Bernanke Says Economy Needs To Crash Periodically So We Can Be Sure We’re Pushing It Hard Enough

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– Bernanke Says Economy Needs To Crash Periodically So We Can Be Sure We’re Pushing It Hard Enough:

If you’re a journalist, it’s always exciting to get the chance to interview courageous people – you know, war heroes, revolutionaries, innovators, political dissidents and the like.

Of course when it comes to courage, there’s scarcely a man alive that compares to Ben Bernanke. Indeed, he even had the courage to use the word “courage” in the title of a book about monetary policy knowing very well that doing so would likely lead to all manner of contemptuous ridicule.

FT’s Martin Wolf recently got the opportunity to chat with courageous Ben over “firm, juicy” swordfish and grilled halibut at McCormick & Schmick’s in Chicago. Predictably, the interview is replete with cringe worthy soundbites, some of which we present below. 

Read moreBernanke Says Economy Needs To Crash Periodically So We Can Be Sure We’re Pushing It Hard Enough

“Mystery as scores of dead rare sea animals wash up” in Gulf of California — AP: Dozens of carcasses found on beaches and floating in water — Gov’t experts ‘baffled’ over mass death of dolphins, sea lions, turtles — “Long stretch of coastline closed off to public” (PHOTOS)

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Mystery as scores of dead rare sea animals wash up

– “Mystery as scores of dead rare sea animals wash up” in Gulf of California — AP: Dozens of carcasses found on beaches and floating in water — Gov’t experts ‘baffled’ over mass death of dolphins, sea lions, turtles — “Long stretch of coastline closed off to public” (PHOTOS):

AP, Oct 15, 2015 (emphasis added): Mexican authorities are investigating the deaths of 36 marine animals that washed up on an island in the Gulf of California. The federal environmental prosecutor’s office says in a statement Thursday that 21 dolphins, 4 sea lions and 11 sea turtles were discovered at Altamura Island… decomposing remains were found on the beaches and floating in the water… The private island [has] dunes stretching some 12 miles… it’s rare to find so many at one time. Authorities are seeking to determine the cause of death and avoid possible health threats…

AFP, Oct 15, 2015: Four sea lions, 11 sea turtles and 21 dolphins have mysteriously turned up dead on an island in northwestern Mexico, sparking an investigation, authorities said Thursday. [The federal prosecutor’s office for environmental protection] said in a statement that inspectors, park rangers and other experts were dispatched… to investigate the “unusual event.” They will collect evidence to figure out how the animals died, the statement said.

The Sun, Oct 16, 2015: Mystery as scores of dead rare sea animals wash up on stretch of coastline — A long stretch of coastline has been closed off to the public after the corpses of dozens of rare sea animals washed up on the beach. Mystery surrounds the sudden influx of dead marine life… Since none of the creatures appeared cut or marked, it has been ruled out that the animals died after being caught up in fishermen’s nets. There’s growing concern over what has caused the tragedy… Mexico’s Federal Environmental Protection Agency, Profepa, has activated a security protocol and tourists have been warned not to use the beaches while the water is being tested for signs of pollution and other evidence is collected. A [gov’t] spokesman said: “We will be looking at what species are affected, their condition, size, age, physical appearance, nutritional state, health, visible traumas, the time and date, climacteric conditions, state of the sea, topography of the beach and accessibility of the area.”

The Express, Oct 19, 2015: Marine experts are trying to unravel an animal tragedy after dozens of dead animals, including 21 dolphins, mysteriously washed up on a beach. Horrific images from the tragic scene showed the lifeless bodies of dolphins, turtles and even sea lions scattered across the shore… Some had been washed ashore but others were simply floating in the water…

Daily Mail, Oct 19, 2015: Plague of dead sea animals killed by mystery illness wash up on a beach in Mexico… Experts have been left baffled after dozens of dead animals washed up… Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) are now investigating whether pollution is to blame for the deaths… A spokesman for FEPA said… marine biologists were baffled about the cause of the mysterious deaths.

Daily Star, Oct 17, 2015: Marine experts have been left baffled after the corpses of 21 dolphins were found washed up on a beach in Mexico… It is believed a mystery illness may have been the cause of death for the dozens of animals… [FEPA] confirmed there are no clues to suggest what may have caused the bizarre deaths.

El Daily Post, Oct 15, 2015: Why did 36 sea mammals wash up on a Sea of Cortés island?… it’s not uncommon for the body of a sea mammal to wash up on shore. But when 36 dolphins, sea turtles and sea lions are found decomposing on one island at the same time, something out of the ordinary is going on… seldom are so many found washed up at the same time… In such mass deaths, Profepa officials activate a protocol designed to discover the causes of the event as well as protect nearby people and animals from health consequences.

