy. Under current plans, insurers would be required to submit to the IRS something like the 1099 form in which taxpayers report outside income. The IRS would then check the information it receives from the insurers against what you have submitted on your tax form.
If it all matches up, you're fine. If it doesn't, you will hear from the IRS. And if you don't have "acceptable" coverage, you will be subject to substantial fines — fines that will be administered by the IRS.
Looking at this article something else comes to mind. Who's to say that the fines for not having "acceptable" insurance won't be $1000, $2000, or $5000 in the next 5 to 10 years?
On top of that you have companies like Walgreens who are refusing to accept any new Medicaid prescriptions because they're losing money. Doctors are Medicare patients or raising patient fees because of the cuts to Medicare to fund this new health care bill.
If the states Attorney Generals fail at their constitutionality challenge to this bill and the GOP can't get it repealed in November, then boys and girls we have officially crossed that plane into European style Socialism.
Attoneys General Sue To Stop Health Care Bill
David Goodhue - AHN News Reporter
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) - Attorneys general in several states have announced they will file a lawsuit to challenge the health care system overhaul that passed the U.S. House of Representatives Sunday night.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum joined at least nine other attorneys general who announced plans to challenge the constitutionality of the bill, which passed along party lines 219 to 212. No Republican voted for the bill.
McCollum is also a candidate for governor of Florida. He is expected to hold a press conference Monday to discuss the lawsuit.
McCollum said Sunday night that the bill is unconstitutional because it forces people to have health insurance. He said the bill also violates states’ sovereignty.
Attorneys general from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota and South Dakota also said they would sue to repeal the bill.
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) - Attorneys general in several states have announced they will file a lawsuit to challenge the health care system overhaul that passed the U.S. House of Representatives Sunday night.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum joined at least nine other attorneys general who announced plans to challenge the constitutionality of the bill, which passed along party lines 219 to 212. No Republican voted for the bill.
McCollum is also a candidate for governor of Florida. He is expected to hold a press conference Monday to discuss the lawsuit.
McCollum said Sunday night that the bill is unconstitutional because it forces people to have health insurance. He said the bill also violates states’ sovereignty.
Attorneys general from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota and South Dakota also said they would sue to repeal the bill.
March 21, 2010
Preppers in the news
Peoria mom is doing her best to prepare for the worst.
Lisa Bedford appears to be your average stay-at-home mom of two, driving her kids to archery practice in an SUV and selling Pampered Chef kitchen tools on the side. She hollers for 10-year-old Olivia and Andrew, 8, to come to the table and do math problems while she mills wheat to make her own bread. Dad is at work, and the family's four dogs, one cat and the turtle in a glass aquarium are napping.
It's Bedford's T-shirt that gives her away: "Survival is a mom's job," it says. The T's are for sale on her Web site, thesurvivalmom.com, where she gives practical advice on preparing families for the worst.
Bedford began stockpiling canned food, laundry detergent and toilet paper almost two years ago, converting a spare bedroom into a giant pantry. The silver shelves are stocked better than a convenience store, with pyramids of canned food, sacks of rice and wheat, and boxes of cereal, oatmeal and pasta.
All four family members know how to shoot guns, and they practice regularly at the shooting range. And in the back of her SUV is a 72-hour emergency kit - a plastic container filled with power bars and beef jerky, blankets, medicine, tools, water-purification kit and flashlights. She knows how to get out of the city in a hurry, using old country roads instead of what would likely be crowded freeways.
"If we ever have to bug out, we're ready," Bedford says. She even has the kids' textbooks downloaded on her Kindle.
'General uneasiness'
The 49-year-old woman isn't one of those wacky people with a bunker in the backyard who thinks the world is coming to an end. The only camouflage in sight is Olivia's headband. Bedford worries more about the fallout of a shaky economy than about a terrorist attack, civil unrest or a natural disaster.
"I just feel a general uneasiness about what is happening in the world today," she says.
And no, she says, she's not a Mormon; she attends a non-denominational church. (Some religious groups, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have long recommended that members store a year's worth of food and supplies, not only in the event of an emergency but also for hard times.)
Her husband, Stephen, works as an electrical contractor. These days, jobs are fewer and farther between. Lisa, a former teacher, homeschools her children and, before the economy turned sour, booked as many as eight home parties a month to sell kitchen gear. Bookings now, however, have dropped to two or three a month.
Lisa has friends who have lost their jobs and homes. And seeing how the government handled Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she didn't think she could depend on anyone but herself to help her family in the event of a disaster.
She's not anti-government: "Just because I have a lot of soup stored up is not an indictment of President Obama." An American flag flies outside her home.
If she lived back East, she'd be preparing for snowstorms. In Florida, she'd get ready for hurricanes. In Arizona, she worries most about a prolonged power outage in the summer. The more she talks, the more sense she makes. Would you have flashlights and enough batteries on hand? Propane gas for cooking?
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Lisa Bedford appears to be your average stay-at-home mom of two, driving her kids to archery practice in an SUV and selling Pampered Chef kitchen tools on the side. She hollers for 10-year-old Olivia and Andrew, 8, to come to the table and do math problems while she mills wheat to make her own bread. Dad is at work, and the family's four dogs, one cat and the turtle in a glass aquarium are napping.
It's Bedford's T-shirt that gives her away: "Survival is a mom's job," it says. The T's are for sale on her Web site, thesurvivalmom.com, where she gives practical advice on preparing families for the worst.
Bedford began stockpiling canned food, laundry detergent and toilet paper almost two years ago, converting a spare bedroom into a giant pantry. The silver shelves are stocked better than a convenience store, with pyramids of canned food, sacks of rice and wheat, and boxes of cereal, oatmeal and pasta.
All four family members know how to shoot guns, and they practice regularly at the shooting range. And in the back of her SUV is a 72-hour emergency kit - a plastic container filled with power bars and beef jerky, blankets, medicine, tools, water-purification kit and flashlights. She knows how to get out of the city in a hurry, using old country roads instead of what would likely be crowded freeways.
"If we ever have to bug out, we're ready," Bedford says. She even has the kids' textbooks downloaded on her Kindle.
'General uneasiness'
The 49-year-old woman isn't one of those wacky people with a bunker in the backyard who thinks the world is coming to an end. The only camouflage in sight is Olivia's headband. Bedford worries more about the fallout of a shaky economy than about a terrorist attack, civil unrest or a natural disaster.
