Yearly Archives: 2013

How the Empire Works

"Former US intelligence asset John Perkins described how he and fellow 'Economic Hit Men' were used by Washington in a global loan-sharking scheme. The case of Yemen is instructive. In 1991, Yemen refused to vote in the UN in favor of the first Iraq War. Washington retaliated by cutting of all financial aid. Saudi Arabia expelled about a million Yemeni workers whose remittances were vital to the country’s economy. Yemen, which had barely become unified, descended into civil war and dictatorship. Today Yemen is ruled by a compliant puppet dictator who eagerly supports Washington’s drone warfare campaign against his subjects. Such are the ways of empire." Continue reading →

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Major Counter-Terrorism Expert: Hastings Car Crash “Consistent with a Car Cyber Attack.”

"Counter-terrorism expert Richard Clarke says that the circumstances of Michael Hasting’s car crash were 'consistent with a car cyber attack.' While hastening to add that he was not saying the crash was a purposeful attack, Clarke stated that 'There is reason to believe that intelligence agencies for major powers' know how to remotely seize control of a car. Clarke served during both Bush presidencies and under Bill Clinton. Just what is a 'car cyber attack'? The answer can be found in two alarming papers by researchers at the University of Washington and the University of California, San Diego, 'Experimental Security Analysis of a Modern Vehicle,' ... " Continue reading →

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China’s state newspaper praises Edward Snowden for ‘tearing off Washington’s sanctimonious mask’

"The strongly worded front-page commentary responded to harsh criticism of China from the US for allowing Snowden to flee. 'Not only did the US authorities not give us an explanation and apology, it instead expressed dissatisfaction at the Hong Kong special administrative region for handling things in accordance with law,' wrote Wang Xinjun, a researcher at the Academy of Military Science. 'In a sense, the United States has gone from a 'model of human rights' to 'an eavesdropper on personal privacy', the 'manipulator' of the centralised power over the international internet, and the mad 'invader' of other countries' networks,' the People's Daily said." Continue reading →

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Moscow exchange launches first precious metals trading

"The stock exchange is going to start trading gold and silver by the end of this year, and platinum and palladium in 2014. Trading physical metals is expected to boost liquidity in the market and attract more participants. Russia has so far only been trading futures on gold and silver, not dealing with real metals. Gold has been occasionally sold on the over-the-counter market and the only benchmark for price was the Central bank’s quotations, Gazeta.ru reports. Now gold will get the market price in rubles. Credit institutions licensed to conduct operations with precious metals and non-banking professional brokers will be the main players on the market." Continue reading →

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WikiLeaks: Snowden Risks Being Stuck in Russia ‘Permanently’

"The WikiLeaks organization said on Tuesday that U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden may be forced to stay in Russia permanently because Washington is 'bullying' possible intermediary countries, reports Naharnet. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Snowden -- who had been expected to board a flight for Cuba on Monday, reportedly on his way to seek asylum in Ecuador -- was still in a Moscow airport transit zone. 'Cancelling Snowden's passport and bullying intermediary countries may keep Snowden permanently in Russia,' WikiLeaks said on its Twitter feed. 'Not the brightest bunch at State,' it said, referring to the U.S. State Department." Continue reading →

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WikiLeaks staffer helping Edward Snowden flee U.S. authorities

"Holed up with a fugitive computer expert and negotiating a legal minefield to avoid the US authorities — WikiLeaks staffer Sarah Harrison has been here before. As one of Julian Assange’s closest aides, the blonde, willowy Briton is uniquely qualified to help US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden avoid extradition to the United States for exposing a massive surveillance programme. Snowden and Harrison have been stuck together in the transit zone of a Moscow airport since the weekend, after she accompanied him on a flight from Hong Kong as part of efforts by anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks to help the American." Continue reading →

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U.S. withdraws Bangladesh trade ‘privileges’ over worker safety

"The United States withdrew trade privileges from Bangladesh Thursday, citing dangerous conditions for workers in the wake of a factory building collapse that killed over 1,100 people. Multiple recent tragedies in the country’s huge garment sector 'have served to highlight some of the serious shortcomings in worker rights and workplace safety standards in Bangladesh,' said US Trade Representative Michael Froman." Continue reading →

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WSJ: White House Preparing Bernanke’s Replacement

"The Obama administration has begun assembling a short list of candidates for the Federal Reserve chairmanship, in the expectation that Ben Bernanke won't seek reappointment when his second term ends in January, according to people familiar with the matter. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is putting together the list, working closely with a small number of senior White House officials. People familiar with the process wouldn't divulge any names on the short list, but said there was no front-runner. The White House is still in an early stage of the process and might not announce its selection until the early fall, they said." Continue reading →

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What Higher Mortgage Rates Mean in the Real World

"Rates on the roughly 48 million outstanding mortgages in the U.S. will rise. There are still millions of adjustable rate mortgages out there, often second mortgages or HELOCs. Those will start ticking higher in the months ahead. $240 a month ($2,880 a year) may not seem like much, but multiply that by a million, and then by many millions, and the number starts becoming consequential: that money is no longer available for consumption or investment. Rising mortgage rates reduce household purchasing power just like higher taxes and inflation. That means there is less household income to spend on other things, and that's not good for 'growth.'" Continue reading →

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The 5 Richest Cabinet Members of All Time

"No. 5: W. Averell Harriman, commerce secretary, 1947-48; Estimated wealth in current dollars: $841 million; Harriman earned his money the old-fashioned way: He inherited most of it from his father, E.H. Harriman, founder of the Union Pacific Railroad. No. 4: William C. Whitney, Navy secretary, 1885-89; Estimated wealth in current dollars: $1.1 billion; Whitney came into his money via political connections and by marrying Flora Payne, the sister of Oliver Hazard Payne, one of John D. Rockefeller’s close assistants and earliest investors. No. 3: Penny Pritzker, commerce secretary, 2013." Continue reading →

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