NBC

Just in case there wasn't enough on the calendar, between Yellen, Greece, consumer confidence, housing data, Richmond Fed, and of course stocks at another all time high, the latest news out of California is that a Matrolink commuter train struck at least two trucks between Oxnard and Camarilo, in a repeat of a similar tragic accident that took place in New York two weeks ago.

It may be hard to believe, but either one of the two status quo choices for U.S. President currently being force-fed down the American public’s throat will be almost unquestionably more imperial and warlike than Barack Obama. The reason is simple. Any society that apathetically stands by as one President after the other tramples on the Constitution will be subject to a litany of increasingly tyrannical, and even insane, leaders. If you still had any doubt, today we learn that Jeb Bush is actively surrounding himself with the exact same people who under the George W. Bush administration, masterminded the terrible tragedy known as the Iraq war.

Lately, and tragically, not a month can pass in Europe without some deadly, mass shooting event whose inspiration is supposedly racial hatred. One month after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris which left 20 people dead, another series of deadly shootings rocked otherwise quiet Copenhagen this weekend, where the person suspected to be responsible for the death of two people and injuring five first at a freedom of speech event and subsequently, at a synagogue in Copenhagen, was killed by police early in the Sunday morning hours.

Something surprising happened about an hour ago: at 2:15 pm, the USGS reported that a major 6.8 Magnitude earthquake had taken place in Russian territory, 16 kilometers WNW of Klintsy, in a location that is close to the Russian border with both Belarus and Ukraine. What is curious is that some 20 minutes later, the USGS decided that no quake had actually taken place. In fact not only was the earthquake promptly scrubbed from the USGS website but the link we had sent out as notification of the earthquake.

• Methodology change sees Indian economy grow faster than China's (Reuters)
• Can Greek Businesses Even Survive? (WSJ)
• Putin to travel to Minsk talks raising hopes of a deal over Ukraine (Euronews)
• Ukraine contact group representatives deny ceasefire deal in Minsk (Reuters)
• Moar buybacks! Hedge Fund-Backed Investor Puts Himself Up for G.M. Board (NYT)
• Ukraine peace summit overshadowed by some of war's worst fighting (Reuters)
• Time for non-non-GAAP excluding China: Tesla CEO threatens firings after dismal China sales - sources (Reuters)
• Jon Stewart leaving Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show' (Reuters)

Having signed a new five-year contract in December reported to be worth $10 million a year, Brian Williams - the mis-remembering NBC News anchor - has been suspended by the network for six months without pay this evening, according to The NY Times. NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke remarked, "by his actions, Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News. His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate."

A week after the release of a clip with sported professionally produced, near Hollywood-level editing and effects, showing the brutal burning of a Jordanian pilot hostage, Jordan announced it has deployed "thousands" of ground troops to its border with Iraq as it ramps up a campaign against ISIS militants, two Jordanian government officials told NBC News on Tuesday.  As NBC reports, the troops were sent to prevent the infiltration of ISIS fighters into Jordan and as a show of force, according to the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. In other words, what would formerly have been seen as an overt act of territorial incursion, or as it is also known, a sovereign invasion, is now interpreted as a defensive act, one seeking to "prevent" infiltration by the same ISIS, that only exists due to US intervention in Syria in 2013.

With the weight of Tom Brokaw on his shoulders (and neck), NBC's Brian Williams has written a note to NBC Staff...

Star News Anchor’s Fib In Context

The current controversy enveloping the news anchor for NBC Brian Williams is both growing in furor as well as out right shock. As many of you have probably heard he has come under direct fire that is quite real as opposed to the fictional accounts he’s been extolling about a helicopter incident he had in Iraq a few years ago. The main stream media (especially that of television) is currently in the death throes of any semblance of credibility, let alone believability. As more and more incidents resembling the likes of these continue, the quicker as well as scope of their ratings failures will persist. For this is no longer a symptom – it’s now a full-blown metastasized cancer plaguing the main stream media as a whole.

A new group of soldiers, referred to as "Facebook Warriors" will "wage complex and covert information and subversion campaigns," according to The FT. The 1,500-person troop using Twitter and Facebook as a means to spread disinformation, real war truths, and “false flag” incidents as well as just general intelligence gathering. The 77th battalion will reportedly begin operations in April.

President Obama's $4 trillion budget hinges on what Obama calls "middle-class economics," seeking tax breaks for many Americans while imposing increases on top earners, corporations and particularly the financial sector. Many have called it Robin-Hood Economics, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan accuses Obama of exploiting "envy economics." Probably the most controversial aspect is his recently announced six-year, $478 billion public-works program for highway, bridge and transit upgrades, half-financed with a one-time, 14 percent tax on U.S. companies' overseas profits.  As Ryan warned, Ryan said, "This top down redistribution doesn't work."

• Falling Prices Spread Pain Far Across The Oil Patch (WSJ)
• ISIS Group Claims Responsibility for Attacks That Killed 27 in Egypt (NBC)
• Russia Unexpectedly Cuts Key Rate as Economy Eclipses Ruble (BBG)
• Greece’s Feisty Finance Minister Tries a More Moderate Message (NYT)
• U.S. homeownership hits 20-year low, but new households growing (Reuters)
• Indian Banks’ Shares Plunge as Bad-Loan Provisions Surge (BBG)
• Underground Terror Network Said to Benefit Would-Be Jihadists in Europe (WSJ)
• Russia warns West support for Kiev could lead to 'catastrophe' (Reuters)