Friday, August 4, 2017

Sheared Down Post

"The United States Has Become A Nation Of Sheeple" by Michael Snyder,  August 1st, 2017



You can either follow the herd of you can decide to find your own path.  One of the things that greatly frustrates me is that so many Americans allow other people to do their thinking for them.  We have become a nation of sheeple, and the vast majority of the shepherds that we are relying on for guidance are frauds and imposters.  The blind are leading the blind, and we are slowly but surely committing national suicide.  If a lot more of us don’t start to learn to think for ourselves, I fear that the vast majority of the population will never wake up until it is far too late.

Let me ask you a very simple question.

What is on your mind today?

If you are not preoccupied with work or with family matters, then you are probably thinking about something that you have been fed through the mainstream media.  Just think about this for a few moments.  When you are sitting around the dinner table or you are chatting with someone at work, what do you tend to talk about?  If you are like most people, many of your conversations will be about something that you saw on the news, a new movie that you just watched, or a sporting event that has just happened.

Most of the time, we believe that certain things are important because someone else has told us that they are important.

And the most prominent voices of all are the six gigantic media corporations that control about 90 percent of the news, information and entertainment that we get through our televisions.  I know that statistic is a bit hard to believe, so let me share a little excerpt from a fact checking website called truthorfiction.com
Summary of eRumor: 
Six corporations own 90% of news media companies in America. 
The Truth: 
This claim is true. 
News Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, CBS and Comcast own 90% of the TV stations, radio stations, movies, magazines and newspapers that 277 million Americans rely on for news and entertainment.
Of course those six corporate behemoths are owned by the elite of the world, and that is why “the news” never seems to change very much no matter where you get it.

It is imperative that we understand that everyone has an agenda.  Every single movie, television show, documentary and news program is trying to shape how you think.  Sadly, many people completely disengage their mental filters once they sit down in front of the television, and they just passively consume whatever “programming” that is offered to them without even thinking twice about where it is coming from

Earlier today, I discovered that the following story was trending online: “This Calf Looks Suspiciously Like Gene Simmons And People Want Answers”.

Why is that story trending?

Well, the truth is that at some point a big media gatekeeper somewhere decided that this is something that we should all be focusing on.

But of course there are thousands of pressing issues that would be far more worthy of our attention.  The key is to keep us all confused and distracted so that we can never focus on what is truly important.

One of the biggest reasons why we are so easily controlled as a society is because our system of public education does not teach critical thinking skills to our young people.  Instead, most educational  time is spent on trying to memorize facts and figures that can be regurgitated when it is time to take a test.  And any time that is spent on the “why questions” is usually spent forcing “progressive values” down the throats of our students.  No wonder our young people are rapidly falling behind the rest of the industrialized world.

Did you ever see the big Hollywood film that was entitled “Idiocracy“?  Sometimes I feel like I am permanently trapped inside that movie.  If you ask people why they do the things that they do on a daily basis, most of them cannot give you a coherent answer.

I am even discovering that this is true in the world of politics.  I have been asking people who they are planning to vote for in different races here in Idaho and why they plan to vote that way.  Sadly, most voters cannot give me any sort of a coherent answer.  Most of the time people seem to be backing a certain candidate “because that is what everybody else seems to be doing”.

And something that greatly disturbs me is how we tend to put political leaders up on pedestals.  If they are on our “team”, we tend to shower them with worship and pretend that they can’t do anything wrong.  But if they are on the other team, we tend to throw as much mud as we possibly can.

Instead of being obsessed with personalities, we need to stand on our principles instead.  If our leaders do things that are right, then we should praise those actions.  But if they do what is wrong, then we should be willing to hold them accountable.

I have been having a number of conversations about “being red-pilled” lately, and if you ever watched “The Matrix” then you know exactly what I am talking about.  Most people out there still don’t seem to realize that the world system is built on a pyramid of lies.  From a very early age, we are told lie after lie, and once you start to “wake up” one of the first responses is often intense anger.