"I just feel a general uneasiness about what is happening in the world today," she says.
And no, she says, she's not a Mormon; she attends a non-denominational church. (Some religious groups, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have long recommended that members store a year's worth of food and supplies, not only in the event of an emergency but also for hard times.)
Her husband, Stephen, works as an electrical contractor. These days, jobs are fewer and farther between. Lisa, a former teacher, homeschools her children and, before the economy turned sour, booked as many as eight home parties a month to sell kitchen gear. Bookings now, however, have dropped to two or three a month.
Lisa has friends who have lost their jobs and homes. And seeing how the government handled Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she didn't think she could depend on anyone but herself to help her family in the event of a disaster.
She's not anti-government: "Just because I have a lot of soup stored up is not an indictment of President Obama." An American flag flies outside her home.
If she lived back East, she'd be preparing for snowstorms. In Florida, she'd get ready for hurricanes. In Arizona, she worries most about a prolonged power outage in the summer. The more she talks, the more sense she makes. Would you have flashlights and enough batteries on hand? Propane gas for cooking?
Read More:
March 19, 2010
Idaho's plan to downgrade the dollar
With only one state representative dissenting, the Idaho House State Affairs committee voted on Monday to endorse HB 633, a bill that would allow Idaho citizens to pay their state taxes with an official state silver medallion.
The news comes just a month after a South Carolina legislator introduced a bill seeking to ban Federal currency altogether, and replace the upstart greenback with gold or silver coins. A half-dozen other states have considered similar legislation, reports the Tenth Amendment Center. But there's a key difference between the Idaho plan and the bills proposed in other states, most of which fall somewhere on a spectrum ranging from Tea Party rage to Ron Paul goldbug-ism. (The South Carolina bill, for example, claims that "the State is experiencing an economic crisis of severe magnitude caused in large part by the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin as legal tender in this State.")
In contrast, the sponsor of the Idaho bill, Republican Phil Hart, seems to be marshalling wide support by crafting legislation that is straight out industrial policy aimed at boosting Idaho's silver industry. The text of the bill is quite clear.
The intent of this act is to use the abundant silver resources of the state of Idaho to create a means whereby the people of Idaho can pay their taxes to the state using silver mined from the ground of Idaho, processed in Idaho and finally minted into a medallion in Idaho. It is the intent of the Legislature to create mining jobs in Idaho while giving the people of Idaho a means to store their wealth in a precious metal that is immune from the effects of inflation while complying with the mandates of our federal Constitution.
The Idaho bill therefore incorporates tax incentives for silver processors located in Idaho.
From The Idaho Reporter:
That, Hart believes, could bring hundreds, if not thousands of jobs to the state. In conjunction with the creation of the medallion, Hart's bill would also try to lure silver processing companies to Idaho, and in particular, north Idaho, which, according to Hart, was once called "the silver capital of the world." The bill would give companies that come to Idaho to process silver for the medallion a 10-year exemption from income taxes, as well as property taxes. The exemption would be open for 20 years and would sunset after that period of time.
Hart believes one of the advantages of silver is that it would resist inflationary pressure better than paper money. But since states aren't allowed to mint their own money, the value of the silver medallion will have to fluctuate according to market forces. In just the last ten years, the value of an ounce of silver has zig-zagged between four and twenty dollars.
Source: Salon.com
The news comes just a month after a South Carolina legislator introduced a bill seeking to ban Federal currency altogether, and replace the upstart greenback with gold or silver coins. A half-dozen other states have considered similar legislation, reports the Tenth Amendment Center. But there's a key difference between the Idaho plan and the bills proposed in other states, most of which fall somewhere on a spectrum ranging from Tea Party rage to Ron Paul goldbug-ism. (The South Carolina bill, for example, claims that "the State is experiencing an economic crisis of severe magnitude caused in large part by the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin as legal tender in this State.")
In contrast, the sponsor of the Idaho bill, Republican Phil Hart, seems to be marshalling wide support by crafting legislation that is straight out industrial policy aimed at boosting Idaho's silver industry. The text of the bill is quite clear.
The intent of this act is to use the abundant silver resources of the state of Idaho to create a means whereby the people of Idaho can pay their taxes to the state using silver mined from the ground of Idaho, processed in Idaho and finally minted into a medallion in Idaho. It is the intent of the Legislature to create mining jobs in Idaho while giving the people of Idaho a means to store their wealth in a precious metal that is immune from the effects of inflation while complying with the mandates of our federal Constitution.
The Idaho bill therefore incorporates tax incentives for silver processors located in Idaho.
From The Idaho Reporter:
That, Hart believes, could bring hundreds, if not thousands of jobs to the state. In conjunction with the creation of the medallion, Hart's bill would also try to lure silver processing companies to Idaho, and in particular, north Idaho, which, according to Hart, was once called "the silver capital of the world." The bill would give companies that come to Idaho to process silver for the medallion a 10-year exemption from income taxes, as well as property taxes. The exemption would be open for 20 years and would sunset after that period of time.
Hart believes one of the advantages of silver is that it would resist inflationary pressure better than paper money. But since states aren't allowed to mint their own money, the value of the silver medallion will have to fluctuate according to market forces. In just the last ten years, the value of an ounce of silver has zig-zagged between four and twenty dollars.
Source: Salon.com
March 18, 2010
Republicans assail IRS provision in health care bill
"The bill would allow the IRS to confiscate refunds if there are penalties for not buying health care".
House Ways and Means Republicans on Thursday assailed a provision in the proposed health care reform bill under consideration this week.
Subcommittee on Oversight ranking member Charles Boustany (R-La.) said the IRS provision in the bill "dangerously expands, in an ominous way the tentacles of the IRS and it's reach into every American family," he said today during a press conference.
"This is a vast expanse of power," he said.
Boustany said the bill would allow the IRS to confiscate refunds if there are penalties for not buying health care.
Lawmakers have questioned whether the IRS can handle the increased workload to oversee, administer and collect penalties for people who don't buy health insurance.
"This is increasing tax liability and tax scrutiny," said Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.).
Ranking member Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said many Americans have already rejected the call for health care reform for other reasons and an expansion of the IRS should only add to call to "kill the bill."
Read More:
House Ways and Means Republicans on Thursday assailed a provision in the proposed health care reform bill under consideration this week.
