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Like her boss Barack Obama, Ohio Democratic Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy has been accused of hiding a radical past. Further evidence has emerged confirming that Congresswoman Kilroy was once a member of America's largest marxist organization Democratic Socialists of America. In this post New Zeal provided documentary evidence that Kilroy was a member of D.S.A. in the early 1990s and was supported by that organization in both her 2006 and 2008 Congressional races. Now comes more confirmation of kilroy's socialist ties from an article in Oakland California based marxist journal CrossRoads;, October 1992. The author Bob Fitrakis, is also a...

"Blacklisted" in Europe by alphabetical order (last modified : 07/07/2010): Aero Benin - Benin - On the blacklist since 16 December 2009Aero Service - Republic of the Congo - BF - RSR - On the blacklist since 16 December 2009Aerojet - Angola - On the blacklist since 16 December 2009Aeroprakt Kz - Kazakhstan - APK - On the blacklist since 16 December 2009Aerowurks Aerial Spraying Services - Philippines - On the blacklist since 30 March 2010Africa Airways - Benin - AFF - On the blacklist since 16 December 2009Africa Connection - Sao Tomé et Principe - On the blacklist since...

WASHINGTON — The government is expected to announce on Wednesday that three-quarters of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon leak has already evaporated, dispersed, been captured or otherwise eliminated — and that much of the rest is so diluted that it does not seem to pose much additional risk of harm. A government report finds that about 26 percent of the oil released from BP’s runaway well is still in the water or onshore in a form that could, in principle, cause new problems. But most is light sheen at the ocean surface or in a dispersed form

A couple of weeks ago, I published a column outlining my doubts about the health of China’s banking system in the lead-up to the Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank)’s IPO. Given the lackluster performance of that share launch – despite the considerable political capital Beijing mobilized behind making it a success – it seems I was hardly alone in my concerns. Now some concrete data is starting to emerge regarding the potential size of the problems that may be lurking on China’s bank balance sheets — in particular, the losses that may be incurred from risky stimulus loans made to...

Which governments will not be able to pay their bills? The ones with private sectors that are not doing well enough to bail out the government. That should be one lesson of the near default this year of the Greek government. Government finances are important, but in the end it is the private sector that matters most. If so, those who focus on fiscal policy may be missing important things. Spain appeared to be in fine shape, with government surpluses, before the recession hit. Now Spain is being downgraded and has soaring deficits. “Academics and market practitioners have not had...

A new study said that a popular class of antihypertension drugs—including those made by Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Merck & Co. and Novartis AG—is associated with a modestly increased risk of cancer. The researchers cautioned that the limited data make it impossible to calculate the exact cancer risk for each individual drug in the class, but said the issue should be investigated further. The study was published online Sunday by the Lancet Oncology medical journal.

One of the biggest risks to the world's financial health is the $1.2 quadrillion derivatives market. It's complex, it's unregulated, and it ought to be of concern to world leaders that its notional value is 20 times the size of the world economy. But traders rule the roost -- and as much as risk managers and regulators might want to limit that risk, they lack the power or knowledge to do so. A quadrillion is a big number: 1,000 times a trillion. Yet according to one of the world's leading derivatives experts, Paul Wilmott, who holds a doctorate in applied...

Putting aside religious beliefs, nothing in life has 100% upside--nothing. But the closest thing to a guaranteed better, safer and more fulfilling life is freedom. Freedom means responsibility. It also means failure, accidents and mistakes. This, in turn, leads to learning, which is why successes outweigh the failures. However, humans must be free to understand the consequences of their actions. Without consequences, there is little learning. When freedom prevails, the ingenuity and inventiveness of people creates incredible wealth. This is the source of the natural improvement of the human condition. Capitalism is created by free people. Socialism, on the other...

While listening to Obama's discussion with the press about BP and the oil spill one part of what he said stood out to me. [youtube video] The money quote is: "Given the fact they (BP) didn't fully account for the risks I don't want someone else bearing the costs of those risks that they took." My immediate response to that statement was "then why the hell are we, the American taxpayer, bearing the costs of bailing out all of these different companies who didn't manage their risks?"

Hugh Pickens writes "Science Daily Headlines reports on research by Oregon State University marine geologist Chris Goldfinger showing that earthquakes of magnitude 8.2 (or higher) have occurred 41 times during the past 10,000 years in the Pacific Northwest. By extrapolation, there is a 37% chance of another major earthquake in the area in the next 50 years that could exceed the power of recent seismic events in Chile and Haiti. If a magnitude-9 quake does strike the Cascadia Subduction Zone, extending from northern Vancouver Island to northern California, the ground could shake for several minutes, highways could be torn to...