If you don’t know what I am talking about, I would encourage you to start questioning everything.  Once you really start digging, you will quickly discover that many of the “truths” that society takes for granted are not actually so solid after all.

If you seek the truth with all of your heart, you will find it, and it will set you free.

But breaking free of the programming that the world system is constantly feeding us is the first step, and that is not always easy to do.

--MORE--"

He sure is right about that, but I'm doing the best I can.

**********************************

What is front and center in the Globe these days:

Pot’s legal in Vegas — but tourists have nowhere to smoke

They just legalized in November and are already up and running, but Massachusetts is going to be delayed for months if not years. 

The argument is well, that's Vegas and they have legal casinos there. This is Massachusetts and.... oh, yeah. Oops.

Witness at ‘Top Chef’ extortion trial testifies about shouted slurs

Honestly, the pot article didn't make me hungry for articles regarding Walsh's thugs.

UMass Amherst tops best college dining list, again

The $69 million dining program at UMass Amherst is a national model, and forget all the problems and patronage throughout the $y$tem.

That's the problem with the in$titution of ejewkhazion in this state:

"The median pay package for the top leaders of the 16 charter schools in Boston was $170,000 last year, making most of them among the highest-paid public school officials in Boston, according to a Globe review of payroll data. One charter school leader, Diana Lam of Conservatory Lab, earned more money than Boston Superintendent Tommy Chang, even though she oversaw a school of just 400 students. Lam, who retired in 2016, collected $275,000 in salary and an additional $23,000 for unused personal time off. Chang received $272,000 in total compensation. The Globe review offers a rare examination of payroll records at the city’s 16 independently run charter schools — public institutions that are overseen by state education officials and operate as separate government entities from the city....."

$elf-$erving leader$hip has ruined this country.

"A federal judge has dropped five defendants from a lawsuit filed by a Chelmsford High School student and his parents alleging the student was sexually assaulted at the school’s football camp in Moultonborough, N.H., in 2013. They allege they were bullied, harassed, and retaliated against for reporting the assaults to police. Four former school officials -- superintendent Frank Tiano, high school principal Charles Caliri, high school dean Jeffery Doherty, and football coach Bruce Rich were dropped from the suit, along with current athletic director, Scott Moreau, according to court filings. The student and his parents had accused those officials of defamation and retaliating against them for exercising their free speech rights, among other claims. The remaining defendants in the suit include the Chelmsford School Committee, the town of Chelmsford, and three Chelmsford High School teachers. A court-ordered mediator has been assigned to the case, according to court papers."

At least it wasn't a soccer camp.

"Boston College is considering selling more beer and wine at its football stadium this coming season, a university spokesman confirmed....."

Good me$$age for the kids, and compare to the treatment marijuana gets.

Should the School Day Start Later?

Kids are already up late enough as it is. 

Hope you had a good summer despite the shark sightings.

The majority of Harvard’s incoming class is nonwhite

Meaning diversity is well represented amongst the elite cla$$.

That's back to the front page the next day, and that's where I'll park it.

Things that work States with Election Day registration see bonus for democracy Following a court decision last week, Massachusetts is under pressure to join more than a dozen other states — including Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont — that have the policy.

I see a massive opportunity for electoral fraud from Democrats.

TD Garden to pay $1.65m after teen sleuths claimed it owed $13m

The Globe even saw fit to editorialize on it.

He thought he was dying, but highway chief paved his own road to salvation 

I feel bad for the guy, but celebrating state pukes for doing their overpaid jobs is getting old.

************************

ACROSS AMERICA

Cuomo orders probe into Niagara Falls black water discharge 

I'll bet it stunk, too.

NY governor was joking about prizes for cities, office says

One day after the bad water discharge and he's cutting up! 

How out of touch can you be? 

And they were talking him up for president?

Wanted: New ideas for protecting Great Lakes from Asian carp

Government has completely failed to address a problem for years, the same one that allowed lead-tainted water into Flint.

