U.S. Equities Selling Off
August 10th, 2011Warning: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument.
Spot Gold: $1797.87
Comex Gold Futures: $1801
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Spot Gold: 1785.00
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DJIA -4%
Spot Gold: New record high, $1779.79.
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DJIA and NASDAQ are both down over 3% at the moment.
School Bans Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-5, So Vonnegut Library Gives Copies to Students for Free
August 10th, 2011Via: io9:
Most of us regard Kurt Vonnegut’s classic novel Slaughterhouse-Five as a masterpiece of thought-provoking science fiction, but the School Board of Republic High School in Missouri felt differently. They decided to ban the novel.
And in response, the Vonnegut Memorial Library offered to provide a free copy to any of the 150 students who were originally supposed to read it.
Vonnegut’s novel filters his World War II trauma through the lens of time travel and alien abduction, and in the process creates some fascinating insights into trauma, history and brutality. But the high school banned the book for creating “false conceptions of American history and government or that teach principles contrary to Biblical morality and truth.”
Dylan Ratigan Rant Over Political and Economic System Designed to “Extract America”
August 10th, 2011I hardly ever see these talking heads shows, so I don’t know if this type of thing happens often. Apologies if this is just standard fare on the TV nowadays.
Ratigan’s description of the issue represents a lie by omission, and his prescription would perpetuate the problem. Mainly, I liked how workers in the background became concerned and started to gather around to watch what was happening. HAHA. Although this ‘audience’ was probably just set dressing, I found it entertaining anyway.
Ok, so even during a pants shitting rant, the Federal Reserve system should not be mentioned. Isn’t that interesting?
Yes, politicians are corrupt. Thank you, Captain Obvious, but what makes it possible to “Extract America,” by the tens of trillions of dollars?
How about asking why there are trillions of dollars in the first place? That would lead to the real core of this, which is the fact that, by design, the Federal Reserve system makes it impossible for the U.S. to get out of debt. The goal of the ritual is to make the victim believe that the way out of the hole is to dig the hole deeper.
Even during a vein popping rant, where the soundtrack from The Exorcist should be playing in the background, these issues must not be mentioned, and the prescription winds up being more low interest loans…
I agree, though, that it would be a good start for the president to come out and address the issue of political corruption and lucre. Oh, woops. It’s impossible for anybody who isn’t completely corrupt and compromised to be elected president.
The U.S. is a shit sandwich—sprinkled through with thousands of nuclear weapons. There is no way to reform that thing. They’ll just keep looting the shop for as long as possible, and then they’ll torch the place. (‘Place’ meaning the U.S. and possibly much of the rest of the planet.) Anyone who doesn’t see the beauty of these mafia tactics, confetti currencies and burnt offerings will quickly find themselves relegated to the fringes of any discussion about how to proceed.
So what can be done?
At the state, regional and global levels, nothing can be done. Too many people are on the take or busy just following orders.
I would say to get to a place with abundant clean water, decent soil and relatively few people. Produce your own food and participate in local food economies. There will probably be pockets of survivors, and the place that you pick to go might contain to some of them.
Japan Ignored Radiation Forecasts; Used School Downwind of Fallout Plume as Evacuation Center
August 10th, 2011Via: AP:
Japan’s system to forecast radiation threats was working from the moment its nuclear crisis began. As officials planned a venting operation certain to release radioactivity into the air, the system predicted Karino Elementary School would be directly in the path of the plume emerging from the tsunami-hit Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.
But the prediction helped no one. Nobody acted on it.
The school, just over six miles (10 kilometers) from the plant, was not immediately cleared out. Quite the opposite. It was turned into a temporary evacuation center.
Reports from the forecast system were sent to Japan’s nuclear safety agency, but the flow of data stopped there. Prime Minister Naoto Kan and others involved in declaring evacuation areas never saw the reports, and neither did local authorities. So thousands of people stayed for days in areas that the system had identified as high-risk, an Associated Press investigation has found.
