From RT.com
''The police shooting of Manuel Diaz, an unarmed man from Anaheim, has sparked protests and riots across the California City. Others from the significant Hispanic population say that the execution of Diaz wasn't an isolated incident and that the city's police department is no stranger to allegations of abuse. More than a week after demonstrations first started, protesters are still rallying on the streets of Anaheim. RT's Ramon Galindo has more.''
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
India: ''NewsX@9: Power Min Shinde promoted to HM in midst of electricity''
From NewsX
''NewsX@9 is a NewsX special show which debates the main news event of the day. India's power minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, was promoted to the post of home minister on Tuesday, while the country is in the midst of an electricity crisis that has left 600 million without power.''
UK: ''Eurozone break-up would trigger £1 trillion of QE, see banks nationalised and deep recession''
From The Telegraph
The warning came as Moody’s, the ratings agency, lowered its UK growth forecast to just 0.4pc this year and 1.8pc in 2013, in the wake of the shock 0.7pc contraction in GDP in the second three months of the year. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development separately said the economy would shrink this year as a whole.''
read more
''According to Fathom Consulting, the economy would shrink by 5.2pc in 2013 if the euro collapsed – a projection that former Bank of England deputy governor Sir John Gieve, speaking at Fathom’s quarterly Monetary Policy Forum, described as “modest”. In 2009, the worst year of the recent recession, the economy shrank by just 4pc.
The warning came as Moody’s, the ratings agency, lowered its UK growth forecast to just 0.4pc this year and 1.8pc in 2013, in the wake of the shock 0.7pc contraction in GDP in the second three months of the year. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development separately said the economy would shrink this year as a whole.''
read more
''Where’s the Outrage: Nobody Seems to Care as America’s Becomes a Police State''
a must read..........From 'This Cant Be happening'
By Dave Lindorff
''Back in 1976, I co-founded, with some Los Angeles colleagues, a feisty little alternative weekly called the L.A. Vanguard. About two months after we launched it, I got tipped off about a program by the local phone companies, Pacific Telephone and GTE, in which they had so-called “Security Departments,” composed of banks of operators, whose sole job was to provide unlisted phone numbers to inquiring government agencies, all without a warrant. As I delved into this story I learned more: these special operators (led in each case by retired FBI officials) were also providing credit information on phone customers on request, and the agencies who had instant access to all this data ranged from local police to the public library.''
read more
By Dave Lindorff
''Back in 1976, I co-founded, with some Los Angeles colleagues, a feisty little alternative weekly called the L.A. Vanguard. About two months after we launched it, I got tipped off about a program by the local phone companies, Pacific Telephone and GTE, in which they had so-called “Security Departments,” composed of banks of operators, whose sole job was to provide unlisted phone numbers to inquiring government agencies, all without a warrant. As I delved into this story I learned more: these special operators (led in each case by retired FBI officials) were also providing credit information on phone customers on request, and the agencies who had instant access to all this data ranged from local police to the public library.''
read more
''The Fed On Gold Price Manipulation''
From ZeroHedge
''So to all conspiracy theorists claiming that gold is being manipulated on a daily basis by the Federal Reserve: when it occurs over and over, and is so well documented, it is no longer a theory, it is merely sad. And the fact that the US government goes to great lengths to hide the illicit dealings of the Federal Reserve, which through its monetary tentacles, has prima facie control over not just US policy but also over sovereign governments, is an unprecedented failure in the checks and balances system that the founding fathers had planned when they created the United States of America. Yet saddest is that the United States no longer pursues strategic goals that are in the best interest of the majority of its citizens, but merely manipulates other, less powerful nations into a servile existence that only provides gain to a very limited subset of the American financial oligarchy. It is time for the Fed's unprecedented control over affairs, both global and domestic, to end.''