What good are they, really, other than to occupy space and $erve them$elves?

Baltimore Drops Dozens of Cases After Video Casts Doubt on Officers

Who didn't see that coming, and prepare for more!

Judge orders halt to New Jersey sand dune project

Where is Chris Christie when you need him?

‘Sugardaddy’ seeking ‘sugarbaby’ banned from Florida beach

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!

North Dakota gets no takers on old governor’s mansion 

It's there for you if you care.


**************************

EUROPE:

"Germany saw a large influx of migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere in 2015 and early 2016. That hurt Chancellor Angela Merkel’s popularity for a time and boosted the four-year-old nationalist Alternative for Germany party. Migration has since declined as a political issue though Merkel’s center-left challenger, Martin Schulz, has sought lately to highlight the risks of a new refugee crisis. Polls indicate that Merkel’s conservatives, and her personal popularity, have recovered ahead of a Sept. 24 election....." 

The election has already been rigged with narrative being provided!

German car stocks fall as emissions scandal looms larger

As Europe sours on diesel, Germany fights to save it

The stench you smell is that of the New York Times.

German hiker missing since 1987 found in Swiss glacier

Better get moving!

Libyan general orders navy to confront ships entering waters

After Macron worked so hard at bringing them together!

Nearly 500 on trial for Turkey’s failed coup; many face life in prison

Yes, Turkey is officially an enemy.

Prince Philip, 96, bids adieu with final solo official duty

He's the guy who wants to be reincarnated as a population-killing virus; therefore I say, LIVE DAMN YOU, LIVE!!!

I wonder how many children's organs and how much blood have been transplanted and infused into him.

Brexit could mean fewer flights, Ryanair warns

You don't want to fly anyway:

4 UK men get long prison sentences for plotting attack

**************************

ASIA:

2 men charged with terrorism in Australian plane plot

Yeah, yeah, mind-manipulating psyop received.

Australia asks why US refused dual citizen lawmaker entry

Because he was Syrian.

Australia minister quits Cabinet because he might be Italian

"Cambodia’s prime minister on Tuesday ordered the ouster of an American-led Christian organization that seeks to rescue and rehabilitate women working in the sex trade, saying its comments in a TV report demeaned the country. The report by CNN showed the head of the Agape International Mission, Don Brewster of Lincoln, Calif., describing child prostitution in the Svay Pak suburb of Phnom Penh. Prime Minister Hun Sen singled out the program’s reporting that Cambodian mothers sold their daughters into prostitution as particularly insulting. Much of the controversy involved the ethnicity of the three young women the CNN report focused on. They appeared to be ethnic Vietnamese rather than Cambodia’s mainstream ethnic Khmer. Many Cambodians share a long-established prejudice against Vietnam, which has long been suspected of coveting Cambodian territory. Hun Sen said he could not accept the assertion that Cambodian mothers sold their daughters into prostitution. ‘‘My country is poor but you can’t insult my people,’’ he said. ‘‘This insult cannot be tolerated. No matter what it costs us, this organization has to leave Cambodia.’’

I get my Cambodian news through this guy, and I hate to tell you this, but ChrIstiAn organizations are often fronts for you-know-who. 

And who remembers the U.S. bombing campaign against them in the '60s and '70s? That led to the rise of the Khmer Rouge.

And speaking of brutal dictatorships, or so we are told:

"China’s rebuke to Mr. Trump did not use exclamation marks. But the Xinhua editorial broke with Beijing’s usual public reticence when Mr. Trump has taken China to task over trade imbalances, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Taiwan and other sources of tension. “What the peninsula needs is immediately stamping out the fire, not adding kindling or, even worse, pouring oil on the flames,” Xinhua said. The tensions could, it said, “evolve into a localized conflict, or even the outbreak of war, with unthinkable repercussions.” The unusually personal nature of the editorial, together with comments delivered earlier that day by China’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York, shows that North Korea is becoming the main dispute threatening to tear at Mr. Trump’s initially friendly relationship with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson has turned up pressure on China to help isolate and cajole North Korea....."