At Karino Elementary in the town of Namie, about 400 students, teachers, parents and others gathered in the playground at the height of the nuclear crisis stemming from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Many ate rice balls and cooked in the open air.
They were never informed of the predictions that they were at risk. In an interview with the AP, Namie’s mayor said it took more than 24 hours for him to realize — from watching TV — that the evacuees were in danger. He sent buses to move some of them out. But, unaware of the risks, they were taken to another part of town also forecast to be in the plume’s path. Most were left to fend for themselves.
“When I think about it now, I am outraged,” Principal Hidenori Arakawa said. “Our lives were put at risk.”
Dollar Declines The Most Against Swiss Franc In At Least 40 Years
August 10th, 2011Via: Bloomberg:
The dollar tumbled the most in at least 40 years against the Swiss franc after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep its key interest rate at a record low at least through mid-2013 to revive the flagging economic recovery.
The greenback declined versus the majority of its most- traded peers as the Fed said growth was “considerably slower” than it expected and it’s prepared to use a range of policy tools to boost the economy. The meeting came a day after economic weakening and a Standard & Poor’s U.S. credit-rating cut spurred a global stock rout. Commodity currencies recouped losses sustained just after the meeting. Stocks and gold surged.
Verizon Reports Sabotage as Workers Continue Strike
August 10th, 2011Via: Boston Herald:
Verizon Communications Inc. reported a dozen cases of sabotaged cable lines and warned of delays in repairs and customer service on the second day of a strike involving about 45,000 employees.
The telecommunications company said there have been 12 acts of sabotage to telephone lines and to Internet and television services in Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York since the strike began.
Fiber-optic lines were intentionally cut in Tewksbury and several other municipalities on the East Coast, the company said.
Stolen equipment in Cedar Grove, N.J., affected service to a police department, and a heat system was tampered with at a central office in Manhattan.
“This could be a dangerous situation if people need to reach fire, police, or emergency responders and can’t use their phone,’’ said Phil Santoro, a spokesman for Verizon.
Verizon is offering a $50,000 reward “for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of individuals that intentionally damage Verizon cables or facilities or cause or attempt to cause physical injury to any Verizon employee or contractor.’’
“Markets Spasm” Rally
August 9th, 2011It's that time
Via: AP:
Stocks are rising at the closing of trading after the Federal Reserve said it has discussed policy moves it can make to spur the economy. The Fed also said growth has been slower than expected.
The Dow Jones industrial average is closing up 429 points, or 4 percent, to 11,239.77.
Stocks rallied in the last hour of trading. Stocks initially fell after the Fed made its statement, which included a pledge to keep interest rates at their record low until at least the middle of 2013.
Britain: Photography in Public Places
August 9th, 2011HA, it’s attack of the reflective vest zombie army.
Via: YouTube:
Research Credit: JH
Gold Hits $1,778 in Biggest 3-Day Rally Since 2008
August 9th, 2011Via: Reuters:
Gold hit a record high on Tuesday in its biggest three-day rally since the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, as investor fears over the threat to the global economy from the European and U.S. debt crises hit assets seen as higher risk.
Though spot prices retreated from highs as stock markets opened higher in the United States, they remained up 1.4 percent on the day at $1,739.60 an ounce at 9:42 a.m. EDT, having earlier peaked at $1,778.29.
S&P Cuts AAA Ratings on Thousands of Municipal Bonds After U.S. Downgrade
August 9th, 2011Via: Bloomberg:
Standard & Poor’s lowered the AAA ratings of thousands of municipal bonds tied to the federal government, including housing securities and debt backed by leases, following its Aug. 5 downgrade of the U.S.
The rating company assigned AA+ scores to securities in the $2.9 trillion municipal bond market including school- construction bonds in Irving, Texas; debt backed by a federal lease in Miami; and a bond series for multifamily housing in Oceanside, California. Olayinka Fadahunsi, an S&P spokesman, said he couldn’t provide a dollar figure on the affected debt.
