"A source provides me with this internal advisory put out by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. Always be on your toes when 'simulations' are scheduled. Remember, simulation drills were on going at the time of 9-11 and also at the Boston Marathon bombing." Continue reading →
"It appears that the bulk of the bonds that Japanese investors sold in May were US Treasurys and the roughly $30 billion were a record amount. This follows the $15.5 billion sales in April. May was the fifth consecutive month Japanese investors have reduced their U.S. Treasury holdings and over this period sold about 8 trilion yen. The second-quarter selloff appears driven to a larger extent by worries about Fed tapering and its potential to push up global bond yields, they said. This is what is going to make it very difficult for the Fed to slow/stop buying Treasury securities. When they slow/stop, there will be even more upside pressure on rates, with very serious sellers." Continue reading →
"Lockheed Martin, Robert J. Stevens, $23.8 million; General Dynamics, Jay L. Johnson, $18.0 million; Northrop Grumman, Wesley G. Bush, $15.5 million; Alliant Techsystems, Mark W. DeYoung, $6.8 million; Exelis, David F. Melcher, $5.8 million; SAIC, John P. Jumper, $5.4 million." Continue reading →
"Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) and his family received another unreported $120,000 from the head of a dietary supplement company he promoted, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. McDonnell and his family are already being investigated for allegedly accepting a $6,500 watch and $15,000 in catering costs for his daughter’s wedding from Star Scientific CEO Johnnie R. Williams, Sr. in exchange for his help urging state health officials to approve the company’s anti-inflammatory supplement as an option for Medicare recipients, despite not being federally approved. McDonnell has argued that the payment toward the catering expenses was a gift for his daughter." Continue reading →
"When the Supreme Court ruled the feds have the authority to make medicinal marijuana illegal across the U.S., more than 15 states said, 'No,' and created medical cannabis programs anyway. And when the Bush administration pushed through the Real ID Act in 2005, seeking to create a national system of identification, states said, 'No,' and refused to take steps to implement the program. In fact, state governments have utilized nullification to fight a wide range of overreaching federal actions, from military conscription during the War of 1812 to the Fugitive Slave Acts in the 1850s. From overreaching FDA regulations to groping TSA searches today." Continue reading →
"US Parks Police (an arm of the DHS) were assisted by local Herndon police in the armed invasion. The officers used a battering ram to knock in the door after two knocks, and did not announce that they had a warrant. Immediately after breaking down the door, a flash bang grenade was deployed in the foyer. Assault rifles were aimed on all members of the team as they were handcuffed without being told why they were detained. Masked and armored police in full 'Storm Trooper' gear flooded in and ransacked the residence. Over the course of the next five hours, the police searched every corner of the house with canine units and blueprints." Continue reading →
"Ex-Murray County Chief Magistrate Judge Bryant Cochran allegedly attempted to have local woman Angela Garmley framed on bogus drug charges after she accused him of seeking sexual favors in return for helping her in a pending court case. Two Murray County sheriff's deputies have already pleaded guilty to participating in the frame job, which consisted of a handyman employed by the judge hiding methamphetamine on Garmley's vehicle and her subsequent arrest by a deputy alerted to be on the lookout for her vehicle by a sheriff's captain who just happened to be the judge's cousin. Today, the handyman, Clifford 'CJ' Joyce, pleaded guilty to his role." Continue reading →
"In a written ministerial statement to Parliament last week. British Home Secretary Theresa May announced that her government was banning khat, a mild stimulant plant from the Horn of Africa widely used by inhabitants of the region, some of whom have emigrated to United Kingdom and other Western countries and brought their habit with them. In doing so, May went directly against the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the public body charged with making recommendations on the control of drugs. " Continue reading →
"Emery has already served four years of a five-year sentence in the US for selling marijuana seeds online from Canada. With the permission of prison officials in the Special Investigative Service (SIS), photos of his band were put up on Emery’s Cannabis Culture blog in April. Emery was under investigation by the same SIS authorities who gave permission for the photos; they claimed that the pictures had been taken with a prohibited smart phone. Officials put him in 'the hole' while they looked into the matter. On Tuesday, June 11, Emery was released from solitary confinement after a staff person admitted he had taken the photos." Continue reading →
"The French Ministry of Culture announced Tuesday that people who illegally download copyrighted works off the Internet no longer have to fear being disconnected for a year under the nation’s controversial anti-piracy law, formally named the High Authority of Diffusion of the Art Works and Protection of the Rights on the Internet (HADOPI). The loss of HADOPI’s disconnection provision is more than just a victory for French socialists — it’s a defeat for U.S. industry groups, which fiercely lobbied prior French administrations to adopt harsh punitive measures against anyone who shares copyrighted content." Continue reading →