A huge storm has messed up India’s Internet
Cyclone Vardah slammed into southern India earlier this week, breaking a vital undersea cable. …read more
Source: A huge storm has messed up India’s Internet
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
What The Federal Reserve Will Do Today
By Tyler Durden
Submitted by Paul-Martin Foss via The Mises Institute,
Just about everyone expects the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to raise its target interest rate at its meeting this week. The talk of raising rates has occupied newspaper columns all year, and the comments from FOMC participants have become stronger in recent months in discussing their desire to raise rates. But the decision to raise rates won’t have come about because of any strong economic data, be it inflation hovering around the Fed’s target or the low unemployment rate showing strength in the labor market. Labor market activity has been relatively steady all year and there haven’t been any surprisingly strong signs of economic growth, so why the green light now?
Because the European Central Bank (ECB) announced at its meeting last week that it would extend but taper its bond purchases.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, one central bank after another engaged in quantitative easing. The Federal Reserve, Bank of England, ECB, and Bank of Japan all engaged in large-scale asset purchases in attempts to drive down interest rates, remove overvalued assets from bank balance sheets, and attempt to jump-start their economies. Various interest rate targets were driven to near-zero, and even negative in Japan and Europe. Central bankers eventually realized that they couldn’t maintain those levels of policy accommodation indefinitely. But no one wanted to be the first one to start tightening. The fear was that if a central bank began to tighten policy while other central banks didn’t, the first country’s tighter policies would cause its economy to slow down, harming its relative position vis-a-vis other major countries. No central bank wanted to take the blame for weakening its country’s economy. So month after month, meeting after meeting, central banks just held pat.
Fast forward to last week, when the ECB announced its tapering. That was a signal to other central banks that (relative) tightening could commence. The ECB’s move signaled that it was open to tightening its policy accommodation, and now the ECB will be waiting to see how other central banks respond. The FOMC releases its decision on Wednesday, the Bank of England on Thursday, and the Bank of Japan early next week. The expectation is that the Fed at the FOMC meeting will hike its target funds rate this week, most likely to 0.50-0.75%. Once we see the Fed raise rates, we’ll have to wait and see what the Bank of England and Bank of Japan do. That should give us an indication as to whether this coy public signaling between the ECB and the Fed is just a bilateral move or an attempt to get other countries to agree to tighten in conjuction with them, or if there has been some major behind-the-scenes negotiating among the four central banks to coordinate a rise in target rates.
The Bank of England may be the least likely to tighten, as their last loosening took place in August, post-Brexit. Japan’s economy also has been foundering for years, …read more
Source: What The Federal Reserve Will Do Today
2017 Will Be The Year Of Inflation
By Tyler Durden
With crude oil prices up over 50% YoY (the most in 6 years), and retail gas prices up over 10% YoY (the most in 5 years), Bloomberg's Garfield Reynolds suggests the Saudis have sealed it then, 2017 will be the year when inflation takes over from disinflation. That’s certainly the tale the market is telling us right now and any devils out there are tucked well away in the details.
The bottom looks to be in for oil. Thanks to OPEC’s capacity to agree among themselves and with “NOPEC,” it’s likely we’ve seen the last of Brent or WTI with a 4 handle at the start of the price for a while.
The new question will be how far up Saudi Arabia is willing to let crude go — it won’t want to encourage shale oil producers to resume building capacity. Still, a new, higher equilibrium price would restore one of the foundations for inflation.
As UBS shows below, if oil tracks its forward curve then inflation will likely meet (or exceed) ECB and Fed mandates next year…
Those foundations were already looking more stable as indications of stronger U.S. economic outlook, especially labor markets, hint the Fed would finally get the classic, wage-driven PPI and CPI increases it wants.
Chinese factories look to again have power to raise prices and are doing so at the fastest clip in five years.
Metals are also climbing, and were doing so even before the latest oil surge.
Bonds are taking a hammering; Australian 10-year yields look to be heading back above 3% to join their New Zealand counterparts and Treasuries cracked 2.5% yesterday.
