The Cynical Economist

Now it becomes clear why he did not commit suicide or shoot at the police but waited to be captured

From Here

The fact that Norway’s maximum penalty for any crime is 21 years in prison is facing rising criticism in the wake of the twin attacks that killed 93 people, with many deeming the penalty too lax.

Ever since Norwegian media named 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik as the prime suspect, calls have been growing for the maximum penalty under the Norwegian penal code to be extended.

If found guilty, Behring Breivik’s 21 years in prison would equal a penalty of 82 days per killing.

“So many innocent people have been killed that I think he doesn’t have the right to live,” Mari Kaugerud says on her Facebook group “Yes to the death penalty for Anders Behring Breivik” that already has 1,783 members.

Dozens of similar groups have sprung up since Friday’s killings, some calling for the death penalty, others for natural life in prison.

“People like that shouldn’t be able to get out among normal people,” says 31-year-old Mustafa. “If he gets 21 years, how old will he be? 53! No, he’s ruined too much to ever get out,” says the Iranian-born shopkeeper.

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A Norwegian prison….

And that is the new maximum security prison they have build…

Here it is another crazy terrorist killing people. He is as bad as the Muslim terrorist he is against. There is no excuse of killing unarmed people

Anders Behring Breivik has been arrested for the shootings in Utøya. The suspected gunman is a 32-year-old Norwegian man who posed as a police officer. He is also being linked to the bombings in Oslo.

Norway shooting: quotes from Anders Behring Breivik’s online manifesto - Key quotes from Anders Behring Breivik’s 1500-page manifesto, written under the pseudonym Andrew Berwick, which reveals plans for Friday’s massacre.

Anders Behring Breivik’s “Manifesto Video”: Knights Templar 2083 - The video that Anders Behring Breivik posted on YouTube before he attacked Oslo City with a bomb who killed 7 people, and atferwards killed almost 90 youth people at Utøya outside Oslo

Jonas Gahr Store: – The occupation must end, the wall must be demolished and it must happen now - Breaking: Camp In Norway Where Shooting Occurred Had Just Concluded Pro-Palestinian Rally The Day Before

Report: China building electromagnetic pulse weapons for use against U.S. carriers –

China’s military is developing electromagnetic pulse weapons that Beijing plans to use against U.S. aircraft carriers in any future conflict over Taiwan, according to an intelligence report made public on Thursday.

Entire Apple stores being faked in China –

China, long known for producing counterfeit consumer gadgets, software and brand name clothing, has reached a new piracy milestone — fake Apple stores.

Is there still any doubt that China wants to destroy the USA?

Debt Debt & More Debt

Dissecting The Demagoguery About ‘Tax Cuts For The Rich’ -

How Even Scholars Misread 90 Years Of Tax-Cut History -

Tax Cutters JFK And Reagan Were Not Zero-Sum Thinkers –

How Spending Cuts—Not Higher Taxes—Saved Canada –

Liberals up there listened to voters, and their economy is now growing faster than ours.

Goldman Sachs Escapes Fraud Charges Again –

A federal district judge dismissed a securities fraud charge against Goldman Sachs yesterday on grounds that the plaintiffs hadn’t show the transaction occurred in the United States.

There were no doubt sighs of relief at Goldman. Once again, Goldman has avoided having to deal with fraud charges head-on.

America’s Next Lehman Collapse –

You want to know why America is spending billions bailing out Greece when it can’t find enough money for its own people? It is not because we fear an olive shortage. It’s all about the big banks.

As it turns out, American banks didn’t  just invest in risky subprime mortgage debt—but they sold “insurance” on risky sovereign debt too.

If Greece defaults, American banks will be on the hook for $41.4 billion, according to Bank for International Settlements data. But U.S. banks are dangerously undercapitalized. Where are they going to get that kind of money from?

Economic Rape of Europe Nearly Complete, Part I –

I have written frequently (but not recently) about the wave of “economic terrorism” that Wall Street launched against Europe — with the full support/blessing of the U.S. government. With that campaign of terrorism having nearly reached fruition, I will review these events one more time.

Essentially, it began with Goldman Sachs’(AIG) “rape” of AIG. AIG was the “guinea pig” of this experiment. The banksters had already perfected their terrorist weapons: interest rate swaps and credit default swaps. Now they needed to determine if they actually “worked” — i.e., if their scam victims were gullible enough to be fooled by bankster double-talk, and if our legal systems would tolerate this massive, systemic fraud.

