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Stock Down

Investors robbed of $2.3 trillion in stock market crash

Matt Krantz
USA Today
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:22 UTC
NYSE
© EPA
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the start of the trading day in New York.
The stock market rout is starting to get really expensive — destroying $2.3 trillion from the market's top last year and $1.5 trillion in net wealth just this year.

The giant companies that predominantly populate the Standard & Poor's 500 have fallen an average of 8.9% this year — which, when translated into dollars, is real money. Real big money. The S&P 500 is down 8% this year already — including another 2.2% Friday — in what's been the worst start to a year ever. Since the market peak on May 21, 2015, the market has declined 11.7%.

Latest on markets:

The biggest wealth destroyers in the S&P 500 from the high have been gadget makerApple (AAPL), pipeline company Kinder Morgan (KMI) and corporate software company Oracle (ORCL) — crushing $218 billion, $63.5 billion and $49.8 billion in market value, respectively, from the May 21, 2015, top.

S&P 500 Stocks That Destroyed The Most Shareholder Wealth From The May 21, 2015, Top

Company, Symbol, % lost from high, $ market value erased from the high ($ billions)

Apple, AAPL, -26%, -$218

Kinder Morgan, KMI, -69.5%, -$63.5

Oracle, ORCL, -22.8%, -$49.8

Walmart, WMT, -18.7%, -$47.3

Berkshire Hathaway, BRKA, -12.7%, -$45.6

Source: S&P Capital IQ, USA Today

This year, most of the money is being shredded by the giant companies that many U.S. investors loaded up on during the bull, including gadget maker Apple, online retailerAmazon.com (AMZN) and online advertising firm Alphabet (GOOGL).

Comment: SOTT Talk Radio: Interview with 'Web of Debt' author Ellen Brown - How the banking system controls the world

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Boat

"How dare they put their waters around our ships!" U.S. media slams non-existent Iranian 'aggression'

Glenn Greenwald
MintPress News
Wed, 13 Jan 2016 23:15 UTC
us sailors

"Hey, this isn't so bad..."
Even when the White House was saying they did not yet regard the Iranian conduct as an act of aggression, American journalists were insisting that it was.

News broke last night, hours before President Obama's State of the Union address, that two U.S. Navy ships "in the Persian Gulf" were "seized" by Iran, and the 10 sailors on board were "arrested." The Iranian government quickly said, and even the U.S. government itself seemed to acknowledge, that these ships had entered Iranian waters without permission, and were thus inside Iranian territory when detained. CNN's Barbara Starr, as she always does, immediately went on-air with Wolf Blitzer to read what U.S. officials told her to say: "We are told that right now, what the U.S. thinks may have happened, is that one of these small boats experienced a mechanical problem . . . perhaps beginning to drift . . . it was at that point, the theory goes right now, that they drifted into Iranian territorial waters."

It goes without saying that every country has the right to patrol and defend its territorial waters and to intercept other nations' military boats that enter without permission. Indeed, the White House itself last night was clear that, in its view, this was "not a hostile act by Iran" and that Iran had given assurances that the sailors would be promptly released. And this morning they were released, exactly as Iran promised they would be, after Iran said it determined the trespassing was accidental and the U.S. apologized and promised no future transgressions.

Comment: Greenwald has a knack for clearly and effectively exposing blatant hypocrisy. His last comment shouldn't be forgotten. The U.S. doesn't need state-run TV. Its only nominally independent MSM does the job of its government more than adequately.

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Propaganda

U.S. starves Syria, media covers it up by blaming Assad

Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Report
Tue, 12 Jan 2016 23:02 UTC
madaya

Aid from the Syrian government reaches Madaya on Thursday, January 14.
In preparation for talks on Syria this month, the U.S. corporate media is pretending to be concerned about the Syrians of Madaya, caught between the lines of a war deliberately begun by the United States and its allies. "Every time a president says that Saddam must go or Gaddafi must go or Assad must go a new terror is created for unfortunate people in a far away place." Madaya is one of those many, many places plunged into misery by the U.S.

The degree to which the American corporate media will cover up for American foreign policy atrocities knows no bounds. The country's leading newspapers and broadcasters have supported every official lie from Lyndon Johnson's Gulf of Tonkin resolution in Vietnam to George W. Bush's claim of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. News reports concerning areas suffering from American interventions should be taken with a great deal of skepticism. In light of the past history of propaganda, the context of recent stories about the people of Madaya, Syria should be closely scrutinized.