Bond-market inflationary expectations are going with them, with U.S. CPI seen averaging 2% a year again for the first time since 2014. European inflation swaps are up for a sixth-straight month, something that hasn’t happened since at least 2004.
* * *
There are a few notes of caution to be sounded — there’s still a lot of oil around, and OPEC accords have fractured before. Also, the pace of the turnaround in assets has been so extreme — from stocks, (fresh record highs daily), to bonds (10-year U.S. yields set for worst quarter since 1994) to currencies (yen dropping fastest since 1995) — as to raise questions about sustainability.
Still, OPEC’s determination has echoes of the start of the millennium, when their unwillingness to accept $10 oil helped set off a sustained rally in crude. And if that’s curtains for global disinflation then we could see the start of a great unwind in central bank easing, something capable of spurring all manner of extraordinary market disruption.
Source: 2017 Will Be The Year Of Inflation
British Member Of Parliament Accuses Russia Of Manipulating Brexit Vote
By Tyler Durden
First, the US blamed Russian hackers for Hillary Clinton’s unexpected loss, a narrative which continues to reverberate with the relentless crusade by both the WaPo and NYT against “fake news.” then Germany preemptively blamed Russia for a potential loss by Angela Merkel in the upcoming elections: as we reported last night, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is reporting a “striking increase” in Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns aimed at destabilizing German society, and targeted cyber attacks against political parties.
Now, it’s the UK’s turn.
According to a former Labour Member of Parliament, Russian hackers “probably” swayed the EU referendum vote in favor of Brexit. Because – as is all too clear by now – when all else fails, and one needs a scapegoat that is too amused to respond to silly allegations, just blame the Russians.
As SkyNews reports, leading Remain campaigner Ben Bradshaw has joined the parade, and questioned the validity of the stunning June result, claiming people were underestimating the extent of cyber warfare by Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was not exactly clear how Putin “hacked” the UK, or the millions who voted for Brexit, but we’ll let that slide for now.
His extraordinary claim came in an emergency Commons debate on the latest developments in Syria, where President Bashar Assad’s Russian-backed forces have been storming the city of Aleppo.
Luckily, and unlike in the US, Bradshaw’s allegation was given short shrift by Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman, who responded: “I have not come across any evidence that Russian cyber warfare was used to influence the referendum. Unfortunately, in America, where there is the same amount of “evidence”, this particular conspiracy theory is all the rage.
Bradshaw, dismissed as a “Remoaner” by Leave campaigners, told MPs: “I don’t think we have even begun to wake up to what Russia is doing when it comes to cyber warfare. Not only their interference, now proven, in the American presidential campaign, probably in our own referendum last year.”
Proven? Where? Oh rather, he – like the NYT – believes that if you repeat a lie enough times, it becomes the “truth.” Well, both the WaPo and the NYT are still going for it, so it may yet work.
Paradoxically Bradshaw, finding himself in the same sticky situation as Americans who have accused the Kremlin of stealing Hillary’s victory, admitted that “we don’t have the evidence for that yet”, but then followed up with the even more brilliant “but I think it’s highly probable.” Just don’t call it a conspiracy theory.
The paranoid Brit wasn’t done, and predicted that cybersamurai Putin not only stole the Brexit vote, but would make sure Marine Le Pen wins the French presidential election:
“Certainly in the French presidential election, they will be involved, and there are already serious concerns in the German secret service that Russia is already interfering in the elections coming up.”
His conclusion: “We’ve got to wake up to this.”
Curiously, he wasn’t the only Brit who appears to have lost his sense amid the global “Russian …read more
Source: British Member Of Parliament Accuses Russia Of Manipulating Brexit Vote
House Passes Bill To "Microchip Citizens With ‘Mental Disabilities’" – Who’s Next?
By Tyler Durden
We’ve all been warned that it is coming, but as SHTFPlan.com's Mac Slavo notes, what is disturbing is that while technology surrounds us and *some* have concerns about privacy, most shrug at the massive amounts of data they are collecting about our lives, and the incredible level of control the system now has over each individual.
