Tag: news

Ukrainian protesters erected more street barricades and occupied another government ministry building on Friday after the failure of crisis talks with President Yanukovich, as opposition leader Klitschko feared "more deaths" pointing to a weekend of increasingly violent protests. Reuters reports that Yanukovich's party stated "the situation has grown sharper throughout the country," and called on people to disregard the calls of "radical troublemakers" to turn out for protest rallies. Klitschko punched back, "Yanukovich has declared war on his own people. He is trying to hold on to power at the price of blood and de-stabilization of the situation in the country. He has to be stopped." The international community is getting involved with Hollande calling for "dialogue" but it is Biden's threat of "consequences" that spurred a different protest at the US embassy – "The US is behind everything that is happening in Kiev’s downtown right now."

 

"Not A Step Back" – warns opposition:

 

Via Reuters,

The problem started…

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in the capital after Yanukovich backed away from signing a free trade deal with the European Union, which many people saw as the key to a European future, in favor of financial aid from Ukraine's old Soviet master Russia.

 

But the movement has since widened into broader protests against perceived misrule and corruption in the Yanukovich leadership.

 

Protesters have been enraged too by sweeping anti-protest legislation that was rammed through parliament last week by Yanukovich loyalists in the assembly.

and is spreading…

Yanukovich's Party of the Regions confirmed reports that two months of anti-government protests were spreading to other parts of the country, particularly the west, where "extremists" had seized regional administration buildings.

And will get worse…

Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, who with two other opposition leaders failed to wring any concessions from Yanukovich late last night, said the only way out of the impasse lay with international mediation.

 

"Any discussion of how to settle the crisis in Ukraine must take place with the involvement of the international mediators of the highest level," a statement from his Udar party quoted him as saying.

 

"Instead of shifting to solving the situation by common sense, Yanukovich has declared war on his own people. He is trying to hold on to power at the price of blood and de-stabilization of the situation in the country. He has to be stopped," the boxer-turned-politician said.

 

…

 

Masked protesters, some carrying riot police shields seized as trophies, stood guard as others piled up sandbags packed with frozen snow to form new ramparts across the road leading down into the square.

 

…

 

Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, after leaving a second round of talks with Yanukovich empty handed, late on Thursday voiced fears the impasse could now lead to further bloodshed.

But at the US embassy, a different crowd is revolting…

As 21st Cetruy Wire reports:

…a new faction of intelligent Ukrainian protesters has sprung up this week.

They see right through the covert western operation:

“The US is behind everything that is happening in Kiev’s downtown right now.”

From yesterday afternoon, this new group have begun to encircle the US Embassy in Kiev. Their demand to the US:

‘Stop meddling in our affairs, and stop sponsoring unrest mobs in our country’. 

Following John McCain’s recent trip to Kiev practicing his new brand of international racketeering by threatening the Ukraine if they did not join the EU, it seems that the real Ukrainians have finally figured out that the pro-EU mobs have been staged by a conclave of western NGO’s and ‘democracy foundations’ – the very same nest of hornets who brought on the fabled ‘Arab Spring’ to the Middle East three years ago.

The main goal for Washington and the City of London is to separate Kiev from Moscow, and thus weaken Russia’s hand in Eurasia.

For EU central bankers, the prospect of raping and privatising the Urkraine economy-  is also a big incentive.

It looks like the old tricks are no longer working. At last, the ‘colour revolution’ jig may finally be up…

RT.com
 

A huge crowd of demonstrators has surrounded the US embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, protesting against Washington’s meddling in the country’s internal affairs.

Follow RT’s live updates.

The event was organized by Kievans for Clean City, a new pro-government activist group which has spoken out against the rioters and violence in downtown Kiev.

Several thousand demonstrators are taking part, urging the US to “stop sponsoring” mass unrests, local media reported.

“The US is behind everything that is happening in Kiev’s downtown right now. The financing is coming from over there. This has to be stopped. That is what we came out here to say to the whole world: ‘US – stop! US – there needs to be peace in Ukraine,’” said Ivan Protsenko, one of the movement’s leaders.

