The Peanut Gallery

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.The nuclear deal with Iran is not built on trust, U.S. President Barack Obama said at a July 14 news conference, but on verification, and it meets all the bottom lines from the framework deal reached previously. The United States negotiated from a position of strength and principle, Obama said, and every pathway to a nuclear weapon has been cut off. COMMENT: Obama says....LOL

2.JUBA, South Sudan — Warring forces in South Sudan have carried out horrific crimes against children, including castration, rape and tying them together before slitting their throats, the UN has said. “Survivors report that boys have been castrated and left to bleed to death… girls as young as eight have been gang raped and murdered,” UN children’s agency UNICEF chief Anthony Lake said in a statement released earlier this week.
“Children have been tied together before their attackers slit their throats… others have been thrown into burning buildings.” COMMENT: This is not news on CNN...and anyway, Israel will ultimately be held responsible.

3. In 2002, Montreal’s Concordia University was home to infamous riots preventing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from speaking. In 2015, the same university hosted the largest annual international academic gathering for the field of Israel Studies. What a difference 13 years makes. Many of Israel’s considerable advances for the benefit of humankind were showcased earlier this month during the 31st Annual Meeting of the Association for Israel Studies (AIS) at Concordia. Outgoing AIS President Menachem Hofnung called this year’s event “the largest assembly I have presided over.” COMMENT: Go Concordia! Read more http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2015/6/22/israel-studies-confab-gives-canadian-university-new-narrative-on-jewish-state#.VYrWQGBYX5S=

4.The No. 1 U.S. bank by assets JP Morgan revealed 2015 second-quarter earnings per share of $1.54 a share on revenue of $24.53 billion. For the full year of 2008 net income was $5.6 billion and 4th quarter net income only $700 million. COMMENT: Anybody remember the Obama speeches on the big banks getting smaller or perhaps the speeches on Wall Street and main Street? So Wall Street rose 300% and the rich got richer while Main Street....he must have been referring to Baltimore, Ferguson and other ghettoes in the US.

5.New York City reached a $5.9 million settlement Monday with the family of Eric Garner, whose death after he was placed in a chokehold by a police officer sparked a public outcry, officials said. COMMENT: The death of Eric garner was widely reported and this deal.....obviously not newsworthy. 

6.Tony Sagami: You can gnash your teeth over the Greek debt crisis or the Chinese stock meltdown, but one economic sure-thing you should be watching is the collapsing fundamentals of the transportation industry. More problematic for the stock market is that the profit outlook for transportation stocks, particularly ocean shipping companies, is horrible. Drewry Maritime Research estimates that the break-even rate for most container ships is $800 per TEU on the Asia-Europe route. The price today is $243. COMMENT: These numbers are a red light for investors. Read more: http://www.mauldineconomics.com/connecting-the-dots/sinking-ships-train-wrecks-and-empty-trucks-my-case-against-transportation

7.The Greeks voted "no" against austerity. Their government, after supporting the "no" vote then proceeded to ignore the will of the people and approved the same austerity package. Germany, using all its power then humiliated the Greeks and presented what is basically a "takeover" package which will now go to a vote in the Greek parliament. The cat is amongst the pigeons. George Friedman: The specifics are less important than the fact that Greece invoked its sovereign right, and Germany responded by enforcing an agreement that compelled the Greeks to cede those rights. 

8. George Friedman (continued): In World War II, the Germans occupied Greece. As in much of the rest of Europe, the memory of that occupation is now in the country's DNA. This will be seen as the return of German occupation, and opponents of the deal will certainly use that argument. The manner in which the deal was made and extended by the Germans to provide outside control will resurrect historical memories of German occupation. It has already started. The aggressive inflexibility of the Germans can be understood as an attitude motivated by German fears, but then Germany has always been a frightened country responding with bravado and self-confidence. Read more: https://www.stratfor.com/weekly/empire-strikes-back-germany-and-greek-crisis?login=1

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool - Richard P. Feynman

The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be awakened from sleep - Chanakya