Bridging the gap

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 19-Oct-2011
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Contact: Deborah Williams-Hedges
debwms@caltech.edu
626-395-3227
California Institute of Technology

Caltech neuroscientists find normal brain communication in people who lack connections between right and left hemispheres

PASADENA, Calif.Like a bridge that spans a river to connect two major metropolises, the corpus callosum is the main conduit for information flowing between the left and right hemispheres of our brains. Now, neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have found that people who are born without that linka condition called agenesis of the corpus callosum, or AgCCstill show remarkably normal communication across the gap between the two halves of their brains.

Their findings are outlined in a paper published October 19 in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Our brains are never truly at rest. Even when we daydream, there is a tremendous amount of communication happening between different areas in the brain. According to J. Michael Tyszka, lead author on the Journal of Neuroscience paper and associate director of the Caltech Brain Imaging Center, many areas of the brain display slowly varying patterns of activity that are similar to one another. The fact that these areas are synchronized has led many scientists to presume that they are all part of an interconnected network called a resting-state network. Much to their surprise, Tyszka and his team found that these resting-state networks look essentially normal in people with AgCC, despite the lack of connectivity.

"This was a real surprise," says Tyszka. "We expected to see a lot less coupling between the left and right brain in this groupafter all, they are missing about 200 million connections that would normally be there. How do they manage to have normal communication between the left and right sides of the brain without the corpus callosum?"

The work used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that synchronized activity between the left and right brain survives even this sort of radical rewiring of the nerve connections between the two hemispheres. The presence of symmetric patterns of activity in individuals born without a corpus callosum highlights the brain's remarkable plasticity and ability to compensate, says coauthor Lynn Paul, research staff member and lecturer in psychology at Caltech. "It develops these fundamental networks even when the left and right hemispheres are structurally disconnected."

The study that found the robust networks is part of an ongoing research program led by Paul, who has been studying AgCC for several decades. AgCC occurs in approximately one of every 4000 live births. The typical corpus callosum comprises almost 200 million axonsthe connections between brain cellsand is the largest fiber bundle in the human brain. In AgCC, those fibers fail to cross the gap between the hemispheres during fetal development, forcing the two halves of the brain to communicate using more indirect and currently unknown means.

"In the 1960s and 1970s, Roger Sperry at Caltech studied 'split-brain' patients in whom the corpus callosum was surgically severed as a treatment for epilepsy," explains Paul. "Our research on AgCC has moved in a different direction and focuses on a naturally occurring brain malformation that occurs before birth. This allows us to examine how, and to what extent, the brain can compensate for the loss of the corpus callosum as a person grows to adulthood."

According to the team, the findings are especially valuable in light of current theories that link impaired brain connections with clinical conditions including autism and schizophrenia.

"We are now examining AgCC subjects who are also on the autism spectrum, in order to gain insights about the role of brain connectivity in autism, as well as in healthy social interactions," says Tyszka. "About a third of people with AgCC also have autism, and altered connectivity in the corpus callosum has been found in autism. The remarkable compensation in brain functional networks that we found here may thus have important implications also for understanding the function of the brains of people with autism."

###

The work in the paper, "Intact bilateral resting-state networks in the absence of the corpus callosum," was carried out in the laboratory of Ralph Adolphs, Bren Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Caltech, with the help of postdoctoral scholar Daniel Kennedy. It was supported by funding from the Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.


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?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 19-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Deborah Williams-Hedges
debwms@caltech.edu
626-395-3227
California Institute of Technology

Caltech neuroscientists find normal brain communication in people who lack connections between right and left hemispheres

PASADENA, Calif.Like a bridge that spans a river to connect two major metropolises, the corpus callosum is the main conduit for information flowing between the left and right hemispheres of our brains. Now, neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have found that people who are born without that linka condition called agenesis of the corpus callosum, or AgCCstill show remarkably normal communication across the gap between the two halves of their brains.