 

 

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/KVBuwN Tyler Durden

Ukrainian protesters erected more street barricades and occupied another government ministry building on Friday after the failure of crisis talks with President Yanukovich, as opposition leader Klitschko feared "more deaths" pointing to a weekend of increasingly violent protests. Reuters reports that Yanukovich's party stated "the situation has grown sharper throughout the country," and called on people to disregard the calls of "radical troublemakers" to turn out for protest rallies. Klitschko punched back, "Yanukovich has declared war on his own people. He is trying to hold on to power at the price of blood and de-stabilization of the situation in the country. He has to be stopped." The international community is getting involved with Hollande calling for "dialogue" but it is Biden's threat of "consequences" that spurred a different protest at the US embassy – "The US is behind everything that is happening in Kiev’s downtown right now."

 

"Not A Step Back" – warns opposition:

 

Via Reuters,

The problem started…

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in the capital after Yanukovich backed away from signing a free trade deal with the European Union, which many people saw as the key to a European future, in favor of financial aid from Ukraine's old Soviet master Russia.

 

But the movement has since widened into broader protests against perceived misrule and corruption in the Yanukovich leadership.

 

Protesters have been enraged too by sweeping anti-protest legislation that was rammed through parliament last week by Yanukovich loyalists in the assembly.

and is spreading…

Yanukovich's Party of the Regions confirmed reports that two months of anti-government protests were spreading to other parts of the country, particularly the west, where "extremists" had seized regional administration buildings.

And will get worse…

Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, who with two other opposition leaders failed to wring any concessions from Yanukovich late last night, said the only way out of the impasse lay with international mediation.

 

"Any discussion of how to settle the crisis in Ukraine must take place with the involvement of the international mediators of the highest level," a statement from his Udar party quoted him as saying.

 

"Instead of shifting to solving the situation by common sense, Yanukovich has declared war on his own people. He is trying to hold on to power at the price of blood and de-stabilization of the situation in the country. He has to be stopped," the boxer-turned-politician said.

 

…

 

Masked protesters, some carrying riot police shields seized as trophies, stood guard as others piled up sandbags packed with frozen snow to form new ramparts across the road leading down into the square.

 

…

 

Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, after leaving a second round of talks with Yanukovich empty handed, late on Thursday voiced fears the impasse could now lead to further bloodshed.

But at the US embassy, a different crowd is revolting…

As 21st Cetruy Wire reports:

…a new faction of intelligent Ukrainian protesters has sprung up this week.

They see right through the covert western operation:

“The US is behind everything that is happening in Kiev’s downtown right now.”

From yesterday afternoon, this new group have begun to encircle the US Embassy in Kiev. Their demand to the US:

‘Stop meddling in our affairs, and stop sponsoring unrest mobs in our country’. 

Following John McCain’s recent trip to Kiev practicing his new brand of international racketeering by threatening the Ukraine if they did not join the EU, it seems that the real Ukrainians have finally figured out that the pro-EU mobs have been staged by a conclave of western NGO’s and ‘democracy foundations’ – the very same nest of hornets who brought on the fabled ‘Arab Spring’ to the Middle East three years ago.

The main goal for Washington and the City of London is to separate Kiev from Moscow, and thus weaken Russia’s hand in Eurasia.

For EU central bankers, the prospect of raping and privatising the Urkraine economy-  is also a big incentive.

It looks like the old tricks are no longer working. At last, the ‘colour revolution’ jig may finally be up…

RT.com
 

A huge crowd of demonstrators has surrounded the US embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, protesting against Washington’s meddling in the country’s internal affairs.

Follow RT’s live updates.

The event was organized by Kievans for Clean City, a new pro-government activist group which has spoken out against the rioters and violence in downtown Kiev.

Several thousand demonstrators are taking part, urging the US to “stop sponsoring” mass unrests, local media reported.

“The US is behind everything that is happening in Kiev’s downtown right now. The financing is coming from over there. This has to be stopped. That is what we came out here to say to the whole world: ‘US – stop! US – there needs to be peace in Ukraine,’” said Ivan Protsenko, one of the movement’s leaders.

 

 

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/KVBuwN Tyler Durden

My sense these days is that nobody except me and maybe a few others work on fridays in America, especially on a cold and icy day like today.  It is a slow day.  So…let’s talk disintermediation. 

dis·in·ter·me·di·a·tion

noun.     reduction in the use of intermediaries between producers and consumers, for example by investing directly in the securities market rather than through a bank.

