White House: Sequestration Is Bad Policy

White House: Sequestration Is Bad Policy: The White House last week issued a 394-page report detailing the cuts to government programs if sequestration – automatic across the board cuts in both defense and non-defense expenses – were to take place. The administration warned that the cuts would be deeply destructive to national security and core government functions and are not a responsible way to reduce the deficit. Congress last August agreed to sequestration after they were unable to come up with a plan to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

“Sequestration is a blunt and indiscriminate instrument,” the White House said. “It is not the responsible way for our nation to achieve deficit reduction.”

AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said sequestration will devastate government programs and services to the American people. He urges lawmakers to work toward a plan to avert sequestration and to resist calls to exploit the crisis by making cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or federal retirement. Sequestration is completely avoidable. If the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy 2% are allowed to return to the Clinton rates, almost $1 trillion would be raised, eliminating the need for sequestration altogether. If it was not for these irresponsible tax cuts, this $1 trillion hole would not even exist.
“These cuts would mean hiring freezes, furloughs and staffing reductions at the Border Patrol, Bureau of Prisons, Transportation Security Administration and other agencies that keep America safe,” NP Cox said. “The Defense Department would see delays in new equipment and facility investments, cutbacks in equipment repairs and reductions in base services for military families. The USDAs ability to inspect food processing plants and prevent foodborne illnesses would be compromised, as would the EPAs ability to protect the water we drink and the air we breathe. Critical housing programs and food assistance for low-income families would be cut.”
The following are estimates of the 2013 across-the-board cuts by agency. Exempt from sequestration are funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the CIA, military personnel, and most mandatory domestic spending such as Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Click here to view the entire report.
Defense Department: $54.66 billion
Department of Veterans Affairs: Exempt
Capitol Police: $28 million
Food Safety and Inspection Service: $87 million
Forest Service: $431 million
Department of Commerce: $44 million
Bureau of the Census: $79 million
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: $413 million
Department of Education: $4.1 billion
Department of Energy: $2.4 billion
Department of Health and Human Services: $15.4 billion
National Institutes of Health: $2.5 billion
Food and Drug Administration: $319 million
Department of Homeland Security: $105 million
Citizenship and Immigration Services: $205 million
Transportation Security Administration: $643 million
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center: $23 million
Immigration and Customs Enforcement: $478 million
Customs and Border Protection: $955 million
United States Coast Guard: $566 million
Federal Emergency Management Agency: $957 million
Department of Housing and Urban Development: $3.6 billion
Department of the Interior: $1.3 billion
Department of Justice: $1.2 billion
FBI: $742 million
Federal Prison System: $549 million
Department of Labor: $2.2 billion
Department of State: $2.6 billion
Department of Transportation: $2.2 billion
Department of the Treasury: $1.8 billion
Corps of Engineers: $622 million
Environmental Protection Agency: $716 million
General Services Administration: $22 million
NASA: $1.4 billion
National Science Foundation: $586 million
Office of Personnel Management: $15 million
Small Business Administration: $75 million
Social Security Administration: $467 million
District of Columbia: $35 million
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: $30 million
Nuclear Regulatory Commission: $86 million
House Approves Bills to Avoid Defense Cuts Only: The House of Representatives has approved several bills that would protect only the Defense Department from sequestration while keeping these automatic cuts for the remainder of the government. The latest one passed by the House last week was introduced by Rep. Allen West of Florida that would replace the defense cuts with even deeper cuts to other agencies’ programs. The Senate is not expected to take up the bill and the White House is likely to veto it.

Anti-Worker Heritage Foundation’s Latest Attempt to Trash Government Employees: The corporate-funded Heritage Foundation has continued to make up lies about government workers and skew data to mislead the public. This week it released new propaganda saying government employees work three hours less per week and one month less per year than their private-sector counterparts when vacation and other paid leave is taken into account. AFGE National President J. David Cox said Heritage’s latest propaganda is another attempt to manipulate data in order to pit the American people against government workers.
“The differences Heritage cite evaporate if one adjusts for firm size and length of service – the two most important factors determining hours of work and paid time off,” NP Cox said. “From VA nurses providing around-the-clock care for our nation’s veterans to EPA workers ensuring the safety of the air we breathe and the water we drink, public sector employees serve the American public. Government should function as a model employer, attracting and retaining the best and brightest to provide the services we rely on every day. The reality is that so many private, non-union employers provide absolutely no paid time off. No sick leave, no vacation, no holidays. That is the disgrace, not the fact that public sector employers recognize that all workers need some paid time off in order to maintain a work/life balance. All workers, public and private, should be entitled to decent and fair working conditions. The Heritage Foundation’s attempt to mislead the public and denigrate the work of public employees is all part of their campaign to dismantle vital government services. We must celebrate the work performed by public and private sector employees with the understanding that work connects us all.”
Judge Strikes Down Anti-Union Law in Wisconsin: A Dane County Circuit Court judge last week struck down a law championed by Gov. Scott Walker that took away nearly all collective bargaining rights for most public workers. Judge Juan Colas ruled that the law violates the state and federal constitutions. By capping union workers’ raises but not those of non-unionized counterparts, the law infringed on workers’ rights to associate with another freely and to be treated the same way under the law.
The provisions “single out and encumber the rights of those employees who choose union membership and representation solely because of that association and therefore infringe upon the rights of free speech and association guaranteed by both the Wisconsin and United States Constitutions,” the judge wrote.
The anti-worker law, signed in March last year, prohibited collective bargaining on all issues except cost-of-living salary increases, which could not exceed the inflation rate, currently at 1.7 percent. Other issues such as pensions, health benefits, and workplace safety were off limits. Walker’s attorney said the state would appeal the ruling.
New Report Exposes ALEC’s Extensive Privatization Agenda to Help Corporations Take over Government Functions: From prison privatization to virtual public schools to Medicaid privatization, the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has its hands in state and local governments’ decisions to outsource public functions and services. According to a new report by In the Public Interest, “Profiting from Public Dollars: How ALEC and Its Members Promote Privatization of Government Services and Assets,” more than 300 corporations pay $7,000-$25,000 a year to be ALEC members and gain access to legislators, many of whom are ALEC members who advance corporate interests at the expense of the taxpayers. Florida’s Council on Efficient State Government Act, for example, was passed at ALEC’s recommendation to establish a council with private sector members to review the state’s privatization opportunities. Similar bills have been introduced in 13 other states. In 2011, Ohio became the first state to sell a correctional facility after an ALEC-backed bill passed to allow companies to purchase state correctional facilities. Utah in 1999 passed an ALEC-backed bill that allowed the government to contract with companies to maintain and build correctional facilities.
“ALEC is more than just an organization that convenes meetings and develops model legislation,” the report says. “It is a major player in a long and steady movement toward private control of public structures…ALEC and its corporate members have been peddling ideas and proposals to influential lawmakers that would make it easier to privatize a wide array of government functions, increase corporate influence in important public policy decisions, and grow corporations’ bottom line.”

