Moody’s expects GDP to grow by just 0.4% this year and 1.8% in 2013, which is considerably more optimistic than many economists, who expect the economy to contract this year. Gerard Lyons at Standard Chartered said after the GDP figures were published: “I think it’s inconceivable that there will be positive growth this year.”
Moody’s warned on Tuesday that Britain could lose its triple-A rating if economic growth did not meet expectations, and if the country’s debt burden increased. It said the weaker economic environment could challenge the government’s efforts to reduce debt in the coming years.
I’ve watched the Facebook phenomenon with considerable skepticism, and have refrained from commenting on it, save linking to stories such as GM canceling all of its Facebook ads because they didn’t see the benefit.
But this item via reader Chuck L was a real eye-opener. It suggests that Facebook may be a large-scale fraud. If not Facebook, who would be running the bots in question? Their second complaint, about the cost of a name change, is merely tacky customer-gouging, but the first suggests that the Facebook business model is a complete fail, whether the clicks are from Facebook bots or other bots.
NEW DELHI (AP) – India’s energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving 620 million people without government-supplied electricity in one of the world’s biggest-ever blackouts.
Hundreds of trains stalled across the country and traffic lights went out, causing widespread traffic jams in New Delhi. Electric crematoria stopped operating, some with bodies half burnt, power officials said. Emergency workers rushed generators to coal mines to rescue miners trapped underground.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday there was no proof that the Mossad spy agency assassinated a Hamas commander in Dubai, despite the suspected hit squad’s use of the identities of foreign-born Israelis.
Few Israeli commentators, however, appeared to doubt the Mossad had a role in the January 20 death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, which became a cause celebre after Hamas demanded a murder investigation.
Here are some previous international scandals involving Mossad and other Israeli intelligence agencies. Continue reading »
An early June 2012 solicitation posted on the FedBizOpps.gov website details the US Armies need and eventual purchase of a wide variety of riot control gear including riot shields, batons, and body armor.
The contract, eventually awarded to A2Z Supply Corp, lines up directly with a long line of reports, drills, purchases, and statements that indicate that the federal government is preparing for an eventual large scale confrontation or civil war with the American people. Continue reading »
In this episode, Max Keiser presents a double header with co-host, Stacy Herbert, to discuss crime and punishment in the financial sector. In London, JP Morgan banker, Tony Blair, has responded to the Keiser Report with his claim that hanging 20 bankers will not help and that, in fact, he asserts, public anger with the financial crisis is wrong. They also discuss the ‘blazer over cuffs look’ being the new black this season as Sean Fitzpatrick is arrested in Dublin, while over in Pennsylvania, Joe Paterno’s statue is draped in blue tarpaulin and hauled away as bond investors punish the university with higher rates and Moody’s threatens a downgrade. Finally, in Los Angeles, victims of vandalism are shocked to discover that it was a senior UBS banker who was smashing windows with a slingshot.
The U.S. military chief says the fighting in Syria’s largest city of Aleppo will ultimately be ‘a nail in President Assad’s coffin’. Leon Panetta is currently on a Middle East tour, promising to continue to push for Assad’s departure. RT spoke to Michel Chossudovsky from the Centre for Research on Globalization. He believes there are indications that NATO states may soon move from war mongering against the Syrian regime to real action.
US security agencies have acquired even more powers under president Obama – that’s despite his pre-election pledges to make the government more open to ordinary citizens. Instead, his administration is spending record amounts to keep its secrets – and is cracking down on whistleblowers.
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