Blog Entries

British Police Set to Step Up Hacking of Home PCs

MarkCahall@gmail.com — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

By David Leppard: TimesOnline.co.uk

The Home Office has quietly adopted a new plan to allow police across Britain routinely to hack into people’s personal computers without a warrant.

The move, which follows a decision by the European Union’s council of ministers in Brussels, has angered civil liberties groups and opposition MPs. They described it as a sinister extension of the surveillance state which drives “a coach and horses” through pri [...]

SEC watchdog to be questioned about Madoff scandal

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

SEC watchdog to be questioned about Madoff scandal

MARCY GORDON : AP

WASHINGTON (AP) - The heavy toll of the Bernard Madoff scandal is being brought before Congress Monday as a House panel tries to determine how, despite warnings over a decade to federal regulators, Madoff continued to operate his alleged Ponzi scheme.

"I am a human face on this tragedy," says Allan Goldstein, a retired New York textile distributor.

Read More...

Rulings target Internet sex stings : Appeals court says there must be an actual victim

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Rulings target Internet sex stings : Appeals court says there must be an actual victim

Jon Murray : The Indianapolis Star

The Internet stings police consider key to protecting minors from sexual predators may lose some of their power after two recent Court of Appeals rulings.

The use of undercover investigators as bait in Internet chats has become routine in Central Indiana. But the attraction for law enforcement -- the lack of an actual victim -- also beca [...]

Prez-Elect Makes New Pitch, Promises on Job Creation -- Including 600,000 New Government Employees

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Prez-Elect Makes New Pitch, Promises on Job Creation -- Including 600,000 New Government Employees

Jake Tapper : ABC News

In his radio address today, President-elect Obama uses some new language when discussing what he wants the stimulus package to achieve in terms of jobs. First off, he has a name for the package -- the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan."

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Obama Eyes $300 Billion Tax Cut

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Obama Eyes $300 Billion Tax Cut

JONATHAN WEISMAN and NAFTALI BENDAVID : Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are crafting a plan to offer about $300 billion of tax cuts to individuals and businesses, a move aimed at attracting Republican support for an economic-stimulus package and prodding companies to create jobs.

The size of the proposed tax cuts -- which would account for about 40% of a stimulus pac [...]

Ron Paul on Gaza, the Dollar and the Economy -- 1/03/2008

MarkCahall@gmail.com — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08gTWqWrI4M] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08gTWqWrI4M - 6:42

U.S. Debt Expected To Soar This Year

MarkCahall@gmail.com — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

By Lori Montgomery: WashingtonPost.com $2 Trillion Increase May Test Federal Ability to Borrow

With President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats considering a massive spending package aimed at pulling the nation out of recession, the national debt is projected to jump by as much as $2 trillion this year, an unprecedented increase that could test the world's appetite for financing U.S. government spending.

For now, investors are frantically stuffi [...]

Five Sisters Killed in Gaza While They Slept

MarkCahall@gmail.com — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

By Donald Macintyre and Said Ghazali: Independent.co.uk

Israel's target was the mosque next door.

But the rocket attack claimed the lives of innocent children

You will be martyrs?: Th [...]
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MarkCahall@gmail.com — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

By Tony Dolz: AmericanChronicle.com

"Bank on California" Money Laundering Scheme

May Do for the State What Mortgage Meltdown Did for the Nation

The state of California will go bust by March of 2009. Over the cliff we will go and to make sure there is no looking back, Arnold Schwar [...]

Pakistanis reopen Khyber Pass for Afghan supplies

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Pakistanis reopen Khyber Pass for Afghan supplies

Ibrahim Shinwari : Reuters

JAMRUD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Trucks rumbled through Pakistan's Khyber Pass on Friday, resuming the transport of supplies to Western forces in Afghanistan three days after authorities suspended shipments to clear out militants.

Pakistani Taliban militants in the Khyber region have been trying for months to block vital supplies bound for landlocked Afghanistan, launching a string of [...]

Treasury to mull Citi-style rescues

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Treasury to mull Citi-style rescues

JEANNINE AVERSA : AP

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Treasury Department opened the door Friday to using a Citigroup-style rescue package to help other troubled financial institutions.

