Yearly Archives: 2013

Japanese Troops Storm California Beach as Marine Power Eyed

"A thousand Japanese troops have been learning how to recapture territory in the face of enemy fire. While the shoreline may be California, the skills they are building could one day be used closer to home. The two-week 'Dawn Blitz' joint drills in June saw a Japanese Self-Defense Force ship launching a hovercraft designed to carry troops and heavy weaponry that roared onto the beach. The operations reflect the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s interest in developing a Marine corps to counter what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government says are Chinese attempts to change the status quo in maritime disputes." Continue reading →

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Japan Resorts To Teenage Girls In Short Skirts To Get Their Stocks Up

"To get an idea of how Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is faring in his quest to lift his country out of two decades of stagnation, look no further than the skirts of the girl group Machikado Keiki Japan. The band, whose name translates roughly as 'street corner economic conditions', became a bellwether for the health of the world's third biggest economy earlier this year when they promised to shorten their skirts every time the country's stock market made significant gains. Their debut single, Abeno Mix – complete with unlikely singalong references to quantitative easing and construction bonds – takes its cue from Abenomics." Continue reading →

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Monetary Mavens Talk, Talk, Talk

"The thrust of central banking coverage is one that emphasizes high finance, complicated terminology and impressive circumstances. The reality is that the tools are very limited and the choices are, well ... simplistic. Either a central bank prints money or it doesn't. Either it sets interest rates high or low. Officials can choose various targets but essentially, 'targeting' doesn't change the basic mechanism: more money or less, higher interest rates or lower ones. It's very simple and the amount of time, energy and mainstream media coverage lavished on these rudimentary – and primitive – decisions is incredible." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: The Making of a Modern Debt Slave…

"Deny a young person work and you deny him a career. Deny him a career and you deny him a way to support a family. Deny him a family life, and who knows what happens? In China, the 'bare branches' – young men who couldn't find wives – started a revolution. The Nien Rebellion, which took place between 1851 and 1868, cost 100,000 dead and almost toppled the Qing Dynasty. Will today's young people accept their lot... and remain in docile debt servitude their whole lives? Or will they rise up, as Mr. Graeber suggests, and burn T-bonds in public spaces... rampage down Wall Street... and perhaps hang Ben Bernanke in front of the New York Federal Reserve?" Continue reading →

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Breakfast with Pussy Riot

"This morning I had the opportunity to meet, along with several other journalists, with two members of Russian punk collective Pussy Riot at the Washington offices of Human Rights First. They are in Washington meeting with members of congress, State Department staffers, and NGO officials. It's an odd sort of publicity tour. For security reasons, 'Fara' and 'Shaiba,' who appeared to be in their 20s, did not provide their real names, did not allow themselves to be photographed without their trademark balaclavas, and refused to discuss details about their backgrounds or travel itinerary." Continue reading →

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Woolwich murder: Younger brother of Michael Adebolajo ‘was paid thousands to spy in Middle East’

"The younger brother of one of the men accused of murdering Drummer Lee Rigby was paid thousands of pounds by MI6 as part of spying operations in the Middle East, The Mail on Sunday has discovered. Jeremiah Adebolajo, who uses the name Abul Jaleel, was also asked to help ‘turn’ his brother, Michael, to work for MI5, who were already aware of Michael’s close links to extremist groups. Police and security services are under huge pressure to explain what they know about Adebolajo and his alleged accomplice, Michael Adebowale. Despite warnings stretching back ten years, Michael Adebolajo is said to have been considered ‘low risk’ by MI5." Continue reading →

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Fred Reed: Ain’t Nobody Gonna Like It

"Watching the Zimmerman trial, I wonder whether we may not be in for big trouble. Racial hostility is much higher in the United States than it is allowed to appear. In the Twittersphere there is much traffic from blacks, saying that if Zimmerman walks, they will kill him themselves, riot, or kill random whites. On many sites around the web, whites of a sort not found on NPR are saying, 'Bring it on.' This is not your granny’s recipe for domestic tranquility. Let’s not kid ourselves. Race underlies almost everything in this country that spends half its time denouncing racism. This is true of trials, and particularly true of show trials." Continue reading →

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CNN Broadcasts Zimmerman Social Security Number

"On Monday, CNN showed George Zimmerman’s Social Security number and other personal information live over the air, including address, date of birth, and phone number. Officer Doris Singleton was testifying when the prosecutors showed a narrative report including Zimmerman’s information. That immediately launched a round of tweets by Zimmerman haters celebrating knowledge of that information. CNN has now released a statement about showing Zimmerman’s personal information: 'Routinely the evidence is first given to the Court Clerk for redaction, and that didn’t happen in this instance.'" Continue reading →

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Zimmerman Case and Chaos?

"The Zimmerman case – if it does explode into violence – is part of a much broader trend. Internationalists have always used war and violence to make a case for more and stronger global institutions that can guarantee 'peace.' Unfortunately, such rhetoric often leads to the 'peace of the grave' rather than the peace of the living. And if the Obama administration and others have now taken to using the rhetoric of racism as a way of furthering internationalist goals while distracting from the Great Recession, that would indeed be an unfortunate development. It would also explain why Obama was quick to make the remark that the victim reminded him of a son." Continue reading →

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The Curious Case Of Trayvon Martin’s Backpack With Stolen Jewelry and ‘Burglary Tool’

"The search of Trayvon Martin’s backpack turned up at least 12 pcs of ladies jewelry, and a man’s watch, in addition to a flat head screwdriver described as 'a burglary tool'. When Trayvon was questioned about who owned the jewelry and where it came from, he claimed he was just holding it for a 'friend'. A 'friend' he would not name. On October 21st 2011 a burglary took place a few blocks from Krop Senior High School where Trayvon Martin attended. The stolen property outlined in the Miami-Dade Police Report (PD111021-422483) matches the descriptive presented by SRO Dunn in his School Police report 2011-11477." Continue reading →

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