Their findings are outlined in a paper published October 19 in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Our brains are never truly at rest. Even when we daydream, there is a tremendous amount of communication happening between different areas in the brain. According to J. Michael Tyszka, lead author on the Journal of Neuroscience paper and associate director of the Caltech Brain Imaging Center, many areas of the brain display slowly varying patterns of activity that are similar to one another. The fact that these areas are synchronized has led many scientists to presume that they are all part of an interconnected network called a resting-state network. Much to their surprise, Tyszka and his team found that these resting-state networks look essentially normal in people with AgCC, despite the lack of connectivity.

"This was a real surprise," says Tyszka. "We expected to see a lot less coupling between the left and right brain in this groupafter all, they are missing about 200 million connections that would normally be there. How do they manage to have normal communication between the left and right sides of the brain without the corpus callosum?"

The work used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that synchronized activity between the left and right brain survives even this sort of radical rewiring of the nerve connections between the two hemispheres. The presence of symmetric patterns of activity in individuals born without a corpus callosum highlights the brain's remarkable plasticity and ability to compensate, says coauthor Lynn Paul, research staff member and lecturer in psychology at Caltech. "It develops these fundamental networks even when the left and right hemispheres are structurally disconnected."

The study that found the robust networks is part of an ongoing research program led by Paul, who has been studying AgCC for several decades. AgCC occurs in approximately one of every 4000 live births. The typical corpus callosum comprises almost 200 million axonsthe connections between brain cellsand is the largest fiber bundle in the human brain. In AgCC, those fibers fail to cross the gap between the hemispheres during fetal development, forcing the two halves of the brain to communicate using more indirect and currently unknown means.

"In the 1960s and 1970s, Roger Sperry at Caltech studied 'split-brain' patients in whom the corpus callosum was surgically severed as a treatment for epilepsy," explains Paul. "Our research on AgCC has moved in a different direction and focuses on a naturally occurring brain malformation that occurs before birth. This allows us to examine how, and to what extent, the brain can compensate for the loss of the corpus callosum as a person grows to adulthood."

According to the team, the findings are especially valuable in light of current theories that link impaired brain connections with clinical conditions including autism and schizophrenia.

"We are now examining AgCC subjects who are also on the autism spectrum, in order to gain insights about the role of brain connectivity in autism, as well as in healthy social interactions," says Tyszka. "About a third of people with AgCC also have autism, and altered connectivity in the corpus callosum has been found in autism. The remarkable compensation in brain functional networks that we found here may thus have important implications also for understanding the function of the brains of people with autism."

###

The work in the paper, "Intact bilateral resting-state networks in the absence of the corpus callosum," was carried out in the laboratory of Ralph Adolphs, Bren Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Caltech, with the help of postdoctoral scholar Daniel Kennedy. It was supported by funding from the Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/ciot-btg101911.php

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New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for Tuesday, October 18

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you! Calculus doodlus A calculator...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/6kJFasu4aYk/

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Activists: Syrian troops fire on funeral in east

(AP) ? Activists say Syrian government troops have fired live ammunition to disperse mourners gathered for the funeral of an activist in the country's east.

There was no immediate word on casualties from Sunday's shooting in the city of Deir el-Zour.

The activist, Ziad al-Obeidi, was shot dead Saturday. He worked for the British-based Observatory for Human Rights in Syria and had been in hiding since troops stormed the city two months ago.

Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said some 7,000 people calling for the downfall of President Bashar Assad took part in Sunday's funeral procession.

Abdul-Rahman and other activists said security forces also stormed areas near the capital Damascus and were carrying out house-to-house arrests as part of efforts to suppress the resilient anti-government uprising.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-16-Syria/id-9cb9839835a943b0889add9fc41eb055

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Larry Hagman of 'Dallas' diagnosed with cancer (AP)

NEW YORK ? Larry Hagman has been diagnosed with cancer.

The 80-year-old actor is famous for playing J.R. Ewing on "Dallas." In a statement Friday, he said: "As J.R. I could get away with anything ? bribery, blackmail and adultery. But I got caught by cancer."

Hagman declined to specify what kind of cancer he's contracted, but said it's "a very common and treatable form." He plans to continue working on a new reboot of "Dallas" for TNT, which begins production Monday.

