The Great Recession Blog

It’s not boasting to state plainly that you were right if you are equally direct about your errors. I have until now rightly predicted all of the stock market’s major downturns, starting with the one in 2007 that gave us the Great Recession. The first of those led to the writing of this blog. The next two were predicted and recorded as they happened on this blog, and the latest, whether it proves right or wrong, waits shortly in the future. Each time I made such a prediction here, I bet my blog on it. The blog is still here, but will it continue to be?   Continue reading “The Ghosts of Crashes Past, Recent, and Future as they Appeared on this Blog”

Breitbart

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Plunging temperatures across half the country on Thursday underscored a stark reality for low-income Americans who rely on heating aid: Their dollars aren’t going to go as far this winter because of rising energy costs.

Forecasters warned people to be wary of hypothermia and frostbite from an arctic blast that’s gripping a large swath from the Midwest to the Northeast, where the temperature — without the wind chill factored in — dipped to minus 32 (minus 35 Celsius) on Thursday morning in Watertown, New York, near Lake Ontario’s eastern shore.   Continue reading “Higher energy costs accompany bitter cold snap in US”

The Guardian

Individual investors in US private prisons are poised to collect their most lucrative earnings ever thanks to changes in the tax code signed by Donald Trump, continuing what has been a banner year for the industry since the 2016 election.

“It’s going to be great for the investors, banks and hedge funds that own shares in private prisons, and are dependent on increased incarceration and criminalization,” said Jamie Trinkle, campaign and research coordinator with the racial and economic justice coalition Enlace.   Continue reading “Private prison investors set for giant windfall from Trump tax bill”

Buzz Feed News

Officials are investigating how a 17-year-old was left bruised, bloodied, and swollen beyond recognition during an encounter with police Saturday night in Troy, Alabama.

Police officers in Troy saw the teenager, Ulysses Wilkerson, walking behind a closed business in the city’s downtown late Saturday night, officials said. When the officers exited their vehicle and approached him, he ran away. Officers chased him down a few streets over, and a struggle ensued.
Continue reading “This 17-Year-Old Was Brutalized During A Police Encounter And His Family Want To Know Why”

Daily Mail

The rising cost of rent and housing in California is forcing residents into alternative accommodation with middle class workers taking up residence in their cars and RVs by the side of the road to make ends meet.

Hundreds of people, including nurses and chefs, are sleeping in parking lots in affluent areas like Santa Barbara as they make the most of the only homes they can afford.   Continue reading “California’s middle class homeless living in parking lots”

Fars News

TEHRAN (FNA)- There are currently 7,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 400 children, at risk of being tortured in Israeli detention centers, according to a senior Palestinian official.

“The number of sick prisoners has now reached nearly 1,500,” Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Qaraqi said, Yenisafak reported.

Continue reading “7,000 Palestinians Face Torture in Israeli Prisons”

Activist Post – by Aaron Kesel

The Department of Homeland Security is expanding globally in an effort to “strengthen international security while preventing a terrorist attack, drug shipment, or human smuggling ring” according to a report by the New York Times.

An estimated 2,000 Homeland Security employees from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and special agents to Transportation Security Administration officials are now being deployed to more than 70 countries around the world.  Continue reading “DHS Expanding Operations Into More Than 70 Countries, Violating Travelers and National Sovereignty”

Destroyed by Design.

CBC News

There was a spike in applications for Canadian citizenship after the government relaxed the rules around residency requirements and language proficiency this fall.

Figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship provided to CBC News show there was an average of 3,653 applications a week in the six months before changed were brought in Oct. 11.   Continue reading “Canadian citizenship applications surge after government relaxes language, residency rules”

The Organic Prepper

The lower your income is, the more difficult it is to be particular about what you feed your family.

This probably isn’t an earth-shattering revelation to anyone, but if you feel like experimenting, try to buy a week’s worth of healthy food for a family on a budget of, say, $50-75.  Food manufacturers that target lower-income shoppers with more affordable products tend to include more GMOs and toxic ingredients in their offerings.  Continue reading “What to Eat When You’re Broke”

TeleSur TV

The Trump administration has loosened the rules of engagement allowing it to carry out more deadly drone strikes in Somalia and Yemen.

