We will have a mirror site at http://nunezreport.wordpress.com in case we are censored, Please save the link

Monday, September 30, 2013

WHAT GOVERNMENT CLOSURE MEANS FOR YOU



WASHINGTON – Would most people really see a difference in their daily lives if the government shuts down?

Maybe not, judging by various surveys of services that would be affected.

Social Security checks would still be mailed, Medicare and unemployment benefits would keep coming and food stamps would still be issued.

The military would still be up and running, and Congress passed legislation Monday to ensure pay for the military’s 1.4 million active duty personnel, although the Pentagon could furlough 400,000 civilian workers and delay training and contracts.

The mail would still be delivered because the U.S. Postal Service runs on income from stamps and other postal fees.

Federal meat inspections should continue as usual. The FDA would still issue high-risk recalls but might suspend routine safety inspections.

School lunches and breakfasts would still be served.

Air travel would continue as federal air traffic controllers would remain on the job. Security screening should not take much longer, because “the majority of our officers who screen passengers/luggage will remain on the job,” TSA spokesman Ross Feinstein tweeted. Federal inspectors would still enforce safety rules.

Those who leave the country would still be able to get back home, as most U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are expected to remain on duty.

Embassies and consulates overseas would stay open to provide services to American citizens. The processing of passport and visa applications are paid for by fees, so they would continue. The State Department warns that consular operations abroad would only remain open as long as “there are sufficient fees to support operations.”

Also unaffected would be services for national security and human safety, border security, coastal protection, law enforcement, counter-terrorism efforts, federal prisons and Amtrak service.

The Justice Department would remain almost fully staffed. Federal courts would stay in session.

IRS audit appointments would be canceled, but taxes would still have to be paid.

The National Weather Service would continue forecasting and issuing warnings and the National Hurricane Center would keep tracking storms.

Veterans would still be able to visit hospitals, get mental health counseling and have prescriptions filled at VA health clinics.

National parks, monuments and museums would close, the Census Bureau would stop collecting data, gun permits would be delayed and applications for small business loans would be suspended.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said senior nutrition grants, which provide meals for 2.5 million elderly Americans, would not be funded in a shutdown.

Borrowers and first-time home buyers seeking government-backed mortgages could face delays. The Federal Housing Administration would not underwrite or approve new loans during a shutdown.

Processing of government-backed loans to small businesses would be suspended.

Federal occupational safety and health inspectors would probably suspend workplace inspections, except in situations where danger is imminent.

The Environmental Protection Agency would furlough all but 1,069 of its 16,200 workers. The National Labor Relations Board would send home 1,600 of its 1,611 employees, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would furlough 652 of its 680 employees.

According to White House numbers, at least 825,000 of the more than two million federal workers would be furloughed.

The government was last shut down in early 1996, and the closure lasted almost four weeks.


Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/09/what-government-closure-means-for-you/#GU5cufqi5405qDiG.99

The Illuminati Exposed In Bible Prophecy


Listen to internet radio with Prophecy Zone Radio on Blog Talk Radio

Retribution vs Retaliation

Blackstone's Private Equity Head Warns: "We Are In The Middle Of An Epic Credit Bubble"





Blackstone Group have arguably been at the center of inflating the new echo bubble in real estate by bidding (all cash) for property across the US. So it is somewhat ironic that just two months after we noted that "the smartest money is selling," the head of Blackstone's Private Equity Group had the following words for an audience at a Dow Jones Equity conference in New York:
"We are in the middle of an epic credit bubble, in my opinion, the likes of which I haven’t seen in my career in private equity."
Joseph Baratta had plenty more to say including "the good times are not going to last forever," and "we are not leveraging US GDP," as he expects a 'mean reversion' in multiples and "that largesse goes to the seller."

The U.S. is "in the middle of an epic credit bubble," according to Blackstone Group's global head of private equity, Joseph Baratta , and that bubble is affecting how one of the world's largest private equity firm's invests its billions.

The firm has slowed its investments amid such concerns, with Mr. Baratta saying he sees easy credit as adding risk for buyers of companies, even if it benefits sellers. "That largesse goes to the seller," Mr. Baratta said, speaking at the Private Equity Analyst conference in New York.

The firm is still bullish on prospects in the U.S. economy, but focused on certain investment areas. Energy, transport infrastructure, consumer finance and housing and construction remain attractive investment theses, Mr. Baratta said.

