Third Banker, Former Fed Member, "Found Dead"

 

If the stock market were already crashing then it would be simple to blame the dismally sad rash of dead bankers in the last week on that - certainly that was reflected in 1929. However, for the third time in the last week, a senior financial executive has died in what appears to be a suicide. As Bloomberg reports, following the deaths of a JPMorgan senior manager (Tuesday)and a Deutsche Bank executive (Sunday), Russell Investments' Chief Economist (and former Fed economist) Mike Dueker was found dead at the side of a highway in Washington State.Police said the death appeared to be a suicide.

Via Bloomberg,

Mike Dueker, the chief economist at Russell Investments, was found dead at the side of a highway that leads to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. He was 50.

He may have jumped over a 4-foot (1.2-meter) fence before falling down a 40- to 50-foot embankment, Pierce County Detective Ed Troyer said yesterday. He saidthe death appeared to be a suicide.

Dueker was reported missing on Jan. 29, and a group of friends had been searching for him along with law enforcement. Troyer said Dueker was having problems at work, without elaborating.

Dueker was in good standing at Russell, said Jennifer Tice, a company spokeswoman. She declined to comment on Troyer’s statement about Dueker’s work issues.

But as Michael Snyder noted recently, if the stock market was already crashing, it would be easy to blame the suicides on that.  The world certainly remembers what happened during the crash of 1929...

Historically, bankers have been stereotyped as the most likely to commit suicide. This has a lot to do with the famous 1929 stock market crash, which resulted in 1,616 banks failing and more than 20,000 businesses going bankrupt.

The number of bankers committing suicide directly after the crash is thought to have been only around 20, with another 100 people connected to the financial industry dying at their own hand within the year.

Dueker had also been a research economist at the St. Louis Fed:

He published dozens of research papers over the past two decades, many on monetary policy, according to the St. Louis Fed’s website, which ranks him among the top 5 percent of economists by number of works published. His most-cited work was a 1997 paper titled “Strengthening the case for the yield curve as a predictor of U.S. recessions,” published by the reserve bank while he was a researcher there.

So, with stocks a mere 4% off their highs, are so many high ranking and well respected bankers committing suicide?

Credit to Zero Hedge

US needs to act on Russia missile treaty violations

Republicans: US needs to act on Russia missile treaty violations
Republicans said Thursday the Obama administration should take action over an apparent Russian violation of the treaty banning testing of medium-range missiles.

Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee issued a statement slamming the administration for ignoring the Russian treaty violation and not acting.

“Since 2012, Congress has pushed the Administration to take Russian cheating on nuclear treaties seriously,” the committee members said. “We have been ignored, as has Russia’s material breach of the central arms control treaty of the nuclear era. Treaties are meaningless unless both sides sign in good faith.”

The New York Times reported Thursday the United States informed its NATO allies this month that Russia had tested a new ground-launched cruise missile, in violation of the 1987 treaty signed by President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Obama administration officials have pressed the Russians on the tests, according to the report. But the Russians said they investigated and considered the case closed, and the U.S. was not ready to formally declare the missile tests had violated the treaty.

Administration officials briefed members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday on "treaty compliance issues."

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the ranking member on the panel, said Republicans have long raised concerns about Russian violations of the treaty.

"There's been frustration in Congress for the last couple of years with regard to this issue — not the last couple of weeks," Corker told The Hill.

"There is a concern that maybe we should be slightly more straightforward on the matter than we've been."

Former Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.), a longtime GOP leader on missile defense, said in 2009 that Russian violations of the missile test treaty were one reason he opposed the New START agreement.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the treaty violations were another way Putin was testing the U.S. and the boundaries of the treaty.

“This is just another example of where Putin is sowing his oats, and nobody really takes us seriously anymore,” Graham said. “All the regimes that are the problem are getting stronger and all the people who’d be our friends are getting weaker.”


Credit to The Hill
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-strategy/197006-republicans-us-needs-to-act-on-russia-treaty-violations#ixzz2rzQepqJ1

Fake snow reported all over U.S.

