Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Mayor Bloomberg: 'I have my own army'
from rt.com.....
"Call it martial law or call it a police state. Either one you chose isn’t too far off and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg knows it. At a speaking engagement Tuesday night, Bloomberg referred to the NYPD as his own army.
"Call it martial law or call it a police state. Either one you chose isn’t too far off and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg knows it. At a speaking engagement Tuesday night, Bloomberg referred to the NYPD as his own army.
''Study shows deeper meltdown than thought at Fukushima nuclear reactor''
from japan today.....
"Radioactive debris from melted fuel rods may have seeped deeper into the floor of a Japan’s tsunami-hit nuclear reactor than previously thought, to within a foot from breaching the crucial steel barrier, a new simulation showed Wednesday.
The findings will not change the ongoing efforts to stabilize the reactors more than eight months after the Fukushima Daiichi plant was disabled, but they harshly depict the meltdowns that occurred and conditions within the reactors, which will be off-limits for years"..........READ MORE
"Radioactive debris from melted fuel rods may have seeped deeper into the floor of a Japan’s tsunami-hit nuclear reactor than previously thought, to within a foot from breaching the crucial steel barrier, a new simulation showed Wednesday.
The findings will not change the ongoing efforts to stabilize the reactors more than eight months after the Fukushima Daiichi plant was disabled, but they harshly depict the meltdowns that occurred and conditions within the reactors, which will be off-limits for years"..........READ MORE
''Britain has entered second credit crunch, confirms Downing Street''
from the telegraph......
"The US Federal Reserve spearheaded a scheme by central banks around the world, including the Bank of England, to lend money to ailing European banks that were struggling to borrow.
The emergency action to stop the international financial system from freezing up again was prompted by rumours that a European bank was facing difficulties and could not raise money. Panic started to spread through the German bond markets, which threatened to result in a credit freeze for European banks.
British banks have been warned by the Financial Services Authority, the City watchdog, that they must make preparations for the collapse of the single currency.
Downing Street sources insisted that the global economy was not facing a “Lehman’s moment”, in reference to the collapse of the American investment bank.
However, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “Clearly there is a very serious situation in the financial markets at this time"...........READ MORE
'Sen. Rand Paul Defends American Citizens Against Indefinite Detainment'
from rand pauls you tube channel.......
''China-Myanmar ties challenged by US moves''
from china's people daily....
"For centuries , the two peoples have traveled freely across the border on dirt roads and forested mountains . Chinese late foreign minister Marshal Chen Yi composed a poem which reads , "I (China ) am upstream and you (Myanmar ) are downstream . We share water from the same river with friendship ."
Today , Myanmar is the pivot of China 's grand strategy to achieve its economic growth goal .
The development of Western China depends on a secured shorter trade and fuel routes to the ocean . Close to the key shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia , Myanmar is important for China to develop its southwestern inland provinces , which have a population of about 200 million people".........READ MORE
''Russian arms in US backyard: Back in Cuba''
from rt.com.....
"Russia has launched a military partnership project with its Cold War ally Cuba, amid rising tensions over US plans to deploy an anti-missile system in Europe.
"Russia has launched a military partnership project with its Cold War ally Cuba, amid rising tensions over US plans to deploy an anti-missile system in Europe.
"Single mother builds $4,000 home using an old shipping container and flatbed trailer"
is this our future?????..........from daily mail.....
"It’s one of the most innovative uses of a shipping container ever seen - but this single mother’s only child hasn’t quite yet made her mind up about whether she likes living in what is essentially a shed.
A California woman calling herself Lulu has created an astonishing 160 sq ft home for $4,000 after turning the structure into a living area with insulation, windows, cabinets, doors, water and heating"........PICS/TEXT HERE
''Mysterious blast in Iran's Isfahan damaged key nuclear site''
from haaretz.....
"A mysterious blast which reportedly rocked Isfahan in western Iran on Monday damaged a key nuclear facility in the city, the Times of London reported on Wednesday.
On Monday, Haaretz cited Iranian media as reporting that an explosion was heard near Isfahan, home to a uranium conversion plant operational since 2004".....READ MORE
''Hu Jintao’s secret plan for India''
from indian punchline....
