Attack Watch, new Obama campaign site to ‘fight smears,’ becomes laughing stock
By Elizabeth Flock
(Image via Twitter) As the 2012 presidential campaign heats up, President Obama’s campaign team has set up a new Web site, AttackWatch.com, to challenge negative statements about the president made by Republican presidential candidates and conservatives.
Obama for America national field director Jeremy Bird told ABC News that the site’s goal is to offer “resources to fight back” against attacks. Mostly, that means fact checking statements from the likes of GOP presidential contenders Mitt Romney and Rick Perry and conservative commentator Glenn Beck and offering evidence to the contrary. The site is designed in bold red and black colors, and uses statements like “support the truth” and “fight the smears.”
The response to the site has been less than stellar.
On Twitter, where the Web site has an account to help Obama supporters submit evidence of “attacks” on the president using the hashtag #attackwatch, nearly every tweet about the site — mostly from conservatives — has ridiculed it.
“There's a new Twitter account making President Obama look like a creepy, authoritarian nutjob,” an Arizonan tweeted. “In less than 24 hours, Attack Watch has become the biggest campaign joke in modern history,” a contributor to conservative blog The Right Sphere wrote. The contributor linked to the following parody commercial for Attack Watch:
Tommy Christoper of Mediaite noted sarcastically of the site, “Great. Sounds like a terrific content-generating resource for right-wing bloggers, too. Everybody wins!”
While the initiative is reminiscent of a similar online effort launched during the 2008 campaign, called Fight the Smears, the hysteria-inducing design and language of the new site seems to be what’s causing a bigger ruckus.
Fight the Smears looked and felt far less scary, quoting Obama at the top of its page in a classic hope-change statement: “What you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon — that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge but enemies to demonize.”
Attack Watch, on the other hand, used the shorter — and somewhat scaremongering — tagline, “Get the Truth. Fight the Smears.”
It’s safe to say that in its 24 hours of existence, Attack Watch has already backfired, becoming a tool for conservatives to use against Obama 2012. A tweet by conservative author Brad Thor summed it up: “Wow, not only are Obama & Co. incredibly thin-skinned, they're paranoid.”
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I want to spend the rest of the day on Gold and Fiat money. I have been saying for 2 years that I think fiat money is going away. Inflation came out today and it was up .4% for the month of August. I don't see this slowing down with the way the world has continued to debase their currencies. If your money is worth less, it takes more of it to buy goods. Austria is scared of their citizens owning too much gold. Don't think this can't happen in the US.
Banks, Governments Move To Restrict Personal Gold Bullion Purchases
This week we returned from a trip to the Eurozone where we met with a host of different people across many countries and several industries. All of the indicators we’re seeing – construction starts, bank lending, personal borrowing habits, economic growth, and even the (lack of) items in grocery store carts – suggest that Europe is on the brink, though as is generally the case, the average European has no clue what’s coming their way.
The most alarming situation we identified is one relating to the purchase of gold coins and bullion – specifically in the country of Austria – but one that will likely make its way across the EU if it hasn’t already. Unlike the United States, where gold and silver can be purchased through traditional methods like visiting a local dealer directly, or even placing an order on the internet, it is much more difficult to find a gold/silver dealer outside of Germany or Switzerland. As a result, those individuals interested in acquiring gold are left with purchasing directly from local bank branches.
Had you visited an Austrian bank three months ago, you would have had absolutely no problem purchasing a large quantity of gold/silver from the bank. You’d simply call the bank about 24 – 48 hours in advance, let them know you’re coming and how much you needed, and you’d personally pick up your order within a couple days.
A new trend in Austrian (and perhaps the rest of Europe’s) banking policies suggests that certain interested parties are attempting to control the sale and personal acquisition of gold/silver as safe haven assets. What we experienced first hand should be a wake up call for not just Europeans, but Americans as well.
The policy change was quiet, has not been reported by any media outlets that we’re aware of, and no mention of the new policies is made on the web sites of Austria’s largest banking institutions (though it is clear they vehemently comply with U.S. anti-money laundering measures and the Patriot Act)
According to the bank representatives and manager we spoke with, Austrian banks have now been ordered to restrict the sale of gold and silver bullion purchases and are limiting personal acquisitions of precious metals to 15,000€ (approximately $20,700 USD) at a time, or 11 ounces of gold at today’s prices.
Upon further discussion we learned that these policies were implemented over the course of the last 30 days, and they are now standard operating procedure. The reason given was the banks had come under pressure from EU, Austrian and U.S. officials, with this particular manager specifically citing U.S. money laundering initiatives and the EU’s Third EU Money Laundering Directive which was implemented across the zone in December of 2007.
The idea that these restrictions have been put in place as anti-money laundering measures is laughable. As we all know, if a drug cartel or other criminal organization wanted to launder money, they wouldn’t do it in person purchasing bullion coins at a local banking branch. They’d simply pick up the phone and contact a too-big-too-fail bank (video), as we’ve seen with the billions of dollars recently laundered through U.S. banks. You may remember there was very little reporting on this issue from mainstream media and it has been ignored by U.S. prosecutors.
As Austria is one of the more developed nations in the Euro Zone, there is a strong likelihood that they are not the sole country implementing these new policies – and that this has been, or soon will be, implemented across the entirety of EU nations.
To the average European and American this may not mean much. But if you’ve been paying attention to the events unfolding over the last several years, it’s becoming clear that the economies of the EU and US are under threat of a significant and potentially permanent financial collapse. This morning, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde was quoted as saying that the situation is so dire, “policymakers should stand ready, as needed, to take more action to support the recovery, including through unconventional measures.”
