Weekly News Wrap-Up 8/12/2011
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
The stock market had a wild ride this week. It was more like a bucking bronco than a way to save and invest your hard earned money. The market seems to have turned into a violent casino, only the Wall Street sharks and short sellers will come out on top. Riots in the UK are so out of control that the British government is thinking about spraying rioters with purple dye to identify them later. Never mind the reason why the people are upset. Do you think the severe cutbacks caused by banker bailouts have anything to do with the unrest? Thirty good soldiers died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Many special operations personnel from seal team six were on board. Also, gold hits all-time highs at more than $1,800 per ounce. Those stories and a lot more are on the “Weekly News Wrap-Up” for Friday August 12, 2011.
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About the Author
Greg Hunter
Greg is the producer and creator of USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin. USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.
This past week’s tragedy in Afghanistan where 30 Americans, including 22 SEALs, were killed, was the result of a lucky shot by a Taliban gunner. Helicopters which transport troops and supplies are organic to operations in this mountainous combat environment . Rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank weapons, are inaccurate, else helicopter shoot downs would be more common. This loss does indicate not an overall trend in the conflict.
http://napoleonlive.info/what-i-think/afghanistan-reality-check/
Thank you Jerry.
Greg
Greg, you are right about the market, as I predicted lately we are going to have a major “bear rally” when the markets calms a bit, its allreay being set up. Then watch out when the reality of the slow economy turn the elite back to bears in a hurry, the shorts on the street make a ton on the backs of the people. Wall Street is a con game and I can’t believe the people can’t see it.
On another note about the debt issue. There are two options: 1, default on treasury bonds or 2, print money from thin air to pay it.
The elite own the treasury bonds so its either burn them or burn the american dollar and its people. Any idea of which way this government will choose to play it? Sedition is still alive and well by the elite & wall street.
Thank you Art for your support and analysis.
Greg
Dear Greg,
Nice analysis.
However, you left out the violent, racially motivated flash mob which attacked Whites as they left a state fair in Wisconsin (story appeared on Drudge Report on Sunday). Today on Drudge, a 16 year-old who was arrested admitted that yes, they did target Whites for beatings and robbery, “it was so easy” he claimed. Indeed, these “flash mobs” are mini riots, all racially motivated (violentflashmobs.com). Riots are here.
It’s too bad that silver has not done as well this week as gold, because right now silver is said to be more scarce than gold. What with the demand world wide for increased amounts of industrial silver, as well as no new silver deposits being found, should have driven silver already to about $60 per ounce. But, as you say, the “powers that be” don’t want a new gold standard, and as they keep gold down, silver is kept down as well.
You’re right, what was disgusting was the unemployment number, “Only 315,000.” Uh, that’s 315,000 jobs lost. That’s 315,000 unemployed. Having “been there,” my heart goes out to these people. I wish there was something, besides my prayers, I could do for them.
Ah well, another week.
Thank you Sam for bringing this up. It is a valid point. I just can’t get every story out the in the “WNR.”
Greg
Thank you for being there.
Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate to tell the honest truth about the FED, monetary policy, costly endless wars, etc. Perhaps you should be his running mate Greg. There would be some real hope and change that would rock the world in a honest and responsible way. We need a peaceful revolution using our brains, not violence. We could all smile again.
Greg,
Despite how bad things are, it’s refreshing to have you reporting the news truthfully and objectively. What I read in the mainstream regarding these “markets” and our economy is a complete joke. Did you know that “Made in China” is GOOD for Americans! That’s the CNN headline. “Insiders Go on a Buying Spree!” “Warren Buffett – “The Lower Stocks Go, the More I Buy!”” “Hiding Cash in Tampon Boxes – and Other Sneaky Spots.” “Wimpy Double-Dip Forecasts Could be Wrong,” but “Postal Service to layoff 120,000 jobs (220,000 by 2015).” These are just a few of the jokes that pass for business news these days in our wag the dog world. Hope you have an enjoyable weekend.
Thank you Brian for the comment and reporting!!!
Greg
Greg, I shared your site with lots of folks this week, looks as if your reporting has become a bigger part of their lives to make sound decisions on protecting their assets & what our leaders have done to make matters worse, so keep digging & it will help others more than you think. Thanks again for great reporting.
We need to expose this new gang of members of congress meeting behind closed doors who are making the rest of congress no more than a group of people being paid for not representing the people they were elected to represent. Why pay them if no debate on what this new gang puts forth as legislation. The Fed gave the Primary Dealers the green light to continue to manipulate the silver & gold markets while the CFTC sets and watches the CME do as they please, screwing the little man out of the last little bet they have left. Money is flowing from the USA to the banksters private accounts off shore & we only can set back & watch, the banana republic is what we will be left with, unless you are well connected to the criminal courts & corporate Enterprise band of thieves.