"The performance over the Indian Navy stands out as stupendous. The FP says: “India is focusing on sea power, a crucial new area of competition [with China]. The country is planning to spend almost $45 billion over the next 20 years on 103 new warships, including destroyers and nuclear submarines. By comparison, China’s investment over the same period is projected to be around $25 billion for 135 vessels”............READ MORE
"The performance over the Indian Navy stands out as stupendous. The FP says: “India is focusing on sea power, a crucial new area of competition [with China]. The country is planning to spend almost $45 billion over the next 20 years on 103 new warships, including destroyers and nuclear submarines. By comparison, China’s investment over the same period is projected to be around $25 billion for 135 vessels”............READ MORE
''Foreclosure Crisis Isn’t Even Halfway Over, Analysis Finds''
from nytimes....
"The report from the Center for Responsible Lending, “Lost Ground, 2011,” finds that at least 2.7 million mortgages loaned from 2004 through 2008, or about 6 percent, have ended in foreclosure and that nearly 4 million more home loans (roughly 8 percent) from the same period remain at serious risk.
Put another way, “The nation is not even halfway through the foreclosure crisis,” says the report, which analyzed 27 million mortgages made over the five years".......READ MORE
Pepe Escobar: "It's Pentagon/NATO versus the BRICS"
from aljazeera....
"Few may have noticed when, last week, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland cryptically announcedthat Washington "would cease carrying out certain obligations under the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty with regard to Russia".
Translation: Washington will not inform Russia from now on about the redeployment of its global armada. The Pentagon's worldwide "repositioning" strategy is now supposed to be a secret.
Some essential background is in order. CFE part one was signed way back in 1990 - when the Warsaw Pact was still in effect, and NATO was supposed to defend the "free" West against what was depicted as a threatening Red Army.
It's also no secret of the BRICS that the Pentagon "repositioning" strategy implies an undisguised attempt to force, in the long run, "denial of access" to Chinese shipping and an expanding Chinese blue-water navy".....READ MORE
"Few may have noticed when, last week, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland cryptically announcedthat Washington "would cease carrying out certain obligations under the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty with regard to Russia".
Translation: Washington will not inform Russia from now on about the redeployment of its global armada. The Pentagon's worldwide "repositioning" strategy is now supposed to be a secret.
Some essential background is in order. CFE part one was signed way back in 1990 - when the Warsaw Pact was still in effect, and NATO was supposed to defend the "free" West against what was depicted as a threatening Red Army.
It's also no secret of the BRICS that the Pentagon "repositioning" strategy implies an undisguised attempt to force, in the long run, "denial of access" to Chinese shipping and an expanding Chinese blue-water navy".....READ MORE
''How the world is losing trillions to tax havens''
from undispatch......
"Since the economic collapse of 2008 and the ensuing recession, increasingly more attention is being paid to corporate accountability. Recently, the Occupy movement has brought into sharp relief some of the discontent with poor corporate citizenship. If you pay close enough attention, there have been many stories in the media exposing unfair – sometimes illegal – corporate practices and how they are affecting the overall health of the economy. We’ve learned, for example, how G.E. – America’s largest corporation – avoided paying any taxes in the United States in 2010 – thanks to the “clever use” of tax breaks and offshore accounting. While Republican presidential hopefuls will have you believe that reducing corporate tax rates is the best way to boost the economy, American corporate tax rates haven’t been this low (35%) since before the Second World War. Meanwhile, the United States is struggling to figure out how to cut a soaring budget deficit and continue financing key health care and welfare programs.
This situation, however, is not unique to the United States or the industrialized world. Indeed, a recent report by Eurodad (European Network on Debt & Development) finds that developing nations lose more than a trillion (yes, trillion) dollars of potential tax revenue every year because of corporate tax evasion"...........READ MORE
''Amid wider euro crisis, Greece ignored for now''
from reuters.....
"Amid worries over Italy's mountainous debt, France's shaky AAA credit rating and the sustainability of Europe's banking system, Greece is barely mentioned.
The crisis in the currency bloc has become existential.
But investors ignore events in the cradle of democracy at their peril. Greece remains the country considered most likely to leave the euro. Such a move would trigger another round of market panic that could drag Europe deeper into crisis and potentially upend the global economy"......READ MORE
''Is Britain Plotting With Israel To Attack Iran?''
from just international.....