The new gold and silver purchasing limits would certainly qualify as unconventional, along with other recent proposed measures by EU officials and business leaders. One such proposal from Italian business leaders calls for all cash transactions over 300 Euro (About $400 USD) to be banned, and to be permitted only in electronic format.
The global trend across industrialized nations for the last twenty years has been to move towards a cashless society, but one that still utilizes centrally planned currencies. While central banks, large institutional funds and wealthy private investors across the world continue to buy up gold, governments seem to be moving quickly to restrict the ability of average people to do the same – and they are rapidly implementing policies to either restrict or track these types of transactions.
Many cities around the country, such as Houston, TX, have passed identification requirements that force sellers of precious metals to present a valid form of ID at the time of sale. Like Europe, the U.S. is expeditiously implementing direct methods of tracking these transactions, as well as indirect methods that target those who may be engaging in suspicious activities, namely using cash, as per FBI and Homeland Security bulletins issued last month.
The noose is tightening. Governments, large financial institutions and political chess players know exactly where real value exists. And it’s certainly not in the currencies that are being printed with reckless abandon.
Author: Mac Slavo
Date: September 9th, 2011
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Donald Trump is now accepting gold as a deposit on his property.
Trump's New Gold Standard
Instead of Cash, a Tenant Makes Deposit in Bullion; Tough on the Wallet
On Thursday, the newest tenant in Donald Trump's 40 Wall Street, a 70-story skyscraper in Manhattan's Financial District, will hand Mr. Trump a security deposit worth about $176,000. No money will change hands—just three 32-ounce bars of gold, each about the size of a television remote control.
The occasion will mark the first time the Trump Organization has accepted 99.9% pure gold bullion, rather than cash, as a deposit on a commercial lease. The tenant, precious-metals dealer Apmex, will sign a 10-year lease for 40 Wall's 50th floor at a leasing rate of about $50 a square foot, according to Apmex Chief Executive Michael R. Haynes. The company is promoting the use of gold as a replacement for cash in some situations.
"Gold has been a valuable asset class for the last 10,000 years, but the world has drifted away from it," Mr. Haynes says. "I figured, Trump is a smart guy, and he'll realize that taking gold is a better idea than taking cash."
Mr. Trump said he sees the deal as a repudiation of the Obama administration's economic policies, of which he has been a vocal critic.
"It's a sad day when a large property owner starts accepting gold instead of the dollar," Mr. Trump said in an interview. "The economy is bad, and Obama's not protecting the dollar at all....If I do this, other people are going to start doing it, and maybe we'll see some changes."
Mr. Trump said he has some gold in his personal portfolio, but declined to say how much.
Thursday's transaction was something Apmex suggested, Mr. Trump said.
—Robbie Whelan
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Is it just me or does the market seem to be acting the same way every day. Heavy selling early, then rally late. Day trading is hard but this sure looks like a pattern.
This is a testament to the buoyancy of the market right now.
In this incredibly news-filled, volatile week, we've now had three identical days that started off with heavy selling in the morning, followed by aggressive buying.
Today is looking like it's going to be the most extreme, with the Dow up over 220
Check out this 3-day chart of S&P futures via FinViz. Each day is identical.
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I would like to congratulate and thank the Epley family. It's a great thing they have done for the U of A.
Epleys’ name set for UA site
FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas officials plan to name a new building on the Fayetteville campus for a former UA trustee and his wife, in recognition of their donation to the project.
B. Alan Sugg, president of the University of Arkansas System, is seeking approval from trustees to rename the Center for Health Professions the Lewis and Donna Epley Center.
A resolution in the trustees’ agenda for a meeting Friday expresses “appreciation to Lewis and Donna Epley for their recent lead gift” for the $10.84 million health professions building, under construction on the former site of the university’s student health center.
UA would not reveal the gift amount Monday.
John Diamond, the university’s chief spokesman, said Wednesday the university was checking to make sure no information was released that was “protected from disclosure as spelled out under Arkansas law,” in response to an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The building is being financed through a combination of bond issue revenue and private gifts, according to a project description distributed to UA trustees in January.
It will house the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing and the university’s communication disorders program, which includes a speech and hearing clinic.
The project includes a 19,700-square-foot renovation of the former health center building and 24,300 square feet of new space. UA plans to complete the facility in December, campus officials have said.
Epley of Fayetteville is a retired attorney who serves on the board that oversees the University of Arkansas Foundation Inc., a charitable corporation that receives and invests private gifts made to the UA System.
He served on the steering committee for the Campaign for the 21st Century, a UA-Fayetteville fundraising effort that raised $1.046 bil-lion in gifts and pledges between July 1, 1998, and June 30, 2005.
He was a member of the UA board of trustees from 1989-99, including serving as chairman the last two years, and earned two degrees from UA-Fayetteville: a bachelor of science in public administration in 1954 and a juris doctorate in 1961.
He was born in Fort Smith, grew up in Springdale and practiced law for 40 years in Eureka Springs.
Donna Epley worked for 25 years as a nurse at Eureka Springs Memorial Hospital, according to a July 2001 Democrat-Gazette profile article on her husband.
Nobody answered a telephone call made Wednesday to a number listed for the Epleys’ Fayetteville residence.
From the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, Lewis Epley was known as the “Voice of the Razorback Band,” introducing the group at pre-game and halftime performances. After UA joined the Southeastern Conference in 1991, Epley lobbied to expand and improve the university’s band building. The result was the Lewis E. Epley Jr. Band Hall, dedicated in 1997.
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There was another big jump in jobless claims. Welcome to the recovery...
If this country doesn't become more friendly to business, this is going to continue to happen.
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