Financial Armageddon; Iran fires missles, helps Venezuela; Cops warned about right-wing 'terrorists'

1) U.S. "pay czar" Feinberg using formulas, not caps NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's "pay czar" said on Friday he was using formulas and data analysis to determine executive compensation rather than relying on pay caps. Yeah, that makes it better. The government is STILL “determining executive compensation”, something it has NO business doing. See: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE58O3KP20090925 2) US May Face 'Armageddon' If China, Japan Don't Buy Debt The US is too dependent on Japan and China buying up the country's debt and could face severe economic problems if that stops, Tiger Management founder and chairman Julian Robertson told CNBC. "It's almost Armageddon if the Japanese and Chinese don't buy our debt,” Robertson said in an interview. "I don't know where we could get the money. I think we've let ourselves get in a terrible situation and I think we ought to try and get out of it." Robertson said inflation is a big risk if foreign countries were to stop buying bonds. No kidding! Really? …Robertson said while he doesn’t think the Chinese will stop buying US bonds, the Japanese may eventually be forced to sell some of their long-term bonds.  “That's much worse than not buying,” he said. “The other thing is, they're buying almost exclusively short-term debt. And that's what we are offering, because we can't sell the long-term debt. And you know, the history has been that people who borrow short term really get burned.” See: http://www.cnbc.com/id/33004753/ 2a) US credit shrinks at Great Depression rate prompting fears of double-dip recession Both bank credit and the M3 money supply in the United States have been contracting at rates comparable to the onset of the Great Depression since early summer, raising fears of a double-dip recession in 2010 and a slide into debt-deflation. Professor Tim Congdon from International Monetary Research said US bank loans have fallen at an annual pace of almost 14pc in the three months to August (from $7,147bn to $6,886bn).  "There has been nothing like this in the USA since the 1930s," he said. "The rapid destruction of money balances is madness."  The M3 "broad" money supply, watched as an early warning signal for the economy a year or so later, has been falling at a 5pc annual rate.  Similar concerns have been raised by David Rosenberg, chief strategist at Gluskin Sheff, who said that over the four weeks up to August 24, bank credit shrank at an "epic" 9pc annual pace, the M2 money supply shrank at 12.2pc and M1 shrank at 6.5pc. "For the first time in the post-WW2 [Second World War] era, we have deflation in credit, wages and rents and, from our lens, this is a toxic brew," he said. See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/6190818/US-credit-shrinks-at-Great-Depression-rate-prompting-fears-of-double-dip-recession.html 3) Democrats jarred by drop in fundraising WASHINGTON - Democratic political committees have seen a decline in their fundraising fortunes this year, a result of complacency among their rank-and-file donors and a de facto boycott by many of their wealthiest givers, who have been put off by the party's harsh rhetoric about big business. …summer, the three national Republican committees combined to bring in $1.7 million more than their Democratic counterparts in August. The pair of Democratic committees tasked with raising money for House and Senate candidates -- and doing so at a time when the party holds its strongest position on Capitol Hill in a generation -- have watched their receipts plummet by a combined 20 percent with little more than a year to go before the November 2010 midterm elections. See: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33017055/ns/politics-washington_post/ 3a) Dem campaign anxiety: Vulnerables say they lack cover from Pelosi Politically vulnerable Democrats say Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders aren’t offering them the protection from tough votes that they did in the last Congress. …Between a tough vote on a climate change bill that many don’t expect to become law and a leftward push on healthcare legislation, Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) critics within her caucus say she’s left the so-called “majority makers” exposed.

“She keeps trying to push an unpopular package,” said Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), a centrist Blue Dog Democrat, referring to healthcare. “I think it’s fair to say they were better at it before.”