read more
''So to all conspiracy theorists claiming that gold is being manipulated on a daily basis by the Federal Reserve: when it occurs over and over, and is so well documented, it is no longer a theory, it is merely sad. And the fact that the US government goes to great lengths to hide the illicit dealings of the Federal Reserve, which through its monetary tentacles, has prima facie control over not just US policy but also over sovereign governments, is an unprecedented failure in the checks and balances system that the founding fathers had planned when they created the United States of America. Yet saddest is that the United States no longer pursues strategic goals that are in the best interest of the majority of its citizens, but merely manipulates other, less powerful nations into a servile existence that only provides gain to a very limited subset of the American financial oligarchy. It is time for the Fed's unprecedented control over affairs, both global and domestic, to end.''
read more
''Russia seeks Irish construction workers amidst massive $3 trillion boom''
From Irish Central
''Russian authorities plan a major bid to woo Irish construction workers and firms to Moscow, starting with a major job fair later this year.
The job fair comes after news of a huge $3 trillion construction boom in Russia which is expected to offer a lifeline to tens of thousands of unemployed Irish construction workers, and once-thriving building firms that are struggling to survive.
read more
''Russian authorities plan a major bid to woo Irish construction workers and firms to Moscow, starting with a major job fair later this year.
The job fair comes after news of a huge $3 trillion construction boom in Russia which is expected to offer a lifeline to tens of thousands of unemployed Irish construction workers, and once-thriving building firms that are struggling to survive.
''With the winter Olympics and World Cup soccer finals in the next eight years, the pressure on Russia to rebuild and expand its infrastructure is enormous.''
''Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Linked to Nuclear Technology Smuggling Ring - FBI Files''
From Global Research
''FBI agents interviewed indicted American smuggler Richard Kelly Smyth on April 16-17, 2002, at the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles. The secret interview report details how during trips to Israel Smyth's handler placed him in contact with Benjamin Netanyahu at Heli Trading Company. The FBI report suggests that "Smyth and [Netanyahu] would meet in restaurants in Tel Aviv and in [Netanyahu's] home and/or business. It was not uncommon for [Netanyahu] to ask Smyth for unclassified material."
Smyth was indicted in the mid-1980s for smuggling 800 dual use "krytrons" without proper export licenses through a multi-front company network. Smyth fled the U.S. and lived abroad, supported by unknown means, until he was captured by Interpol and returned to the U.S. in 2001. He was convicted in 2002.''
''Keiser Report: Virtual Virtual Economy'' (E321)
From RT.com
''In this episode, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the virtual virtual economy getting hit by a dustbowl and there are no gully washers or toad stranglers on the horizon to bring reliefe; meanwhile out in the virtual real economy it's all the bath-salts and beer you can drink and scalps for sale in California as eminent domain falls into the hands of private bankers. In the second half, Max interviews Teri Buhl about the possibility of San Bernardino county using eminent domain to seize mortgages from one set of rich private investors to give them to another set of rich private investors.''
''Greece 'on the brink' as cash reserves dry up''
From The Telegraph
''Near-bankrupt Greece is fast running out of cash while it waits for its next installment of aid from international lenders, a deputy finance minister has said, sounding the alarm on the country's precarious financial position.''
read more
'North, East India powerless, grids collapse again'
From IBN Live ''For the second time in two days, half of India plunged into darkness after the Northern and the Eastern Grids collapsed, affecting all seven states in the north and the states of Sikkim, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand in the east.''.........................
...........LIVE FEED:...........
http://www.ndtv.com/video/live/channel/ndtv24x7
http://www.ndtv.com/video/live/channel/ndtv24x7
''Israel to vote on sweeping austerity measures''
From Daily News Egypt
''Ministers in Israel’s cabinet were on Monday preparing to vote on a package of sweeping economic austerity measures in a bid to cut the budget deficit, in a move expected to hit the underprivileged hard.
Central to the plan is a hike in income tax and VAT, as well as a 700 million shekel ($171 million, 140 million euro) cut to the 2012 state budget.