This Week in Labor History: Sept. 17, 2011 - The Occupy Wall Street movement is launched with an anti-Wall Street march and demonstration that ended up as a two-month encampment in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park. The even led to protests and movements around the world, with their focus on economic inequality, corruption, greed and the influence on government of monied interests. Their slogan: “We are the 99%.”
This Week’s Op-ed: Bloomberg columnist Peter Orszag argues that if Medicare is privatized, about 20 percent of doctors would likely drop Medicare patients.
“Doctors see Medicare patients, despite the relatively low payments they receive for doing so, partly because Medicare represents such a large share of the health-care market. If a substantial number of beneficiaries moved out of Medicare and into private plans, doctors would have much less incentive to see Medicare patients…The evidence suggests that, in time, this problem could well affect a large share of Medicare beneficiaries…[A]bout 20 percent of doctors would be expected to stop accepting Medicare patients.”
Orszag is vice chairman of corporate and investment banking at Citigroup and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He was a director of the Office of Management and Budget.
This Week’s Tweet: “We are born with nothing and we die with nothing but our student loans” ~ ‏@BorowitzReport

Hot on YouTube: The U.S. Naval Academy’s ‘Gangnam Style’

Quote of the Week
AFGE National President J. David Cox on the impact of sequestration:
“These cuts would mean hiring freezes, furloughs and staffing reductions at the Border Patrol, Bureau of Prisons, Transportation Security Administration and other agencies that keep America safe. The Defense Department would see delays in new equipment and facility investments, cutbacks in equipment repairs and reductions in base services for military families. The USDAs ability to inspect food processing plants and prevent foodborne illnesses would be compromised, as would the EPAs ability to protect the water we drink and the air we breathe. Critical housing programs and food assistance for low-income families would be cut.”

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American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO 80 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 | Tel. (202) 737-8700 | Fax (202) 639-6492 | www.afge.org Click here to subscribe

How To Profit From Three "Backdoor Investments" Riding Apple

Dear Sleuther, "Your decision, if it goes Apple's way, could change the way competition works in this country," said a Samsung attorney to Federal Jurors in San Jose, California, during his closing arguments yesterday. Apple and Samsung, which control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales, have been in a three week patent dispute for industry supremacy, and the jury is set to deliberate later today. They'll figure out which Apple patents, if any at all, Samsung infringed upon when it created devices that compete with the iPhone and iPad. Not only is Apple asking for $2.5 billion in damages from Samsung, but Samsung is seeking $422 million in a countersuit against Apple. Each wants dominance in a smartphone market that's valued at, according to Bloomberg Industries, $219.1 billion. It's been suggested that Apple wants to permanently bar Samsung, the largest maker of Android smartphones, from selling products in the United States that violate its patents. But courtroom cases aren't just happening in the United States... Only 62 People Know Exactly Why These Four Companies Could Change the World Now you're #63 "on the inside" -- and you're on the verge of raking in lasting wealth. This could go down in history as he story of our era. Click here for all the details. This trial is only one of many between the two companies on the exact same issues. For example, lawsuits have been filed in Tokyo, Seoul, Germany, Paris, Milan, Australia, and the U.K. If Apple prevails, the case would give Apple major firing power against Samsung and other rivals, compelling them with stronger incentive to diversify their designs and avoid further legal battles. All of this is in accordance the late Steve Jobs's intention, which as he told his biographer, was to go "thermonuclear" on Android for copying Apple's designs. All this comes at an interesting time. Apple is preparing to release the iPhone 5... and if this court case falls in Apple's favor, it could tremendously boost sales of U.S. history's already most valuable company. It means a lot because, last fiscal year, while the iPod's share shrunk to 6.9 percent of its revenue, the iPhone and iPad accounted for more than 60 percent of its revenue. If all goes well for Apple, then all will go well for its partners. Here's how to profit from three "backdoor" investments riding the company's next big wave. "Backdoor Investment" #1: ZAGG, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZAGG) Among other interesting tidbits that were revealed from the recent trial is that most iPhones aren't nude. According to an internal consumer survey by Apple presented as evidence during the trial, 78 percent of iPhone users cover their phones with cases. Zigg designs and manufactures accessories for the smartphone market, and to the best of my knowledge, they're the biggest player for making covers in the U.S. Nobody is in a better position to profit from cover sales when the iPhone 5 debuts. Zigg also has products for the tablet market as well, which supplement the iPad. After partnering with Logitech (LOGI), they're doing keyboard cases and selling co-branded iPad keyboard cases throughout the Apple Stores. Since their U.S. patent for protecting electronics with film has a good foothold, their hottest product, the InvisibleShield screen protector, sells to both Apple and Android products, which can be found at any Big Box retailer. It also owns iFrogz, a big case and accessory seller. "Backdoor Investment" #2: Skullcandy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKUL) Like Zigg, Skullcandy sells other smart phone accessories, such as audio branded headphones. The market for ear buds and headphones is driven by the sale of smartphones--like the iPhone (now with capabilities of an iPod)--which is one of the fastest growing markets of the 21st century. The last three years revenues were $118 million, $160.5 million, $232.4 million, and projected revenues for 2012 are $280 million... which has consistently beaten consensus estimates since they've been public. Earnings were $1.00 per share in 2011, and are projected between $1.15 and $1.20 a share in 2012, and around $1.43 in 2013. Byron King's Outstanding Investments Presents... World oil production is about to be shaken to its core... You won't believe which nation analysts at Wall Street's biggest banks expect to become the world's biggest energy producer by 2017 -- or the effect it will have on America... our economy... our future... Click here to see who is set to become the new king of oil -- and how you can use the news to go for big profits as early as this MAY! "Backdoor Investment" #3: Cirrus Logic, Inc (NASDAQ:CRUS) Cirrus provides the sophisticated audio technology that goes into Apple's iPhone's, like the amplification, echo cancellation, and noise suppression attributes. Apple is responsible for about 70% of Cirrus Logic's revenue, so the upcoming iPhone 5 sales should give Cirrus a huge boost in business, which has happened consistently with such debuts over the past five years. Cirrus is forecasting sequential revenue growth of 70% to 90%. The Best Part: Cirrus Logic has no real competition. Sincerely, Josh Grasmick Editor, Agora Financial P.S. These three recommendations just scratch the surface of the "backdoor" investment opportunities available to you. To find a more in-depth analysis of ways to win big profits, click here. How To Profit From Three "Backdoor Investments" Riding Apple is featured at Penny Sleuth. Questions or comments? Drop us a line at editor@pennysleuth.com.

