Useful Idiots

Bill Bonner: Should Larry Summers replace Ben Bernanke?

"What sets Summers apart is his readiness to make mistakes on a colossal scale, with other people's money. But as far as we can see that gives him all the qualifications you need to be America's top banker. A high IQ moron is just what you need for this kind of work. You have to be smart enough to talk the talk, pretending that you know what you're talking about. But you have to be stupid enough to believe it. You must think you really can improve the financial decisions of 310 million people. And you have to be arrogant enough contradict all of them...putting your own asinine plans into action even though they will almost certainly bankrupt the entire nation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Should Larry Summers replace Ben Bernanke?

Bernanke: I’m Clueless About Gold

"Chmn. Bernanke: When we buy securities from a private citizen, we create a deposit in their bank, and it shows up as reserves. So if you look up our balance sheet, our balance sheet balances. We have Treasury securities on the asset side. On the liability side we have either cash or reserves at banks, and on the margin that’s what has been building up as excess reserves at banks. Rep. Rothfus: You create the reserves? Chmn. Bernanke: Yes. Rep. Rothfus: Is that printing money? Chmn. Bernanke: Not literally." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBernanke: I’m Clueless About Gold

$92 quadrillion: PayPal accidentally makes man a quadrillionaire

"Since the brief blunder, Reynolds, who works at the PR firm he co-founded with his wife (Reynolds Ink), says he has had some time to think about what he would have done with $92 quadrillion. The first thing he would have spent the money on was not a sports car, a vacation home, or even an early retirement. 'I’d want to pay down the US’ national debt. That’s been really bugging me,' Reynolds says." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$92 quadrillion: PayPal accidentally makes man a quadrillionaire

New studies: ‘Conspiracy theorists’ sane; government dupes crazy, hostile

"Perhaps because their supposedly mainstream views no longer represent the majority, the anti-conspiracy commenters often displayed anger and hostility: 'The research… showed that people who favoured the official account of 9/11 were generally more hostile when trying to persuade their rivals.' In short, the new study by Wood and Douglas suggests that the negative stereotype of the conspiracy theorist - a hostile fanatic wedded to the truth of his own fringe theory - accurately describes the people who defend the official account of 9/11, not those who dispute it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew studies: ‘Conspiracy theorists’ sane; government dupes crazy, hostile

Zimmerman protesters raid LA store, stop freeway

"More than 300 officers were called to the scene and were at first slow to directly engage protesters in an attempt to allow a peaceful end to the demonstration. A smaller group of between 100 and 150 people splintered off and began blocking traffic on nearby Crenshaw Boulevard, some of them jumping on cars and breaking windows at liquor stores and fast food outlets. Several protesters ran into a Wal-Mart store, where they knocked down displays before store security chased them out, and police began guarding the door. TV news helicopters showed some people kicking and punching others along the street, including two people sitting on a bus bench." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingZimmerman protesters raid LA store, stop freeway

Zimmerman protesters raid LA store, stop freeway

"More than 300 officers were called to the scene and were at first slow to directly engage protesters in an attempt to allow a peaceful end to the demonstration. A smaller group of between 100 and 150 people splintered off and began blocking traffic on nearby Crenshaw Boulevard, some of them jumping on cars and breaking windows at liquor stores and fast food outlets. Several protesters ran into a Wal-Mart store, where they knocked down displays before store security chased them out, and police began guarding the door. TV news helicopters showed some people kicking and punching others along the street, including two people sitting on a bus bench." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingZimmerman protesters raid LA store, stop freeway

Indian jewellers join government’s gold bar and coin ban

"In a bid to support the Indian government’s efforts, jewellery retailers have decided to join in and curb investment into the precious metal. Several prominent retailers like Gitanjali Gems, TBZ and Tanishq, are to voluntarily stop sales. All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation, which has more than 40,000 members, has said that over 85% of its members have agreed to the ban. The rest are slated to join over the weekend. 'The jewellery community has come together in supporting the country in times of crisis. We are happy to help with this voluntary action,' said Haresh Soni, chairman of the Federation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndian jewellers join government’s gold bar and coin ban

Paul Craig Roberts: Coup d’etat

"During my professional life it was Soviet Russia that persecuted truth tellers, while America gave them asylum and tried to protect them. Today it is Washington that persecutes those who speak the truth, and it is Russia that protects them. It is not the US that is damaged by Snowden’s revelations. It is the criminal elements in the US government that have pulled off a coup against democracy, the Constitution, and the American people who are damaged. It is the criminals who have seized power, not the American people, who are demanding Snowden’s scalp. The Obama Regime, like the Bush/Cheney Regime, has no legitimacy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Coup d’etat

Paul Rosenberg: 9 Plagues That Are Collapsing Capitalism

"Our marginally capitalist, partly-free market systems are approaching a massive collapse. Not because of what capitalism is, mind you, but because the powers that be have bastardized it. Capitalism can bear many distortions and abuses, but it is not indestructible. And, make no mistake, the ‘capitalist’ system we have today has been massively corrupted, so much so that it’s sagging under the load… and will continue to do so until the proverbial straw breaks its back." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Rosenberg: 9 Plagues That Are Collapsing Capitalism

Will bourbon help Kentucky swallow Obamacare?

"I took a longer look Wednesday at the extreme measures states are taking to get young people signed up for Obamacare programs. They tend to be taking on a regional flare: Oregon might do branded coffee cups, for example, whereas Seattle is looking at doing outreach at music festivals. It only makes sense, then, that Kentucky would be doing outreach at multiple bourbon festivals across the state. When I asked Kentucky spokeswoman for health reform Jill Midkiff where they might find young people, here’s what she e-mailed me back. That’s no fewer than three bourbon festivals on the Kentucky marketplace’s agenda. Drink up!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill bourbon help Kentucky swallow Obamacare?