"We are not leveraging U.S. GDP," he said, because the good times are not going to last forever. The firm expects what Mr. Baratta called a "mean reversion," which he said will ultimately affect exit multiples at portfolio companies.

"The single biggest assumption we make is the multiple we can sell [a company] at five years hence," said Mr. Baratta, and right now those projections do not seem to warrant a lot of deal activity.
Credit to Zero Hedge 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urge Obama to bolster sanctions, set clear parameters for Iran nuke deal



NEW YORK — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to head from New York to Washington Monday for a critical meeting with US President Barack Obama, to discuss the parameters of a possible international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program in the wake of the past week’s dramatic steps toward US-Iran rapprochement after a rupture dating back to 1979.

Also on the agenda: the future of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, said by both sides to have made little headway over the past two months, and the Russian-brokered initiative to destroy Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons.

The White House meeting marks the first time the two leaders have sat together since Obama’s visit to Israel in March. More relevantly, it marks their first personal contact since Obama and his Iranian counterpart, Hasan Rouhani, spoke by telephone over the weekend. Israel was informed prior to the conversation, but not consulted on the content, Israeli sources said.

Set to start at 11:15 a.m. US time, the meeting was tentatively scheduled to last two hours and 15 minutes, after which Netanyahu was to meet with Vice President Joe Biden. Next, Netanyahu was to head over to the State Department for a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry, before attending a farewell ceremony for outgoing Israeli ambassador to Washington Michael Oren on Capitol Hill. Oren is being succeeded by Netanyahu’s former senior policy adviser Ron Dermer.

In all Netanyahu’s meetings, he was expected to highlight Jerusalem’s concerns over the West’s apparent eagerness to engage with Iran following a series of moderate speeches and interviews by Rouhani in New York last week. Broadly speaking, Western powers have indicated a willingness to ease sanctions on Iran’s oil and banking industries if the regime limits its uranium enrichment and allows international inspectors access to its nuclear facilities to ensure its nuclear program has no military application. Kerry said Sunday that an agreement to resolve the nuclear standoff could be signed with three to six months and that Washington’s relationship with Tehran could “change dramatically for the better” if the Islamic Republic’s intentions turn out to be sincere.

While Jerusalem is exceedingly skeptical, and Netanyahu has urged the international community not to be fooled by Tehran’s diplomatic “smokescreen” as it speeds toward the bomb, the prime minister is not expected to try to dissuade the Americans from engaging with the Islamic Republic. Rather, he is likely to seek to discuss the substance of that engagement, in order to define the parameters of a possible deal. Netanyahu has listed four demands of Iran: that it halt uranium enrichment, remove already enriched material, close the Fordo nuclear facility, and discontinue the plutonium track in Arak.

Netanyahu will also reportedly present the US leaders with new intelligence showing that the Iranian drive to the bomb has not slowed since Rouhani took office in August. With that in mind, he is reportedly set to urge Obama to bolster rather than reduce economic sanctions. And he is expected to highlight Israel’s insistence that it reserves the right to defend itself against the Iranian nuclear threat as it sees fit, and seek to have Obama reiterate that all options remain on the table in confronting the rogue Iranian nuclear program.

Netanyahu and Obama will likely also discuss in some detail the ongoing peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Linking the Iranian and Palestinan issues in his UN General Assembly speech last Tuesday, Obama said both had been “a major source of instability for far too long, and resolving them can help serve as a foundation for a broader peace.” Seeking a solution to these two conflicts, the US president said, would now be the major focus of US foreign policy.

While Netanyahu is in DC, Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin will remain in New York for meetings with several foreign ministers.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu, who was also accompanied to the US by Home Front Defense and Communications Minister Gilad Erdan, will be the last speaker to address the 68th United Nations General Assembly in New York. After his speech, he will meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. A meeting with officials from the Jewish Federations of North America is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, after which the prime minister was originally scheduled to return to Israel. But on Sunday night, he decided to extend his stay in New York by one day, “to give interviews and briefings to the international press,” his office said.

The Times of Israel

The Apocalypse Is Upon Us

Dave Hodges


 

One does not need to be psychic to know that world’s darkest days are right around the corner. There are events which are forming the perfect storm. We face the likely prospect of WWIII in the Middle East. America stands upon the brink of total economic collapse. The mechanisms for a brutal false flag attack have been put into motion and could happen within the next 45 days. The total obliteration of the Constitution is at hand and the legal mechanisms and rules for living in a post-apocalyptic America are clearly in place. On the surface, it appears that America’s fate is sealed.