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Investor Warning: Washington & Beijing to Announce Catastrophe...

Dear Reader,
My name is Larry Edelson and I’ve been a professional financial analyst for the last 33 years.
You may even recognize my name from my appearances in Forbes, or on Bloomberg, CBS Marketwatch, CNBC or some other major financial program or publication.
However, I have recently discovered something that you will NOT hear me (or anyone else) say in any of those venues.
My latest research is far too shocking to get mainstream airplay. My conclusions are far too controversial. And, in fact, I could very well get myself deported, arrested, or even imprisoned by saying these things at all!
You see, I live in Asia right now. My home is a short flight from Shanghai. And I’ve been using a lot of what I’ve learned about China and the rest of Asia to help thousands of people all over the world make better financial decisions.
But I’m still an American first and foremost. I will remain an American citizen to my final breath. My mom, my sister, my brother and my three grown kids all live in the States. I want nothing but the best of everything for them and for my country.
And that’s why I’ve decided to do what I believe is in all of our best interests — and tell the uncensored truth about Washington and Beijing in a free online presentation called The Great Betrayal of 2012.
Sound extreme? It is!

I have uncovered compelling evidence that the Chinese government is conspiring with Washington, D.C. to impoverish you and sentence your children and your grandchildren to lives of financial servitude.

Now please don’t misunderstand: I’m not a political man and this is NOT a political presentation. It’s not about Democrats or Republicans or who should win the U.S. elections in November.
I am a financial and investment analyst. And as such, my ONLY allegiance is to my family and to the individual investors I help.
So I created this presentation for one, simple reason: To give you the truth you need to protect your home, your savings, your investments and your retirement from the single greatest economic crisis in our nation’s history ...
In this presentation, I will show you exactly why Beijing and Washington are working together to bankrupt you.
I will show you how to protect yourself and your family from their scheme to destroy your wealth.
And I will tell you about the four kinds of investments I believe will double your money, then double it yet again in 2012 and beyond.
Again, I know this sounds hard to believe.
But if my three decades as a financial analyst have taught me anything, it’s that terrible things happen when we ignore reality.
And take it from me: There WILL be terrible consequences for those who fail to act on the investment intelligence in this presentation.
The Great Betrayal of 2012 is free to watch, but I must warn you: The facts I report will be disturbing to some investors. Viewer discretion is advised.
Just turn up your computer speakers and click this link; the video will begin playing immediately.
Sincerely,
Larry Edelson
P.S. Before you write me off as a complete wacko, at least hear my argument and then decide for yourself. After all, this is not the first time I’ve made a “crazy” prediction that ended up coming true. Just ask anyone who bought gold back when I first started calling for a new bull market in 1999!

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The 5 Worst Memory-Killing Foods You Should NEVER Eat