India's Central Bank Governor: "International Monetary Cooperation Has Broken Down"

 

India's recently crowned central bank head (and predecessor of the IMF's Nostradamal Olivier Blanchard), Raghuram Rajan, has not had it easy since taking over India's printer: with inflation through the roof, and only so much scapegoating of gold as the root of all of India's evils, Rajan announced an unexpected 50 bps interest rate hike two days ago in an attempt to preempt the massive EM capital flight that has roundhoused Turkey, South Africa, Hungary, Argentina and most other current account deficit emerging markets. Whether he succeeds in keeping India away from the EM maelstrom will be unveiled in the coming days, although if last summer is any indication, the INR has a long way to fall.

Hinting that the worst is yet to come, was none other than Rajan himself, who yesterday in an interview in Mumbai with Bloomberg TV India, said that "international monetary cooperation has broken down." Of course, when the Fed was monetizing $85 billion each and every month and stocks could only go up, nobody had a complaint about any cooperation, be it monetary or international. However, a 4% drop in the S&P from its all time high... and everyone begins to panic.

The reason for Rajan's displeasure is because he believes that the DMs owe the EMs a favor: "Industrial countries have to play a part in restoring that, and they can’t at this point wash their hands off and say we’ll do what we need to and you do the adjustment."Sorry Raghu - Bernanke hightailed it out of here and as Citi's Steven Englander pointed out yesterday, left you "to twist in the wind." Feel free to submit your thoughts on the matter in the overflowing complaint box in the Marriner Eccles lobby.

Instead of doing this, however, Rajan continued complaining to Bloomberg:

“Fortunately the IMF has stopped giving this as its mantra, but you hear from the industrial countries: We’ll do what we have to do, the markets will adjust and you can decide what you want to do,” Rajan said. “We need better cooperation and unfortunately that’s not been forthcoming so far.”

...

Rajan said yesterday developed countries might not like adjustments emerging markets take to cope with the outflows, without elaborating on specific measures. His surprise Jan. 28 move to raise the benchmark repurchase rate by a quarter point - - adding to increases of 50 basis points since he took over the Reserve Bank of India in September -- was to stem consumer-price inflation running at close to 10 percent, he said.

“In an environment when there is external turmoil, we have to get our house in order and we can’t postpone that,” Rajan said. “So a collateral benefit of getting inflation down is that you also strengthen the belief in the value of the rupee.”

“When there is huge outside turmoil, even today post the Federal Reserve withdrawing stimulus further, it is extremely important that we both be seen on the same page."

You know - this is truly wonderful: for once a central banker admits that his peers are on the verge of losing control of the globe - of course not in those words as the result would be sheer panic upon the realization that central bankers are just as clueless as everyone else - because while conducting central planning in one country is somewhat feasible for a period of time, doing so across every country across currencies, and capital markets, is impossible. And the Indian knows this.

He also knows that in a worst case scenario, the Indian Rupee will crash and burn and make last year's record devaluation of the INR seem like breakfast at Gideon Gono's. Which means that doing the right thing would mean allowing the people - his people - to preserve their wealth in the only real currency that will withstand whatever Emerging Market collapse may be headed this way. Gold.

Instead, what did the Indian Central Bank do? This.

