Money

While people in advanced economies are most bearish about their economic situation, they report very low levels of deprivation relative to others around the world.

Publics around the world are decidedly unhappy about their nations’ economies. However, citizens of emerging market countries are overall more pleased with their economies than are people in advanced or developing economies.

Citizens of emerging market countries are happier with their economies than are people in advanced or developing economies.

Farmers wearing bulletproof vests and toting assault rifles ride in pick-up trucks emblazoned with the word "self-defense" to protect this rural Mexican town from a drug cartel.The government deployed thousands of troops to the western state of Michoacan this week, but in some towns like Coalcoman, population 10,000, vigilantes are wary of putting down their weapons until they feel safe again."We won't drop our guard until we see results," Antonio Rodriguez, a 37-year-old avocado grower and member of the community force, told AFP.Authorities detained four members of a self-defense group in another town called Buenavista on Wednesday, angering about 200 residents, some wielding sticks, who surrounded some 20 soldiers to demand their release.The situation was defused about five hours later, when two of the detainees were released, according to an interior ministry source. Local media reported that all four had been released.Interior Minister Miguel Angelo Osorio Chong said earlier that the soldiers were merely having a "dialogue" with the residents to resolve the dispute, but he insisted that the authorities would disarm and detain anyone with a weapon."The army is there. They asked for security and protection, and they have it. There is no justification to walk around armed," he told Radio Formula.Last week, Coalcoman residents packed the main square to show their support for the 200-strong vigilante patrol, making it the latest Michoacan town to take up arms in recent months to combat cartel extortion and violence.AFP journalists saw civilians Wednesday carrying handguns, hunting rifles and even AR-15 semi-automatic rifles in the town, which lies in Tierra Caliente, a region known as a hotbed of cartel activity."We got tired of paying the quota," said Adriana, a 32-year-old woman working in a pharmacy.The "cuota" is extortion money the Knights Templar cartel charges business owners, farmers, taxi drivers and even mayors."Anyone who didn't pay would be kidnapped and 'bang, bang,' they'd kill him," said Adriana, squeezing her finger as if pulling a trigger.In recent months, the self-defense groups detained people they accused of working with the cartels and clashed with drug traffickers. The gangsters responded by besieging towns and preventing food deliveries.Michoacan was the first state to see troops when then-president Felipe Calderon deployed soldiers and marines across the nation to crack down on cartels in 2006.But the gang violence surged throughout Mexico, leaving 70,000 deaths in its wake by the time Calderon left office in December.The government of President Enrique Pena Nieto sent around 4,000 soldiers and marines this week to Michoacan along with 1,000 federal police to restore peace in the agricultural state.Military surveillance planes fly over towns while soldiers man checkpoints in Tierra Caliente. But self-defense groups still staff their own road blocks in some parts of the state."They should first disarm organized crime, then the people," said a young man wearing body armor and a white T-shirt inscribed with the words "self-defense group" on the back.Late Tuesday, a vigilante patrol detained an alleged thief in Coalcoman, beating him until his face was bloody and then parading him through the town square in front of residents and dozens of federal police.The road linking Coalcoman to the village of Buenavista is littered with the charred remains of buses and other vehicles that were used by the cartel to block the delivery of food, medicine and other goods.At the entrance of Buenavista, a sign greets drivers with the words: "Welcome to the village of Buenavista, free of quotas and Knights Templar."A checkpoint was installed near a white altar with a red cross built by the Knights Templar on the side of the road in honor of Nazario Moreno, alias "El Chayo," a drug lord the government believes was killed in a clash in 2010.His body was never found and the religion-inspired cartel reveres him like a saint. The

(Bob Reck) After a number of high-profile and embarrassing Twitter feed hackings, the tweeps over at Twitter realized that they need to join every other online service that has moderate importance in users’ lives and implement two-factor authentication already. If it’s good enough for our bank accounts and our Gmail, it’s good enough for our joke-delivery service, right? Two-factor authentication is what you should have turned on for important things like…well, like your personal e-mail and your bank accounts, like I said in that last sentence. The idea is that you log in using a regular old password, and then a second piece of ID that proves you have access to something other than a regular old password. You might have to produce a code from a smartphone app, or a numeric code sent to your authenticated phone number or e-mail address. Twitter has the advantage that it began as a phone-based service. They produced a handy video showing users how to set up two-factor. Of course, the service isn’t meant for regular old Twitter users like you or me with just a few dozen or a few hundred followers, some of whom may not even be spambots. It’s for high-profile accounts with lots and lots of followers like The Onion or the Associated Press. There’s a flaw inherent in this: accounts that belong to companies and to media outlets are usually shared, and it’s sort of hard to set up two-factor authentication for an account that a bunch of people share. Twitter Introduces Two-Step Authentication [Mashable]