The American plan for regime change in Syria has killed 250,000 people and displaced 9 million more. There would be no bullets, bombs or sieges absent the United States and the rest of NATO, Saudi Arabia and Turkey attempting to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad government. All of the people who drowned in the Mediterranean as they tried to flee bloodshed were killed by the United States. The towns and cities that have been destroyed by warring armies were in fact destroyed by the United States. Absent American action, none of the other parties would have taken on this project

Comment: Further reading:

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Colosseum

Libya: The Western Coalition/ISIS's new front

Martin Berger
New Eastern Outlook
Tue, 12 Jan 2016 22:39 UTC
isis libya
It's clear now that Russian and Western air strikes against ISIL (Islamic State) militants in Syria and Iraq in recent months have inflicted huge human and financial losses upon it. Under these circumstances the Islamic State is desperately looking for new Muslim countries to operate in. The Islamic State leadership is seeking ways to compensate for the financial losses it has suffered, and establish new backup outposts outside the Middle East. That is why ISIL has been fairly active in plans to take control of Libya, which is particularly rich in "black gold", as well as Afghanistan, which is home to a profitable narcotics market.

Some may wonder about the staggering progress ISIL has been able to achieve in Libya, but it's hardly a surprise to experts, since in recent years thousands of citizens of this country left their homeland to join Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq. Approximately one thousand of these hardened fighters have already returned to Libya to join the local ISIL forces. It should be noted that Libyan Islamists were responsible for some key operations in Syria and Iraq. In particular, they were part of Al-Battar battalion, known for its constant suicide attacks, ruthless extermination of the local population and the brutal suppression of the uprising in Deir ez-Zor.

Therefore the warning that was voiced on December 1, 2015 by UN observers that Libya is turning into a key stronghold of ISIL, while being in the immediate vicinity of coastlines of the EU, may truly reflect the extent of ISIL expansion.

Comment: The nightmare is far from over for Libya... See also: Western media AWOL as 'Islamic State' regroups in Libya: Interview with James & Joanne Moriarty

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Black Cat 2

Wheeling and dealing: Putin invites Qatari leader to Moscow as MidEast diplomacy intensifies


RT
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 20:47 UTC
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani
© Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah / Reuters
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
The Emir of Qatar is set to arrive in the Russian capital early next week to hold talks on the current situation in the Middle East and North Africa. The high-level negotiations will also focus on energy issues at a time of falling global oil and gas prices.

Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani's first official visit to Russia on January 18-19 has been organized at the behest of President Vladimir Putin, who will meet the Qatari leader on Monday, January 18.

"The talks will focus primarily on comprehensive development of trade and economy, investment, energy sector, and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Qatar. The two leaders will have a detailed exchange of views on current international affairs, particularly the situation in the Middle East and North Africa," the Kremlin's official website reports.
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Network

The EU to lift anti-Iran sanctions upon release of UN nuclear agency report


Press TV
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 20:05 UTC
european Union
The European Union (EU) is ready to lift economic sanctions against Iran as soon as the UN nuclear agency verifies Tehran's compliance with its obligations under a nuclear agreement it reached with six world powers last July, sources say. Diplomatic sources said on Friday the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to issue its final report possibly later in the day or over the weekend confirming that Iran has lived up to its obligations under the nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

They added that the IAEA is expected to confirm that Iran had fulfilled its obligations so that the 28-nation EU, alongside the United States and the United Nations, can end their sanctions on what is known as "Implementation Day" for the JCPOA.
"When the report from the IAEA is published, the European Union will be ready," one of the sources said.
The source added that the EU member states were agreeing the precise instruction which would then be finalized by the Netherlands, the bloc's rotating presidency. Iran and the P5+1 - the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany finalized the text of the JCPOA in the Austrian capital of Vienna in July 2015.

Comment: The sanctions against Iran have been ridiculous and completely unwarranted. Tehran, unlike the United States, hasn't invaded another country for hundreds of years. The only 'threat' it poses is one of leadership for Middle Eastern unity. The US can no longer impede its progress, and it is good to see Iran's return to its well earned place in the world's economic community.