The central bankers are going to get their war one way or another. The CIA backed Syrian rebels staged a false flag chemical weapons attack last winter on Aleppo. The just staged another chemical weapons attack on Damascus in August. Each attack was designed to falsely blame Syrian leader, Assad, for the attacks and served as a pretext to bring the US into the war and eventually topple Assad. This was to have been followed by having Syria serve as a launching pad from which to invade Iran.

Consolidation of the Middle East into a free trade zone is the final goal of the central bankers. Syria and Iran are largely outside the control of the Bank of International Settlement and, as was the case in Iraq and Libya, this is unacceptable to the central bankers. When leaders do not capitulate to central banking they die. Assad of Syria is next. 



Putin temporarily thwarted Obama’s planned attack upon Syria.

Russia and the alternative media successfully thwarted Obama’s justifications to attack Syria, at least temporarily. Subsequently, the Obama administration has been turned back and publicly humiliated. Obama and his central banker puppet masters desperately need a game changing event in order to get the US militarily into Syria on behalf of the central bankers. The two previous CIA sponsored false flag chemical weapons attacks, in Syria, did not do the trick. Therefore, something stronger is needed. Something is needed on the American domestic front which will be designed to push the will of the people into accepting total war with Syria and Iran and eventually with their protectorate nations, China and Russia. The Obama administration is pretty much a one-trick pony and this is why the false flag option is likely the only option. I strongly suspect that a false flag attack, or a series of false flag attacks here on American soil, is likely, and we do not have long to wait. After you read the following information from FEMA and DHS drills, it will be very difficult to believe that something very big is not right around the corner.

As we enter into the dangerous “October surprise” period in which we see no less than nine major disaster drills or the culmination of disaster preparedness exercises planned for the next six weeks. A clear picture is beginning to emerge. And when these events look eerily similar to past false flag events, we would be fools to not be waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Who could forget that 9/11, the 7/7 bombings and the Boston Marathon Bombing all began as drills and all of these events eventually morphed into terrorist events which were identical to the drill used to mask the coming event? There are several of these potential events coming up in the next six weeks.

Six Weeks of Grave Danger Lies Aheadfalse flag goering

My insider sources tell me that they have never seen such a plethora of disaster drills and disaster preparedness being executed by DHS and FEMA in such a short period of time. I went back through the FEMA and DHS websites and I concur with my sources. Typically, these disaster drills are separated by at least 4-6 months. It is true that there are continuing education classes which are active all the time, but the field disaster drills are infrequent as they are so time consuming and expensive to conduct. Further, these drills typically need corporate and municipal cooperation. Given these obstacles, it is absolutely mind-boggling that this many preparedness activities and actual disaster drills would be happening in such close proximity to each other. Why the urgency? I would have to say that something wicked this way comes. Here is a partial list of the preparedness and disaster drills planned over the next six weeks:

1. FEMA purchase orders for over $14.2 million for MREs and heater meals to be delivered to Region III by October 1st.

2. FEMA purchase orders for 22 million pouches of emergency water to be delivered to Region III by October 1st.

3. FEMA purchase orders for $13.6 million for MREs and heater meals to be delivered to Austin, TX. by October 1st.

4. $11 million in antibiotics to be delivered to FEMA region III by October 1st ordered by CDC

5, Nine-week training course for UN Peacekeepers in CONUS to learn Urban Warfare, English, and US weapons systems beginning late July for 386,000 troops to be completed by October 1st

6. Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill Set Oct. 17

7. More Than 1,000 Banks Plan National Cyber-Attack Drill Oct. 16-17, Oct. 23-24

8. Quantum Dawn’ Is a Cyber-Attack Bank Drill –

9. GridEx2 Nov. 13-14

It’s Not Just What They Drill, It’s Also What They Cancel That’s Important
As concerning as the above-mentioned drills are, I am equally concerned because FEMA, through the Center for Disaster Preparedness cancelled every single disaster drill from September 29- October 5.

 

From the home page of the Center for Disaster Preparedness:

IMPORTANT UPDATE:
All CDP training scheduled for the week of September 29 through October 5 is cancelled. Your CDP Regional Coordinator will contact you as soon as possible to provide additional details and assist you with rescheduling your requested training. The CDP apologizes for this late notice.