Beggars and choosers -

In this particular case, we aren’t even watching a new movie – just a dubbed version of a previously released one: namely the 2008 crisis I alluded to above; that time it was American and now it is being dubbed into Greek with Latin subtitles.

A bailout of Greece falls into the category of an event that satisfies the near-term requirements of bullish investors, but leaves a sufficiently large number of questions unanswered for the more bearish folks not to completely throw in their towels.

The Next Debt Crisis Could Come from Paris –

Sarkozy is determined—yet struggling—to cut government spending

Federal Reserve audit highlights possible conflicts of interest –

When the Federal Reserve launched an unprecedented series of interventions in the financial system in 2008, it often moved so quickly that the usual practices for preventing conflicts of interest couldn’t keep up, according to a new report.

An audit of the Fed’s emergency lending programs by the Government Accountability Office, ordered by the financial reform law passed last year and released Thursday, reports generally sound financial management by the central bank as it undertook programs that deployed trillions of dollars to backstop a faltering financial system. But it brings to light difficult issues that arose when the Fed undertook actions that its rules never envisioned…

Armageddon On Or After Aug. 2 Not Very Likely –

Make no mistake: If no budget deal is achieved for several weeks beyond Aug. 2, markets will react adversely as government spending cuts increase the chances of another recession and renewed. Indeed, such a reaction may be necessary to compel U.S. political leaders into a budget compromise.

But that day of reckoning seems unlikely to occur on or soon after Aug. 2. If markets are calm then, current dire prognostications of financial Armageddon by administration officials will be revealed as the overused cries of “wolf” that they are.

Presidential Debt-Limit Deceptions And Economic Growth –

Isn’t ironic that when Ronald Reagan was running for president, Democrats claimed that if elected he would cut off Social Security checks.

Fatal Flaws of Keynesian Economics -

It’s now clear that the federal government’s massive stimulus spending has not achieved its objectives. Why hasn’t it? It’s important that we have answers to that question.

The stimulus was premised on the economic model known as Keynesianism: the intellectual legacy of the late English economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynesianism doesn’t work, never has worked, and never will work. Without a clear understanding of why Keynesianism cannot work we will be forever doomed to pursuing the impossible.

MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer OWNED by Rep. Mo Brooks – Whoops!

Role reversal: Latin America taunts US on debt woes –

*Some Latin American presidents mock U.S. for debt woes

*Worries about contagion; Brazil now a U.S. creditor

After three decades spent battling their own debt crises and getting constantly lectured about them by Uncle Sam, many Latin Americans are watching the countdown to a possible default in Washington with a mix of schadenfraude and fear of what a collapse might mean for them.

China to U.S.: Get your debt under control –

“We hope the U.S. government will take responsible policies and measures to boost global financial market confidence and respect and protect the interests and investors,” said the Chinese government’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange in a statement on its website.

Obama Legacy May Be Withering American Dream –

Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign trumpeted hope for the future, but his legacy may include presiding over the withering of the American Dream. Belief that the American Dream is possible has dropped by nearly 20 points since his election, falling just below one-half of U.S. adults.

Final security bill for Obama’s Moneygall visit tops $16million

President Barack Obama’s one day visit to his ancestral homeland of Moneygall in Ireland cost the taxpayer $16.5million – much of it in overtime.

Squid Love –

Why aren’t clients fleeing Goldman Sachs?

Why we’ll have 10% unemployment soon -

3 key sectors show just how weak job market is

The New Green Economy Is Bleeding A Great Deal Of Green -

The New Green Economy goes “thump.” That thumping noise is the sound of countless failed companies, temporarily and hopelessly propped up with mountains of other people’s money, hitting the ground and imploding as the foreseeable result of government claiming it is smarter than its citizens.

Japan Won’t Rule Out Possibility Radioactive Fukushima Beef Was Exported –

Japan’s government said it can’t rule out the possibility beef contaminated with radioactive material has been exported, as consumers and lawmakers accused authorities of negligence on food safety.

Consumers Use Credit Cards for Necessities as Inflation Cuts U.S. Incomes – (NOPE THAT IS NOT A HEADLINE FROM 2008)

Consumers in the U.S. are increasingly using credit cards to pay for basic necessities as income gains fail to keep pace with rising food and fuel prices.