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Jet1

US targets Iraq's infrastructure and residential areas in aerial assaults


Press TV
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:53 UTC
Iraq bombing
The so-called anti-Daesh air raids by US-led coalition forces are inflicting heavy damage on Iraq's infrastructure as well as residential areas in the Arab state, a military source says. Ahmed al-Asadi, a spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Forces, told the al-Ghad newspaper on Friday that Iraq's infrastructure and civilian buildings have been the target of "unbridled" aerial assaults by the US-led forces.

US jets destroyed nearly 80 percent of infrastructure in the recently-liberated city of Ramadi in Anbar Province, said Asadi, adding that the severe damage comes while Iraqi authorities have repeatedly asked US-led forces to stop the destructive bombing attacks. Numerous reports show many civilians have so far fallen victim to the US-led bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria over the past year.

The US and its allies in the so-called anti-Daesh coalition have been launching airstrikes against what they claim to be Daesh positions in Iraq since August last year. A month later, the US-led coalition began pounding purported Daesh positions inside neighboring Syria, without any authorization by the Syrian government or the United Nations. This is while many parties to the same coalition are widely accused of having contributed to the formation of such terror groups in Syria over the past few years.

Comment: In case anyone has been hiding under a rock, it is the US who destroys infrastructure and barrel bombs civilians. The lies we're told about Assad and Russia are just a projection of the very activities for which the US is responsible.

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Airplane

Russian investigation characterizes final MH17 crash report as 'unsubstantiated, inaccurate'


RT
Thu, 14 Jan 2016 19:12 UTC
MH17 crash report
© Michael Kooren / Reuters
The reconstructed airplane serves as a backdrop during the presentation of the final report into the crash of July 2014 of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, in Gilze Rijen, the Netherlands, October 13, 2015.
Some of the key conclusions of the Dutch Safety Board's final report on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash were 'unsubstantiated and inaccurate,' Russia's aviation agency said in a letter to its counterpart in the Netherlands, citing new research.

Since the final report, released on October 13, 2015, did not reflect many important facts mentioned by the Russian side, the country's experts continued their investigation into the reasons for the crash, Oleg Storchevoy, deputy head of Rosaviatsiya, wrote in a letter addressed to leadership of the Dutch Safety Board (DSB).

The Dutch side confirmed on Thursday receiving Storchevoy's letter and said they would study it and reply as soon as possible.

Flight MH17 crashed in the war-torn Donetsk Region in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.

According to the DSB's findings, the Boeing 777 was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile with a 9N314M warhead. However, the Dutch experts were unable to determine which side in the conflict - the Ukrainian government forces or the rebels - was responsible for firing the missile.

In the letter, the Rosaviatsiya official stresses that the final DSB report "unfairly obscures the issue of liability" for ensuring flight safety over the war-zone in Donbass, "shifting the blame from Ukraine to airlines and international aviation organizations, e.g. the ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization]."

Comment: In other words, the Dutch report was written up to reach a foregone conclusion, while ignoring any facts that would interfere with that conclusion.

The letter quoted above is available at Fort Russ.

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Heart - Black

Congress without conscience: House votes to block clean water rule despite scandal over contaminated water in Michigan


RT
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:09 UTC
bottled water
© Rebecca Cook / Reuters
The US House of Representatives voted 253-166 this week to overturn a controversial rule to protect America's clean water in spite of a growing scandal in Flint, Michigan over poisonous levels of lead.

Representatives approved a resolution back by the Senate in November that blocks the Environmental Protection Agency's "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) rule.

The regulation protects streams and wetlands used in local water supplies, but failed after a deluge of lobbying from corporations including Halliburton, Shell, and Tyson foods.

President Obama is expected to veto the bill to protect the rule, at the same time as he considers a request from Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to declare a state of emergency.

Frustrated residents have called for the Republican governor's resignation after high levels of deadly lead were found in Flint's drinking water.


Comment: The people have no voice in American politics anymore. If you can't line a politician's pocket, why should he listen to you when there's a dozen people in line waiting to do just that for their special interests. For more about the Flint, Michigan water scandal, see:

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USA

US imperialism: Pentagon chief outlines plan for escalation of Iraq-Syria war


World Socialist Web Site
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:03 UTC
Pentagon
In a speech to US soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division about to deploy to Iraq, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter gave the most extensive account of the Pentagon's plans to escalate the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria over the next year.

In particular, he singled out the two largest urban areas controlled by ISIS, the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, third-largest in the country, and the group's de facto capital of Raqqa, in eastern Syria, as the main targets for coordinated air, ground and special operations warfare in the next period.
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