2 Feb 2015

Greece Just Blew Up the Empire's Death Star of Debt

By Charles Hugh Smith: The Greek Elites and kleptocrats are terrified of the discipline that leaving the euro will impose, but the general public should welcome the transition to an economy and society that has been freed from the shackles of Imperial debt and the kleptocracy that has bled the nation dry.
Although the financial media is blathering about negotiations and gamesmanship, the truth is Greece just blew up the Empire's Death Star of debt. There's nothing left to negotiate except the official admission that the Imperial Death Star of debt, the most fearsome threat in the galaxy, has been blown to smithereens. 
There are three fundamental points that need to be emphasized, mostly because they've been lost in handwringing, fearmongering and the ceaseless chatter of propaganda shills.
1. Impaired debt and defaults result from imprudent underwriting and lender incompetence/greed. Since when did it become accepted policy to reward imprudent lending, incompetence and greed?
Classical Capitalism is very clear on what should happen to lenders who ignored risk management; they get destroyed. As imprudently issued loans default, the losses pile up and the lender become insolvent. At that point, Capitalism kicks in and the management is fired, the stock goes to zero, the lender's assets are auctioned off and the creditors are issued whatever remains after wages, taxes, accounts payable, etc. are paid.

That Bitch: Abuse, Murder And The Dark Side Of Venus

She Did WHAT?
The man, a grandfather, worked nights taking home the drunk and the occasional disorderly character, the noisy, those who threw up inside his cab, and those who dropped cigarette butts that burned holes in his upholstery.
At about 3am he picked up two women in their early twenties outside a well-known nightclub. He dropped the first one at her home and took the other to her home, a couple of miles away. The moment he stopped the cab she ripped open her blouse and bra and screamed at the top of her voice:Rape! Rape! I’m being raped!” Two men heard her screams and rushed to her aid. They dragged the driver from his cab, punched and pinned him to the ground, while one of them called the police.
The cab driver was taken in handcuffs to a police station. His cab was impounded while he was kept in custody for days being interviewed for hours on end. All the while he protested he had not touched the woman. The police didn’t (or couldn’t be seen to) believe him.
From that moment, nobody else seemed to believe him either.
News spread. This man was now a rapist. He explained to a colleague that the idea you are innocent until proven guilty was a myth. It may apply to other crimes he said, but not when a man is accused of rape.
Out of the blue he was told that all charges had been dropped. The police would not be prosecuting him for rape, or any other crime. “Why?” he asked.
The father of the first woman had asked her what she knew. He persisted when she clammed up. Eventually she burst into tears and said: Dad, all she did was try to get out of paying the fare. What’s wrong with that?”

New South Wales Police Openly Address Male Victims Of Female Violence, Jenna Price furious

By : It feels like it never ends: Feminists like Jenna Price of The Canberra Times and Daily Life say they want equality, but when it comes to Domestic Violence, when faced with a serious discussion of male victims, they label it a failure and bitch about statistics.
Recently the New South Wales, Australia Police finally took a progressive step towards addressing the topic of men being victims of Domestic Violence. And before I go much further I would like to say a big thank you to New South Wales (NSW) Police for responding to the people who have requested equal representation of male victims of Domestic Violence. This is what they posted on Facebook:


NSW Police Force
You hear her screaming. The windows breaking.  You see the bruises. The look of fear in the children’s eyes. The police are called.  But don’t assume you know how this story ends. Because she is the one who is arrested.  And he is the innocent victim. He is the one living in fear.  Domestic violence does not discriminate. Last year, 1 in every 5 domestic violence assaults that NSW Police responded to involving intimate partners were for male victims. The NSW Police Force has zero tolerance for domestic violence. You make the call – we’ll make it stop.

