News Items

Mel Watt, Federal Housing Finance Agency Head, is Pushing Banks to Make Extremely Risky Home Loans

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Screen Shot 2014-10-17 at 1.43.16 PMMel Watt is one of the most dangerous financial oligarch puppets operating in America today. The first time he came across my radar screen was back in 2009, when he “gutted” Ron Paul’s End the Fed bill while it was in subcommittee, something I outlined in the post: Leverage in PE Deals Soars Despite Fed Warnings; Amidst Insatiable Demand for Risky Fannie Mae Debt.

Then in May of this year, I zeroed in on his latest authoritarian maneuver after being appointed to head the FHFA in the post: New Massive Federal Database to Hold Financial Information on Hundreds of Millions of Americans. Here’s an excerpt:

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This is What School Lunch Looks Like in Chickasha, Oklahoma

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This has to be a joke.

I don’t think this is a joke.

Please, someone tell me this is a joke.

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From EAGNews:

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Video of the Day – Stunning Scenes from California’s Central Valley Drought

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No matter what you have read or seen so far on California’s historic Central Valley drought, you probably haven’t been touched by it as much as you will be by the following video from the New Yorker. Terribly sad. In Liberty, Michael Krieger Protect your wealth – Buy Gold and Silver Bullion with Goldbroker.com Like … Read more

Welcome to Arcadia – The California Suburb Where Wealthy Chinese Criminals are Building Mansions to Stash Cash

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Screen Shot 2014-10-16 at 1.53.00 PMThe city, population 57,600, projects that about 150 older homes—53 percent more than normal—will be torn down this year and replaced with mansions. The deals happen fast and are rarely listed publicly. Often, the first indication that a megahouse is coming next door is when the lawn turns brown. That means the neighbor has stopped watering and green construction netting is about to go up.

Arcadia is a concentrated version of what’s happening across the U.S. The Hurun Report, a magazine in Shanghai about China’s wealthy elite, estimates that almost two-thirds of the country’s millionaires have already emigrated or plan to do so.

– From the Bloomberg article: Why Are Chinese Millionaires Buying Mansions in an L.A. Suburb?

The surge in foreigners buying up U.S. real estate has been well documented in recent years. Of all this buying, no nation has demonstrated a bigger increase in purchases than China. In fact, it is estimated that 24% of all foreign purchases of domestic real estate this year have come from China, up 72% from last year. In my post from July, Chinese Purchases of U.S. Real Estate hit $22 Billion as The Bank of China Facilitates Money Laundering, I noted that:

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Propaganda 101 – How the Pentagon is Trying to Rewrite Vietnam War History

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In case you weren’t aware, the Pentagon is set to roll out a 50th anniversary commemoration of the Vietnam War. Personally, it’s hard to get excited about commemorating an event that led to the death of over 58,000 American soldiers and more than a million Vietnamese, particularly since much of it was the direct result of well documented lies and deception, such as the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

What’s worse, the Pentagon intends to rewrite history by whitewashing this period of civil unrest and government shame from American history. The propaganda is so blatant that it has resulted in many of the era’s most well known protestors and activists to come together in order to stop it.

The New York Times reports that:

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Video of the Day – Hologram Julian Assange Talks George Orwell, Bitcoin and Preserving Human History

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What got me really interested in Bitcoin back in the summer of 2012 when it was worth a mere $10, was the realization that Wikileaks was able to avoid a banking system and PayPal blockade by accepting donations in BTC. Upon this realization, I published my first public thoughts on Bitcoin in the post: Bitcoin: A Way to Fight Back Against the Financial Terrorists?

For those of you who still think Bitcoin is merely a currency, or merely a payment system, take 8 minutes and listen to hologram Assange:

For more posts focused on Assange’s thoughts see:

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Why We Should Treat Our Children as We Wish to be Treated

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Screen Shot 2014-10-15 at 2.07.06 PMDon’t just take things, that’s what the criminals and the government do…

That’s something I told my son yesterday when he ripped a book right out of my daughter’s hands. Respecting others and their property, and using conversation to express our wants and desires, is how I am raising my children. Essentially teaching them to grow up to become the opposite of an oppressive state.

Early on as a father, I regularly used spankings to discipline my children, even though it never logically made sense to me. My oldest daughter or son would hit each other, only to have me come in as the authority and spank them, while at the same time telling them to stop hitting each other.

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Meet the Pied-à-Terre Levy – The Proposed Tax that Could Crush High End NYC Real Estate

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Screen Shot 2014-10-15 at 11.29.22 AMIn July, I published a post titled, Introducing Ghost Skyscrapers – NYC Real Estate Goes Full Retard, in which I highlighted many of the current absurdities characteristic of Manhattan real estate. Of all the points made, the most striking statistic from the piece is the fact that:

“The Census Bureau estimates that 30 percent of all apartments in the quadrant from 49th to 70th Streets between Fifth and Park are vacant at least ten months a year.”

There is absolutely nothing healthy about this reality. As someone who grew up less than a mile from that quadrant, I can tell you this is very negative for NYC’s long-term vibrancy. Sure, while the boom is happening and global oligarchs are parking some of their savings in newly built glass towers, you’ll get jobs, construction and sales; but when the boom stops, and it always does, all you’ll be left will are empty multi-million dollar boxes that no one can afford. When such a high percentage of properties are built solely to serve as bank accounts, and not a space to live in, you’ve got a severe case of malinvestment on your hands.

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United Serfs of America – Low Income Workers at Jimmy John’s Forced to Sign Noncompete Agreements

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Screen Shot 2014-10-14 at 2.29.52 PMWhile oligarchs and corrupt politicians continue to loot the world with impunity, low income workers and the middle class continue to be pushed into a life of misery and serfdom under a neo-feudal plutocracy. The latest example has manifested itself under ridiculous noncompete clauses that low wage workers are being forced to sign at Jimmy John’s.

The Huffington Post notes that:

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NBC Correspondent Quarantined for Ebola is Spotted Going Out in New Jersey Anyway

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NBC Chief Medical Correspondent Nancy Snyderman was part of a film crew that worked with freelance cameraman Ashoka Mukpo covering the ebola virus in Monrovia, Liberia. After it was discovered that Mr. Mukpo had come down with the virus, Dr. Snyderman agreed to quarantine herself for 21 days as part of a voluntary arrangement with the Centers for Disease Control and state officials. For example, she tweeted the following on October 2:

Apparently, that didn’t last long. Gawker reports that:

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