Shortening the Playbook



Is Obama shortening the playbook?

When I was coaching college basketball, I used to acquire massive amounts of information from the scouting reports on an upcoming opponent. We always had to discard most of the presented options and our staff ultimately settled on a few definitive ways to attack our opponent in the interest of time to prepare and practicality. This reduction in game planning strategies is called called shortening the playbook. It sounds like DHS and FEMA are shortening their playbook as they have apparently ruled out some false flag scenarios, in favor of others, with regard to potential upcoming false flag events. I find this to be very troubling as this greatly increases the need to pay attention to what could be coming over the next six weeks.

We should always remember that false flag events are always a means to an end. False flag events always serve as trigger events to set into motion a desired change. False flag events are designed to instill terror, cause confusion and lead the “sheeple” to trust their government to protect them from impending danger. Once a false flag event is completed. It is very important that the henchmen have the mechanisms in place designed to enforce compliance with the new order of things, or the New World Order of things, as you will. This involves installing a legal structure of enforcing martial law which will follow the false flag events.

The globalists have undeniably planned for this element of control as well.

Subjugating the Masses
False Flag events also serve the purpose of controlling elements in the domestic population which might not be on board with unfolding agenda. In this case, the agenda consists of war with Syria and Iran as a means to force Russia and China into one final conflict. This will accomplish the consolidation of the Middle East into a free trade zone controlled by the central bankers. The last hold-outs to the central banker control of all nation states will largely be eliminated in the form of Russia and China. The mechanisms have been put into place to make this happen. The installation of the New World Order appears to be only months away

The Legalization of Peacetime Martial Law
The descent into total and abject tyranny is almost complete. With one of President Obama’s latest executive orders, THE NATIONAL DEFENSE RESOURCES PREPAREDNESS ACT, Executive Order 13603 he has granted himself the authority to declare peacetime martial law. This Executive Order is posted on the WhiteHouse.gov web site. The following legal mechanisms have been codified into law and await a false flag trigger event.

The Literal Legalization of Slavery
As if the previous sections of the already mentioned executive order are not enough to inflame already aware Americans, Section 601 signals the most Orwellian aspect of this executive order in which “upon request by the Director of Selective Service, and in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, assist the Director of Selective Service in development of policies regulating the induction and deferment of persons for duty in the armed services” (paragraph 2). What is particularly troubling is that the Secretary of Labor will possess oversight over the Selective Service process, instead of the Secretary of Defense. This revelation left me scratching my head as I wondered why would the Department of Labor be in charge of the coming military draft?

Then it dawned upon me that we were not just talking about military conscription. I refer to the 2008 Presidential campaign in which Obama stated that “we need to construct a national civilian security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded” (as the military). Obama is clearly planning to conscript civilians, train them and send them where they are needed and will pay them whatever wage the Secretary of Commerce determines (Section 601; paragraphs 3, 4-Section 801; paragraph C). In one fell swoop, Obama has sidestepped the 13th Amendment as we are talking about the introduction of forced labor (i.e. slavery). For those that know their history, it should also remind everyone of the forced labor camps run by the despots of the past in which political prisoners were forced into slave labor in support of any number of war efforts while they were being systematically starved to death. Is this why Jesse Ventura’s FEMA camp episode was scrubbed from Television and why TruTV ‘s archives are missing the FEMA camp episode? Perhaps this is true.

America would be well advised to pay attention to the good work being done by Gary Franchi on the topic of FEMA camps. Bill Ayers, the benefactor of Obama’s Harvard education and his original political sponsor is on the record of having stated one day, in America, “we will have to send 50 million Americans to re-education camps and murder 25 million of them.

The Legalization of Eco-Terrorism
and the Deindustrialization of America

Under Executive Order 13603, the Secretary of Energy will have control over all “Energy” (which) means all forms of energy including petroleum, gas (both natural and manufactured), electricity, solid fuels (including all forms of coal, coke, coal chemicals, coal liquification, and coal gasification), solar, wind, other types of renewable energy, atomic energy, and the production, conservation, use, control, and distribution (including pipelines) of all of these forms of energy…” This means the government will have total control over all utility prices, the installation of smart meters along with the implementation of the smart grid and the amount of energy which can be consumed by average Americans will be severely curtailed under this new system of energy feudalism which will be imposed on the new American serfs. Obama, in the 2008 Presidential Campaign, stated that “under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.” Previously ignorant Americans will soon come to know the true meaning and the accurately prophetic meaning of these words (Section 801, part b).