James Holmes, officials say, purchased 6,000 rounds of ammo online before he shot up a movie theater in Colorado last year. Officials have unsealed documents which show he received several deliveries from ammo companies in the weeks leading up to the shootings, as well as other packages; so many, in fact, that they were coming on almost a “daily basis”. Holmes, who has been charged with 166 offenses–including murder and attempted murder for the 12 people he killed and 58 who were wounded–has officially requested to change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. Holmes also purchased several weapons from nearby stores, and police have stressed that everything he bought, he bought legally. “Some versions of the AR-15 assault rifle that police said was one of three guns James Holmes carried into the movie theater massacre were outlawed for civilian sale under the federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. Since then, all versions have been legal for sale and possession in the U.S.,” writer Kurt Heine said. “The AR-15, widely distributed by more than two dozen manufacturers in a range of calibers, is a semi-automatic rifle that fires shots individually, with each pull of the trigger. Aftermarket parts available at sporting goods stores include magazines big enough to hold 90 bullets. AP reports Holmes’ gun was equipped with a high-capacity, drum-style magazine.” James Holmes bought 6,000 rounds of ammo online. Good thing the dealers went out of their way to make sure he was 18. mashable.com/2012/07/21/the… — Dan Aldridge (@DanAldridge1) July 25, 2012 Aurora Massacre-no law prevent severely mentally ill from purchasing 6,295 rounds ammo,body armor killer bought online huff.to/ZqsQXf — ??????? ?????? Ñî??ø (@BlazePhoenix_) January 9, 2013

Destroying the Planet for Record ProfitsCross-posted with TomDispatch.comMore...

Behold, the agony and the ecstasy. Yes, the people in Japan want fries with that — lots and lots and lots of fries, apparently, as McDonald’s is serving up its (reportedly) highest-calorie count item ever: A 1,142 calorie container of fries double the size of a regular large fries, dubbed The Mega Potato. What, not the McMega Potato or Mega McPotato? According to Japan Today, the serving of three-quarters of a pound of fries is being marketed as “perfect for sharing,” and we should hope so as it clocks in at about half of what an average person should be consuming per day, calorie-wise. The things is, while some U.S. media outlets are noting that Mickey D’s is “unveiling” this item, it’s actually a limited-edition option that’s simply returning to restaurants across the Pacific. The nationwide release in Japan starts May 24, but Japan Today found a location that already had the new menu. It reports that just using an eyeball measurement, it looks to be about three times your standard hamburger. It’s only on the menu through June, so if you haven’t booked your ticket yet, now could be a good time to visit Japan. I’m just having fun imagining New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg trying to keep this thing out of McDonald’s over here. That thing is probably his arch nemesis. Mega Potato to go back on sale at McDonald’s Japan [Japan Today]

Gold is seeing some safe haven demand this morning as stocks are down, with reports in Asia that the premium for gold bars has hit an all-time high, due to a local shortage of the physical metal. The specter of the quantitative easing “punchbowl” being taken away, raised by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday during Congressional testimony, has caused stock markets worldwide to swoon. Adding to the downer, the HSBC Chinese flash PMI for May recorded the first contraction in seven months. The reported 49.6, against an expected 50.5, continued the downward trend of April’s reading of 50.4. Analysts were expecting 50.5, as the second quarter is traditionally a strong period for Chinese manufacturing. The pessimistic news caused markets throughout Asia to go negative, and depressed base commodities. The Nikkei index in Japan dropped 7.3%, the largest one-day correction in two years, as the yen hit a two-week high against the dollar. The bad news out of China only heightened the sour mood in Europe, which was already depressed over the possibility that the U.S. Fed would stop quantitative easing. European stocks and the common currency both declined, despite the Eurozone Markit PMI improving to 47.5 for May. Yes, it marks 18 straight months of economic contraction, but it is a three-month high for the index, which came in at 47.0 last month. In the U.S., stocks are poised to continue their downward momentum on the back of the contraction in Chinese PMI. One spot of good news in the U.S. economy is the unemployment numbers. First-time jobless claims last week came in at 340,000 new applications, 23,000 less than the week before. The four-week moving average was 339,500, essentially unchanged from the previous week’s 340,000. Continuing unemployment claims fell 112,000 to 2.91 million. These numbers do not include those people whose unemployment has run out, or have stopped actively seeking employment. by David Peterson Filed under: Market News Tagged: ben bernanke, Chinese economy, economic policy changes, European economy, quantitative easing, unemployment

Mark Smich, the second suspect in the Tim Bosma murder, made a brief appearance at a Hamilton courthouse on Thursday morning. He faces a first-degree murder charge in the disappearance and death of Ancaster, Ont. father Tim Bosma.A publication ban has been placed, The Hamilton Spectator's Susan Clairmont reported from the John Sopinka Courthouse. Smich has been remanded into custody and will return to court on June 13.More...