Daily Archives: August 4, 2013

Graphic: How Just 6 Corps Own 90% of The Media

"One graphic really highlights just how tightly controlled the information we are delivered truly is — and how a total of only 6 corporations run the show. From Time Warner (CNN, HBO, TIME) to GE (NBC, Comcast), a whopping 6 corporations control 90% of the mainstream media within the United States. The amount of revenues from the tightly controlled mainstream media machine are enough to beat out Finland’s entire GDP, buy every NFL team 12 times, and fund the government bailout of General Motors 5 times." Continue reading →

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Ruinous Inflation Proposals

"In this day and age, one should never assume that 'educated' persons, especially those who have “earned” advanced degrees in economics, know the least bit of economics or possess the least bit of sense that might steer them away from the refuse that passes for economic thought. I speak specifically of Biagio Bossone and Richard Wood. Their ruinously inflationary ideas, if adopted, will destroy the economies that they think will be saved. The lofty positions they have held in such institutions as the World Bank, the IMF, the OECD, the Paris Club, and the Australian Treasury make them all the more dangerous." Continue reading →

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The Financial Tale of Two Cities: Detroit and Chicago

"At State Data Lab, we calculate and report a metric called ‘Net Revenue’ for all 50 states. Net Revenue subtracts total reported net expenses from general revenue. It can inform whether a state is truly ‘balancing its budget,’ at least as far as reported results. Net revenue can also be calculated for cities. The chart above shows how net revenue in Detroit was persistently negative in the five years before its bankruptcy filing. The chart also shows an even more alarming trend for the city of Chicago. And those results can understate reality; they rely on the city’s financial reports, which do not include accumulating off-balance sheet retirement obligations." Continue reading →

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The Latter-Day Rome Lives And Kills

"Libya is no longer. Ditto Iraq. Afghanistan is not doing much better since Rome set up camp there. The Comitatus – 'the sprawling apparatus that encompasses the ministries of government, the lawyers, the diplomats, the adjutants, the messengers, the interpreters, the intellectuals' – refused to keep count of the casualties in the Iraq war. Likewise has 'Operation Enduring Freedom' in Afghanistan, still ongoing, been the direct and indirect cause of the deaths and displacement of many thousands of Afghan civilians. The latter-day Rome has mechanized the warfare state’s killing capabilities and has refined its propaganda wing to an art." Continue reading →

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The rich are saving cash at a record pace

"Since the financial crisis, the wealthy have become the nation's top cash hoarders. The savings rate of the wealthiest 1 percent soared to 37 percent in the second quarter. That's up from 34 percent in the second quarter of 2012—and more than three times their savings rate in 2007. A separate study from Bank of America recently found that 56 percent of millionaires have a 'substantial' amount of cash. Only 16 percent of them plan to invest that cash in the next couple of months. Perhaps the wealthy are wise to keep more money on hand in case those record-breaking markets start to falter." Continue reading →

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Famed Trader Joe Lewis Backs Bitcoin With Swiss Fund

"Joe Lewis, a billionaire foreign-exchange trader who teamed up with hedge-fund manager George Soros in 1992 to bet against the Bank of England, is the latest high-profile financier to throw his weight behind the virtual currency called bitcoin. Mr. Lewis leads the Phoenix Fund, a Zurich-based private-equity fund that on Tuesday plans to invest $200 million in Avalon, a company that makes computer servers aimed at creating bitcoins, according to people familiar with the situation. The Phoenix Fund's investment in Avalon reflects the growing popularity of virtual currencies, which are also coming under scrutiny from regulators." Continue reading →

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Syria’s Assad bans all foreign currency in commercial transactions

"'It is prohibited to make payments, reimbursements, commercial transactions and any other commercial operation in foreign currency or in precious stones,' SANA quoted the decree as saying. 'The Syrian lira is the only currency' allowed in business and commerce, it added. Those breaking the law risk jail sentences from between six months to 10 years of hard labour, depending on the sum involved, and will be fined. The US dollar is the preferred foreign currency in Syria where the lira has lost three quarters of its value against the greenback since the outbreak of the anti-regime uprising more than two years ago." Continue reading →

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Fracking settlement puts permanent gag order on 7-year-old and 10-year-old

"A 10-year-old boy and his 7-year-old sister have been forbidden from discussing fracking for the rest of their lives under the terms of a court settlement with several gas companies. According to Mother Jones, representatives of Range Resources Corporation — one of the gas companies named in the settlement — confirmed in court that both the parents and children of the Hallowich family are prohibited from discussing the health issues and environmental factors that drove the family to relocate from their farm in Mount Pleasant, PA." Continue reading →

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Wall Street Journal’s Chinese version site blocked in China

"Access to the Wall Street Journal’s Chinese-language edition has been cut off in China, where official censors routinely delete online content deemed sensitive but less often block entire websites. The Journal’s Chinese-language site has had certain articles blocked since it was launched in 2002, but rarely the whole site. The ruling Communist Party blocked the websites of the US media outfits Bloomberg and The New York Times last year after exposes revealed the huge fortunes amassed by relatives of President Xi Jinping and of former premier Wen Jiabao." Continue reading →

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Georgia Insurance Rates Spike Under Obamacare

"Health insurance rates in Georgia are rising by up to 198 percent under Obamacare, the Georgia Insurance Commissioner said in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Monday. 'Georgia consumers cannot afford these massive rate increases,' Hudgens wrote to Sebelius. For an average 25 year-old male, premiums are set to rise 85 to 198 percent within the exchanges, while for a 45 year-old male, premiums will rise 40 to 100 percent, Florence said. A 64 year-old male will pay 18 to 48 percent more under Obamacare’s regime." Continue reading →

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