The 5 Worst Memory-Killing Foods
You Should NEVER Eat

In This Issue: *Did You Know...? *Featured Article: The 5 Worst Memory-Killing Foods You Should NEVER Eat *A Word from Our Sponsor: American Apocalypse 2012 Did You Know... ... that beet juice is an astonishingly effective treatment for leukemia and other cancers?      The beautiful crimson color of the beet comes from betacyanins, natural compounds that also happen to be extremely powerful cancer-fighting agents.  Beets also contain an amino acid called betaine, packed with anti-cancer properties and unique phytochemicals called betalains.      All of these nutrients are key to the incredible health properties of the beet.  Betanin, one of the most researched betalains found in beets, has significant anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and detoxifying effects.  According to The World's Healthiest Foods (a website run by the not-for-profit George Mateljan Foundation, devoted to fostering a healthier world), recent lab studies found that betanin pigments can impede tumor cell growth in tissues throughout the body, including the... Colon Stomach Nerves Lungs Breasts Prostate Testicles      These findings provide a compelling case for further research into the value of betanins and other betalains in preventing and curing cancer.      Because beets contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules, it is statistically likely that they can reduce the risk of many kinds of cancers.  The World's Healthiest Foods says, "Eventually, we expect to see large-scale human studies that show the [cancer] risk-reducing effect of dietary beet intake." So Powerful That 100% of Cancer Patients in one Study Responded Positively! A solid scientific basis for that work already exists.  In the 1950s, a Hungarian cancer therapist named Alexander Ferenczi began putting his patients on a regime of raw or juiced beetroots in addition to their normal diet.  He worked exclusively with patients who had already undergone chemotherapy and radiation, and who were primarily in the final (cachexic) stage of cancer.      All of Ferenczi's patients responded positively to the addition of beets to their diets.  There was a clear, clinical improvement in each and every one of their cancers.  The beet treatment proved to be so powerful, in fact, that in some cases patients actually overdosed on beets!  In some cases, the mass injection of nutrients—especially vitamin C—contained in the beets overloaded the patients' livers.      So, the takeaway lessons from Ferenczi's work are that: Beets are a more effective cancer treatment when begun early.  In fact, the regular consumption of beets might be most effective as a preventative treatment. To avoid overwhelming your body's waste disposal system, start with small quantities of beetroot and gradually increase.  If you start to feel unwell, reduce your consumption. Beets Fight Leukemia, Tumors, and Advanced Inoperable Cancers The results of a later study of "red beet therapy"—the consumption of approximately 2 lbs of raw, mashed beets daily—corroborate Ferenczi's findings and suggest that beets can help your body fight against leukemia and tumors.      While eating mass quantities of mashed beets may not be the most appealing option, it may be possible to get similar results in a more digestible format.  In one clinical trial, 22 patients with advanced inoperable cancers were given 10 oz. of beet juice daily for 3 to 4 months.  All but one of those patients showed marked improvements in health.  Surely that's enough to make anyone regard beets in a whole new light.      It seems clear that beets are indeed a mighty health resource.  They are high in folate—a compound necessary for bone health—and not only have they been shown to be a potent anti-cancer treatment, but they also detoxify the liver, kidneys, gallbladder, blood and lymph.  Beets are also helpful for relieving constipation. How to Get the Best Benefit from Beets Beet juice is such a strong substance that it should not be consumed on its own.  Rather, mix it into another milder juice such as carrot, cucumber or apple.  Dana Herbert, a natural health blogger, offers this advice to those interested in making beet juice from scratch:      "When juicing beets, alternate between pieces of beets and pieces of carrots, otherwise the beet pulp tends to build up on the sides of the spinning extraction basket and causes the juicer to vibrate."  Dana also recommends chilling the juice for 2-3 hours prior to consumption. = = = = = = = = = = = Featured Article: The 5 Worst Memory-Killing Foods You Should NEVER Eat After years of scientific debate, the verdict is now clear: what you eat can dramatically boost your memory ... or destroy it.  If you want to stay mentally sharp and keep your brain functioning like it did in college, you need to pay attention not only to what you do eat, but what you don't eat.  That is to say, you need to make sure you're avoiding certain foods.      Some foods are so toxic it's like dusting your brain with poison every time you eat them!  One such food has come under fire for several reasons: it's loaded with white flour, refined sugars and carbs... it increases gluten intolerance... it contains trans fat, which raises your LDL cholesterol and lowers healthy HDL cholesterol... and it may contain carcinogenic substances like acrylamide!      Here's a hint: It's a sugary breakfast treat that traditionally has a hole in the middle and comes glazed, sprinkled or powder.  If you guessed a donut, you're right, and it's toxic to your brain and body.      Donuts, along with many other foods that are part of the typical American diet, are high in white flours, sugars, trans-fats and sodium.      They raise glucose levels too quickly, which triggers a surge of insulin. This makes your brain slow down and become sluggish. Over the long term, these toxic foods impair your focus, worsen memory and even raise your risk of Alzheimer's! But I've Already Eaten My Fair Share of Donuts... Now What?! The good news is that while scientists used to believe the brain could never really heal itself from past damage, exciting new research says just the opposite.      A study by Harvard researchers found that your brain can develop new pathways, generate new neurons, and build and maintain mass ... at any age!  All this can be accomplished with simple, easy mental stimulation tricks that allow you to make and store memories and learn new things.      These easy techniques may even protect you from the devastating Alzheimer's epidemic. Easy, Fast Tricks Bring Big improvements      Groundbreaking new research has revealed many other easy and powerful ways to improve your memory ... feel sharper and less stressed ... think more clearly ... and even prevent and reverse certain types of dementia.      After as little as 4 weeks of minimal effort, you can start recalling names, phone numbers, shopping lists, and other information just as easily as you did 10 or even 20 years ago. The Alzheimer's Epidemic If you don't know someone with Alzheimer's already, chances are you will.  This devastating epidemic is claiming a new victim every 69 seconds.   1-in-8 Americans age 65 or older have Alzheimer's   Nearly half of Americans age 85 or older have Alzheimer's   More than 200,000 people under age 65 have early-onset       Alzheimer's, so it's not just an "old people's" disease      Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S.  It's now the 5th leading cause for people over age 65—right behind heart disease, cancer, and our other biggest killers.      Tragically, once senility strikes, your doctor has NO "miracle drug" that can cure you and make your brain work like it used to.      While Alzheimer's wipes out your life savings, you deteriorate before your loved ones' eyes ... becoming incontinent and increasingly hopeless in the face of your daily loss of brain function, the inability to recognize family or friends or even yourself.      But you don't have to be a victim. Easy Exercises Help Build a "Super Brain" ... and Protect You from Alzheimer's Science has proven a myriad of ways to build a super brain ... naturally, safely, and easily, with physician-approved techniques and natural substances such as the following... The Anti-Alzheimer's Power Food:  In a well-known Rotterdam study in the Netherlands, researchers found that people who ate this food once each week had a 60 percent reduction in the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The "Candy" Cure for Alzheimer's:  This sweet treat contains a phytonutrient called quercetin that's been proven in studies to reverse memory loss.  But you need to consume the right kind and the right quantity to gain the benefit. The Vegetable that Halts Memory Loss:  In a 25-year study of 13,000 women, Harvard Medical School researchers found those who ate the highest amounts of this vegetable had the lowest rates of memory loss as they aged. The Amazing 6,000-Year-Old Memory Secret:  Nearly 6,000 years ago, a group of holy men in India called the Rishi were famous for their remarkable ability to reel off hours of prayer and recite epic poems for days on end—the equivalent of 9,000 pages of material—completely from memory, without pausing.  They credited their astounding memory powers to a wild herb that grew on the banks of the sacred River Ganges.  Thousands of years later, modern scientists began to study this plant.  And now, at least 14 scientific studies show this ancient herb really works! Herb That Boosts Memory and Learning with Nearly 100% Success:  In a clinical trial in Australia, nearly everyone given this herb for 3 months improved his/her ability to learn new information without forgetting it a few days later. The Supplement that Cuts 12 Years Off "Brain Age":  One study found people who took this supplement noticed a dramatic improvement in memory and mental performance after just 3 weeks.  And in another study, people who took this supplement actually cut 12 years off their "brain age"—meaning they performed as if they were 12 years younger!  Amazing! Stanford Discovers Natural Alzheimer's Cure:  Stanford University School of Medicine did a study of 334 Alzheimer's patients.  The researchers were stunned to discover that the people who took this supplement became less forgetful and showed fewer signs of mental decline than those taking a "sugar pill" placebo.  No other drug or conventional therapy can do this! Yet this natural supplement can. Dramatically Improve Your Own Brain Power in Just 4 Short Weeks No one deserves to ever have to suffer from the devastating, progressive effects of memory loss and dementia.  And it all starts with taking steps now to improve your memory, boost your brain power, and free yourself from those "senior moments."      Even if you're not worried about memory problems right now, you'll be amazed how much better your mental performance becomes and the extra edge these simple tricks can give you at work or in pursuing your personal hobbies and passions.  If you have a family history of dementia, or you have any other condition that dramatically raises your risk of memory problems—including high blood pressure or diabetes—or you're overweight or smoke cigarettes, then it's even more urgent that you take action.      You can protect yourself right now—today, without harmful drugs or treatments.  This free video presentation will reveal easy, yet powerful, ways to help you quickly improve your memory, feel sharper and less stressed, and think more clearly.  You'll discover how to prevent and reverse memory loss while regaining the ability to recall names, phone numbers, shopping lists, and other information as easily as you did decades ago.      This priceless information can keep you mentally sharp, agile, and at the top of your game, thriving independently well into your 80s, 90s, even 100s.  One of the steps is an easy dietary adjustment: Put that donut down and discover 4 other foods that are just as harmful to your concentration, memory and cognitive abilities.  Click here for the simple, natural and inexpensive remedies that can dramatically improve your brain function today! If the links above aren't working, just copy & paste the following website address onto your Internet browser: http://images.ultracart.com/aff/75C057EB52C5CE013718B79440051600/index.html ?subid=uhr_memory_12-0808a = = = = = = = = = = = A Word from Our Sponsor: American Apocalypse 2012 Social Security: TERMINATED. Medicare: CANCELLED. Our cities: ABLAZE. Our families: ENDANGERED.      Startling new video evidence that Washington is preparing to confiscate your wealth and abolish many of your most cherished personal liberties ...      Click here to watch... If the link above isn't working, just copy & paste the following website address onto your Internet browser: http://www.gliq.com/cgi-bin/click?weiss_martin+smr-aa-vsp3+++TOTBP+5235101

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Stand up to the secret money. Tell your senators to vote for the DISCLOSE Act (S.3369).

