statism

Peter Schiff: Detroit Broke City

"The good news is that the same forces that built Detroit could help turn it around. First off, Detroit needs to default on its debt. This means the bond holders and the citizenry will suffer. But after this painful process is complete, Detroit will have a few things going for it. It will boast abundantly cheap real estate and plenty of desperate workers. [..] Liberals would rather the unemployed stay that way rather than suffer the degradations of capitalism. So instead of such honest cures, look for Detroit to borrow its way out of the crisis while pretending to fix its chronic problems. If we laugh at their foolishness, we should all look in the mirror." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff: Detroit Broke City

Portuguese court orders rehiring of drunk ‘happy worker’ garbage collectors

"A Portuguese court has ordered a waste removal company to rehire an employee it fired for being drunk on his rounds and said tipsy trash men appear happier to members of the public. The appeals court in Porto, a northern city renowned for its port wines, also ordered the company to pay the man 14 months’ worth of back wages. The three judges ruled that the waste collector had not broken any rules on alcohol consumption at work because the firm had not written any. It also rejected the use of a blood alcohol test submitted as evidence without his permission." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPortuguese court orders rehiring of drunk ‘happy worker’ garbage collectors

Official refuses to resign after saying Japan should follow Nazis’ constitution overhaul

"'The German Weimar constitution changed, without being noticed, to the Nazi German constitution. Why don’t we learn from their tactics?' Days later, Aso insisted he had been misunderstood and that he was not praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s political prowess, but rather saying constitutional reform should be not be influenced by media criticism or animosity from Japan’s neighbours. Aso is known for his sometimes clumsy and uncomfortable remarks, including saying earlier this year that elderly people should 'hurry up and die' to avoid taxing the country’s medical system." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOfficial refuses to resign after saying Japan should follow Nazis’ constitution overhaul

Even when jobs return, Detroit’s workers fall short on skills

"Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr has a long list of things to fix in the city and among them is one that may sound surprising: there are not enough skilled workers to fill job openings as they become available. Seismic shifts in the local labor market have left many unskilled workers behind. Public-sector efforts at job training have shown scant results. After then-governor Jennifer Granholm established a $500 million job training program in 2007, roughly $100 million was spent in Detroit through 2010, but few got jobs because so few positions were available, said Jose Reyes, chief operating officer of the DESC job training agency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEven when jobs return, Detroit’s workers fall short on skills

Former IMF Chief Economist: Sadly, Too Big to Fail Is Not Over

"There are three issues: the powers of the Federal Reserve, the mandate of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the vulnerability of taxpayers when one or more large complex financial institutions fail. We have at least five such companies in the United States, all of which are intensely cross-border in their operations (in order of size, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley). The biggest and most leveraged financial companies in the United States today are all now bank-holding companies, with access to the discount window at the Fed, via their commercial banking subsidiaries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer IMF Chief Economist: Sadly, Too Big to Fail Is Not Over

The ‘new GDP’ methodology: What you need to know

"The Commerce Department has made changes to how it calculates gross domestic product, designed to have the data better reflect the so-called knowledge economy. The U.S. government adjusted data all the way back to 1929, and other countries have or are about to make similar changes to their data. At the same time, the government also went back and revised data for the past five years.What’s the upshot? The rate of growth hasn’t changed all that much, though there are big shifts in a few time periods. But the level of output is higher — $559.8 billion larger, with $526 billion of that amount due to definitional changes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe ‘new GDP’ methodology: What you need to know

Madonna and Lady Gaga accused of breaking Russian visa rules

"Russian officials are considering prosecution against Lady Gaga and Madonna after discovering they entered the country under incorrect paperwork. As any Moscow visitor will know, Russian immigration can be extremely complicated. But Gaga and Madonna's mistakes weren't just discovered by accident: prosecutors launched their investigation only after being contacted by one of the singers' most outspoken enemies. The man in question was Vitaly Milonov, who serves in St Petersburg's municipal legislature and authored St Petersburg's law banning gay 'propaganda'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMadonna and Lady Gaga accused of breaking Russian visa rules

Former Cops Speak Out About Police Militarization

"In the book, I interview lots of older and retired police officers, many of them with SWAT experience. I also cite other police chiefs and sheriffs over the years who have raised concerns about militarization. The divide among police on this issue isn't political. Instead, the divide appears to be more generational. Older and retired cops don't seem to like where policing is headed. Younger cops, who are nudging policing in a more militaristic direction, are naturally fine with it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer Cops Speak Out About Police Militarization

Al-Qaeda Backers Found With U.S. Contracts in Afghanistan

"Supporters of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan have been getting U.S. military contracts, and American officials are citing 'due process rights' as a reason not to cancel the agreements, according to an independent agency monitoring spending. The U.S. Army Suspension and Debarment Office has declined to act in 43 such cases, John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said today. 'I am deeply troubled that the U.S. military can pursue, attack, and even kill terrorists and their supporters, but that some in the U.S. government believe we cannot prevent these same people from receiving a government contract,' Sopko said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAl-Qaeda Backers Found With U.S. Contracts in Afghanistan

Exclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack

"Four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in the assault by armed militants last September 11 in eastern Libya. Sources now tell CNN dozens of people working for the CIA were on the ground that night, and that the agency is going to great lengths to make sure whatever it was doing, remains a secret. Since January, some CIA operatives involved in the agency's missions in Libya, have been subjected to frequent, even monthly polygraph examinations, according to a source with deep inside knowledge of the agency's workings. The goal of the questioning, according to sources, is to find out if anyone is talking to the media or Congress." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingExclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack