November 14, 2011

NATIONAL: Supreme Court to Hear Case on ObamaCare  The Supreme Court will hear cases on the health care mandate this term, which means the decision will have a great impact on the presidential election.  One side is fighting for smaller government while the other is defending the law and defending larger government involvement in people's lives.  The last decision, made by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled that the individual mandate was unconstitutional, however keeping in tact the remaining parts of the law.  Both sides have appealed.  Obama needs the individual mandate to make the law work, meanwhile the opposing side wants the law declared unconstitutional in full.  Read More: Forbes | Los Angeles Times | USA Today | The State Column


WORLD: Suspected U.S. Drone Strike Kills 6 Pakistani Militants  On Tuesday (time in Pakistan), 6 Pakistani militants were killed by a suspected U.S. drone strike.  Two missiles were fired by an unmapped airplane near the border of Afghanistan.  Pakistan has condemned these attacks as a violation of their sovereignty.  Read More: Voice of America | CNN | Washington Post



BUSINESS: Former MF Global Employees Sue  In a class action suit, former MF Global Employees allege that they did not receive a 60 day notice prior to their termination, as required by federal law.  The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act would require the employer to notify its workers if it knows in advance of it trouble.  The employees allege that MF Global would have to know of such trouble if such major action was taken.  Read our posts on November 4, 2011 and November 11, 2011.  Read More: CNN | Fox News | MSNBC

November 12, 2011

POLITICS: Campaign Updates  The CBS News / National Journal Republican presidential debate was held on Saturday.  The debate focused greatly on foreign policy and was formatted quite differently from previous debates.  Many views have complained because the debate was aired for 1 hour in most parts of the country, later viewers were asked to continue watching on-line for remaining 30 minutes.  That proved to be a failure because of a choppy feed.  Various candidates have also complained, including Michelle Bachmann and Ron Paul, because of unequal amounts of air time.  Ron Paul appeared to receive the most bias as he was only asked 1 question and had 1 follow-up during the televised portion of the debate.  Read More: Washington Post | Daily Caller | ABC News | Politico

November 11, 2011

WORLD: Updates on Iran  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demands that Iran respond within days to the United Nation's report that suggest Iran has gotten closer to developing a nuclear weapon.   Read our posts on August 17, 2011, November 4, 2011, Personal Note: World War III and November 10, 2011  Read More: Radio Free Europe | Wall Street Europe | Reuters

WORLD: Egyptian Pyramid Closed Down on 11/11/11  Because of indications that groups would hold spiritual services at the pyramid on November 11, 2011 at 11:11 am, the antiquities authority in Egypt closed the largest pyramid.  The other two pyramids remained open.  While nothing out of ordinary occurred, there was increased security presence.  Read More: Fox News | USA Today | Sky News


BUSINESS: MF Global Fires All Workers  After declaring bankruptcy and the resignation of Jon Corzine, MF Global fired 1,066 employees on Friday.  Employees were furious, many of whom worked with the company for more than a decade, none of whom received a severance package.  MF Global filed for bankruptcy after Jon Corzine's bets on risky European bonds failed.  Jon Corzine is a former Governor of New Jersey, who lost in a re-election to Governor Chris Cristie.  Read our post on November 4, 2011.  Read More: Reuters | Fox News | Financial Times



WORLD: Putin Explains Presidential Run in Russia  Prime Minister of Russia, and former President, Vladimir Putin explained why he was running for President again.  He stated it was not for political reasons, but instead because he needs more time to improve living conditions in Russia.  He also talked about the latest events in Italy, praising the outgoing prime minister as "one of the greatest European politicians."  Read More: Reuters | BBC | RIA Novosti



HIGHLIGHT: One of MF Global's employees for 16 years calls Jon Corzine selfish and greedy.  Mentioning that everything happened because of one man and if he saw him in person, he would punch him.  Watch: YouTube

November 10, 2011

WORLD: Greece Gets a New Prime Minister  On Friday, the Greek parliament selected Lucas Papademos to be its new Prime Minister.  Papademos is a former banker, former European Central Bank vice president, and a former Harvard University professor.  The outgoing prime minister is George Papandreou.  President Obama and French President Sarkozy were overheard in a conversation where Sarkozy called Papandreou a "madman."  Read More: CNN | Washington Post | Reuters | Daily Mail


WORLD: Updates on Iran  The United Nations warned against any force used against Iran as the media has speculated.  Meanwhile, Iran has stated that if Isreal or the U.S. plans to attack Iran, they will be faced with an "iron fist."  Read our posts on August 17, 2011, November 4, 2011, Personal Note: World War III  Read More: Reuters | Politico | The Moscow Times 



HIGHLIGHT: As mentioned yesterday, Penn State students held a protest over the firing of their coach.  The video below shows the childish behaviors of those students as they flip over a news van.  Watch: YouTube

November 9, 2011

NATIONAL: Penn State Football Coach Fired  Football coach of Penn State, Joe Paterno, has been fired today upon charges of sexual abuse after 46 years with the school.  In addition, the president of the school lost his job as well.  The charges have brought a lot of negative light on the school in recent days, however, today students showed some support for the coach by a protest held outside against his dismissal.  Read More: Wall Street Journal | Reuters | CNN | USA Today | NJ Star Ledger


POLITICS: CNBC Presidential Debate Held Today  Romney and Paul seemed to dominate the opinion of the crowd outside the debate.  Inside, Romney, Gingrich, Paul, and Cain were seen as winners.  During the debate, Rick Perry forgot the third of three departments he would like to cut, causing an awkward moment.  Read More: CNBC | Christian Science Monitor | Detriot Free Press | USA Today



ECONOMY: Italy's Borrowing Spirals Out of Control  Italian 10-year bond yields rose above 7 percent on Wednesday.  This is considered unsustainable and means Italy has a good chance of default.  Unlike Greece, Italy is Europe's third largest economy and it probably cannot be bailed out.  Stock prices have fallen as a result of hte news.  Read More: Washington Post | Reuters | Wall Street Journal



WORLD: Palestinian Statehood Bid Stuck  A U.N. Security Council committee could not reach a decision on Palestine's bid for statehood.  The security council will meet on Friday to consider the Palestinian request to be admitted to the UN as a full member state. Because the U.S. has state it would veto a decision in Palestine's favor, the outcome does not look promising for Palestine.  Read More: Reuters | Guardian | AFP



HIGHLIGHT: Rick Perry's stumble, mentioned above, during the CNBC Republican Debate.  This is exceptionally funny because it seems like he attempted to prove a point to Ron Paul, at which he failed.

November 8, 2011

NATIONAL: Toddler Missing in Washington State  A toddler, left alone in the car for an hour, has been missing since November 6.  The mother said she left Sky Metalwala in the car on the side of the road when her car stopped running.  She walked to the nearest gas station with her daughter and when she returned, Sky was missing.  Police now say that the mother and her daughter are the only ones who have seen Sky in the past two weeks.  The father now believe the mother did something with her son.  Read More: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children | Los Angeles Times | Washington Post | ABC News


POLITICS: Cain's Sexual Harassment Accusers to Hold Press Conference  Herman Cain has denied knowing the fourth accuser, first to go public, Sharon Bialek.  Meanwhile, Bailek and Karen Kraushaar, another accuser, are going to hold a joint press conference.  The women have asked others sexually harassed by Cain to come forward, but said they will hold the conference even if no one else comes forward.  Read our posts on November 7, 2011, November 5, 2011, November 3, 2011, and November 2, 2011.  Read More: Politico | Los Angeles Times | Reuters

November 7, 2011

POLITICS: Fourth Woman Accuses Cain of Sexual Harassment  A fourth woman has accused presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment while he was president of the National Restaurant Association.  She is the first of the four women to come out publicly.  She alleges, in short, that Cain offered her sex in his car in exchange for a job.  Read our posts on November 2, 2011 , November 3, 2011 and November 5, 2011.  Read More: The Miami Herald | Des Moines Register | Washington Post | Los Angeles Times | Politico

DOMESTIC: Graphic Cigarette Warning Labels Blocked  A federal judge blocked a ruling that required tobacco companies to place graphic images on their products.  These graphic images would include people in hospitals or with health issues.  Visit Reuters link to view these images.  Read More: Reuters | USA Today | Fox News

DOMESTIC: Michael Jackson's Doctor Found Guilty  Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's doctor, was found guilty today in a California court by the jury.  His sentence could range from probation to 4 years in jail.  Sentencing will begin November 29.  Read our post on November 3, 2011.  Read More: Los Angeles Times | Reuters | Washington Post

WORLD: Liberia's Elections Cause Protests and Violence  Presidential elections in Liberia cause protest and violence as opposition alleges voter fraud.  The election will take place between Liberia's current president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and former Justice Minister Winston Tubman.  Presidential terms in Liberia last 5 years.  Sirleaf is currently serving her first term.  Read More: Reuters | Voice of America | Wall Street Journal


HIGHLIGHT: News conference of the fourth woman accusing Herman Cain of Sexual Harassment.  Watch: YouTube

November 5, 2011

POLITICS: Campaign Updates  Herman Cain says he will not answer to sexual harassment allegations.  Read our posts on November 2, 2011 and November 3, 2011.  Read More: Politico.  Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich, alone, hold a debate in Texas.  Read More: The Hill.  Ron Paul wrote an opinion article in The Washington Post titled "One Year To Go."  Read More: The Washington Post.


