I often talk and write about the world being on fire, but it is associated with economic growth and growing prosperity. It is true the wealth hasn't been this widely spread since the beginning of man quantifying wealth. Let's face it, some of the people now upwardly mobile were actually once considered the assets of others. Save for pockets of indentured servitude, that kind of nonsense is over with but there are still amazing complaints about inequality. It's natural to covet what someone else owns, but earning rather than confiscating is the preferred method of attaining.

Most of the world is okay with the idea of earning prosperity and aren't wasting too much time looking at some other nation's plate—other than a source of inspiration.

Now that war and human trafficking are no longer an option, the vehicle for prosperity is capitalism. More specifically, it is American Style Capitalism.

Everywhere American style capitalism is working there have been efforts to derail it by upsetting locals with horror stories. These campaigns have worked in emerging markets, for instance, most recently India reversed a decision to allow Wal-Mart and other big box grocers from entering the market. Consequentially, poor infrastructure and supply chain has created a food inflation crisis all in the name of saving ma and pa.

Those same horror stories are all being told over and over again in Turkey, which is now ground zero for those forces that want to derail the spread or possible re-embracing of capitalism. The current unrest was sparked ostensibly by protests over a plan to build an Ottoman military barracks in a city park. The barracks would eventually anchor a museum or shopping mall. Not unlike Occupy Wall Street, there was a small gathering of determined protestors saying razing the park would be an assault on the environment and shouldn't happen. Similar protests popped up in scores of cities almost overnight.

The hodgepodge of issues included:

> Environment
> Inequality
> Joblessness
> Commercialization
> Climate change
> Authoritarianism
> Islamism

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Second Revolution?

"My people are going to learn the principles of democracy the dictates of truth and the teachings of science. Superstition must go. Let them worship as they will, every man can follow his own conscience provided it does not interfere with sane reason or bid him act against the liberty of his fellow men."
? Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

I'm no expert on Turkey, but I'm studying hard and asking lots of questions. It is clear this had very little to do with the environment. Sure, the young hip crowd wanted to save its park, but I've read the Turkish government has planted enough trees to repopulate the Amazon. There are those in the country that long for the good old days or at least the good old days on paper, because these are the good old days for Turkey. Sure, Kemal Ataturk created modern-day Turkey with specific concepts to move the nation forward in the aftermath of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

His spirit and teachings guided the nation for a long time with lots of legitimate ideas including rule of law and greater inclusion of women in all facets of life. His tenets of governing continue to be practical and smart but are also being used to keep that nation from advancing forward, which belies the goals of the father of Turkey.

While there are legitimate concerns over authoritarianism and the excessive crackdown on protestors, I think the West is being sold a story of Islamic dictatorship to provide cover. Yes, there are new rules to curb alcohol, which aren't unlike sin taxes in America and less ridiculous than banning Big Gulp sodas. This revolt isn't about environmental issues, too much Islam, or the economy—I think it's about stopping capitalism. Turkey has been an economic rock star.

Articles encouraging riots and unrest in Turkey point to dislocation of Roma and Kurds and to threats of commercialism to street vendors, organized labor, and small shop owners. This kind of rhetoric makes for eclectic voting blocks in western nations that have resulted in the downward spiral of many European nations and put America's greatness at risk. Recently Erdogan boasted of a $29.0 billion airport in Istanbul saying the world was watching Turkey. He was right, but nobody has been watching harder than opponents of capitalism.

These organizations are taking their shot, aided by clumsy handling of a not-so-innocent protest in a city park, but I think they'll fail. As Syria watches its death toll eclipse 100,000 and the embers of the Arab Spring continue to emit heat and uncertainty, there has been a bright shining star in Turkey. It's a nation that could even inspire its new EU counterparts to embrace what once made them great.

