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Fake cop scams seniors out of nearly half a million dollars with faux ‘sting operations’

“Police in Washington state are searching for a man who they say has scammed seniors out of nearly a half a million dollars by pretending to be a police officer, recruiting unsuspecting victims for faux ‘sting operations’ involving large cash transfers. It begins as a phone scam, police told The Seattle Post Intelligencer. Introducing himself as either Sgt. Drumbowski or Capt. Jack Truska, the conman preys mainly on elderly women with claims of a counterfeit money investigation that he needs help with. The elaborate rouse ends with the fake police officer meeting the victim and taking a large sum of money from them — at least six women have lost around $75,000 per shakedown.” Continue reading →

As the market panic demonstrates, central banks are stuck on a treadmill of money printing

“Last night’s panic in Tokyo, where the Nikkei dropped a stomach churning 7 per cent, demonstrates just how difficult it’s going to be for the world’s central banks to exit their loose money policies. It’s not even as if Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Fed, said he was planning to exit; in fact, initially he said the reverse in testimony to Congress. What the subsequent violent gyrations in markets indicate is that any hint of applying the brakes risks generating a fresh financial crisis, which in turn would render the economic recovery still born. Both financial markets and the real economy have become addicted to ‘quantitative easing’, such that they can’t do without it.” Continue reading →

The Bank of Japan must crush all resistance, and will do so

“Kudos to Kyle Bass at Hayman Advisers for warning that the Bank of Japan would lose control of its ¥70 trillion bond buying blitz. The spike in the 10-year yield to 1pc on Thursday was certainly shocking to behold. His point is that the BoJ faces a ‘rational investor paradox’. The authorities are trying to drive up the inflation to 2pc and therefore to devalue Japanese government bonds (JGBs), so why on earth would you want to own them? He says the scramble to sell has ‘overwhelmed’ buying by the BoJ. Governor Kuroda will now have double down with a huge increase in the scale of QE.” Continue reading →

The deeper agenda behind Japan’s “Abenomics”

“The policy known as ‘Abenomics’ is a mix of monetary easing, stimulative spending and growth-inducing steps including deregulation in sectors such as energy. Some Abe allies worry that a hasty push for constitutional changes could upset voters who want the focus to stay firmly on the economy – repeating a mistake seen as a key factor in Abe’s first failed attempt to govern. ‘He wants to achieve what he left undone – to break free of the ‘post-war regime’,’ said Koichi Hagiuda, a lawmaker and special aide to Abe. ‘What is most symbolic of that is the constitution that was drafted in one short week under (U.S. General Douglas) MacArthur’s Occupation.'” Continue reading →

3D printing saves a life

“For the first three months of his life, Kaiba Gionfriddo’s airway collapsed repeatedly, occasionally causing his heart to stop and leaving many doctors at a loss for how to help him. Then, in the first procedure of its kind, doctors in Michigan used a 3D printing method to create an artificial splint to help Kaiba breathe without the assistance of a breathing machine for the first time, according to the Associated Press. Since the operation, which was performed in February 2012, the now 19-month-old Ohio boy has been able to breathe on his own without a single breathing crisis. Doctors will soon remove his breathing tube, the AP reports.” Continue reading →

After IRS Targeting, Now The Gibson Guitar Raids Make Sense

“Interestingly, one of Gibson’s leading competitors is C.F. Martin & Co. According to C.F. Martin’s catalog, several of their guitars contain ‘East Indian Rosewood,’ which is the exact same wood in at least 10 of Gibson’s guitars. So why were they not also raided and their inventory of foreign wood seized? Grossly underreported at the time was the fact that Gibson’s chief executive, Henry Juszkiewicz, contributed to Republican politicians. Recent donations have included $2,000 to Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and $1,500 to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. By contrast, Chris Martin IV, the Martin & Co. CEO, is a long-time Democratic supporter.” Continue reading →

Court orders UK to hold inquiries into illegal civilian deaths during Iraq War

“A series of public inquests should be held into the deaths of civilians who are alleged to have been killed unlawfully by the British military following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the high court has ruled. In a ground-breaking judgment that could have an impact on how the British military is able to conduct operations among civilians in the future, the court ruled on Friday that up to 161 deaths should be the subject of hearings modelled upon coroners’ inquests. In practice, a series of hearings – possibly amounting to more than 100 – are likely to be held as a result of the judgment, which follows a three-year legal battle on behalf of the Iraqis’ families.” Continue reading →

Marijuana By Itself Not a Significant Factor in Fatal and Injury Crashes in 2012

“Fewer than 1 percent of suspected impaired drivers involved in such crashes tested positive for nothing but marijuana. New Times’ findings, based on a records request satisfied by DPS this week, jibe with statistics we reported earlier this month in our feature article about Arizona’s zero-tolerance marijuana-DUI law. Drivers suspected of impairment in crashes that hurt or killed people in Phoenix, Chandler, and Scottsdale were rarely found to be impaired by marijuana, our earlier research showed.” Continue reading →