Subcommittee on Oversight ranking member Charles Boustany (R-La.) said the IRS provision in the bill "dangerously expands, in an ominous way the tentacles of the IRS and it's reach into every American family," he said today during a press conference.
"This is a vast expanse of power," he said.
Boustany said the bill would allow the IRS to confiscate refunds if there are penalties for not buying health care.
Lawmakers have questioned whether the IRS can handle the increased workload to oversee, administer and collect penalties for people who don't buy health insurance.
"This is increasing tax liability and tax scrutiny," said Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.).
Ranking member Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said many Americans have already rejected the call for health care reform for other reasons and an expansion of the IRS should only add to call to "kill the bill."
Read More:
Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, UBS Are Charged With Fraud
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co., UBS AG and Hypo Real Estate Holding AG’s Depfa Bank Plc unit were charged with fraud linked to the sale of derivatives to the City of Milan.
Judge Simone Luerti scheduled the trial of the four firms, 11 bankers and two former city officials for May 6, Prosecutor Alfredo Robledo said after a hearing in Milan today. The banks allegedly misled the city over swaps that adjusted interest payments on 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of bonds sold in 2005.
Prosecutors across Italy are investigating banks as local and national government agencies face potential losses of 2.5 billion euros on derivatives, lawyers say. The Milan probe may also affect cases as far away as the U.S., where securities firms have faced charges for price-fixing and bid-rigging in the sale of derivatives to municipalities, though not for fraud, according to former regulator Christopher “Kit” Taylor.
“This case could have repercussions over here if the trial showed deliberate intent,” said Taylor, a former executive director of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the national regulator of the municipal-bond market. “What happened in Europe was the continuation of a pattern in the U.S.”
JPMorgan is “vigorously” defending its position against the charges, the New York-based firm said in a statement. “The employees involved in the transactions acted with the highest degree of professionalism and entirely appropriately.”
‘No Criminal Plot’
UBS and “its exponents are confident that they will be able to demonstrate, in the course of the trial, that no criminal plot was conceived,” the Zurich-based bank said in a separate statement.
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Judge Simone Luerti scheduled the trial of the four firms, 11 bankers and two former city officials for May 6, Prosecutor Alfredo Robledo said after a hearing in Milan today. The banks allegedly misled the city over swaps that adjusted interest payments on 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of bonds sold in 2005.
Prosecutors across Italy are investigating banks as local and national government agencies face potential losses of 2.5 billion euros on derivatives, lawyers say. The Milan probe may also affect cases as far away as the U.S., where securities firms have faced charges for price-fixing and bid-rigging in the sale of derivatives to municipalities, though not for fraud, according to former regulator Christopher “Kit” Taylor.
“This case could have repercussions over here if the trial showed deliberate intent,” said Taylor, a former executive director of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the national regulator of the municipal-bond market. “What happened in Europe was the continuation of a pattern in the U.S.”
JPMorgan is “vigorously” defending its position against the charges, the New York-based firm said in a statement. “The employees involved in the transactions acted with the highest degree of professionalism and entirely appropriately.”
‘No Criminal Plot’
UBS and “its exponents are confident that they will be able to demonstrate, in the course of the trial, that no criminal plot was conceived,” the Zurich-based bank said in a separate statement.
Read More:
'Wall Street' sequel is an omen of U.S. collapse
He says he can't predict the future. Don't believe him: Even if he's unaware of his "source," it's stirring again, rising from deep in what Carl Jung would call the "collective unconscious" of the "American Soul," warning us again of a collapse, using Stone as a stock trader's "alert."
Wake up Wall Street: You're getting the biggest market timing signal of 2010!
Seriously, why now? Why after 23 years, did Stone decide to update the message of his famous 1987 movie. Great question: The interviewer was Michael Lewis, former Salomon trader, author of "Liar's Poker," a guy who understands Wall Street's soul.
Stone's answer is in "Greed Never Left," Lewis' Vanity Fair review of Stone's new movie, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." Stone had to think about it: "Why did I go back?" Why? "Because it's important. It's the collapse of capitalism and the collapse of our society. It is. Our way of life is going to change."
The collapse of capitalism? Not just a stock market crash. He's predicting the "collapse of our society." Worse, Stone's predicting: "Our way of life is going to change." Is this really a market-timing signal? Hey, it was in 1987. Will history repeat? The odds say yes.
Remember Stone's predictions when you see the sequel, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." Lewis says Stone's goal is not just to entertain you for a couple hours then send you back home to continue denying everything Wall Street's fat-cat bankers, the real Gordon Gekkos, are doing every day to destroy capitalism, destroy democracy, destroy your retirement portfolio.
No, Oliver Stone, the All-American filmmaker of "Born on the Fourth of July," "Platoon," "JFK," "Nixon," "W" and "World Trade Center" has a message ... wake up America, you're sleepwalking.
America is unprepared for the coming disaster
Stone's message is clear and powerful: You're ignoring the coming collapse of capitalism ... of our society ... collapse of America. We are ignoring the end of our experiment in democracy. We are unprepared ... "our way of life is going to change." Wake up.
Unfortunately, Stone's voice will likely be as ineffective in 2010 as in 1987. Few listen. Since the first film we've had bigger bubbles, bigger busts. Remember the Asian-Russian crises of 1997-98? Dot-coms in 2000? Subprime meltdown of 2007-08?
"Oliver Stone's 1987 Wall Street succeeded brilliantly in capturing a culture," says Lewis, "and failed miserably as a call for change. To the director's dismay, thousands of financial hotshots dreamed of becoming Gordon Gekko." It was like a recruiting poster for financial terrorists.
Why? Wall Street insiders and Main Street day traders are by nature optimists and opportunists. It's in their DNA. The love crises and volatility. Like the bomb-squad experts in "Hurt Locker," they race into the kill zone. This is a game to traders. They love the hunt, the thrill, the adrenaline rush ... they have to minimize the risks, deny the danger and ignore the consequences as they rush in to capture the moment.
Seriously: Lewis says "Michael Douglas often expresses his astonishment at the many Wall Street males who have sought him out in public places just to say, 'Man, I want to tell you, you are the single biggest reason I got into the business. I watched Wall Street, and I wanted to be Gordon Gekko.' The film's equally perplexed screenwriter, Stanley Weiser, has made the same point, in a different way. 'We wanted to capture the hyper-materialism of the culture,' he said. 'That was always the intent of the movie. Not to make Gordon Gekko a hero.'" Remember, greed never left ... greed never will leave.
