Jobless checks could stop; Lending Falls at Epic Pace - WSJ

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
Jobless checks could stop
Britain's broke and broken - the Tory campaign is fixable
Falklands offer to split oil profits
Report says oil supplies in Fla. waters negligible

US
Lending Falls at Epic Pace - WSJ.com
Coal-Fired Power on the Way Out?
Recovery? Who are you trying to kid?
Senator Predicts US Meltdown - from Rice Farmer
Duck! More falling home prices
60% interest rates still legal
Off Florida, massive oil tanks menace U.S. refiners
Math Is Hard
Madoff whistle-blower.
"Donaldson was too tough on Wall Street, so he got the ax. Then you had Christopher Cox, because he wasn’t going to do his job. That’s why he got the job."
AIG posts $8.9 billion loss on loan repay, reserves
AIG's derivatives go back decades
Airline alliances becoming the new "mergers"
California riskier than Greece
California Delays Payments, Ponders IOUs Again, Demands 80% of Income Tax Paid Before It's Even Earned
City nixes trash cans, streetlights

China
China insider sees revolution brewing from Rice Farmer
China faces rising crime rates, increased social unrest from Rice Farmer
Why China's Rumored IMF Gold Purchase, If True, Would Be Of Huge Significance from Rice Farmer

UK
Pounds slides on scale of UK recession
Apparent improvement in UK growth hid fall in official estimate of output.
Hospitals feel the axe as Treasury saves billions
BBC faces revolt over cuts plan
Unions confirm scope of losses
Cutbacks to television, radio and online output
Islamic radicals 'infiltrate' the Labour Party
Women flee to Spain to stop babies being taken

Intelligence
Son of Hamas founder 'saved Israeli president'
Credit cards implicate Mossad in Dubai hit
Spy cameras won't make us safer

Environment
Senators to propose abandoning cap-and-trade
Dozens of UK flood warnings
UK flooding alert as storm threatens chaos
Worming all over the world
Lesson one in biodiversity: there are 28,000 species of wiggling nematodes.
Chile earthquake: death toll passes 200
Chile earthquake: tsunami hits New Zealand
Strong earthquake injures 2 in south Japan
Wild bears back in Britain?
Bears, lynx, wolves and elk considered for reintroduction.

And...
Promiscuous females 'could save the species'

A BIG THANK YOU -- COLLAPSE BOOTLEGGED A MILLION TIMES -- COLLAPSENET

Feb. 26, 2010 -- I was just able to get back online and see how many of you had rushed to my aid. More than $1,500 came in through Paypal alone and I am deeply touched. Thanks to my new friend and colleague, Paul Mineau, I am just loading software into a new computer. Thank you all so much. For most of you these donations are just a way of sustaining a worthy and useful service.

Those who have followed me for a while understand that for several years now, both I and Jenna have been giving away for free a lot of what we used to get paid for at FTW. (I can hear Jenna yelling, "What do you mean we?") It has required a lot of uncompensated effort, almost all from Jenna. I am in the process of forming a new company, Collapsenetwork, Inc. (Collapsenet) -- It's ironic that the only way to function in this dying paradigm is to become a corporation. But Collapsenet will be a closely-held C-Corp and I will always control more than 50% of the shares. Collapsenet's shares will never be traded publicly. We will accept a very limited number of investors when I get the OK to do that. We have a cracker jack CFO who cracks a mean whip too, and she will take care of our money as a paradigm dies, and as great uncertainty begins on the way into a new and undefined one. You'll meet her and others when we hopefully show you something in three weeks or sooner. We're going to try and change the way money works a little in the process. This is evolution.

Collapsenet will be vastly more efficient than all the work done on this page, two now very active Facebook pages, and from my personal email. It will also feature something new: me coming to you in live video with analysis, and commentary as events continue to unfold. That's right, you're going to be seeing a lot of me on a regular basis. (I'll brush my teeth.) I want to get Jenna up live too to tell us what's happening in New York and to offer her own eloquence and wisdom. (This is the first she's heard of it BTW.) I'm sure you'll see many faces you've come to know and love and you'll meet some cool people too.

This blog and all its archives will become a part of Collapsenet behind a subscriber-only wall that will eventually include many things. Collapsnet's ambition is to become a national and global clearinghouse for information on how collapse is unfolding, imminent dangers, emerging solutions, social networking, and eventually resource referrals to training and suppliers. Those services that we recommend will eventually be ranked by Collapsenet on various scales. We'll start simple to get it up and we'll add these other services as fast as we can. There are some kick-ass minds behind this... Hold your questions please. We're designing this lifeboat as we build it and it's very exciting.

