Archive for December, 2009
Chinese Economy Overtakes Japan?
December 27th, 2009Also: The World’s Largest Shopping Mall (Is Empty) Via: Telegraph: China has almost certainly overtaken Japan to become the world’s second-biggest economy after state officials dramatically upgraded their estimates for the country’s growth last year. The fast-growing emerging economy had been expected to surpass Japan next year, but the transition looks to have happened in […]
“I don’t understand how he had a valid visa if he was known on the terror watch list.”
December 27th, 2009More: Sharp-dressed man aided terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab onto plane without passport: A Michigan man who was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 says he witnessed Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab trying to board the plane in Amsterdam without a passport. Kurt Haskell of Newport, Mich., who posted an earlier comment about his experience, talked […]
ShadowStats.com Founder John Williams Explains the Risk of Hyperinflation
December 27th, 2009Via: Fairfield Weekly: What can we do to avoid hyperinflation? What if we just shut down the Fed or something like that? We can’t. The actions have already been taken to put us in it. It’s beyond control. The government does put out financial statements usually in December using generally accepted accounting principles, where unfunded […]
Britain: Gun Find Soldier Walks Free from Court
December 26th, 2009Via: This is Surrey: Paul Clarke, 27, was given a 12-month suspended sentence for possession of a firearm at Reading Crown Court today. Clarke took the stand and sensationally claimed he had been having a sexual relationship with a female Surrey Police detective – and another police officer had grown jealous. Research Credit: Fishy911
North Magnetic Pole Moving East Due to Core Flux
December 26th, 2009Via: National Geographic: Earth’s north magnetic pole is racing toward Russia at almost 40 miles (64 kilometers) a year due to magnetic changes in the planet’s core, new research says. The core is too deep for scientists to directly detect its magnetic field. But researchers can infer the field’s movements by tracking how Earth’s magnetic […]
Dred Scott Redux: Obama and the Supremes Stand Up for Slavery
December 26th, 2009Via: Chris Floyd: While we were all out doing our Christmas shopping, the highest court in the land quietly put the kibosh on a few more of the remaining shards of human liberty. It happened earlier this week, in a discreet ruling that attracted almost no notice and took little time. In fact, our most […]
China Jails Literature Professor Who Demanded Open Elections and the Rule of Law
December 26th, 2009Via: New York Times: The harsh sentence handed down on Friday to Liu Xiaobo, one of China’s most prominent campaigners for democracy and human rights, prompted strong rebukes in the United States and Europe, but it also raised fresh questions over whether the West has much leverage over a government that is increasingly self-assured on […]
Federal War Spending Exceeds State Government Outlays
December 26th, 2009Via: Public Record: The U.S. spends more for war annually than all state governments combined spend for the health, education, welfare, and safety of 308 million Americans. Joseph Henchman, director of state projects for the Tax Foundation of Washington, D.C. says the states collected a total of $781 billion in taxes in 2008. For a […]
Fannie, Freddie: Unlimited Fail
December 25th, 2009Via: Reuters: The Obama administration pledged on Thursday to back beleaguered mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac no matter how big their losses may be in the next three years. It also jettisoned a demand that the two companies cut the size of their mortgage-related investment portfolios next year, allowing them to provide […]
Market Moves and the Lunatic Fringe
December 24th, 2009Via: The Australian: IMPLODING equities, exploding credit default swaps, soaring gold and slumping oil — if, at any time over the past 18 months, it seemed that markets were in the grip of lunacy, it may be because investors are, technically, lunatics. The market mayhem since the global financial meltdown began in 2008 has provided […]