• Jan 21 - The government raises the gold import duty by 2% to 6%.
• Jan 22 - The government more than doubles the duty on raw gold to 5%.
• Jan 30 - Finance Minister P. Chidambaram says there are no plans for additional taxes or curbs on gold imports.
• Feb 1 - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to introduce three or four gold-linked products in the next few months.
• Feb 6 - The RBI says it would consider imposing value and quantity restrictions on gold imports by banks.
• Feb 14 - The central bank relaxes rules on gold deposit schemes offered by banks by allowing lenders to offer the products with shorter maturities.
• Feb 20 - The Trade Ministry recommends suspending cheaper gold jewellery imports from Thailand.
• Feb 28 - India keeps its gold import duty unchanged in its annual national budget, defying industry expectations.
• Feb 28 - India proposes a transaction tax of 0.01% on nonagricultural futures contracts, including for precious metals.
• March 1 - The Finance Minister appeals to people not to buy so much gold.
• March 18 - The Reserve Bank of India says it is examining banks that sell gold coins and wealth management products to identify "systemic issues", with a view to closing any legal loopholes.
• April 2 - The Finance Ministry suggests it is unlikely to raise the import tax on gold further to avoid smuggling and would instead introduce inflation-indexed instruments.
• May 3 - The RBI restricts the import of gold on a consignment basis by banks.
• June 3 - The Finance Minister says India cannot afford high levels of gold imports and may review its import policy.
• June 5 - India hikes the gold import duty by a third, to 8%.
• June 21 - Reliance Capital halts gold sales and investments in its gold-backed funds.
• June 24 - India's biggest jewellers' association asks members to stop selling gold bars and coins, about 35% of their business.
• July 10 - India's jewellers announce they might continue a voluntary ban on sales of gold coins and bars for six months.
• July 22 - The RBI moves to tighten gold imports again, making them dependent on export volumes, but offers relief to domestic sellers by lifting restrictions on credit deals.
• July 31 - India hopes to contain gold imports well below the 845 tonnes that were shipped last year, the Finance Minister says.
• Aug 13 - India hikes the import duty on gold for a third time in 2013, to 10%. Duties for silver and platinum are also increased to 10%. The customs duty on gold ore bars, ore, and concentrate are increased to 8% from 6%.
• Aug 14 - India turns the screws on gold buying again, banning imports of coins and medallions and making domestic buyers pay cash.
• Aug 29 -  India considers plan to allow commercial banks to buy gold direct from ordinary citizens
• Sept 19 - India hikes import duty on gold jewerly to 15%

And so on.

So thank you for your fake concern Raghuram, but if you really wanted to help your people when the hammer hits, you would lift all capital controls on gold now, and allow your population to preserve their wealth in the only way they have known for the past two thousand years - by converting it into the barabrous relic. And since you won't, enjoy reaping what you and your demented central-planning peers have sown.

Credit to Zero Hedge

Russia to Give Kazakhstan Air Defense Systems Free-of-Charge

ASTANA, January 31 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is set to supply fellow former Soviet nation Kazakhstan with S-300 air defense systems free-of-charge, a top Russian military official said Friday.

Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, who was part of a military delegation traveling to the Central Asian state, said five battalions of S-300PS systems would be supplied from the arsenals of the Russian army.

Delivery of the systems will improve protection of Kazakhstan’s airspace as well as strengthen the air defense network of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization military alliance, Antonov said.

The S-300PS (SA-10 Grumble) model was introduced to Soviet armed forces in 1985. It features 5V55R missiles with an engagement range of up to 90 kilometers (56 miles) and designed to lock in on a target after launch using an active detection system that steers the missile directly at the target. An S-300 battalion comprises up to six mobile launchers, according to estimates by military experts.

Kazakhstan reportedly has several S-300 systems deployed, mainly around the capital, Astana.

Moscow signed an agreement to set up an integrated regional air defense network with Kazakhstan last year. Russia has such a network with Belarus, while a similar deal with Armenia has been in the works for some time.

Credit to RIA Novosti

The Many Spells of the Grammys 2014

The occult rituals of the Grammys were so obvious I was on the fence about throwing my two cents in. Before I continue let’s understand I am not endorsing an type of fear. This is the cornerstone of the occult is to spread fear so people resonate with this energy. We become mini power stations pumping fear into the atmosphere of the earth. This has to stop!

The wicked have more to fear than the Believers in the Most High. Anybody who is deemed wicked on the “Day of the Lord” has no future! We should acknowledge what we are seeing but should not empower ourselves with the state of fear. This is the energy state Satan prefers even of his/her own followers! In essence I am saying choose love and follow the example Christ demonstrated to us.