But right now there's only one question on everybody's mind... WTF is going on?! -- That's where we start. I remember a great scene from Mel Gibson's "We Were Soldiers". In the middle of a battle, with all hell breaking loose, the battalion commander just stands up straight, unarmed, and starts walking around looking, almost oblivious to a furious 360 firefight. That's Collapsenet's primary mission, to understand and decipher the field. About half of the predictions I made in the movie "Collapse" have already come true. And I think we all know that we have it figured better than anyone out there... anyone who's talking anyway. The world is watching us and now we have to lead.

Pirated versions of "Collapse" have been downloaded more than a million times now all over the world... a million times. That explains why I'm still broke and have no income even as Collapse is having a global impact. Had I and the rest of the crew been paid for those views I would be forming Collapsenet from pocket change. I just love the pirates who email me and say, "Hey man, you're a great hero. I just downloaded (stole) your movie and it changed my life!" -- Gee thanks. -- But I have been paid with a new and vigorous worldwide network of friends, some of them very accomplished people in key locations. I intend to put that network to good use in Collapsenet. We can save lives together. So there is a payback for all of us... even me.

More importantly, Collapsnet will be set up to adapt rapidly to changing circumstances. It will be scalable. It will also feature the equivalent of iReports from people all over the world. I am now receiving a torrent of information that Collapsenet will be able to sort, analyze and track; and there will be significant investment in analytics. Tapping into and using this energy and knowledge may save millions of lives. We can all see that.

Collapsenet will be a fee-based service. I'm guessing $10 a month or $100 a year. That's because we're going to have several full time staffers and a very sophisticated Internet setup to receive and upload critical information with live video and audio feeds. Please don't hammer poor Jenna with questions. She's reading this as you are and she sure ain't no geek. But I can make this promise... in public. For your years of unbelievably dedicated and selfless service, Jenna you are going to get paid. I need you. We all need you. We all love you.

I can pretty much guarantee that a few long time blog loyalists will get free lifetime subscriptions.

We have so little time now. And I can't adequately say how grateful I am to have you guys. Just keep watching the blog for announcements. We're putting this together fast and it will not be perfect at first. There is no time to waste. The most important thing is to get me uplinked so that we can all start to process information faster and more effectively. You mapmakers are going to be needed and Collapsenet is going to give you some juice and maybe help you with your own lifeboats.

I'm going to go listen to the New White Trash song "Avalanche and Earthquake" now for inspiration... and I just ordered a pizza. I'm taking the night off. Thank you.

MCR
**************************************************************
Well, so we had our much-awaited "snow hurricane" today. (The difference between that and a run-of-the-mill blizzard remains elusive.) For a while, 't was all a-blur with white dust amidst actual flakes. But on the whole, no big whoop as some tv character or other used to say. Shops open, everyone stepping over awkward mounds and sloshing through twelve-foot-wide puddles. The days when the street ploughs used to clear it all up within hours to the tune of $1 million an inch have receded to a blip on the radar screen of history.

But school kids got the day off as did.....wait for it.... Chase Manhattan. In their infinite mystery and majesty, the banks that I either tried to get in or breezed by on the bus were Not At Home.

Funny day to go fishing.

JO

Oil Shortage Spills Into Water: Simmons; Rogers: Pound Could Collapse in Weeks

From Jenna Orkin

Economy/US
Jim Rogers: British Pound could collapse within weeks
Whaddya suppose he's shorting?
West Not Recovering, Bond Crisis on the Way: Strategist
Clinton says U.S. deficit now a security issue
Double-Dip Recession Fears Creep Back
Biden to Unveil New Rules on US Retirement Savings
Iceland secretly pressured US to defend it against British 'bullying'
JPMorgan outlines plans to double income
Fifty Greeces
Biden: Health Care Summit 'Could Be Pure Theater'
Existing-Home Sales in U.S. Unexpectedly Decline 7.2% to 5.05 Million Pace
AIG Loss Is Bigger Than Estimated on U.S. Bailout Repayment; Shares Slide
When are those in charge going to feel twinges of embarrassment for their lack of foresight?Lloyds slumps to £6.3bn loss as bad debts balloon - Vantage Point
270,000 civil servants vote to strike - UK
Goldman faces Fed inquiry
Be very afraaaid...
Honeywell CEO to Be Named to Federal Deficit Panel
New York governor withdraws from race: reports
U.S. Economy Grinds To Halt As Nation Realizes Money Just A Symbolic, Mutually Shared Illusion
The Onion.

