Construction Spending in U.S. Fell Twice as Much as Forecast

Source: mikechamberslive.com

Construction spending in July fell twice as much as forecast, led by a slump in homebuilding that will depress U.S. economic growth.

The 1 percent drop brought spending to $805.2 billion, the lowest level in a decade, after a revised 0.8 percent drop in June that wiped out a previously estimated gain, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Spending on federal government projects fell by the most in a year.

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Crews extinguishes fire after evacuation of Mariner oil platform in Gulf of Mexico

Source: washingtonpost.com

Firefighting vessels were dispatched to battle the blaze and succeeded in extinguishing it Thursday afternoon, the Coast Guard reported.

initially said one of the 13 rig workers was hurt and that the incident left a mile-long oil sheen on the water. But the company that owns the platform, Houston-based Mariner Energy Inc., disputed those accounts, saying no one was injured and no oil sheen was detected. The Coast Guard later backed away from the oil sheen report, saying that crews were unable to confirm it.

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Steven Rattner’s ‘Overhaul’ Pulls No Punches On Obama Administration’s Auto Rescue

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Rattner depicts White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as a force to be reckoned with who disparaged unions — once quipping “Fuck the UAW” — and who effectively supervised Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner during his first rocky months on the job by dictating his public appearances and staff picks.

He also depicts infighting between economic advisers Larry Summers and Austan Goolsbee and describes FDIC Chair Sheila Bair as a stubborn obstacle to the work of the auto rescue team. And Rattner paints colorful portraits of such as Fiat Chairman Sergio Marchionne, who once barked to Chrysler executives, “Do you think I am fucking stupid?”

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‘Peak Oil’ and the German Government: Military Study Warns of a Potentially Drastic Oil Crisis

Source: SPIEGEL ONLINE

According to the German report, there is “some probability that peak oil will occur around the year 2010 and that the impact on security is expected to be felt 15 to 30 years later.” The Bundeswehr prediction is consistent with those of well-known scientists who assume global oil production has either already passed its peak or will do so this year.

The scenarios outlined by the Bundeswehr Transformation Center are drastic. Even more explosive politically are recommendations to the government that the energy experts have put forward based on these scenarios. They argue that “states dependent on oil imports” will be forced to “show more pragmatism toward oil-producing states in their foreign policy.” Political priorities will have to be somewhat subordinated, they claim, to the overriding concern of securing energy supplies.

For example: Germany would have to be more flexible in relation toward Russia’s foreign policy objectives. It would also have to show more restraint in its foreign policy toward Israel, to avoid alienating Arab oil-producing nations. Unconditional support for Israel and its right to exist is currently a cornerstone of German foreign policy.

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Former LANL Employee Sentenced for Stealing Irradiated Gold

Source: The Albuquerque Division: Department of Justice Press Release

Earlier today, Alex Maestas, 46, a former employee of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), was sentenced in federal court in Albuquerque, New Mexico to a one-year term of imprisonment to be followed by three years’ supervised release by Senior United States District Judge C. LeRoy Hansen for stealing a two ounce piece of gold, valued at approximately $2,000, from a LANL processing facility. The gold, which was taken by Maestas on March 24, 2009, was contaminated with a small amount of americium and plutonimum, which rendered the gold radioactive. According to federal prosecutors, the radioactive plutonium in the gold posed a serious health risk because it could have proven deadly if inhaled or ingested.

Maestas was charged by indictment in October 2009 with theft of government property, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641, and with engaging in a prohibited transaction involving nuclear materials, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 831, based on an investigation by the (FBI) and the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The investigation was initated on March 24, 2009 after DOE personnel responded to an alarm sounded by a contamination monitor as Maestas attempted to leave the LANL processing facility at which he was then employed with the gold in hand. Maestas entered a guilty plea to theft of government property on January 28, 2010. During his plea hearing, Maestas admitted to stealing the gold and knowing that “the gold was taken from an area that was used to store materials that contained plutonium and nuclear material.”

During today’s sentencing hearing, Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Fred Federici argued that, at the time he took the gold, Maestas knew that he potentially exposing the public to radioactive contamination that could cause death or serious bodily injury. AUSA Federici asked Judge Hansen to increase Maestas’ term of imprisonment based on the fact that Maestas was clearly conscious of the serious risks associated with his improper removal of the gold. Read More »

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Corn Climbs to 14-Month High on Dry U.S. Weather, Wheat Gains

Source: BusinessWeek

Corn futures to the highest in 14 months in Chicago on speculation the U.S., the top producer and exporter, may miss a record harvest and as growing areas in China face floods. Wheat gained on export demand.

December-delivery corn 1.5 percent to $4.425 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade at 2:14 p.m. Paris time, the highest price since June 2009, while May-delivery corn in Dalian 0.5 percent to 2,038 yuan ($300) per metric ton, the highest level since at least 2004.