The Legalization of Starving
Americans Into Submission

The Secretary of Agriculture will posses control over “fertilizer” (which) means any product or combination of products that contain one or more of the elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for use as a plant nutrient.” The Secretary of Agriculture will also control “food resource facilities “(which) means plants, machinery, vehicles (including on farm), and other facilities required for the production, processing, distribution, and storage (including cold storage) of food resources, and for the domestic distribution of farm equipment and fertilizer.” This is the total control of all food. This will allow Monsanto which demonstrably controls the Department of Agriculture, the FDA and EPA to move forward, unabated, for the total GMO takeover of our food supply. Even more disturbing is that a few men will have total control over all food production and the dissenting masses who oppose this fascist takeover can be effectively starved into submission or starved to death (EO 13603 Section 801, parts c-f).
The Legalization and Installation
of Eugenics as National Policy


Under this Executive Order (13603), the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall maintain control over all “Health resources” meaning drugs, biological products, medical devices, materials, facilities, health supplies, services and equipment required to diagnose, mitigate or prevent the impairment of, improve, treat, cure, or restore the physical or mental health conditions of the population.”  

 

This is a declaration of a forced form of Codex Alimentarius. Under this provision, it will not matter if Obama Care is repealed, his cabinet appointee will maintain control over all health care, both pharmacological and alternative/natural (Section 801, part i). Can there be any doubt that the death panel provisions of Obama Care will be implemented and carried out with no oversight or regulation in an manner reminiscent of Logan’s Run nightmarish scenario?

I have long maintained on my talk show that there is a decided effort by a relatively few elite to control the nation’s water and this provision will be utilized as a form of both political and population control. Of this, there can be no doubt as the Secretary of Defense will be placed in charge of all water resources Section 801, part n). I can draw no other conclusion that placing the control of water under the DOD represents the weaponizing of water and the intended target of this full frontal assault are the American people for the purpose of imposing population control and complete compliance.

What Will It Be Like to Live In a Post Apocalyptic America?
Many wonder, when the false flag attacks and the coming WWIII are over, what will it be like to live in a post-apocalyptic America (i.e. North American Union)? That question has already been answered by recent legislation and the most draconian executive order ever issued. We will be living in a world that will make Orwell’s 1984 seem like God’s gift to a constitutional republic.

The Legalization of Sexual Assault, Illegal Searches Upon American Citizens, Private Asset Forfeiture Without Criminal Convictions

Americans are already being conditioned that they own nothing including the sanctity of their private assets, control over their children and the privacy of their bodies.

The Secretary of Transportation has been authorized control over civil transportation which “includes movement of persons and property by all modes of transportation in interstate, intrastate, or foreign commerce within the United States, its territories and possessions, and the District of Columbia, and related public storage and warehousing, ports, services, equipment and facilities, such as transportation carrier shop and repair facilities.” “Civil transportation” also shall include direction, control, and coordination of civil transportation capacity regardless of ownership” (Section 801 part A). Can there be any doubt that the expanded surveillance program by of the TSA, in their unconstitutional, hands down our pants VIPER program, is designed to control all travel in the United States? The former Soviet Union used to have checkpoints every 20 miles in order to restrict travel and to prevent the congregation of “revolutionary forces” for purposes of opposing government control as well as to limit the ability of political dissidents to flee from their governmental pursuers. I feel compelled to ask, what is the government going to do that is so nefarious and so intrusive that they are seeking to set up a control grid which will accomplish these same goals?

Even your children belong to the government. Under Obamacare, on October 1, 2013, CPS field agents, armed with a manual published by Human Health and Services and codified under Obamacare will begin operating under the power granted to them by Obamacare. Subsequently, they will be able to conduct forced home visits without a warrant. Things such as a (yet undefined) bad grade, missing more than 5 days in school in any one month, can get a parent to be declared guilty of educational neglect. Having a gun or beer in your house can get your children removed from your custody. Even the traditional act of grounding your child for misbehavior will get you declared to be guilty of “isolation neglect” and subject your child for removal from your authority and your home. If you are a parent and you have not heard of this provision of Obamacare, I would suggest you read the 110 page manual that was created by the United Nations. This is the HHS/CPS field manual that goes into effect this week! As Melissa Harris Perry, talk show host for MSNBC stated, the collective (meaning the state) owns your children.