"Last February Britain’s then defense minister Liam Fox attended a dinner in Tel Aviv with a group described as senior Israelis. Alongside him sat Adam Werritty, a lobbyist whose “improper relations” with the minister would lead eight months later to Fox’s hurried resignation.
According to several reports in the British media the Israelis in attendance at the dinner were representatives of the Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, while Fox and Werritty were accompanied by Matthew Gould, Britain’s ambassador to Israel. A former British diplomat has now claimed that the topic of discussion that evening was a secret plot to attack Iran.
The official inquiry castigating the UK’s former defence secretary for what has come to be known as a “cash-for-access” scandal appears to have only scratched the surface of what Fox and accomplice Adam Werritty may have been up to when they met for dinner in Tel Aviv"........READ MORE
''Britain pulls embassy staff out of Iran-Norway Closes Embassy''
from gulf news....
"Britain began evacuating diplomatic staff from Iran and warned of serious consequences for the Iranian government while Norway has closed its embassy in Tehran on Wednesday, one day after protesters stormed the British Embassy in the most violent incident yet as relations rapidly deteriorate.
Hilde Steinfeld, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Oslo, said the decision to close the Norwegian embassy was taken late Tuesday, but that Norway’s diplomatic staff have not been evacuated from the country. “They’re still in Tehran,” she said.
Steinfeld would not go into greater detail, but said “the decision follows security concerns.” She added that “it is in context with the attack on the British embassy yesterday”............READ MORE
"Tehran invokes revolutionary fervor"
from asia times online.....
Asymmetrical response
"But the tipping point must be London's steps toward removing the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO) from the list of terrorist organizations. The MKO has been responsible for some of the most devastating terrorist attacks in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Tehran holds the MKO responsible for more than 17,000 killings over the years. The most "celebrated" were of course those of Ayatollah Muhammad Behesti (who was next only to Imam Ruhollah Khomeini in the pantheon of the revolutionary leadership) in June 1980 and of the popularly elected Iranian president Muhammad Rajayi in August of the same year. The second terrorist strike came close to eliminating the entire revolutionary leadership under Khomeini".............READ MORE
Asymmetrical response
"But the tipping point must be London's steps toward removing the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO) from the list of terrorist organizations. The MKO has been responsible for some of the most devastating terrorist attacks in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Tehran holds the MKO responsible for more than 17,000 killings over the years. The most "celebrated" were of course those of Ayatollah Muhammad Behesti (who was next only to Imam Ruhollah Khomeini in the pantheon of the revolutionary leadership) in June 1980 and of the popularly elected Iranian president Muhammad Rajayi in August of the same year. The second terrorist strike came close to eliminating the entire revolutionary leadership under Khomeini".............READ MORE
''The New Authoritarianism: From Decaying Democracies to Technocratic Dictatorships and Beyond''
from veterans today....
"We live in a time of dynamic, regressive, regime changes. A period in which major political transformations and the dramatic roll back of a half century of socio-economic legislation are accelerated by a prolonged and deepening economic crises and a world-wide financier led offensive. This essay explores major ongoing regime changes that have a profound impact on governance, the class structures, economic institutions, political freedom and national sovereignty. We delineate a two-stage process of political regression.
The first stage involves the transition from a decaying democracy to an oligarchical democracy; the second stage currently unfolding in Europe involves the transition from oligarchical democracy to colonial-technocratic dictatorship. We will identify the specific features of each regime focusing on the specific conditions and socio-economic forces behind each “transition”. We will proceed to clarify the key concepts, their operative meaning: specifically the nature and dynamics of “decaying democracies” (DD), oligarchical democracies (OD) and “colonial technocratic dictatorship” (CTD)"......READ MORE
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
''The Wall Street and Drug Cartel Partnership''
from veterans today....
"If Washington has been the driving force for the regime’s war, Wall Street banks have been the main instruments ensuring the profits of the drug cartels. Every major US bank has been deeply involved in laundering hundreds of billions of dollars in drug profits, for the better part of the past decade.