See also: 13 baby gray whales and 55 dolphins found dead in Baja California — “Corpses of sea lions, birds, sea turtles decomposing” — Mysterious deaths probed by gov’t (VIDEO)

ISIS Tries To Blow Up Russian Bombers With Flying Condom Bombs

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– ISIS Tries To Blow Up Russian Bombers With Flying Condom Bombs:

If you’re a black flag-waving, sword-wielding, desert bandit in white basketball shoes, you’ve got a lot of options when it comes to terrorizing the locals on the way to racking up territorial gains. After all, indiscriminately killing civilians and conducting brutal executions can exert a powerful psychological effect on non combatants and on poorly trained, ill-prepared army regulars for weak Mid-East states.

You don’t, however, have a lot of options when it comes to countering an all-out aerial bombardment by one of the most powerful militaries on the planet. Your options are even more limited if said aerial bombardment is backed by thousands of fearless militiamen belonging to a group that’s been fighting Mid-East proxy wars for more than three decades. 

Read moreISIS Tries To Blow Up Russian Bombers With Flying Condom Bombs

China Cuts Interest Rate By 25 bps, Cuts RRR by 50 bps; Futures Soar; Fed December Rate Hike Back In Play

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– China Cuts Interest Rate By 25 bps, Cuts RRR by 50 bps; Futures Soar; Fed December Rate Hike Back In Play:

  • CHINA CUTS BANKS’ RESERVE REQUIREMENT RATIO
  • CHINA CUTS 1-YEAR LENDING RATE BY 0.25 PPT
  • CHINA CUTS 1-YEAR DEPOSIT RATE BY 0.25 PPT
  • CHINA CUTS RESERVE RATIO BY 0.5 PPT

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Draghi Speaks, Euro Falls Off Chart, Stocks Soar Despite Layoffs, Shrinking Revenues, and Evil “Strong Dollar” that just Got a Heck of Lot Stronger

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– Draghi Speaks, Euro Falls Off Chart, Stocks Soar Despite Layoffs, Shrinking Revenues, and Evil “Strong Dollar” that just Got a Heck of Lot Stronger:

There has been a litany of layoff announcements recently: Biogen said yesterday that it would axe 11% of its people. ESPN would lay off 4% of its people. Twitter a couple of days ago said it would slash its workforce by 8%. Microsoft and HP are currently very busy shedding tens of thousands of workers.

Caterpillar announced over 10,000 layoffs last month. Intuit kicked off a new round of layoffs this summer. Permanently troubled former highflyer Groupon is laying of 1,100 folks. Even startups. Zomato, based in India, is laying of 300 folks, many of them in the US. Flipagram laid off 20% of its workers. And on and on. Even Snapchat.

Read moreDraghi Speaks, Euro Falls Off Chart, Stocks Soar Despite Layoffs, Shrinking Revenues, and Evil “Strong Dollar” that just Got a Heck of Lot Stronger

Competitor Offers Equivalent To Turing’s Scandalous $750 Pill For Just $1

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– Competitor Offers Equivalent To Turing’s Scandalous $750 Pill For Just $1:

Having become an overnight social and industry outcast, at least Turing Pharma’s Martin Shkreli had one thing going for him: a business model that afforded him solid margins, because despite promising to cut the price of the scandalous Daraprim, Turing did not do that. Now, however, even that may be in jeopardy following news that San Diego-based specialty drug maker Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, says it can make a close, customized version of Daraprim for a paltry $1 a pill, NBC reports. That’s a big contrast to the $750-a-dose that Shkreli said Turing was going to start charging for the same drug.

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Putin Just Warned Global War Is Increasingly More Likely: Here’s Why

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“The deterrent of nuclear weapons has started to lose its value, and some have even got the illusion that a real victory of one of the sides can be achieved in a global conflict, without irreversible consequences for the winner itself – if there is a winner at all.”

PutinTeaser_0

– Putin Just Warned Global War Is Increasingly More Likely: Here’s Why:

Vladimir Putin is basking in Russia’s triumphant return to the world stage.

What began with a land grab in Crimea and escalated with support for the separatists at Donetsk, culminated in Moscow’s dramatic entry into Syria’s protracted civil war.

Read morePutin Just Warned Global War Is Increasingly More Likely: Here’s Why

Presenting America’s New Debt Ceiling: $19,600,000,000,000

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20151022_debt

– Presenting America’s New Debt Ceiling: $19,600,000,000,000:

Even as the bond market has been rather concerned about another possible debt ceiling showdown as we showed before, and which earlier today prompted the Treasury to announce the purposefully dramatic step of postponing the auction of 2 Year Notes next week, the reality is that one way or another, with an equity-driven wake up call for the GOP or without, the debt ceiling will be raised.

The only question is how much.