Read More:
Wake up Wall Street: You're getting the biggest market timing signal of 2010!
Seriously, why now? Why after 23 years, did Stone decide to update the message of his famous 1987 movie. Great question: The interviewer was Michael Lewis, former Salomon trader, author of "Liar's Poker," a guy who understands Wall Street's soul.
Stone's answer is in "Greed Never Left," Lewis' Vanity Fair review of Stone's new movie, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." Stone had to think about it: "Why did I go back?" Why? "Because it's important. It's the collapse of capitalism and the collapse of our society. It is. Our way of life is going to change."
The collapse of capitalism? Not just a stock market crash. He's predicting the "collapse of our society." Worse, Stone's predicting: "Our way of life is going to change." Is this really a market-timing signal? Hey, it was in 1987. Will history repeat? The odds say yes.
Remember Stone's predictions when you see the sequel, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." Lewis says Stone's goal is not just to entertain you for a couple hours then send you back home to continue denying everything Wall Street's fat-cat bankers, the real Gordon Gekkos, are doing every day to destroy capitalism, destroy democracy, destroy your retirement portfolio.
No, Oliver Stone, the All-American filmmaker of "Born on the Fourth of July," "Platoon," "JFK," "Nixon," "W" and "World Trade Center" has a message ... wake up America, you're sleepwalking.
America is unprepared for the coming disaster
Stone's message is clear and powerful: You're ignoring the coming collapse of capitalism ... of our society ... collapse of America. We are ignoring the end of our experiment in democracy. We are unprepared ... "our way of life is going to change." Wake up.
Unfortunately, Stone's voice will likely be as ineffective in 2010 as in 1987. Few listen. Since the first film we've had bigger bubbles, bigger busts. Remember the Asian-Russian crises of 1997-98? Dot-coms in 2000? Subprime meltdown of 2007-08?
"Oliver Stone's 1987 Wall Street succeeded brilliantly in capturing a culture," says Lewis, "and failed miserably as a call for change. To the director's dismay, thousands of financial hotshots dreamed of becoming Gordon Gekko." It was like a recruiting poster for financial terrorists.
Why? Wall Street insiders and Main Street day traders are by nature optimists and opportunists. It's in their DNA. The love crises and volatility. Like the bomb-squad experts in "Hurt Locker," they race into the kill zone. This is a game to traders. They love the hunt, the thrill, the adrenaline rush ... they have to minimize the risks, deny the danger and ignore the consequences as they rush in to capture the moment.
Seriously: Lewis says "Michael Douglas often expresses his astonishment at the many Wall Street males who have sought him out in public places just to say, 'Man, I want to tell you, you are the single biggest reason I got into the business. I watched Wall Street, and I wanted to be Gordon Gekko.' The film's equally perplexed screenwriter, Stanley Weiser, has made the same point, in a different way. 'We wanted to capture the hyper-materialism of the culture,' he said. 'That was always the intent of the movie. Not to make Gordon Gekko a hero.'" Remember, greed never left ... greed never will leave.
Read More:
March 17, 2010
Bank of England warns families to expect fall in living standards
In a blunt warning issued in a key report, the Bank also said that it is too early to conclude that unemployment has peaked.
It said that although thus far many workers had been willing to accept pay reductions, or reluctantly to work part-time, employees may have failed to realise that the costs of goods and services are likely to rise faster than their wages in coming months.
The Bank report said that one risk was that employees would be “unwilling to accept a further squeeze in real wage growth”, adding: “That could lead them to push for higher pay settlements this year. But if companies cannot afford the increase, then they may shed labour in order to contain labour costs.”
It said: “There remains a risk of further falls in employment if, for example, the recovery in demand proves more sluggish than businesses have expected. Businesses may respond to any future squeeze in profits by shedding staff.”
The warning comes amid worries that Britain could fall victim to a double-dip recession, slumping backwards no sooner than the economy had escaped it.
Such worries were reinforced further on Monday as a Bank policymaker and Monetary Policy Committee member Kate Barker conceded that the economy could shrink for a period this year.
It added that although most of its regional experts anticipate no major change in unemployment in the coming months, there is a significant chance that, with some companies vulnerable to demands from their creditors, businesses may feel they have no option other than to cut jobs further.
The report said this “may imply further redundancies if the economy does not grow sufficiently quickly.”
The report provides a “dose of realism” about the prospects for households and employment, according to John Philpott, chief economist of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
“As the Bank warns, the risk of further substantial job losses remains, especially if the economic recovery is as weak as most current indicators suggest,” he said.
“The likelihood of a 'jobs-light’ or, worse still, a 'jobs-loss’ recovery has been of concern to the CIPD for some time. What is equally sobering, however, is the Bank’s comment on another potential risk previously highlighted by the CIPD – that employees may be unwilling to accept the inevitability of a 'pay-tight’ recovery, with a squeeze on their real living standards.
“While pay restraint helped save jobs during the recession, the dawning realisation that this will have to continue for some considerable time if jobs are not to be lost during the recovery will test the goodwill of UK workers to the limit.”
In comments which are likely to irritate the Government, the Bank also pointed out that the public spending cuts pledged by both political parties would also weigh heavy on the jobs market.
Unemployment rose to 2.5 million during the recession, failing to reach the peaks of 3 million some economists had predicted. However, the Bank’s warning serves as a reminder that it is too early still to presume the worst has now passed for employment.
Source: London Telegraph
It said that although thus far many workers had been willing to accept pay reductions, or reluctantly to work part-time, employees may have failed to realise that the costs of goods and services are likely to rise faster than their wages in coming months.
The Bank report said that one risk was that employees would be “unwilling to accept a further squeeze in real wage growth”, adding: “That could lead them to push for higher pay settlements this year. But if companies cannot afford the increase, then they may shed labour in order to contain labour costs.”
It said: “There remains a risk of further falls in employment if, for example, the recovery in demand proves more sluggish than businesses have expected. Businesses may respond to any future squeeze in profits by shedding staff.”
The warning comes amid worries that Britain could fall victim to a double-dip recession, slumping backwards no sooner than the economy had escaped it.
Such worries were reinforced further on Monday as a Bank policymaker and Monetary Policy Committee member Kate Barker conceded that the economy could shrink for a period this year.
It added that although most of its regional experts anticipate no major change in unemployment in the coming months, there is a significant chance that, with some companies vulnerable to demands from their creditors, businesses may feel they have no option other than to cut jobs further.
