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Date Sent: 2009-09-02
Freedom's Phoenix Global Edition for Wednesday, September 2, 2009 PM edition |
Canadians Halt Options Trading With California Residents Due To Unpaid Bills
298,000 Jobs Shed in August, ADP Says -- China villagers riot over
polluting plant -- The Undead of the Banking World- by Bill Bonner -- Obama Gives Billions in Loans to Oil Drilling Owned By Dem’s Biggest Contributor! -- Reporters Recount Arrest by North Korea -- Obama speaks to public school kids nationwide Tuesday -- The Expensive Home Buyer Tax Credit -- Call for Fixed-Price Stimulus Contracts Lost on Federal Agencies -- Stimulus Lobbying Disclosure Promise Still Not Fulfilled -- Martin Gross: Obama Leading U.S. to Fiscal 'Suicide' -- Cash 4 Clunkers Was Another Government Failure -- Congresswoman Giffords To Host Community Forum On BP Checkpoint Study
AZ: Take Action this September for the victims and fallen hero's of 9/11 this Saturday
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News Link • Economy - Economics USA
Canadians Halt Options Trading With California Residents Due To Unpaid Bills
09-02-2009
•
Zero Hedge
This is what happens when you live in a bankrupt state: one by one the big exchanges stop trading with you.
Please be advised that there has been an unforeseen delay in renewing CDCC’s annual application with the State of California.
Due to this delay, CDCC options may not at this time and until further notice be sold or offered for sale in the state of California and to California residents until the annual application process is completed.
How does one now buy December $0 Puts on Sacramento? Perhaps Arnie can do another garage sale and pay up before the NYSE and NASDAQ follow suit and block all equity trading for Californians.
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News Link • Obama Administration
Bush's Third Term? You're Living It
09-02-2009
•
Huffington Post
If Bush were still "the decider" he'd be employing mercenaries like Blackwater and propagandists like the Rendon Group and he might even be expanding the number of private security contractors in Afghanistan. In fact, the whole executive branch would be packed with disreputable corporate executive types. You'd have somebody like John ("May I torture this one some more, please?") Rizzo still serving, at least for a while, as general counsel at the CIA. The White House and Justice Department would be crawling with corporate cronies, people like John Brennan, Greg Craig, James Jones, and Eric Holder. Most of the top prosecutors hired at the Department of Justice for political purposes would still be on the job. And political prisoners, like former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and former top Democratic donor Paul Minor would still be abandoned to their fate.
In addition, the bank bailouts Bush and his economic team initiated in his second term would still b
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News Link • Federal Reserve
Fed minutes: officials saw recession's end in Aug.
09-02-2009
•
Business Week
LMAO sure does not look that way!
With the economy on the mend, Federal Reserve policymakers last month felt comfortable slowing the pace of one of its economic revival programs and not changing any others, according to documents released Wednesday.
Minutes of the central bank's closed door deliberations, held Aug. 11-12, also showed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues striking a much more hopeful note about the economy's prospects compared with an assessment made in late June. Many Fed officials saw "smaller downside risks," the documents stated.
Fed officials expected the pace of the recovery to "pick up" in 2010, but there was a range of views -- and considerable uncertainty -- about the likely strength of the upturn because of concerns about how consumers will behave.
After being pounded by the recession, consumer spending finally appeared to be leveling out, the housing market was firming and manufacturing was stabilizing, the Fed
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News Link • Economy - Economics USA
298,000 Jobs Shed in August, ADP Says
09-02-2009
•
Business Week
Private non-farm employers cut 298,000 jobs in August, according to estimates by payroll company ADP, a figure that disappointed analysts’ expectations but still showed a gradual easing of job losses.
Businesses with fewer than 50 employees lost 122,000 jobs in August, the smallest decline since September 2008, according to the report. Mid-size businesses (with between 50 and 500 employees) lost 116,000 jobs, and large companies lost 60,000. While that sounds like small businesses bear the brunt of job losses, it’s less severe when you consider that they account for a larger share of employment, says Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, which developed the report.
Monthly job losses will continue to diminish for several months before employment hits bottom around the end of this year, Prakken says. He expects positive employment growth in 2010. The total 298,000 jobs lost was more severe than analysts’ expectations of around 250,000 but not so far off that it’s stati
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News Link • Federal Reserve
Federal Reserve News
09-02-2009
•
BlueLoriBlogSpot
Federal Reserve Audit News! I see it as a good sign that more and more people are writing about the the problem. I came across so many good ones I wanted to share them. Here are the latest articles.
From Right Wing News...
Why Not Audit The Fed?
From the Examiner...
Ron Paul takes on the Federal Reserve with HR 1207
From Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington...