With this being said let’s jump into the Grammys and what type of spells were cast on the audience and the viewers. Yes, if you watched you were a target. It does not mean you were not protected but the question how many people are following the path of Christ who watched? The very first act of the Grammys after excessive lip-licker L.L. Cool J ingratiated himself to the crowd was Beyonce. If you did not guess it her performance and song was about sex. The smoky stage is a preferred transitory environment for the demonic realm —right next to water.

1 Timothy 4:1

Warnings against False Teachers
4 Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 

We can assume demons were manifesting through her and around her at the behest of her demon Sasha Fierce. People in the audience opened themselves up to possession as they danced to the demon possessed stripper act. The blogs-sphere has lit up with one parent group going as far as calling Beyonce a “whore.” Only because she wore the uniform of whore and danced like a stripper.

They did not understand the occult side to the equation. This is what is called sex magick and the purpose was to evoke a sexual energy prior to the mix of heterosexual and homosexual/lesbian wedding vows. Mission accomplished! Remember Beyonce claims she is a Christian and Jay Z even thanked “God” a little in his speech. Proving people can praise The Most High and quote Scripture but this does not mean they are following the path of Christ!

The most blatant occult ritual was Katy Perry where even Stevie Wonder probably said, “Damn!” Katie’s performance is actually traceable and is the smoking gun of the night. This was a performance also known as the “Witches Sabbath” and it means Katy was not the only witch in the building. She was just the witch on stage while the others participated by dancing and energizing the ritual. Her single “Dark Horse” was actually the spell being cast and the lyrics obviously have a role in the spell. I am very suspicious of the origin of the English language because playing it backwards constructs sentences with meaning. I truly doubt any other language can boast this claim!

Many people have made the connection the dark horse in the Katy Perry performance resembles the creepy horse (would you buy that horse for you child?) at the Denver International Airport. Additionally there is a pale horse represented in Super Bowl 48. All quite timely would you not agree? Let’s take a look at the lyrics to recognize how demented they are and how they represent darkness.

“Dark Horse”
Katy Perry (feat. Juicy J)

Oh, no.

[Juicy J:]
Yeah
Ya’ll know what it is
Katy Perry
Juicy J, aha.
Let’s rage

[Katy Perry:]
I knew you were
You were gonna come to me
And here you are
But you better choose carefully
‘Cause I, I’m capable of anything
Of anything and everything

Make me your Aphrodite
Make me your one and only
Don’t make me your enemy, your enemy, your enemy

So you wanna play with magic
Boy, you should know what you’re falling for
Baby do you dare to do this?
Cause I’m coming at you like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm
Cause once you’re mine, once you’re mine
There’s no going back

Mark my words
This love will make you levitate
Like a bird
Like a bird without a cage
But down to earth
If you choose to walk away, don’t walk away

It’s in the palm of your hand now baby
It’s a yes or no, no maybe
So just be sure before you give it all to me
All to me, give it all to me

So you wanna play with magic
Boy, you should know what you’re falling for
Baby do you dare to do this?
Cause I’m coming at you like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm
Cause once you’re mine, once you’re mine
There’s no going back

[Juicy J - Rap Verse]
Uh
She’s a beast
I call her Karma (come back)
She eats your heart out
Like Jeffrey Dahmer (woo)
Be careful
Try not to lead her on
Shawty’s heart was on steroids
Cause her love was so strong
You may fall in love
When you meet her
If you get the chance you better keep her
She’s sweet as pie but if you break her heart
She’ll turn cold as a freezer
That fairy tale ending with a knight in shining armor
She can be my Sleeping Beauty
I’m gon’ put her in a coma
Woo!
Damn I think I love her
Shawty so bad
I’m sprung and I don’t care
She ride me like a roller coaster
Turn the bedroom into a fair
Her love is like a drug
I was tryna hit it and quit it
But lil’ mama so dope
I messed around and got addicted