Mexico’s descent into this inferno has been engineered by the leading US financial and political institutions, each supporting ‘one side or the other’ in the bloody “total war” which spares no one, no place and no moment in time. While the Pentagon arms the Mexican government and the US Drug Enforcement Agency enforces the “military solution”, the biggest US banks receive, launder and transfer hundreds of billions of dollars to the drug lords’ accounts, who then buy modern arms, pay private armies of assassins and corrupt untold numbers of political and law enforcement officials on both sides of the border".....READ MORE
''UK set for biggest strike in 85 years as union leaders confirm mass public sector walkout''
tomorrow, nov 30th..........from the mirror.....
"The UK looks set for its biggest strike in 85 years as union chiefs confirmed a mass walkout by public sector workers will definitely go ahead on Wednesday.
The strike, which will involve up to two million workers, could be the biggest industrial action since the General Strike of 1926.
Unison leader Dave Prentis said there was "absolutely no chance" of reaching a deal in the next few days over the Government's controversial pension reforms.
More than 1,000 demonstrations will be held across the UK on Wednesday, when up to two million workers go on strike".........READ MORE''Hague says Iran will face 'serious consequences' over embassy attack''
from the guardian.....
"William Hague has warned Iran it faces "serious consequences" over the attack on the British embassy in Tehran.
Hundreds of protesters surged onto two compounds this afternoon, putting the safety of staff at risk and causing "extensive damage" to property, the foreign secretary said.
"Clearly there will be other, further, and serious consequences. I will make a statement updating parliament on this tomorrow [Wednesday]"..............READ MORE
"You Know Who Owns America? A Few At The Top!" Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer rips wall st and washington.......
from moxnews....
How Wall Street Banksters Captured Our Government: ''The Quiet Coup''
from 2009 simon johnson and the atlantic.........
"The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government"
"The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government"
"ONE THING YOU learn rather quickly when working at the International Monetary Fund is that no one is ever very happy to see you. Typically, your “clients” come in only after private capital has abandoned them, after regional trading-bloc partners have been unable to throw a strong enough lifeline, after last-ditch attempts to borrow from powerful friends like China or the European Union have fallen through. You’re never at the top of anyone’s dance card.
The reason, of course, is that the IMF specializes in telling its clients what they don’t want to hear. I should know; I pressed painful changes on many foreign officials during my time there as chief economist in 2007 and 2008. And I felt the effects of IMF pressure, at least indirectly, when I worked with governments in Eastern Europe as they struggled after 1989, and with the private sector in Asia and Latin America during the crises of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Over that time, from every vantage point, I saw firsthand the steady flow of officials—from Ukraine, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, and elsewhere—trudging to the fund when circumstances were dire and all else had failed"...........READ MORE
''How the U.S. Will Become a 3rd World Country''
a must read............from goldseek.....
"The U.S. federal government’s fast growing debt is $14.94 trillion, approximately 100% of GDP. Additionally, future liabilities total $66.6 trillion based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP accounting) and using official data from the Medicare and Social Security annual reports and from the audited financial report of the federal government.
- Medicare: $24.8 trillion
- Social Security: $21.4 trillion
- Federal debt: $10.2 trillion* (not including intra-governmental obligations)
- State, local government obligations: $5.2 trillion
- Military retirement/disability benefits: $3.6 trillion
- Federal employee retirement benefits: $2 trillion
The eventual insolvency of the U.S. federal government cannot be averted through any combination of taxes, budget cuts or realistic GDP growth. Inflationary policies, i.e., increasing deficit spending by the federal government and debt monetization by the Federal Reserve, would devalue the U.S. dollar and potentially trigger a hyperinflationary collapse of the currency. To stave off the inevitable, interim measures might include tax increases, exchange controls,nationalization of pension funds or other measures similar to those taken in 3rd world countries"................READ MORE
"The States face bleak economic forecast"
from wapo....
"States are caught in a fiscal vise as weak economic growth, dwindling federal help and increasing appeals from hard-pressed local governments squeeze their budgets.
Things have improved since the worst of the recession, but states still face a dire fiscal situation, according to a report to be released Tuesday by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO)"......READ MORE
"Iran police secures release of UK embassy hostages''
from jpost.....
"It was not clear if British diplomats had been caught up in the action, or had been harmed. Embassy staff fled protesters "by the back door," the Mehr news agencyreported.
Demonstrators waved flags symbolizing martyrdom and held up portraits of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A separate group of protesters broke into a second British embassy compound in the north of the city, the IRNA state news agency said, and seized "classified documents"............READ MORE
"It was not clear if British diplomats had been caught up in the action, or had been harmed. Embassy staff fled protesters "by the back door," the Mehr news agencyreported.
