The deal struck this week by Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray has been well received by President Obama,
House Speaker John Boehner, the defense industry, and many people in
the media and the public at large who are tired of Washington’s
budgetary gridlock. No one is popping any champagne corks, but there is a
widespread feeling that any agreement that can eliminate the
uncertainty that has dominated Washington budgetary debates over the
past two years is worth supporting.
But the Ryan/Murray deal can be improved. The Congress and the
president should rethink the need to give the Pentagon over $20 billion
more in fiscal 2014. More than enough money is available under the
budgetary caps established in current law to provide a robust and
forward-looking defense of the United States without this proposed
increase. At roughly $480 billion for the Pentagon budget proper — and
nearly $500 billion when nuclear weapons spending at the Department of
Energy is factored in — current plans are already about $100 billion per year higher than the Cold War average.
One could argue that we live in a vastly different world than we did
during the Cold War, and that there is no reason that we should be
spending a similar amount now as we did then. This is absolutely true.
The world is considerably safer than it was when the U.S. was faced off
against a superpower adversary that had the capability to end life as we
know it, and Pentagon spending should reflect that fact.
Read more
Saturday, December 14, 2013
The Case For A December Taper Just Got A Whole Lot Stronger, Chances Are Now Above 50 Percent!
“It’s still a close call, but chances
are now above 50 percent that the Federal Reserve will modestly
reduce its asset purchases later this month,” said Potomac Research
Group’s Greg Valliere who was communicating the analysis of former
Fed Vice Chair Don Kohn. “There’s a 60-40 chance that the FOMC
will decide on Dec. 18 to begin tapering.”
“The final piece of the puzzle may have been
yesterday’s solid retail sales data, a sign that the recent
improvement in the labor market may finally be producing stronger
spending,” he added. “Agreement on a budget deal, eliminating a
major source of uncertainty, is another factor supporting a December
taper.”
REALIST
NEWS – I do not believe Quantitative Easing will continue much
longer
America Managed Like a US Military Contract
A review of internal emails from 2011 provides an example of the bent
ethics and professionalism that was so common in the US Army’s Human
Terrain System (HTS) and scores of other US military programs; for
example, the US Army Center for Substance Abuse Programs.
HTS attempted to embed anthropologists and other social scientists from academia within US military units roaming the human terrain of Iraq and Afghanistan. The thinking was that qualified social scientists would be able to interpret cultural practices, develop network/relationship diagrams and provide US military commanders with data that would subsequently be used by those commanders to understand the strength/weaknesses of the populace they were trying to conquer. In short, if a US commander determined that anything the HTS produced was useful, that data would find its way into the Kill Chain. From the beginning HTS was an intelligence support program funded through US Army intelligence line items. The program caused more controversy than usable work product and some measure of wealth for BAE Systems (UK) and CGI (Canada). $700 million was poured into the HTS trough for contractors and their employees. US Army Civil Affairs should have received the tasking.
Investigations during the 2008-2011 timeframe showed again and again that–with few bright spots– HTS was poorly managed from the highest levels of US Army TRADOC down to Human Terrain Teams in the field. Those reports from the US Army 101st Airborne, Center for Naval Analyses, and internal US Army documents can be found at Dr. Max Forte’s Zero Anthropology website. No other US Army program during the long decade of wars in Iraq/Afghanistan provided more tragedy and comedy than the US Army’s HTS. At least 12 Americans were KIA or wounded (soldiers providing support to the HTS mission) during the life of the disheveled program. Consider: there was a hostage situation; individuals were hired without adequate criminal background checks; a former HTS member sits in a prison in Iran (he was seen by other HTS personnel in a predominantly Iranian refugee camp); sexual harassment was common; charges of racism were leveled; millions of dollars of computer equipment went missing; hours listed on time cards did not match hours actually worked; a murder and suicide took place; two of the academics killed –so lionized by the US media—were warned about going beyond the wire on their fateful days; another academic that was killed ignored her training; rumors of prostitution rings and rapes were common though never reported; and the senior program manager and social scientist were alleged to have taken junkets and to have been in a relationship that could have been detrimental to the morale of the program.