So you wanna play with magic
Boy, you should know what you’re falling for (you should know)
Baby do you dare to do this?
Cause I’m coming at you like a dark horse (like a dark horse)
Are you ready for, ready for (ready for)
A perfect storm, perfect storm (a perfect storm)
Cause once you’re mine, once you’re mine (mine)
There’s no going back

I am sure you can pick up on the ominous nature of the lyrics and I would not be surprised if playing the song backwards nets other satanic verses. A heart is sacrificed in this song but we should focus on the “dark-horse” because this is the motif of the song. The audience of the Grammys is made up of practicing occultist and they were clearly pushing their agenda forward. It also signifyed Satan is here on the earth! Giving credence to the theory the Mandela Memorial was a ceremony to reunite Nimrod/Marduk with his cloned body. I have received emails for citizens of South Africa this was the case!



This was blatantly bold by the handlers of Katy Perry to perform such a ritual with an easily traceable past. The “Witches Sabbath” was embodied in the art of Francisco Goya. This ritual also suggest the witches perform this ritual out of fear of punishment from the demonic kingdom. Everybody seems to have to pay a price if they do not follow the plan! The dark horse was evoked to usher in destruction energies and to sacrifice to Mars. The under current of all things occult appear to be evoking energies of Mars — why now?

The two most distinctive animal sacrifices made to Mars were the suovetaurilia, a triple offering of a pig (sus), ram (ovis) and bull (taurus), and the October Horse, the only horse sacrifice known to have been carried out in ancient Rome and a rare instance of a victim the Romans considered inedible.

The real question is what are the effects of this ritual? Ok, so here it is. This ritual was done for three purposes and they were to evoke destruction, successful harvest, and trigger a future event. We will circle back to the future event. What is the harvest, you ask? They harvest is the “wheat” Jesus spoke of in His parables. How can you evoke destruction and a harvest and have a positive intention?

War and agriculture

Verrius Flaccus notes[12] that the horse ritual was carried out ob frugum eventum, usually taken to mean “in thanks for the completed harvest” or “for the sake of the next harvest”,[13] since winter wheat was sown in the fall.[14] The phrase has been connected to the divine personification Bonus Eventus, “Good Outcome,”[15] who had a temple of unknown date in the Campus Martius[16] and whom Varro lists as one of the twelve agricultural deities.[17] But like other ceremonies in October, the sacrifice occurred during the time of the army’s return and reintegration into society, for which Verrius also accounted by explaining that a horse is suited for war, an ox for tilling.[18] The Romans did not use horses as draft animals for farm work,[19] nor chariots in warfare, but Polybius specifies that the victim is a war horse.[20]

When you read the lyrics was this really about a girl getting boy? How many men would like to hear, “She eats your heart outLike

Credit to Countdowntozerotime.com

All Major League Sports Facilities Are the New FEMA Camps

 

Did you know that a Freedom of Information Act request uncovered documents that confirmed the State Department’s role in allowing members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a known terrorist group, to bypass airport security while traveling through the US in 2012? This fact is going to enrage you as discover what the professional sports teams have in store for their fans as they are preparing to grope without the existence of any provocation.

Hiding In Plain Sight

Increasingly, it is becoming clear that the reports of FEMA relocation camps in the United States are true and verifiable. In the early days of the FEMA camp allegations, the government responded by stating that the facilities were only for a sudden and dramatic influx of illegal immigrants. Thirty million illegal aliens later, the camps have yet to be staffed with even one illegal alien. Yet, official government documents reveal that, not only are FEMA camps real, that are meant for you and me, not illegal aliens.

Many people have an image of FEMA camps that look like the following.

 

The above image is accurate. However, it is more likely that you and your family could be confined and a FEMA camp that looks like this.