The financial lifeline thrown to Citigroup Inc. (C) in late November involved backing billions in risky assets and providing the banking giant with a fresh capital infusion.

Read More...

U.S. governors seek $1 trillion federal assistance

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

U.S. governors seek $1 trillion federal assistance

Reuters : Jon Hurdle

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Governors of five U.S. states urged the federal government to provide $1 trillion in aid to the country's 50 states to help pay for education, welfare and infrastructure as states struggle with steep budget deficits amid a deepening recession.

The governors of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Wisconsin -- all Democrats -- said the initiative for the [...]

Obama to talk stimulus with Hill leaders

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Obama to talk stimulus with Hill leaders

Carol E. Lee : Politico

HONOLULU — President-elect Barack Obama will meet with congressional leaders on Monday during his first full day back in Washington in an attempt to assuage rising concerns among Republicans and some Democrats that his economic stimulus plan is too costly and too rushed.

Obama will first sit down with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to [...]

Burris sought death for innocent man

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Burris sought death for innocent man

BEN PROTESS : ProPublica

Former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris, embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to replace Barack Obama in the Senate, is no stranger to controversy.

Public fury over the governor's alleged misconduct has masked the once lively debate over Burris' decision to continue to prosecute, despite the objections of one of his top prosecutors, the wrong man for a high-profile murder case.

VIDEO: Peter Schiff on CNBC: Dollar in Decline

MarkCahall@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Run On the Dollar? The dollar showing signs of weakness, with Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital; Andy Busch, BMO Capital Markets; and CNBC's Rebecca Jarvis. http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=978838886&play=1 - 8:58

Great Depression 2009 Similarities to 1930's

MarkCahall@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

By Money_and_Markets: MarketOracle.co.uk

Martin Weiss writes: I have just received a series of urgent questions about the massive crisis swirling all around us. So to help you prepare for 2009, I am going to give you my best answers right here and now.

Urgent Questions from Readers

Q: I see disturbing similarities between this crisis and The Great Depression. Both were triggered by the bursting of massive debt bubbles, for [...]

Steel Industry, in Slump, Looks to Federal Stimulus

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Steel Industry, in Slump, Looks to Federal Stimulus

LOUIS UCHITELLE : New York Times

The steel industry, having entered the recession in the best of health, is emerging as a leading indicator of what lies ahead. As steel production goes — and it is now in collapse — so will go the national economy.

That maxim once applied to Detroit’s Big Three car companies, when they dominated American manufacturing. Now they are losing ground in good ti [...]

The Wall Street Ponzi Scheme Called Fractional Reserve Banking

MarkCahall@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

By Ellen Brown: WebOfDebt.com

Cartoon in the New Yorker:
A gun-toting man with large dark glasses, large hat pulled down, stands in front of a bank teller, who is reading a demand note. It says, “Give me all the money in my account.”

Bernie Madoff showed us how it was done: you induce many investors to invest their money, promising steady above-market returns; and you deliver – at least on paper. When your clients chec [...]

Gonzales Defends Role in Antiterror Policies

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Gonzales Defends Role in Antiterror Policies

It's two days old now, but this incredible statement from Alberto Gonzales is too absurd not to highlight:

"What is it that I did that is so fundamentally wrong, that deserves this kind of response to my service?"

During a lunch meeting two blocks from the White House, where he served under his longtime friend, President George W. Bush, Mr. Gonzales said that "for some reason, I am portrayed as th [...]

Israeli warplanes destroy Gaza houses and mosque as air strikes continue

thefreedomrevolution@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Israeli warplanes destroy Gaza houses and mosque as air strikes continue

Rory McCarthy and David Batty : Guardian

Israeli warplanes struck around 20 targets in Gaza today, raising the death toll in the territory to at least 414 in seven days of intensive bombing.

The continued air strikes, which killed two Palestinians in a house and a mosque, and further rocket attacks by Hamas on the Israeli port of Ashkelon, dashed international hopes of a ceasefire.