10 Economic Myths That Need To Be Corrected

December 23, 2011

Silver Circle Underground

By Silver Circle

1. This is capitalism. We live in a capitalistic country.

We can argue over the best label for the economic system in the United States of America, but there can be little argument that “capitalism” or “free market” are among the worst and most inaccurate labels for what we have in America today. With quantity and price controls rampant throughout multiple, major U.S. markets, regulations galore, and some of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, the United States is a heavily controlled, heavily regulated, and heavily taxed mixed market economy. Of the ten planks in the Communist Manifesto, seven have become policy in the United States, and the government is working on the remaining three! Can that be fairly characterized as capitalism? Take a look at this list of U.S. government agencies, notice just how unbelievably many of them there are, and observe just how many aspects of life in America they regulate. It’s a Soviet commissar’s dream, and any true capitalist’s nightmare!

2. Deregulation in the 90s led to the recent economic crash.

Okay, Clinton signed one law in the 1990s that lifted federal regulation of one aspect of financial markets, and critics of deregulation like to say “We deregulated financial markets in the 1990s,” as if we completely overhauled the entire federal regulatory system, but that’s a big stretch and very misleading. Booms and busts themselves are actually caused by government intervention into the economy. Libertarian economists who understand this (many of them belonging to the “Austrian School of Economics”) have been incredibly accurate predictors of economic booms and busts. They predicted the Great Depression, the stagflation of the 1970s (that their opponents had always claimed was impossible), and the most recent credit and housing collapse. Their predictive powers are the result of their accurate theories and understanding. Here, I’ll let “F.A. Hayek” rap it for you.

3. We need more regulation to keep big corporations in line.

If that were true, why don’t more big corporations support deregulation? Instead they seem to support more big government. Go ahead, browse OpenSecrets.org for yourself and see which politicians get the most donations from big corporations. The fact is, regulations– like most laws in this country– are written by corporate lobbyists to give big corporations an advantage over small businesses that do not have the resources or money to comply with costly regulation, putting them out of business and handing over their market share to the big companies, all by way of government regulation. Critics of moneyed corporate interests contradictorily believe that these interests pull the strings of government and that more government regulation will reign in these interests. Which one is it?

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The Ron Paul Portfolio

December 23, 2011

The Wall Street Journal

By Jason Zweig

“Here is just another example at how different Ron Paul is from the pack.” –KTRN

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul marches to his own drummer in politics – and in his investment portfolio, too.

Here at Total Return, we’ve looked at hundreds of the annual financial-disclosure forms in which the members of Congress reveal their assets and trades – and we’ve never seen a more unorthodox portfolio than Ron Paul’s. (In fact, The Wall Street Journal revealed problematic trading in Congress more than a year and a half before the “60 Minutes” episode that recently raised a ruckus over the same topic, but that’s another matter.)

According to data available through his 2010 “Form A” financial disclosure statement, filed last May, Rep. Paul’s portfolio is valued between $2.44 million and $5.46 million. (Congressional disclosures are given in ranges, not precise amounts.)

Most members of Congress, like many Americans, hold some real estate, a few bonds or bond mutual funds, some individual stocks and a bundle of stock funds. Give or take a few percentage points, a typical Congressional portfolio might have 10% in cash, 10% in bonds or bond funds, 20% in real estate, and 60% in stocks or stock funds.

But Ron Paul’s portfolio isn’t merely different. It’s shockingly different.

Yes, about 21% of Rep. Paul’s holdings are in real estate and roughly 14% in cash. But he owns no bonds or bond funds and has only 0.1% in stock funds. Furthermore, the stock funds that Rep. Paul does own are all “short,” or make bets against, U.S. stocks. One is a “double inverse” fund that, on a daily basis, goes up twice as much as its stock benchmark goes down.

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Americans Will Be Transferred To Foreign Prisons Under Indefinite Detention Act

December 23, 2011

RT

By RT

If you’re upset that congressional approval of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 can send you away to military prisons and be tortured in America, don’t worry — it could be worse.