Harvard and Princeton: Send in the Clowns
If this $700 million dollar program is the norm in the wartime US military contracting world then it’s no wonder that the USA continues to fall short of comprehensive victory. It should be remembered that HTS was primarily the creation of two Harvard affiliates: Dr. Montgomery McFate and Dr. David Petraeus. They pushed a feel-good counter insurgency doctrine without understanding that COIN, in the end, is a blade-to-blade exercise. Americans do not have the stomach for long term, ugly warfare. And as Colonel Gian Gentile points out in his book Wrong Turn, COIN doctrine for Iraq and Afghanistan–based on the British experience in Malaya–was doomed to fail as the circumstances in Malaya were entirely different. And Ann Jones in her book They Were Soldiers notes that COIN doctrine (that sees soldiers constantly patrolling by foot) was nearly insane in Afghanistan as the country is one of the most heavily mined landscapes on the planet in which farmers and children still lose life and limb to mines used by the USSR and the USA.
HTS’ performance is a damning indictment of American political,
military, and academic and business practice/leadership as a whole. And
it is a mirror into which Americans should look to see how
government/business, academia/media actually function. The US Army
program serves as an example of what is wrong with America
today: self-interest above cooperation; empty souls in search of
validation/purpose; “get mine” mentality; political dysfunction and
lies; human beings as fungible human capital; and waste, fraud and abuse.
Read more
HTS attempted to embed anthropologists and other social scientists from academia within US military units roaming the human terrain of Iraq and Afghanistan. The thinking was that qualified social scientists would be able to interpret cultural practices, develop network/relationship diagrams and provide US military commanders with data that would subsequently be used by those commanders to understand the strength/weaknesses of the populace they were trying to conquer. In short, if a US commander determined that anything the HTS produced was useful, that data would find its way into the Kill Chain. From the beginning HTS was an intelligence support program funded through US Army intelligence line items. The program caused more controversy than usable work product and some measure of wealth for BAE Systems (UK) and CGI (Canada). $700 million was poured into the HTS trough for contractors and their employees. US Army Civil Affairs should have received the tasking.
Investigations during the 2008-2011 timeframe showed again and again that–with few bright spots– HTS was poorly managed from the highest levels of US Army TRADOC down to Human Terrain Teams in the field. Those reports from the US Army 101st Airborne, Center for Naval Analyses, and internal US Army documents can be found at Dr. Max Forte’s Zero Anthropology website. No other US Army program during the long decade of wars in Iraq/Afghanistan provided more tragedy and comedy than the US Army’s HTS. At least 12 Americans were KIA or wounded (soldiers providing support to the HTS mission) during the life of the disheveled program. Consider: there was a hostage situation; individuals were hired without adequate criminal background checks; a former HTS member sits in a prison in Iran (he was seen by other HTS personnel in a predominantly Iranian refugee camp); sexual harassment was common; charges of racism were leveled; millions of dollars of computer equipment went missing; hours listed on time cards did not match hours actually worked; a murder and suicide took place; two of the academics killed –so lionized by the US media—were warned about going beyond the wire on their fateful days; another academic that was killed ignored her training; rumors of prostitution rings and rapes were common though never reported; and the senior program manager and social scientist were alleged to have taken junkets and to have been in a relationship that could have been detrimental to the morale of the program.
Harvard and Princeton: Send in the Clowns
If this $700 million dollar program is the norm in the wartime US military contracting world then it’s no wonder that the USA continues to fall short of comprehensive victory. It should be remembered that HTS was primarily the creation of two Harvard affiliates: Dr. Montgomery McFate and Dr. David Petraeus. They pushed a feel-good counter insurgency doctrine without understanding that COIN, in the end, is a blade-to-blade exercise. Americans do not have the stomach for long term, ugly warfare. And as Colonel Gian Gentile points out in his book Wrong Turn, COIN doctrine for Iraq and Afghanistan–based on the British experience in Malaya–was doomed to fail as the circumstances in Malaya were entirely different. And Ann Jones in her book They Were Soldiers notes that COIN doctrine (that sees soldiers constantly patrolling by foot) was nearly insane in Afghanistan as the country is one of the most heavily mined landscapes on the planet in which farmers and children still lose life and limb to mines used by the USSR and the USA.
Read more
Are You Ready for Riots?
Editor’s Note: With America’s middle class being destroyed
on a daily basis, and low wage workers seeing reduced hours and
experiencing more difficulty with making ends meet, it is only a matter
of time before people snap. We may think we live in a stable society,
but as Daniel Ameduri of Future Money Trends
points out below, no country is immune to civil unrest when the right
conditions are met. And if you’ve been paying attention, it’s not that
much of a stretch of the imagination to suggest the signs of discontent
are starting to appear from sea to shining sea. As the
situation continues to degrade in the United States we, too, will
experience rioting and civil unrest, something the U.S. government has
been actively preparing for. In the very near future, riots won’t just
be some far-off event you watch on television from the comfort of your
couch… They’ll be front and center, right outside your front door.