Energy
Energy Secretary Chu Says U.S. Must Decrease Energy Use
Oil to Hit $100 in US Driving Season
Germany and UK cut Russian gas demand
Matthew Simmons: Oil shortage spills into water
China rejects Tengzhong's Hummer bid

World
China postpones military exchanges with US
Fiji threatens to quit the Commonwealth
Fiji's military government has threatened to pull out of the Commonwealth because of ongoing pressure from the international organisation to hold democratic elections.
THAILAND'S top court
said Friday it would confiscate frozen assets worth 46 billion baht (S$1.97 billion) from deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra, more than half his fortune.
Obama has betrayed Britain over the Falklands

Terror/Intelligence
Sarkozy admits France's role in Rwandan genocide
Military Monitored Planned Parenthood, White Supremacists
Whistleblower Site Back After Microsoft Withdraws Complaint
Cryptome
26 dead in Timbuktu mosque stampede
AP Source: New Full-Body Scanners for 2 Airports
Lebanon arrests six suspected of spying for Israel
Strasbourg, anti-Semitism during HaShoah Special

Environment
Giant iceberg breaks off from Antarctic glacier
Biodiversity Explained by Ignoring the Forest for the Trees
700,000 lose power as storm slams Northeast
...and it's still going strong. The police are warning people to stay out of the parks since a guy was killed by a snow-laden branch but no one's paying much attention.

And...
Decoding Limbaugh - from Vantage Point
Marriage Vows: Till Debt Do Us Part?

C.I.A. and Pakistan Work Together Warily; Russia's Energy Hegemony Ends

From Jenna Orkin

World
C.I.A. and Pakistan Work Together, but Do So Warily
Newsweek: Russia's energy hegemony ends
Russia will respond to NATO expansion, U.S. missiles
Japan offers Iran access to nuclear power to enrich uranium
World trade contracted 12 percent in 2009: WTO's Lamy
Greek attack on 'Nazi' Germany puts rescue at risk
The Tories must save Britain from blackout
Slough: we can't take more foreigners
Saudi Arabia to export solar power soon, US says ‎ Just in time.
Gates Calls European Mood a Danger to Peace (Orwell Squared) - from Vantage Point
What the PBoC cannot do with its reserves
Google Italy ruling 'threat to internet freedom'

US
Bernanke: Don't Expect Unemployment to Drop
Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Increased 22,000 Last Week to 496,000
Record US debt hampers fiscal, monetary policies
Armageddon: Never before in history has a world power like the U.S. been so utterly buried in debt! - from Rice Farmer
Bullish a Year Ago, Robert Prechter Now Sees "the Biggest Bubble in History" - from Rice Farmer
FDIC Insurance Fund Is Broke To The Tune Of Nearly $21 Billion - from Rice Farmer
Freddie Mac eyes more US taxpayer money
Goldman: Oil prices will soar to $95 per barrel ‎
Why the consumer confidence drop was really scary
States tax collections fall again
Like Rome Before the Fall? Not Yet
Reassurance from Joe Biden
Guilty plea details conspiracy against N.O. hurricane victims
Resolution comes slowly to some victims of great horror. For people of New Orleans, in black communities, the shooting of innocents on a bridge saw judgment come slowly, with the admission of police crimes at the highest levels.
Jeb Bush: what is Palin's deal?
Patriot Act Elements Extended
Haste Leaves Anthrax Case Unconcluded
'Snow Hurricane' Headed for East Coast

Gold
Gold Collapse Coming?

UK to Lose Triple A Rating This Year - Rogers; Virulent Bird-HUman Flu Hybrid Made in Lab

From Jenna Orkin

Economy/US/Headlines
China PLA Officers Urge Economic Punch Against US
China's warning to US
Signs that Chinese sales of US bonds are politically motivated.
Concerns grow over China's sale of US bonds
"Hell to pay" for the dollar?
'Significant chance' of second financial crisis, warns World Economic Forum
Northern Rock savers to lose 100pc guarantee in May from Vantage Point
Virulent Bird-Human Flu Hybrid Made in Lab
Now Over Half Of Greece Has Stopped Working In A Bid to Save The Economy From Market Forces
Sorry Republicans, Higher Taxes Will NOT Kill The Economy
Eliot Spitzer
IMF warns against early spending cuts
Attempts to cut deficit before 2011 may cause double-dip recession.
Can Higher Inflation Be a Good Thing?
The chief economist for the International Monetary Fund, Olivier Blanchard, recently argued that Western economies should accept inflation rates of up to 4 percent. State meddling in the economy may not be such a bad thing either, he argues. Leading economists are unimpressed. Fed officials take aim at reform plans
Round 2: Bernanke Faces More Grilling in Congress
Greenspan: US Recovery 'Extremely Unbalanced'
Fed weighs sale of mortgage securities
FDIC Report: 'We Were Broke And Getting Broker' from Rice Farmer
Insider selling soars to 2010 high from Rice Farmer
Real Debt-To-GDP Ratio Is 130%, Greece Is Amateur Hour from Rice Farmer
11.3 million homeowners underwater on mortgage
Here's Why Today's Consumer Confidence Number Was Exceptionally Scary

