19 Jul 2013
Murder of pro-Syrian figure in Lebanon - tide turning against Zionism + FSA Place Food Embargo on West Aleppo - Interview with an Aleppen
Verdict Is In: “The Bankster Lobby Is Simply Too Strong To Allow It To Happen”
By Wolf Richter: “A culture of dangerous greed and excessive risk-taking has taken
root in the banking world” since the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in
1999, said
Senator John McCain last week when he supported Senator Elizabeth
Warren in pitching legislation they’d baptized the “21st Century
Glass-Steagall Act.” Senator Warren told Wall Street, where failure has
been rewarded with bailouts and record bonuses, that “Banking should be
boring.”
Wall Street must have gotten the willies. But it was a quixotic
moment for two senators from the opposite sides of the aisle to stand up
to the banking lobby.“Big Wall Street institutions should be free to engage in transactions with significant risk,” Senator McCain explained – such as “investment banking, insurance, swaps dealing, and hedge fund activities,” Senator Warren clarified – “but not with federally insured deposits.” While the legislation “would not end Too-Big-to-Fail,” he said, “it would rebuild the wall between commercial and investment banking that was in place for over 60 years, restore confidence in the system, and reduce risk for the American taxpayer.”
Senator McCain isn’t quite the immaculate soul in this discussion: in 2008, as presidential candidate, he – along with his opponent Barak Obama – strongly supported TARP and the whole principle that these megabanksters must be bailed out at taxpayers’ expense.
The US overcriminalization problem: Congressional Research Service can’t even list all federal crimes
By Madison Ruppert: Have you ever thought about the number of acts which your
government has defined as criminal? Even if you have, the number is
probably larger than you think.
The federal government’s approach to criminalizing just about everything reminds me of how that same entity contends that just about everything is an indicator of potential terrorist activity. Similarly, public schools have turned typical childhood behavior into a punishable offense.
The problem of overcriminalization has now spread beyond the unknown number of offenses outlined in the federal criminal code into your local school, homeland security agencies and more.
Indeed, the number is so incredibly massive, that the Congressional Research Service told a congressional task force that they simply did not have the manpower and resources required to create a tally of all criminal offenses outlined in the federal criminal code.
The federal government’s approach to criminalizing just about everything reminds me of how that same entity contends that just about everything is an indicator of potential terrorist activity. Similarly, public schools have turned typical childhood behavior into a punishable offense.
The problem of overcriminalization has now spread beyond the unknown number of offenses outlined in the federal criminal code into your local school, homeland security agencies and more.
Indeed, the number is so incredibly massive, that the Congressional Research Service told a congressional task force that they simply did not have the manpower and resources required to create a tally of all criminal offenses outlined in the federal criminal code.
"I'm a Daddy and I Know it"
European Parliament may call on Snowden, NSA chief and Glenn Greenwald to testify about NSA spying
By Madison Ruppert: With the European Parliament getting prepared to launch an investigation into the massive National Security Agency surveillance programs, whistleblower Edward Snowden, NSA chief Gen. Keith Alexander and journalist Glenn Greenwald may be called to testify.
The series of hearings on the recently revealed NSA surveillance programs is slated to begin in September, which was established after the agency’s global spying efforts were revealed in June.
The fallout in Europe has been quite significant, though Britain and Sweden blocked an attempt to engage in wide-ranging talks on espionage and intelligence between the European Union and the United States earlier this month.
In addition to harsh criticism from government officials in Europe in the wake of reports indicating that the US spied on EU diplomats, a European student group has filed complaints in multiple countries over the NSA’s surveillance.
The outcry in Germany has been especially loud after it was reported late last month that the US collects metadata on a half-billion German phone calls and emails.
The series of hearings on the recently revealed NSA surveillance programs is slated to begin in September, which was established after the agency’s global spying efforts were revealed in June.The fallout in Europe has been quite significant, though Britain and Sweden blocked an attempt to engage in wide-ranging talks on espionage and intelligence between the European Union and the United States earlier this month.
In addition to harsh criticism from government officials in Europe in the wake of reports indicating that the US spied on EU diplomats, a European student group has filed complaints in multiple countries over the NSA’s surveillance.
The outcry in Germany has been especially loud after it was reported late last month that the US collects metadata on a half-billion German phone calls and emails.
Steve Keen Exposes Financial Fallacies and Debates the Mortgage Debt Jubilee!
China reportedly planning to back the yuan with gold
Recent media reports suggest that Beijing is considering backing the
yuan with gold. This decision, if taken, will likely affect China's
economy and may trigger a new wave of the global economic crisis. For
Russia, however, such a scenario may have its benefits.
According to media reports of early July, the People's Bank
of China is mulling the possibility of phasing out the dollar as the
reference currency for the yuan exchange rate, and to start using gold
as the reference point.
The reports have not been confirmed officially, but analysts are
warning that the step, if taken, will weaken the yuan and destabilise
China's already troubled economy, ultimately provoking a new bout of the
economic crisis worldwide.