The new "Dallas" focuses on the Ewing offspring as they clash over the future of the family dynasty. The original prime-time soap opera aired on CBS from 1978 to 1991. Hagman underwent a liver transplant in the mid-1990s.

Said Hagman: "As we all know, you can't keep J.R. down!"

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111014/ap_en_ce/us_people_larry_hagman

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Obama pulls plug on part of health overhaul law (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration Friday pulled the plug on a major program in the president's signature health overhaul law ? a long-term care insurance plan dogged from the beginning by doubts over its financial solvency.

Targeted by congressional Republicans for repeal, the program became the first casualty in the political and policy wars over the health care law. It had been expected to launch in 2013.

"This is a victory for the American taxpayer and future generations," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., spearheading opposition in the Senate. "The administration is finally admitting (the long-term care plan) is unsustainable and cannot be implemented."

Proponents, including many groups that fought to pass the health care law, have vowed a vigorous effort to rescue the program, insisting that Congress gave the administration broad authority to make changes. Long-term care includes not only nursing homes, but such services as home health aides for disabled people.

Known as CLASS, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program was a longstanding priority of the late Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Although sponsored by the government, it was supposed to function as a self-sustaining voluntary insurance plan, open to working adults regardless of age or health. Workers would pay an affordable monthly premium during their careers, and could collect a modest daily cash benefit of at least $50 if they became disabled later in life. The money could go for services at home, or to help with nursing home bills.

But a central design flaw dogged CLASS. Unless large numbers of healthy people willingly sign up during their working years, soaring premiums driven by the needs of disabled beneficiaries would destabilize it, eventually requiring a taxpayer bailout.

After months insisting that could be fixed, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, finally admitted Friday she doesn't see how.

"Despite our best analytical efforts, I do not see a viable path forward for CLASS implementation at this time," Sebelius said in a letter to congressional leaders.

The law required the administration to certify that CLASS would remain financially solvent for 75 years before it could be put into place.

But officials said they discovered they could not make CLASS both affordable and financially solvent while keeping it a voluntary program open to virtually all workers, as the law also required.

Monthly premiums would have ranged from $235 to $391, even as high as $3,000 under some scenarios, the administration said. At those prices, healthy people were unlikely to sign up. Suggested changes aimed at discouraging enrollment by people in poor health could have opened the program to court challenges, officials said.

"If healthy purchasers are not attracted ... then premiums will increase, which will make it even more unattractive to purchasers who could also obtain policies in the private market," Kathy Greenlee, the lead official on CLASS, said in a memo to Sebelius. That "would cause the program to quickly collapse."

That's the same conclusion a top government expert reached in 2009. Nearly a year before the health care law passed, Richard Foster, head of long-range economic forecasts for Medicare warned administration and congressional officials that CLASS would be unworkable. His warnings were disregarded, as Obama declared his support for adding the long-term care plan to his health care bill.

The demise of CLASS immediately touched off speculation about its impact on the federal budget. Although no premiums are likely to be collected, the program still counts as reducing the federal deficit by about $80 billion over the next ten years. That's because of a rule that would have required workers to pay in for at least five years before they could collect any benefits.

"The CLASS Act was a budget gimmick that might enhance the numbers on a Washington bureaucrat's spreadsheet but was destined to fail in the real world," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Administration officials said Obama's next budget would reflect the decision not to go forward. Even without CLASS premiums, they said the health care law will still reduce the deficit by more than $120 billion over 10 years.

Kennedy's original idea was to give families some financial breathing room. Most families cannot afford to hire a home health aide for a frail elder, let alone pay nursing home bills. Care is usually provided by family members, often a spouse who may also have health problems.

"We're disappointed that (Sebelius) has prematurely stated she does not see a path forward," AARP, the seniors' lobby, said in a statement. "The need for long-term care will only continue to grow."

