Search Results for “https:” – Page 756

Peter Schiff: The Half Full Economy

“The most recent GDP release from Washington has caused many to double down on their belief that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering Quantitative Easing sometime later this year. While I believe that is a fantasy given our economy’s extreme dependence on QE, market observers should have learned long ago that the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) initial GDP estimates can’t be trusted. A perusal of their subsequent GDP revisions in the last five years reveals a clear trend: They are almost twice as likely to revise initial estimates down rather than up, and the downward adjustments have been much larger on average.” Continue reading →

Japan’s Debt Problem Visualized

“A short, visual explanation of Japan’s debt crisis by Addogram. Visit http://www.addogram.com to discover and connect the web.” Continue reading →

‘Eminent Domain for the People’ Leaves Wall Street Furious

“Richmond became the first California city last week to move forward on a plan that has been floated by other California municipalities to ask big bank lenders to sell underwater mortgage loans at a discount to the city (if the owner consents), and seize those homes through eminent domain if the banks refuse. The city has committed to refinancing these homes for owners at their current value, not what is owed. City officials launched this process by sending letters in late July to 32 banks and other mortgage owners offering to buy 624 underwater mortgages at the price the homes are worth, not what the owners owe.” Continue reading →

Scott Brown’s brother arrested with weapons arsenal after impersonating officer and commandeering boat

“Bruce W. Browne told officers responding to the call that he was the owner of the vehicle, and he admitted to wearing battle dress uniform (BDU) pants and carry a 9mm weapon. Inside of the vehicle, officers located three 9mm handguns, two sets of handcuffs, 12 fully-loaded magazines and over 200 rounds of ammunition. Browne also had law enforcement gear, including a tactical bullet-proof vest with the word ‘POLICE’ on the front and back and a metal TSA badge. Browne had IDs from when he worked for the TSA and Coast Guard, but the Connecticut State Police determined that he was no longer affiliated with those agencies.” Continue reading →

Hunger-striking California inmate on 27 years in solitary

“The core demand is an end to indefinite solitary confinement in Security Housing Units, known as SHUs. Some inmates have been in such cells for decades. Strike leaders – an unusual alliance of whites, African Americans and Latinos – say the conditions amount to torture and that the system for selecting those for segregation is callous and capricious. A condition of release into the general jail population is to ‘debrief’ – inform – against gang members. Authorities reject the criticism and say the strike is an attempt by gang leaders to regain the ability to terrorise fellow prisoners, staff and communities throughout California.” Continue reading →

Common Core Exams: New York Schools Get an F

“No one knows what to do. They are in panic mode. Watch the videos. Parents are outraged. School officials are in hunker-down mode. The top educational official in the country is the Secretary of Education. She says this: no problem! Parents should not be alarmed, she says. The test results will ‘give a clear picture of where our students are on the trajectory toward college and career readiness.’ Yes, they do. The kids are not ready. Then, she added, don’t blame tax-funded education. No, no, no. ‘The lower proficiency rates that we will see . . . do not reflect that teachers are teaching less or students are learning less.'” Continue reading →

Detroit city officials misplace $1 million check for a month

“Officials in the financially beleaguered city of Detroit misplaced a $1 million check made out to the city’s school system for a month. According to Bloomberg News, the fact that the check languished in a drawer, forgotten, for weeks from late February to March is another sign of the city government’s staggering inefficiency and bureaucratic incompetence. A spokesperson for Emergency Manager and Washington, D.C. bankruptcy lawyer Kevyn Orr blamed the oversight on the fact that the city’s technology is not up to date. ‘Nobody sends million-dollar checks anymore — they wire the money,’ Bill Nowling told Bloomberg.” Continue reading →

Secret NSA loophole allows data gathering on U.S. citizens without a warrant

“The previously undisclosed rule change allows NSA operatives to hunt for individual Americans’ communications using their name or other identifying information. Senator Ron Wyden told the Guardian the NSA’s authorities provide loopholes that allow ‘warrantless searches for the phone calls or emails of law-abiding Americans’. The authority, approved in 2011, appears to contrast with repeated assurances from Barack Obama and senior intelligence officials to both Congress and the American public that the privacy of US citizens is protected from the NSA’s dragnet surveillance programs.” Continue reading →