The report said this “may imply further redundancies if the economy does not grow sufficiently quickly.”
The report provides a “dose of realism” about the prospects for households and employment, according to John Philpott, chief economist of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
“As the Bank warns, the risk of further substantial job losses remains, especially if the economic recovery is as weak as most current indicators suggest,” he said.
“The likelihood of a 'jobs-light’ or, worse still, a 'jobs-loss’ recovery has been of concern to the CIPD for some time. What is equally sobering, however, is the Bank’s comment on another potential risk previously highlighted by the CIPD – that employees may be unwilling to accept the inevitability of a 'pay-tight’ recovery, with a squeeze on their real living standards.
“While pay restraint helped save jobs during the recession, the dawning realisation that this will have to continue for some considerable time if jobs are not to be lost during the recovery will test the goodwill of UK workers to the limit.”
In comments which are likely to irritate the Government, the Bank also pointed out that the public spending cuts pledged by both political parties would also weigh heavy on the jobs market.
Unemployment rose to 2.5 million during the recession, failing to reach the peaks of 3 million some economists had predicted. However, the Bank’s warning serves as a reminder that it is too early still to presume the worst has now passed for employment.
Source: London Telegraph
Obama Supports DNA Sampling Upon Arrest
Josh Gerstein over at Politico sent Threat Level his piece underscoring once again President Barack Obama is not the civil-liberties knight in shining armor many were expecting.
Gerstein posts a televised interview of Obama and John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted. The nation’s chief executive extols the virtues of mandatory DNA testing of Americans upon arrest, even absent charges or a conviction. Obama said, “It’s the right thing to do” to “tighten the grip around folks” who commit crime.
When it comes to civil liberties, the Obama administration has come under fire for often mirroring his predecessor’s practices surrounding state secrets, the Patriot Act and domestic spying. There’s also Gitmo, Jay Bybee and John Yoo.
Now there’s DNA sampling. Obama told Walsh he supported the federal government, as well as the 18 states that have varying laws requiring compulsory DNA sampling of individuals upon an arrest for crimes ranging from misdemeanors to felonies. The data is lodged in state and federal databases, and has fostered as many as 200 arrests nationwide, Walsh said.
The American Civil Liberties Union claims DNA sampling is different from mandatory, upon-arrest fingerprinting that has been standard practice in the United States for decades.
A fingerprint, the group says, reveals nothing more than a person’s identity. But much can be learned from a DNA sample, which codes a person’s family ties, some health risks, and, according to some, can predict a propensity for violence.
The ACLU is suing California to block its voter-approved measure requiring saliva sampling of people picked up on felony charges. Authorities in the Golden State are allowed to conduct so-called “familial searching” — when a genetic sample does not directly match another, authorities start investigating people with closely matched DNA in hopes of finding leads to the perpetrator.
Do you wonder whether DNA sampling is legal?
The courts have already upheld DNA sampling of convicted felons, based on the theory that the convicted have fewer privacy rights. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that when conducting intrusions of the body during an investigation, the police need so-called “exigent circumstances” or a warrant. That alcohol evaporates in the blood stream is the exigent circumstance to draw blood from a suspected drunk driver without a warrant.
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Economic Tensions Escalating Between China and U.S.
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Wednesday rejected criticism of its exchange rate policies and said it was being made a "scapegoat" after the U.S. Congress threatened to slap duties on Chinese goods unless it revalues its yuan.
Many U.S. lawmakers, with strong backing from economists, believe the yuan is undervalued by at least 25 percent, giving Chinese companies an unfair edge in trade -- one seen as more critical now that the U.S. economy is struggling to recover from the worst downturn since the 1930s.
The heat is rising quickly in the long-running dispute over China's exchange rate regime, with a bipartisan bill introduced on Tuesday in the U.S. Senate that aims to press Beijing to let its currency rise in value.
With key committees of the U.S. Congress setting hearings this month on the currency issue, the bill's co-author, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, said his move to "wake up this administration" enjoyed broad support in Congress.
"The time is right. Everyone is fed up," he said.
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March 16, 2010
Rising food prices may start with seeds
Farmers say consolidation in the industry means they're forced to buy more costly seeds. But Monsanto, the world's largest seed firm, says competition 'is alive and flourishing.'
For 40 years, farmer Todd Leake and his family have battled bitter cold, hungry pests and a short growing season to coax soybeans out of their fields in eastern North Dakota.
The one thing they never had to fight for, though, was their seeds.
A decade ago, salesmen from as many as 50 seed companies would compete for their dollars. Each would promise healthier plants, richer yields or a better discount.
Today the Leakes have little choice: There are four seed companies in their area, and all sell seeds that include genetic traits patented and licensed by Monsanto Co., the world's largest seed firm.
"There's basically nothing else available," said Leake, 48. "You have to use their seeds and pay their prices."
The concerns of farmers such as Leake will take center stage in Ankeny, Iowa, on Friday as the Justice Department and U.S. Department of Agriculture kick off the first of a yearlong series of public meetings to examine whether antitrust practices in agriculture are driving food prices higher.
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HR 645 / U.S. PREPARING FOR CIVIL UNREST
In their quest for the truth ~ over 60,000 infuriated Greek citizens take to the streets in central Athens because the cash strapped government faces a financial reckoning. The Obama administration has prepared itself for eventually the same demands for the truth with HR 645 which is, in essence, militarized FEMA internment camps: Allen L Roland
Recently, street clashes broke out on March11th between rioting youths and police in central Athens as tens of thousands demonstrated during a nationwide strike against the cash-strapped government. Hundreds of masked and hooded youths punched and kicked motorcycle police, knocking several off their bikes, as police responded with volleys of tear gas and stun grenades.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1257243/Greek-riots-Up-60-000-people-streets-protest-government.html
It's only a matter of time before the American people take to the streets particularly when they realize the full extent of cash strapped America's indebtedness as well as the financial backlash of Wall Street's ponzi scheme of offshore derivatives which has also brought Greece to its knees. We are talking trillions of dollars here. Meanwhile the U.S. Defense budget for 2011 will go up 7.1% .