When China uses the term “stab in the back” it means the slight was serious, and how about that NYT lie to end it?

See: Tillerson to North Korea: ‘We Are Not Your Enemy’ – US Seeks Dialogue, Not Regime Change 

No sooner where the words out of his mouth than:

U.S. Tests Unarmed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

More New York Times garbage, and the reaction to that splash is so muted compared to the Korean man.

At least Sony is seeing strong earnings even if Samsung is in trouble because of the CIA trapdoor installed in their products.

RelatedHoles close in China’s ‘Great Firewall’ as Apple, Amazon snub apps to bypass censors

The good thing about living in AmeriKa is the pre$$ is self-censoring.

Japan’s prime minister seeks to put problems behind him with new Cabinet

Apparently there are charges of Japanese peacekeeper malfeasance in South Sudan, nothing a new war wouldn't solve.

Malaysia seizes ivory, pangolin scales from Africa

2 Thai ex-PMs acquitted of abusing power in quelling protest

Thai activist on trial for Facebook share of king profile

Jatupat is a prominent member of Dao Din, a small student organization that has protested against Thailand’s military government.

Smells like CIA to me, and don't you mean junta?

Pakistan’s interim leader: reluctant, but no ‘bench warmer’

Pakistan’s Soft Coup- The Deep State Ousts Nawaz Sharif

He got caught in the snare as the Panama Papers received a mention.

Related:

Kashmiri villagers watch the funeral procession of suspected rebel Suhail Ahmed Rather in the village of Tantraypora in Kulgam on August 3, 2017.
Two suspected militants were killed August 3 in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of south Kashmir, police said. / AFP PHOTO / Tauseef MUSTAFA
Kashmiri villagers watch the funeral procession of suspected rebel Suhail Ahmed Rather in the village of Tantraypora in Kulgam on August 3, 2017. Two suspected militants were killed August 3 in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of south Kashmir, police said. / AFP PHOTO / Tauseef MUSTAFA

India's new president heralds the collapse of the government.

Also see: IBM owes Indiana $78m for failed welfare automation system

****************************

STATE:

As LA gets Olympics, there’s unfinished business for Boston

Let's hope it stays that way.

Judge asks jurors in 1985 murder case about bias allegations

Boston police take to streets to reject Trump ‘thugs’ remark, celebrate community policing

Home invasions are rare, even after spate of crimes in Greater Boston

One on top of other, and maybe they should do less community propaganda and more of their job!

Boston ranks high for mice, rats in homes — not so much for cockroaches

State says public should avoid Charles River Lower Basin in Boston, Cambridge

Traffic headaches: a refresher
I-93 commuters to Pike travelers: Welcome to our life

That's when I took the exit ramp.

"Dozens of projects are being built in Greater Boston using the format of four or five stories of wood-frame apartments built above a concrete ground floor. The practice has become increasingly popular with developers seeking to build relatively affordable housing. The change to the international building code has also spurred the trend. Fire officials have said that such buildings are as safe as others once they are fully operational, but are vulnerable during construction....."

That's an asinine excuse for what happened, like stoves and smokers won't be living in them. Looks like sabotage to me, and who benefits? Have to buy more materials and the contractors get to keep working.

Fire damages venerable Union Oyster House

Some charges dropped in Jeremiah Oliver case — but probe of 5-year-old’s death continues

 DCF failure.