This bill passed, clinging to the broadest base of “good intentions” that it could muster, i.e. caring for those with disabilities and decline with age.
But in reality, it is a nose under the tent for a system that needs the ability to microchip dissenters, and to force cooperation on the part of the general population. In effect, everyone is now under their thumb with this, because anyone could doesn’t go along with the mass conditioning will be labeled ‘mentally –––’ and branded with a track-and-control chip. Game over.
At the first sign of suspicious behavior, or troubling social media profile, or a misunderstanding during an encounter, police and medical personnel – among others – will have the authority to declare someone ‘mentally disabled’ (or incapacitated, or temporarily insane, or unsound of mind, or whatever label is handy) just because they express discontent, anger or outage at the state of the world and political affairs. “Fake news” journalists can be shut down, and “conspiracy minded” individuals controlled… and of course, it will be abused. The tactics used against parents by CPS will be forged together with the creepy total surveillance of the fusion centers, etc. Potentially a very nasty police state.
This power will expand, and try again if it is slowed down or rejected. Whether it takes the form of an implanted chip, or a tracking number that is tied to each person, they will stop at nothing short of mark in everyone with identity tied to bank accounts, etc. They will insist you be on the grid in every way… and with this bill, they just got one step closer to controlling the future. All this has been foretold, and yet it is beyond anything anyone could have imagined.
THIS REALLY JUST HAPPENED: House Passed Bill Allowing Government to Microchip Citizens with ‘Mental Disabilities’
Authored by Whitney Webb via TrueActivist.com
Though the bill only targets those with conditions such as Alzheimers and autism, critics say the bill’s passage will open a “pandora’s box” of invasive government surveillance.
Six years ago, NBC Nightly News boldly predicted that all Americans would be fitted with RFID microchips by the year 2017. Though at the time, NBC’s prediction seemed far-fetched, the House recently passed a bill that would bring a micro-chipped populace closer to reality before year’s end. Last Thursday, the House passed HR 4919, also known as Kevin and Avonte’s Law, which would allow the US attorney general to award grants to law enforcement for the creation and operation of “locative tracking technology programs.”
Though the program’s mission is to find “individuals with forms of dementia or children with developmental disabilities who have wandered …read more
Source: House Passes Bill To "Microchip Citizens With ‘Mental Disabilities’" – Who’s Next?
Tucker Carlson Takes on Idiot Huffpo Columnist Over Russian Hacking Claim
By The_Real_Fly
Robert McElvaine has been a busy little bee on Huffington Post, fomenting strife, disunity and complete horseshit, following the electoral college win by Donald J. Trump.
Let’s review some of his recent ‘work’ and then segue over to Tucker Carlson’s debate with the good Professor, attempting to get to the bottom of this great big Russian ordeal.
Source: HuffPo
12/12/16
How Putin Would Be Able to Control Trump
Ronald Reagan completed the winning of the Cold War. Donald Trump as president would be very likely to transform that American victory into a Russian triumph.
Are Republicans prepared to live with that outcome? Those who aren’t need immediately to join with concerned Democrats and hammer out a Compromise of 2016 that will create a National Unity Government without a Putin puppet in the Oval Office.
12/11/16
Where Is the Outrage? Where Are the Patriots?
We have only seven days to save the Republic from a hostile takeover by billionaire American oligarchs and their Russian backers. Are there no courageous patriots in the top ranks of the news media? How about political leaders from both parties who could come forward and work out a compromise Government of National Unity not including Trump, such as the one suggested here, that could be presented to the Electors. Are there not at least 38 Republican Electors who would be willing to put their nation above their party and do what the Framers of the Constitution intended Electors to do in a crisis such as this: prevent the election of a dangerous demagogue and a foreign power gaining, as Alexander Hamilton put it in The Federalist No. 68, “an improper ascendant in our councils … by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?”