The US could send you somewhere else.

No, really. They could. And they can. Anywhere else, too. Really.

While the bill that left Capitol Hill last week and awaits authorization from US President Barack Obama allows for the United States to indefinitely detain and torture American citizens suspected of aiding enemy forces, one provision in the bill specifies that that detention doesn’t necessarily have to occur domestically — nor does it have to be in a foreign prison run by the US.

The ongoing detention of foreign terror suspects at the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has been a hot topic since the War on Terror began, with American military authorities torturing could-be criminals without ever bringing them to trial. An exposé years earlier on the Abu Ghraib facility in Iraq revealed how American troops were subjecting detainees to disgusting, inhumane conditions; conditions which left some dead without ever going to trial. While Abu Ghraib has since been shut down, Guantanamo Bay continues to hold suspected criminals despite a promise to Obama to shut it down.

When the commander-in-chief inks his name to NDAA FY2012, Americans can be on their way to the same torture cells that have kept al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked terrorists for the last decade. It’s now been revealed, however, that US citizens and anyone suspected of a crime against America can be sent all over the world.

Under the legislation, the president has the power to transfer suspected terrorists “to the custody or control of the person’s country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity.”

China? Sure. Iran? Why not! North Korea? That’s a possibility too. David Glazier, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, tells Mother Jones that this was an authority that the president has had before, but only under the new NDAA is the legislation endorsed and insured that it could be applied to Americans.

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Police Pepper Spray Rowdy Shoe Shoppers In Seattle

December 23, 2011

The Seattle Times

By The Associated Press

“Another example that cops are out of control.” –KTRN

Police used pepper spray to break up fights among pushing and shoving customers waiting outside a Seattle area mall to buy the first Nike retro Air Jordan basketball shoes that went on sale early Friday.

Tukwila (tuhk-WIL’-uh) Officer Mike Murphy says about 20 people were sprayed in a group. One man was arrested for assault after police say he pushed an officer. No one was injured.

Murphy says more than 1,000 people lined up to buy shoes at 4 a.m. at four stores in the Westfield Southcenter mall. He says the stores sold out and all but about 50 people got their Air Jordans.

Hundreds of customers also lined up outside shoe stores in downtown Seattle and at a mall in Federal Way.

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Upon Release of Martial Law Documents, The Plan For America’s Destruction Becomes Apparent

December 23, 2011

The Excavator

By Saman Mohammadi

The top news story of 2011 is not the assassination of Osama Bin Laden (a CIA psyop), but the advancement of the Martial Law agenda in America under the public radar.

On Wednesday, December 21, Infowars.com published a brand new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) document dated November 18, 2011, that “that show military involvement in a FEMA-led takeover within the United States under partially-classified Continuity of Government (COG) plans,” and designate “the American people as ‘enemies’ under a live military tracking system known as Blue Force Situational Awareness (BFSA).”

The FEMA document, appearing under the headline “National Continuity Programs (NCP) Program and Mission Support Services (PAMSS),” ask contractors to assist FEMA in national emergencies. But don’t let the bureaucratic language fool you. This is really a Martial Law document. FEMA is not interested in emergency preparedness, but in establishing a military dictatorship in the United States.

Ordinary Americans are classified as the enemy in this FEMA document, and similar Martial Law documents, such as this one from Halliburton/KBR that Infowars.com published on Tuesday, December 6, 2011. The militaristic language that appears in these Martial Law documents, and in the draconian NDAA bill that the treacherous Congress passed last week, suggests that the hijacked U.S. government desires that there be insurgents and domestic terrorists in the United States.

The traitors in Washington need enemies, both foreign and domestic, in order for the politically and morally bankrupt National Security State to remain relevant and powerful in American society. This is a militarist and secret system that is led by the most evil personalities in the 21st century who create fake enemies (Al-Qaeda) and stage false flag terrorist attacks (9/11) just to remain in power. The word restraint does not exist in their vocabulary.

