Society's ChildS


Stock Down

Economics expert says US stock market overvalued, forecasts major bear market

robert shiller
© Michelle McLoughlin / Reuters Robert Shiller, one of three American scientists who won the 2013 economics Nobel prize.
More and more investors are expressing concern that US stocks are overvalued, which may result in a major bear market - characterized by falling prices and widespread pessimism, Nobel laureate in economics Robert Shiller told the FT.

Studies have shown that the level of uncertainty among investors has peaked since the end of the dot-com boom in 2000, said Shiller.

Fifteen years ago, the US technology sector index, the Nasdaq Composite, lost 78 percent of its value, falling from 5046 to 1114 points.

"It looks to me a bit like a bubble again with essentially a tripling of stock prices since 2009 in just six years and at the same time people losing confidence in the valuation of the market," he said.

Comment: 12 signs that an imminent global financial crash is continuing


Airplane

Pilot killed when small plane crashes at Tennessee air show

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© Jennifer CulverAn emergency helicopter takes off to assist in the rescue effort after a plane crash during an air show Sept. 12, 2015, in Oneida, Tennessee.

A pilot was killed Saturday when his small plane crashed during an air show in northern Tennessee, CBS affiliate WVLT reports.

Witnesses told the station the crash occurred around 4:30 p.m. during the Wings Over Big South Fork Air Show at the Scott Municipal Airport in Oneida.

A family member confirmed to WVLT that Jay Gordon, a pilot from Louisville, Ky., died when his L-39 Albatross, a fixed wing, single-engine aircraft, went down.

Witnesses said they saw Gordon's plane take a dive to do a trick. It never came back up.

The NTSB will investigate what caused the crash.


Alarm Clock

A little too symbolic? Refugees housed in Buchenwald concentration camp

Buchenwald
© Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters Red carnations are attached over the slogan 'Jedem das Seine' meaning 'Each to his own' at the internal side of the main gate of former Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar
Twenty-one refugees who fled to Europe are being housed in the barracks of the former Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald - the infamous place where thousands were brutally murdered during the Second World War, media reported.

The building is reportedly equipped with basic cooking facilities and bunk beds.

"It is an emergency solution, but it is unavoidable," the mayor of Berlin's Mitte district, Christian Hanke, told The Daily Mail. "There is a lot of room in the hangars."

20-year-old Abdurahman Massa from northern Eritrea told The Daily Express that he doesn't mind what the building was before.

"This is good for me," he added.

Another refugee identified as Diaoyre, from Algeria, said he'd been living in the building for one week, and it's "good," adding "many others don't even have this."

Comment: If it weren't for the dark undercurrents surrounding the current refugee crisis (see: 'ISIS among the refugees' - Prelude to another European "terror attack"?), this wouldn't be such a bad move: it is practical. But the irony is striking. These refugees are being treated well, but the plan for the future is probably much worse: Holocaust 2.0: Coming soon!


Magic Hat

Over 350 prisoners released from Afghan jail thanks to 'Taliban' suicide bombers

taliban
© Stringer / ReutersMembers of the Taliban
Taliban militants, including suicide bombers and gunmen, attacked a prison in Ghazni, Afghanistan killing at least four police and freeing 352 prisoners, including 150 Taliban. The terror group claims "important military mujahideen" have been released.

"Around 2:30 a.m. six Taliban insurgents wearing military uniforms attacked Ghazni prison," Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the deputy provincial governor, told AFP. "First they detonated a car bomb in front of the gate, fired an RPG and then raided the prison."

Ahmadi said that at least four policemen were killed and seven others were injured, adding that three Taliban fighters were also killed.

Some 352 prisoners, including 150 jailed Taliban members, escaped in the attack, according to the deputy the governor of Ghazni, Mohammed Ali Ahmadi.

Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that "all" of the prisoners were freed in the 2 am (22:00 GMT) attack.

"Forty Afghan security forces and prison guards were killed in the prison break and important military mujahideen officials have been freed," Mujahid claimed, as cited by Reuters.

Comment: The Wall Street Journal adds:
Inmates had staged a protest inside the prison hours before the Taliban attack—a possible indication that the escape was coordinated, officials said. The unrest prompted Afghan intelligence officers to transfer about 20 high-value Taliban militants to a different location in the hours before the prison break, according to a member of Ghazni's provincial council. ... Since the beginning of this year, Afghan forces have been fighting with only limited support from their U.S. allies, even as the Taliban insurgency remains strong and undiminished.
And the BBC points out that "Monday's prison break has happened at a sensitive time for the government, which will complete its first year in office in a week's time, amid questions over its ability to improve security and the economy." How convenient.

Prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan tend to be convenient breeding grounds for Muslim extremists. As Brandon Martinez shows, ISIS probably wouldn't exist if it hadn't been for a certain U.S.-run facility housing many of the current ISIS leadership, where the alleged leader of ISIS was viewed favorably by those running the prison. Coincidence? Unlikely. See: The ISIS Conspiracy: US-Israeli-Saudi origins and intrigue


Horse

US media freaks out after socialist Jeremy Corbyn wins UK Labour Party leadership

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Should we expect the same reaction if Sanders pulls off a similar feat?