FOREIGN RELATIONS: Seven People Indicted In Relation to Bhutto's Assassination  Seven people have been indicted in relation to the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.  The assassination, which occurred nearly four years ago, is still left an open case.  Read More: CNN | Pakistan Observer | USA Today


POLITICS: Ron Paul Wins Illinois Straw Poll  Ron Paul was declared the winner of the Illinois Straw Poll, which lasted for a week and took place both on-line and in person, on Saturday.  Paul won the straw poll with 52% of the vote, Romney and Cain followed.  This straw poll was unique to prior in the year because it had multiple locations, had multiple forms of voting, and turned out the most voters, 3,649 in total.  This straw poll also had a relatively small fee, compared to others, of $5.  Read More: Reuters | Chicago Sun-Times | The Washington Post

BUSINESS: Bank Transfer Day Takes Place Saturday  Bank Transfer Day, which was a form of protest for individuals leaving large corporate banks and switching to local banks or credit unions, ended with long lines.  A Wells Fargo branch in Watsonville, California hired additional security and lets customers in one at a time.  Individuals began leaving their banks for credit unions in large quantities since September 29th in reaction to Bank of America's $5 monthly debit card fee.  Since that time, credit unions saw 650,000 new customers and $4.5 billion in deposits.  Read More: Watsonville Patch | Reuters | The Christian Science Monitor

HIGHLIGHT: In relation to the sexual harassment allegations of Herman Cain, above, the CNN clip below discusses the latest allegations and changes in the story.  Watch: YouTube

Personal Note: World War III?

Editor's Person Note:  This is not a light hearted story like all the others.  My personal opinion is that the NATO, which is ultimately controlled by the U.S. and Britain, needs to stop with clear hate of Iran and backing of Isreal regardless of the actions of either nation.  While Isreal remains a true ally of the U.S., that should not give them a right to begin wars that we will sponsor.  Some say the likely situation here is Isreal attacking Iran.  This would be brutal for both sides.  The fear is that the public will not get fair and honest information (as it did not in the Lybian war).  When that happens people will instantly take dangerous sides and cause a war that will not end for a very long time.  Unlike the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lybia, and now even Uganda‎, this war would be World War III.  It would at a minimum involve Iran, Isreal, the U.S., Britain.  It is very likely Russia would get involved and others will follow afterwards.  I think the public needs to do what it can to prevent this by educating itself.  Preventing wars at all times and advocating peace should be priority for all.  Certainly the politicians and media of our time (both on the U.S. side and in Iran) advocate wars.

Interesting note.  If you have ever researched the predictions of Baba Vanga, a Bulgarian psychic, it is time to fear.  She has accurately, in the past, predicted the fall of the Soviet Union, the Chernobyl disaster, the attacks of September 2011.  They say she has been accurate about 80% of the time.  She predicted World War III would start in November 2010.  Many argue that wars of sorts have begun around this time.  She said that the war would start as a normal war but then will involve nuclear and chemical weapons.  She said it would end in 2014.  If you read on, she says that many people will have skin diseases because of these chemical wars and Europe will be almost empty.  These are scary things to read, but this is why we need to do our best to prevent them by educating ourselves and not falling into the hands of politicians and always have our personal views on events.

Baba Vanga Bio on Wikipedia | Baba Vanga's Predictions

November 4, 2011

FOREIGN RELATIONS: World War III May Begin Soon With NATO and Iran  NATO, and U.S. in particular, may be planning an attack on Iran soon.  A report is expected to be released by NATO next week with a possible status of Iran's nuclear weapon status.  Isreal has tested a new ballistic missile possible in plans of an attack.  Another piece ties in to how many lives were killed in the Lybian war, and how the same could happen with the Iran war.  Read More: RT | Reuters | The Washington Post | RT

BUSINESS: Corzine Steps Down as MF Global Holdings Executive  Jon Corzine, who is well know on Wall Street and also a former governor of New Jersey, stepped down as MF Global Holdings Ltd's chairman and chief executive officer.  After Corzine lost his reelection campaign in New Jersey, he became CEO of MF Global Holdings.  In that role he invested in bonds of European countries and ultimately caused his company's ratings to drop and ultimately go into bankruptcy.  Read More: Wall Street Journal | Reuters | Financial Times


DOMESTIC: U.S. Unemployment Rate Drops to 9%  Although only 80,000 jobs were added in October, the unemployment rate dropped to 9%.  This is the first time it dropped since July.  September's number was 9.1%.  This is not entirely great news since only 80,000 jobs added (104,000 private add and 24,000 loss in government jobs).  The rate goes to regular small shifts up and down because of its reporting method.  Read More: The New York Times | The Washington Post | Politico


HIGHLIGHT: News clip, by RT, discussing the current tensions with Isreal and Iran and the possible outcome of the report to be released by NATO.