Sebelius said the administration wants to work with Congress and supporters of the program to find a solution. But in a polarized political climate, it appears unlikely that CLASS can be salvaged. Congressional Republicans remain committed to its repeal.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111014/ap_on_he_me/us_long_term_care_program

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G-20 finance chiefs meet on debt crisis, economy (AP)

PARIS ? Finance ministers and central bank governors of the world's leading economies are gathering in Paris to discuss how to save Greece from bankruptcy, beat a path out of Europe's wider debt crisis and restart global economic growth.

Despite the high stakes, leaders have kept expectations low for Friday and Saturday's Group of 20 meeting in Paris. They have promised a plan by the end of the month, and this weekend is likely to be dominated by behind-doors negotiations.

The meeting opens Friday evening with a dinner. Among the topics expected to be addressed are the recapitalization of banks that hold risky debt, a way to lower Greece's debt burden and measures to stimulate the world economy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111014/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_g20_finance

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Troubled Eurozone Finance Capital | War Is A Crime .org

??Troubled Eurozone Finance Capital - by Stephen Lendman

?

For years, Progressive Radio News Hour contributor Bob Chapman warned about troubled Eurozone financial institutions and possible sovereign defaults.

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Greece died months ago. Default is certain. Only its obituary hasn't appeared. Germany prepared contingency plans to reissue the Deutschemark if Eurozone stability crumbles.

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Six possible sovereign defaults loom if contagion spreads out of control. "Considering the condition of other European banks, and the possibility that three major French banks may be purchased by China, we could see disruption in the global banking system," warns Chapman.

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"The very fact that Germany is building a reserve of Deutschemarks has to spell the possible end of the euro."

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If conditions keep eroding, its advocates will be discredited for believing its time had come. Without Germany as its lynchpin, it's heading for history's dustbin.

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Markets know Greek default is certain, but haven't priced in Germany readopting its D-mark. Chapman "predicted it 12 years ago and many times since."?

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Disruption will be severe if it happens. "Overall, we cannot imagine a euro without German involvement. Secretly, the Germans have already made the decision."

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They're trying to save themselves financially and economically. An entirely new Germany will emerge. "We believe that (it's) on the cusp of taking care of domestic institutions and problems and protecting" domestic investors over others in troubled countries.

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In preparation, they're also protecting their banks. "At least six countries are going under, and all their debt will be worthless or near worthless."

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Watch troubled Greece. When it goes, they'll "all go." If Greece doesn't get its (next infusion, it'll) happen quickly." Otherwise, it'll be delayed another six to 12 months.

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US banks won't escape trouble. Bank of America will "probably (be) nationalize(d)." Heavy European exposure of other major ones means they'll all be greatly impacted. Convulsion will grip financial markets. "We could eventually have what looks like 1929 - 1933 all over again" after Wall Street crashed.

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D-marks are being printed in preparation for "the greatest crisis to (grip Europe) since WW II. Moreover, bailing wire hold(ing)" Eurozone countries to the euro is "coming unraveled....The dream of Europe as the centerpiece for a new world order is over. There will be big government changes" across the continent as many insolvent banks are nationalized or shuttered.

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As Europe's strongest economy, Germany's preparing to save itself as insolvent countries fail. "This is truly how dire the situation is. Cost analysis dictates the end of the euro and perhaps....the EU."

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Crooked bankers caused these problems, knowing bailouts will save the largest too-big-to-fail ones. Concerned French officials are following Germany's lead by printing francs just in case.

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Unity perhaps works with equal partners. Unequal ones under common rules assures inevitable trouble, especially when finance capital giants engage in reckless speculation and massive fraud for short and intermediate term gains.

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As conditions in Europe unravel, global reverberations will follow. Ongoing Depression crisis will worsen, hitting working households hardest everywhere.

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Financial expert Martin Weiss also sees serious trouble coming. On October 10, he issued seven major advance warnings.?

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Months before 2008's financial storm, he warned of failures hitting Bear Stearns, Lehman Bros., Citigroup, Washington Mutual, and Fannie Mae "four years before it collapsed."

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His new calls are some of his "most important in 40 years." They mostly affect Europe, but will impact global economies.

