News Commentary

Bill Bonner: America’s faith-based economy

"Did Mary really ascend to Heaven on this day? Was she really a virgin? Did she really give birth to the son of God? You need faith to believe such things. Likewise, you need faith to believe that a piece of green paper is ‘money’. You are also supposed to believe that its managers will make sure this ‘money’ holds its purchasing power even as they do their damnedest to undermine it. But to believe that you need more than faith. You need a full frontal lobotomy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: America’s faith-based economy

U.S. 10 Year Bond Yields in Perspective (1790-Present)

"The move in the 10 year yields has led to all sorts of speculation as to the underlying cause. Since none of this is within our my control, all we can do is look at this from a longer term perspectives to put this into broader context. Three takeaways: 1) Bond Yields can be driven to extreme son the upside and on the downside. 2) It takes many years or decades to unwind a move like that 3) Rates could go appreciably higher if the 30 year bond bull market is over. Looking at yields from an historical perspective, there is still plenty of room for yields to rise if they simply 'normalize.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. 10 Year Bond Yields in Perspective (1790-Present)

Obama: Fool Me Thrice, Shame on Whom?

"The New York Times points out that Mr. Obama’s currently promised reforms are insubstantial, and simply 'tinker around the edges of the nation’s abusive surveillance programs.' The cynics among us might think President Obama’s promises to institute reforms for enhanced privacy protections for the American people are simply a response to recent opinion polls showing that Americans are, for the first time since 9/11, more concerned about civil liberties abuses than terrorism. There’s an old saying: 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.' So, do we believe the president now?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama: Fool Me Thrice, Shame on Whom?

The Eric Holder Memorandum on Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Explained

"In short, the Holder Memorandum directs prosecutors to prevent application of mandatory minimum sentences for a select group of less-culpable defendants. Isn't this A good thing? Yes, with a but. It's a good thing that the Jane Does of the world can be sentenced according to the judge's discretion and not according to mandatory minimum sentences. A lot of low-level, unsophisticated, and hapless mules and mopes and dupes will get far lower sentences, which is both just and less expensive for you, the taxpayer. But I'm not happy that the methodology for the change is a fairly dramatic expansion of prosecutorial discretion." Continue reading →

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Eric Margolis: Kicking Sand In Russia’s Face

"Imagine if the US increased its arms supplies to Syria’s rebels and imposed a no-fly zone, as Sen. John McCain urges. Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles down US warplanes. The US launches attacks on Russian AA units, then on Russian ships delivering arms to the Assad government. It’s not hard to see how a direct clash over Syria could put Russia and the US on their most perilous collision course since the Cuban missile crisis. Instead of dealing with this major threat, Obama, under blistering attack from Republicans over the deaths of three Americans in Benghazi, Libya, is offending Putin and indeed all Russians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Margolis: Kicking Sand In Russia’s Face

Repealing the Anti-gun ObamaCare Law

"Seventy-three percent of the American public don’t want to be straddled with the onerous requirements imposed by this law. To be sure, gun owners have opposed ObamaCare since its inception, given that a national health database could be used by federal bureaucrats to disarm millions of law-abiding Americans. The use of medical data has already been used to disarm gun owners in New York -- and has led to more than 150,000 military veterans losing their gun rights for ailments such as PTSD. Well now, Congress has a wonderful opportunity to do away with this law." Continue reading →

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The Fox (Monsanto) Buys the Chicken Coop (Beeologics)

"Why would one of the largest purveyors of pesticides, genetically engineered seeds and agrochemicals want to buy a company which has been seeking solutions to the escalating threats to the world bee population? The root of the problem, however, may not be the virus targeted by Remembee, but the herbicides and insecticides that agro-chemical giants like Monsanto, Dow and Bayer have themselves been hawking to farmers around the world. This is the conclusion of three recent studies which implicate a class of pesticides known as 'neonics' which coat a massive 142 million acres of corn, wheat, soy and cotton seeds in the U.S. alone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Fox (Monsanto) Buys the Chicken Coop (Beeologics)

How Your Boss’ Prying Eyes Could Land You a Visit from the Feds

"By some estimates, more than two-thirds of company-provided computers in the U.S. are monitored by employers. If you work for such a firm, every email you send, every cute and crazy cat video you watch on YouTube, and every Google search you make is tracked, catalogued, and archived somewhere in the system. Sometimes, that can lead to unwanted consequences, as it did for New Yorkers Michelle Catalano and her husband a couple weeks ago: a visit from the Suffolk County, New York, 'Joint Terrorism Task Force.'" Continue reading →

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Scotland’s year of decision

"The summer of 2014 will be overshadowed by the imminence of the referendum in September on Scottish independence, ending the Act of Union with England that has lasted since 1707. Since Scotland has long been a heartland of the Labor Party and of the left, Scottish independence could portend something close to permanent conservative rule in England. It would also be a great boost for regional independence movements elsewhere: in Spain's Basque country and Catalonia, or for the Flemings of Belgium or the Corsicans of France. It is an irony of this age of globalization is seeing such a resurgence of traditional sentiments of nationhood." Continue reading →

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Not Speedy + Not Public = Not Legal

"Colonel Denise Lind, 'judge' of the court martial of PFC Bradley Manning, infamously and illegally ruled that the US government could proceed with its show trial despite the fact that it had held Manning for more than four times the absolute legal maximum time prior to arraigning him. Then she infamously and illegally ruled that the government could change the charges and introduce new witnesses after both prosecution and defense had rested. Now, she has infamously and illegally overruled the defense’s objections to the use of illegal secret testimony against Manning. Question: If Manning isn’t allowed to violate the law, why is Lind?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNot Speedy + Not Public = Not Legal