World
U.K. Pound May Tumble With Premature Tightening of Fiscal Policy, UBS Says
Jim Rogers: The U.K. Will Lose Its AAA-Rating THIS YEAR For Sure
Brown is the PM of negative growth, says Osborne
George Osborne will today accuse Gordon Brown of becoming the first prime minister to preside over a slide in the size of the British economy.
Bank warns on house prices as QE anxiety hits sterling
New generous EU-wide maternity laws will cost £2 billion
So much for population reduction.
U.S. announces construction of new $1 billion embassy in U.K.
$110 Million Associated With Each Falkland Islands Resident from Vantage Point
Argentina to seek UN ruling over the Falkland Islands
Mexico Says It's Safe From `World of Sovereign Stress' in Reversal of 2009
Newsweek: Why Africa may be the new Asia
Singapore Withdraws Red Carpet for Overseas Workers on Political Concern

War
How Haiti Bootstrapped Its SMS Emergency Response System
Marjah push aimed to shape US opinion - from Vantage Point
Military chiefs say more troops needed for conflict
Army must recruit more than 100,000 soldiers to continue Afghan fighting

Science
How Terahertz Waves Tear Apart DNA from Lisa
A Frightening New Law of Hurricane Formation
Why Fish Hold the Key to Increasing Wind Farm Power
Is flu pandemic waning? Not yet, experts say
Coral reefs in danger of being destroyed
Rising acidity of the oceans is threat to marine ecosystems, study warns

MCR's Computer Down

He says there's a power supply/motherboard failure and he doesn't have the money for a big repair right now. All his money is going for rent. Anyone who'd like to help out can contribute via Paypal. The email address is mcrfinaid@gmail.com.

Thanks!

MCR'S REPONSE TO CITIBANK; Harvard's Rogoff Sees "Bunch" of Sovereign Defaults

CITIGROUP MAY REQUIRE SEVEN DAY NOTICE TO WITHDRAW FUNDS FROM CHECKING ACCOUNTS

Feb. 23, 2010 -- The unbelievable arrogance and brutality of the current economic paradigm is getting clearer as collapse intensifies. It will only get worse. Over the years I devoted a lot of time to exposing the crimes of Citigroup, one of the biggest drug money laundering institutions in the world (along with AIG), which boasted of having former CIA Director John Deutsch and Mexican drug kingpin Roberto Hernandez on its board of directors. This arrogance is a declaration of war on Citigroup's customers. Anyone having a Citigroup account who does not close it immediately and get their money out deserves what they will get in terms of Darwinian deselection. In Minneapolis recently, while speaking to an audience which had just watched "Collapse" I said it clearly. "We have to kill this monetary paradigm before it kills us." If every Citigroup customer closed their accounts today it would send a message and eliminate one of the big hungry predators looking to feast on our carcasses. As the blog showed yesterday -- and as we have long predicted here -- the next and more severe phase of collapse is happening right now.

We will not quietly go into the long, dark night of poverty, starvation and death. We will fight. Not with guns or violence against banks, not by flying airplanes into them. But by disengaging from them, by starving them. Every vote may not always be counted. But every dollar always is... in this paradigm, sometimes two or three times.

Get your money out of Citigroup today. Get angry. And do it now.

http://digitaljournal.com/article/287902

MCR

**************************************************************************
From Jenna Orkin

World
South Africa Intercepts North Korean Arms Shipment
Harvard's Rogoff Sees `Bunch' of Sovereign Defaults, U.S. Belt-Tightening
Ten days of BA strikes threaten travel chaos
Industrial disputes hit European airlines
UK and French unions ballot for action as Lufthansa crews hold back
Strike shuts down six Total oil refineries in France
China at risk of a home-grown financial crisis
15 Facts About China That Will Blow Your Mind
If the Chinese, one day, use as much oil per person as Americans, then the world will need seven more Saudi Arabias to meet their demand...

China experiences sporadic outbreaks of the plague, which is typically spread by rodents and fleas and can pass easily between people."
European banks face showdown over €1 trillion of debt from Vantage Point
Eastern Europe boosted as Greek woes spur bond switch

US
We're One Downgrade Away From The End Of American Empire
Consumer Confidence in U.S. Falls to 10-Month Low as Outlook for Jobs Dims
Consumer Confidence Collapses, Missing Expectations Big Time As Present Situation Index Hits 27-Year Low
FDIC Says Number of Problem Banks Jumped 27%
List of Troubled Banks at 16-Year Peak, F.D.I.C. Says
FDIC Said to Prepare Sales of Bonds Backed by Failed U.S. Lenders' Assets
NYT: Banks apply pressure to collect fees
Mass Layoffs Jump In January After Four Straight Months Of Decline
Recession Tightens Grip on State Tax Revenues
New York Sales Tax Receipts In Unprecedented Collapse
Secret AIG document shows Goldman Sachs minted most toxic CDOs
Goldman: Our Screwy Rebound Will Send Oil To $95