Demonstrators waved flags symbolizing martyrdom and held up portraits of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A separate group of protesters broke into a second British embassy compound in the north of the city, the IRNA state news agency said, and seized "classified documents"............READ MORE
The United States of Corruption: ''How Paulson Gave Hedge Funds Advance Word of Fannie Mae Rescue''
corruption is all we have left........from bloomberg.....
"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson stepped off the elevator into the Third Avenue offices of hedge fund Eton Park Capital Management LP in Manhattan. It was July 21, 2008, and market fears were mounting. Four months earlier, Bear Stearns Cos. had sold itself for just $10 a share to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Now, amid tumbling home prices and near-record foreclosures, attention was focused on a new source of contagion: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which together had more than $5 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and other debt outstanding".....READ MORE
''Iranian protesters take 6 people hostage in British embassy''
from hurriyetdailynews.....
"The Iranian protester have just taken 6 people as hostages in the British embassy compound in Tehran, Reuters reported.
Iranian protesters had enetered the embassy earlier today and had removed the mission's flag, replacing it with an Iranian one, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.
The dozens of protesters were also shown live on Iranian state television throwing stones at embassy windows, breaking them, and one was seen climbing the wall with a looted portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II".........READ MORE
''Russia says it opposes arms embargo on Syria; Turkey says ready for any scenario''
from alarabiya.......
"Russia on Tuesday urged an end to “ultimatums” against its Middle East ally Syria as Turkey said it did not want to consider a military option for intervention in Syria but that it was ready for any scenario.
Moscow opposes the imposition of an arms embargo on Syria and believes the international community should stop threatening Damascus with ultimatums; local news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Tuesday".......READ MORE
"Russia on Tuesday urged an end to “ultimatums” against its Middle East ally Syria as Turkey said it did not want to consider a military option for intervention in Syria but that it was ready for any scenario.
Moscow opposes the imposition of an arms embargo on Syria and believes the international community should stop threatening Damascus with ultimatums; local news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Tuesday".......READ MORE
Europe: "Goldman Sacks Has Taken Over"
from paul craig roberts and foreignpolicyjournal.....
"My opinion is based on the following facts. Goldman Sachs and US banks have guaranteed perhaps one trillion dollars or more of European sovereign debt by selling swaps or insurance against which they have not reserved. The fees the US banks received for guaranteeing the values of European sovereign debt instruments simply went into profits and executive bonuses. This, of course, is what ruined the American insurance giant, AIG, leading to the TARP bailout at US taxpayer expense and Goldman Sachs’ enormous profits".
If any of the European sovereign debt fails, US financial institutions that issued swaps or unfunded guarantees against the debt are on the hook for large sums that they do not have. The reputation of the US financial system probably could not survive its default on the swaps it has issued. Therefore, the failure of European sovereign debt would renew the financial crisis in the US, requiring a new round of bailouts and/or a new round of Federal Reserve “quantitative easing,” that is, the printing of money in order to make good on irresponsible financial instruments, the issue of which enriched a tiny number of executives"........READ MORE
"My opinion is based on the following facts. Goldman Sachs and US banks have guaranteed perhaps one trillion dollars or more of European sovereign debt by selling swaps or insurance against which they have not reserved. The fees the US banks received for guaranteeing the values of European sovereign debt instruments simply went into profits and executive bonuses. This, of course, is what ruined the American insurance giant, AIG, leading to the TARP bailout at US taxpayer expense and Goldman Sachs’ enormous profits".
If any of the European sovereign debt fails, US financial institutions that issued swaps or unfunded guarantees against the debt are on the hook for large sums that they do not have. The reputation of the US financial system probably could not survive its default on the swaps it has issued. Therefore, the failure of European sovereign debt would renew the financial crisis in the US, requiring a new round of bailouts and/or a new round of Federal Reserve “quantitative easing,” that is, the printing of money in order to make good on irresponsible financial instruments, the issue of which enriched a tiny number of executives"........READ MORE
''The Price of Empire''
from antiwar.com....
"Is the United States government actively trying to destabilize Pakistan – in order to be able to pull off a “coup” and move in with US troops in support of “democracy”? Are we, in effect, at war with Pakistan? Sure seems like it.