The day will come when the traitors in Washington, led by President Obama, will issue orders to the military and police to fire on Americans and enforce Martial Law. At that point, even the most blind and ignorant people will probably come to the obvious conclusion that it is not Al-Qaeda who desires the destruction of America, but the hijacked and treasonous U.S. government.

Much like in Iraq and other occupied countries, the hijacked U.S. government is reaching out to private contractors like KBR to help the U.S. military and Homeland Security implement Martial Law.

Government thugs and private contractors will be used to control the population in critical areas of the country after the coming economic collapse, as well as to contain and eliminate domestic threats, meaning any American citizen who does not want a hijacked military and blood-soaked mercenaries occupying America.

Click here for the full story.

More Retailers Pull Formula After Missouri Infant Death

December 23, 2011

KMOV

By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER

“There is a solution to this – breast feed infants. It’s the natural thing to do.” –KTRN

Several more national retailers have joined Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in pulling a batch of powdered infant formula from their shelves after a Missouri newborn who consumed it apparently died of a rare bacterial infection, the companies said Friday.

Officials at Supervalu Inc., Walgreen Co., Kroger Co. and Safeway said they have removed 12.5-ounce cans of Enfamil Newborn with the lot number ZP1K7G from various stores across the country as a precaution until federal health officials complete tests on the formula.

Ten-day-old Avery Cornett died Sunday after getting sick several days earlier in the southern Missouri town of Lebanon. Preliminary hospital tests indicated he died of a rare infection caused by bacteria known as Cronobacter sakazakii.

The source of the bacteria that caused the infection hasn’t been determined, but it can be found in dried milk and powdered formula as well as naturally in the environment and in plants such as wheat and rice.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we are removing the formula from certain stores,” SuperValu spokesman Mike Siemienas said Friday. “We will hold these products from sale until we receive additional guidance from regulatory authorities and the manufacturer.”

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New Research To Investigate The Power Of A High-Nutrient Diet

December 23, 2011

Disease Proof

“More proof that diseases can be cured by diet.”  –KTRN

By Jerry Deutsch, President, Nutritional Research Project

The Nutritional Research Project and Joel Fuhrman, MD are teaming up with top researchers throughout the US to show that chronic disease can be prevented and reversed with the Eat to Live (nutritarian) lifestyle!

We want you to be among the first to know about this groundbreaking research. Rather than focusing on drugs as most researchers are doing, we are examining the power of a high nutrient density diet to reverse obesity, heart disease and cancer!

These studies are supported by people like you who are interested in the benefits of a healthful lifestyle and want to be part of the solution to most, if not all, of our planetary problems. The Nutritional Research Project of the National Health Association is the oldest health promoting 501(c)3 nonprofit in the United States, providing healthy lifestyle education and research for over 60 years! We are thrilled to be working with Dr. Fuhrman to pursue his and your research interests.

OBESITY STUDY

The day after this year’s Immersion in Princeton, N.J., Dr. Fuhrman came to North Carolina to meet with researchers from The University of North Carolina and the Director of the Nutrition Research Institute (founded by David Murdoch and located in Kannapolis, North Carolina). Dr. Fuhrman, the NRP and the NRI have agreed to collaborate on a 2-year obesity study, to discover how successful his high nutrient diet will be when taught to overweight subjects. Although most diets will produce weight loss initially, weight loss is typically not sustained beyond about 6 months. If we can demonstrate 2 years of statistically significant results we should be on CNN and in the NY Times and Wall Street Journal!

Please help us bring this study to the next level with a small (or large) donation. Every donation of any size will help.

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NFL Players Sue League For Allegedly Drugging Up Players

December 23, 2011

Natural News

By Ethan A. Huff

“Wouldn’t it be amazing if people cared as much about important issues as they do with sports?”  –KTRN

With all the controversy surrounding the willful use of steroids and other illicit, performance-enhancing drugs by some professional sports players, it might come as a surprise to some readers to learn that professional sports leagues themselves may also be responsible for illicitly dishing out dangerous pharmaceutical drugs to players before games in order to conceal deadly injuries.