Intelligence/Terror
Destroying C.I.A. Tapes Wasn’t Opposed, Memos Say
Cyber Evil Will Thrive Without Global Rules — Good Luck With That
Data Show Rendition Planes Landed in Poland
Pentagon Quietly Explores De-Citizenship of US Citizen Terrorists - Rice Farmer
Arrests over Turkish coup plot
U.S. Asks Nigeria to Allow Sky Marshals on Flights After Dec. 25 Bomb Plot
Cyber attacks cost businesses 'average of £1.2m a year
UK 'spy' drone fears
Defence research aims at getting permission to fly drones 'anywhere'.
Jews leave Swedish city after sharp rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes
The students fighting for gun rights

Environment
Climate change could be accelerated by 'methane time bomb'

Citigroup warns customers it may refuse to withdraw money

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
Euro's Worst to Come as Derivatives Show Greece Hammerlocking ECB on Rates
It's Not Just Greece, Now They're Going On Strike In "Rich" Europe
Forget Europe And China, All Eyes Are Turning To Crumbling Treasuries
Citigroup warns customers it may refuse to withdraw money
New Israeli giant drone ‘Eitan’ capable of reaching Iran

Energy/China
China's January Crude Oil Processing Volume Rises 29%
China Trade Surplus Shrinks 64% As Foreign Imports Soar
T. Boone Pickens Bets Cramer $100 He Can Make A Killing Manipulating Energy Regulations In His Favor
Increase oilfield yield
That's the rationale behind Schlumberger's deal to acquire Smith International via a stock-swap merger valued at more than $11 billion.
Total Unions Warn French Fuel Shortages Are Imminent ‎

World
10 Countries On The Verge Of A Crippling Demographic Crisis
Lessons from Argentina's economic collapse from Eyeballs
"...could save a lot of pain for those who take the time to read all four parts. Riveting."

Europe
The Real Reason The Euro Failed: A Mistaken Belief In The Importance Of Deficits
EU exec says there is no euro zone aid plan for Greece
Euro's Future in Question Even if Greece Saved: Soros
Will AIG Force The US To Bail Out Greece?
Executives Oblivious As The U.K. Teeters Towards A Japanese Deflation Disaster
Persistent Unemployment, Without Lingering Pain
29% unemployment in Spain.
Iceland Government Will Meet Lawmakers on Icesave Loan Today
Obama unveils revised $1 trillion health plan
A job, but at the cost of a 1,000-mile commute

Intelligence
FBI Now Involved in School Webcam Spying Case
Newsweek: How your every move can be tracked

Environment/Resources/Health
Methane levels may see 'runaway' rise, scientists warn ‎
Yemen's water crisis eclipses al Qaeda threat
Indonesia aims to be world’s breadbasket
Rules on flying with TB too strict, report claims

And...
Opinion: Was murdered Rockefeller a member of the Illuminate Elite?

Ron Paul Wins Presidential Straw Poll at CPAC; Dutch Government Collapses; Saudi Exports to US Lowest in 21 Years

From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
Dutch government collapsed over war in Afghanistan
Ron Paul wins presidential straw poll at CPAC - CNN.com

Oil
Saudi Oil Exports to US Lowest in 21 Years
Bumpy plateau heading off a cliff.
Oil prices up 12 percent in 2 weeks
Oil May Breach 200-Week Average, Test Highs: Technical Analysis ‎
British firms could be hit in revenge for Falklands oil drilling ‎
Total Workers Start Shutdown at French Oil Refineries ‎
Mobility in the World of $200 Oil
Barclays and Bank of America see looming oil crunch
Wanna Supply Energy For Those Electric Cars? We've Got A Huge Bolivia Problem

US
80% Of Today's Delinquent Homeowners Will Lose Their Houses -- 6 Million In All
Spending America Into Ruin here
Buffett's `Dangerous Business' Ensnares Insurers as Muni Bankruptcies Loom
Beleaguered US to blow up some chemical weapons
US Star Wars Laser Plane Shoots Down Ballistic Missile for First Time
REVEALED: If Cheney Had Gotten His Way, We Would Have Gone To War With Russia
Host of Joe Stack's Manifesto Site Deletes Claim That FBI Asked For Its Removal
US schools 'spied on students'
12-Year-Old Arrested for Doodling
52% Say Obama Doesn't Deserve Reelection
Unloading 50 Million Swine Flu Vaccines

World
Forget Empty Housing Developments, Check Out The Massively Empty Cities Of China
Why This Building Proves That The Next Financial Crisis Will Be In Shanghai in 2013
Citi: China Sold Their Treasuries Because They Want To Buy Tons Of Gold
Venezuela to fine big water consumers to save power
Britain 'knew Mossad was using fake passports for Dubai hit' (from Rice Farmer)
Britain's deficit third worst in the world, table

Science
De Boer's Resignation Is Catastrophic'
Assisted suicide rules 'to be relaxed'

US Bank Lending Falls at Fastest Rate in History

The Complex Legacy of Joseph Andrew Stack

Jenna Orkin

One of the rationales of masochists is that if they're going to feel pain, they at least want to be the ones inflicting it. (It's about control, see, as well as a cocktail of guilt, rage and fear.)