Robert Reich, RobertReich.com, writes of the present sham recovery ~ "Are we finally in a recovery? Who's 'we,' kemosabe? Big global companies, Wall Street, and high-income Americans who hold their savings in financial instruments are clearly doing better. As to the rest of us – small businesses along Main Streets, and middle and lower-income Americans ~ forget it."
http://www.truthout.org/the-sham-recovery57638
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Recently, street clashes broke out on March11th between rioting youths and police in central Athens as tens of thousands demonstrated during a nationwide strike against the cash-strapped government. Hundreds of masked and hooded youths punched and kicked motorcycle police, knocking several off their bikes, as police responded with volleys of tear gas and stun grenades.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1257243/Greek-riots-Up-60-000-people-streets-protest-government.html
It's only a matter of time before the American people take to the streets particularly when they realize the full extent of cash strapped America's indebtedness as well as the financial backlash of Wall Street's ponzi scheme of offshore derivatives which has also brought Greece to its knees. We are talking trillions of dollars here. Meanwhile the U.S. Defense budget for 2011 will go up 7.1% .
Robert Reich, RobertReich.com, writes of the present sham recovery ~ "Are we finally in a recovery? Who's 'we,' kemosabe? Big global companies, Wall Street, and high-income Americans who hold their savings in financial instruments are clearly doing better. As to the rest of us – small businesses along Main Streets, and middle and lower-income Americans ~ forget it."
http://www.truthout.org/the-sham-recovery57638
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Final destination Iran?
Hundreds of powerful US “bunker-buster” bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran.
The Sunday Herald can reveal that the US government signed a contract in January to transport 10 ammunition containers to the island. According to a cargo manifest from the US navy, this included 387 “Blu” bombs used for blasting hardened or underground structures.
Experts say that they are being put in place for an assault on Iran’s controversial nuclear facilities. There has long been speculation that the US military is preparing for such an attack, should diplomacy fail to persuade Iran not to make nuclear weapons.
Although Diego Garcia is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, it is used by the US as a military base under an agreement made in 1971. The agreement led to 2,000 native islanders being forcibly evicted to the Seychelles and Mauritius.
The Sunday Herald reported in 2007 that stealth bomber hangers on the island were being equipped to take bunker-buster bombs.
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The Sunday Herald can reveal that the US government signed a contract in January to transport 10 ammunition containers to the island. According to a cargo manifest from the US navy, this included 387 “Blu” bombs used for blasting hardened or underground structures.
Experts say that they are being put in place for an assault on Iran’s controversial nuclear facilities. There has long been speculation that the US military is preparing for such an attack, should diplomacy fail to persuade Iran not to make nuclear weapons.
Although Diego Garcia is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, it is used by the US as a military base under an agreement made in 1971. The agreement led to 2,000 native islanders being forcibly evicted to the Seychelles and Mauritius.
The Sunday Herald reported in 2007 that stealth bomber hangers on the island were being equipped to take bunker-buster bombs.
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March 15, 2010
U.S., U.K. Move Closer to Losing AAA Credit Rating
Source: Bloomberg
The U.S. and the U.K. have moved “substantially” closer to losing their AAA credit ratings as the cost of servicing their debt rose, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
The governments of the two economies must balance bringing down their debt burdens without damaging growth by removing fiscal stimulus too quickly, Pierre Cailleteau, managing director of sovereign risk at Moody’s in London, said in a telephone interview.
Under the ratings company’s so-called baseline scenario, the U.S. will spend more on debt service as a percentage of revenue this year than any other top-rated country except the U.K., and will be the biggest spender from 2011 to 2013, Moody’s said today in a report.
“We expect the situation to further deteriorate in terms of the key ratings metrics before they start stabilizing,” Cailleteau said. “This story is not going to stop at the end of the year. There is inertia in the deterioration of credit metrics.”
The pound fell against the dollar and the euro for the first time in three days, depreciating 0.8 percent to $1.5090, while the dollar index snapped a four-day drop, adding 0.3 percent to 90.075.
The U.S. government will spend about 7 percent of its revenue servicing debt in 2010 and almost 11 percent in 2013, according to the baseline scenario of moderate economic recovery, fiscal adjustments in line with government plans and a gradual increase in interest rates, Moody’s said.
Under its adverse scenario, which assumes 0.5 percent lower growth each year, less fiscal adjustment and a stronger interest-rate shock, the U.S. will be paying about 15 percent of revenue in interest payments, more than the 14 percent limit that would lead to a downgrade to AA, Moody’s said.
U.K. Debt Service
The U.K. is likely to spend 7 percent of revenue servicing debt this year and 9 percent in 2013, rising to almost 12 percent under the adverse scenario, Moody’s said.
The U.S. and the U.K. have moved “substantially” closer to losing their AAA credit ratings as the cost of servicing their debt rose, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
The governments of the two economies must balance bringing down their debt burdens without damaging growth by removing fiscal stimulus too quickly, Pierre Cailleteau, managing director of sovereign risk at Moody’s in London, said in a telephone interview.
Under the ratings company’s so-called baseline scenario, the U.S. will spend more on debt service as a percentage of revenue this year than any other top-rated country except the U.K., and will be the biggest spender from 2011 to 2013, Moody’s said today in a report.
“We expect the situation to further deteriorate in terms of the key ratings metrics before they start stabilizing,” Cailleteau said. “This story is not going to stop at the end of the year. There is inertia in the deterioration of credit metrics.”
The pound fell against the dollar and the euro for the first time in three days, depreciating 0.8 percent to $1.5090, while the dollar index snapped a four-day drop, adding 0.3 percent to 90.075.
The U.S. government will spend about 7 percent of its revenue servicing debt in 2010 and almost 11 percent in 2013, according to the baseline scenario of moderate economic recovery, fiscal adjustments in line with government plans and a gradual increase in interest rates, Moody’s said.
Under its adverse scenario, which assumes 0.5 percent lower growth each year, less fiscal adjustment and a stronger interest-rate shock, the U.S. will be paying about 15 percent of revenue in interest payments, more than the 14 percent limit that would lead to a downgrade to AA, Moody’s said.
U.K. Debt Service
The U.K. is likely to spend 7 percent of revenue servicing debt this year and 9 percent in 2013, rising to almost 12 percent under the adverse scenario, Moody’s said.
Ex-NY bank president first accused of TARP fraud
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The former president of New York's privately held Park Avenue Bank was arrested and charged on Monday with being the first person to attempt to steal from U.S. government bailout funds in the financial crisis.