Another Blue Dog lawmaker put it more bluntly. “They’re seriously endangering their majority,” said the Blue Dog, who requested anonymity. “With the increased margin and a [Democratic] president, there seems to be a different feeling.” See: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/60109-dem-campaign-anxiety 4) Wilson to Dems: You "mislead"! …Dear Fellow Republican,  There has been a lot of debate on what is true in the debate over government-run healthcare. But Democrats continue to spin and mislead the public in an attempt to stifle honest and open debate about what this bill will do, what it will cost and how it will change your healthcare. To remedy this, my Republican colleagues have introduced legislation requiring Nancy Pelosi to post all major legislation online for a minimum of 72 hours before it can be brought to a vote. While this seems like common sense, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats have continually rushed major legislation to a vote to ensure little to no public scrutiny. This means, you as a taxpaying citizen, cannot read the legislation before your representatives vote on it.  Posting major legislation online for all to read seems like a no-brainer, but with Nancy Pelosi in charge the odds of this bill reaching the House floor for debate and consideration are slim to none. See: http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0909/Wilson_to_Dems_You_mislead_.html 5) Under pressure for nukes, Iran test fires missiles TEHRAN – Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said it successfully test-fired short-range missiles Sunday in drills meant to show Tehran is prepared to crush any military threat from another country. The display of force comes days after the U.S. and its allies warned Iran over a newly revealed nuclear facility it was secretly constructing. Gen. Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guard Air Force, said Iran had perfected its short range missiles to make them more accurate in tactical battlefield situations and defend the country from any attacks. "We are going to respond to any military action in a crushing manner and it doesn't make any difference which country or regime has launched the aggression," state media quoted Salami as saying. He said the missiles successfully hit their targets. …The missiles tested weren't the kind that can carry a nuclear warhead. Iran is developing such ballistic missiles, but the U.S. believes that effort has been slowed. But the timing of the missile tests has been widely interpreted as an Iranian show of force in the face of the international storm of criticism over the secret facility. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090928/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran 5a) Report: New Iran nuclear facility will be operational soon Iran's newly disclosed nuclear fuel facility will soon become operational, an aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying on Saturday.  The statement came a day after U.S. President Barack Obama demanded that Iran come clean about its nuclear program or face "sanctions that bite" after the disclosure of the new uranium enrichment plant under construction south of Tehran.  "This new plant, God willing, will soon become operational and will make the enemies blind," Mohammad Mohammadi-Golpayegani, who heads Khamenei's office, said, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. See: http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1117083.html 5b) Venezuela seeking uranium with Iran's help PORLAMAR, Venezuela – Iran is helping to detect uranium deposits in Venezuela and initial evaluations suggest reserves are significant, President Hugo Chavez's government said Friday. Mining Minister Rodolfo Sanz said Iran has been assisting Venezuela with geophysical survey flights and geochemical analysis of the deposits, and that evaluations "indicate the existence of uranium in western parts of the country and in Santa Elena de Uairen," in southeastern Bolivar state. "We could have important reserves of uranium," Sanz told reporters upon arrival on Venezuela's Margarita Island for a weekend Africa-South America summit. He added that efforts to certify the reserves could begin within the next three years. The announcement came as revelations that Iran has secretly been building a uranium-enrichment plant provoke concerns among countries including the U.S., Russia, France, Britain, Germany and China. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090925/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_iran 6) Cops, deputies warned again about right-wing 'terrorists' A private activist organization apparently is picking up where the federal government left off when the Department of Homeland Security issued its "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" warning that returning veterans and people in a long list of other categories were potential terrorists.  Only the new warning, delivered recently to police officers, sheriffs and other law enforcement personnel across the country, is lumping those dedicated to the constitutional principles on which the nation was founded together with crazed killers.  The fall 2009 "Intelligence Report" was issued recently by the Southern Poverty Law Center, where officials confirmed to WND it was published specifically for and delivered to law enforcement personnel across the nation. The SPLC did not respond to a WND request for other comment …But the article groups members of various organizations such as Oathkeepers – whose mainly military and law enforcement members pledge to uphold their constitutional duties, including the duty to question and refuse what appear to be illegitimate orders – with a man "said to be interested in joining a militia" who is accused of killing two deputies in Florida. …The warning from the SPLC echoes the alarmism from the earlier federal report. WND has posted the report online.  It warned of potential terrorism threats from those who: Oppose abortion -Are returning veterans -Oppose same-sex marriage -Oppose restrictions on firearms -Oppose lax immigration laws -Oppose the policies of President Obama regarding immigration, citizenship, and the expansion of social programs -Oppose continuation of free trade agreements See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=111078