In Iran, we’re running a terrorist operation that strikes at both military and civiliantargets, and we’ve just announced a new round of sanctions. Not content with a campaign of economic strangulation, prominent US lawmakers and former top national security officials are harboring, succoring, and defending a known terrorist organization whose goal is “regime change” in Iran. Hardly a day goes by without athreat of military action emanating from Washington".....READ MORE
Monday, November 28, 2011
''Four rockets hit northern Israel, no injuries''
from haaretz....
"At least four Katyusha rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel on Monday night. The Israel Defense Forces responded soon after, firing a number of artillery shells at "the source of fire," in southern Lebanon. There were no injuries, but some building sustained damage. At this time figher fighters are still combating the blaze caused by the rockets".........READ MORE
"At least four Katyusha rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel on Monday night. The Israel Defense Forces responded soon after, firing a number of artillery shells at "the source of fire," in southern Lebanon. There were no injuries, but some building sustained damage. At this time figher fighters are still combating the blaze caused by the rockets".........READ MORE
John Williams: 'Hyperinflation Warning, Preserve Value With Gold'
from etfdailynews........
"The Gold Report: When we talked in May, you predicted that hyperinflation could be a reality as soon as 2014, something you addressed at length in your Hyperinflation Special Report. Have six months of euro debt crises, Middle East revolts and U.S. Treasuries’ downgrading altered your outlook?
John Williams: Not a bit. We still seem to be moving down that road to a relatively near-term break toward hyperinflation. The most important thing that’s happened since we last talked was the global response to the U.S. legislators’ negotiations over the debt-limit ceiling and the deficit reduction problems at that time. Clearly, no one controlling the White House or Congress was serious about addressing the nation’s long-term solvency issues. That sparked a panic selloff on the dollar (NYSEARCA:UUP)against currencies such as the Swiss franc, and of course gold, which made the gold price (NYSEARCA:GLD) rally sharply"...........READ MORE
India @ 9 with Rajdeep Sardesai-11/28/2011
walmart in india and an interview with pakistan PM......from ibnlive india...
Report: ''Explosion rocks Iran city of Isfahan, home to key nuclear facility''
second one in as many weeks.......from haaretz....
"An explosion rocked the western Iranian city of Isfahan on Monday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, adding that the blast was heard in several parts of the city.
According to reports, frightened residents called the fire department after the blast, forcing the city authorities to admit there had been an explosion"......READ MORE
Michael Hudson: "Reforming the U.S. Financial and Tax System"
from michael-hudson.com....
"The basic problem today is that nearly everyone is in debt. This is the problem in Europe too. There are Occupy Berlin meetings, the Greek and Icelandic protest, Spain’s “Indignant” demonstrations and similar ones throughout the world.
When debts reach today’s proportions, a basic economic principle is at work: Debts that can’t be paid; won’t be. The question is, just how are they not going to be paid? People with student loans are not permitted to declare bankruptcy to get a fresh start. The government or collection agencies dock their salaries and go after whatever property they have. Many people’s revenue over and above basic needs is earmarked to pay the bankers.
Typical American wage earners pay about 40 percent of their wages on housing whose price is bid up by easy mortgage credit, and another 10 to 15 percent for credit cards and other debt service. FICA takes over 13 percent, and federal, local and sales taxes another 15 percent or so. All this leaves only about a quarter of many peoples’ paychecks available for spending on goods and services. This is what is causing today’s debt deflation. And Wall Street is supporting it, because it extracts income from the bottom 99% to pay the top 1%"...........READ MORE
''China eyes Africa’s farmland''
from southerntimesafrica......
"China is now the second biggest food consumer in the world after the USA and economists expect that by 2015, its food expenditure will double to over US$1 trillion.
However, the rapid pace of urbanization and industrialization has swallowed much of the country’s farmland and has diminished water tables. Analysts say China lost nine million hectares of farmland between 1996 and 2006.
Evidence of China increasingly looking for external sources of nutrition abound"......READ MORE
"China is now the second biggest food consumer in the world after the USA and economists expect that by 2015, its food expenditure will double to over US$1 trillion.
However, the rapid pace of urbanization and industrialization has swallowed much of the country’s farmland and has diminished water tables. Analysts say China lost nine million hectares of farmland between 1996 and 2006.