CREW FILES SECOND FOIA REQUEST WITH FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD OVER REFUSAL TO NAME RECIPIENTS OF $2.2 TRILLION IN AID
From Organized Exploitation...
Refuting "Economic Suicide"
From
ProPublica...
Obama Administration Redacts Contract Details for Recovery.gov
From
Zero Hedge...
Fed Will Now Monetize The Most Recently Issued Agencies
And last but not least a little educational material from
American Banking News...
Learn about the Nation’s Central Bank: Federal Reserve Books
BONUS READ- What Would the United States Look Like Without the Federal Reserve?
We a
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News Link • Federal Reserve
Head Of China Sovereign Wealth Fund Openly Admits Asset Bubble Addressed By Creation Of More Bubbles
09-02-2009
•
Zero Hedge
In a phenomenal demonstration of frankness and true economic assessment, the head of the China Investment Council, Lou Jiwei, who controls China's $298 billion sovereign wealth fund, admits the ponzi nature of today's markets:
Both China and America are addressing bubbles by creating more bubbles and we're just taking advantage of that. So we can't lose.
Indeed, they can't lose thanks to the criminal silence on behalf of Mr. Jiwei's US financial counterparties. It doesn't get any simpler than that folks. Keep in mind Madoff was thrown in jail for a few hundred years for much less: what's $55 billion when you are dealing with a $20 trillion+ global equity market Ponzi scheme. And yet both China and the US continue their struggle to perpetuate a Ponzi, with the full implicit backing of all financial, regulatory and legal authorities. The system is now officially broken, even ignoring the conspiratorial ramblings of fringe bloggers.
And as for who, a
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News Link • Economy - Economics USA
McStupid: Mortgage Banker's Association
09-02-2009
•
The Market Ticker
VIDEO...
Do those three things and even in severe recessions you don't have a major problem with defaults. You also don't get speculative property bubbles because as soon as prices try to rise above affordable maximums for the income in a given area the supply of buyers who can meet the ratios disappear.
Enact this into the law with a provision that any loan found to be funded outside of these ratios is deemed predatory and subject to rescission and the problem is solved.
Anything else is subject to being gamed and is simply an attempt to steal - again - from the taxpayers.
These lobbying and "trade" organizations need to be recognized as what they are - a blatant device to game regulatory processes for the purpose of foisting off risk to the taxpayer while pocketing as much money as is possible for private interests.
STOP THE LOOTING.
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News Link • Arizona's Top News
AZ AG Terry Goddard Goes After Captain Joel Fox and the SCA Money
09-02-2009
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Phoenix News Times
When Fox refused to give up the SCA's donor list, the state GOP
was forced to return the money. But it didn't end there. Facing a huge
fine from the county, Fox eventually revealed that a half-dozen of the
sheriff's top command staff had donated to the fund, including Chief Deputy David Hendershott.
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Powell Gammill
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News Link • Corruption
Activist Releases Archive of Suppressed News Videos!
01-09-2009
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corbett report . com
In a move sure to send shockwaves through the online activist community, Jonathon Elinoff"activist, researcher, and the filmmaker behind the Core of Corruption documentary series"has released a video archive of dozens of network news broadcasts detailing controversial and suppressed news stories.
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Charles Gillespie
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News Link • Freedom's Phoenix
Anti-Vaccine Ron Paul Insaniacs (aka, "Ronulans") Rousted by Phoenix PD, and Man Could I C
09-02-2009
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Phoenix New Times
[this from the writer:] I checked the Phoenix municipal code, and Section 3-6 may apply, as it
prohibits "the distribution of posters, cards, signs, handbills,
placards and other notices generally." But like I say, I'm
pro-graffiti, so even if there is a law that applies, the issue
becomes how to not get caught. Like many a goofy ofay, the goofy ofays
in this video wanna argue with the coppers. And that's after the bulls
wanna cut 'em loose!
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Powell Gammill
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News Link • Government
Obama Gives Billions in Loans to Oil Drilling Owned By Dem’s Biggest Contributor!
August, 2009
•
Flopping Aces
George Soros (Obama's Puppet Master) 29th richest person in the world (Forbes) 1988 felony conviction in France for insider trading; Former member of the Council on Foreign Relations, former member of the Carlyle Group, & made 1.1 Billion last year during the financial crisis. His official job is American Currency Speculator. In 1997 the Malaysian Prime Minister accused him for the Asian Financial Crisis. Powerful guy and he's been supporting Obama since he was a young senator. Now check out how Obama's policies are now making this guy even more money.
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Charles Gillespie
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News Link • Surveillance
We don't need no indoctrination (Sung to Pink Floyd)
09-02-2009
•
BlueLoriBlogSpot
This is the first time an American president has spoken directly to the nation's school children.