Couple that with the dictum, "Live by the sword, die by the sword" and what you get is yesterday's crash into the IRS building of the little plane that couldn't; a fitting end for Joseph Andrew Stack who, analogously to Pope Boniface in Eyeball's brilliant comment, had been banging his head against the unresponsive wall of the IRS for years.

Who, in the end, suffered more from his act - the IRS or Stack himself? His suicide note is articulate, lucid and apparently sane which is perhaps why it was removed from one of its original websites "due to the sensitive nature" of yesterday's event. However, even though the customer had exceeded his bandwidth, credit has been extended "for informational purposes," ie: the site directs you to where it's still available.

But Stack seriously undermined his credibility by his penultimate act - the torching of his own house the day after his wife, fleeing his erratic behavior, took his daughter to a hotel. The public could be forgiven for interpreting that, rather than the IRS, as the proximate cause of his suicide.

Like a number of social movements recently, Stack was a brew of despair-driven clearsightedness and misguided action. His definition of capitalism - "From each according to his gullibility; to each according to his greed" - is seriously catchy but he was also his own disinfo agent. Killing innocent people along with himself while the IRS brushes itself off and goes on with its business surely missed his mark.

Perhaps that's his real gift to posterity: To show us that violence is not the way.

Headlines

Britain at risk of worse deficit crisis than Greece

US bank lending falls at fastest rate in history from Rice Farmer

Economy

PEW Study Shows Trillion Dollar State Pension Gap; Can Anything Be Done?

Muni Bankruptcies Loom

Fed Raises Discount Rate, Dollar Soars, Equity Futures Sink, What's It Really Mean

Fannie and Freddie face subprime clampdown

Fed official calls for early asset sell-off

Fed Presidents Desperately Spinning: Please Don't Think We're Taking Away The Punch Bowl Any Time Soon

China Secretly Buying U.S. Treasuries Because Deep Down They Can't Get Enough

China: The world’s next big economic crash?

Just Waking Up? Here's The Damage Bernanke's Rate Hike Caused Overnight

Euro Getting Murdered By Bernanke's Hike As Asian Markets Rout

Here's What Ben Bernanke's "Meaningless" Rate Hike Just Did To The Dollar

We've Just Gotten More Proof That Bernanke Has Been Replaced Already

More Homeowners Walking Away From Mortgages

Premiums Jump 14% on Medicare Private Plans

World

After US Runs Dry, Citigroup Plans $500 Million Korean MBS Package - from Rice Farmer

Will China's white collar "worker ants" revolt? Full Article

Chinese housing dream slips away

Gunfire prompts fears of coup in Niger

Intelligence

Companies Use 'Bond'-Like Tactics to Spy

Feds Can Search, Seize P2P Files Without Warrant

Hackers, Troops Rejoice: Pentagon Lifts Thumb-Drive Ban

Environment

Top firms cause $2.2tn of environmental damage

Report for UN shows 3,000 firms would lose 30% of profits if forced to pay pollution costs

Italy Could Be Greece Times Five; Argentina Steps Up Falklands Row

From Jenna Orkin

Europe/Headlines
Think Greece Is Scary? Now Get Ready For Spain
Italy derivates draw scrutiny
This could be five times worse than Greece.
Argentina steps up Falklands row Britain says drilling for oil and gas will go ahead despite Argentinian moves to require permits.
Greek Politicians Want Germany To Pay War Reparations In Order To Make Up For Their Debt Disaster
Greece loses EU voting power in blow to sovereignty
BNP Paribas: To Save Europe, Devalue The Euro Faster Than Americans Can Devalue The Dollar
IMF to Start Sales of 191.3 Metric Tons of Gold
Readers Digest UK magazine could fold within weeks
Unemployment claimants up again
UK Number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance rose by 23,500 in January to 1.64 million
France Moves Closer to Unprecedented Internet Regulation

US
States must fill $1 trillion pension gap, study says
National Security "Experts" Discuss Doomsday from Rice Farmer
"For reasons unexplained", scenario includes blowing up of pipelines in the US
Dr Doom: China Will Drag Down US Stocks By 20%
Fed thinking of selling debt to withdraw stimulus
Treasury Yield Curve Steepens to a Record as 10-Year Securities Decline
Fed Minutes Show Greater Appetite for Asset Sales
Seven Signs of the Fed's Eventual Exit Strategy
Soaring Lumber Prices and Strong D.R. Horton Report May Not Signal an Immediate Rebound in Housing Stocks
US bank lending tumbles
Concerns that Fed jumped the gun by withdrawing emergency stimulus.
Jobless figures raise fears
Number claiming jobless benefits in January jumped to 13-year high.
AIG to Keep up to 25% of Derivatives Portfolio