Local government, through their actions have told the American people that you own nothing. All over this country, American motorists are having their personal property stolen even when they are not charged with an offense through a practice known as civil asset forfeiture. No conviction and no allegations of wrongdoing need happen for a cop that pulls you over to engage in highway robbery. This is going on from Texas to Tennessee. where mostly cash is stolen from motorists under the threat of arresting them for money laundering.

 

Under civil forfeiture laws, the government does not have to report how many cases of individual theft that they engage in, nor are they required to report the amount of money stolen from individual citizens. Citizens don’t have to be found guilty to forfeit their assets. It is a very large loophole that law enforcement agencies are more than happy to exploit to the tune of $4.2 billion annually.

MERS mortgage fraud, in which millions of Americans are having their homes stolen by the five megabanks, continues unabated. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that when you deposit your money into a bank, the bank then owns your money. This explains why John Corzine of MF Global was not prosecuted for stealing 1.2 billion dollars of secured assets accounts for their clients.

Under US Code 50, Section 32, allows the government to experiment on you with chemical, biological and psychotronic weapons (i.e. MK ULTRA) without your knowledge or consent. The only requirement is that one and only one local official must be notified of the experimentation and the notification need not be public.

And of course, you have no civil liberties. Under the National Defense Authorization Act, you can be snatched off the street, held indefinitely and even murdered with no due process of law. Somewhere, some ignoramus is stating that the government would not do that “because the government loves me”. Click here for an analysis of the law by the ACLU and see just how much your government loves you. They love you to death, which is what Attorney General Eric Holder asserts in his legal opinion in which he says that the President has the authority to assassinate Americans without due process of law.


In short, you own nothing. The state owns you, your house, your car, your food, your bank account, your health choices and even your children. When the smoke clears from the impending calamities, the central banksters have planned for us a type of neo-feudal society that exceeds every tyranny which has ever existed on the planet!


Conclusion


As I stated, this could all be over in a few months, maybe longer, but not much longer. The chess pieces are all in place. What form will the subjugation take, what will be the precise methodology of the false flag take downs that are coming? These issues will be the topics of the next part in this series.