12/10/16
Save America through a Compromise of 2016
After each side comes up with a proposal, leaders from each group can enter negotiations to reach an agreement acceptable to both by next weekend that can be announced before December 19, with a call on Electors from both parties to support the chosen candidates. In light both of her large margin of victory in the actual vote and of the Russian intervention against her, it is entirely reasonable that the president chosen in these negotiations should by Hillary Clinton, with a Republican Vice President. Only if acceptance of that outcome proves impossible to achieve should Mrs. Clinton agree to step aside and call for the Electors from both parties to join together in choosing a ticket of sane people not under the influence of Mr. Putin.
12/07/16
Hillary Can Be A Hero By Saving America From Trump
Given the general disarray of the Trump campaign during the primaries, it is likely that a good number of the people chosen as Republican Electors in states that he carried are not particularly loyal to him. One, Chris Suprun of Texas, declared on Monday that he will not vote for Trump. “I am here to elect a president, not a king,” he said. He is leaning towards voting for Gov. …read more
Source: Tucker Carlson Takes on Idiot Huffpo Columnist Over Russian Hacking Claim
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Is Obama Setting-Up War With Russia By ‘Unraveling’ The Situation In Syria?
By Tyler Durden
Submitted by Eric Zuesse via Strategic-Culture.org,
A 12 August 2012 U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency warning that the Obama Administration’s strategy might drive ISIS from Mosul in Iraq to Der Zor in Syria, is now being actually carried out as a plan instead of a warning — a plan to weaken and ultimately oust Syria’s non-sectarian President Bashar al-Assad and replace him with a Sunni Sharia-law regime (one led by jihadists). The DIA warning had called this scenario an “unraveling,” but Obama and the U.S. Congress are now actually choosing it, so as to set the incoming President Trump up with an opportunity to replace Assad’s government by one that the Sauds and their U.S.-made weapons will control.
The DIA warning in 2012 had said:
“C. IF THE SITUATION UNRAVELS THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A DECLARED OR UNDECLARED SALAFIST [fundamentalist Sunni] PRINCIPALITY IN EASTERN SYRIA (HASAKA AND DER ZOR), AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE SUPPORTING POWERS [U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey] TO THE OPPOSITION WANT, IN ORDER TO ISOLATE THE [pro-Russian and pro-Iranian] SYRIAN REGIME.”
Whoever wrote this assessment recognized that though the option would mean an “unraveling” of Syria, it’s what the U.S. and its allies were actually seeking.
On September 17th, U.S. and UK jets bombed the compound of Syrian government troops who were fighting to oust jihadists from Deir Ezzor (or “Der Zor”), and killed 62 Syrian soldiers, with a hundred more injured, in that U.S.-led bombing attack. Der Zor was being softened-up for the coming U.S.-and-allied takeover.
The brilliant anonymous military blogger “Moon of Alabama” then became the first reporter to notice the possible connection that the DIA’s warning might end up having to what is now the joint U.S.-Turkish-Iraqi operation against ISIS in Mosul; he headlined on 20 September 2016, “Deir Ezzor Attack Enables The ‘Salafist Principality’ As Foreseen In The 2012 DIA Analysis”, and he wrote:
“Two recent attacks against the Syrian Arab Army in east-Syria point to a U.S. plan to eliminate all Syrian government presence east of Palmyra. This would enable the U.S. and its allies to create a ‘Sunni entity’ in east-Syria and west-Iraq which would be a permanent thorn in side of Syria and its allies [Russia and Iran]. A 2012 analysis by the Defense Intelligence Agency said” — and he then quoted the above DIA excerpt.
Then on October 12th, he bannered “The ‘Salafist Principality’ — ISIS Paid Off To Leave Mosul And To Take Deir Ezzor?”, and reported that the Obama Administration had just negotiated with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and with Saudi Prince Salman (who is the decision-maker in Saudi military matters), to provide safe passage into the large Syrian city of Deir Es Zor, for the ISIS jihadists who were occupying the large city of Mosul in Iraq.
He cited also a tweet on the morning of October 12th, from the celebrated Syrian historian and journalist Nizar Nayouf, reporting: “Breaking news: Sources in #London say: #US&#Saudi_Arabia concluded an agreement to …read more
Source: Is Obama Setting-Up War With Russia By ‘Unraveling’ The Situation In Syria?