This morning, Jeremy Corbyn won the vote for Britain's Labour leadership election - basically the equivalent to the American democratic party primary - in a blowout, garnering almost 60% of the vote while the runner-up, Andy Burnham could only muster 19% of the vote. Jeremy Corbyn, a self-described socialist, outflanked his opponents to the left on many issues, including militarism, immigration, unions - breaking ranks on a whole host of centrist orthodoxy that Labour had embraced since the mid-90's.

The American media, perplexed as to how someone labeled with the dreaded "s" word could not only capture a major party nomination but do so with the largest mandate in the history of the party, went into full smear mode:

Comment: If Corbyn is the real deal, as he appears to be, his next moves merit close watching - if only to see how irked the political elite of the UK become (and in the US too it seems). Godspeed, Jeremy!

See also: Jeremy Corbyn win revitalizing UK's Labour Party, Cameron sulks, snipes


Dollars

Americans ready to sell their organs to repay student loans

Student
© Reuters/Jonathan/Ernst/FilesWith the US Capitol as a backdrop, George Washington University students gather for their commencement ceremony on the National Mall in Washington.
What does it feel like to be an American adult forced to continue paying off a student loan? At some point, could you feel so unable to erase the debt you come up with the idea to sell one of your organs?

A large number of former students in the US are reportedly ready to sacrifice their physical well-being and even body parts for the chance to get rid of the loan they took out to attend college, according to a new survey.

MyBankTracker, which touts itself as a provider for smart banking and money decisions, took a survey this summer asking their users if they are ready to sell an organ to repay their student loan.

The site canvassed a group of 200 people with a median age of 32 who hold loan balances averaging $34,500.

Pistol

12 Mexican tourists and guides accidentally shot dead by Egyptian security forces

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© ReutersEgyptian soldiers keep guard during a military operation in Rafah, near the border with the southern Gaza Strip.
At least a dozen tourists and their guides have been killed in what is reported to be an accidental attack on their convoy by Egyptian security forces.

The tourists are reported to be Mexican and as many as ten other passengers in a convoy of four cars are said to have been injured.


A statement from Egyptian interior ministry said that while police and armed forces were pursuing "terrorist elements" they accidentally engaged with a tourist convoy.

Bad Guys

Refugees crisis: Thousands gather at protests in Poland

refugees in poland
The EU wants Poland to accept 12,000 refugees
Thousands of protesters have gathered in several Polish cities, as right-wing groups rallied against plans to resettle refugees in Europe while counter-protesters marched in solidarity with those seeking safety.

Around 10,000 right-wing protesters clutching the national flag assembled on the streets in the capital of Warsaw on Saturday, and chanted slogans including "Today refugees, tomorrow terrorists!" and "Poland, free of Islam!".

Police in riot gear watched over the crowds as some lit flares, however there were no reports of violence.

Miroslaw Kadziela, 24, who was among those at the protest, told an AP reporter: "The refugees are threat to our culture, they will not assimilate with our society."

Elsewhere in Warsaw, a few hundred people at a pro-refugee rally played music and held banners aloft reading "Refugees, Welcome", with similar rallies being held in Gdansk, Krakow, Poznan and Szczecin.

EU leaders have suggested that Poland should accept 12,000 refugee as part of a proposed quota system. Warsaw has agreed to take in at least 2,000 refugees within two years, but has said it cannot welcome economic migrants.

Arrow Down

12 tourists killed, 10 injured as Egyptian security forces 'accidentally' shoot Mexican convoy

At least 12 people were killed and 10 others injured when a convoy transporting Mexican tourists through Egypt's Western Desert was attacked by the military, which had mistaken them for militants, an official statement said.

"A joint force from the police and military, whilst chasing terrorist elements in the oasis area of the western desert tonight, accidentally engaged four four-wheel drives belonging to a Mexican tourist group," Egypt's Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Monday. "The incident resulted in the death of 12 Mexicans and Egyptians and the injury of 10 others who have been transferred to hospitals."


Attention

Munich, Germany: Central rail station temporarily closed due to bomb threat

Munich rail station
© demotix.comPassengers waiting outside the Munich central station after a bomb threat forced an eviction.
Munich central railway station was closed for about two hours on Sunday evening after a sniffer dog alarmed near a suspicious piece of luggage.

Police closed the station immediately after the alarm and no trains were allowed in. Experts were called in to the scene, who then examined the luggage very carefully and gave all-clear.

"There had been no danger to passengers at any time," according to German federal police.

"The incident had nothing to do with refugees," a police spokesperson reiterated.

On the same day, German railway company Deutsche Bahn put in for the first time a regular Intercity-Express train for further transport of refugees. Before Sunday there have only been special trains to transport refugees.

Comment: Very suspicious. Was this a false-flag attack that fizzled?

'ISIS among the refugees' - Prelude to another European "terror attack"?