The DISCLOSE Act — which would stop corporations, billionaires and anyone else from secretly pouring money into political ads — is being voted on in the Senate TODAY.

Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of dollars are being funneled into front groups that will blast our airwaves with smears, half-truths and outright lies.

Stand up to the secret money.

Tell your senators to vote for the DISCLOSE Act (S.3369).

If a 60-vote supermajority is not achieved to overcome the Republicans’ filibuster threat tonight, a second vote is expected tomorrow.

The DISCLOSE Act will require that the identities of those who fund political ads be disclosed to the public, regardless of whether that funding comes from corporations, labor unions, or millionaires and billionaires.

Knowing who is paying for these ads is our best line of defense in judging the merits of the ads.

Do your part to bring political spending out of the shadows.

Contact your senators today.

Thanks for all you do, Rick Claypool Senior Online Organizer, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch action@citizen.org

P.S. For a limited time, a group of longtime Public Citizen supporters will match any contribution, dollar-for-dollar, up to $500,000. Donate now and your gift will go twice as far in support of the work we’re doing together to challenge corporate power.

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Republicans want deny people coverage because of pre-existing conditions, arbitrarily cap lifetime care for insured people who become seriously ill, and jack up drug prices for seniors on Medicare.

When I turned on the TV this week I could have sworn we were back in 2009.
There was Sarah Palin (remember her?), telling her old lies about "death panels," Rick Perry -- the governor of the state with the most uninsured people in the country -- saying Texas wouldn't cover its uninsured population because he doesn't like the guy in the White House, and Rick Scott of Florida setting off fact-check radars with debunked claims like health care reform means "rationing care."
These outright lies should have died long ago, but Republicans just can't seem to let them go. Instead of expanding affordable health care in their states, they want to go back to the days when insurance companies could deny people coverage because of pre-existing conditions, arbitrarily cap lifetime care for insured people who become seriously ill, and jack up drug prices for seniors on Medicare.
We're sending these Republicans governors a simple message: "Enough is enough!" Tell Republican governors to stop the election-year posturing and start working on making health care affordable for all.
You'd think a ruling by our nation's highest court would settle this once and for all, but Republicans just don't know when to quit. They continue to spread misinformation in a cynical attempt to win back the White House.
The only way we can put these lies to rest is to fight them whenever they crop up.
It's time to tell Republicans: "Time to move on." Add your name to our petition right now to stand up to the lies and show your support for President Obama's health care reform law.
Republicans may have a loose relationship with the truth, but it's up to us to set them straight.
Thank you for your support of affordable health care.
Sincerely,
Mark Giangreco
Deputy Communications Director
Democratic Governors Association

 

© 2012 DGA Action

Payza - AlertPay Scam Theft Review

Payza ,the company that bought AlertPay, are thieves, scammers, liers, cheats.
Here is a  small sampling of posts in a Google search:http://www.google.com/search?q=Payza+scam&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a    My situation is that I sent them a International Postal Money Order for a lot of money and they will not respond to calls nor to Support Tickets n or credit my account for that amount sent.
     They are closing people's accounts in New Hampshire,won't let SFIMG.com use them and will NOT CREDIT DEPOSITS from hundreds of customers. Please pass this on before anyone you know gets hurt. I have filed an international mail fraud complaint and I work for the Dept. of Homeland Security.  I will be blogging this on every blog I own and make this post on every traffic exchange I do business on.

I will create a section of one of my forums to coordinate prosecution efforts: Click Here to Go to Scam Forum section

William Stewart 4 minutes ago

You have not credited my account for $700 for the International Money order you cashed on June 8,2012. I filed an official complaint with the US Postal Service
because you do not answer Support Tickets nor answer phone calls, so you are
behaving like a SCAM company and need to be treated as such. If you are getting all this money and not crediting to people accounts, you could always hire more people to do accounting and customer service but you do not do the right and honorable things so you should not be considered honorable. I will be contacting the Montreal police in a week if I hear nothing official. Your pathetic pleas to be patient are a cover-up that will not be tolerated.
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Hello William,
Thanks for your reply.

We have located your money order, but it turns out you have sent us a USPS money order. The problem with that is that we don't accept them for the time being, in fact our website actually states this when you create the money order transaction in your back office. We can either send it back to you in the mail or wait until we have the ability to process USPS money orders in the near future. Please reply back to this email with your desired course of action.

I hope I have been able provide you with some insight into why your money order has been pending.

Thanks for your patience,

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sent: Friday, July 6, 2012 10:31:32 PM
Subject: Re: : You Deposited $700 International Money Order but you did not Credit account.

When will I receive a reply from you saying you have mailed it back to me?
When I sent it,it was still accepted by Payza.  But please inform me when
you have mailed it back.  As soon as you mail it I will post you have mailed it
back and when I receive it, I will post that and stop the investigations.
Thank you very much, Will Stewart
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Reader,
          If you have had similar problems with AlertPay or Payza, please leave a post/comment and I will contact you concerning a class action lawsuit and united action with the Montreal Police Department,
the FBI and the US Postal Service. We need to crush these scum !!!!

Please Post your complaints about AlertPay turned Payza in our Web Forum or Please Post your complaints about AlertPay turned Payza on the Web Success Blog

Exposed: Mainstream Medicine's Deadliest Conspiracy" The CancerCure Coverups

Can you believe this video? It’s a phenomenon. In fact, it was sent to more than 289,000 people in just the first 24 hours!

But you might not see it at all.

Why? Because, for the first time, mainstream medicine’s deadliest conspiracy has been EXPOSED. Finally, this video is the ‘shot heard around the world’ the establishment prayed would never come.

To be honest, I’m not sure how long this video will be available. There are powerful interests hell-bent on minimizing the damage it is doing to corporate medicine’s profit machine.

Before it’s banned. Watch it here.

To your best days,

Paul Amos
Associate Director, HSI

P.S. Wow. 366,062 people and counting. It’s taking on a life of its own. Get the facts now.

Block a ridiculous bill in the Senate right now that would block rules requiring government contractors to reveal which politicians they give money to.