Dallas Police Resignations Soar As "Insolvent" Pension System Implodes
By Tyler Durden
A few days ago we noted that the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System (DPFP) took the unprecedented step of halting withdrawals from their DROP fund after a “run on the bank” pushed to the entire pension system, and the City of Dallas, to the brink of liquidity crisis (see “In Unprecedented Move, Dallas Pension System Suspends Withdrawals“). Now, a local CBS affiliate in Dallas is reporting that the pension crisis is driving a massive surge in police resignations.
Interim Dallas Police Chief David Pughes told city council members Monday that 99 officers have left the department since October 1.
City councilman Philip Kingston is among those who blame the situation on the cash-starved police and fire pension fund.
“It’s concerning, but it’s not very surprising with the turmoil surrounding the pension system,” said Kingston.
In a statement, Mayor Mike Rawlings said, “This is why we are working so hard to address our pension crisis.”
The Dallas Police Association said in any given year, about 180 officers leave the department — either to retire or work at higher-paying departments.
About half the number have left in a two and a half month period.
Of course, not surprisingly, the majority of the resignations came from older, tenured officers who had the most to lose.
“I think most of those 99 were tenured officers, so those are our most experienced officers, the majority investigative detectives who solve crimes everyday,” said Mata.
Councilman Kingston acknowledges the department’s challenge. “I think Chief Pughes is going to have to be creative. There’s nothing we can do to fix that in the short term. He has the number of officers he has and he has got to get results using those officers.”
Meanwhile, just like any other government problem, Dallas city council members have decided that the appropriate solution to their liquidity crisis is to offer police officers a 27% pay increase to be phased in over the next three years…that should be “roughly” inline with inflation, give or take 25%.
After months of negotiations, city council members will vote Wednesday on a new contract not only for police officers, but firefighters and paramedics as well.
Under the terms, most police officers, firefighters and paramedics would receive merit increases of ten percent the first year, five percent the second year, and ten percent the third year.
The Dallas Police Association and a city council member say they think the raises will help keep younger officers from leaving for other departments.
“Those individuals who possibly were thinking of leaving, yes, I think this prevents them from leaving. It helps them stay,” said Mata. “So it was definitely a move in the right direction.”
“It was important to get those numbers up what our younger officers can make at other places,” said Kingston. “It’s just the right thing to do in general.”
As we’ve stated many times over the past several months of following the DPFP implosion, taxpayers will be the ultimate loser here…looks like that’s …read more
Source: Dallas Police Resignations Soar As "Insolvent" Pension System Implodes
The New York Times Explains How It Became An "Instrument Of Russian Intelligence"
By Tyler Durden
In a massive (in a literal sense, printing at 25 pages and over 8,000 words as there is little new information revealed in the piece itself) expose issued by the NYT tited “The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.” and meant to piggyback on the WaPo’s recent reporting and solidify the left-leaning media’s case that Hillary lost the election, the New York Times try to summarize all the recent publicly available information on alleged Russian hackings of everything from the DNC server to the Podesta email.
While the 8,000 words do provide a good recap of the widely accepted mainstream media version of events, we hoped to find some actual incremental news, like, for example: proof, so we promptly scoured the report for any incremental evidence that Russia was indeed behind the hack – after all that’s what the NYT is writing about. Alas, we could not find it, instead there was nothing but more innuendo, more “believes”, and more “possible linkages.” Some examples:
- American intelligence officials said they believed that the hackers were associated with two Russian intelligence agencies.
- Investigators believe that the G.R.U., or a hacking group known as Fancy Bear or A.P.T. 28, was the second group to break into the D.N.C., but it has played a bigger role in releasing the committee’s emails.
- A self-proclaimed hacker that investigators believe was a group acting as an agent of the G.R.U. It published documents itself and leaked a series of D.N.C. documents.
- A hacking group possibly linked to the agency, the main successor to the K.G.B., entered Democratic National Committee servers undetected for nearly a year, security researchers said. The group was nicknamed Cozy Bear, the Dukes or A.P.T. 29 for “advanced persistent threat.”