"A Lawrence man was sentenced to state prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and robbing a teenage girl in 2015, the Essex District Attorney’s office said. Peter Bardzik, 55, who already was registered as a sex offender, will have to serve 20 to 25 years behind bars, the district attorney’s office said in a press release. He was charged with two counts of breaking and entering in the daytime to commit a felony, kidnapping, larceny over $250, and unarmed robbery, the release stated. He also pleaded guilty to one count of escape from a penal institution for attempting to escape from the Essex County House of Correction in Middleton. According to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry, Bardzik was convicted of rape in 1980 and was registered as a level 3 sex offender. On July 31, 2015 Bardzik broke into a garage on North Main Street in Andover, the district attorney’s office said. At the time, a 16-year-old girl was inside the house and went to investigate a noise she heard inside the garage. Bardzik grabbed the girl, forced her upstairs inside the house and demanded money after taping her to a chair, the district attorney’s office said. He stole $300 and fled, leaving the girl taped to the chair, according to prosecutors. Later that day, Andover police responded to a reported house break on Harding Street, where a resident found his screen pushed in, the statement said. The resident found a backpack and some clothes were missing, and that dirty, wet clothes had been left in a closet. The clothing matched the description of what her assailant was wearing, the district attorney’s office said. They were later found to have his DNA on them. Bardzik was being held at the Essex County House of Correction when he attempted to climb onto a roof and climb a fence, the district attorney’s office said. “He ‘underestimated the razor wire’ and fell from the fence into a secure area between two fences before being located by a corrections officer,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement."

That's absurd!

"A Lawrence man was indicted Monday for allegedly running a drug trafficking operation responsible for distributing hundreds of grams of fentanyl and heroin on the North Shore, according to a statement from Attorney General Maura Healey’s office. Santos Figueroa, 35, was charged with one count of trafficking over 100 grams of heroin and one count of trafficking fentanyl. “He will be arraigned on the charges at a later date in Essex Superior Court,” according to the statement. Figueroa was first arrested on April 20 after authorities searched his house and discovered more than 120 grams of heroin and more than 180 grams of fentanyl. The search also revealed “tools and materials used for packing and distributing narcotics.” The use of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, has been on the rise in Massachusetts, according to the statement. Law enforcement agencies have seen a “significant increase” of the presence of the drug in cases of drug overdoses and deaths. Fentanyl is estimated to be 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin, according to the statement. Often times, drug dealers mix fentanyl with heroin without the knowledge of buyers. Essex County has one of the highest rates of drug overdoses in the state, according to the statement. Healey’s office has partnered with the Massachusetts State Police to create the Fentanyl Strike Force, which is tasked with targeting and destroying fentanyl trafficking networks across the state."

"Six men were arrested on drug trafficking charges as part of two separate drug investigations in Dorchester, Boston police said Thursday. Kelvin Veras-Romero, 32, of South Boston and Santiago Olivares, 32, of Dorchester, were arrested without incident at 1:07 p.m. Tuesday after officers discovered 502 grams of heroin, 445 grams of cocaine, and $5,957 in cash as part of an investigation in the area of 14 Banton St., police said in a statement. Quincy and State Police assisted in the arrests. Veras-Romero and Olivares were arraigned in Dorchester District Court for trafficking class A and B drugs, the statement said. On Wednesday at about 10:45 a.m., four men were arrested as part of a lengthy investigation at the V.I.P. Barbershop on Eire Street, police said. A search warrant executed at the business yielded about 150 grams of fentanyl packaged for sale. Arrested were Carlos Nivar, 22, Eudomar Aybar, 24, and Elvis Ledesma, 33, all of Dorchester, and Carlos Ademan-Mejia, 20, of Hyde Park. All will be arraigned in Dorchester District Court for trafficking class B drugs and conspiringt to violate drug laws, police said. "

How come most of these guys have Spanish or Hispanic names?

Four clerks from Haymarket RMV arrested in alleged identity theft scheme

Six people were arrested Wednesday and charged in federal court with allegedly providing stolen identification cards, drivers’s licenses, and other documents to undocumented immigrants through a Registry of Motor Vehicles office in Boston, according to the US attorney’s office.

No wonder the problem isn't solved. The state is working to legalize illegals!