The United States said Wednesday it had carried out a new drone strike in Somalia, killing 13 extremist al-Shabab militants, bringing the number of drone strikes on the country to 34 this year, more than double the number the previous year.
Continue reading “Under Trump, US Doubles Drone Strikes in Somalia”

WSWS – by Bill Van Auken

US special operations troops are secretly harboring and training former fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) at the remote American base in Al Tanf, Syria near the strategic nexus of the country’s borders with Iraq and Jordan, according to a report issued by the Russian military command.

The charge was made Wednesday by General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military’s general staff and deputy defense minister. He said that Russian drones and satellites had detected brigades of ISIS militants in and around both Al Tanf and another US military base near the Kurdish-controlled city of Al-Shaddadi in the country’s northeast.   Continue reading “Russia charges Pentagon with training ex-ISIS fighters”

Joint Roller (Medford)

Craigslist

The Pre-Roll / Twax Technician is responsible for filling, packaging and preparing for sale the Pre-Roll and Twax products. Specifically, individuals fill joints and other products in a form that will be the final product for sale to the customer. The packaging technician applies labels and other documentation to the product which ensure that it complies with regulatory requirements.    Continue reading “Do you know anyone seeking employment?”

Breitbart – by AWR Hawkins

A nine-year-old boy in Kokomo, Indiana, pointed a pellet gun at a suspect’s head and stopped an alleged carjacking the day after Christmas.

According to WTHR, Kevin Cooksey pulled up to the One Stop Express and went inside, but he left his son, Larry Larimore, in the truck with the vehicle running. Looking at the truck from inside the store, Cooksey noticed that his door had been opened and became nervous. He said, “When I saw my truck door open, I was like, ‘oh my God, what am I going to tell my wife?’”   Continue reading “9 Year-Old Points Pellet Gun at Suspect’s Head, Stops Alleged Carjacking”

Breitbart – by John Hayward

China’s efforts to exert political and cultural influence in Australia produced a major scandal with the fall of Senator Sam Dastyari, who took money from a billionaire linked to the Chinese government and ended up parroting Beijing’s propaganda line on the South China Sea.

The United States Senate recently convened a bipartisan commission to study Chinese influence efforts, which include meddling in Western higher education as well as politics. Now the Economist warns that China’s “sharp power” is cutting into Europe as well.   Continue reading “China’s ‘Sharp Power’ Cuts into Western Societies from Australia to America”

ABC News

Republican Roy Moore filed a lawsuit to try to stop Alabama from certifying Democrat Doug Jones as the winner of the U.S. Senate race.

The court filing occurred about 14 hours ahead of Thursday’s meeting of a state canvassing board to officially declare Jones the winner of the Dec. 12 special election. Jones defeated Moore by about 20,000 votes.   Continue reading “Roy Moore files lawsuit to block Alabama Senate result”

RT

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday’s blast in a St. Petersburg store was a terrorist attack. Thirteen people were injured when an improvised explosive device went off in the busy supermarket.

Six people are still in hospital after the explosion in St. Petersburg, the city’s deputy governor Anna Mityanina tweeted on Thursday. The condition of five of the eight victims is of intermediate severity, and the rest are said to be in a satisfactory condition.  Continue reading “Putin: Wednesday’s blast in St. Petersburg store a terrorist attack”

Mail.com

PINE VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — California legalizes marijuana for recreational use Monday, but that won’t stop federal agents from seizing the drug — even in tiny amounts — on busy freeways and backcountry highways.

Marijuana possession still will be prohibited at eight Border Patrol checkpoints in California, a reminder that state and federal laws collide when it comes to pot. The U.S. government classifies marijuana as a controlled substance, like heroin and LSD.  Continue reading “As California legalizes pot, laws collide at US checkpoints”

Mail.com

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Goodhearted neighbors heartbroken over the rising number of homeless in their communities are feeding and showering those in need, hoping to make a difference. But some question whether they’re doing more harm than good by helping the homeless get some of their most basic needs met outdoors.

The debate over how to help is raging up and down communities on the West Coast that are grappling with a rise in homelessness. In California’s Orange County, neighbors say they believe the assistance is drawing more homeless to a riverbed encampment in Anaheim and a nightly meal for the poor at a state beach in Dana Point.  Continue reading “Food, showers, tents: Does the help help the homeless?”