Read morePresenting America’s New Debt Ceiling: $19,600,000,000,000

“Proxy” War No More: Qatar Threatens Military Intervention In Syria Alongside “Saudi, Turkish Brothers”

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– “Proxy” War No More: Qatar Threatens Military Intervention In Syria Alongside “Saudi, Turkish Brothers”:

Earlier this week, Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir had the following message for Tehran:

“We wish that Iran would change its policies and stop meddling in the affairs of other countries in the region, in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. We will make sure that we confront Iran’s actions and shall use all our political, economic and military powers to defend our territory and people.”

In short, Riyadh and its allies in Doha and the UAE are uneasy about the fact that the P5+1 nuclear deal is set to effectively remove Iran from the pariah state list just as Tehran is expanding its regional influence via its Shiite militias in Iraq, the ground operation in Syria, and through the Houthis in Yemen. 

Read more“Proxy” War No More: Qatar Threatens Military Intervention In Syria Alongside “Saudi, Turkish Brothers”

WTF Chart Of The Day: Italian 2Y Bond Yields Collapse BELOW ZERO For First Time Ever

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– WTF Chart Of The Day – Italian 2Y Bond Yields Collapse Below Zero For First Time Ever:

Presented with little comment aside to say… WTF!!!

Italy 2Y yields are -10bps to -0.6bps…

20151022_ITA1

Some context for that…

Read moreWTF Chart Of The Day: Italian 2Y Bond Yields Collapse BELOW ZERO For First Time Ever

Bitcoin Surges To 3-Month Highs After EU Tax Ruling

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When the system will collapse all those bitcoins will be – in my opinion – worthless.

Only physical gold and silver will protect your financial assets in the future.

– Bitcoin Surges To 3-Month Highs After EU Tax Ruling:

Bitcoin has recovered all the losses from the volatility surrounding China’s currency devaluation and Black Monday equity weakness as implicit capital controls drive the Chinese into alternative currencies (as we warned would happen). However, the last few days have seen the cryptocurrency surge to $280 – the highest in 12 weeks – as The EU’s top court ruled bitcoin and other virtual currencies can be exchanged tax-free, putting them on a more equal footing with traditional cash.
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The Nazification Of America Is Almost Complete

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Fascism

– America Looks A Lot Like Nazi Germany Did Just Prior To World War II:

Once upon a time America fought a great war to rid the world of the Nazis, but now we have become just like them.  In fact, I would venture to say that the Nazification of the United States is pretty much complete.

As you will see below, we have a heavily socialized economy where tax rates are out of control and lots of freebies are given out just like the Nazis did.  And just like the Nazis, our society has become highly militarized and our government has become increasingly obsessed with watching, tracking, monitoring and controlling the general population.  But more than anything else, all of the pageantry and beauty in our society masks an evil which has grown to a level that is almost unspeakable.  The other day, my wife and I were watching some footage of the beautiful parades and celebrations that were held in Germany before World War II, and they certainly were very impressive.  But under the surface, a great evil was growing.  Just because something happens behind closed doors does not make it okay, and just like the Nazis, our society is about to learn an exceedingly painful lesson in that regard.

Read moreThe Nazification Of America Is Almost Complete

What your high school chemistry teacher never taught you about gold

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H/t reader squodgy:

“Cashing in what excess savings you have raises eyebrows these days.
But because your savings are now the bankster’s property anyway, it must be considered.

Most ordinary folk are looking at what savings they have left & wondering where to put it.
The markets continue to rise, but reports of industrial doldrums prevail. So the markets are lying….again.
So, you start to withdraw without flagging. But where to put it?
Keeping it as paper is a short term necessity, but not long term as the banksters can change the note or create hyperinflation rendering it worthless.

Prepping is one option. Stocking future barter options like booze, fags, salt, fuel, is another.

Precious metals another.”

gold-nugget-currency

– What your high school chemistry teacher never taught you about gold:

One of the more unfortunate developments in human civilization over the last century is the devolution of money.

In fact, the word ‘money’ has now become synonymous with those funny pieces of paper that are conjured out of thin air by unelected central bankers.

Or even more ridiculous, ‘money’ has become the electronic representation of that paper.

Think about your bank account balance; it’s not like the bank has all that paper currency sitting in its vault.

The ‘money’ in your account doesn’t even really exist. There’s just enough of a thin layer of confidence in the system (at the moment) that this is a widely accepted practice.

Read moreWhat your high school chemistry teacher never taught you about gold

‘Have you any common sense?’ – Putin Crushes BBC Journalist’s Stupid Questions (Video)

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– ‘Have you any common sense?’ – Putin Crushes BBC Journalist’s Stupid Questions:

Is common sense severely lacking in mainstream Western journalism?

Russia’s President Putin found himself having to ask BBC journalist John Simpson if he has any common sense at all, as he pushed the establishment line that Russia is an aggressor in the world.