Time to clean things up:

Baker proposes bill to tighten immigration enforcement

Let's see if the legislooture passes it.

WPI leasing space in Fort Point

Seaport Boulevard is getting spruced up

Seaport developers need to comply with the law and partner with the public

Sprint confident it will find a partner

When is the marriage?

Longtime political aide Cindy Friedman wins state Senate seat

I'm not even going to say it.

PJ Library brings families closer through books and faith

About a dozen years ago, philanthropist Harold Grinspoon of Western Massachusetts had a big idea: What if Jewish families of young children all across North America could receive books — free of charge — to help connect them with their faith? In the years since its inception, Grinspoon’s PJ Library has grown tremendously, now mailing more than 170,000 free Jewish books per month to more than 125,000 families in 200 communities across the United States and Canada.

Now I will note it, and as for Canada....

****************

NAME DROPPING:

Ben Affleck enjoying ‘summer of love’ with new girlfriend

Local artist’s Maxine Waters shirts are in high demand

Clock’s ticking on lawsuit tied to Aaron Hernandez

Good thing Tom Brady was able to beat the rush.

Nice uniform, but how is the pay?

Under Armour cutting work force as retail sports sector struggles

*****************************

BIG BUSINESS:

Mass. retailers want voters to cut sales tax

The Leg will simply nullify like pot.

Baker pushes sales tax holiday, but legislative leaders aren’t interested

Yeah, the holiday would reduce tax loot set asides for corporations.

Petitioners file 28 initiatives for state ballots by Wednesday deadline

The Globe picked out the most ridiculous for you.

Maine officials urge Congress not to eliminate federal heating assistance

Why? I mean, with global warming in full swing and all.

Apple earnings climb amid demand for iPhones, iPads

Car sales drop in July

Wells Fargo to cut 70 senior executive jobs in wake of scandal

Freddie Mac income rises in second quarter

So we are told, and they are nothing more than a receptacle for banks and their MBSs.

Buyer named for former Globe site in Dorchester

As Immelt departs, new GE boss pledges accountability on Day 1

The new boss has gotten an earful from shareholders, and I gue$$ the pos that is GE needs those tax subsidies.

Don’t bet on Internet privacy

I never did, and my site has been picked and simulposted by 15 or so countries last time I looked.

Get ready for Convention Center Expansion 2.0

Changes in convention center plans reflect broader industry shift

Amazon’s hiring spree could include 700 new jobs in Mass.

One day those will be the only jobs available -- for AI robots, that is.

BlackRock doubles assets by dropping fees

Instagram a hit with those under 25

That explains why I don't have an account.

Microsoft shifts from paying outside lawyers by the hour

DING-DONG!

"Avon chief executive to resign in latest win for activist investors" by Chad Bray New York Times   August 03, 2017

LONDON — Avon Products said on Thursday that its chief executive, Sherilyn S. McCoy, would step down at the end of March as the door-to-door seller of beauty products has faced pressure from activist investors to reshape its management and speed up its turnaround.

The disclosure is the latest success for activist shareholders, who have put some of the world’s largest companies in their sights, pushing for businesses to streamline their operations, shake up their boards or revamp their strategies.

Avon on Thursday reported a net loss of $45.5 million in the second quarter — its third consecutive quarterly loss. The company also said that its revenue fell by 3 percent. Its share price has fallen 40 percent this year.....

Sorry I didn't answer the bell.

--more--"

Private equity firm buys majority stake in Cape Cod company

Dunkin’ may drop Donuts from its name

Viacom posts highest quarterly revenue in 2 years

Pizza Hut sales drop despite more drivers

Nissan workers in Mississippi vote on unionizing

FedEx will not add special charges during holiday rush

Orders increase in June as demand for planes soars

Flying ace Sully makes case against privatization

Time to retire:

"Public pension fund investments returned only 0.6 percent on average in fiscal year 2016, according to a report by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, far lower than their 7.6 percent average target rate. Lower than expected returns did little to improve the nation’s growing unfunded pension liabilities. Of the 170 plans studied, the average funding ratio was 72 percent for the fiscal year, about the same level as the year before, according to the report. Under new accounting standards introduced in 2014, however, the plans were only 68 percent funded. Lower than anticipated investment returns have plagued pension funds since the financial crisis as many public retirement systems have failed to earn enough to close their chronic shortfalls."

