MHRA: I No Longer Plan On Attending The Feminazi Forum

MensRights Edmonton: Looks like I should sit this one out. The town square effect... "They know that we know that they know we know!"

Why Mt. Gox Had to Die - And the Future of Bitcoin

By Amith Nirgunarthy: While Bitcoin sceptics are gloating over the shutdown of Mt. Gox, proponents are more bullish than ever. Many see the downfall of Mt. Gox as exactly what’s needed to incite a massive leap forward in the evolution of Bitcoin and policy makers agree. Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of Financial Services for the State of New York, said in a statement, that “these developments underscore that smart, tailored regulation could play an important role in protecting consumers and the security of the money that they entrust to virtual currency firms.”

The Ominous Message in 2 Centuries of Global Public Finances

By F F Wiley: After our recent article showing the history of non-defense budget balances for large, developed countries, some readers wondered how our results might change with defense spending included.

Here’s a new chart showing total budget balances:


As in the first chart, we started in 1816 with four countries (the U.S., U.K., France and Netherlands) and then added seven more at different points in time, while weighting each country by its GDP.

31 Percent Of All Food In America Is Wasted - Why That Is About To End

By Michael Snyder: According to a stunning new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly a third of all food produced in the United States gets wasted.  We are probably the most wasteful society in the history of the planet, and we are also one of the most gluttonous.  More than 35 percent of all Americans are considered to be officially "obese" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Unfortunately, this era of gluttony and taking food for granted will soon be coming to an end.  Thanks to crippling drought in key growing areas and other extremely bizarre weather patterns, a massive food crisis is beginning to emerge all over the planet.  If you don't think that this is going to affect you, then you simply are not paying attention.  Approximately half of all produce grown in the United States comes from the state of California, and right now California is suffering through the worst stretch of drought on record.  Food prices are going to start soaring, and that is going to affect the household budget of every family in America.

Needless to say, a time is coming when Americans will not waste food so recklessly.  But for the moment, we still have a tremendous amount of disrespect for the value of food.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we waste a staggering 133 billion pounds of food each year...

Trust In Troika Wavers As Loans Fail To Revive Economies

RT: The group of wankers known as the Troika are back in Greece to discuss the terms of yet another bailout loan. Harsh austerity measures imposed in the country in exchange for previous credits has failed to stabilise the economy. Peter Oliver reports, this has caused the Troika's credibility to plummet.

Advocating Spousal Murder

johntheother: Mainstream feminism's 25 year enterprise, as revealed by Feminist Law Professor Elizabeth Sheehy. Yes, she wants women in abusive relationships to kill their partners, and not to leave. Because, patriarchy, and reasons.

Walmart International: Lousy Economies 'Everywhere We Operate'

By Wolf Richter: Those who benefited from the phenomenal money-printing binges by central banks in the US, Europe, China, Japan, the UK, and other countries over the last five years have coagulated into a very thin, richly textured layer at the top of the heap. With ballooning incomes and new-found confidence that central banks will forever take care of them and bail them out, they’re spending money on luxury goods, and they’re buying opulent digs in London, New York, San Francisco, and other trophy cities, and they’re acquiring works of art, farmland, and stocks, and they’re driving up asset prices along the way. These data points have made it into GDP and have perked it up a tiny bit.
But how are the people doing who’ve suffered the consequences of these policies, the workers and retirees, the middle class, the lower 75% of society? On January 31, Walmart shed some light on their plight. It warned that fourth quarter profits would take a hit, amid slower-than-expected sales in the US. It blamed reductions in food-stamp benefits and the marauding polar vortices – there not being any corporation that can pass up an opportunity to blame lackadaisical government spending and the lousy weather.
But apparently food stamps have been cut in other parts of the world too, and polar vortices have messed things up even in Latin America and Asia, or something. Because that seems to be what Walmart International, with over 6,400 stores in 26 countries outside the US, has smacked into.

Financial Death Shriekers - Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert with Jan Skoyles

Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the shriek factor in financial markets and the whirlpool of money death at MtGox.

Why I'm Suspicious Of Kate Berger

6oodfella: My thoughts on the latest patient to be admitted to the feminist nut house.

Bush Cyberczar: NSA Created ‘the potential for a police state’

RT: The former cyber advisor under President George W. Bush had some harsh words for the United States National Security Agency during an address in California on Monday: "get out of the business of fucking with encryption standards.”
That was the recommendation that famed cyberczar Richard Clarke made while speaking earlier this week at the at the Cloud Security Alliance summit in San Francisco.
Clarke, 63, served as a counterterrorism advisor for President Bill Clinton in the 1990s and later assisted his successor, Mr. Bush, as the special advisor on cybersecurity for that administration through 2003. Most recently, though, Clarke was assigned to a five-person panel assembled by Pres. Obama late last year that was tasked with assessing the NSA’s operations in the midst of ongoing and ever-damaging leaks disclosed by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. In December, that group suggested 46 changes for the Obama administration to consider in order rein in the secretive spy agency.
Speaking during Monday’s conference, however, Clarke opened up about some of the more personal suggestions he has for the NSA, and even some insight about what the future may have in store for the agency if they continue to collect intelligence from seemingly all corners of the Earth.
"In terms of collecting intelligence, they are very good. Far better than you could imagine," Clarke said. "But they have created, with the growth of technologies, the potential for a police state."

The Collapse Of Bitcoin

By Michael Snyder: Bitcoin is a virtual currency that has no intrinsic value.  The only thing giving bitcoin value is the faith that people have in it, and now that faith has been shattered.  This week, the most prominent bitcoin exchange in the entire world, Mt. Gox, totally collapsed.  At one time, Mt. Gox boasted more than a million accounts and it accounted for approximately 25 percent of all global bitcoin trading.  But now the website has been taken down, there are rumors of catastrophic losses, and many investors are concerned that they will lose all of their money.  In fact, according to one report, investors could be facing total losses of up to 367 million dollars.  The collapse of Mt. Gox is also affecting other bitcoin exchanges.  As I write this, the market value of bitcoin had fallen to about $470, but just three months ago it was trading close to $1,200.  Needless to say, a lot of bitcoin investors are going to be licking their wounds tonight.