November 3, 2011

DOMESTIC: Case Against Michael Jackson's Lawyer Goes To Jury  On Thursday, the closing arguments in the case against Dr. Conrad Murray have been heard.  The jury will begin deliberation on Friday.  The trial has gone on for 22 days.  Read More: Washington Post | The New York Times | Sky News


BUSINESS: Groupon Sets IPO at $20 Groupon, a website that features daily deals and bargains, sets its initial public offering (IPO) Thursday.  It was initially expected to set the IPO in the range of $16 to $18.  Considering the actual IPO was higher than estimated, the stock had great interest.  Read More: The Wall Street Journal | The Christian Science Monitor | Los Angeles Times



DOMESTIC: Subpoena for White House Solyndra Documents  On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted on party line to subpoena the White House for more documents related to a loan guarantee given to Solyndra.  Solyndra was a solar panel manufacturer before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Read More: Los Angeles Times | Politico | Reuters


FOREIGN RELATIONS: ICC to Investigate NATO War Crimes  The International Criminal Court (ICC), the same body that issued warrants for Gaddafi and his son, will now investigate war crimes of NATO in the Lybian war.  The ICC will investigate alliance members whether civilians were targeted in Lybia instead of military targets.  In related news, the ICC is trying to secure a surrender of Gaddafi's son, Seif al-Islam.  Read More: RT | Voice of America | AFP



POLITICS: Perry Campaign Suspected of Being Involved in Cain Scandal  Herman Cain believes Rick Perry's campaign is responsible for bringing up Cain's sexual harassment allegations from the 1990s.  Rick Perry, meanwhile, stating he knew nothing about this story before it made the news and says his campaign had no involvement in it.  Ron Paul has spoken of the scandal as well, stating that scandals such as these should only be handled in the proper matter and not be treated as the story of the week.  Instead Paul suggested the campaigns focus on real issues instead of scandals.  Read our post on November 2, 2011.  Read More: Bloomberg Businessweek | Los Angeles Times | Politico | The Hill

HIGHLIGHT: Clip about yesterday's mention of the Federal Reserve and more buying of mortgage bonds.  Watch: YouTube

November 2, 2011

POLITICS: Cain Accused of Sexual Harassment  When Herman Cain was head of the National Restaurant Association (NRA), he was accused of sexual harassment by at least two women.  In the past few days, the Cain campaign hasn't been entirely clear on the circumstances.  Now, Cain admits that there was a settlement between the NRA and the two women.  Cain continues to deny these sexual harassment allegations.  Read More: Politico | SF Gate | Reuters | Los Angeles Times | Politico


ENTERTAINMENT: Kim Kardashian Gets Divorse  After being married for 72 days, Kim Kardashian announced that her marriage with basketball player Kris Humphries has come to an end.  Kim says the divorce was based on "intuition", knowing that things would not work out.  She has been criticized for not giving the marriage a chance.  In response, Rob Delaney, a comedian, is now suing Kim, Ryan Seacrest, E! and Comcast.  E! is the network that featured Kim's wedding and received its highest number of viewers that day.  Read More: TMZ | LA Weekly | Wall Street Journal | MTV



ECONOMY: Bernanke Says Further Mortgage Bond Purchases are an Option  The Federal Reserve is not taking any actions at the time, however it is lowering its expectations of the recovery from the economic crisis of 2008.  Bernanke has stated that further purchasing mortgage securities are a “viable option”.  Presidential Candidate Ron Paul has stated that the Fed is still in Quantitative Easing because it has guaranteed interest rates to remain at near zero rates.  Read More: CNBC | Bloomberg Business Week | New York Times | The Economic Times



DOMESTIC: Northeast Faces Loss of Electricity After Storm  One Million people were left without power after the latest storm facing the Northeast.  While the amount of snowfall was not great, it caused a lot of trees to fall.  Snow does not usually fall this early and since trees still have their leaves, the excess weight caused many to fall on power lines.  Read More: Reuters | USA Today | Wall Street Journal | MSNBC