Scandal Nation

We got an avalanche of replies on yesterday's Question of the Day, so we'll leave it unchanged this morning. Most are happy the news is out there although there are deep feelings the method was wrong and the impact could harm our ability to fight terrorism.
Hero, period, someone has to slow the madness of this tyrannical govt. He will not stop it but has made us folks stand up and say "Wait a minute." AD

At first I thought Snowden was a traitor, however after thinking about it, I think he is a hero. The government has way too much security. JL

If he has already admitted to this then he is a criminal. But, I do not understand his admission. CH

Right now voting is tied between Hero and Too Early to Tell at 38% each and 24% for Edward Snowden actions being Criminal.

While these scandals haven't had a direct impact on the stock market, in the end the same confidence in government drives the economy—one doesn't sink without the other. I suspect most people are willing to let it all play out, although the level of skepticism is obviously sky high, too.

Today's Session

The Bank of Japan didn't increase its money printing operation, and that's some people worried, but the reality is this market has been looking for a place and time to pull back.

Look for profit-taking in high Beta names to outpace weakness in the broad market. One in particular is Lululemon, which posed amazing sales numbers yesterday only to get slammed on news the CEO is leaving. It's unclear if Christine Day was pushed out in the wake of the sheer pants debacle, but she did an amazing job and investors are concerned. It's interesting to see the market's reaction considering the decades-old movement to have boards take more decisive action against management but that kind of pressure always comes from people not really in the stock market.

Comments

What I want to know is how did a person who appears to be nothing more than an IT clerk get access to sensitive NSA information? A Nunes on 6/11/2013 9:57:20 AM

hero!!! Thanks for men like him to keep our gov't honest. bill on 6/11/2013 10:05:50 AM

Too early to tell, but leaning toward hero. I have friends that are going back to snail mail to transmit more sensitive data. Sheri on 6/11/2013 10:10:52 AM

He is a hero. We need to go back to good police work and stop spying on millions to find one terrorist (oops extremist) Joyce Nash on 6/11/2013 10:15:54 AM

hero Jason on 6/11/2013 10:39:05 AM

D. All the above. We need to learn many more facts about that young man and the programs involved, and the whole bunch of us citizens need to rethink this important situation. Although all three branches of government have nominally OK'd the NSA program, the Court has not been entirely clear on the 4th Amendment connection, Congress has shown UNDERqualified oversight, and the Executive has been less than straight with us. Meanwhile, we can't have confidential government documents and programs exposed at whim without consequences. We also can't continue ignoring a possibly huge government information dragnet that will bite us badly in our future backsides, with no way to stop the thing at that point. George Stelzenmuller on 6/11/2013 10:39:06 AM

When you spot something that is wrong, your duty is to report it. Too often in this country we kill the messanger. Ken King on 6/11/2013 10:53:14 AM

He is a hero, as was Rosa Parks. Dick Kantenberger on 6/11/2013 11:06:27 AM

He is a hero in delivering the truth but an unreliable source due to his past and possible motivation dee on 6/11/2013 11:29:51 AM

You say my email will not be made public, but sadly that's not so. As we all now know. How do we know that the current administration has not used information they've gotten by recording conversations and emails to have the IRS target anyone with a view or opinion that they don't agree with? G. T. VandenBosch on 6/11/2013 11:49:36 AM

spay this size dead penalty. i AM IN st.mORITZ sWITZERLAND FOR 3 MONTH Josef Brunner on 6/11/2013 11:58:40 AM

Poll question....C Regarding Wal-Mart. I checked out Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. They all pay the same as Wal-Mart but nobody complains when one of them opens. Carolann on 6/11/2013 12:39:09 PM

It is too early to tell if this should be considered a criminal act. Roy L. Goodrich on 6/11/2013 1:18:34 PM

Hero in the end. I have never doubted our gov. would square off against its citizens. With what we now know...IRS, Benghazi, healthcare, EPA, tapping the press, and on and on...why would we expect the info. collected here to be any different? We have had fair warning! Richard on 6/11/2013 1:47:40 PM