Canada Mauled By Oil Bust, Job Losses Pile Up – Housing Bubble, Banks At Risk

By : Ratings agency Fitch had already warned about Canada’s magnificent housing bubble that is even more magnificent than the housing bubble in the US that blew up so spectacularly. “High household debt relative to disposable income” – at the time hovering near a record 164% – “has made the market more susceptible to market stresses like unemployment or interest rate increases,” it wrote back in July.
On September 30, the Bank of Canada warned about the housing bubble and what an implosion would do to the banks: It’s so enormous and encumbered with so much debt that a “sharp correction in house prices” would pose a risk to the “stability of the financial system” [Is Canada Next? Housing Bubble Threatens “Financial Stability”].
Then in early January, oil-and-gas data provider CanOils found that “less than 20%” of the leading 50 Canadian oil and gas companies would be able to sustain their operations long-term with oil at US$50 per barrel (WTI last traded at $47.85). “A significant number of companies with high-debt ratios were particularly vulnerable right now,” it said. “The inevitable write-downs of assets that will accompany the falling oil price could harm companies’ ability to borrow,” and “low share prices” may prevent them from raising more money by issuing equity.

Houston, We Have A Solution For ICMI 2015

By : It is with great pleasure that I get to announce that AVFM has secured a venue for the International Conference on Men’s Issues 2015, set for October 29, 30 and 31 in my hometown of Houston, Texas.
Houston, for those of you who don’t know, is the fourth largest city in the United States. Once known as “Boomtown” during the explosive growth of the oil and gas industry in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Houston is a sprawling expanse of metropolitan real estate with a multicultural, blue collar ethos. It is the “working man’s” capital of Texas, and I would dare say most of the country.
Visitors will love the town because it is modern and spacious, with robust nightlife and a spectacular, unsung culinary experience.
It will make a fantastic setting for a men’s conference that promises to run a bit smoother than last year’s.
And speaking of last year, we have taken our lessons to heart.  First, those who attended our groundbreaking event in St. Clair Shores, MI will find that the new venue is several steps up in comfort and aesthetic appeal.
In approaching the venue, we laid our cards entirely on the table with management. We told them about the venue change last year, why it happened, and told them to expect that book burners would undoubtedly be in contact with them prior to the event trying to intimidate them into pulling the plug.

Palestine Deems Bid To Join ICC 'Irreversible'

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says the Palestinian Authority’s decision to become a member in the International Criminal Court is a permanent one and cannot be revoked.
Orwellian UK Zionist shill regulator BANNED Press TV: "All powers on earth will never bring the clock back," Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio on Sunday.
He accused Israel of violating all international laws and conventions through reliance on the logic of arrogance. He also accused the US Congress of protecting Israel.
The Palestinian official further warned that the PA would review its political and security ties with Tel Aviv if Israel continues its policy of settlement expansion and withholding the Palestinian tax money. He said that a high-profile meeting is scheduled to be held later in February to decide on the future of ties with Israel.

The Tide Is Turning: Obama "Expresses Sympathy" For Greece; Lazard Says 50% Greek Haircut "Reasonable"

The newsflow over the past several days was progressing much as expected: any time Greece demanded a bailout renegotiation (or termination), and an end to the Troika, Germany just said "Nein", most recently on Saturday when Merkel told Hamburger Abendblatt's "that banks and creditors had already forgiven a considerable amount of Greece's debt and that she rejected any further concessions. "There has already been voluntary debt forgiveness by private creditors, banks have already slashed billions from Greece's debt," Merkel told the paper, adding: "I do not envisage fresh debt cancellation." She added that "Europe will continue to show its solidarity with Greece, as with other countries hard hit by the crisis, if these countries carry out reforms and cost-saving measures."
As a reminder, the contentious topic at the heart of the latest scandal rocking Europe is that the new Greek government has said it wants to negotiate to halve the country's debt, which still amounts to more than 315 billion euros despite a debt restructuring at the start of 2012 that cut the burden by some 100 billion euros.
Of course, Germany's position has been known for a long time because despite all the posturing, Germany's interest are quite aligned with those of the ECB: