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WHY IS GEORGE SOROS SELLING OFF HIS GOLD AND SILVER?
On The Money: Internet Police Billion Dollar Plan Raises Privacy Concerns
Ads, Promising Photos Of Dead Osama Bin Laden, Deliver Viruses
South Carolina Debate’s Small Field Guarantees A Strong Libertarian Flavor
GOP, tea parties unite to put health care issue on Nov. 8 ballot
Energy saving light bulbs ‘contain cancer causing chemicals
Is Obama Stretching Out OBL Story For Political Points Like Liberal Pundits Shuster & Miller Suggest
Administration getting info from Al Jazeera
Sarah Palin Omits President Obama’s Name While Praising Bush For Capturing Osama Bin Laden

WHY IS GEORGE SOROS SELLING OFF HIS GOLD AND SILVER?

Posted: 04 May 2011 03:58 PM PDT

By: Jonathon M. Seidl, TheBlaze.com

Business Insider published an interesting story today revealing an even more interesting tidbit: George Soros's hedge fund is dumping gold and silver:

On the other hand, according to reporters Gregory Zuckman and Caroline Cui, Soros has been a seller of gold and silver lately.

What's interesting is why: Soros no longer sees a big threat of deflation. Huh? Yes, while the average person may still think of gold as a bet to counter inflation, the metal obviously surged during the deflation scare, and the attendant raft of central bank easing moves. Those are clearly coming to an end (for now), and thus that theme is coming to an end.

Recently, gold and silver have taken a hit. Gold was down $39 since Monday and "U.S. silver futures have lost 14 percent over the past four sessions, wiping out gains from the previous three weeks that took the price to a 31-year top just below $50 on April 25," CNBC reports.

Still, though, many see gold as safer than the U.S. dollar. Who? Take Mexico for example.

CNBC says Mexico became the latest emerging economy to ditch holdings of U.S. dollars in favor of gold. The country bought over $4 billion worth of bullion between January and March, "while the currency of its biggest trading partner sits at 2-1/2-year lows"

"The size (of the purchase) is certainly pretty chunky to have been accomplished in that space of time, "Credit Suisse precious metals analyst Tom Kendall told CNBC. "So it certainly gives another sizeable layer of support to gold's position in the international reserves system."

On The Money: Internet Police Billion Dollar Plan Raises Privacy Concerns

Posted: 04 May 2011 03:50 PM PDT

By: Mike Luery, Sacramento.cbslocal.com

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – With California deep in debt, a controversial plan has emerged that calls for private vendors to monitor what you buy on the Internet.

The Board of Equalization (BOE) says it could raise a billion dollars a year in previously uncollected use taxes, but critics call it haunting to hire "Internet Police".

One of those critics is Monique Bell, who started My Kid Sister Clothing Company, three years ago in Stockton.

"If you wear it, we sell it," Bell told CBS 13 inside her Stockton home.

Bell is the owner of My Kid Sister Clothing Company, an Internet portal that allows her customers to find clothes for kids – and the whole family at a discount. She's concerned by the BOE plan – a staff proposal to identify Internet buyers who use her site and others, to purchase things from out-of-state vendors.

"I think it's like Big Brother. It's definitely very chilling," said Bell. The Internet entrepreneur told CBS 13, "I think our customers are just going to stop buying from us. We're going to see a dramatic drop in sales."

Under state law, if you buy something online from an out-of-state company with no physical presence here – since you are not paying sales tax, you are supposed to pay a use tax to the State of California, but many people never do.

That could change however, under the BOE proposal, which would authorize California to spend up to $10 million to hire private vendors to track down what you purchase over the Internet.

Ads, Promising Photos Of Dead Osama Bin Laden, Deliver Viruses

Posted: 04 May 2011 03:45 PM PDT

By: Jim Melwert, KYW Newsradio 1060, Philadelphia.cbslocal.com

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – As U.S. officials debate whether or not to release bloody pictures of a dead Osama bin Laden, hackers and scammers are using links and emails promising those pictures to try to infect your computer.

The FBI says these emails could even appear to come from your friends, claiming to show either photos of bin Laden dead or a video of his death.

But it's actually a virus or malware that could steal personal information or cause your entire system to crash.

Officials also warn that internet searches can also direct you to sites with malware or virus. And the bad links are also popping up on Facebook and other social media.

As of now, they say there are no released photos or videos.

Internet security experts say often times, these websites will tell you that you need to download a codec, or video player, to watch the video, but that's actually malware or a virus.

And they say make sure your anti-virus software is to date.

South Carolina Debate’s Small Field Guarantees A Strong Libertarian Flavor

Posted: 04 May 2011 03:40 PM PDT

By: Huffingtonpost.com

WASHINGTON — The final field for the first debate of the Republican presidential primary election is set, but there are twice as many hopefuls who are not attending as there are who will participate.