Description
President Obama’s Address to Students Across America September 8, 2009 PreK-6 Menu of Classroom Activities: President Obama’s Address to Students Across America Produced by Teaching Ambassador Fellows, U.S. Department of Education September 8, 2009 Before the Speech: • Teachers can build background knowledge about the President of the United States and his speech by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama and motivate students by asking the following questions: Who is the President of the United States? What do you think it takes to be President? To whom do you think the President is going to be speaking? Why do you think he wants to speak to you? What do you think he will say to you? • Teachers can ask students to imagine being the President delivering a speech to all of the students in the United States. What would you tell students? What can students do to help
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News Link • TAXES: Federal
The Expensive Home Buyer Tax Credit
09-02-2009
•
Wall St. Pit
One of the more interesting numbers to come out yesterday was the cost per marginal homeowner of the $8000 first time homebuyer tax credit. It’s a rather astounding $43,000. That’s what it costs to lure those that wouldn’t have bought into the market.With regards to the tax credit, what really matters is the cost per additional home sold. And as I pointed out earlier today, even using the NAR numbers, the cost per additional home sold is $43.4 thousand.
Here is the math: 1.9 million buyers qualify for the credit (the NAR estimates between 1.8 and 2.0 million) = $15.2 billion.
The NAR estimates the tax credit resulted in 350 thousand additional purchases. So divide $15.2 billion by 350 thousand = $43,000 per additional home. And the numbers will get worse if the program is extended.
This is not a trivial point as what’s at stake here is once again a government program that picks winners and then uses the fisc to subsidize those so chosen. The goal of jump starting a particularly impo
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News Link • Drug War
Quarter Of All US Presidents Used Cannabis
09-02-2009
•
Current
From George Washington to Barack Obama, over the course of the United States' history no less than eleven Presidents grew and/or used cannabis (hemp and marijuana).
For these Presidents (to be) cannabis filled economical purposes (as was the case with many of the Founding Fathers), medical purposes (JFK) and cannabis was used as an agent for personal pleasure (Lincoln and Obama).
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News Link • Science, Medicine and Technology
Nuclear Mass Production
09-02-2009
•
arclein
A smaller scale, economically efficient nuclear reactor that could be mass-assembled in factories and supply power for a medium-size city or military base has been designed by Sandia National Laboratories. The exportable, proliferation-resistant “right-sized reactor” was conceived by a Sandia research team led by Tom Sanders.
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robert klein
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News Link • Surveillance
Obamas secret plan
09-02-2009
•
BlueLoriBlogSpot
NLPC has uncovered a plan by the White House New Media operation to hire a technology vendor to conduct a massive, secret effort to harvest personal information on millions of Americans from social networking websites.
The information to be captured includes comments, tag lines, emails, audio, and video. The targeted sites include Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and others " any space where the White House “maintains a presence.”
In the course of investigating procurement by the White House New Media office, NLPC discovered a 51-page solicitation of bids that was filed on Friday, August 21, 2009. Filed as Solicitation # WHO-S-09-0003, it is posted at FedBizzOps.com. Click here to download a 51-page pdf of the solicitation.
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News Link • Obama Administration
Call for Fixed-Price Stimulus Contracts Lost on Federal Agencies
09-02-2009
•
ProPublica
Today’s roundup of stimulus coverage:
More than half of all stimulus contracts awarded so far are “cost-type” contracts, even though the administration told federal agencies in February to aggressively avoid this type of risky agreement, Government Executive reports. Of the $10.18 billion in stimulus contracts obligated as of Aug. 28, 53 percent are cost-type contracts, in which the government commits to reimburse the contractor for allowable costs. Language in the Recovery Act directs agencies to utilize fixed-price contracts (in which the contractor assumes the bulk of the risk for running over cost) “to the maximum extent possible.”
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News Link • Obama Administration
Stimulus Lobbying Disclosure Promise Still Not Fulfilled
09-02-2009
•
ProPublica
To curb the lobbying feeding frenzy surrounding the nearly $800 billion stimulus package, in March the Obama administration imposed unprecedented restrictions on lobbyists: All lobbyist communications regarding specific projects were to be submitted in writing, and general conversations between government officials and lobbyists about stimulus policies had to be noted in disclosures posted online.
We decided to track this promise with a clock"so far it’s at 94 days and counting"and there is no sign it will be stopping any time soon.
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News Link • Federal Reserve
Fed Will Now Monetize The Most Recently Issued Agencies
09-02-2009
•
Zero Hedge
The Federal Reserve announced earlier a shift in its strategy in purchasing Agency debt, whereby it would purchase almost exclusively the most recently issued Agency paper:
Prior to August 31, 2009, purchases were focused on off-the-run securities in that category. Going forward, purchases will include on-the-run securities in that category. This change represents a technical adjustment designed to mitigate market dislocations and to promote overall market functioning. Over the course of the program, the Federal Reserve may change the scope of purchasable securities.