Texas man buys $300k home for $16, neighbors aren’t happy

Atlantis has landed, ending NASA’s shuttle era –

* Mission was last in 30-year shuttle program

* Atlantis to go on display at Kennedy Space Center

* Thousands of contract workers losing jobs on Friday

“What Does NASA mean to us?” by Neil DeGrasse Tyson

America’s Permanent Deficit Problems: On the Road to Armageddon –

America’s finances are headed for a train wreck.

By August 2, the House, Senate and president must come up with a mutually agreeable deficit reduction package, or House Republicans will block the increase in the debt ceiling necessary to avoid default.

Something can still be cobbled together, likely along the lines of the Gang of Six proposal. However, it contains few hard cuts and initiates legislative processes with uncertain outcomes.

Debt and Delusion –  Really?….I did not expect to read statement like this from Shiller…

The fundamental problem that much of the world faces today is that investors are overreacting to debt-to-GDP ratios, fearful of some magic threshold, and demanding fiscal-austerity programs too soon. They are asking governments to cut expenditure while their economies are still vulnerable. Households are running scared, so they cut expenditures as well, and businesses are being dissuaded from borrowing to finance capital expenditures.

The lesson is simple: We should worry less about debt ratios and thresholds, and more about our inability to see these indicators for the artificial – and often irrelevant – constructs that they are.

What if America Were a Publicly Traded Company?What if America Were a Publicly Traded Company? –

A new report, “USA, Inc.”, clearly shows that the country’s borrowing practices are unsustainable and leaders have some tough decisions to make.

Home Depot Co-Founder: Obama Is Choking Recovery –

Bernie Marcus co-founded Home Depot (HD) in 1978 and brought it public in 1981 as the U.S. was suffering from the worst recession and unemployment in 40 years. The company thrived, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and redefining home improvement retailing.

But Marcus says Home Depot ”would never have succeeded” if it launched today due to onerous regulation.

LBO, Recession Singe Quiznos – TOASTED!!!!

Sub Chain Loses 30% of Its Outlets; the $4 ‘Torpedo’ Bested by the $5 Foot-long

Planet of the apes Party time…

Some federal workers more likely to die than lose jobs -

Federal employees’ job security is so great that workers in many agencies are more likely to die of natural causes than get laid off or fired, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

State Dept. contract officer steers $52 million to secret husband,daughter –

A special investigation by The Daily Caller has discovered that a State Department contract specialist participated in awarding more than $52 million in taxpayer-funded contracts to a company owned and operated by her husband and daughter.

Kathleen McGrade helped their company, Sterling Royale Group, win 43 federally funded contracts over the last few years.

Two never-finished Navy ships head to scrap heap –

They are the two ships no one wanted, almost constantly embroiled in one dispute or another for the past 25 years. The two Navy behemoths have never gone on a mission, were never even completed, yet they cost taxpayers at least $300 million.

Now the vessels, the Benjamin Isherwood and the Henry Eckford, are destined to leave Virginia waters for good and be scrapped at a Texas salvage yard, with no money coming back to the U.S. Treasury.

Size of government –

Bigger than a breadbox, smaller than a planet

Explaining Obama’s tax-hike obsession –

It’s the great mystery of the debt ceiling debate: Why is President Barack Obama so darn adamant about raising taxes?

The Debt Ceiling and the Balanced Budget Amendment

Joke Is on China as U.S.’s AAA Becomes Laughable: William Pesek –

Suddenly that $3 trillion of currency reserves looks like a bad idea.

Make that very bad for China, as investors display an obvious preference for yen over dollars. That the IOUs of a debt-ridden, aging, politically adrift nation smarting from a huge earthquake and nuclear crisis seem safer than U.S. Treasuries says it all.

American Schoolchildren Appear Lost in Latest Study of Geography Aptitude –

U.S. schoolchildren, noses in their smartphones, don’t know the lay of the land.

Only half of fourth-graders correctly put the following in descending order of size: North America, the U.S., California and Los Angeles, according to a federal test known as the Nation’s Report Card, the Education Department said today.

Graduates having difficulty finding jobs –

Ali Johnson graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in December with a degree in biomedical engineering. Now she’s back home – living with her parents, working as a prep cook for a cafe in Red Wing, Minn., and still hunting for a job in her chosen field.