The South Carolina Republican Party confirmed the final roster of debate participants on Wednesday, announcing that five candidates will be on the stage Thursday night in Greenville. The fivesome consists of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain.

The state party and Fox News, who is hosting the event, will not allow former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, who has formed an exploratory committee but is little known, to participate because he has not averaged at least one percent in national polling.

The presence of both Paul and Johnson — who each have strong libertarian leanings — on such a small stage guarantees that much of the rhetoric on foreign policy will be more isolationist than is normal for a Republican forum. The killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Sunday in Pakistan by U.S. Navy SEALS is likely to make the war in Afghanistan a focus of the debate.

The stakes of the debate will be highest for Pawlenty, who will have to try not to let the fact that he is appearing on a stage with relative longshots — even if Paul in particular has an enthusiastic and substantial following — make him look smaller than other frontrunners.

Many consider Pawlenty to be one of the top three candidates in the entire primary field, which consists of roughly 15 names at the moment. On Tuesday, he called for other potential candidates to “get off the sideline,” revealing that he is tiring of being the only frontrunner bearing the brunt of the brighter media spotlight that comes with a fully geared up campaign.

Like Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has formed an exploratory committee, but he has kept a lower profile. So has former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.). Former Ambassador to China and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has formed a political action committee. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee looks increasingly likely to run but has done nothing formal so far. Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) has said she will likely form an exploratory committee in June.

GOP, tea parties unite to put health care issue on Nov. 8 ballot

Posted: 04 May 2011 03:36 PM PDT

By: William Hershey, Daytondailynews.com

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Republican Party and tea party groups across the state have joined forces to give voters a chance to reject a key part of the federal health care overhaul championed by President Barack Obama.

The effort is aimed at winning approval of a constitutional amendment to ex-  empt Ohio from the so-called individual mandate in the health care law — the requirement that by 2014 everyone must participate in a health care plan.

The amendment could change the dynamics of the Nov. 8 election by putting two major proposals on the ballot.

Opponents of Senate Bill 5, legislation to restrict collective bargaining rights for public employees, also are gathering signatures to put a repeal of that law before voters.

So far, momentum has been with Democrats, unions and other backers of the SB 5 repeal. If the health care amendment makes the ballot, it might attract GOP voters inclined to support the amendment and SB 5 to the polls.

Because state law or state constitution can't supersede federal law, voter passage of the amendment could be mostly symbolic, say constitutional law experts, including Richard Saphire of the University of Dayton School of Law.

However, Chris Littleton, leader of the Ohio Liberty Council, the umbrella group for some 70 tea parties across the state, said the amendment is directed not only at the current federal law, but also at any state or federal effort to compel Ohioans to participate in a health care plan.

"It's one of the largest invasions of liberty we've seen in my lifetime," Littleton said of the federal law.

Energy saving light bulbs ‘contain cancer causing chemicals

Posted: 04 May 2011 03:28 PM PDT

By: Victoria Ward, Telegraph.co.uk

Their report advises that the bulbs should not be left on for extended periods, particularly near someone's head, as they emit poisonous materials when switched on.

Peter Braun, who carried out the tests at the Berlin’s Alab Laboratory, said: "For such carcinogenic substances it is important they are kept as far away as possible from the human environment."

The bulbs are already widely used in the UK following EU direction to phase out traditional incandescent lighting by the end of this year.

But the German scientists claimed that several carcinogenic chemicals and toxins were released when the environmentally-friendly compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) were switched on, including phenol, naphthalene and styrene.

Andreas Kirchner, of the Federation of German Engineers, said: "Electrical smog develops around these lamps.

"I, therefore, use them only very economically. They should not be used in unventilated areas and definitely not in the proximity of the head."

British experts insisted that more research was needed and urged consumers not to panic.

Dr Michelle Bloor, senior lecturer in Environmental Science at Portsmouth University, told the Daily Express: "Further independent studies would need to be undertaken to back up the presented German research."

The Department for the Environment insists the bulbs are safe, despite the fact that they contain small amounts of mercury which would leak out if the glass was broken.

Advice on its website states: "Energy efficient light bulbs are not a danger to the public.

Is Obama Stretching Out OBL Story For Political Points Like Liberal Pundits Shuster & Miller Suggest

Posted: 04 May 2011 12:28 PM PDT

Administration getting info from Al Jazeera

Posted: 04 May 2011 12:24 PM PDT

Sarah Palin Omits President Obama’s Name While Praising Bush For Capturing Osama Bin Laden

Posted: 04 May 2011 12:21 PM PDT