Finally, on Wikileaks:
- The website released about 50,000 emails from the Democratic National Committee’s computer servers. It is unclear how WikiLeaks obtained the emails. But Russian intelligence agencies are prime suspects, researchers said.
This, despite recent refutations by both Wikileaks, and those close to them, that the source is not Russian, although short of naming the disgruntled employee, this particular case of fingerpointing will remain an impasse indefinitely. Making matters for the mainstream narrative – i.e. the one pushed by the NYT – worse, overnight Reuters reported that the ODNI – the top US spy agency – refused to endorse the CIA’s “assessment” that Russia was behind the hacking, citing a “lack of evidence” – which just happens to be the weakest link in the attempt to demonize Putin – one which the NYT likewise fails to address.
That out of the way, the NYT does an awesome job of presenting even more unconfirmed innuendo as undisputed fact, all of which points in one direction. Russia in general, and the Kremlin in particular, are responsible for Hillary’s failure: there are 98 instance of the word Russia or Russian in the article. Some examples:
- At least one computer system belonging to the D.N.C. had been compromised by hackers federal investigators had named “the Dukes,” a cyberespionage team linked …read more
Source: The New York Times Explains How It Became An "Instrument Of Russian Intelligence"
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Wall-To-Wall Coverage Proves Trump Still Has The Mainstream Media Wrapped Around His Finger
By Tyler Durden
For the past year and a half Trump has masterfully outsmarted the mainstream media at every twist and turn on his road to the White House. Who can forget the time back in September when the mainstream media thought they had finally cornered Trump on the birther issue? Thinking they were going to get an apology from Trump on pushing the Obama “birther” controversy, the mainstreamers piled into the brand new Trump International Hotel in D.C. in eager anticipation of his statement and the opportunity to blast him with patronizing questions. But, what the unwitting media actually got was 30 minutes of endorsements from decorated military generals and medal of honor recipients that was broadcast out to millions of voters.
CNN was so furious they actually cut their coverage of the event while Jake Tapper declared that Trump had pulled off a “political Rick roll.”
And CNN finally pulls out of live coverage of Trump event while these other folks are speaking. Jake Tapper calls it a political Rick roll.
— Zuri Berry (@zuriberry) September 16, 2016
Meanwhile, Politico’s disgraced Glenn Thrush had a nervous breakdown over twitter blasting the cable networks that had allowed Trump to “hijack them for free airtime” calling it a “f–king disgrace.”
18 months into this cable networks are still letting Trump hijack them for free airtime — ad time — by promising a “major announcement’
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) September 16, 2016
This is a f–king disgrace… https://t.co/YtSjlt57Os
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) September 16, 2016
But the more frustrated and angry the elitists of the mainstream media became, the stronger his base grew. As Michael Moore so eloquently pointed out, the people of the Midwest saw that corporate America hated Trump, that wall street hated Trump, that establishment politicians hated Trump and that the mainstream media hated Trump which only served to confirm for them that “the enemy of my enemy is who I’m voting for on November 8th.”
And while the mainstream media promised some internal reflection following an election they got horribly wrong, in reality, absolutely nothing has changed. They can’t help but publicly display their contempt for the president-elect with several “journalists” pushing the boundaries of on-air nervous breakdowns recently over the “Russian hacking” of the election.
That said, as Joe Concha of The Hill points out, while they hate him, the media can’t help but to endlessly cover every single tweet he sends out, every person that walks into Trump Tower, every rumor about a potential cabinet appointment and every rally he attends because the ad revenue he generates demands it.
Because here’s the thing: Trump knows he has traditional establishment media wrapped around his finger. He got a fresh reminder of his control during the past two weeks, when much of cable news would run coverage of every Trump Tweet and analyze and speculate about every person entering Trump Tower. The coverage in most places would — as it always has been …read more
Source: Wall-To-Wall Coverage Proves Trump Still Has The Mainstream Media Wrapped Around His Finger
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