Archive for the 'Economy' Category
The Hank Paulson Goldman Sachs Party Line
August 10th, 2009Via: New York Times: Before he became President George W. Bush’s Treasury secretary in 2006, Henry M. Paulson Jr. agreed to hold himself to a higher ethical standard than his predecessors. He not only sold all his holdings in Goldman Sachs, the investment bank he had run, but also specifically said that he would avoid […]
Pentagon Puts Afghan Drug-Traffickers on Hitlist
August 10th, 2009I wonder how many of the people on the hit list were present at the MI6 meetings with the Taliban? Also, remember the opium bridge that the U.S. built at great expense? Has that been blown up yet? Where’s the 4,200 tons stockpile of opium (or has that been converted into 600 tons of heroin […]
Japan Core Machinery Orders up 9.7 Percent in June
August 10th, 2009* raised eyebrow * Via: AP: Japan’s core machinery orders, a closely watched indicator of corporate capital spending, jumped in June for the first time in four months, the government said Monday. Core private sector machinery orders in June surged 9.7 percent from a month earlier to 732.8 billion yen ($7.5 billion), according to the […]
Karzai Family’s Wealth ‘Fuelling Insurgency’
August 10th, 2009Via: Telegraph: Persistent allegations of corruption aimed at Hamid Karzai’s family are undermining Western efforts in Afghanistan and feeding the Taliban-led insurgency, Washington policy-makers have warned. The president’s brothers, Mahmoud and Ahmed Wali, are accused of having amassed millions of pounds since Mr Karzai took office even as most of Afghanistan remains poverty stricken. The […]
Do Americans Need a Health Care Equivalent of Kiwibank?
August 10th, 2009A lot of people are submitting stories about the health care issue that’s boiling over in the U.S. at the moment. As you guys have obviously noticed, I’m not paying attention to most of it because the conventional medical industrial complex is the last place that I would turn for any health related issue; I […]
All Cars Would Carry GPS to Track Miles Under Blumenauer Bill
August 9th, 2009Via: Daily Emerald: On July 23, Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer introduced legislation that would fund a pilot program demonstrating the potential viability of replacing a national gas tax with a national mileage fee to generate more money for the construction of highways. Opponents say the mileage fee would increase taxes, but Blumenauer said the increase […]
California Won’t Accept Its Own IOUs
August 7th, 2009Via: Courthouse News: Small businesses that received $682 million in IOUs from the state say California expects them to pay taxes on the worthless scraps of paper, but refuses to accept its own IOUs to pay debts or taxes. The vendors’ federal class action claims the state is trying to balance its budget on their […]
Photos: Dark Stores, Empty Malls
August 7th, 2009Brian Ulrich: Not If But When
U.S. Deficit Climbs to 1.3 Trillion Dollars
August 7th, 2009Via: AFP: The US budget deficit reached 1.3 trillion dollars for the current fiscal year in July, official data showed, news set to fuel opposition to US President Barack Obama’s ambitious health care and climate change proposals. The deficit for the first 10 months of fiscal year 2009, which began October 1, reached 1.3 trillion […]
BUSTED: FED SECRETLY MONETIZING DEBT; COLLUDING WITH DEALERS
August 7th, 2009Via: Chris Martenson: Just last week, when the auction results were announced it was trumpeted to great fanfare that there was “more than sufficient” bid-to-cover, “strong demand” and all the rest. And now it turns out that 47% (!) of the bonds that were taken by the primary dealers in that auction have been quietly […]