A 10-count criminal complaint accused Charles Antonucci of devising "an elaborate round-trip loan transaction" that he told others was his own $6.5 million investment in the bank, misleading state bank regulators and the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
The charges filed in Manhattan federal court said Charles Antonucci made false statements in the bank's application for $11.2 million from TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
"Antonucci is the first person ever to be charged with attempting to defraud the TARP and we expect he will not be the last," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said at a news conference.
He declined to give further details of the continuing investigation, other than to say prosecutors and New York state bank regulators would be making a review of banks that appear to be having problems.
The prosecutor said Antonucci's "supposed investment was the functional equivalent of monopoly money." Bharara described additional components of a complex fraud, including a line of credit through a company called "Easy Wealth;" overdrafts to companies controlled by an unidentified co-conspirator; leases on personal property paid by the bank; a counterfeit certificate of deposit; and a $100,000 defrauding of the pastors of a church in Coral Springs, Florida.
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March 14, 2010
Central Figure in CDC Vaccine Cover-Up Absconds With $2M
A central figure behind the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) claims disputing the link between vaccines and autism and other neurological disorders has disappeared after officials discovered massive fraud involving the theft of millions in taxpayer dollars. Danish police are investigating Dr. Poul Thorsen, who has vanished along with almost $2 million that he had supposedly spent on research.
Thorsen was a leading member of a Danish research group that wrote several key studies supporting CDC's claims that the MMR vaccine and mercury-laden vaccines were safe for children. Thorsen's 2003 Danish study reported a 20-fold increase in autism in Denmark after that country banned mercury based preservatives in its vaccines. His study concluded that mercury could therefore not be the culprit behind the autism epidemic.
His study has long been criticized as fraudulent since it failed to disclose that the increase was an artifact of new mandates requiring, for the first time, that autism cases be reported on the national registry. This new law and the opening of a clinic dedicated to autism treatment in Copenhagen accounted for the sudden rise in reported cases rather than, as Thorsen seemed to suggest, the removal of mercury from vaccines. Despite this obvious chicanery, CDC has long touted the study as the principal proof that mercury-laced vaccines are safe for infants and young children. Mainstream media, particularly the New York Times, has relied on this study as the basis for its public assurances that it is safe to inject young children with mercury -- a potent neurotoxin -- at concentrations hundreds of times over the U.S. safety limits.
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Thorsen was a leading member of a Danish research group that wrote several key studies supporting CDC's claims that the MMR vaccine and mercury-laden vaccines were safe for children. Thorsen's 2003 Danish study reported a 20-fold increase in autism in Denmark after that country banned mercury based preservatives in its vaccines. His study concluded that mercury could therefore not be the culprit behind the autism epidemic.
His study has long been criticized as fraudulent since it failed to disclose that the increase was an artifact of new mandates requiring, for the first time, that autism cases be reported on the national registry. This new law and the opening of a clinic dedicated to autism treatment in Copenhagen accounted for the sudden rise in reported cases rather than, as Thorsen seemed to suggest, the removal of mercury from vaccines. Despite this obvious chicanery, CDC has long touted the study as the principal proof that mercury-laced vaccines are safe for infants and young children. Mainstream media, particularly the New York Times, has relied on this study as the basis for its public assurances that it is safe to inject young children with mercury -- a potent neurotoxin -- at concentrations hundreds of times over the U.S. safety limits.
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If the sh** hits the fan, they are ready for it
Global economic meltdown, mass natural disasters, pandemics... Whatever the apocalyptic scenario, "preppers" are ready for it. Lamps made from potatoes, toilet paper from cloth, toothpaste from glycerin and... lots of Spam.
It's no surprise that the trend, known as "survivalism", was born in the United States, where the principle of self-reliance is one of the founding values of society. Convinced that disaster could strike when we least expect it, the most prudent of US citizens are preparing for the worst.
One self-described "prepper" explains the reason for his lifestyle change to emergency "survivalism" on his website: "In May of last year, I had an epiphany: bad times lay ahead. I accurately predicted the current financial crisis back then, and with my new-found knowledge, I don't see much hope for recovery any time soon. I've learned that our "global economy" is nothing more than a great Ponzi/pyramid scheme, and I've come to realise that the only way to insulate one's self from the collapse of that scheme is to prepare for self reliant living."
"Preppers" use the Web to share warnings, tips and do-it-yourself instructions for making everything from toothpaste to cloth female hygiene pads.
Most see owning a gun to defend their stockpile as a natural part of being prepared, and are staunch advocates of the right to bear arms. Women "preppers" are experts at stockpiling year-long supplies of food, and come up with ingenious recipes for cooking with anything canned, frozen or dehydrated.
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Pentgon Shooter + Las Vegas Courthouse Shooter = Memphis Police Station
By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 14 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.
Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that both guns were once seized in criminal cases in Memphis. The officials described how the weapons made their separate ways from an evidence vault to gun dealers and to the shooters.
The use of guns that once were in police custody and were later involved in attacks on police officers highlights a little-known divide in gun policy in the United States: Many cities and states destroy guns gathered in criminal probes, but others sell or trade the weapons in order to get other guns or buy equipment such as bulletproof vests.
In fact, on the day of the Pentagon shooting, March 4, the Tennessee governor signed legislation revising state law on confiscated guns. Before, law enforcement agencies in the state had the option of destroying a gun. Under the new version, agencies can only destroy a gun if it's inoperable or unsafe.
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WASHINGTON – Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.
Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that both guns were once seized in criminal cases in Memphis. The officials described how the weapons made their separate ways from an evidence vault to gun dealers and to the shooters.
The use of guns that once were in police custody and were later involved in attacks on police officers highlights a little-known divide in gun policy in the United States: Many cities and states destroy guns gathered in criminal probes, but others sell or trade the weapons in order to get other guns or buy equipment such as bulletproof vests.
In fact, on the day of the Pentagon shooting, March 4, the Tennessee governor signed legislation revising state law on confiscated guns. Before, law enforcement agencies in the state had the option of destroying a gun. Under the new version, agencies can only destroy a gun if it's inoperable or unsafe.
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Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam's IOUs
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. – The retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in this small town along the Ohio River: $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the federal government, payable to the Social Security Administration.
It's time to start cashing them in.
For more than two decades, Social Security collected more money in payroll taxes than it paid out in benefits — billions more each year.
Not anymore. This year, for the first time since the 1980s, when Congress last overhauled Social Security, the retirement program is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes — nearly $29 billion more.
