Mainstream News

Obama Flashback: “We Refused to Let Detroit Go Bankrupt”

"In October of 2012, President Barack Obama triumphantly declared he 'refused to throw in the town' and 'let Detroit go bankrupt.' On July 18, 2013, Detroit went bankrupt. 'We refused to throw in the towel and do nothing. We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt. We bet on American workers and American ingenuity, and three years later, that bet is paying off in a big way,' Obama said in his weekly address. To be fair, it seems that Obama was touting Detroit of an example of how his administration 'saved' the automobile industry. Clearly though, this administration’s big government policies were still not enough to save the city from economic ruin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Flashback: “We Refused to Let Detroit Go Bankrupt”

Police need warrants to track cell-phone data, N.J. Supreme Court rules

"The state Supreme Court ruled today that law enforcement agencies must get warrants if they want to track crime suspects by tracing the signals from their cell phones. 'Cell phones are not meant to serve as tracking devices to locate their owners wherever they may be,' Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote in the 7-0 decision. The state’s high court is the first in the country to impose such a ruling, and former state justices and legal experts said the decision could ripple throughout the states and in federal courts wrestling with the same questions on the collection and use of electronic data." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice need warrants to track cell-phone data, N.J. Supreme Court rules

Adam Kokesh Interviewed from Jail: “I’ll Run For President To Abolish The U.S. Government”

"Anti-government activist Adam Kokesh, who is currently jailed on drug charges and is facing a firearms charge in D.C., says he will someday run for President on a platform of abolishing the federal government. Since July 9th, 31-year old Adam Kokesh has been incarcerated in a cell in the Fairfax County jail which measures seven by seven-and-a-half feet. Adam Kokesh believes the U.S. military is more harmful than helpful to American security, and the government -- as a whole -- has burdened its citizenry with debt." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAdam Kokesh Interviewed from Jail: “I’ll Run For President To Abolish The U.S. Government”

For NSA chief, terrorist threat drives passion to ‘collect it all,’ observers say

"'Rather than look for a single needle in the haystack, his approach was, ‘Let’s collect the whole haystack,'' said one former senior U.S. intelligence official who tracked the plan’s implementation. 'Collect it all, tag it, store it. . . . And whatever it is you want, you go searching for it.' Alexander, 61, has quietly presided over a revolution in the government’s ability to scoop up information in the name of national security. And, as he did in Iraq, Alexander has pushed hard for everything he can get: tools, resources and the legal authority to collect and store vast quantities of raw information on American and foreign communications." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFor NSA chief, terrorist threat drives passion to ‘collect it all,’ observers say

Obama toasts Bush: ‘We are surely a kinder and gentler nation because of you’

"In a rare and warm appearance, former President George H.W. Bush returned to the White House on Monday. The 89-year-old was there to hand out the 5,000th award from his 'Points of Light' Foundation, but the celebration also recognized the 41st president’s legacy of charity and altruism. President Barack Obama credited the 89-year-old Bush with sparking a 'national movement' to advance volunteerism and community service as the 41st president of the United States, joined Obama onstage." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama toasts Bush: ‘We are surely a kinder and gentler nation because of you’

Snowden’s surveillance leaks open way for challenges to programs’ constitutionality

"At least five cases have been filed in federal courts since the government’s widespread collection of telephone and Internet records was revealed last month. The lawsuits primarily target a program that scoops up the telephone records of millions of Americans from U.S. telecommunications companies. Such cases face formidable obstacles. The government tends to fiercely resist them on national security grounds, and the surveillance is so secret that it’s hard to prove who was targeted. Nearly all of the roughly 70 suits filed after the George W. Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping was disclosed in 2005 have been dismissed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden’s surveillance leaks open way for challenges to programs’ constitutionality

Dow, S&P 500 set record highs on Bernanke, upbeat earnings

"Stocks finished higher Thursday, with the Dow and S&P 500 setting fresh highs, boosted by a batch of upbeat economic reports and after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that monetary policy will remain highly accommodative, even as the central bank starts to pare back its bond buying. Bernanke returned to Capitol Hill to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on the economy and QE after reassuring the markets Wednesday that there was no concrete timetable for the Fed to scale back its bond purchase program. Bernanke also emphasized that there could be a lengthy time-lag between the end of asset purchases and a hike in interest rates." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDow, S&P 500 set record highs on Bernanke, upbeat earnings

Gold Slump Revives Hedges Scrapped During Bull Run

"Tumbling gold prices are raising the prospect of a return to hedging - a strategy that’s been shunned by investors and producers who spent at least $10 billion at the end of the last decade unwinding forward sales. A revival of hedging may be a last resort for producers from Toronto to Melbourne who have announced plans to trim spending, sell mines, cut staff and reduce high-cost production in response to a decline in the price of gold that could shave about $10 billion from earnings, according to data compiled by New Jersey-based Kenneth Hoffman at Bloomberg Industries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Slump Revives Hedges Scrapped During Bull Run

Goldman Sachs quarterly profits more than double to $1.93bn

"Investors had feared that the looming prospect of an end to the US Federal Reserve’s $85bn-a-month bond-buying programme would impact profits at Wall Street’s major banks. However, Goldman Sachs navigated the turbulent quarter better than they expected. Profits climbed to $1.93bn (£1.28bn), from $962m in the same period last year, while revenues rose from $6.6bn to $8.6bn. Goldman Sachs employees were paid $253,691 on average, although the bank’s highest earning staff take home considerably more than that. Michael Sherwood, co-chief executive of Goldman Sachs and head of its London operation, received $15.8m as a share bonus alone last year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoldman Sachs quarterly profits more than double to $1.93bn

China’s richest man says ‘common prosperity’, not ‘wealth gap’ is priority

"Zong only went into business in his 40s, selling fizzy drinks to children and reportedly being so short of cash that he slept under a bridge in Beijing because he could not afford a hotel. But the company he launched, Wahaha, whose name means 'Laughing Child' in Chinese, went on to become China’s third largest soft drinks company, according to Euromonitor International. Zong’s fortune, as estimated by China-based luxury magazine publisher the Hurun Report, makes him the richest person in China and one of the wealthiest in Asia. Zong warned: 'If we had egalitarianism… we wouldn’t have enough to eat.' He called for lower taxes to stimulate investment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina’s richest man says ‘common prosperity’, not ‘wealth gap’ is priority