“We will use every tool at our disposal to challenge those who try to silence our voice.”

Sounds good, right?

Except it was said by U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue, getting worked up about his feeling that Big Business is “intimidated” by the notion that maybe, just maybe, it would be good to know which corporations are spending how much to influence our government.

Don’t you feel sorry for the bullied and downtrodden likes of Exxon Mobil, General Electric, AT&T and Bank of America?

Sometimes Donohue’s rhetoric is more smooth than chunky. Describing recently how the Chamber will pick key races to interfere with rather than spread its millions and millions more broadly, he said, “We don’t do peanut butter deals.”

This all matters — a lot — because the Chamber leads the charge to keep corporate political spending in the dark. And there’s a ridiculous bill in the Senate right now that would block rules requiring government contractors to reveal which politicians they give money to.

In other words, we could soon have a law that would increase corruption by making it harder to find out if Big Business is, in essence, bribing its way to incredibly lucrative contracts that we the taxpayers foot the bill for.

Giant corporations are being “intimidated” all the way to the bank.

You can read more about this ludicrous legislation, the misleadingly named Keeping Politics Out of Federal Contracting Act, in the message I sent you this past Wednesday.

We have to stop this corruption-enabling legislation here and now. To do that, we need money to take on the Chamber and other forces that facilitate the takeover of our democracy.

Please contribute to Public Citizen today.

Right now, we have an unprecedented $500,000 matching gift offer* in effect. Anything you can give today will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a group of longtime donors, doubling the value of your support.

Public Citizen is working to keep the bill from being voted on by the full Senate. We’re working to make sure President Obama will veto it if it ever gets to his desk. And we’re highlighting the absurdity of the bill’s premise that revealing corporate political spending enables, rather than exposes, corruption.

Tom Donohue and other accomplices to oligarchy fantasize about a world dominated by limitlessly powerful corporations.

Let’s spoil their fantasy.

Onward, Robert Weissman President, Public Citizen

*The match could be worth up to a million dollars to help Public Citizen remain a steadfast bulwark against corporate greed. Please don’t miss this opportunity to leverage your generosity with that of fellow Public Citizen supporters at this moment when what we’re all doing together is so critical.

Despair and the State

Jeffrey Tucker

Maybe a dark column is appropriate for tax day, but, I must tell you, it is not my usual way. Nonetheless, there are certain terrible realities in the world, preventable ones, that we must speak about if we expect to end them.

The sad and tragic story of Andrew Wordes — the chicken farmer who was driven to despair by government harassment and killed himself last month — continues to haunt me. And it turns out to be just one of millions of cases of similar psychological torment caused by government, directly and indirectly. These are wholly unnecessary events, inflicting terrible loss on the world.

For every one person these days who dies fighting in US wars around the world, 25 other soldiers kill themselves. Veterans are killing themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes. There are more than 6,500 veteran suicides every year. That’s more than all the American soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq in the last 10 years, according to a New York Times analysis. Being a veteran apparently doubles your risk of suicide.

Economic conditions wrought by government policies around the world have contributed to the death toll. Europe is undergoing an epidemic of suicide in countries seriously hurt by the downturn. In Greece, the suicide rate among men increased more than 24% since the disaster hit. In Ireland, male suicides have shot up more than 16%. In Italy, economic-motivated suicides have increased 52%.

The big aggregates reported here do not convey the level of tragedy experienced in the lives of every single individual here. They leave behind shattered families and wrecked communities. There is an unbearably sad story behind every single statistic.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the same is happening in the US and that the broad trend follows economic prospects. The difference between the rising prosperity of a free market and economic desperation caused by government is really a matter of life and death. The desperation and sadness wrought by war — an extension of domestic policy and carried out with much higher stakes — is a symptom of the same problem.

These represent both direct and indirect ways that government is spreading misery around the world. The direct way involves war and its psychological effects. Being harassed by regulators is another direct way: The person sees no way out and is thereby driven to desperate measures. The indirect way results from the economic stagnation caused by government policies.

Life is hard enough on its own. Government makes it harder. Its recession-causing policies; its policy responses that do not work; its regulations that makes people crazy; its poverty-inducing taxes and inflation; and, most of all, its wars have driven millions to despair.

Why the state in particular? It all comes down to the sense of having control over your life. The essence of statecraft is the absence of choice and the inability to escape. Many operations of the state try to disguise these features.

Once you develop a nose for this, you see it everywhere. The faces of people in line at the DMV, the sauntering mass in line to be screened by the TSA and even the blank stares you see in the post office lines. There is something about state policy that demoralizes us all. That takes a toll on our health and our outlook on life and even leads to tragedy.

I think back to the old Soviet days, which to me typify what it means for a society to be entirely under state control. The government put out a magazine called Soviet Life, and it was filled with pictures of happy, healthy people who were living fulfilling and active lives. The contrast with reality couldn’t have been more extreme. Emigrants told stories of a demoralized population turning to alcohol, drugs and suicide — anything to escape the toxic combination of sinking living standards and the absence of choice due to despotism.

Today we know that the propaganda was a lie. What we fail to realize is that this human tragedy is not unique to a fully socialized society. We can get there in small steps by growing the state and expanding its reach year by year until it envelops us in all our life activities. We have to turn to the state ever more. We are blocked by barriers. Everywhere we go, we encounter bureaucrats who demand our papers, riffle through our belongings, forbid what we want to do and mandate what we do not want to.

Of course, soldiers in war face this reality every day. They are not their own persons. They must obey orders whether they make sense or not. They see things that no one should have to see and they are ordered to do things that no one should have to be forced to do. It is hardly surprising that people who go through such an ordeal have confused perspectives on the value of human life.

To a lesser extent, citizens in every country with an interventionist state face an analogous situation. They may have a dream of starting or growing a business, but they are blocked — not because of their own lack of vision, but because of the thicket erected by public policy. The state acts as a dream killer. It becomes all the more maddening when there is nothing that the citizen can do about it. There is no real choice.

Oh they tell us that in a democratic system, we can vote and that this is our choice. We have nothing to complain about. If we don’t like the system, we can change it. But this is wholly illusory. The government completely owns the democratic system and administers it to generate the types of results that government wants. More and more people are catching on to this, which is why voter participation falls further in every election season.

The great thinkers of the libertarian tradition have always told us that freedom and the good life are absolutely inseparable. I think of Thomas Jefferson, Frederic Bastiat, Herbert Spencer, Albert Jay Nock, Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, F.A. Hayek and so many others. Even contemporary authors have addressed the theme. They had long warned that every step away from freedom would mean a diminution of the quality of life. We are seeing these prophecies come true.