Evidence of China increasingly looking for external sources of nutrition abound"......READ MORE
'Arctic ice shrinking at ’unprecedented scale’
from barentsobserver.....
"Arctic sea ice has declined more in the last half-century than it has any time over the last 1,450 years, a new scientific study shows.
Arctic sea ice extent is now more than two million square kilometers less than it was in the late twentieth century, a new scientific studypublished in the journal Nature shows"......READ MORE
''Ponzi Scheme in Peril: Bond Vigilantes up the Ante on Sovereign Debt''
from fxstreet.....
"Look no further than the recent buyer’s strike of German bonds to see that this economic winter has entered a new stage. On Wednesday there were just no takers for nearly 40% of the bonds offered by the most creditworthy country in Europe so the Bundesbank had to step in to fill the gap and monetize their own debt. This bond auction was nothing less than a spectacular failure, the first I can ever recall in a major economy. The implications for this failure are daunting to say the least. Trillions of sovereign debt worldwide is coming due soon and must be rolled over but private investors have just sent us the first glimpse they just may pass. This may be the first chink in the armor of the global debt markets that now cannot take for granted that their future auctions will be fully subscribed unless higher rates are offered".............READ MORE
"Look no further than the recent buyer’s strike of German bonds to see that this economic winter has entered a new stage. On Wednesday there were just no takers for nearly 40% of the bonds offered by the most creditworthy country in Europe so the Bundesbank had to step in to fill the gap and monetize their own debt. This bond auction was nothing less than a spectacular failure, the first I can ever recall in a major economy. The implications for this failure are daunting to say the least. Trillions of sovereign debt worldwide is coming due soon and must be rolled over but private investors have just sent us the first glimpse they just may pass. This may be the first chink in the armor of the global debt markets that now cannot take for granted that their future auctions will be fully subscribed unless higher rates are offered".............READ MORE
''Wall Street Banks Earned Billions In Profits Off $7.7 Trillion In Secret Fed Loans Made During The Financial Crisis''
from thinkprogress....
"In the lead-up to the financial crisis that crippled the American economy and plunged the country into a recession, the Federal Reserve made trillions inundisclosed loans to struggling banks and financial institutions, according to official documents obtained by Bloomberg News. Six of the country’s largest banks then turned those loans into more than $13 billion in previously undisclosed profits.
The total cost of the Fed loans amounted to $7.77 trillion, and unlike the funds made available by the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the loans came with virtually no strings attached for the banks:
The amount of money the central bank parceled out was surprising even to Gary H. Stern, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis from 1985 to 2009, who says he “wasn’t aware of the magnitude.” It dwarfed the Treasury Department’s better-known $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Add up guarantees and lending limits, and the Fed had committed $7.77 trillion as of March 2009 to rescuing the financial system, more than half the value of everything produced in the U.S. that year"..........READ MORE
Book Review: "Escaping the Matrix: How We the People Can Change the World"
from veterans today....
Richard K Moore (An expatriate from Silicon Valley, who retired and moved to Ireland in 1994 to begin his ‘real work’ ~ trying to understand how the world works, and how we can make it better ~ which culminated in his widely acclaimed book Escaping the Matrix: How We the People Can Change the World (The Cyberjournal Project, 2005) ~ explains the Global Elite plan for a New World Social Order.
Excerpt: “From their position of power, as the financiers of governments, the banking elite have over time perfected their methods of control. Staying always behind the scenes, they pull the strings controlling the media, the political parties, the intelligence agencies, the stock markets, and the offices of government. And perhaps their greatest lever of power is their control over currencies. By means of their central-bank scam, they engineer boom and bust cycles, and they print money from nothing and then loan it at interest to governments. The power of the elite banking gang (the ‘banksters’) is both absolute and subtle … Capitalism is a vehicle that helped bring the banksters to absolute power, but they have no more loyalty to that system than they have to place, or to anything or anyone. As mentioned earlier, they think on a global scale, with nations and populations as pawns. They define what money is and they issue it, just like the banker in a game of Monopoly. They can also make up a new game with a new kind of money. They have long outgrown any need to rely on any particular economic system in order to maintain their power. Capitalism was handy in an era of rapid growth. For an era of non-growth, a different game is being prepared.”...........................READ MORE
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