Last week's passage of the Dodd finance reform plan dredged up bad symbolism, none of it good. Indeed, the Wall Street Journal front page headline touted legislation that would be the "Biggest Regulatory Overhaul of Wall Street Since Depression". Though most of us didn't suffer the federal government's persecution of the productive back in the ‘30s, basic history tells us that reforms back then did nothing to revive an economy on its back thanks to too much government. In that sense, we perhaps shouldn't pin all of the stock market's recent ill health on problems in a country as economically...

The names are distressingly familiar: Fortis (FORSY). Dexia (DXBGF). Société Générale (SCGLY). BNP Paribas (BNPQY). ING (ING). Barclays (BCS). Deutsche Bank (DB). Remember them? They were so neck-deep in the Lehman/AIG/mortgage-backed-assets debacle that they required government bailouts. (Deutsche Bank may quibble. It got its cash from American International Group (AIG, news, msgs), so, technically, I suppose it didn't get government money. But because the AIG payout used cash from a government bailout of that company, I think it's a distinction without a difference.) And now? Well, these companies all make the shortlist of European banks most at risk in the...

To Risk To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out is to risk involvement, To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss. To love is to risk not being loved in return, To live is to risk dying, To hope is to risk despair, To try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing,...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - S&P Valuation and Risk Strategies, part of McGraw-Hill Co's Standard & Poor's, has launched a new credit score tool that lets users compare credit profiles of more than 26,000 companies worldwide. The so-called credit health panel can provide default probabilities and overall credit health scores for the largest universe of companies ever addressed by S&P, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Overall scores will be based on a firm's operational risks and its ability to generate cash and meet its financial obligations. Users can also assess default risks over the next 12 months based...

The policies of the current U.S. administration have created "political risk" to investing in the United States, billionaire real estate investor Sam Zell said on Wednesday. Appearing on a panel at the Urban Land Institute's real estate summit in Boston, Zell said "what's going on now is frightening" and working to undermine confidence, although he allowed that an economic recovery is under way. "Up until this administration, you knew the rules and had a very stable environment," Zell said. Never one to mince words, Zell said he saw similarities that are "a little eerie" between Nero's Rome and the United...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday voted to propose assessing higher fees on large, risky financial institutions and possibly lower fees for many small and less-risky big banks.

Summary:  Many people hold that terrorism poses an existential threat to the United States. But a look at the actual statistics suggests that it presents an acceptable risk -- one so low that spending to further reduce its likelihood or consequences is scarcely justified. JOHN MUELLER is Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University. MARK G. STEWART is Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Centre for Infrastructure Performance and Reliability at the University of Newcastle, in Australia. Their book, Terror, Security, and Money: Balancing the Risks, Benefits, and Costs of Homeland Security, will be published in 2011.An...

In an interview with Bloomberg's Tom Keene, Richard Clarida of PIMCO has pretty much sealed the fate of Greece: "I don’t think that [7%] would be an attractive enough yield. Greece is sort of like the Titanic. Eighteen things went wrong, and when they go wrong at once it’s problematic." Of course, with this kind of rhetoric the 10 Year will be trading at 8% tomorrow, followed up by Clarida saying not even 9% would be attractive, and so forth. When you have the world's largest bond fund say it is not touching Greece with a ten foot pole essentially...

I told you so..... According to information Commerzbank was concerned about the Greek bonds accepted as guarantees of Greek bonds. Commerzbank has provided some liquidity to Greek banks are more concerned about the Greek bonds. Based on a reliable source in the recent past, foreign banks have applied to withdraw repo with Greek banks even offer powerful bonus. (Hattip Zerohedge) If repos are being yanked from Greek banks they're finished. This is the overnight lending market and that, coupled with depositor runs (which, as soon as Greeks figure this out, will accelerate dramatically) will drive a stake through the heart...

Greek website bankingnews.gr reports that today's breach of 400 bps in spread to bunds on the 10 Year GGB is a very critical level, and that if spread widening continues, Greece "risks completely losing control" of its funding situation. The critical level in the 10 Year GGB spread to bunds beyond which all hell will break loose is 450 bps at which point "everyone will unload bonds and then control will be completely lost." (pardon our translation) Odd - no mention of CDS speculators having blown up Greece today: instead it is bond selling... How novel. The site also notes...