A FUBAR like the world has never witness is going down as we go about our daily life!
Thanks again,Mickey!
Thank you M Smith for the comment and promotion!!
Greg
Made me laugh @ “thats like saying – wow the fed has completly failed and things are so bad that things are not going to get better for at least two years” , great video Greg, its all the truth.
Master Luke,
Thanks pal, have a nice weekend!
Greg
Greg,
I beleive it is time to rethink our government. The current model is failing us terribly. I offer the following suggestions as one possible change of course.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR IMPROVING AMERICA
Step 1: Constitutional Amendment: Limit Congressional Terms with election cycle offset by 2 years from each House: Both Senate and House of Representatives 5 years – No Reelection
Step 2: Constitutional Amendment: Limit members in the House and Senate to 2 for each state
Step 3: Constitutional Amendment: Make English the official language of the USA
Step 4: Constitutional Amendment: Requiring Congress to have an annual “Balanced Budget” by July 1st each year
Step 5: Constitutional Amendment: Remove lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court – limit term to 8 years, public vote for appointment approval, same pay and health as congress and no retirement benefits
Step 6: Eliminate the Federal Reserve and return those responsibilities to Congress
Step 7: Eliminate ALL PACs and Lobbyists
Step 8: Eliminate House, Senate members and Presidential family travel on government owned aircraft
Step 9: Eliminate immediately all foreign and military aid
Step 10: Eliminate immediately our dependence on oil, from any foreign source
Step 11: Eliminate Special Committees, Commissions, Bureaus, Departments, Agencies, Councils, and Laws as in these candidates:
– Repeal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act… IT IS NOT AFFORDABLE!!!
– Eliminate Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – eliminate tax code, for a 20% flat tax everybody pays
– Eliminate Department of Education
– Eliminate Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
– Eliminate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
– Eliminate Department of Energy (DOE)
– Eliminate Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
– Eliminate Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
– Eliminate Bureau of the Public Debt
– Eliminate Chief Acquisition Officers Council (CAOC)
– Eliminate Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
– Eliminate Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
– Eliminate U.S. Border Patrol
– Eliminate U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
– Eliminate National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK)
– Eliminate financial support for USPS and close offices that are within 10 miles of master county office
And, too many, many, many more to list!
Step 12: No President, Vice President, House or Senate retirement benefits of any type
Step 13: House and Senate members to utilize same health system in place for all Americans, while in office
Step 14: Set Congress annual pay at $240,000 and limit allowable expenses to $100,000, increases by voter approval
Step 15: No President, Vice President, House or Senate members may be employed by private industry for 6 years after term
Step 16: Upgrade and repair the national infrastructure
Step 17: Get the U.S. government out of the affairs of individual states and return control to the states
Step 18: Stop all the wars the U.S. is involved in and bring our troops home NOW – utilize them for border control
Step 19: Immediately reduce the military budget to 5% of the national budget
Step 20: Place a mandatory “10 year Sundown Clause” into all laws, at all levels
This is probably impossible, but if something of this magnitude was accomplshed, America might be better off in the future.
Just a thought!
Thank you Charles for letting it rip here on USAWatchdog.com. There are some good ideas here.
Greg
Greg, remember that film titled: The Dirty Dozen- I have a suggestion for you,please contact via my e-mail address. Hopefully we can exchange contact numbers and get this project off the ground via your website! Think of it as the back up team to the Tea Party!
Norm,
Please contact me here: https://usawatchdog.com/contact/
Greg
Greg, Thank You, your weekly wrap-up offers a great summary of weeks events.
Thank you Bobby and Sam for the comments and support.
Greg
Greg,
Love to hear more about the continuing bailout at taxpayers expense of Bank of America. What treachery our goverment continues perpetuate in the name of saving us from these crooks! Ron Paul has stated it correctly that the only hope for the world financial stability is to let these banks go under and even put a few of the crooks behind bars.
Herb,
I think Mr.Paul is right on target! Thank you.
Greg
Greg,
I do not understand this new war plan, fight a war and win the hearts and minds of the people at the same time? I think we would still be at war with Japan & Germany under these conditions. We bombed the hell out of those countries, beat them into submission and then won the hearts and minds of the people when we helped them rebuild and recover from the war damage. The loss of American lives during the Vietnam War should have taught us to fight to win and exercise dipolomacy after we win. Sadly, I think the only thing we have learned wars are profitable for the military industrial complex, the more wars and the longer they last the more money they make. It is disgusting!
I’m done venting now.
Have a good weekend,
Jan
Jan,
Vent away here anytime.