Energy
The hidden danger of an oil spike ‎
15 Countries That Will Get Creamed In An Oil Spike

World/China
Obama Meeting Dalai Lama Shows Pretense of U.S.-China Friendship Must Wane
Jim Rogers: The US And China Are On A Serious Political Collision Course
Chinese Housing Bubble?
Iran Offers Up Huge Natural Gas Bribe To China To Stave Off Security Council Sanctions Europe-China Connection Could Rattle Stocks
Yemen could become first nation to run out of water - from Rice Farmer
After Dubai hit, Israelis question Mossad methods
Brzezinski Warns of False Flag Attack to Trigger Iran War
Beyond Bush: Regime Rotation, Not Regime Change

Science
Bayer Must Pay. $1.5 Million to Farmers for GM Contaminated Rice
Fear of spiders can develop before birth

Gold
Soros buys gold
Billionaire doubled gold assets weeks before calling it 'ultimate bubble'.

And...
Americans are 'most attractive' people in the world, poll finds
Must be our obesity.

Greek Disease Spreads to Italy, Spain and by 2012, US

From Jenna Orkin

Europe
Eurozone contagion fears spread to Spain
Italy Now Suspected Of Using Derivatives To Hide Their Debt Problem, Just Like Greece
Soros Betting Hard Against Fiat Currencies And Pouring Into 'The Ultimate Bubble'
Economist Calls For The IMF To Come In And Save The UK
Millions of Britons losing money on savings
UK Unemployment Unexpectedly Surges
Someone with nothing better to do could collect all the headlines about this economic collapse with the word "unexpected" in them. - JO

US
The credit markets are flashing a hot red warning light
It's official – stagflation is back albeit not yet a la 1970s
Krugman Says Inflation Is The Answer
China Will Keep Dumping Treasurys: Jim Rogers
David Walker: The Greece Crisis Is Coming To America In 2012 - from Rice Farmer
NYT: Party gridlock in D.C. feeds fear of debt crisis
"Three Paths Forward" - Kansas City Fed on Current U.S. Fiscal Imbalance, Hyperinflation, Printing
Desperate Casinos Ask For Permission To Tilt Blackjack Odds Even Further Towards The House!
What Citigroup knows that you don't - From Rice Farmer
Five Million Workers to Exhaust Unemployment Benefits by June - from Rice Farmer
Study says 5 million foreclosures imminent - from Rice Farmer
Obama Says Expanding Nuclear Power Will Add Jobs
Newseum - from Lisa

Intelligence
Pregnant woman jailed for having thought about abortion
Minot AFB prepares for biological and chemical attacks - From Rice Farmer

From Secrecy News:

A front-page story in the Washington Post on January 27 included the remarkable statement that "Both the CIA and the JSOC [Joint Special Operations Command of the Department of Defense] maintain lists of individuals... whom they seek to kill or capture. The JSOC list includes three Americans, including [Islamist cleric Anwar al-] Aulaqi, whose name was added late last year. As of several months ago, the CIA list included three U.S. citizens, and an intelligence official said that Aulaqi's name has now been added."

But at least the part about the CIA list turns out to be unfounded."The article referred incorrectly to the presence of U.S. citizens on a CIA list of people the agency seeks to kill or capture," the Washington Post said in a correction published in the February 12 edition. "After The Post's report was published, a source said that a statement the source made about the CIA list was misunderstood. Additional reporting produced no independent confirmation of the original report, and a CIA spokesman said that The Post's account of the list was incorrect. The military's Joint Special Operations Command maintains a target list that includes several Americans. In recent weeks, U.S. officials have said that the government is prepared to kill U.S. citizens who are believed to be involved in terrorist activities that threaten Americans."The correction has been appended to the online version of the article.

Science/Environment
Leap toward quantum computing reported
Physicists say they have passed a major hurdle in aquest to create a new kind of super-fast computer.
EU biofuels significantly harming food production in developing countries
Ethanol´s toll
Greenland's glaciers disappearing from the bottom up

J.P. MORGAN OFFICES IN GREECE BOMBED; China and Japan Jump Ship

Off to Minneapolis -- New Song Up at New White Trash

Feb 16, 2009 -- I'm leaving early tomorrow for Minneapolis and Q&As at four screenings of "Collapse". The high's supposed to be 28 degrees but I think I'm going to have a great time and meet a lot of new friends. I'll probably be offline till Saturday. We all need a break.

Needless to say, I'm still giggling at all the messages saying, "Wohoo!" Thank you all. -- It's time to kick some butt... together.

BTW -- There's a great new song up on the New White Trash site featuring our beloved Cara Tompkins... "Lulu Lemons". http://www.newwhitetrash.com.

OK, where's the whiskey and bad women!

