Mainstream News

Kyle Bass Tells ‘Nominal’ Stock Market Cheerleaders: Remember Zimbabwe

"Bass starts by reflecting on the ongoing (and escalating) money-printing (or balance sheet expansion as we noted here) as the driver of stock movements currently and would not be surprised to see them move higher still (given the ongoing printing expected). However, he caveats that nominally bullish statement with a critical point, 'Zimbabwe's stock market was the best performer this decade - but your entire portfolio now buys you 3 eggs' as purchasing power is crushed. Investors, he says, are 'too focused on nominal prices' as the rate of growth of the monetary base is destroying true wealth." Continue reading →

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Man busted at airport with $70 million check is ex-Iran central bank head

"The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reports that a man caught last month trying to enter Germany with a check worth about $70 million was Iran's former central bank chief. The weekly reports that customs officials at Duesseldorf airport found the check in Tahmasb Mazaheri's luggage Jan. 21 upon his arrival from Turkey. German customs had issued a statement Friday saying a check for 300 million Venezuelan Bolivars issued by the Bank of Venezuela was found on an unnamed 59-year-old man. Mazaheri was the governor of the Central Bank of Iran until 2008." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin’s Gains May Fuel Central Bank Concerns

"An increase in the value of bitcoin, the world’s largest online currency, may fuel concerns that virtual money could undermine the role of central banks. Bitcoin has more than doubled in the past 12 months, strengthening to $16.37 from $5.88, according to data from Mt. Gox, the world’s largest bitcoin exchange. Greater demand for virtual currencies could have a negative impact on the reputation of central banks, according to a report published by the European Central Bank in October last year. Since the report was released, bitcoin has risen more than 55 percent against the dollar and use of the currency has surged." Continue reading →

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The Doomsday Preppers of New York

"New York hardly seems like a natural location for what has become known as the prepper movement, but in fact the city’s prepping community is not only large and remarkably diverse, its leaders say, it’s also growing rapidly. To the unprepared, the very word 'prepper' is likely to summon images of armed zealots hunkered down in bunkers awaiting the End of Days, but the reality, at least here in New York, is less dramatic. Local Preppers are doctors, doormen, charter school executives, subway conductors, advertising writers and happily married couples from the Bronx. They are no doubt people that you know — your acquaintances and neighbors." Continue reading →

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Marine recruiter ‘sexually assaulted two teen recruits’ at his office and home where he lives with wife and two children

"One of the victims, a 17-year-old girl who was not named, told the station that she had met Percival four or five times to discuss joining the Marine Corps. She said that early Sunday morning Percival forced her to have oral sex with him and threatened to kill her if she told anyone. Another recruit, a friend of the first alleged victim, said that Percival had asked her to show him her breasts and give him oral sex when she visited the recruiting office he worked at." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMarine recruiter ‘sexually assaulted two teen recruits’ at his office and home where he lives with wife and two children

US Stem Cell Company Heads to Mexico After FDA Reprimand

"The attack on stem cell research has driven at least one regenerative medicine company to seek friendlier climes south of the border. Six months after the federal government forced it to stop its treatments, the Houston-based Celltex Therapeutics moved its operations to Mexico to avoid the long arm of the law. In moving to Mexico, Celltex enters a country where stem cell research is not as heavily regulated as in the U.S, though a facility is required to have an International Health Department Permit (COFEPRIS). The permit allocates the use of stem-cell types beyond those in the U.S." Continue reading →

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Report details ‘callous’ lack of sexual assault investigation by D.C. police

"Victims of sexual assault in Washington DC too often endure 'callous and traumatising' treatment from the police while attacks are dismissed on the spot and never investigated, according to a bombshell report. More than 40% of reviewed cases of sexual assault reported to the police by the city’s central hospital, after victims received forensic examinations, 'appear never to have been investigated' or even documented by the MPD, today’s report says." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReport details ‘callous’ lack of sexual assault investigation by D.C. police

Hey Australia, How’s That Gun Ban Working?

"Young men are arming themselves with illegal guns to fight petty disputes in a trend that is alarming police and has placed Sydney in the midst of another spike in public shootings. The acting Police Commissioner, Nick Kaldas, has pleaded with young men to ''think about your family and loved ones and what this means'' after a spate of fatal and drive-by shootings already this year. Three men have been shot in Sydney since Sunday afternoon, including a 24-year-old father, Joshua George, who died from a single wound to the chest after a disagreement at a party the night before." Continue reading →

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Pentagon Needs Battle Plan for Troop-Suicide Threat

"The Pentagon said this week there were 349 suicides by active-duty members of the armed services in 2012, as opposed to 311 combat deaths. Before you jump to conclusions about the plight of battle- traumatized veterans failing to readjust to life stateside, consider this astounding fact: More than half of troops who killed themselves had never deployed from the U.S., and 85 percent never saw combat." Continue reading →

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Argentine ‘superhero’ facing weapons charges

"A self-styled Buenos Aires superhero who fought crime armed only with a costume, mask and pepper spray, is now himself up on weapons charges. Thanks to an alleged shootout with muggers the superhero has been charged with carrying an unlicensed gun, police said Wednesday. The man who called himself Menganno — Spanish for Joe Blow — and became famous in Argentine media is actually one Oscar Lefosse, 43, a former cop who served from 1986 to 1996. It turns out his gun license expired a year ago." Continue reading →

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