Yearly Archives: 2013

‘Don’t Follow the Fed’ Will Be the Smart Money’s New Slogan

"Wall Street has an old saying: 'Don’t fight the Fed.' That means if your investment strategy isn’t in synch with the central bank’s policies, you’re going to lose money. I have an update: 'Don’t follow the Fed.' That’s because the Federal Reserve, under Chairman Ben Bernanke, is about to torpedo the $39 trillion bond market. My thesis is simple: The Fed has lost control of the bond market. The bubble has gotten so big because it was allowed to inflate for so long, a fiasco is a done deal no matter what the Fed says or does." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Don’t Follow the Fed’ Will Be the Smart Money’s New Slogan

New York immigration judge halts deportation of married gay man

"A New York immigration judge halted the deportation of an American citizen’s Colombian husband on Wednesday just moments after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, according to an activist group aiding the couple’s legal defense. Brooks’ husband Steven came to the U.S. with his family as a child, and after the two married in New York state Brooks filed a green card petition to help Steven become a permanent resident on the path to citizenship. That green card petition caused a problem with his visa status and suddenly, Steven was facing deportation. Appeal was denied on the grounds that federal law did not recognize their marriage." Continue reading →

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Congratulations to Gay Americans Who Are Now Eligible for the Tax Code’s Marriage Penalty

"The CBO estimated that gay marriage in all 50 states would increase tax receipts by about $400 million a year if the George W. Bush tax cuts were extended and by about $700 million a year if they were not. Because those tax cuts ended up being mostly extended, the answer is probably somewhere in the middle, but closer to $400 million. The added revenue comes from the 'marriage penalty': Two-earner married couples where each spouse has a similar income tend to be taxed more heavily than they would be if both partners were single." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongratulations to Gay Americans Who Are Now Eligible for the Tax Code’s Marriage Penalty

‘How to Make Money Selling Drugs’

"'How to Make Money' is full of useful insights from people who know the drug trade well, including reformed dealers, ex-international smugglers, former cops, pundits, lawyers and government insiders. Interviewees include one-time dealer Freeway Ricky Ross, retired Baltimore cop-turned-activist Neill Franklin and rapper 50 Cent, who sold drugs as a 12-year-old orphan. The film’s emerging portrait of the drug war is of a relentless, historical cycle involving poverty, racism, addiction, corruption, political opportunism, local cops dependent on federal dollars, and a $50 billion, commercial prison industry profiting mightily by incarcerating lots of Americans." Continue reading →

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Innovation in legal highs leaves governments in the dust

"An explosion of hundreds of new 'legal highs' in recent years has left governments around the world in the dust as lawmakers struggle to keep prohibition laws updated as more and more never-before-seen drugs flood the black market. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said Wednesday that more than 251 new psychoactive substances were available on the black market by mid-2012, a growth of more than 50 percent over 2009. The number of new psychoactive substances available on the black market today exceeds the number of controlled psychoactive substances currently prohibited by governments around the world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInnovation in legal highs leaves governments in the dust

For those concerned about the Voting Rights Act

"It would be a mistake to assume that the Voting Rights Act in any way ensured that all African Americans were able to vote. The biggest factor in suppressing minority vote is not even addressed by the Voting Rights Act — felony disenfranchisement. 5.8 million Americans are unable to vote because of our obsession with over-incarceration and the drug war, and it hits minorities hardest by a long shot. 1 in 13 African-Americans nationally are unable to vote. Drug war incarceration has been referred to as the 'New Jim Crow,' and built right into our drug laws are enforcement incentives that make racist outcomes certain." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFor those concerned about the Voting Rights Act

Bill Bonner: Why the Sell-Off in Gold is Good News

"Gold is giving us another good opportunity to buy a life vest before the boat sinks. No market goes up without a correction. Speculators typically get ahead of themselves. They need to be slapped around a bit... tested... and tempered. Like a steel blade, they need to be hammered before they are ready for the final battle. In the last major bull market in gold the gold price rose from $40 to over $800 an ounce. This was one of the greatest bull markets of all time. But it wasn't without its challenges. The price of gold moved up fast. It needed to be knocked down at least once before it finally reached its top. Gold fell by 47% before rising eight times to its peak in 1980." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Why the Sell-Off in Gold is Good News

Stock Market Guru Cody Willard Is Buying Precious Metals Coins.

"We can’t control when or where opportunity arises. And as you know with gold having crashed some 30% from its highs, I started rebuilding my own physical gold and silver assets in April, looking to take about 1-2 years to build up those assets to about 10%-15% of my portfolio to own/hedge/protect my family with forever. Which leads us to a little more on why I’m so bullish right now on gold and silver coins and bullion and why I am so against gold and silver exchange-traded funds and other precious metal ETFs. It’s my belief that the big banks who control the paper ETF and spot prices have less gold per promise than they’ve ever had in our lifetimes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStock Market Guru Cody Willard Is Buying Precious Metals Coins.

Ohio House Votes Overwhelmingly To Ban Traffic Cameras

"All red light cameras and nearly all speed cameras would be banished from Ohio under a bill that cleared the state House of Representatives Wednesday by a 61-32 vote. State Representatives Ron Maag (R-Lebanon) and Dale Mallory (D-Cincinnati) introduced the measure that would pull the plug on sixteen municipal automated ticketing programs currently in operation. 'Let's be candid about these cameras,' Maag said. 'Their main goal is to generate revenue and this is obvious for several reasons.' So far, residents in seven cities have circulated petitions and succeeded in overturning the decision of their city council to install red light cameras and speed cameras." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOhio House Votes Overwhelmingly To Ban Traffic Cameras

Judge throws out Abu Ghraib detainees’ torture case citing jurisdiction

"U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee in Alexandria, Virginia said he lacked jurisdiction to hear claims brought by the four Iraqi plaintiffs under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), and separate claims by one plaintiff that he said were barred under Iraqi law. Lee ruled eight months after Engility Holdings Inc, a spinoff of L-3 Communications Holdings Inc, paid $5.28 million to settle similar claims. Photos depicting abuse of Abu Ghraib detainees emerged in 2004. While no contractors were charged, some detainees accused their workers in lawsuits of physical and sexual abuse, inflicting electric shocks, and conducting mock executions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge throws out Abu Ghraib detainees’ torture case citing jurisdiction