Thank you, Charles, for finally asking the right question, I.e., what will it take to increase the confidence in the US economy and the trust in our government. While I certainly do not have all of the answers, either do you. Some of the principles that I do believe in are as follows: 1. The two major economic disasters in the last hundred years - the Depression of 1929 and the Recession of 2008- were not the result of over regulation or government intrusiveness; 2. The Fed played a significant roll in bringing us out of recession and guiding us toward stability; 3. Excessive fundamentalism, on both sides of the political spectrum is destructive and resemble playing an entire football game in the end zone; 4. The principal challenges which confront our nation are employment, infrastructure and growth, and; 5 Those challenges cannot be overcome by austerity and lowering taxes on those who have most benefitted from capitalism and can afford to pay to sustain it; 6. Capital, labor and management must work cooperatively if we are to succeed in emerging from the jungle. Each party has to give a little and be aware of universal interests. So, is he a criminal, a crook, or whatever ? Who cares! The question is just a distraction from the real issue. What do you think? Harold Sader on 6/11/2013 1:49:50 PM

I think it is laughable to call him a hero. I see nothing that meets my criteria for heroics. He is obviously a criminal, since he broke the law (and his own oath). But if asked to choose between hero or criminal, I would answer neither since that choice is really whether he did something predominantly right or wrong. I think the subject is the wrong subject to discuss. Most of the answers have been about whether the government is violating the constitutional rights of its citizens for privacy. Those answers miss the mark. First, the surveillance was foreign, not US citizens. Second, the constitution does not have a right to privacy even for our own citizens. Those who are getting outrageously irate ought to read the fourth amendment instead of following hearsay about the traitorous misruling of the US Supreme Court. The great sadness to me is that people in this country get so irate about the idea that people might know the things that they said. Where is the individual integrity? When I say something that I should not say, I do not get irate at the person who calls me to task for it. I get upset with myself for acting badly, and I focus on changing MY behavior. I REGRET that my bad words got spread (because they are BAD WORDS), but I do not claim that anyone did me wrong by pointing out that I said what I said. GROW UP, Americans! Take responsibility for your own words and actions; quit looking to blame someone else because they observed the things you really did. Surveillance is nothing more than seeing what is there; reserve your complaints for when someone (or the government) actually does something wrong to hurt you without cause (like Obama's IRS abuses which violated equal protection). Bob G on 6/11/2013 1:55:01 PM

He did not finish High School a simple task, paid a lot of USD, flunked the Army after four months a simple task , I completed both of the above,, So I would say Criminal.. I hope CIA renders him to an undisclosed location and asks many questions,, JA_investor on 6/11/2013 2:41:44 PM

Hero! Big time. The guy gave up a good job, gave up his career in fact, paying a solid 6 figures and in Hawaii no less to inform his fellow countrymen what the government is up to. Tom S on 6/11/2013 2:57:05 PM

Snowden is an honest guy according to all he has said so far publicly. He did not sell out, he spoke out in favor of the Constitution. JAMES E. RICHARDS` on 6/11/2013 3:22:49 PM

Hero! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5yB3n9fu-rM Norman Hovda on 6/11/2013 3:27:23 PM

Hero Jane on 6/11/2013 3:51:05 PM

This really took some guts. He is a real American, ready to sacrifice his career and freedom to protect other Ameican's rights. Obama is more the trator! He is selling out on our constution... David on 6/11/2013 4:28:22 PM

There was a long article with pictures in "Wired" magazine over 6 months ago. If you read it, you knew everything Mr.Snowdon now came up with. I resent that he gave it to the most leftist paper in England, the Guardian......To me he is a nothing but a traitor. Tom Wayne on 6/11/2013 5:08:47 PM

I am leaning toward hero. We need term limits in the worse way. Our problems will not be solved by the very people (Congress-President) that created the problems. bart harrison on 6/11/2013 5:14:12 PM

First a hero for revealing the actions of a government intent upon imposing it's will on the public by fear. Second, a criminal because he broke the law even tho the government was hiding behind it. His name should be added to the Declaration of Independence. The signers were both heros and criminals. JAC on 6/11/2013 5:56:00 PM

