In a massive lawsuit that reads like an international thriller, the U.S. government claims that well-connected fraudsters stole $3.5 billion from Malaysia and used it to buy New York condos, hotels, yachts and a jet. Some of that money was used to produce the Hollywood film “The Wolf of Wall Street.” …read more
Source: Feds want ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ profits
HSBC banker arrested at JFK airport as he prepared to leave the country. He and former trader face federal charges they manipulated currency trades. …read more
Source: HSBC banker arrested at JFK in trading scheme
By Tyler Durden
The question marks around the failed Turkish “coup” continue to pile up.
Several days ago we reported that in one of the most glaring inconsistencies surrounding the failed military attempt to overthrow the Turkish president, at the height of the attempt to overthrow Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the rebel pilots of two F-16 fighter jets had Erdogan’s plane in their sights. And yet he was able to fly on.
“At least two F-16s harassed Erdogan’s plane while it was in the air and en route to Istanbul. They locked their radars on his plane and on two other F-16s protecting him,” a former military officer with knowledge of the events told Reuters. “Why they didn’t fire is a mystery,” he said.
Now a new mystery that just does not add up has emerged.
According to the government’s official narrative, rushed together in the days after the coup, there was an attack on Saturday morning by helicopter-borne commandos against a resort hotel in Marmaris. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was meant to be staying there. But the attack took place nearly an hour after every news channel in Turkey beamed images of Mr Erdogan addressing the nation from the airport in Istanbul, some 750km away.
As even the FT skeptically reports, “that episode is one of many inconsistencies and strange occurrences in a coup whose amateurish — almost kamikaze — nature preordained its failure and is now providing rich fodder for conspiracy theories. That Turkey is so polarised — roughly split between those who love and hate Mr Erdogan — has only added to the froth.”
As a result of the gaping holes in the story, even the central issue of who was behind the coup is now contested reality. According to a snap poll a third of Turks believe Erdogan himself, who says his own life was threatened, was behind the coup. (The poll, by London-based Streetbees, queried about 2,800 Turks, two-thirds via mobile apps, and a third in person.)
However, that helicopter raid, along with reports that Mr Erdogan’s plane was pursued by two fighter jets that never opened fire, some argue, is evidence that his life was never in any real danger.
To be sure, voices have quickly emerged slamming any such allegations as “preposterous” conspiracy theories. “Turks, like a lot of people around the world are given to conspiracy theories — simplistic explanations for complex events for things they don’t fully understand,” said Ross Wilson, a former US ambassador to Ankara now at the Atlantic Council. “Did Erdogan secretly engineer this, which is preposterous, or did the United States engineer this, which is equally preposterous?”
However for the locals, who have extensive experience with “conspiracy theories” that end up becoming conspiracy fact, especially when it comes to the government, things are not quite so clear cut. Those seeking holes in the government’s version of events about the coup are particularly focused on an offhand comment made by Mr Erdogan on Saturday, where he called the coup “a gift from …read more
Source: The Oddly "Inconsistent" Event That Has Turkey Wondering If The Entire Coup Was Staged
American companies are left wondering what will happen to the billions of dollars worth of investment they’ve poured into Turkey after last week’s failed military coup. …read more
Source: American companies have a lot to lose from Turkey chaos
By Tyler Durden
Submitted by Michael Shedlock via MishTalk.com,
When you want to get your message across, you sponsor a study that is 100% guaranteed to come to the conclusion you demanded from the outset.
In this case, a White House study allegedly proves Student Debt Helps, Not Harms, the U.S. Economy.
Hooray!
The White House just released a big report on student debt that contains all the familiar horrors about for-profit schools, indebted dropouts and students defaulting on their loans. But it has an interesting conclusion: That growing stack of $1.3 trillion in student debt is helping, not hurting, the U.S. economy.
That conclusion is sure to rankle the many student advocates and special-interest groups—from real-estate agents to employers seeking new tax breaks for their young workers—that argue student debt is a big “drag” on the economy. (Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have each decried the rise in student debt.)
The surge in student debt occurred largely on President Barack Obama’s watch, though it began several years earlier. Since early 2009, when Mr. Obama took office, student debt has nearly doubled, to about $1.3 trillion today, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
Monstrous Report
The 77-page “Investing in Higher Education” report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers backs up its claim that “debt helps” with dozens of charts and studies from economists and academics.
Here are a few examples.
College Earnings Premium
Cumulative Earnings vs. Debt
Lifetime Earnings
Charts Not in Dispute
The report has 77 pages and 45 charts. I do not dispute the charts.
But what do they show?
The problem with the study is it cannot prove what would have happened to those kids had they not gone to college.
Simple Question
Do the college kids earn more because they went to college or because they graduated from high school with an ability to read, write, speak coherent English, and do basic math?
The answer is likely mixed. Those with degrees in engineering, computer science, robotics, law, medicine, etc, likely did far better because of their degree.
But what about the kid with an English degree working as a retail clerk or manager at Target, McDonalds, or Home Depot?
Many of those who did not go to college were not bright enough or motivated enough to get into college.
Straight-up comparisons of those who went to college vs. those who didn’t are flawed.
Let’s assume that college is a good idea. There is still a question of how much college costs and why.
The report did not address unions, athletic coaches making millions of dollars, the massive rise in administrative costs, or pensions.
The report failed to mention Bush’s bankruptcy reform act of 2005 that made student debt non-dischargeable in bankruptcy.