The package, details of which were finalised over the last few weeks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, is reportedly expected to pass by a large majority.''
read more
''Ministers in Israel’s cabinet were on Monday preparing to vote on a package of sweeping economic austerity measures in a bid to cut the budget deficit, in a move expected to hit the underprivileged hard.
Central to the plan is a hike in income tax and VAT, as well as a 700 million shekel ($171 million, 140 million euro) cut to the 2012 state budget.
The package, details of which were finalised over the last few weeks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, is reportedly expected to pass by a large majority.''
read more
Greece: ''the Washington v Berlin poker game returns…to Athens’ advantage''
From 'The Slog'
''The eurozone has been a pimple on the backside of global money for two years now, but while the buttock-blemish just keeps on getting bigger, nothing seems to bring it to a head. My theory is that the problem is now so big, it has expanded far beyond the fiscal arse, and is about to launch an assault on the head: but whether I’m right or wrong, there’ve been so many jigsaw bits, clues and signs falling into place of late, you’d have to be Mr Magoo in a tank not to notice them.
What’s going on here is a high-stakes poker game between Washington and Berlin. And once again, we are talking Greek default into the welcoming arms (in every sense) of America v Merkel’s FiskalUnion vision wherein Greece stays in the eurotent…along with its strategic, mineral, and energy importance to Brussels.''
read more
''The eurozone has been a pimple on the backside of global money for two years now, but while the buttock-blemish just keeps on getting bigger, nothing seems to bring it to a head. My theory is that the problem is now so big, it has expanded far beyond the fiscal arse, and is about to launch an assault on the head: but whether I’m right or wrong, there’ve been so many jigsaw bits, clues and signs falling into place of late, you’d have to be Mr Magoo in a tank not to notice them.
What’s going on here is a high-stakes poker game between Washington and Berlin. And once again, we are talking Greek default into the welcoming arms (in every sense) of America v Merkel’s FiskalUnion vision wherein Greece stays in the eurotent…along with its strategic, mineral, and energy importance to Brussels.''
read more
''200,000 Syrians flee Aleppo''
From Daily News Egypt
''The crisis in Aleppo has forced 200,000 citizens to flee Syria’s densely populated city after intense fighting between the opposition forces and Al-Assad’s forces. This is a mass exodus from the city whose population is just over 2 million.
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Baroness Valerie Amos reported that other Syrians are trapped in Aleppo and in need of help.''
read more
''The crisis in Aleppo has forced 200,000 citizens to flee Syria’s densely populated city after intense fighting between the opposition forces and Al-Assad’s forces. This is a mass exodus from the city whose population is just over 2 million.
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Baroness Valerie Amos reported that other Syrians are trapped in Aleppo and in need of help.''
read more
The Trinity: ''Gold, Oil & Paper''
From 'the flow of value'
The Dollar
''The dollar and the world were pegged to Gold via the post-WWII Bretton Woods agreement in which $35 was convertible to one ounce--but for foreigners only, not U.S. citizens. The rate for international currency exchange was coordinated through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with each currency pegged to each other through the dollar and Gold. The U.S. economy expanded steadily in the 1950's, producing half of the world's oil, and half of the cars that burned up this oil. By the 1960’s, America was making huge purchases overseas, and the Vietnam War was funded largely through borrowing.
Too many dollars started building up overseas, and as they did so, ever more of them were cashed in for Gold. De Gaulle summed up the sentiment, saying that Americas position as printer of the reserve currency gave it an “exorbitant privilege”, in that other nations had to produce to earn what Uncle Sam could simply print. During the late 60’s it became clear that too many claims had been issued on the US gold, and President Nixon was prompted to close the Gold exchange window in 1971 in the face of a certain run on the Treasury.''