 

The above picture is Reliant Stadium located in Houston following Hurricane Katrina. The newer FEMA camps will soon be places where we used to spend Sunday afternoons cheering for our favorite team. The new FEMA camp will be a place where enjoyed a hot dog while trying the catch foul balls. These new re-education facilities will consist of places where we used to chip and put. Virtually, all public venues will be used to detain undesirable Americans under the NDAA

The Domestication Process

The process of training America to become slaves of the state begins with the TSA. There is a trend among major league sport leagues which is very disturbing. Major league Baseball and The Pro Golfers Association has joined the National Football League (NFL) in participating in the police state surveillance grid. The National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League will soon be joining all professional sports entities in participating in the martial crackdown of the United States. All of these entities have agreed to TSA type of intrusive searches. And all of these professional sports leagues have agreed to allow their facilities to be used “community centers” in times of emergency.

Meet the NFL, the New TSA

The NFL is the current trend setter in the indoctrination of the American people into living under total martial law. The NFL is is indeed the new TSA.

The National Football League has instituted new security rules at all stadiums which bans certain items. Prohibited items include, but are not limited to: Purses larger than a clutch bag, coolers, briefcases, backpacks, fanny packs, cinch bags, seat cushions, luggage of any kind, computer bags and camera bags or any bag larger than the permissible size.” And, they have granted themselves the “right” to touch you anywhere, in their enhanced pat downs from the ankles and above. Welcome to the TSA’s Police State America, NFL style.

In September of 2011, Simon Properties, the largest owners of malls in North America inked a deal with DHS to allow their malls to be used as detention centers in times of “national emergency”. DHS has followed suit with their plans to use sports facilities as detention centers (i.e. FEMA camps).

DHS and FEMA have even rehearsed for martial law detentions at various sports stadiums. The most well-known of these “rehearsed” events took place in Denver

On September 23, 2011, the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA conducted a disaster drill in Denver, Colorado that they called Operation Mountain Guardian. The plan was all-inclusive and basically shut down the Denver metropolitan area including Denver international Airport, many malls, many schools and several other public venues including Sports Authority Field where the Denver Broncos play professional football. Why didn’t this event put people in the streets by the tens of thousands? To rub salt in the wound a similar drill was conducted at Giants Stadium in New York in the same year.

As a part of the drill, several bus loads of school children were taken to Sports Authority Field along with their teachers. Surrogate parents were hired by FEMA to attempt to pick up their children at the stadium. The training was apparently a desensitization exercise for security personnel designed to refuse demands to pick up their children from these “pretend” parents. The real parents of these children were not properly notified that their children would be transported to the stadium and would be a part of this disaster drill. As a parent, I would have a major problem with the non-notification of the relocation of children. I find this ironic, because before a school child is allowed to go on a field trip, their parents and teachers are required to fill out a multiple list of permission forms that must be signed by parent or guardian of the child. This is a sign of things to come courtesy of FEMA and DHS.

As if this is not bad enough, the NFL and DHS just announced their Super Bowl security measures. During the 2012 Super Bowl, thousands of stadium vendors were taught how to spot “potential terrorist activities” during a mandated TSA training program. Fans were also subject to full body pat downs, a policy ordered by the DHS in 2011. Every fan who attends the Super Bowl will not only have their genitals touched, but will also have their food ex-rayed along with their bodies. At this year’s Super Bowl, even a fan’s food will be X-Rayed. This is insane!

Major League Baseball Joins the Tyranny

It is not just the NFL that is violating the Fourth Amendment rights of every fan who attends one of their games.

Have you ever tried to sneak a pressure cooker under your coat into a sports contest? That is the illogic of their reasoning. The DHS is using the Boston Marathon bombing as the justification to impose these policies. All venues are now required to subject fans to hand-held metal detection sweeps or walk-through magnetometers, a result of the Department of Homeland Security’s encroaching relationship with professional sports leagues, martial law will be in evidence even when you do something innocent like attend a baseball game. The MLB events will soon resemble the TSA at the airport.

The PGA Gets Into the Martial Law Act

I was going to take my son to the Phoenix Open. After my son read the new security procedures, he is even having second thoughts. The PGA has announced new TSA type procedures for this weekend’s event.