The report failed to mention that costs soar every time government meddles in something.
Median Household Income vs. College Tuition
The report did blame the “Great Recession” stating states cut payments …read more
By Tyler Durden
On Tuesday night, in a surprising move, Twitter permanently banned conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos from using its service. Yiannopoulos, an editor for prominent conservative website Breitbart.com, has been known for making provocative statements on Twitter and elsewhere.
Twitter said the suspension was part of a wider move to block a number of user accounts for abuse and harassment after Ghostbusters actor Leslie Jones on Monday drew renewed attention to the issue and announced she would quit the social media site.
Jones retweeted and shared several abusive tweets she received Monday before telling her 250,000 followers: “I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart. All this cause I did a movie. You can hate the movie but the shit I got today… wrong.” Jones shared some of the racist tweets targeted toward her, many of which compared her to an ape. User YellowArmedImposter wrote, “Your Ghostbusters isn’t the first to have an ape in it,” which Jones shared with the comment: “I just don’t understand.” Jones, who is also a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live, publicly pondered over several tweets what would prompt people to “spew hate.”
“I used to wonder why some celebs don’t have Twitter accts now I know,” she wrote in one tweet. In a separate post, she added: “Twitter I understand you got free speech I get it. But there has to be some guidelines when you let spread like that.”
Among those banned Tuesday was Breitbart tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos, who has been a controversial figure on the site and helped lead the abuse against Jones. Yiannopoulos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Twitter said in a statement Tuesday that it had seen an “uptick” in the number of accounts violating its abuse and harassment policies over the past 48 hours, noting it had enforced its policies either by issuing warnings or permanently suspending users. “We know many people believe we have not done enough to curb this type of behavior on Twitter. We agree,” Twitter said in the statement. “We are continuing to invest heavily in improving our tools and enforcement systems to better allow us to identify and take faster action on abuse as it’s happening and prevent repeat offenders.”
“People should be able to express diverse opinions and beliefs on Twitter,” said a Twitter official in a statement. “But no one deserves to be subjected to targeted abuse online, and our rules prohibit inciting or engaging in the targeted abuse or harassment of others.”
“We have been in the process of reviewing our hateful conduct policy to prohibit additional types of abusive behavior and allow more types of reporting, with the goal of reducing the burden on the person being targeted,” the official said. “We’ll provide more details on those changes in the coming weeks.”
According to the Hill, a Twitter spokesperson did not respond to a question about what policy violation specifically led to Yiannopoulos’s suspension.
While Yiannopoulos did not immediately respond to a Hill request for comment, …read more
Source: In Surprising Move, Twitter Permanently Bans Conservative Commentator Milo Yiannopoulos
The U.K. has banned two Special K adverts for making unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of the popular cereal. …read more
Source: Special K ads banned over health benefits claims
By Tyler Durden
Submitted by Nima Gholam Ali Pour via The Gatestone Institute,
Jihadists who come to Sweden know that there are many liberal politicians looking for invisible “right-wing extremists”, and feminists who think what is really important is using “gender perspective” in the fight against extremism and terrorism.
Perhaps the Swedish government has a secret plan to convince jihadists to become feminists? As usual, Swedish politicians have chosen to politicize the fight against extremism and terrorism, and address the issue as if it were about parental leave instead of Sweden's security.
“As soon as these people… say 'Asylum', the gates of heaven open.” – Inspector Leif Fransson, Swedish border police.
Experts in Sweden's security apparatus have clearly expressed that violent Islamism is a clear and present danger to the security of Sweden, but the politicized debate about Islamic terrorism and extremism does not seem capable of absorbing this warning.
Like all other European countries, Sweden is trying to fight against jihadists and terrorists, but it often seems as if the key players in Sweden have no understanding of what the threats are or how to deal with them.
In 2014, for instance, the Swedish government decided to set up a post called the “National Coordinator Against Violent Extremism.” But instead of appointing an expert as the national coordinator, the government appointed the former party leader of the Social Democrats, Mona Sahlin. Apart from Sahlin having a high school degree, she is mostly known for a corruption scandal. As a party leader of the Social Democrats, she lost the 2010 election, and as a minister in several Socialist governments, she has not managed to distinguish herself in any significant way. Göran Persson, who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006, described Mona Sahlin this way:
“People believe she has a greater political capacity than she has. What comes across her lips is not so remarkable. Her strength is not thinking, but to convey messages.”
With such a background, it was no surprise that she was ineffective as National Coordinator Against Violent Extremism. But the fact that she used her high government agency to help her friends came as a shock to the Swedish public. Sahlin had hired her former bodyguard for a position at her agency and signed a false certificate that he earned $14,000 dollars monthly, so that he could receive financing to purchase a $1.2-million-dollar home.
Sahlin also gave the man's relative an internship, even though the application had been declined. Before Sahlin resigned in May 2016, she said, “I help many of my friends.”
Despite the fact that Sweden has a Ministry of Justice responsible for issues that would seem far more related to violent extremism, Sweden has, for some reason, placed the agency to combat violent extremism under the Ministry of Culture.
While the U.S sees the fight against Islamic extremism as a security issue, Sweden evidently believes that combating violent extremism should be placed in a ministry responsible for issues such as media, democracy, human rights and national minorities. With …read more
Source: How Serious Is Sweden’s Fight Against Islamic Terrorism And Extremism?
Welcome to Esh Carmel Blog.