"Oil, Credit, And The Shifting Balance of Power" by Dr. Edmund Clingan
starts about 5 minutes in ................. h/t The Excavator .................... From CUNY Queensborough......................... ''Oil is the key. American production peaked in 1970. After this, American wages stagnated and other problems developed. The supergiant fields of Alaska could not arrest the decline, and tripling the oil rigs since 2009 has only stabilized the declined. Counting lower-energy liquified natural gas and ethanol as "oil" only masks the problem. As global oil production hit a ceiling around 2006, it forced the energy conservation the the U.S. has long avoided and fractured a precarious structure. In some ways, an "oil standard" had replaced the gold standard. Its enormous value enabled unprecedented credit and spectacular economic growth. Oil today is still cheap (relative to its value) and will remain cheap even as more people cannot afford gasoline. A cup of gasoline is cheaper than a cup of coffee. As oil production slows and the export market shrinks, it becomes more difficult for countries to exert far-flung influence. The current crisis masks the start of a long emergency: the transition to a new energy system of unknown consumption. The new balance of power will depend on how nations deal with this transition.''
''Mortgage bond investors doubtful house prices leveled''
From Housing Wire
''Despite a flurry of reports and articles about home prices stabilizing or slightly increasing, only a third of mortgage bond investors interviewed by JPMorgan Securities ($36.14 -0.75%) expect significant home price growth in the near future.
The investors' wariness when it comes to the potential for price hikes calls into question whether the housing market has truly bottomed out and is braced for a sustainable turnaround. A recent review of the seven major home price indices shows values for 2012 as either stable or growing.''
read more
''Despite a flurry of reports and articles about home prices stabilizing or slightly increasing, only a third of mortgage bond investors interviewed by JPMorgan Securities ($36.14 -0.75%) expect significant home price growth in the near future.
The investors' wariness when it comes to the potential for price hikes calls into question whether the housing market has truly bottomed out and is braced for a sustainable turnaround. A recent review of the seven major home price indices shows values for 2012 as either stable or growing.''
read more
''The Globalist Elite March Toward World Governance By Way of Elimination of All Sovereign Nations''
From Strategic Culture
''In April of this year, after Obama announced that the “war on terror is over” he inserted that his administration is working in tandem with the MB , who has been integral in the recent Middle Eastern uprisings.
Placing Morsi into power in Egypt was a strategic move that the US has been known for; helping dictators like Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro, and others get into positions where their actions can support the US/Israeli agenda to control the Middle Easter region.
In celebration of the elections, Obama gave the MB $1.5 billion in foreign aid to the MB. Having a terrorist group in control of this prominent Arab nation is a big coup for the Obama administration.''
read more
''In April of this year, after Obama announced that the “war on terror is over” he inserted that his administration is working in tandem with the MB , who has been integral in the recent Middle Eastern uprisings.
Placing Morsi into power in Egypt was a strategic move that the US has been known for; helping dictators like Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro, and others get into positions where their actions can support the US/Israeli agenda to control the Middle Easter region.
In celebration of the elections, Obama gave the MB $1.5 billion in foreign aid to the MB. Having a terrorist group in control of this prominent Arab nation is a big coup for the Obama administration.''
read more
''Food Report: One Harvest Away from a Catastrophe''
From Financial Sense
''Because of the worst drought since 1988 the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared a federal disaster area in almost one-third of all the counties in the United States - more than 1,300 counties covering 29 states, the largest disaster declaration ever made by the USDA. Only in the 1930s and 1950s has a drought covered more land.''
read more
''Because of the worst drought since 1988 the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared a federal disaster area in almost one-third of all the counties in the United States - more than 1,300 counties covering 29 states, the largest disaster declaration ever made by the USDA. Only in the 1930s and 1950s has a drought covered more land.''
read more
Spain: ''Unemployment tragedy, ''they robbed our future''
From Ansamed
''Spain's unemployed reached 5,693,100 in the second trimester, the highest figure since Franco's dictatorship, according to the national statistics bureau. One in 4 Spaniards, or 24.6% of the adult population, is out of work. In Andalusia, that rate is 33.9% and in the Canaries, 33.3%. The city of Ceuta, which is the Spanish enclave in Morocco, has the highest rate of unemployment in the EU-27, or 39%.''