Give Greece What It Deserves: Communism -

What the world needs, lest we forget, is a contemporary example of Communism in action. What better candidate than Greece? They’ve been pining for it for years, exhibiting a level of anti-capitalist vitriol unmatched in any developed country. They are temperamentally attuned to it, having driven all hard working Greeks abroad in search of opportunity. They pose no military threat to their neighbors, unless you quake at the sight of soldiers marching around in white skirts. And they have all the trappings of a modern Western nation, making them an uncompromised test bed for Marxist theories. Just toss them out of the European Union, cut off the flow of free Euros, and hand them back the printing plates for their old drachmas. Then stand back for a generation and watch.

The Breaking Point –

The End Game Of Keynesian Economics

Underwhelming Spending Cuts from Congress and Obama

Tax code allowed deductions for body oils, office parties, and feeding stray cats - Tax breaks for whaling ship captains, feeding stray cats and holding office parties for low-wage employees all have been ruled legal under tax law, according to a new report that comes just as the debate over so-called “tax expenditures,” estimated to be worth as much as $1 trillion a year, is heating up.

Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox: What is Poverty in the United States Today? –

For decades, the U.S. Census Bureau has reported that over 30 million Americans were living in “poverty,” but the bureau’s definition of poverty differs widely from that held by most Americans. In fact, other government surveys show that most of the persons whom the government defines as “in poverty” are not poor in any ordinary sense of the term. The overwhelming majority of the poor have air conditioning, cable TV, and a host of other modern amenities. They are well housed, have an adequate and reasonably steady supply of food, and have met their other basic needs, including medical care. Some poor Americans do experience significant hardships, including temporary food shortages or inadequate housing, but these individuals are a minority within the overall poverty population. Poverty remains an issue of serious social concern, but accurate information about that problem is essential in crafting wise public policy. Exaggeration and misinformation about poverty obscure the nature, extent, and causes of real material deprivation, thereby hampering the development of well-targeted, effective programs to reduce the problem.

The Global Fairness Madness - The more we have, the more we begrudge others who have more.

A glut of bureaucrats –

Bureaucrats behave very differently than a private-sector manager because their motivations are different. Permanent bureaucrats, no matter how senior, worry about their next job. They worry about getting the boss angry; they worry about getting their employees angry, for nothing is more vicious than an officeful of disgruntled bureaucrats; they worry about getting the voters angry; and they worry about bad press, which could result in any and all of the above. That’s a lot of worries that might easily distract from actually developing good policy

Ohio Medicaid Russian Drug Smuggling Investigation - Welcome to US of fraud… –

Two men posing as wealthy Russian Drug Smugglers get told not to put their exotic sports cars on the Medicaid application, to classify their drug business as “babysitting,” and to get abortions for their underage sisters who perform sex in exchange for drugs.

Graduates having difficulty finding jobs - Ali Johnson graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in December with a degree in biomedical engineering. Now she’s back home – living with her parents, working as a prep cook for a cafe in Red Wing, Minn., and still hunting for a job in her chosen field.

Dissecting The Demagoguery About ‘Tax Cuts For The Rich’ – Democrats’ insistence that the “rich” pay more in taxes is rivaled only by Republicans’ apparent inability or unwillingness to engage them on this specific issue. In the following excerpt from testimony submitted to the Senate Finance Committee, economist Thomas Sowell attempts to fill that void.

It’s Time To Kick Farmers Off The Federal Dole –

The U.S. government has no money.  Uncle Sam is borrowing 40% of this year’s $3.8 trillion in outlays.  Total federal obligations and unfunded liabilities run roughly ten times the formal national debt of $14 trillion.

Washington must cut spending.

Suggesting that Uncle Sam go on a fiscal diet predictably triggers the cry:  What about the poor?   But despite their rhetoric politicians do not spend much time worrying about those in poverty.  The two biggest domestic programs provide middle class welfare:  Social Security and Medicare.  The Pentagon mostly provides welfare for populous and prosperous allies throughout Asia and Europe.

The rest of the federal budget is filled with outrageous special interest pay-offs.  Consider the agricultural dole.

Central Banks Unanimously Prefer Gold Over Paper – After the Western banking cabal engineered the “crash” of the global gold market in 1980, Western central banks spent more than a quarter-century perpetrating the lie that gold was a “barbarous relic” – which was supposedly “inferior” to the worthless, un-backed paper they were cranking out (in record amounts) on their privately-owned printing presses.

The Eurozone’s Last Stand – The eurozone crisis is reaching its climax. Greece is insolvent. Portugal and Ireland have recently seen their bonds downgraded to junk status. Spain could still lose market access as political uncertainty adds to its fiscal and financial woes. Financial pressure on Italy is now mounting…