Everyone attending the tournament is subject to search at the entrances and on the course at any time.Metal detecting wands will be used at each entrance gate on everyone. Spectators are subject to a physical search at anytime.

Conclusion

Please remember, the Muslim Brotherhood does not get groped at the airport. Americans badly need to stop funding our own ultimate demise and withdraw our support for these entities. This is actually something that we have some say in. We can refuse to accept these procedures and demonstrate our displeasure by refusing to attend. If Americans refused to attend anything which employs TSA type security procedures, then these practices would stop because the owners of these sports franchises would refuse to cooperate with DHS because it would mean that they would be go broke.

Does any reasonable person actually believe that these martial law procedures will stop at sports venues? How long will it be until the malls have to frisk you before you gain entrance? When will movie theaters employ the same tactics? Will schools begin to do the same thing? How about churches, will they grope you before you sit down and listen to the latest sermon on DHS’ interpretation of Romans 13? Do not comply!

I have grave concerns regarding a country that would patronize an event at a facility which will someday imprison them as a political dissident.

Credit to Common Sense

The Era Of Genetically-Altered Humans Could Begin This Year

By the middle of 2014, the prospect of altering DNA to produce a genetically-modified human could move from science fiction to science reality. At some point between now and July, the UK parliament is likely to vote on whether a new form of in vitro fertilization (IVF)—involving DNA from three parents—becomes legally available to couples. If it passes, the law would be the first to allow pre-birth human-DNA modification, and another door to the future will open.

The procedure involves replacing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to avoid destructive cell mutations. Mitochondria are the power plants of human cells that convert energy from food into what our cells need to function, and they carry their own DNA apart from the nuclear DNA in our chromosomes where most of our genetic information is stored. Only the mother passes on mtDNA to the child, and it occasionally contains mutations that can lead to serious problems.



Baby Bath (Photo credit: Kyle and Kelly Adams)

According to the journal Nature, an estimated 1 in 5,000-10,000 people carry mtDNA with mutations leading to blindness, diabetes, dementia, epilepsy and several other impairments (the equivalent of 1,000 – 4,000 children born each year in the U.S.). Some of the mutations lead to fatal diseases, like Leigh Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that emerges in infancy and progressively destroys the ability to think and move.

By combining normal mitochondrial DNA from a donor with the nucleus from a prospective mother’s egg, the newborn is theoretically free from mutations that would eventually lead to one or more of these disorders. While never tried in humans (human cell research on mtDNA has so far been confined to the lab), researchers have successfully tested the procedure in rhesus monkeys.

Last March, the UK Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority wrapped up a lengthy study of safety and ethical considerations and advised parliament to approve the procedure in humans. According to New Scientist magazine, parliament is likely to vote on the procedure by July of this year. If the procedure overcomes that hurdle, it will still take several months to pass into law, but the initial vote will allow researchers to begin recruiting couples for the first human mtDNA replacement trials.

The U.S. is not nearly as close to approving mtDNA replacement as the UK seems poised to do; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will start reviewing the data in earnest in February. Among the concerns on the table is whether the mtDNA donor mother could be considered a true “co-parent” of the child, and if so, can she claim parental rights?


Credit to Forbes

32 Statistics That Obama Neglected To Mention During The State Of The Union Address

Show this article to anyone that believes that the economy has actually improved under Barack Obama.  On Tuesday evening, Barack Obama once again attempted to convince all of us that things have gotten better while he has been in the White House.  He quoted a few figures, used some flowery language and made a whole bunch of new promises.  And even though he has failed to follow through on his promises time after time, millions upon millions of Americans continue to believe him.  

In fact, you can find a list of 82 unfulfilled promises from his previous State of the Union addressesright here.  Soon we will have even more to add to that collection.  At this point, you have to wonder if Obama even believes half the stuff that he is saying.  Of course it is extremely unlikely that he is going to come out and admit that he has failed and that he has been lying to us this whole time, but without a doubt the gap between reality and what he is saying to the public is becoming ridiculously huge.  To say that his credibility is "strained" would be a massive understatement.  No, things have not been getting better in America.  In fact, they continue to get even worse.  The following are 32 statistics that Obama neglected to mention during the State of the Union address...