This with a booming stock market; what is going to happen when the bubble bursts?

RelatedState pension fund reports 12.8 percent investment return for 2017 fiscal year 

Either you are being lied to, or Massachusetts is getting Bernie Madoff-type returns!

For those not tired of the economic lies:

"The gain in hiring at companies in July, along with upward revisions to the prior month, is consistent with moderate growth in US employment, according to data released Wednesday from the ADP Research Institute in Roseland, N.J. The results showed steady job growth across a swath of industries from professional and business services to financial activities, construction, and mining. Businesses are expanding their workforce with new hires, indicating sustained job-market progress that is helping underpin consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy. The ADP results also bode well for the private payrolls tally in the July jobs report due from the Labor Department on Friday."

RelatedFewer file for jobless benefits

That is a recording

Time to check the stock market:

"Banks and technology companies took US stocks higher Tuesday, while less-loved sectors including phone and real estate companies also climbed as strong second-quarter earnings continued to come in. Some of the largest gains went to companies and industries that have struggled this year, like real estate investment trusts, or which have missed out on the gains entirely, like phone companies. Top gainers included JPMorgan Chase, up 1.3 percent, and Citigroup, which added 1.7 percent. Intel rose as South Korean regulators signed off on its deal for Mobileye. which makes software to process information from cameras and other car sensors to decide where an autonomous car should steer. Intel stock rose 2.5 percent. Tech could be in for more gains Wednesday. Apple reported a strong quarter after the closing bell Tuesday, and its stock rose 4.7 percent after-hours. Apple reported earnings and revenue that far exceeded analysts’ forecasts. Sprint had its best day this year after it said it’s open to combining with another phone or cable company. Sprint rose 11.2 percent. T-Mobile USA climbed 2.3 percent, and Verizon gained 1 percent. Royal Caribbean beat forecasts and its shares climbed 3.4 percent....."

RelatedDow reaches 22,000 milestone without much fanfare

"Losses for energy and technology companies left most stocks lower on Thursday. Smaller companies fared worse as the dollar remained at 15-month lows. Energy companies weakened as the price of oil turned lower, and technology companies declined as Apple gave up a piece of its big gain from the day before. Investors bought government bonds after some shaky economic news in the United States and the United Kingdom. That sent bond yields down, which hurt financial companies. Industrial companies like 3M did well, and so did large drugmakers like Pfizer. Small companies, which surged in November and December, have slumped this week. Firearms maker Sturm Ruger tumbled Thursday after it said sales fell in the second quarter, and sporting goods companies like Big 5 and Vista Outdoor also sank. Smaller banks fared worse than larger ones. Julian Emanuel, an equity strategist for UBS, said that as the dollar continues to lose strength, investors are selling smaller and more domestically-focused companies and buying more international businesses, as the weaker dollar will help their profits and sales outside the United States."

Uh-oh. 

That means prices are going to rise here and your purchasing power will be less, American.

"Wall Street regulators have agreed to rewrite the Volcker Rule, according to three people familiar with the matter, moving to loosen industry-despised restrictions that were central to the US response to the financial crisis. The changes discussed at a closed-door meeting on Friday will likely give big banks more flexibility for handling client trades, as well as investments in private equity and hedge funds. The agencies can revise the 2013 rule’s text, but unless it is repealed, there’s only so much that can be done to answer years of lobbying by financial titans including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co......"

Tells you WHO IS REALLY RUNNING THINGS!! 

Notice there is no chaos over at Treasury?

UPDATE: Deposed Pakistani official begins 2 days of rallies