This article first appeared in the Future Money Trends Weekly Wealth Digest
This past weekend a country with one of the highest living standards in the world saw rioting in the streets!
According to Credit Suisse, Singapore ranks 8th in the world in terms of personal wealth. Since the year 2000, Singaporeans’ wealth has more than doubled.
It is clear that this is a very prosperous city state that is the gem of Asia. I know that when I have looked for offshore gold storage in the past, Singapore comes up as one of the top areas along with Hong Kong, Zuric, Perth, and Toronto.
However, on Sunday a riot was sparked in Singapore, the first one in more than 40 years. Long story short, an Indian national was struck by a bus and killed, the surrounding neighborhood went out by the hundreds to set fire to at least 6 police cars and the ambulance that responded to the young man who died.
Now I don’t know every detail of race relations in Singapore, but I
do know from what I have read that about 25% of the workers are
transient workers, the city state is made up of immigrants, of which
about 8% are Indian.
The reason I bring this up is because sometimes just like an individual who snaps, so can a large group. ZeroHedge.com in their coverage of the incident titled their blog post, “Riots Break Out In Singapore; Think Your Country Is Immune?”
This is definitely something to think about living in the United States. Many people think that the U.S. is safe from mass riots across the country due to economic civil unrest, but I don’t think anyone should rule out widespread rioting in the streets.
America is like a pressure cooker as my friend Doug Casey has often noted. We have 49% of the population not paying taxes, 23% of the population not only not paying taxes, but being paid to live here in the U.S. No matter what you believe or how much money you have, our health care system is screwed up. Our welfare and warfare state is robbing the middle class, and the entitlement ponzi-schemes are robbing our young of opportunity.
A lot of these thoughts and more are weighing on Americans, will they snap one day and take their grievances to the street?
I think there is a good chance during this depression, with nearly 48 million people on government food stamps, long term unemployment near records, and real unemployment closer to 20%, anger and frustration is building up.
A recent poll by ABC News and the Washington Post revealed that the dissatisfaction with the U.S. government was at 80%.
There are a lot of legitimate grievances that can add a lot of pressure to people who are barely making it or who are literally sliding out of the middle class and into poverty.
I for one am very tired and extremely annoyed over all the fraud and waste I see on a daily basis. From the U.S. getting involved in everyones’ business around the world, to me paying taxes only to see millions of people cash out on MY money so they can live a lazy lifestyle. A welfare mom in New York for instance revealed that she collects just over $38,000 a year, this is more than the starting salary of a teacher in the state. Although the actual welfare queen state is Hawaii, where a person with two children can receive up to $60,590 per year in benefits.
Then we have the government workers…Not even going to go there.
My point in all of this is prudence, be prepared, especially now as the depression drags on destroying what was left of America’s middle class.
Daniel Ameduri is the President of Future Money Trends. He is the producer of some of the most informative and viral videos about the financial crisis, coming trends, and strategies you can implement to shield yourself from economic disaster. You can follow more of Daniel’s commentary, analysis, and recommendations by subscribing to his free weekly Future Money Trends Digest or his premium Smart Money report.
This past weekend a country with one of the highest living standards in the world saw rioting in the streets!
According to Credit Suisse, Singapore ranks 8th in the world in terms of personal wealth. Since the year 2000, Singaporeans’ wealth has more than doubled.
It is clear that this is a very prosperous city state that is the gem of Asia. I know that when I have looked for offshore gold storage in the past, Singapore comes up as one of the top areas along with Hong Kong, Zuric, Perth, and Toronto.
However, on Sunday a riot was sparked in Singapore, the first one in more than 40 years. Long story short, an Indian national was struck by a bus and killed, the surrounding neighborhood went out by the hundreds to set fire to at least 6 police cars and the ambulance that responded to the young man who died.
The reason I bring this up is because sometimes just like an individual who snaps, so can a large group. ZeroHedge.com in their coverage of the incident titled their blog post, “Riots Break Out In Singapore; Think Your Country Is Immune?”
This is definitely something to think about living in the United States. Many people think that the U.S. is safe from mass riots across the country due to economic civil unrest, but I don’t think anyone should rule out widespread rioting in the streets.
America is like a pressure cooker as my friend Doug Casey has often noted. We have 49% of the population not paying taxes, 23% of the population not only not paying taxes, but being paid to live here in the U.S. No matter what you believe or how much money you have, our health care system is screwed up. Our welfare and warfare state is robbing the middle class, and the entitlement ponzi-schemes are robbing our young of opportunity.
