3 Nov 2012
Charles Ferguson: "Standing Behind Every Great Con Artist Is Someone Like Glenn Hubbard"
Submitted by Charles Ferguson, Oscar-winning creator of Inside Job
Mitt Romney has a credibility problem. He changes his beliefs like laundry (abortion, medical insurance, whether Bin Laden was worth killing, attacking Iran), refuses to disclose his tax returns, and won't explain how he could possibly pay for the tax cuts he proposes. But there is another scandal in Romney's campaign
namely Glenn Hubbard,
Romney's chief economic advisor, who was chairman of the Council of
Economic Advisors under George W. Bush, and is now Dean of Columbia
Business School.
I interviewed Hubbard for my documentary film Inside Job, and analyzed his record again for my book Predator Nation. The film interview became famous because Hubbard blew his cool after I interrogated him about his conflicts of interest: "This isn't a deposition, sir. I was polite enough to give you time, foolishly I now see, but you have three more minutes. Give it your best shot." But the really important thing about Hubbard isn't his personality; it's that as an economist and an advisor, he is a total, unmitigated disaster.
First, Hubbard has an abysmal track record in economic policy, including the very issues that Romney has made the pillar of his presidential campaign. Second, like Romney, Hubbard refuses to disclose critical information about his income, conflicts of interest, and paid advocacy activities. Third, both in public statements and in my personal experience, Hubbard has been evasive, misleading, and even dishonest when discussing both policy issues and his own conflicts of interest. And last but not least, those conflicts of interest are huge: Hubbard has long advocated policies that Wall Street loves, often without disclosing that he is, in fact, highly paid by Wall Street.
Mitt Romney has a credibility problem. He changes his beliefs like laundry (abortion, medical insurance, whether Bin Laden was worth killing, attacking Iran), refuses to disclose his tax returns, and won't explain how he could possibly pay for the tax cuts he proposes. But there is another scandal in Romney's campaign
I interviewed Hubbard for my documentary film Inside Job, and analyzed his record again for my book Predator Nation. The film interview became famous because Hubbard blew his cool after I interrogated him about his conflicts of interest: "This isn't a deposition, sir. I was polite enough to give you time, foolishly I now see, but you have three more minutes. Give it your best shot." But the really important thing about Hubbard isn't his personality; it's that as an economist and an advisor, he is a total, unmitigated disaster.
First, Hubbard has an abysmal track record in economic policy, including the very issues that Romney has made the pillar of his presidential campaign. Second, like Romney, Hubbard refuses to disclose critical information about his income, conflicts of interest, and paid advocacy activities. Third, both in public statements and in my personal experience, Hubbard has been evasive, misleading, and even dishonest when discussing both policy issues and his own conflicts of interest. And last but not least, those conflicts of interest are huge: Hubbard has long advocated policies that Wall Street loves, often without disclosing that he is, in fact, highly paid by Wall Street.
Wall St. Vomitorium - Max Keiser with Nomi Prins
Israel, loser of any anti-Iran scenario: US intelligence analyst
Gordon Duff: For
the past three years, Israel has not only demanded sanctions but has
threatened to carry out a unilateral attack on Iran and has clearly used
every form of psychological warfare, false flag terrorism and deceit to
push the United States, France and NATO into an attack on Iran as
Israel’s proxies.
Now, with Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s statements this week, we are supposed to forget the whole thing. Israel was just joking.
Forget the mayhem that sanctions have caused Iraq, mind you, sanctions still in place although it is clearly admitted that there was no reason for them in the first place. Even rabid Zionist, Mitt Romney, is “back pedaling” on his debate threats like a marionette.
Obama is not much different, though intelligent enough not to officially announce that he is a dupe. The story lasted one day, Barak’s statement, as Netanyahu, who has railed about Iranian nuclear weapons being “days away” for 20 years, also knew enough to keep his mouth shut.
Israel now claims that they believe Iran is not building a nuclear weapon after all but plan to attack them anyway, perhaps some time next summer, depending on weather, holiday schedules and, perhaps, the results of the US presidential election.
The ECB Explains What A Ponzi Scheme Is; Awkward Silence Follows
Submitted by Tyler Durden: From the ECB's Virtual Currency Schemes, aka the "Bash Bitcoin Boondoggle" (p. 27):
* * *
And as an added bonus, here is the part in which the ECB appears to be so worried about BitCoin taking over as legitimate "legal tender" from the EUR (which the ECB's Coeure said two days ago is as "solid and longlasting as a diamond") it dedicated an entire report to bash the recently conceived electronic currency:
In an extreme case, virtual currencies could have a substitution effect on central bank money if they become widely accepted.
Third party insurance: America, you have a choice
Look again, however, because Americans do have a choice. For instance, consider what presidential candidates Gary Johnson (former Governor of New Mexico) of the Libertarian Party, and Jill Stein of the Green Party have to say.
Watch Monday evening’s second and final Third Party Presidential Debate from Washington DC, hosted by RT, where both these candidates will offer American voters real options; or at least different options from what political look-alikes Mitt and Barack are offering; “Oromney” and “Rombama” as some have dubbed them.
BENGHAZI - THIS WAS A UNITED STATES GUNRUNNING OPERATION TO AL QAIDA JIHADIS!
Former 20 year CIA veteran, Clare Lopez: “Jordan is targeted! Saudi Arabia is targeted!”Questions:
- Could the Obama Administration’s Fast and Furious gunrunning operation to the Mexican drug cartels be simply a dress rehearsal for a much larger gunrunning operation to al Qaida-linked and other Jihadist groups in Libya and, more ominously, Syria?
- Is the Obama Administration running guns into other Jihadist hot spots?
- Does the United States of America have troops in Jordan?
- Was Ambassador Stevens our operational officer in a gunrunning operation to al Qaida linked groups that had “gone wrong?”
- Did the Obama Administration set Stevens up and leave him (with former Navy Seals, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods and computer expert, Sean Smith) to die?
- Did President, Secretary Clinton, General Petraeus and others have fore-knowledge?
- Others?
- Who else knows now?
- Does Governor Romney know now?