Here are four areas that I find particularly interesting when it comes to thinking about disintermediation:

• Wealth/Capital (gold, bitchezzz!!!)
• Relationship with a higher power (God, bitchezzz!!!)
• Food (garden, bitchezzz!!!)
• Security (guns, bitchezzz!!!)

Over the years, I have found many ways to practice disintermediation in each of these areas.  I have written articles and comments and posted photos on Zerohedge about some of these efforts.  Today, I invite you to discuss with me our successes, failures, and hopes in the comments section below.  I am thinking this will be similar to an open thread, except I would like us to keep to the topic of practicing disintermediation as much as possible.

Here are a few examples to get us started:

• A great way to safely store a little gold is by placing 1/10th ounce krugerrands in an L.L. Bean money belt, and hanging it in the closet with a bunch of other belts.  Hiding in plain sight, and readily portable.
• I found it helpful to write a Gratitude List of the things I am most thankful for, and placing it in a place where I see it every day, not just in the church on Sundays.  In my experience, Veggie Tales is right…a thankful heart is a happy heart.
• Most places in America still have a county agriculture extension office where one can get a list of the plants that grow well locally, when to plant them, when to harvest them, how to protect them from pests, and how to fertilize them, etc.  
• For home security, it is hard to beat a 12 gauge shotgun, loaded with 00 buck, and a weapon mounted light.  However, familiarity with a shotgun gained by target shooting or hunting is highly unlikely to provide one with the ability to effectively use the weapon for defensive purposes, and When you are Suddenly Surrounded by Violence and Killing It’s Too Late to Train, so take a Tactical Shotgun Course. 

Health and education are two other areas that come to mind where disintermediation can serve us well.

This may be a disaster, but let’s see how it goes…

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/KVBn4q hedgeless_horseman

My sense these days is that nobody except me and maybe a few others work on fridays in America, especially on a cold and icy day like today.  It is a slow day.  So…let’s talk disintermediation. 

dis·in·ter·me·di·a·tion

noun.     reduction in the use of intermediaries between producers and consumers, for example by investing directly in the securities market rather than through a bank.

Here are four areas that I find particularly interesting when it comes to thinking about disintermediation:

• Wealth/Capital (gold, bitchezzz!!!)
• Relationship with a higher power (God, bitchezzz!!!)
• Food (garden, bitchezzz!!!)
• Security (guns, bitchezzz!!!)

Over the years, I have found many ways to practice disintermediation in each of these areas.  I have written articles and comments and posted photos on Zerohedge about some of these efforts.  Today, I invite you to discuss with me our successes, failures, and hopes in the comments section below.  I am thinking this will be similar to an open thread, except I would like us to keep to the topic of practicing disintermediation as much as possible.

Here are a few examples to get us started:

• A great way to safely store a little gold is by placing 1/10th ounce krugerrands in an L.L. Bean money belt, and hanging it in the closet with a bunch of other belts.  Hiding in plain sight, and readily portable.
• I found it helpful to write a Gratitude List of the things I am most thankful for, and placing it in a place where I see it every day, not just in the church on Sundays.  In my experience, Veggie Tales is right…a thankful heart is a happy heart.
• Most places in America still have a county agriculture extension office where one can get a list of the plants that grow well locally, when to plant them, when to harvest them, how to protect them from pests, and how to fertilize them, etc.  
• For home security, it is hard to beat a 12 gauge shotgun, loaded with 00 buck, and a weapon mounted light.  However, familiarity with a shotgun gained by target shooting or hunting is highly unlikely to provide one with the ability to effectively use the weapon for defensive purposes, and When you are Suddenly Surrounded by Violence and Killing It’s Too Late to Train, so take a Tactical Shotgun Course. 

Health and education are two other areas that come to mind where disintermediation can serve us well.

This may be a disaster, but let’s see how it goes…

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/KVBn4q hedgeless_horseman

We’ve noted for years that it’s a myth that conservatives accept runaway inequality.

Conservatives are very concerned about the stunning collapse of upward mobility.

