Big Lie

Massachusetts inspector general finds sloppy drug handling throughout closed state lab

"State investigators have found at least a half-dozen drug samples scattered about the state lab in Jamaica Plain, documents show, raising questions about the integrity of all testing where indicted state chemist Annie Dookhan worked. Investigators found a plastic bag containing 'a white rock substance' and test tubes 'containing unknown substances' in one supervisor’s ­office. They found pills taped to a lab bench cabinet and old samples, including marijuana submitted in 1996. The findings, in a confidential report by the attorney ­general, add fuel to defense lawyers’ arguments that virtually all drug tests done there since 2003 are suspect." Continue reading →

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71st Anniversary: Roosevelt’s Concentration Camps

"The U.S. government had several governments in South America round up Japanese residents, who were then shipped to the U.S. The government put them in concentration camps. These camps received no publicity. One of them was in Crystal City, Texas. This was kidnapping, pure and simple. This story is so horrifying that the history textbooks never mention it. You will see no show about it on the History Channel. You can read about it here. These people were sent to Japan after the war." Continue reading →

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The GOP’s Drug-Testing Dragnet

"The annual Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) conference, held in 2012 in San Antonio, Texas, looks like any other industry gathering. The 600 or so attendees sip their complimentary Starbucks coffee, munch on small plates of muffins and fresh fruit, and backslap old acquaintances as they file into a sprawling Marriott hotel conference hall. They will hear a keynote address by Robert DuPont, who served as drug policy director under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Nothing odd about any of this until you consider that the main subject of the conference is urine." Continue reading →

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Study: Low Doses Of THC Provide Cardioprotection

"Low doses of THC are cardioprotective in mice, according to preclinical data to be published online in the journal Biochemical Pharmacology. Israeli scientists assessed in impact of a single 'ultra-low' injection of THC in mice prior to ischemia (the restriction of blood supply to tissues). Investigators reported that THC 'is a safe and effective treatment that reduces myocardial ischemic (heart attack) damage.'" Continue reading →

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Doug Casey: All Banks Are Bankrupt

"The whole banking business is corrupt from top to bottom today. Part of the problem is that banks are no longer financed by the individuals who start them, putting their personal net worth on the line. Now, they are all publicly traded entities – just like all brokerages – playing with Other People's Money. Management has no incentive to do anything but pad their wallets, so they pay themselves gigantic salaries and bonuses, and give themselves options. These people aren't shepherding their money and that of clients they know personally. They've got zero skin in the game. This is true all over the world, not just in the US and Europe." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: Is It Time To Sell Your Gold?

"There is no reason to think that the basic relationship between the Dow stocks and gold has been altered in any fundamental or everlasting way. For practically the entire 19th century... many years of the 20th century... and as recently as the 1980s, the ratio of the Dow to gold was 1 to 5 or less. Investors paid 5 ounces of gold to buy the Dow and its earnings. Will the Dow once again trade for 5 ounces of gold or less? Almost certainly. And it will probably happen before this historic drop in the Dow/gold ratio has reached its final bottom." Continue reading →

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Cyprus, The First Domino?

"For the investor, if he has been preparing himself carefully for the events that will unfold in the next few years, Cyprus will have been an event that did not impact him at all. This sounds like economic heresy, because the very idea that banks would systematically and intentionally steal the money of its depositors is a major, major event. Yes, it is quite definitely a major event, but one that should not have impacted the seasoned investor, as it is an event that is a mere comma in his overall outlook – it is an event that was anticipated." Continue reading →

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The Financial Situation in Cyprus and the End of the Euro

"There are several lessons to be learned here: 1. Politicians lie. Only a few weeks ago, politicians in Cyprus promised that deposits in local banks would be backed 100% and that euro-zone taxpayers would finance any bailout. Obviously, that turned out not to be true. 2. The swift win the race. Those depositors who got their funds out of Cyprus banks before the bailout get to keep 100% of their capital. Those who delayed face losses up to 60%. 3. Cash is king. While the value of the euro has slumped in recent weeks, anyone with euros in cash form, rather than in an account, is far better off than with euros in a bank account. [..]" Continue reading →

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McDonald’s want ad demands bachelor’s degree, two years experience for cashier

"With colleges producing more graduates, and youth unemployment at a sky-high 11.5 percent, even landing a job selling Big Macs is getting competitive. Consider: A job opening at a Massachusetts McDonald's restaurant for a full-time cashier requires one to two years experience and a bachelor's degree. 'Get a weekly paycheck with a side order of food, folks and fun,' offered McDonalds. It is not clear if the fast-food restaurant really wants that kind of experience or is fishing for the highest-qualified applicants. The website for the Winchedon, Mass., McDonald's also lists jobs in Spanish." Continue reading →

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David Stockman: There are Bubbles All Over, Hide in Cash

"Stocks seem like a pretty good place to be? 'That’s what they told me in late 2007 and early 2008,' Stockman says in response. 'About seven months later people had lost 45% to 70% of their net worth. If you were in the Russell 2000, which is where Bernanke wants you, you were crushed – it dropped by 60% within 15 trading days.' As for his advice to hide in cash he says, 'I would rather have capital preservation, be safe. I don’t think another two, four, 10 percent is worth losing 50, 60, 70 percent when the crash comes.'" Continue reading →

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