Monthly Archives: August 2013

US issues global travel alert over Al Qaeda threat, prepares to close embassies

"The State Department issued a worldwide travel alert on Friday to U.S. citizens over an Al Qaeda terror threat as Washington prepared to close its embassies and consulates throughout the Muslim world this Sunday over security concerns. U.S. officials have not offered many details on the nature of the threat, but apparently are taking it seriously. A White House official said Friday night President Obama was being updated on 'a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.' 'There is a significant threat stream and we're reacting to it,' said Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS issues global travel alert over Al Qaeda threat, prepares to close embassies

Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri says U.S. behind coup against Mohamed Morsi

"The head of al-Qaida has accused the US of overthrowing the former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, but also said he was responsible for his own downfall by for trying to appease Washington. Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian, said Morsi, who was deposed in a coup on 3 July, was targeted for being an Islamist by a conspiracy of secularists, Coptic Christians, and Egypt’s 'Americanised' army. But in his 15-minute internet audio message posted online on Friday, Zawahiri condemned Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood for having 'tried its best to satisfy America and the secularists' by relinquishing jihad, usually defined by al-Qaida to mean armed struggle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAl-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri says U.S. behind coup against Mohamed Morsi

Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri says U.S. behind coup against Mohamed Morsi

"The head of al-Qaida has accused the US of overthrowing the former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, but also said he was responsible for his own downfall by for trying to appease Washington. Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian, said Morsi, who was deposed in a coup on 3 July, was targeted for being an Islamist by a conspiracy of secularists, Coptic Christians, and Egypt’s 'Americanised' army. But in his 15-minute internet audio message posted online on Friday, Zawahiri condemned Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood for having 'tried its best to satisfy America and the secularists' by relinquishing jihad, usually defined by al-Qaida to mean armed struggle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAl-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri says U.S. behind coup against Mohamed Morsi

Pepe Escobar: Manning guilty; war criminals on the loose

"In a show trial/kangaroo court with an American twist, worthy of the Cultural Revolution in 1960s China, Bradley Manning was predictably found guilty of multiple counts of violating the Espionage Act. If only Walter Benjamin were alive to see the Angel of History once again throwing one of his trademark lightning bolts of irony; Manning was pronounced guilty of being a spy - by a Pentagon judge - just next door to Spy Central, the NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: Manning guilty; war criminals on the loose

Pepe Escobar: Manning guilty; war criminals on the loose

"In a show trial/kangaroo court with an American twist, worthy of the Cultural Revolution in 1960s China, Bradley Manning was predictably found guilty of multiple counts of violating the Espionage Act. If only Walter Benjamin were alive to see the Angel of History once again throwing one of his trademark lightning bolts of irony; Manning was pronounced guilty of being a spy - by a Pentagon judge - just next door to Spy Central, the NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: Manning guilty; war criminals on the loose

Putin Shows Global Mojo to Russians as U.S. Fumes Over Snowden

"Russian President Vladimir Putin is showing his gamesmanship on a global stage by giving his voters what they want with the asylum granted to ex-U.S. contractor Edward Snowden, while leaving the White House flustered. The decision is backed by almost twice as many Russians as those against it and those who view Snowden’s role as positive outnumber negative assessments three to one. Putin, who used Russia’s oil-powered wealth accumulation to build support for his 13-year rule, is facing an economy that threatens to slide into recession." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPutin Shows Global Mojo to Russians as U.S. Fumes Over Snowden

Greece should defy the gunboat creditors

"Nothing whatsoever has been resolved, either in Greece, or in Portugal, or in Cyprus, or in Spain, or in Italy. Nor will there be under the current contractionary policy structure. There is no Deus Ex Machina. These nations will remain trapped in slump and mass unemployment until they take matters into their own hands, form a debtors cartel, confront the head-on gunboat creditors from a position of strength, and dictate the outcome. But first they have to defenestrate out their own cowed elites." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreece should defy the gunboat creditors

Obamacare Full Frontal: Of 953,000 Jobs Created In 2013, 77%, Or 731,000 Are Part-Time

"When the payroll report was released last month, the world finally noticed what we had been saying for nearly three years: that the US was slowly being converted to a part-time worker society. This slow conversion accelerated drastically in the last few months, and especially in June, when part time jobs exploded higher by 360K while full time jobs dropped by 240K. In July we are sad to report that America's conversation to a part-time worker society is not 'tapering': according to the Household Survey, of the 266K jobs created, only 35% of jobs, or 92K, were full time. The rest were... not." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObamacare Full Frontal: Of 953,000 Jobs Created In 2013, 77%, Or 731,000 Are Part-Time

If I Bribe City Hall, Can I Reduce My Mortgage?

"Richmond, California, sent the securities and real estate industries into a tizzy this week. The city said it is moving ahead with plans to use its power of eminent domain to seize home mortgages and restructure them for residents who owe more money than their homes are worth. This would be a first in the U.S. Normally when governments do things that upset Wall Street millionaires it’s a sign they’re going down the right path. There are exceptions, of course. Cities usually use eminent domain to seize land and buildings. If they’re going to start seizing home mortgages, why stop there?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIf I Bribe City Hall, Can I Reduce My Mortgage?

Top Federal Reserve economist slams ‘incoherent’ European Central Bank

"A paper by the Richmond Fed said the ECB is hamstrung by institutional problems and acts on the mistaken premise that excess debt is the cause of the eurozone crisis when the real cause is the collapse of growth. 'The ECB lacks a coherent strategy for creating the monetary base required to sustain the money creation necessary for a growing economy,' said the paper, written in July by Robert Hetzel, the bank’s senior economist. It called for direct action to buy 'bundles' of small business loans, as well as 'packages of government debt' across EMU states, including German Bunds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTop Federal Reserve economist slams ‘incoherent’ European Central Bank