A poll from Gallup shows that a majority of Republicans think we’ve got too much inequality:

Two out of three Americans are dissatisfied with the way income and wealth are currently distributed in the U.S. This includes three-fourths of Democrats and 54% of Republicans.

And the conservative website Townhall.com ran a story last month entitled, “Inequality is a Conservative Issue“.

In fact, there are at least 6 solid conservative reasons – based upon conservative values – for reducing runaway inequality:

(1) It has now finally become widely accepted by economists that inequality drags down the economy. Conservatives like prosperity and economic growth, not things which pull down the economy;

 

(2) Inequality increases the nation’s debt.  Conservatives don’t like debt;

 

(3) Runaway inequality leads to social unrest and violence. Conservatives like stability and order;

 

(4) Much of the cause of our soaring inequality is bailouts for the big banks and socialism for the buddies of the high-and-mighty at the Federal Reserve, Treasury, and White House.   The government has consistently picked Wall Street over Main Street, and virtually all of the the big banks’ profits come from taxpayer bailouts. The Fed is still throwing many tens of billions a month at the big banks in “the greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time”, which sucks the wealth away from the rest of the economy.  Conservatives don’t like bailouts or socialism; and

 

(5) One of the biggest causes of runaway inequality is that the big banks are manipulating every market, and committing massive crimes.  Fraud disproportionally benefits the big banks, makes boom-bust cycles more severe, and otherwise harms the economy … all of which increase inequality and warp the market. These actions artificially redistribute wealth from honest, hard-working people to a handful of crooks.  Conservatives hate redistribution … as well as crooks.  

 

(6) Religious leaders have slammed the criminality of the heads of the big banks; and the Bible teaches – and top economists agree – that their crimes must be punished, or else things will get worse.   A 2011 Gallup poll showed that 91% of U.S. conservatives believe that the Bible is either literally true or is the inspired word of God.    If the crimes of the bankers are punished, inequality will start to decline, because a more lawful, orderly and even playing field will be reestablished.

We’re not calling for redistributing wealth from the rich.  But we do support clawing back ill-gotten gains from criminals under well-established fraud principles:

The government could use existing laws to force ill-gotten gains to be disgorged (see this and this) [and] fraudulent transfers to be voided …

We’re mainly talking about stopping further redistribution from Main Street to Wall Street.  As Robert Shiller said in 2009:

And it’s not like we want to level income. I’m not saying spread the wealth around, which got Obama in trouble. But I think, I would hope that this would be a time for a national consideration about policies that would focus on restraining any possible further increases in inequality.

For example, if we stop bailing out the Wall Street welfare queen, the big banks would focus more on traditional lending and less on speculative casino gambling.  Indeed, if we break up the big banks, it will increase the ability of smaller banks to make loans to Main Street, which will level the playing field.

Postscript: If you want to know the stunning truth of how bad inequality has gotten, read this.

If you want to hear what top economists say inequality does to our economy, click here.

And if you want to find out whether government policy is making things better or worse, here’s your answer.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/KVBdtL George Washington

While the world of speculative capital is focused intently on the Twitter and Facebook #Ref/0 fundamental valuations in the publicly-traded equity markets, as the WSJ illustrates, the real dot-com 2.0 bubble is occurring in the private markets. Today there are more than 30 companies in the US, Europe, and China that are valued at $1 billion or more by venture-captal firms and the club is becoming less exclusive as venture capitalists (in their ever growing speculative fervor) funnel large sums of capital into start-ups.

 

Click image for interactive and sortable WSJ infographic

 

Source: WSJ

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/KVB8q7 Tyler Durden

While the world of speculative capital is focused intently on the Twitter and Facebook #Ref/0 fundamental valuations in the publicly-traded equity markets, as the WSJ illustrates, the real dot-com 2.0 bubble is occurring in the private markets. Today there are more than 30 companies in the US, Europe, and China that are valued at $1 billion or more by venture-captal firms and the club is becoming less exclusive as venture capitalists (in their ever growing speculative fervor) funnel large sums of capital into start-ups.

 

Click image for interactive and sortable WSJ infographic

 

Source: WSJ

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/KVB8q7 Tyler Durden