Melissa Costa (17 Sep 2012)
"Is it time to go home yet?"


 
Billionaires Dumping American Stocks
 
 
 In the latest filing for Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett has been drastically reducing his exposure to stocks that depend on consumer purchasing habits. Berkshire sold roughly 19 million shares of Johnson & Johnson, and reduced his overall stake in “consumer product stocks” by 21%. Berkshire Hathaway also sold its entire stake in California-based computer parts supplier Intel.

Fellow billionaire John Paulson, who made a fortune betting on the subprime mortgage meltdown, is clearing out of U.S. stocks too. During the second quarter of the year, Paulson’s hedge fund, Paulson & Co., dumped 14 million shares of JPMorgan Chase. The fund also dumped its entire position in discount retailer Family Dollar and consumer-goods maker Sara Lee.

Finally, billionaire George Soros recently sold nearly all of his bank stocks, including shares of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. Between the three banks, Soros sold more than a million shares.


Read more: Billionaires Dumping Stocks, Economist Knows Why
 
The Middle East is about to Explode
 
From HAARETZ: The White House declined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request recently to meet U.S. President Barack Obama during a UN conference in New York at the end of the month. Obama is making Israel the enemy and not Iran. Iran has identified Obama’s bluff by ignoring everything Obama said publically and continuing its nuclear weapons program daily. Obama told Israel just to wait until the sanctions are in place and negotiations are finished. While Israel waits, Iran gets closer to building a nuclear weapon. From THE HILL: President Obama has invited Egypt's new president to meet him in New York when the United Nations General Assembly convenes in September, an administration official confirmed to The Hill. The invitation to Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, a group with a violent past, could raise concerns among lawmakers who have questioned continued U.S. support for Egypt. Obama has completely turned against Israel and is now supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. He invites Morsi to the White House after he rejects Netanyahu, while the Muslims attack US embassies throughout the Mideast. The Muslims are energized for war because they do not believe America will support Israel during the next Arab-Israeli conflict.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/332837#ixzz26fvXWtBD
 
WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized certain American columnists saying that they "set a new standard for human stupidity" for writing that a nuclear Iran may "stabilize the Middle East".
 
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Netanyahu responded: "I think Iran is very different, they put their zealotry above survival, they have suicide bombers all over the place, I wouldn't rely on their rationality."
 
According to Netanyahu: "Since the advent of nuclear weapons you've had countries that have had access to nuclear weapons who always made a careful calculation of cost and benefit but Iran is guided by a leadership with an unbelievable fanaticism.
 
"It's the same fanaticism that you see storming your embassies today. You want these fanatics to have nuclear weapons?"
 
Your Tax Dollars are Refurbishing Mosques Overseas
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Channel 2 Action News investigation found that the State Department is sending millions of dollars to save mosques overseas. This investment has received criticism as the United States makes an effort to slash nearly $4 trillion in government spending.Plenty of outrage following the announcement made Thursday afternoon by a government commission that suggested huge cuts to the budget, including eliminating the interest education for home mortgage. This juxtaposed with the United States investing millions to refurbish mosques as a good-will effort in Muslim countries has upset many taxpayer groups.
 
“We are spending money we don’t have. This is all on a gigantic credit card right now,” said Jared Thomas, a taxpayer advocate.
 
Millions more dollars have been sent to places like Cyprus. The State Department displays before and after pictures of mosques refurbished with U.S. tax dollars.

Is it time to go home yet?
 
Melissa