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1. Insolvent Greece will soon default. European, US and other global banks hold billions of its toxic assets. Whether or not they'll accept a major haircut makes no difference. Greece is dead.

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2. Fear contagion will spread because Greece has "over 328 billion euros" in toxic debt, "more than Ireland and Portugal combined." Moreover, other Eurozone countries are also troubled. Once one collapses, expect others to follow.

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3. "European megabanks will collapse" under the weight of billions of dollars in toxic debt defaults combined with "mass withdrawals" as investors run for the exits.

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"Spain's banks are especially vulnerable, swimming in a cesspool of bad mortgages" caused by the country's imploding housing bubble.

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So are larger French banks, including BNP Paribas with $2.7 trillion in assets, Credit Agricole with $2.1 trillion, and Societe Generale with $1.5 trillion.

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Combined, these banks have more assets than JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup. "All three are drowning in bad loans" and are in danger of cratering.

?

They also face mass withdrawals if worried investors sell to avoid big losses. Moreover, deposits comprise less than 35% of Eurozone bank assets. They mostly rely on "wholesale funding - money borrowed from other banks and institutions. In other words, they're hooked on HOT MONEY" used for highly leveraged speculation.

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When troubled signs appear, withdrawals quickly follow. In 2008, similar bank runs doomed Washington Mutual and other US banks. They almost sunk giants like Citigroup and Bank of America. They and other major US banks remain vulnerable to a similar crisis today.

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Giant Eurozone banks are especially at risk "because they rely on hot money far more than US banks. And many appear to be suffering big runs" right now.

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An emergency European Central Bank (ECB) $40 billion bailout tried to compensate unsuccessfully. It's a "drop in the bucket, barely covering ONE CENT for each dollar of PIIGS' (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece & Spain) outstanding debt.

?

4. Eurozone countries "will suffer a cascade of new credit rating downgrades." France and Germany will provide temporary relief. However, bailouts only work short term, letting smaller crises become greater ones.?

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Out-of-control debt isn't solved by more of it. Eventually a house of cards collapses crushing economies. Moreover, counterproductive measures cause "governments (to) gut their own fiscal balance."

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Downgrades follow. Borrowing costs rise, forcing sovereigns to "pay through the nose with far higher interest rates. In other words, in their zeal" to rescue banks from collapse, governments drag themselves "into the abyss."

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5. Spain and Italy are next in line "to face default on their massive debt." Combined, they have nearly $3.4 troubled trillions, "10 times more than Greece." The combination of higher borrowing costs and failing banks risks defaults in both countries because they can't borrow enough to service crushing amounts owed.

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6. Global debt market meltdowns may follow. If investors fear Spain and/or Italy may default, they'll freeze because of mass withdrawals. Major countries like Germany, France, Britain, Japan and America will be affected. So will others. Interest rates will rise sharply. Borrowing at any cost will be curtailed or impossible.

?

7. Sovereign debt defaults and bank failures will cause more of them. Global Depression will deepen. "Ultimately, we will see an extended period of great economic hardship for billions of people" everywhere.

?

In fact, crisis conditions have "progressed far beyond the deniability stage." Enough money power doesn't exist to bail out everyone. "The era of big bank bailouts is over!"?

?

Short-term stopgap measures only are possible that exacerbate current crisis conditions. Global financial structures delay the inevitable by "l(ying) about the value of their loans" to troubled countries. "And governments lie about how much (is needed) to save insolvent banks."

?

"Solemn promises are made. Paper is shifted back and forth." Manipulated markets rally. But it's all a shell game "no better than rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic," taking on water fast and sinking.

?

On October 10, giant Belgium-based Dexia bank failed, the largest collapse since 2008-09. Its assets exceed Belgium's GDP. It was the largest global municipal governments lender. It actually passed Europe's stress test three months ago.

?

Major banks larger than Dexia may follow. Rigged stress tests let insolvent ones like Italy's UniCredit and French giants BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale pass.

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Toxic debt didn't sink Dexia. Mass wholesale funding withdrawals did, threatening insolvent European and US banks if contagion spreads.?

?