At least 12 former football players in the NFL have filed a lawsuit against the league for what they say is an irresponsible and highly-dangerous concussion policy. The plaintiffs allege that, before games, athletic trainers and medical staff administered injections of Toradol, a high-risk, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), to all players, regardless of their individual health conditions, in order to make them feel good for games.

It is fairly common for professional sports players to sustain concussions every now and again after undergoing big hits, and athletic trainers and medical staff are trained to respond quickly with appropriate treatments following an injury. But the NFL’s alleged overuse of Toradol for all players put many of them at risk, particularly those who unknowingly may have had concussions or other serious injuries.

“The difference with this case is what we’ve learned from our players is that they used to administer a drug called Toradol, which is basically a painkiller, even when players didn’t have symptoms,” said attorney Christopher Seeger, who reportedly filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs in a federal court in New Jersey. “Our experts say that’s the worst thing you can do for a brain injury or concussion.”

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Is Nutritional Intelligence Lost?

December 23, 2011

Natural News

By Hesh Goldstein

We are living in a time that makes great demands upon our efforts to keep healthy through a well-managed dietary program.

With all the devitalized and synthetic foodstuffs at our disposal, it is often very difficult to obtain the necessary natural foods that will keep our bodies in good health.

Millions of hard-earned dollars are being wasted by way of our mouths.

All of us are hungry for those necessary requirements that our “All-Knowing” Creator designed our bodies to have, to maintain a healthy, vigorous and responsive body.

We can no longer depend upon nature alone to supply the human body with its vital life forces.

We must cooperate with nature by having a thorough understanding of our physiology and bodily needs. Then, and only then, can we reap from nature that which keeps us in good health.

We have come face to face with three “giants” in our modern society. They respectively are: our food producers, marketing agencies and supermarkets, and uninformed consumers and housewives who are responsible for the food that is set before us.

The producers of our foods today find it difficult to be competitive and still grow foodstuffs without commercial fertilizers and sprays. Because of this we can hardly avoid buying contaminated foods. The marketing agencies do not want ripened fruits and mature vegetables, for fear of losses due to spoilage and shipping. Therefore, most foods are forced-grown and harvested pre-maturely, making them inferior in nutritional values.

Fresh, ripened foods, in their natural state, possess the highest nutritive value and this cannot be improved by preserving, processing, heating, or fermenting. These only tend to destroy its value.

Boiled vegetables that have been peeled and the water thrown away have no taste. Therefore, something must be done to make them palatable. So, we “doctor them up” by mixing sugar, salt, spices, MSG, butter or margarine, and other “things” together.

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Ron Paul Is Winning In Iowa

By Chris Davis

(KTRN Exclusive) As we get closer and closer to the GOP primary in Iowa, one has to wonder if Ron Paul is going to be the guy. The mainstream media is still pretending he’s a third tier candidate, but the more and more people I talk with, the more I notice how many Ron Paul supporters are out there. I may be going out on a limb here, but it seems he has more supporters than any of the candidates. How could anyone think Newt Gringrich would make a good president? Obama would crush him. And Mitt Romney? He would have no change against Obama either. In fact, recent polls have shown Paul is the only GOP candidate that has a chance against the president. And let’s face it, Paul is hardly a republican. People reading this site should know by now that both parties are basically the same – they arent enemies. It’s like pro wrestling in a lot of ways. Behind the doors, they’re friends. Just ask Jesse Ventura. Ron Paul has said he could not openly support any of the candidates running – his ties to the party just aren’t that close.  If anyone is having doubts about this man just remember he has never voted to raise taxes, he’s never voted for an unbalanced budget, he’s stated numerous times that people should have health freedom (and has mentioned alternative/natural treatments as choices people should be able to make), and he is the real peace candidate. When was the last time a person running for president was so open and against all of these wars? Even if Paul does not get the nomination, his message of personal liberty and freedom is getting out to more people than ever before. This is a good thing.

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