Credit to the common Sense Show

T-Minus 15 Hours: The Complete Government Shutdown Summary


Today sees the Senate reconvene after yesterday saw the Republican-led House voted in favour of a modified continuing resolution (CR) which includes a one-year delay to Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act). The Senate is not scheduled to meet until 1400ET today meaning that if the new bill is rejected there is not enough time to create a new CR and pass it back to the Senate before the midnight deadline, leading to a government shutdown in which all non-essential government workers will stay at home. 
Expectations are now that it is likely there will be a temporary shutdown given that the White House signalled the new CR would be vetoed by President Barack Obama and Democrats in the Senate immediately said the legislation approved by the House yesterday is unacceptable.
Even if there is a government shutdown, it is expected to only last a day or two and a CR is expected to pass in Congress this week, however this shutdown could lead to a delay of Friday's release of this month's Non-Farm Payroll report. This will fund the government to at least November 15th, giving more time for Congress to create a CR which extends through the entire 2014 fiscal year. Goldmans estimate a 2-day US govt shutdown will hit Q4 GDP (annualised) by 0.1 percentage points and one week by 0.3 percentage points, however the more important issue for Congress to address will be the debt ceiling as the US is expected to exhaust borrowing capacity on October 17th.
One main concern of a delay to both a 2014 budget and raising the debt ceiling is the possibility of a credit rating downgrade of the US sovereign, although overnight Moody's said that a government shutdown wouldn't affect debt service and that a debt cap failure would lead to perceived default risk and that failure to raise the debt limit is worse than a shutdown.
It is worth bearing in mind that several members of Congress are likely to speak to the press throughout today as they arrive for discussions and the Senate vote, and as is often the case, any deal between the Senate and House is likely to be either overnight or within the next two days. 
Although a US government shutdown is a risk event for financial markets, many analysts have noted this week's voting is overshadowed by debt ceiling negotiations which will begin shortly after. These talks will have a much greater impact on market sentiment as a delay to increasing borrowing capacity risks a US default as the worst case scenario.
EVENTS OVER THE WEEKEND:
  • Shutdown seen as unavoidable without talks
  • U.S. 4Q GDP seen reduced by as much as 1.4 percentage pts. depending on shutdown’s duration
  • Latest House plan authorizes 10 wks of spending starting Oct.1 only if most provisions of Obama health law delayed a year
  • Senate Democrats, President Obama say they will reject any measure that includes provisions tied to Obamacare
  • Yday, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid D-Nev. says chamber has acted on Continuing Resolution, adjourns until today 2pm
  • Govt shutdown odds now at 90%, Democrat Collender says
ECONOMY:
  • In case of govt shutdown, Labor Dept says it will issue jobless claims data (scheduled Thursday 8:30am)
  • SEC says EDGAR system, crucial enforcement will continue
  • Treasury says it will operate debt programs and manage cash, USPTO says it will stay open “a few weeks”
  • Commerce Dept says it won’t issue economic data
  • Bearish impact on U.S. economy “significant” if shutdown lasts,  Morgan Stanley says in note
  • Shutdown means Fed will have to prolong QE: BNP Paribas
CONTRACTORS:
  • "Notable" cos. tied to potential continuing resolution moves; H.J. Res. 59 would fund govt at “close to current levels”  according to Sept. 27 note from Bloomberg Industries analyst Brian Friel: BLL, BAVA@DC, BA, CACI, ERICB@SS, XLS, GD, GSK@LN, HRS, LMT, NOC, NOVN@VX, RTN, SAN@FP, TTEK, URS
  • Top 20 tied to defense, healthcare, infrastructure, IT:LMT, BA, GD, RTN, NOC, UTX SAIC, BA/@LN, LLL, HII, MCK, Bechtel (2213Z@US), BAH, URS, CSC, DYN, HUM, HNT, Triwest Healthcare (1893Q@US), TXT/BA joint venture
  • Health Exchanges begin enrollment tomorrow there’s a partial shutdown of govt.
  • Fannie, Freddie don’t face direct shutdown effect: Moody’s
  • Senate bill ends protection Sept. 30 for Monsanto, Dupont on bioengineered seeds: BI’s Friel
  • USD begins week buffeted by increasing possibility of U.S. government shutdown
TRADING RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON DEBT SHUTDOWN CATALYST:
Barclays
  • Go long USD/CAD 2w2w FVA; relatively low USD/CAD volatility and its exposure to U.S. economic outlook make this an attractive hedge against U.S. political risk from debt-ceiling negotiations and a potential spike in market volatility
Credit Agricole CIB
  • Risk aversion is rising, U.S. equities and USD are falling
  • Near-term prospects for USD are bleak, with limited potential for any upside unless budget deal is reached; safe-haven currencies, in particular JPY, will be buoyed in this environment
  • In terms of high-beta currencies including Asian currencies, any positive impact from the fact that U.S. yields are capped will be outweighed by rising risk aversion leaving most Asian currencies vulnerable
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
  • If no resolution is reached, partial govt shutdown will kick in on Oct. 1, which could prompt USD selling against majors although stronger against Asia
  • Beyond govt shutdown, bigger issue is how they move toward debt limit when govt runs out of cash on Oct. 17; under such circumstances, BOT-Mitsubishi UFJ’s one-week USD/JPY forecast is a wider 96.50-100.00 on safe-haven JPY bids
Westpac
  • Expects USD to continue to trade on the “backfoot” vs its peer core currencies during a govt shutdown; event risk early in the week is negative for USD
  • Failure to raise debt ceiling would mean the U.S. govt must pay all its bills out of current revenue, risking default and downgrade and probable chaos in markets
Credit to Zero Hedge

Obamacare is The End Game for America

Two large fireballs spotted over the skies of Ohio, USA


Two very bright fireballs were spotted and recorded over the skies of Ohio, USA, in just two days. They quickly became 2nd and 3rd most reported events of all time on the American Meteor Society (AMS) website.

Witnesses from Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin reported a bright light moving across the morning sky on September 26, 2013. AMS has received more than 730 reports of this large fireball seen around 11:05 UTC (7:05 am local time).


Credit to The Watchers

At least 22 dead as powerful new earthquake hits Pakistan



AWARAN, Pakistan (2nd UPDATE) - A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 22 people in a region already devastated by a tremor which left more than 300 people dead this week, local officials said.