Too often public policy debates take place on the wrong level. The core point is not to make the “system” work better or otherwise fine-tune the rules within a bureaucracy. We need to start talking about larger issues about the dignity of the human person, the moral status of freedom and the rights and liberties of the individual in society. The expansion of the state is not just wrong as a matter of “public policy”; it is wrong because it is dangerous to the good life and the quality of life.

To kill freedom is to kill the essence of what makes us human.

Regards,

Jeffrey Tucker
Executive Editor at Laissez-Faire Books, for The Daily Reckoning

Ten Ways the U.S. is Worse Than It Was in 1947

Whiskey & Gunpowder     by Jeff Berwick May 30, 2012           Acapulco, Mexico Dr. Gary North is an icon in the Austro-libertarian world, and writes more in a day than most will write in their lifetimes. The majority of what he says is excellent and it is well worth your time listening to whatever he has to say. In his recent article, entitled, "Why We Are Not On The Road to Serfdom", however, he takes a slightly different perspective than we do on the state of liberty in the USSA. Dr. North makes many good points and tries to lay out the case that we should be optimistic about the future because the US Government is on the verge of financial collapse. He opens his argument with the following statement: "the federal government is no deeper into our pockets than it was in 1947," and presents us with the following chart: The rest of the article goes on to make the case that on net, the average citizen is better off due to the radical advances in productivity in the last 50 years and "that we are not moving into a comprehensive tyranny". He is also optimistic about the "Great default" and the negative effect that it will have on the Federal Governments ability to interfere with our lives. But, we don't see the government's involvement vis-a-vis GDP, or the improvement of technology that we have managed to achieve despite the attempts of the Feds attempt to shut down innovation as being proof that the US Government is not attempting to move us down the road to serfdom. Here's the way we see it. THE US HAS ALREADY GONE BANKRUPT TWICE IN THE LAST CENTURY It is our view that the modern USSA needs to be looked at in terms of its regression (not progress) since the Federal Reserve was put into place in 1913 and income tax was introduced. Less than two decades later and the US Government was already bankrupt. The only way it could salvage itself in 1933 was to confiscate much of the real wealth (gold coins and bullion) of its citizenry and devalue the dollar. This was bankruptcy #1. After World War II, two facts led to its predominance in the global economy. The USSA was the only modern, industrial economy to survive intact and the establishment of the Bretton woods system that positioned the USD as the world reserve currency. This position was abused by the cynical political class and their wealth was squandered throughout the 1960s with the unnecessary war in Vietnam and the institution of the "Great Society" welfare state programs. By 1971, the US Government was again bankrupt. This time, on August 15, 1971, Richard Nixon reneged on the promise to exchange the US dollar for gold. The world went into shock. For a period of time the US dollar barely traded on international markets. In Germany, where they have experience with hyperinflation, US dollars were not accepted by any currency exchange shop for a number of weeks as people around the world threw up their arms in anger. But... what could they do? Nothing. And what were the viable alternatives at the time? There were none... so, after a few weeks, people just continued to use the now pure fiat dollars. As the years passed and as the US Government and Federal Reserve, unrestrained by an admittedly weak gold exchange standard of the Bretton Woods system, began to inflate the dollar dramatically, the world was sent into an inflationary crisis by 1979. People from Toronto to New York to Paris were calling in sick for work and standing in lines that wound down the block to buy gold in exchange for their fiat currencies. It was less than ten years on a pure fiat currency system and the US economy was on the verge of collapse. But, and this is a big but, the total amount of debt that had been racked up western governments had not reached the point where they could not be paid for even with interest rates skyrocketing well over 10% to squelch the inflation. And that is what happened. Paul Volcker allowed interest rates to seek their natural level and it hit as high as 18% before the inflation was muted. But the US Government only had $900 billion in debt versus a GDP of $2.7 trillion. So, debt to GDP was only 33%. Today, the US GDP is approximately $15.4 trillion (2011). The admitted to federal government debt is also currently at $15.4 trillion, meaning a debt to GDP ratio of 100%. Forgetting for the moment the unfunded liabilities which have already been spent, which would leave the figure at closer to 500%, an interest rate of 18% on the current debt would require $2.7 trillion per year in payments. The total tax theft "revenue" of the US Government in 2011 was $2.3 trillion, meaning every dollar of tax theft revenue would go solely to interest payments on the debt. In other words: raising rates, which is the only thing that can squelch the impending inflation that is currently building, is not an option this time around. This time around the choice will be allowing interest rates to rise dramatically and bankrupting the government or keeping rates low until the dollar hyperinflates into worthlessness. Ben Bernanke has kept interest rates at 0% since 2008 and has publicly stated that he will keep them at zero until 2014. Ben Bernanke has drunk of the Keynesian koolaid so deeply and for so long that he will keep rates at zero until the economy recovers. The thing is, the economy can never recover until rates rise. It's a Catch 22... and it all ends in tears. WE AREN'T IN KANSAS ANYMORE, DOROTHY Where to begin in our comparison of 1947 versus 2012? Just off the top of our head, here are ten ways the US is worse than it was in 1947: Government Unrestrained. The US dollar used to be backed by gold, it is no longer... meaning the Government is completely unrestrained in its spending. Socialist Insecurity Insolvency. The intergenerational ponzi scheme known as the Socialist Insecurity system (social security), was in its infancy and was not bankrupt as it is today (see "Forget Retirement... and Retirement Savings"), with over 40 workers per retiree. Today it stands at closer to 3 workers per retiree. Surveillance State. While the US Government may have tapped one or two phones in 1947 they certainly weren't building a $2 billion domestic spying data center in Utah to monitor all telephone calls, emails and web traffic. Selling off/Indebting the young. The total US Government debt in 1947 was $258 billion. And while that was a massive amount at the time after having gone "balls in" to World War II, for no apparent reason, given the population of 144 million, it was about $1,791 per person in federal government debt. Today, with a population of 305 million and debt of $16 trillion, it works out to about $52,000 per person... but that leaves out all the unfunded liabilities (which didn't exist in 1947) which add up to more than $75 trillion now, meaning a total debt and liabilities of $250,000 per person in the US. The War on Plants. There was no "war on plants" (drug war) in 1947. Today the US has the largest amount of people in cages per population by a factor of four (see "Kidnapping and Ransom Rampant in the US"). The US has nearly 800 people in cages per 100,000. The US has 5% of the population of the Earth and 25% of the total incarcerated. Of total arrests in 2008, 90.7% were for non-crimes (ie. victimless crimes). Now, possession of a dried flower that millions, including Prime Murderer In Chief, Barack Obomber, enjoy regularly is reason to haul someone off in the night. Police State. Anyone remember no knock raids in 1947? Fonzi making too much noise up in the garage bungalow? Break it down with a SWAT team! No knock, warrantless raids are such a norm in the US today that songs are written about it. It is so out of control that even members of the "elite" (politicians) have been caught up in the carnage as this Mayor of a town found out when his dog was killed in a mistaken "no knock raid". Terminator-esque Existence. While U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 into law, creating the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Council, no one could have imagined that by 2012 the US Government would be signing into law an act that will put 30,000 drones over the US, watching US citizens. Revocation of the Bill of Rights. While the upper levels of the executive branch of the US Government, and those who control them, have always had impunity to kill at will, never has it been made more blatant than in the National Defence Authorization Act, passed on New Year's Eve of last year, which allows the President the ability to indefinitely detain or kill any American he wishes. While a federal court has temporarily blocked this act, is there any doubt it will eventually be rammed through? Dependency Nation. In 1947 hardly anyone was dependent on the government for their well-being. In 2012, nearly 50 million (1 in 6) are on Food Stamps and nearly half of all US households are recipients of government handouts. Controlling population through Vaccinations. In the 1940s vaccines were not the norm. At most, two were given, for some very serious diseases. In 2012, 49 doses of 14 vaccines are introduced into the yet to be developed immune system of infants by the time they are six years old. Still think the US Government has about the same involvement in the lives of US citizens today as it did in 1947? The reality is clear. The US is closer to the Soviet Union now than it was to any idealized free country sixty years ago. THE VAMPIRE STATE BARES ITS FANGS We really aren't in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. The US Government and the US dollar are in its death throes. There is really only one thing left that can be done to stave off the funeral for a few more years... and that is to begin to leach off of the citizenry until everyone is sucked dry. What's that mean? Taxes, taxes, and more taxes. 2012 and 2013 will be remembered in the US as the years of the tax hike. States across the US have been raising taxes on almost anything. See "Record Tax Hike Isn't Fixing Illinois' Problem" and "Brown pushes tax hike as California's money woes deepen" as just two of countless examples. But, that's just the states. Brace yourself... next year US citizens will be extorted with a tax hike the likes of which US tax slaves have never seen. The Washington Post called the unprecedented $494 billion tax hike "Taxmageddon," and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke described it as a "massive fiscal cliff." The squeeze is on... and it won't get any better any time soon. Expect worse and worse until the end of the US Government or the US dollar. NEXT STEP: RETIREMENT SAVINGS Charles Schumer and the other feeders in the US Congress showed their fangs, dripping with blood when they announced the Expatriation Prevention Act upon hearing Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin doesn't want to involuntarily pay into the criminal US system. They hate it when anyone with money escapes their grasp. But the last grasp for them, in our opinion, will be the retirement savings of US citizens. And, it isn't like they are even trying to hide their intentions as this story from the New York Post recently headlined, "Feds eye retirement-fund tax to cut $16 trillion-plus deficit". This ain't 1947 anymore... and we highly recommend anyone with "retirement savings" withdraw their funds and get them into hard assets. If you don't want to withdraw the funds, at least work to get them outside of the control of the government who purports to own you. In the US, this can be done through a "Self-Directed IRA". You can even take a large enough IRA, turn it into a self-directed IRA, and use a portion of the funds to purchase real estate in the theft free(tax free) island of St. Kitts, which comes with a passport, and free yourself almost completely from the US Government all in one fell swoop... all without even cashing in your IRA (call the guys at info1@TDVpassports.com for more). Regards, Jeff Berwick The Dollar Vigilante