Grerg
Sure has been an interesting week. Exciting for some, nerve racking for others. Listening to the comments of the Talking Heads as to why the stock market dropped, I discovered that it was because of the overwhelming trades produced by electronic devices and their algorythmic settings. I always thought it was a misguided thumb that did all the damage. Another comment was that 80% of the trades was accomplished by black boxes. Just set the parameters and you’re off to the islands. So, just 20% of the trades are human and not a form of artificial intelligence? The amount of shares traded in blocks is mind numbing and the average person couldn’t possibly keep up. The question is, Is the Stock Market Rigged? I mean do you have the monies to buy one of those black boxes to level the playing field?
So these Captains of Industry have about as much power as the Federal Reserve as they too deal in the millions of dollars in the electronic market. Both create and destroy money by the vehicles they have at their disposal. And who suffers? It’s your money or on the other hand, debt. Whether you like it or not. I guess nothing is solid and as they say, The Trend is your Friend.
The interest rates will stay low and with this stabilization the money printing will continue. The stock market will have no demons to fend off and rise to new highs.
Seems like they are invincible.
Enter, Murphy’s Law.
Greg, I saw this some where. The wild swings this past week was referred to as “harvesting the sheeple by the banksters”
Greg, before I start, I want to ask if this would not be stepping on any ones toes? I want to try to get your readers to take part in learning where we are at & how we got here, all explained by the writings of Martin Armstrong, if you don’t want this type of experiment on your site I understand. It’s your call my friend. Thank you in advance for your time.
Greg, your readers would benefit from Armstrong’s latest writings, so I will leave the link & I hope it promotes a open debate among your growing base of readers, if we can learn anything from his life work & the people he has had to put up with & the other things he provides from all of his time spent behind the curtain with the people who pull the strings that has sunk us into this abyss of confusion & in fighting among ourselves I would welcome that debate & ideals from others who may add more to the debate that we must have if we are to understand the whole pitcher! For those who do not know about Marin I would read his bio first before going further, it’s all on his site & for those who know his writings the last few have been on target, whats next is what’s important & now we may set and do nothing or learn because the next election & these band on short sales must be understood because those politicians & regulators are clueless of what the markets are all about.
1-Bio. http://armstrongeconomics.com/martin_armstrong/. You will find his bio here & more, its vital to read this to understand where he is coming from.
2-Banning short selling. http://www.armstrongeconomics.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/armstrongeconomics-banning-short-selling-081111.pdf. Why short selling is as much a part of the stock markets & what history is has not taught those making rash decisions.
3-The foundation being pulled out from under the worlds? http://www.armstrongeconomics.files.wordpress.com/2001/08/armstrongeconomics-foundation-stones-out-of-global-system-081111.pdf. This is a very important read, it goes far deeper than what you will see in all the grand standing of those running for president & all the other crap the MSM promotes & thinks Americans & the world should hear, not what we really need to know. This is why I brought this to this site.
Greg is a fair person & lets all who want to add their two cents get to be heard, no matter if they don’t agree with the topic or news release. We need more like Greg, he cares & it shows in his work & we all owe him for bringing us together to rant or add to the content that effects all of our futures & the future of this nation. People like Jim Sinclair & Greg Hunter have made a huge difference in my life for the better, I hope we all remember that as it will be us that will some day thank the LORD we had them to deliver the truth even we did not like it, as least we were not lied to & manipulated like the MSM does to the masses that only leads to more confusion & hate between our own brothers & sisters when we to stand as one to solve the problems our politicians will never do or intended to do! Look at what they did to Ron Paul, the MSM & the lifers of congress made sure the corporations & the Fed & its owners put his message out as nonsense when in reality he was correct on many things, yet he was kept from the stage because he believed in the Constitution & the Laws it contains within it. Even Martin writes about Ron Paul, some may not what like what is said, but remember a open mind has to be used in making this work!
It took the crash of the markets to expose Madoff & only the surface was scratched. When the Fed made its statement on interest rates to 2013, the attack on the common man began with a fury, what the PRIMARY DEALERS do will be explained by Martin & so much more, I hope this sparks a fire for others to understand what Martin can teach you if you keep a open mind, many will say he’s crazy, but remember he has stood in the place where Volker & Heads of State from around the world & he offers up free data to back up his work & is sought out by the movers & shakers of the world. I want to thank all that join in & take part, I knows it’s on short notice, but better to start now than not start at all!
Yen carry trade I presume.
Parts 2 and 3 have blank links.