MCR
*********************************************************************************
Feb. 16, 2010 -- And so it begins. That there will eventually be more bombings, that they will be deadly and that they will happen in the U.S. is inevitable. Recently the IMF warned of massive civil unrest on a global scale if another round of bailouts was attempted. We covered it here on the blog. This is truly just the beginning. I don't advocate it at all, but historically bombings are a fact of life in periods like this. I grew up in the 60s and 70s. There were many bombs detonated in the U.S.; some by activists and revolutionaries, others by government agencies and agents provocateur seeking to discredit those seeking justice through peaceful means. As Mao Tse Tung said, "Revolution is not a dinner party." -- I'm sure that Thomas Jefferson and all the Founding Fathers would agree.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/16/jp-morgan-bombing-bomb-ex_n_464128.html

MCR
************************************************************************************
From Jenna Orkin

Headlines
Foreign Demand For Treasury Bills Suffers Worst Ever Drop As China And Japan Jump Ship
Foreign Demand for US Treasurys Takes Record Fall
The government says that foreign demand for U.S. Treasury securities fell by the largest amount on record in December with China reducing its holdings by $34.2 billion.
The Yuan is about to surge beyond your wildest dreams
China Isn't Supplanting The US, It's Supplanting The World Bank, And It's Making The Yuan The World Currency
Tea Party Lights Fuse for Rebellion on Right
They say a radical is a conservative who's gotten arrested. These days, "laid off" or "foreclosed" will do just as well.

The Tea Party movement is Paddy Chayevsky's immortal scene in the movie Network projected onto the national screen; the one where everyone starts shouting out the window, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" It also evokes the early days of 9/11 Truth which was a ragtag militia of well-meaning, patriotic and even heroic souls finding their way among the misguided or psychotic. Ron Paul figures large but so do some other less reliable but all too familiar characters. (Read the article and figure out who's being referred to, dear reader.) They have even resurrected the phrase, "big tent."

The burgeoning doubts about the Federal Reserve are a good sign but when they're coupled with questions about Obama's citizenship, one is left with the queasy feeling that there's major disinfo going on here, like those websites that smear legitimate questions about 9/11 by juxtaposing them with doubts about the Holocaust. - Jenna Orkin
China: The mother of all black swans?
Falkland Battle Lines Form Over Jurassic Oil Search‎

Quote of the Day:

73 percent of Republicans rated our growing budget deficits and national debt as a very big threat, along with 72 percent of independents and 58 percent of Democrats. About 90 percent wanted Washington to take action to address these issues. Somewhat surprisingly, the respondents rated this issue as being more important than health care reform and middle- class tax cuts. Americans also saw escalating deficits and debt as a danger more serious than global warming and our declines in education and manufacturing. In our poll, public concern about our economic future even trumped fears of a rogue nation developing a nuclear weapon. That's what I call concern!

Yes, public opinion can shift quickly as the wind changes. If terrorists attacked us again on our home soil, the poll numbers would change.
David Walker, Former US Comptroller General

Europe
CDS markets: Euro zone's iceberg?
The Greek Crisis Is A Dress Rehearsal For A Major Speculative Attack On The UK
The markets are about to pounce on Britain
Did Goldman help Britain hide its debts too?
The news here is where this appeared: The New York Times.
European Central Bank Chief Economist: 'Everyone Is a Sinner at the Moment'

US
Here's why the market has rallied (hint: it's not fundamentals)
CEOs Raising Forecasts at Record Pace Fail to Persuade Analysts on Profits
Credit card holders suffer soaring interest rates
Herbert: What’s Wrong With U.S. Infrastructure?
This one's just fine, thanks; car owners putting 50000 more miles on their cars
Universities crumbling, data reveals
Illinois Pension Fund $61 Billion Underwater; State Borrows Money For 2010 Contribution; California $20 Billion in the Hole Again
9,500 Shuttered Stores In Sacramento Area: "Everyone Perfectly Content With Less"
In Utah, a plan to cut 12th grade - from Rice Farmer
Millionaires fund Detroit transit

War/Intelligence
Lebanese Forces Open Fire on Israeli Warplanes (from Rice Farmer)
Israeli drones bound for Turkey - Rice Farmer
Mossad assassins 'used British passports’
Five billion people to use mobile phones in 2010: UN
Twitter 'is a weapon in cyber warfare'

Science/Environment/Energy
Demand for Oil Set to Rise Anew
Virgin's Richard Branson takes on peak oil
Norway plans the world's most powerful wind turbine
British Airways to fly jets on green fuel
Scientists collide gold ions, reach hottest temp. ever recorded
4 trillion degrees. How did they make the material that contained the experiment?

And...
More Reasons Not to Rent Space in Hi-Rises
Burj Dubai confronts lessons that developers at Ground Zero learned eight years ago.
Tourist Trapped on Ski Lift Escapes Death by Burning Cash