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Elizabeth Warren Wants a New Glass-Steagall Act

We've seen all the headlines: JP Morgan Chase took risky bets and lost two billion dollars in a matter of weeks.
CEO Jamie Dimon called the bets "poorly reviewed" and even "sloppy." He added, "We will learn from it, we will fix it, and we will move on."
Frankly, I don't think we should just trust Wall Street banks to regulate themselves. Because as we learned during the 2008 financial crisis, they are not just taking risks with their own money -- they are taking risks with the whole economy.
That's why today, with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, I'm calling on Congress to put Wall Street reform back on the agenda and to begin by passing a new Glass-Steagall Act. This was the law that stopped investment banks from gambling away people's life savings for decades -- until Wall Street successfully lobbied to have it repealed in 1999.
Will you join us in calling on Congress to hold Wall Street accountable and pass a new Glass-Steagall Act? Click here to stand with us!
A new Glass-Steagall would separate high-risk investment banks from more traditional banking. It would allow Wall Street to take risks, but not by dipping into the life savings and retirement accounts of regular people.
And by making banks smaller, a new Glass-Steagall could also help put an end to banks that are "too big to fail" -- further avoiding costly taxpayer bailouts.
Wall Street's risky bets nearly brought the economy to its knees in 2008. But instead of taking responsibility, Wall Street lobbied to water down the Dodd-Frank financial reforms of 2010 and fought to weaken the reforms Congress passed.
It has become clear over time -- and made even clearer this past week -- that additional Wall Street reforms are needed.
Please join us in urging Congress to put Wall Street reform back on the table -- and pass a new Glass-Steagall Act today.
If I'm elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, I promise this difference from my Republican opponent Scott Brown: I will be a reliable and strong champion for commonsense Wall Street reform. But we don't have a moment to waste.
Together, we must urge Congress to act now.
Thank you,

Elizabeth

Court bans Microsoft products from German market

MANNHEIM, Germany — A German court ruled on Wednesday that Microsoft infringed Motorola Mobility's patents in making its popular Xbox gaming consoles.

Judge Holger Kircher said Microsoft breached an agreement with Motorola, which is in the process of being bought by Google, by applying certain video-compression software in products including Windows 7 and the Xbox 360 videogame console.
In the ruling, the judge ordered Microsoft to remove its popular game console as well as its Windows 7 operating system software from the German market.
The ruling followed a similar decision last week when a judge for the U.S. International Trade Commission said Microsoft infringed Motorola Mobility's patents for technology such as wireless connections for the Xbox to the Internet and video compression to speed transmission.
Technology companies have invested billions of dollars in buying up patent portfolios that they can use defensively or offensively against rivals and spent still more money litigating in the United States and Europe.
The ruling is expected to have little impact for its Microsoft's European operations as it is already moving its European software distribution centre to the Netherlands from Germany in anticipation of adverse judgments in the patent trial.
A spokeswoman for Microsoft said the outcome was "disappointing" but added the group would decide at a later stage on whether to appeal.
(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Greg Mahlich)