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Higher taxes, rising prices in store for Americans in 2013

Edward Krudy
Reuters
Thu, 25 Oct 2012 09:50 UTC
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© American Institute for Economic Research
Consumers will have to dig deeper into their pockets next year to pay for costlier healthcare, more expensive grocery bills and higher taxes, an extra drag on the country's already slow-moving economy.

The additional outlays look set to test the resilience of consumers, whose spending accounts for around two-thirds of the U.S. economy.

"We think it's going to be a difficult six to nine months," said Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics for Moody's Analytics. "If anything, conditions are likely to get worse, particularly at the start of the year."

The strength of consumer spending has surprised some economists, given unemployment near 8 percent and anemic wage growth. Consumer spending has cushioned the blow to the United States from slower foreign demand for its goods.

U.S. households have shed about $880 billion in debt since the peak in the first quarter of 2008, according to Federal Reserve data. That has put many consumers on a path back to financial health.

Comment: 25 Horrifying Statistics About the U.S. Economy That Obama Does Not Want You To Know
America's Third World Economy
US: Slow-moving economy runs into brick wall

The illusion of freedom [Economy] will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater. - Frank Zappa

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Handcuffs

Teen arrested in Colorado girl's abduction, death

P. Solomon Banda
Associated Press
Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:57 UTC
Austin Reed Sigg
© AP/Westminster Police DepartmentThis booking photo released by the Westminster, Colo., Police Department shows Austin Reed Sigg.
Westminster - A teenager who lived just a mile from a 10-year-old Colorado girl who was abducted and killed earlier this month has been arrested in her death, along with a May attack on a runner, authorities said Wednesday.

Police in the Denver suburb of Westminster said they took 17-year-old Austin Reed Sigg into custody on Tuesday night after receiving a phone call, apparently from his mother, that led them to Sigg. He was formally arrested Wednesday.

Reached by phone, Sigg's mother told The Associated Press he turned himself in.

"I made the phone call, and he turned himself in. That's all I have to say," said Mindy Sigg, before she broke down in tears and hung up.

Police announced the arrest as agents searched the home of Sigg, an Arapahoe Community College student described by former classmates as a smart "goth kid" who was interested in mortuary science.
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Nuke

Dominion investigates shutdown of North Anna nuclear reactor

Joe Macenka
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:08 UTC
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© Dean Hoffmeyer/Times-DispatchNorth Anna's Unit 1 was unaffected by the automatic Unit 2 shutdown and continues to operate at full power, the NRC said.
Dominion Virginia Power is investigating what caused one of the two nuclear reactors at its North Anna power station to automatically shut down today. The shutdown came less than a week after the unit had been restarted following repairs.

A preliminary report filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Unit 2 at North Anna, in Louisa County some 45 miles northwest of Richmond, tripped automatically at 1:47 a.m. today.

"The unit is in a normal post-trip electrical configuration. All systems functioned as required," the NRC report said.

The commission's report, filed one hour after the event, said Richmond-based Dominion was focusing on turbine intercept valves or reheat valves that malfunctioned "for reasons unknown at this time."

North Anna's Unit 1 was unaffected by the automatic Unit 2 shutdown and continues to operate at full power, the NRC said.

Dominion spokesman Richard Zuercher said the utility had been able to trace the shutdown of Unit 2 _ which is more than three decades old _ to four valves that govern the flow of steam in the turbine system for spinning the unit's generator.
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Cult

Bombshell! Historic paedophile ring linked to 10 Downing Street, at least one former prime minister implicated


Yahoo News
Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:36 UTC
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From left to right: Cameron, Major, Blair and Brown.
There is "clear intelligence" suggesting a historic paedophile ring may be linked to Downing Street and a former prime minister, MPs have been told.

Labour MP Tom Watson alleged a member of a notorious group was connected to a former No 10 aide.

He said: "The evidence file used to convict Peter Righton, if it still exists, contains clear intelligence of a widespread paedophile ring.

"One of its members boasts of his links to a senior aide of a former prime minister, who says he could smuggle indecent images of children from abroad.

Comment: What British Prime Minister David Cameron really means is that he will do everything he can to try to put the lid back on... but is it too late? Is the cat already out of the bag? For more information on paedophile networks in high places, check out Dutroux Cover-up Protected Pedophile Networks.

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Eye 2

Man accused of murdering vicar 'a psychopath', British court told


The Telegraph, UK
Wed, 24 Oct 2012 07:55 UTC
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Stephen Farrow
Stephen Farrow, a homeless drifter accused of the murders of Rev John Suddards and retired teacher Betty Yates scored 31 out of 40 on a test to identify psychopaths and is '88 per cent anti-social' but is not insane, a court heard today.

Dr Tim Rogers, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, told Bristol Crown Court that Stephen Farrow, 48, demonstrated many of the characteristics of a psychopath.

Farrow has admitted killing the Reverend John Suddards, 59, at his vicarage in Thornbury, Glos., but denies murdering the vicar and pensioner Betty Yates, 77.

He said it was not possible to be sure when Farrow was telling the truth and when he was lying.