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NY legislators want chickens vaccinated

There’s enough crap in the system already. This idiotic proposal won’t help, but then again I’m not inclined to ever think it was designed to help, at least with ‘food safety.’

Source: The Associated Press

Two New York State legislators want to require in the state to vaccinate hens against salmonella, which sickened thousands of Americans and triggered the largest egg recall in U.S. history.

State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh announced their proposal Sunday in front of a Lower East Side supermarket in the wake of a nationwide recall of more than a half billion eggs. None of the recalled eggs came from New York.

The massive outbreaks of food-borne illness in recent months leave no doubt that our food safety system is failing us, threatening everyone’s well-being and sometimes costing people’s lives,” Kavanagh, a Manhattan , said at a news conference.

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Mexico to ban payment in cash

Source: PressTV

“This illicit money is vital for the criminal. That is what they seek, this money. It is also vital to finance their activities,” said Calderon, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

If approved by the legislature, the legislation would not allow anyone to buy real estate in cash. Neither would it permit anyone to spend more than MXN 100,000 (USD 7,700) in cash on vehicles, boats, airplanes and luxury goods.

Violators of the new legislation would face up to 15 years in prison.

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Murder by Air Rifle: Man who killed Sergeant Don Wilkinson sentenced to life in prison

Source: NATIONAL News

Skinner and Clegg found the two officers down a driveway, where both were shot with a high-powered air rifle by Skinner.

Wilkinson, who was not wearing a protective vest, died at the scene. His colleague, who was wearing protective clothing, survived.

Skinner had argued during the trial that he thought the two officers, who did not identify themselves, were burglars and he fired the air rifle in self-defence after one of the officers appeared to reach for a weapon.

Officer's killer gets at least 15 years (Source: NZPA)

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Cold empties Bolivian rivers of fish

Source: Nature News

With high Andean peaks and a humid tropical forest, Bolivia is a country of ecological extremes. But during the Southern Hemisphere’s recent winter, unusually low temperatures in part of the country’s tropical region hit freshwater species hard, killing an estimated 6 million fish and thousands of alligators, turtles and river dolphins.

Scientists who have visited the affected rivers say the event is the biggest ecological disaster Bolivia has known, and, as an example of a sudden climatic change wreaking havoc on wildlife, it is unprecedented in recorded history.

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Fewer livestock producers worries USDA’s Vilsack

Source: Reuters

There are fewer U.S. livestock producers now than 30 years ago, and Tom Vilsack believes that may be because concentration in the meat industry has forced many to leave the business.

Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday jointly chaired a public hearing on such concentration, with the intent of slowing the in rural populations.

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Police investigate shooting outside Nebraska mall

Avoid malls, and generally any crowd of people or places where they congregate.

Source: CNN.com

An off-duty police officer working security at Westroads Mall was chasing two shoplifting suspects when they hit him with their car, Omaha Police Officer Michael Pecha said. The off-duty officer then fired on the vehicle, striking one of the shoplifting suspects.

Shaley McKeever, a hostess at the P.F. Chang’s China Bistro there, said she panicked when she heard that the mall was under lockdown Saturday night.

“We had a few people calling in saying they couldn’t come in through the parking lot because police had blocked all the entrances,” she said.

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Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. recalls ground beef after E. coli reports

The food supply is at great risk…

Source: CNN.com

Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. has recalled about 8,500 pounds of that may be contaminated with E. coli, the U.S. announced Saturday.

The USDA says it believes certain BJ’s Wholesale Club stores in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Virginia received the products.

The recalled was shipped June 11 to distribution centers, where it was repackaged into consumer-size packages and sold under different retail brand names. The USDA did not identify the brands.

The recalled beef bears the USDA establishment number “EST. 9400,” a product code of “W69032″ and a “use/freeze by” date of July 1.

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The trillion dollar bailout you didn’t hear about: Commercial Real Estate

Source: mybudget360.com

The latest data on existing home sales should tell you exactly where we are in this so called recovery. Average Americans are unable to purchase big ticket items without massive government subsidies. It is also the case that all the too big to fail banks are standing only because of the generous support of taxpayer money. Without large tax credits and the Federal Reserve buying down mortgage rates the housing market is extremely weak. Yet very few of the housing “analysts” actually bother to ask why they are weak in the first place. The employment market is in disarray and wages have fallen for everyone outside of the top 1 percent of income earners. The bailout fatigue is running out of steam but banks are using clandestine methods to offload trillions of dollars of commercial real estate to taxpayers. The next giant bailout is already happening but you probably haven’t heard about it.

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Dow Faces Bouncy Ride to 5,000: Strategist

Source: CNBC

The Dow Jones Industrial Average will lose about half of its value over the next couple of years as it follows a Nikkei-like pattern of several sharp rallies in an overall , according to Charles Nenner, founder and president of Charles Nenner research.

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