Numbers On Welfare See Sharp Increase

SARA MURRAY
The Wall Street Journal
June 22, 2009

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t
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Welfare rolls, which were slow to rise and actually fell in many states early in the recession, now are climbing across the country for the first time since President Bill Clinton signed legislation pledging “to end welfare as we know it” more than a decade ago.

Twenty-three of the 30 largest states, which account for more than 88% of the nation’s total population, see welfare caseloads above year-ago levels, according to a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal and the National Conference of State Legislatures. As more people run out of unemployment compensation, many are turning to welfare as a stopgap.

The biggest increases are in states with some of the worst jobless rates. Oregon’s count was up 27% in May from a year earlier; South Carolina’s climbed 23% and California’s 10% between March 2009 and March 2008. A few big states that had seen declining welfare caseloads just a few months ago now are seeing increases: New York is up 1.2%, Illinois 3% and Wisconsin 3.9%. Welfare rolls in a few big states, Michigan and New Jersey among them, still are declining.

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URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/numbers-on-welfare-see-sharp-increase/

Al Qaeda says would use Pakistani nuclear weapons

Inal Ersan
Reuters
June 22, 2009

Editor’s note: You know Obama and the Pentagon are preparing to increase the violence in Pakistan when a documented CIA-ISI phony baloney terror group says it would use that country’s nukes on the Great Satan.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t
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If it were in a position to do so, Al Qaeda would use Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in its fight against the United States, a top leader of the group said in remarks aired Sunday.

Pakistan has been battling al Qaeda’s Taliban allies in the Swat Valley since April after their thrust into a district 100 km (60 miles) northwest of the capital raised fears the nuclear-armed country could slowly slip into militant hands.

“God willing, the nuclear weapons will not fall into the hands of the Americans and the mujahideen would take them and use them against the Americans,” Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, the leader of al Qaeda’s in Afghanistan, said in an interview with Al Jazeera television.

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URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/al-qaeda-says-would-use-pakistani-nuclear-weapons/

Neocon blogs cheer violence by Iran protesters

Ron Brynaert
The Raw Story
June 22, 2009

Weasel Zippers calls it the “feel good video of the day.”

Gateway Pundit raves that it’s the “best Iran protest video ever.”

Both right leaning blogs are psyched about a video that Fox News Channel ran, which was posted on YouTube under the headline, “Iranian Protesters Beat the Living Crap Out of the Basij.”

Gateway Pundit writes, “Get yourself a cool drink… Sit back… Press play and enjoy…It’s a beautiful thing!”

Personally speaking, I’m appalled that anyone could cheer a mob kicking a guy on the ground, but I guess that’s why I’m just a silly liberal who admires the kind of non-violent protests practiced by Dr. Martin Luther King and Gandhi.

URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/neocon-blogs-cheer-violence-by-iran-protesters/

Insiders Exit Shares at the Fastest Pace in Two Years

Lynn Thomasson and Michael Tsang
Bloomberg
June 22, 2009

Executives at U.S. companies are taking advantage of the biggest stock-market rally in 71 years to sell their shares at the fastest pace since credit markets started to seize up two years ago.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t
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Insiders of Standard & Poor’s 500 Index companies were net sellers for 14 straight weeks as the gauge rose 36 percent, data compiled by InsiderScore.com show. Amgen Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Sharer and five other officials sold $8.2 million of stock. Christopher Donahue, the CEO of Federated Investors Inc., and his brother, Chief Financial Officer Thomas Donahue, offered the most in three years.

Sales by CEOs, directors and senior officers have accelerated to the highest level since June 2007, two months before credit markets froze, as the S&P 500 rebounded from its 12-year low in March. The increase is making investors more skittish because executives presumably have the best information about their companies’ prospects.

“If insiders are selling into the rally, that shows they don’t expect their business to be able to support current stock- price levels,” said Joseph Keating, the chief investment officer of Raleigh, North Carolina-based RBC Bank, the unit of Royal Bank of Canada that oversees $33 billion in client assets. “They’re taking advantage of this bounce and selling into it.”

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URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/insiders-exit-shares-at-the-fastest-pace-in-two-years/