The psychiatrist said there are 20 traits of a psychopath - when each is given a score of up to two, Farrow scored 31 out of 40.

But he said that after assessing Farrow on two separate occasions in recent months and reading compiled reports spanning several years, he passed the threshold of psychopathy.
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Heart - Black

Cyclopath: Is Lance Armstrong a corporate psychopath?

Anthony Sharwood
The Australian
Wed, 24 Oct 2012 07:37 UTC
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A leading Australian expert on emotional intelligence believes Lance Armstrong is a classic "corporate psychopath" who has hustled and bullied his way to the top his whole life.

According to Sydney-based lecturer and author Chris Golis, the characteristics of a corporate psychopath are their charm, their lack of natural empathy, their ability to deceive and their view that life is a game with winners and losers - and that they are winners.

"Typically they are manipulative, lack ethics, desire power and are very active players in corporate politics," Mr Golis explains.

"They meet someone and they say, 'what's in it for me? How can I make money from this person?'"

Mr Golis says well known examples of the character type in the corporate sphere include businessman Alan Bond and the late Sydney stockbroker Rene Rivkin. But he says top sportsmen often exhibit the characteristics too, and Lance Armstrong appears to fall smack bang into the category.

Comment: Golis clearly isn't a reliable source on psychopathy if he thinks they're capable of developing remorse.

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Eye 1

She made it up! Police reveal woman who claimed race attack set HERSELF on fire and scrawled KKK on her own car


Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:00 UTC
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Horrified: The community of Winnsboro, Louisiana is in shock after 20-year-old Sharmeka Moffitt was set on fire in an attack on Sunday night at a community park
A stunning race attack alleged by a 20-year-old Louisiana woman appears to be a fabrication as police revealed she set herself on fire.

Sharmeka Moffitt, who is black, claimed she was doused in lighter fluid and then severely burned by three men wearing white hooded sweatshirts while walking through a park on Sunday night. She also told police that the men wrote 'KKK' on her car.

However, police in Shreveport revealed on Tuesday that they found Ms Moffitt's DNA on the can of lighter fluid used to burn her and her fingerprints on the cigarette lighter that was used to start the fire.

Investigators also believe she was the one who wrote 'KKK' on her car.

It is not known why she self-immolated or reported that her injuries were the work of apparent white supremacists, police said.

Ms Moffitt remains in critical condition at the hospital, with burns on 60 percent of her body.

Her family issued a statement apologizing for the turn of events.

'Our family is devastated to learn the circumstances surrounding our daughter's injuries. While this was not the resolution we had expected, it's a resolution,' they said.
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Che Guevara

Supreme Court refuses to block Montana campaign contribution limits


Common Dreams
Tue, 23 Oct 2012 22:59 UTC
Another victory for Montana, "ground zero" for the battle against Citizens United

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© Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS
In the latest battle in Montana's war against Citizens United, the Supreme Court refused to block a Montana law "limiting campaign contributions to candidates for state office, leaving the caps in place at least through the November general election," reports Reuters.

On Tuesday afternoon, the high court upheld a ruling - handed down earlier this month - by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of appeals that temporarily reinstated Montana's right to regulate campaign contributions. Previously, a lower court had struck down the restrictions labeling them "unconstitutional."

According to the Associated Press:
Montana law caps contributions by individuals and political committees at $630 for gubernatorial candidates, $310 for other statewide offices and at $160 for all other public offices. Total limits for political parties are $22,600 for governor, $8,150 for other statewide candidates, $1,300 for state senators and $800 for all other public offices. Donations by political action committees to candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are capped at $2,650 and $1,600 respectively.
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Bizarro Earth

Woman gets set on fire and has 'KKK' written on her car

Cavan Sieczkowski
Huffingtonpost.com
Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:21 UTC

A Louisiana woman was the victim of a horrific attack during which she was reportedly set on fire and had her car defiled with the letters "KKK," police reported Monday.
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Blue Planet

SOTT Focus: Voting, Cognitive Dissonance and Fear of the Unknown

BG
Sott.net
Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:51 UTC
"One phenomenon all ponerogenic groups and associations have in common is the fact that their members lose (or have already lost) the capacity to perceive pathological individuals as such, interpreting their behavior in fascinated, heroic, or melodramatic ways. When the habits of subconscious selection and substitution of thought-data spread to the macrosocial level, a society tends to develop contempt for factual criticism and to humiliate anyone sounding an alarm."

- Andrew M. Lobaczewski, Political Ponerology
Stockholm Syndrome
The presidential elections in the US are coming up soon. Many people argue for their chosen candidate to vote for. As usual it is Republicans vs. Democrats. Romney vs. Obama. I've written before about the futility of engaging in this circus side show that is designed to give the illusion of choice and simply re-enforces the prison without bars where people get distracted by the shadows on the wall in a global Stockholm Syndrome. It doesn't speak much for a "shift in consciousness" or "global awakening", especially if many self-proclaimed "spiritual" and "aware" folks still ignore the facts and are driven by identification and wishful thinking, participating in a system that is deeply ponerized.
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