A judge by the name of Black sent over a thousand bankers to jail after the S&L crisis. That put a stop to the chicanery, as a clear message was sent to the big banking community — the message being that there is a price to pay for fraud. Unfortunately, neither the Bush nor Obama administrations have pushed for prosecution of the recent fraud, despite it being perpetrated on a massive scale and blatantly obvious. That’s very telling, indicating who really in control today. The solutions to our current crisis are not complicated. Endemic political corruption prevents those solutions from being implemented. This will all end very badly for the middle class, which is being systematically robbed while our elected representatives pretend to care.
I think Ron Paul has a chance this time around. Not that anything is going to save us from hard times. I would just like to bring the troops home from these worthless wars. Some people think bring the troops home will save us money. I think it will be the sign to the world ,we can’t force the dollar on them anymore and the dollar will sink fast. We must also give up this idea of charging interest on a loan. I think a up front loan charge is how the new money system is going to end up anyway. Whatever happen it’s going to happen in your local town.
Bob,
I do too. Thank you for the comments.
Greg
About six months ago I reset my portfolios with a lot of thought from my brokers and my own experience and knowledge, it was worth the effort, so far.
Basially I bunkered up with my new defenses to hold onto my rebuilt gains since the 08 fiasco and recent profits. Right now the defenses seem to be holding out but again, if the squirrely administration cannot introduce financial leadership with clarity, it is just going to be tough sledding….
Ontime,
If this gets as bad as economist John Williams says it could, then there is not a single brokerage that will be safe. This is just a friendly piece of information for you to consider.
Greg
Are these soldiers that lost their lives the same ones who two weeks ago were told they might not receive their pay going forward due to an argument in DC over the debt limit increase?
Greg, you are getting a little out of hand with your populatist, blame-game nonsense. Randomly blaming traders and investors for the shifts in the market and saying they are making money at the expense of the 401k and IRA “common people” is absolute nonsense. No one told anyone who is not a professional trader not to be the same. And its not like everyone who is a trader is minting coin in this market. Full disclosure: I AM NOT A TRADER OR ON WALL ST. I am a “regular joe shmoe small business owner” and I think you are using this forum to blame Wall St and trader etc to get a rise out of your article/video. This is starting to look a tabloid article.
I am a huge fan and regular reader of your site, but you are going off the deep end a bit my friend. Don’t blame Wall St for everything. Not everyone on Wall St got a bailout even if they worked at a bank that got the bailout. You think my neighbor’s kid who goes in to work at 4am daily and comes home at 7pm influenced getting or not getting a bailout? Stop the garbage tabloid nonsense and start doing what your mission statement is all about.
And then you go on to mention that in the UK, the ‘banks ruined the country’s economy’ – seriously?? And they are getting bonuses? Dude, they are having huge layoffs and cuts in bonuses. No one told you or your readers NOT to go to Wall St or wherever. Stop being populist.
You are better than that.
A very disappointed loyal fan.
T Atwell,
Thank you for your support but I feel strongly that Wall Street has ripped off the public. The S$P is still way below its peak and you still have to factor in a 20% loss in value in the dollar and a 1% annual commission for mutual funds. The NASDAQ is still half of what it was at the peak. The “buy and hold” strategy (Wall Street’s advice) has been a failure, and most people have lost money investing in the broad market. “Buy and hold” is the opposite strategy from what Wall Street pros use and yet it is wgovernmenthat the public has been told constantly. You said, “Not everyone on Wall St got a bailout even if they worked at a bank that got the bailout.” What??? If you worked at a Wall Street bank you got a bailout, because all would have failed according to Tim Geithner, “None of them would have survived” had the government stood aside and let the crisis run its course, he said. “The entire U.S. financial system and all the major firms in the country, and even small banks across the country, were at that moment at the middle of a classic run, a classic bank run.” http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aWBnxBZDUtZo Let me make this clear, the banks caused this ongoing mess with reckless risk taking and massive leverage.
As far as the UK banks, they are still getting big bonuses and salary increases as much as 40%. The BBC reported at the beginning of this year, “Bank bonuses ‘to run to billions in 2011’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12131092 My favorite bank is RBS. It lost money, but still paid bonuses in 2011. “More than 100 bankers at Royal Bank of Scotland were paid more than £1m last year and total bonus payouts reached nearly £1bn – even though the bailed-out bank reported losses of £1.1bn for 2010.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/24/rbs-bankers-bonuses-despite-loss I am equally disappointed that you would accuse me of tabloid journalism when the facts say otherwise. Thank you for your comment.
Greg
I want the troops home as much as anyone, but this is what they are facing when they come home.
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/08/ready_able_and_willing.html
The US would be Germany after WWI. Then the war contractors that outnumber the troops on the ground. Unemployed, hungry and angry. We need jobs first and I have no idea where we will find enough to put all the troops to work.