News Commentary

Juan Cole: Top Ten Ways US TV News are Screwing us Again on NSA Surveillance Story (Iraq Redux)

"US television news is a danger to the security of the United States. First, it is so oriented to ratings that it cannot afford to do unpopular reports. Second, it is so oriented toward the halls of power inside the Beltway that it is unable to examine government allegations critically. US television news was an unrelieved cheering section for the launching of the illegal and disastrous Iraq War. Now, corporate television news is repeating this shameful performance with regard to the revelations by Edward Snowden of massive, unconstitutional government surveillance of Americans’ electronic communications. The full failure to do proper journalism was on display on Sunday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJuan Cole: Top Ten Ways US TV News are Screwing us Again on NSA Surveillance Story (Iraq Redux)

Gold: Dead Cat Or Raging Bull?

"Gold prices are falling, but gold sales are going through the roof – what is the real truth behind these puzzling developments? Is the gold bull market dead, or is the best yet to come? And what are the implications for investors today? TheStreet has partnered with Casey Research to answer these questions – and more – in an exclusive video event focused on the gold debate that's raging across investment communities worldwide." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold: Dead Cat Or Raging Bull?

Is Central Banking Scientific?

"The portrayal of central banking in these sorts of articles is sterile and scientific. You wouldn't know, for instance, that the men who created the plan for the Federal Reserve dressed up in costumes so they wouldn't be found out when traveling down to Jekyll Island for the confab that led to the final proposal. And you certainly wouldn't know of the relationships between them and others in Europe that were backing this sort of plan. The idea that the framers of the Federal Reserve Act would be shocked at the way it turned out is specious. It didn't take but a decade and those empowered by the Act were conspiring with the British to devalue the dollar and prop up the pound." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs Central Banking Scientific?

Ron Paul: What We Have Learned From Afghanistan

"Last week the Taliban opened an office in Doha, Qatar with the US government's blessing. They raised the Taliban flag at the opening ceremony and referred to Afghanistan as the 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' − the name they used when they were in charge before the US attack in 2001. For years many of us had argued the need to get out of Afghanistan. We cannot leave, we were told for all those years. If we leave Afghanistan now, the Taliban will come back! Well, guess what? After 12 years, trillions of dollars, more than 2,200 Americans killed and perhaps more than 50,000 dead Afghan civilians and fighters, the Taliban is coming back anyway!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: What We Have Learned From Afghanistan

Edward Snowden – A Real American Hero

"When you make a mistake, usually there is a negative feedback loop, which lets you know you're headed in the wrong direction. You borrow too much money, for example, and your creditors begin trailing you with court orders or baseball bats. But in a major public policy disaster, the feedback loop is twisted. The feds spend too much money, for example... and give the bill to the next generation. The poor youngsters can't vote. Many are not even born yet. A police state is a disaster. It has its own ways of bending the feedback loop. Every public policy disaster produces zombies. And armed zombies protect themselves... with arms, naturally." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden – A Real American Hero

Bill Bonner: An Important Lesson from Tony Soprano

"Whew! The Fed is number one in central banking. And it's finding out just how tough it can be to meddle with a $16 trillion economy. On Wednesday, Ben Bernanke came out with a public statement. He said that if all went well... and he didn't change his mind... and nothing unexpected came up...and the Fed's Open Market Committee felt like it... the Fed would begin tapering its bond buying sometime soon. That was all it took to send a shiver up investors' spines... and a sell signal to Wall Street. Everything sold off – stocks, bonds, commodities, gold... you name it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: An Important Lesson from Tony Soprano

Paul Craig Roberts: Stasi In The White House

"On June 19, 2013, US President Obama, hoping to raise himself above the developing National Security Agency (NSA) spy scandals, sought to associate himself with two iconic speeches made at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Fifty years ago, President John F. Kennedy pledged: 'Ich bin ein Berliner'. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan challenged: 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.' Obama’s speech was delivered to a relatively small, specially selected audience of invitees. Even so, Obama spoke from behind bullet proof glass. Obama’s speech will go down in history as the most hypocritical of all time. Little wonder that the audience was there by invitation only." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Stasi In The White House

Here’s Why Bernanke is Clueless…

"The only place to hide last week was in cash – all thanks to the Fed. Last Wednesday, it updated its forecast, saying it expects economic growth to improve. If its forecast is correct, the Fed expects to conclude its bond purchase program, known as QE, by mid-2014. But there’s a big problem with the Fed’s forecast… The Fed basically said it will end its bond purchase program if its economic forecast becomes a reality. The market is reacting as if the Fed will be right this time. That’s a huge assumption to make because the Fed’s forecast is almost always wrong." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHere’s Why Bernanke is Clueless…

The Wrong and Right Way to Buy Gold, Part III

"If you do put most or all of your money in all at once, when the time does come to back up the truck and buy in big amounts, you’re going to be gun shy. You’re going to miss one of the best chances in a couple of decades to snap up bargain prices — not only for gold, but also for silver and other precious metals … not only for bullion, but also for shares … not only with long-term, buy-and-hold approaches, but more importantly, for major trading opportunities. As I said before and I’ll say again, that’s the wrong way to buy gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Wrong and Right Way to Buy Gold, Part III

Edward Snowden vs. the Sovietization of America

"The Washington know-it-alls have a solution to this dilemma: keep everything secret. So that even the law is itself a secret – or, at least, the government’s interpretation of it is kept under lock and key. Everything else about the mechanics of our emerging police state is also a secret: the internet companies forced to turn over their customers’ private accounts to government snoops are forbidden by law from saying anything about their interactions with Washington. They cannot tell a customer 'The government forced us to turn over your records.' If they choose to fight in court, they cannot publicize their fight. It is a mugging that happens in the dark." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden vs. the Sovietization of America