Putin contends that Russia is “standing up for its national interests“, and is visibly frustrated by the frankly ignorant questions that Simpson poses. Putin asks, “Why are you threatening us“, and “what business have they got there“, in reference to U.S. military bases throughout Europe.

Read more‘Have you any common sense?’ – Putin Crushes BBC Journalist’s Stupid Questions (Video)

Sesame Street rolls out autistic muppet to ‘normalize’ vaccine injured children… follows Elmo push for mass vaccinations

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Julia-Autistic-Sesame-Street

– Sesame Street rolls out autistic muppet to ‘normalize’ vaccine injured children… follows Elmo push for mass vaccinations:

In yet another sickening example of the absolute mental derangement of modern society, Sesame Street has rolled out its first autistic muppet named “Julia,” says the Sesame Street website

The rollout of autistic Julia is Sesame Street’s attempt to “normalize” vaccine injuries and depict those victimized by vaccines as happy, “amazing” children rather than admitting the truth that vaccines cause autism in some children and we should therefore make vaccines safer and less frequent to save those children from a lifetime of neurological damage.

Read moreSesame Street rolls out autistic muppet to ‘normalize’ vaccine injured children… follows Elmo push for mass vaccinations

Planned Parenthood now says they will stop accepting cash payments for aborted body parts… even though THEY CLAIM THEY NEVER DID!

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– PP now says they will stop accepting cash payments for aborted body parts… even though THEY CLAIM THEY NEVER DID!:

First, Planned Parenthood top dogs said that their organization never did this. Now, suddenly, its CEO says the practice will cease. What gives?

As reported by Breitbart News, a letter by Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards asserts that “patently false claims” have been leveled against her abortion clinics, but that she nonetheless will stop accepting payments for the organs of aborted babies.

The head of the organization, which is now under investigation by several congressional committees following the release of a series of gruesome videos exposing the practice of selling body parts of aborted babies for profit, wrote[PDF] to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health:

Read morePlanned Parenthood now says they will stop accepting cash payments for aborted body parts… even though THEY CLAIM THEY NEVER DID!

The US$ 1.5 Quadrillion Derivatives Catastrophe

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H/t reader squodgy:

“Terrible Grammar & Spelling, but the essence of this reality check article is profound.”

– The US$ 1.5 Quadrillion Derivatives Catastrophe:

An article circulating on the internet and entitled, “When will the Bank Bubble Burst”  makes some good points about the lurking catastrophe of world markets.

Egon von Greyerz writes about an recent that took place at Deutsche Bank (DB), where a junior employee “paid $6 billion to a hedge fund which was the gross value of a position, [where] he should have paid the net.”

Read moreThe US$ 1.5 Quadrillion Derivatives Catastrophe

Canada And The Great Flu Hoax

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– Canada and the great flu hoax:

Under the radar: a November 25, 2012, CBC News article by Kelly Crowe, “Flu deaths reality check.”

Crowe highlights the often-parroted, official Canadian estimate of between 2000 and 8000 yearly deaths from flu.

Then she gets down to business.

At the time of the CBC News article (11/25/2012), the FluWatch/Public Health Agency of Canada figures for 2012 flu deaths in Canada? How many deaths?

One.

One death.

I just checked FluWatch for flu deaths so far in 2015. None. Zero.

Read moreCanada And The Great Flu Hoax

As Russia Bombs ISIS, US Bombs Syrian Civilian Power Stations – There Never Were Any Moderate Rebels In Syria

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– As Russia Bombs ISIS, US Bombs Syrian Civilian Power Stations:

In yet another telling episode, the United States has again demonstrated its true position in regards to ISIS and the Russian bombing of the terrorist organization.

As Russian forces drop bombs and missiles on top of ISIS fighters all across Syria, lobbing cruise missiles from the Caspian, regular sortie missions, and combat helicopter attacks against ISIS and other “relatively moderate” cannibals and terrorists, the United States launched a bombing mission of its own against two power plants in Aleppo.

Read moreAs Russia Bombs ISIS, US Bombs Syrian Civilian Power Stations – There Never Were Any Moderate Rebels In Syria

Australian Organic Farmer to Take GMO Contamination Case to High Court

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H/t reader squodgy:

“Just hope he can fund a battle against Monsatan.

Percy Schmeiser knows all about that. They bankrupted him.”

gmo-steve-marsh-court-case

– Australian Organic Farmer to Take GM Contamination Case to High Court:

A battle that’s been going on for years

We’ve been reporting on the case of Steve Marsh, an organic farmer in Australia who has been fighting Monsanto and his neighbor and childhood friend Michael Baxter due to the contamination of his farm from genetically modified canola.

Read moreAustralian Organic Farmer to Take GMO Contamination Case to High Court