So far, policy measures pile good money on bad. Sovereign finances weaken. Credit downgrades and higher borrowing costs follow. Hard times worsen.?

?

Loaded with toxic debt, US banking giants are vulnerable. A day of reckoning approaches when nothing tried will work.?

?

Conditions globally are out of control. Belgium's Dexia defaulted with $707 billion in assets. Despite reeling with unfixable problems, Greece bailed out its failed Proton Bank. So did Denmark for its Max Bank. Others anywhere across the continent can implode any time, including troubled giants.

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Meanwhile, everything done makes a bad situation worse, heading for big trouble perhaps sooner than expected.

?

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.?

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Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

?

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.

Source: http://warisacrime.org/content/troubled-eurozone-finance-capital

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Brian Frederick: The NBA Lockout, Congress and Senator Herb Kohl

On Monday, the NBA announced the cancellation of the first two weeks of the 2011-12 season. It is the second work stoppage in NBA Commissioner David Stern's tenure. The rift between the owners and players is so great that it's highly unlikely that there will be a resolution any time soon.

Should Congress have to intervene in the NBA lockout, it will be more than justified. As of 2010, the public has spent $2.9 billion financing NBA arenas compared to only $3.2 billion in private financing. ?That means that the public and NBA owners are almost equally invested in the infrastructure of basketball. Our cities agreed to fund these stadiums with the expectation that there would be games -- we aren't paying for empty arenas. And indeed, it will be the local workers and businesses around the arenas that will truly bear the brunt of this lockout.

Most fans are apprehensive about getting the government involved in sports -- but the government is already heavily involved in sports. We the people grant the NBA and other leagues an antitrust exemption so that they can collectively negotiate broadcast contracts. This is a privilege, not a right, and can be revoked. We also grant the NBA the right to collectively negotiate with the players union -- another privilege.

So if the NBA's lockout of its players, workers and fans is not in the best interest of the public, Congress can and should investigate. The Senate Judiciary Committee has a subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights, which would seem to be the appropriate body to investigate the lockout.

Guess who chairs that subcommittee? Milwaukee Bucks owner and Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl.

Now, if the Judiciary Committee did take up the issue, Kohl would likely recuse himself. But what are the odds it takes up the issue in the first place with Kohl on the committee?

Ideally, Kohl should turn over his gavel to someone else on the committee without a direct conflict of interest -- someone like Sen. Al Franken or Sen. Richard Blumenthal. Then, the committee could call as its first witness none other than Kohl, so he could explain why he and the other owners are willing to shut out local businesses and workers in the interests of his own profits.

Kohl has stated that the Bucks have been losing money for years. And he borrowed $55 million from the NBA last year according to his Senate financial disclosure form, though that doesn't necessarily mean they're losing money. Nor does it mean Kohl himself is losing money. The Bucks owner has a net worth of at least $200 million.

It is true that the Bucks are the least-valued franchise in the NBA. Forbes estimated the team to be worth $258 million. But guess how much Kohl paid for the Bucks in 1985? $19 million. The Bucks may or may not be losing money, but Kohl could still sell the club and make a couple hundred million dollars.

So if the economic outlook is so grim for owners, why don't Kohl and other concerned owners sell? Keep in mind that absolutely none of them will actually lose money by selling their clubs. (Former New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn ran that club into the ground and still sold the team for $300 million to the NBA after buying them in 1987 for $32.5 million.)

The truth is that NBA owners know as long as they can continue to take advantage of the antitrust exemptions we grant them and as long as fans continue to remain apathetic about the lockout, they can continue to put pressure on the players by withholding their paychecks. Problem is, that means they're withholding the paychecks of stadium workers and affecting local economies. And that means hundreds of millions of dollars in tax subsidies are going to waste.

Only Congress can force NBA owners to explain why the pursuit of their own profits should trump the massive public investment we've made in the game. But when Congress is made up of an NBA owner and at least 244 other millionaires, don't hold your breath.

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Follow Brian Frederick on Twitter: www.twitter.com/brifred

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-frederick/nba-lockout-congress_b_1005043.html

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