Edward Snowden's egregious betrayal of his country is unconscionable. It is an affront to all US service members in and out of uniform and to all of the dedicated professionals at Booz Allen Hamilton. His biggest accomplishment is to embolden and encourage those that mean to do the US harm. Congratulations Edward. Enjoy looking over your shoulder for the rest of your pitiful life. Randy Moffett on 6/12/2013 2:39:41 AM

its too soon to tell. however, in view of Obamas track record, it might be a very good thing. francesg.gori on 6/12/2013 8:43:55 AM

By the letter of the law, he is a criminal. Whether or not his act is of a moral conviction or an ulterior motive should be the deciding factor as to whether he is heroic or not. A hero must be willing to face the consequences of their actions, good or bad. It makes you wonder about his groveling to the Chinese instead of placing himself at the mercy of the American people. Regina Lewis on 6/13/2013 12:05:38 PM

Is it a criminal act to call the police when you see a bank robbery in progress? Is it a criminal act when in a responsible position to provide sensitive information which may or may not encompass wrongdoing, may imperil certain people and/or processes and may provide information to our enemies to aid them to evade capture? I'd just like to know how what, precisely, was his job for which he was paid $100k a year? Gary D. on 6/13/2013 2:02:17 PM

What good is a Top Secret Clearance if it can be ignored. An oath is an oath. Dean Ritter on 6/14/2013 12:26:44 PM

He is a Low-Life Criminal. He has to go to Jail!! Bill Wansaw on 6/14/2013 1:00:30 PM

You don't go to China. He has done this with disregard to life, his own and others. Eric on 6/14/2013 4:38:31 PM

Snow is a criminal. Who helped him? Our security methods are in danger of leaking so how secure are we? James on 6/15/2013 12:28:56 AM

Wrong is wrong even if we don't like Obama. There are things that national security must keep private. Edward J. Trimnell on 6/18/2013 11:04:55 AM

I don't know Snowden, but if I am to judge him by his actions in the case in question, he is a hero. We should keep in mind that we are Republic and the rule of law should supersede our individual impression of exigent measures. Those who think he violated his oath should consider the lessons of the Nuremberg trials: orders are not an excuse for violating individual rights. Arne Mortensen on 6/19/2013 2:13:42 PM

To early to determine innocent or guilt. The feds will do everything possible to slam this guy. The Federal Bureaucracy (Treasury,DOJ,HHS,DHS,ETC.) will do what it takes to preserve the facade of a Constitutional oversight, to retained usurped authority. I do appreciate Snowden bringing this issue to light. Let's let the courts and a jury determine guilt or innocence. Mark Boyle on 6/19/2013 5:13:50 PM

“Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862 ordering an end to slavery on January 1, 1863.” Sorry Charles, but the Emancipation Proclamation did not put “an end to slavery” as you state. It proclaimed only that all those enslaved in Confederate territory to be forever free, and ordered the Army to treat as free all those enslaved in the ten states that were still in the Confederacy on January 1, 1863. In addition, the Proclamation did not apply to the five slave states that were not part of the Confederacy, nor to most regions already controlled by the Union army. The Proclamation freed only the slaves in the Confederacy over which the Union had no control or power. The Proclamation did not itself outlaw slavery, and did not make the ex-slaves citizens. It wasn’t until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in December 1865 that slavery was made illegal everywhere in the U.S. John C. on 6/19/2013 7:21:53 PM

criminal treason; kira fisher on 6/21/2013 4:02:27 AM

criminal treason; kira fisher on 6/21/2013 4:06:41 AM

Criminal,but all things are not as they seem with this J Edgar/BHO admin.Perhaps a BHO distraction or good cover for Snowden as a agency operative? f.l. on 6/22/2013 5:27:12 AM

The young man is misguided. He is a criminal. JAMES on 6/24/2013 10:48:15 AM

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