Crisis Begets Opportunity

Michigan Governor Declares Emergency in Detroit; Grabs Power from Locals

"Michigan Governor Rick Snyder plans to name an emergency manager to handle Detroit’s fiscal crisis, stripping power from local officials. Detroit has a budget deficit of about $327 million and more than $14 billion in long-term obligations, reports Bloomberg. Starting later this month, a manager will have the power to cancel labor contracts, cut spending and sell assets. This all is, of course, an attempt to prevent what could be the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy. Snyder will act to protect Detroit's debt holders. However, the best thing that could happen to Detroit is for the city to declare bankruptcy and start fresh, rather than a Motown version of eurozone-type austerity." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichigan Governor Declares Emergency in Detroit; Grabs Power from Locals

Senators in Immigration Talks Mull Federal IDs for All Workers

"Key senators are exploring an immigration bill that would force every U.S. worker—citizen or not—to carry a high-tech identity card that could use fingerprints or other personal markers to prove a person's legal eligibility to work. The idea, signaled only in vaguely worded language from senators crafting a bipartisan immigration bill, has privacy advocates and others concerned that the law would create a national identity card that, in time, could track Americans at airports, hospitals and through other facets of their lives." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenators in Immigration Talks Mull Federal IDs for All Workers

Revolutionary Japan is suddenly the centre of world affairs

"We all watch with disbelief as China and Japan rattle sabres over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, so like the seemingly minor events that drew Europe's alliance systems into conflict from 1911 onwards. Both graduated to fighter jets last week: Japan sending in F-15s; China deploying J-10s, and mobilising the East China Sea fleet for live ammo drills. China's purpose is clear. It is testing the US security umbrella, and Washington's willingness to risk conflict to back Asian allies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRevolutionary Japan is suddenly the centre of world affairs

Carnage in Syria Courtesy of US Allies

"While the US and its Western partners pretend to be engaged in a global war against terrorism, their terrorist allies in Syria have set off another car bomb, tellingly very close to the ruling Baath party offices and the Russian embassy. Initial reports are that more than 50 have been killed by the terrorists, including many children attending a nearby school. No doubt this bombing against a government building will be blamed on the Syrian government in the Western media, adding to the phony UN body count. The UN organization that is responsible for compiling the 'body count' in Syria is...surprise...funded by the US State Department!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCarnage in Syria Courtesy of US Allies

The New York Times Calls (again) for Higher Taxes on Middle-Class Americans

"The New York Times seems really fixated on screwing Joe Lunchbucket. What’s particularly interesting about this editorial is that the New York Times is very explicit about political strategy. They support more class-warfare taxes in order to set the stage for higher taxes on the middle class. We can’t say we haven’t been warned." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe New York Times Calls (again) for Higher Taxes on Middle-Class Americans

Furloughed FAA employee goes on Miami shooting rampage

"A depressed Florida man shot his wife and two children before killing himself after closing his hot air balloon business and facing losing his job as a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector because of automatic budget cuts known as 'sequestration.' A source told CBS News that 45-year-old Carlos Zuniga was depressed in the weeks before he shot his wife 43-year-old wife, Michelle, his 14-year-old daughter, Lauren, and his 11-year-old son, Stefan. Carlos Zuniga then killed himself. Stefan Zuniga died at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center on Thursday morning. Both the wife and the daughter were in critical condition." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFurloughed FAA employee goes on Miami shooting rampage

WARNING: You are about to be Exposed to “Washington Monument Syndrome”

"Airlines and airports across the country are preparing for across-the-board federal budget cuts due to hit next week as if they were a hurricane, although with even less certainty about how many flights they will have to cancel and how many passengers will be stranded. The federal government is warning about delays that could begin in March, as the first cuts take effect, and reduced takeoffs and slower security lines that could worsen in April with furloughs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWARNING: You are about to be Exposed to “Washington Monument Syndrome”

White House vows to aggressively combat trade secrets theft in new cybersecurity strategy document

"The US government vowed to aggressively combat a rise in the foreign theft of trade secrets amid mounting concerns over recent hacking attacks allegedly emanating from China. 'We will continue to act vigorously to combat the theft of US trade secrets that could be used by foreign companies or foreign governments to gain an unfair economic edge,' the strategy document says. Such 'theft threatens American businesses, undermines national security, and places the security of the US economy in jeopardy,' it said, putting 'American jobs at risk.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhite House vows to aggressively combat trade secrets theft in new cybersecurity strategy document

Unite With Namecheap Against CISPA

"As many of you are aware, Namecheap has taken a stance against SOPA and related legislation. In 2012 and 2013, we donated over $100,000 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation to help ensure that the fight stays alive. CISPA, which emerged in 2012, has been rebirthed this week as an even bigger threat to online freedom. If CISPA is passed, the US government gains the power to ask your ISP about any/all of your online activities and personal information. Advocated under the premise of anti-terrorism legislation, this legislation is so broad that it threatens to endanger the privacy of every individual and ordinary and law abiding citizens." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUnite With Namecheap Against CISPA

The Ascent of Whatever-It-Takes Banking Is a Good Thing?

"We didn't realize the reaction to criticism that central bankers were rash and their strategic destabilizing would result in a worldwide movement of even MORE activist bankers. You've read it for yourselves now. A 'new breed' of banker is emerging that will grasp the true power of the printing press and pump harder. Yet it simply must be admitted that central bankers don't ever know how much money is too much. There are no tools that exist that can divine the future. If new and bolder central bankers are going to print even MORE money, the booms and busts shall be correspondingly larger. This would seem to be an illogical solution, but in truth, not so." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Ascent of Whatever-It-Takes Banking Is a Good Thing?