"The death toll is increasing. Rescue workers have so far recovered 22 dead bodies," Hari Fal, the top government official in Khuzdar town told Agence-France Presse (AFP), adding that more than 50 people have been wounded.

Officials fear the toll in Saturday's quake in Awaran, the poorest district in the southwest province of Baluchistan, could still rise further.

The new quake struck the remote district of Awaran, at a depth of 14 kilometres at 12:34 pm (0734 GMT) according to the US Geological Survey.

Although USGS said it was an aftershock of the Tuesday 7.7-magnitude quake, an official at the National Seismic Centre of Pakistan classified it as a new earthquake.

"It was not an aftershock, it was an independent earthquake," Zahid Rafi, the centre's director, told Geo TV.

Awaran was shattered by a 7.7-magnitude quake on Tuesday, September 24, which left 359 dead and more than 100,000 people homeless.

Relief efforts there have been thwarted by insurgent attacks on rescue convoys, with local officials admitting that teams have been unable to reach thousands of survivors in the worst-hit areas.

"This new earthquake destroyed all that remains of the first quake, two villages destroyed completely," said Abdul Malik, provincial chief minister of Baluchistan.

Pakistan's chief meteorologist Arif Mehmood told Express News that the magnitude of Saturday's quake measured 7.2.

Officials said villagers were digging through newly created debris and that dozens of wounded people have been taken to a make-shift hospital in Mashkey area, Awaran.

"The condition of some the injured was critical," doctor Asif Anwar told AFP from the makeshift hospital.

Deputy Commissioner of Awaran, Abdul Rasheed Baloch told Geo TV that quake destroyed hundreds of mud houses in the Mashkey area, saying that "a lot of people have been trapped under the rubble".

"The telephone system has been damaged and we are not able to talk to someone and find out the exact information about the losses... But we have reports of severe losses in that area," Baloch said.

An AFP reporter in Awaran said Saturday that hundreds of patients being treated in the aftermath of the previous quake fled a hospital in panic as the new tremor hit.

Plea to insurgents to let rescue teams in

Even before the latest quake struck, local officials said some 30,000 survivors were still waiting for aid.

As well as being remote, the area is a stronghold of Baluch separatist rebels waging a decade-long insurgency against the Pakistani state.

Since the Tuesday quake, insurgents have launched several attacks on rescue teams and issued threats.

On Thursday, a helicopter carrying the head of the NDMA came under rocket fire by insurgents while flying in Awaran district. No-one was hurt and no damage was done.

On Friday, insurgents also opened fire on another helicopter and, in two separate incidents, fired on rescue convoys, officials said, adding that no one was hurt in the attacks.

The situation has forced officials to abandon efforts to reach survivors directly, saying instead they will work through village committees and private NGOs.

Abdul Malik, provincial chief minister of Baluchistan, told AFP that food and other rescue items would be distributed through local villagers.

He appealed to the local separatist groups to allow rescue officials to reach the survivors.

"It is a humanitarian tragedy and I appeal them to allow rescue workers to help the survivors," Malik told AFP late Friday.

Manan Baloch, a leader of the Baluchistan National Movement, allied to the Baluchistan Liberation Front, told AFP that his group will only allow private NGOs and local officials to help survivors.

"We will not allow army or FC (paramilitary Frontier Corps) here, only NGOs or local officials are allowed to come here," he said.

A Pakistan army officer in Awaran told AFP the military only wanted to help locals.

"They are not ready to accept us," he said on condition of anonymity.

Credit to Rappler

Bizarre, Giant Tubular Cloud Rolling Across the Sea

A roll cloud along the Brazilian coast.

A photo taken near Brazil captures a rare and beautiful "roll cloud," a tubular cloud that seems to tumble across the sky.

The spectacular photo, captured last month, was just released by NASA's Earth Science Picture of the Day blog.

Roll clouds are a type of arcus cloud, which is a category of low cloud formations. Their more common cousin is the shelf cloud, often seen on the leading edges of thunderstorms. Roll clouds sometimes form along with storms, too, born out of the storm's downdraft. Sinking cold air causes warm, moist air on the planet's surface to climb to higher altitudes, where the moisture condenses into cloud form. Winds from the storm "roll" the cloud parallel to the horizon, creating an effect that looks much like a horizontal tornado. Unlike shelf clouds, rolls clouds are completely detached from the bulk of the storm

Credit to Livescience