A lot of these thoughts and more are weighing on Americans, will they snap one day and take their grievances to the street?
I think there is a good chance during this depression, with nearly 48 million people on government food stamps, long term unemployment near records, and real unemployment closer to 20%, anger and frustration is building up.
A recent poll by ABC News and the Washington Post revealed that the dissatisfaction with the U.S. government was at 80%.
There are a lot of legitimate grievances that can add a lot of pressure to people who are barely making it or who are literally sliding out of the middle class and into poverty.
I for one am very tired and extremely annoyed over all the fraud and waste I see on a daily basis. From the U.S. getting involved in everyones’ business around the world, to me paying taxes only to see millions of people cash out on MY money so they can live a lazy lifestyle. A welfare mom in New York for instance revealed that she collects just over $38,000 a year, this is more than the starting salary of a teacher in the state. Although the actual welfare queen state is Hawaii, where a person with two children can receive up to $60,590 per year in benefits.
Then we have the government workers…Not even going to go there.
My point in all of this is prudence, be prepared, especially now as the depression drags on destroying what was left of America’s middle class.
Daniel Ameduri is the President of Future Money Trends. He is the producer of some of the most informative and viral videos about the financial crisis, coming trends, and strategies you can implement to shield yourself from economic disaster. You can follow more of Daniel’s commentary, analysis, and recommendations by subscribing to his free weekly Future Money Trends Digest or his premium Smart Money report.
DETROIT Retirees Fight Bankruptcy! VOLCKER Rule is Meaningless Without Enforcement!
On
Iran deal, U.S. lawmakers on both sides criticize administration,
hint at more sanctions
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/n…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/n…
Wall
Street Exhales as Volcker Rule Seen Sparing
Market-Making
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12…
Iceland
jails former Kaupthing bank
bosses
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25…
Retired
GM workers just lost $450 million in
benefits
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101265411
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101265411
Retirees
join fight in appeal of Detroit’s bankruptcy
eligibility
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20…
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20…
Weekly
Jobless Claims Jump to 368K
http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-po…
http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-po…
U.S.
Retail Sales Growth Exceeds Estimates In
November
http://www.rttnews.com/2238831/u-s-re…
http://www.rttnews.com/2238831/u-s-re…
North
Korean leader’s uncle ‘executed over
corruption’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-…
Australia
high court overturns ACT gay marriage
law
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-…
France
prostitution: MPs debate ban on paying for
sex
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europ…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europ…
Spain
to block Catalonia independence
referendum
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europ…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europ…
Poll
Shows Drop In Support For Stricter Gun Control
Laws
http://www.rttnews.com/2238975/poll-s…
http://www.rttnews.com/2238975/poll-s…
GM
Hits End of the Road in Australia Car Maker to End Manufacturing Down
Under, Citing Costs
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/S…
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/S…
New towers for the rich soar in NYC – Condo sells for $95 million, NYT chief buys 3.4 million fixer-upper
New towers for the rich soar in NYC
The very tall, very skinny residential
buildings popping up in Manhattan are being built for the world’s
richest people
NEW YORK — Here’s how a 1932 guide to
Manhattan describes the view of Central Park from the 43-story Essex
House: “an unbroken vista — unequaled anywhere in the city. …
Few apartment buildings in the world are more ideally located.”
Today, here’s how visitors typically describe
the park view from One57, an apartment building a block south of the
Essex House and more than twice its height: “Wow!”
The same can be said of the building itself.
One57 exemplifies a new type of skyscraper — very tall, improbably
slender, ostentatiously opulent — that is reshaping a famous
skyline composed mostly of bulky office buildings.
Condo sells for $95 million
The 432 Park penthouse has sold for $95
million; two duplex apartments at One57, now nearing completion, also
are under contract, each for more than $90 million. Even a studio
apartment on a lower floor at 432 Park (designed for staff — a maid
or butler) costs $1.59 million.
NYT chief buys 3.4 million fixer-upper
Former
BBC chief Mark Thompson buys run-down $3.4 million Manhattan
apartment
New
York Times chief Mark Thompson brings in the restorers as he buys
grand but run-down $3.4 million Manhattan apartment
Mark Thompson, the former BBC chief who now
runs The New York Times, has just paid $3.4 million (£2.1 million)
for a grand but run-down four-bedroom apartment in a luxury doorman
building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
If he is seeking a distraction from the
controversy of the Jimmy Savile scandal across the Atlantic, then
there will be plenty to keep him busy with the new home that he has
bought with his wife Jane Blumberg, an American academic.
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