"Overall market function" is a wonderful euphemism for attaining a sufficiently high stock price for commercial banks so that when the FASB requires off-balance sheet items to be reincorporated on their respective balance sheets at the end of the year, we don't have another massive bank raid once every single emperor's clothes are proven to be non existent as Tier 1 Capital Ratios start collapsing l
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News Link • Federal Reserve
The 19th-Century Bernanke
09-02-2009
•
Mises Institute
Like Ben Bernanke today, Nicholas Biddle cultivated the veneer of a benign civil servant calculating serenely far above the political fray. In reality he, like Bernanke, was up to his neck in the backroom game of power.
When Biddle's bureaucratic cradle was rocked, he quickly morphed into a Machiavellian monster. Keep that in mind as Ben Bernanke gets progressively cornered by Ron Paul and the bourgeoning anti-Fed movement. (Already the Fed is less popular than the IRS.)
When you hear about the Federal Reserve Transparency Act getting stalled in committee, think of Daniel Webster, bought and paid for with central bank money. When you read Fed apologia in the New York Times, The Economist, and the Wall Street Journal denouncing the "reckless populism" of the Act, think of the newspaper editors in Biddle's pocket
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News Link • Federal Reserve
Pounding the table for the "New Normal"
09-02-2009
•
The Mess That Greenspan Made
Boy, they really know how to stay "on message" over there at Pimco, their efforts to lower expectations for one of the most powerful stock market rallies in history perhaps beginning to bear fruit today as equities are not off to a very good start in September.
He goes on to talk about how the New Normal relates to a new climate for investors recommending that we should all "shake hands with government policies", something Pimco has been quite proficient at over the last couple years.
Related http://www.allianzinvestors.com/commentary/mgr_billGross09012009.jsp
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News Link • Obama Administration
Martin Gross: Obama Leading U.S. to Fiscal 'Suicide'
09-02-2009
•
Newsmax
Social scientist and New York Times best-selling author Martin L. Gross tells Newsmax that the U.S. is heading for "national suicide" due to overspending and high taxes.
Gross has testified before six Congressional committees on government inefficiency and is the author of the new book "National Suicide: How Washington Is Destroying the American Dream from A to Z."
Gross told Newsmax.TV's Kathleen Walter about the basic premise of his book.
See Video: Martin Gross talks about the dangerous combination of high taxes and overspending leading to “National Suicide” - Click Here Now
"The federal government's major evil is basically its size and the politicians who run it ineffectively," said Gross, who has also been a syndicated newspaper columnist.
"Now the Democrats have moved ahead in spending so vigorously and so aggressively that we're leaning toward national suicide.
"The administration of the government is pitiful.
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News Link •
It's Confirmed: Cash 4 Clunkers Was Another Government Failure
09-02-2009
•
The Golden Truth
Auto sales for August were released today. Overall, the SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of sales) was boosted for the month of August, although it fell well below expectations. Goldman Sachs had been forecasting SAAR for August would be 15.5% - it came in at 13.7 million (this is the annualized rate of sales based on actual sales for the month). Worse yet, the numbers for the domestic producers, Ford, GM and Chrysler, fell way below expectations. Ford's sales rose 17% in August vs. 2008, but a 38% rise was anticipated. GM's sales dropped 20% from a year ago and Chrysler's fell 15%.
How did this happen? Here's the top-10 cars sold by brand, according to Edmunds.com: 1) Toyota Corolla 2) Honda Civic 3) Ford Focus 4) Toyota Camry 5) Toyota Prius 6) Hyundai Elantra 7) Ford Escape 8) Honda Fit 9) Nissan Versa 10) Honda CR-V
You can see the problem here. U.S. taxpayers largely subsidized the new car sales of Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Nissan. And no
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News Link • Government
Industry Seeks Fannie, Freddie Overhaul
09-02-2009
•
WSJ
A mortgage-industry trade group is calling for Congress to transform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into several smaller privately held companies that would issue mortgage securities carrying an explicit government guarantee.
The proposed framework, to be released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association, would give successor entities to Fannie and Freddie the authority to create securities backed by certain types of mortgages. The new companies would guarantee the securities against defaults on the underlying mortgages.
Some foreign investors in China and elsewhere lost confidence in that fuzzy implied guarantee last year and reduced their holdings of the companies' debt, though the U.S. government has propped up Fannie and Freddie with capital infusions.
"If we're going to restore and maintain investor confidence and...consistent liquidity, that is going to require an explicit backstop," said John Courson, chief executive and president of the MBA.
Shares
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