#1 According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, only 28 percent of all Americans believe that the country is moving in the right direction.

#2 In 2008, 53 percent of all Americans considered themselves to be "middle class".  In 2014, only 44 percent of all Americans consider themselves to be "middle class".

#3 In 2008, 25 percent of all Americans in the 18 to 29-year-old age bracket considered themselves to be "lower class".  In 2014, an astounding 49 percent of them do.

#4 Right now there is approximately a billion square feet of vacant retail space in the United States.

#5 There are 46.5 million Americans that are living in poverty, and the poverty rate in America has been at 15 percent or above for 3 consecutive years.  That is the first time that has happened since 1965.

#6 Barack Obama says that the unemployment rate has declined to 6.7 percent, but if the labor force participation rate was at the long-term average it would actually be approximately 11.5 percent, and it has stayed at about that level since the end of the last recession.

#7 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the number of Americans on food stamps has gone from 32 million to 47 million.

#8 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the percentage of working age Americans that are actually working has declined from60.6 percent to 58.6 percent.

#9 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the average duration of unemployment in the United States has risen from 19.8 weeks to 37.1 weeks.

#10 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, social benefits as a percentage of real disposable income has risen from about 17 percent to nearly 21 percent.

#11 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the rate of homeownership in the United States has fallen to levels that we have not seen in nearly two decades.

#12 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, median household income in the United States has fallen for five years in a row.

#13 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline has gone from $1.85 to $3.27.

#14 At the end of Barack Obama's first year in office, our yearly trade deficit with China was 226 billion dollars.  Now it is over 300 billion dollars.

#15 Workers are taking home the smallest share of the income piethat has ever been recorded.

#16 Sadly, 1,687,000 fewer Americans have jobs today compared to exactly six years ago even though the population has grown significantly since then.

#17 One recent study found that about 60 percent of the jobs that have been "created" since the end of the last recession pay $13.83 or less an hour.

#18 Only 47 percent of all adults in America have a full-time job at this point.

#19 It is hard to believe, but an astounding 53 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year.

#20 The Obama years have been absolutely brutal for small businesses.  According to economist Tim Kane, the following is how the number of startup jobs per 1000 Americans breaks down by presidential administration...

Bush Sr.: 11.3

Clinton: 11.2

Bush Jr.: 10.8

Obama: 7.8

#21 You can still buy a house in the city of Detroit for just one dollar.

#22 The U.S. cattle herd is at a 61 year low.

#23 It is being projected that health insurance premiums for healthy 30-year-old men will rise by an average of 260 percent under Obamacare.

#24 According to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, an all-time record 49.2 percent of all Americans are receiving benefits from at least one government program each month.

#25 When Barack Obama was first elected, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio was under 70 percent.  Today, it is up to 101 percent.

#26 The U.S. national debt is on pace to more than double during the eight years of the Obama administration.  In other words, under Barack Obama the U.S. government will accumulate more debt than it did under all of the other presidents in U.S. history combined.

#27 Right now, there are 1.2 million students that attend public schools in the United States that are homeless.  That number has risen by 72 percent since the start of the last recession.

#28 Only 35 percent of all Americans say that they are better off financially than they were a year ago.

#29 Only 19 percent of all Americans believe that the job market is better than it was a year ago.

#30 According to a recent CNN poll, 70 percent of all Americans believe that "the economy is generally in poor shape".

#31 According to a recent Pew Research survey, only 19 percent of all Americans trust the government.   Back in 1958, 73 percent of all Americans trusted the government.

#32 According to another poll that was recently released, 70 percentof all Americans do not have confidence that the government will "make progress on the important problems and issues facing the country in 2014."

Credit to Economic Collapse