Sounds like a good time to start tapping the nest egg. Too bad the federal government already spent that money over the years on other programs, preferring to borrow from Social Security rather than foreign creditors. In return, the Treasury Department issued a stack of IOUs — in the form of Treasury bonds — which are kept in a nondescript office building just down the street from Parkersburg's municipal offices.
Now the government will have to borrow even more money, much of it abroad, to start paying back the IOUs, and the timing couldn't be worse. The government is projected to post a record $1.5 trillion budget deficit this year, followed by trillion dollar deficits for years to come.
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States may hold onto tax refunds for months
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY
Residents eager to get their state tax refunds may have a long wait this year: The recession has tied up cash and caused officials in half a dozen states to consider freezing refunds, in one case for as long as five months.
States from New York to Hawaii that have been hard-hit by the economic downturn say they have either delayed refunds or are considering doing so because of budget shortfalls.
"It's an indicator of how bad it is," says Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers. "You know things are bad when you have to do that."
New York, hit with a $9 billion deficit, may delay $500 million in refunds to keep the state from running out of cash, says Gov. David Paterson.
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March 13, 2010
Japan Acknowledges Kept Secret Deposit With The Fed
By Yuka Hayashi, Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- The Japanese government's probe into a confidential post- war agreements with the U.S. not only confirmed the existence of a secret deposit that Japan kept with the Federal Reserve for nearly three decades, but also uncovered Tokyo's lax management of information related to its foreign reserves.
Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan said Friday the ministry's recent investigation into a 1969 bilateral accord confirmed that the financial settlement Japan made with the U.S. to end its occupation of Okinawa was larger and more complex than previously acknowledged and included a secret non-interest deposit the government and the Bank of Japan kept at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The deposit totaled $103 million during much of its life before the two nations agreed to lower it to an unsubstantial sum of $3 million in 1999. The deposit was counted as part of Japan's official foreign reserves and consisted of dollars the Japanese government received from the Okinawans in exchange for yen in 1972 when the U.S. ended its post-war occupation of the southern Japanese island. The non-interest deposit amounted to a de-facto financial payment, as the U.S. was free to manage the money to generate returns. U.S. embassy press officers couldn't be reached for comment.
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March 12, 2010
British Airways computer expert 'planned suicide bombings'
Owen Bowcott
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 11 March 2010 18.36 GMT
A British Airways computer expert who allegedly offered to cover for cabin crew in the event of a strike appeared in court today charged with plotting suicide bombings.
Rajib Karim, who was born in Bangladesh but now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, faced three charges under counter-terrorism legislation.
The 30-year-old is accused of planning his own martyrdom. One of the charges involves the UK and another alleges that he conspired with contacts in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Yemen.
The prosecutor, Colin Gibbs, told City of Westminster magistrates court that the charge sheet alleged Karim shared information about his work – including security measures – and offered to take advantage of planned strikes by BA staff to join the airline's cabin crew.
It is claimed that he deliberately stayed in Britain, obtaining a passport and getting a job at the airline in order to further the conspiracy.
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March 11, 2010
'Survivorman' show fan dies testing survival skills in Ontario bush
By Colin Perkel (CP) – Mar 4, 2010
TORONTO — An outdoors enthusiast and avid fan of TV's "Survivorman" who apparently succumbed to the cold during an excursion into the Ontario bush loved the survivalist challenge but was not rash, those close to him said Thursday.
One friend, Barbara Ellis, said Richard Code's hobby might have been a response to an arthritic condition and chronic fatigue syndrome that often laid him up for days at a time.
"Maybe he felt when he was sick and he felt kind of helpless that way he could challenge the outdoors," said Ellis, who said Code was like a son to her.
"He just loved the challenge."
Provincial police found Code, 41, northeast of Huntsville, Ont., on Wednesday.
He had left his Toronto home early last Thursday for what was to be a four-day excursion into the bush, hitchhiking to his camp even though he had money for the bus.
While autopsy results were not known, police told his brother in Kitchener, Ont., that it appeared Code died of hypothermia.
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Canadian dollar likely to trump US greenback: experts
OTTAWA (AFP) – The Canadian dollar, or loonie as it is affectionately called here, is likely to soar above parity with the US greenback this year, experts at a Canadian bank said Wednesday.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Canada (CIBC) chief economist Avery Shenfeld said the Canadian dollar had already gained several cents in recent weeks as the market firms up expectations of an interest rate hike in July.
If as expected, the central bank "is out in front of the US Federal Reserve by a couple of quarters" in raising interest rates, the Canadian dollar could reach 1.02 dollars versus the US dollar by September, before dipping back to 0.97 dollars by year end," Shenfeld said.
The Bank of Canada has maintained its key lending rate at a historic low of 0.25 percent since April 2009 to help bolster a fragile economic recovery, but is widely expected to review its position mid-year.
'Sovereign Citizens' Claim Immunity From Ind., Federal Law
Fed up and fired up, an increasing number of Indiana residents who have lost confidence in the government are going to extreme measures to claim they are "sovereign citizens."
By doing so, residents contend that they no longer have to pay taxes, claiming their homes as embassies and using identification cards that show them as diplomats, 6News' Rafael Sanchez reported.
Indiana authorities call such proclamations both illegitimate and illegal. About 10 people every month ask the state to put a seal on a document so that they can claim freedom from taxes.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: I always hear people say, "when are people going to wake up?", or "The general public is too dumb to see what's going on around them". While it's easy to dismiss or write off large groups of people when they don't necessarily show your level of concern about some particular issue, it important to show support when they do.
DEPARTMENT of EDUCATION SUBMITS ORDER FOR POLICE SHOTGUNS
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) intends to purchase twenty-seven (27) REMINGTON BRAND MODEL 870 POLICE 12/14P MOD GRWC XS4 KXCS SF. RAMAC #24587 GAUGE: 12 BARREL: 14" - PARKERIZED CHOKE: MODIFIED SIGHTS: GHOST RING REAR WILSON COMBAT; FRONT - XS CONTOUR BEAD SIGHT STOCK: KNOXX REDUCE RECOIL ADJUSTABLE STOCK FORE-END: SPEEDFEED SPORT-SOLID - 14" LOP are designated as the only shotguns authorized for ED based on compatibility with ED existing shotgun inventory, certified armor and combat training and protocol, maintenance, and parts.
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March 9, 2010
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