read more
''Spain's unemployed reached 5,693,100 in the second trimester, the highest figure since Franco's dictatorship, according to the national statistics bureau. One in 4 Spaniards, or 24.6% of the adult population, is out of work. In Andalusia, that rate is 33.9% and in the Canaries, 33.3%. The city of Ceuta, which is the Spanish enclave in Morocco, has the highest rate of unemployment in the EU-27, or 39%.''
read more
''The Meaning of China’s Economic Slowdown''
From The Diplomat
By Barry Eichengreen
''More than a year ago I, along with several colleagues, published a paper entitled “When Fast Growing Economies Slow Down.” In it we predicted that a significant slowdown in Chinese growth was coming. While it was not possible to be precise about the timing, we warned that the number of years for which China’s GDP would continue to grow at high single-digit rates could likely be counted on the fingers of one hand.
We got considerable pushback from critics in China and elsewhere. We had underestimated China’s enormous growth potential, these commentators warned. We failed to appreciate that the country’s growth model was unique and that it was not possible to extrapolate China’s future from the experience of other fast-growing economies.
Well, the slowdown is here.''
read more
By Barry Eichengreen
''More than a year ago I, along with several colleagues, published a paper entitled “When Fast Growing Economies Slow Down.” In it we predicted that a significant slowdown in Chinese growth was coming. While it was not possible to be precise about the timing, we warned that the number of years for which China’s GDP would continue to grow at high single-digit rates could likely be counted on the fingers of one hand.
We got considerable pushback from critics in China and elsewhere. We had underestimated China’s enormous growth potential, these commentators warned. We failed to appreciate that the country’s growth model was unique and that it was not possible to extrapolate China’s future from the experience of other fast-growing economies.
Well, the slowdown is here.''
read more
''The Incredible Shrinking UK Economy - An Update''
From iStockAnalyst
By John Ross
''Earlier this year this blog published an article entitled ‘The Incredible Shrinking UKEconomy'
. It noted: ‘The magnitude of the blow suffered by the UK economy since the beginning of the financial crisis is very considerably minimized by not presenting it in terms of a common international yardstick. Gauged by decline in GDP, using a common international purchasing measure, dollars, no other economy in the world has shrunk even remotely as much as the UK.''
read more
By John Ross
''Earlier this year this blog published an article entitled ‘The Incredible Shrinking UK
read more
''Subterranean Blues: On ExxonMobil''
From The Nation
''For more than a century, ever since Ida Minerva Tarbell published her exposé of the Standard Oil Company in
McClure’s Magazine in 1903, oil has been one of the great subjects for muckraking American journalists. Much as the unconscious is for a Freudian, oil’s dark sludge seems the product of a subterranean world that stands in sharp contrast to the pretensions of the society saturated by it. We never see it, never think about it, have no idea where it comes from or how it comes to be—yet the sludge is ubiquitous, and all we do depends upon its power. We insist that we want independence, to spin energy out of the transparent elements of light and air, and yet it never really goes away. When everything else has been stripped away, it is what remains.''
read more
Private Empire
ExxonMobil and American Power.
By Steve Coll.
''For more than a century, ever since Ida Minerva Tarbell published her exposé of the Standard Oil Company in
McClure’s Magazine in 1903, oil has been one of the great subjects for muckraking American journalists. Much as the unconscious is for a Freudian, oil’s dark sludge seems the product of a subterranean world that stands in sharp contrast to the pretensions of the society saturated by it. We never see it, never think about it, have no idea where it comes from or how it comes to be—yet the sludge is ubiquitous, and all we do depends upon its power. We insist that we want independence, to spin energy out of the transparent elements of light and air, and yet it never really goes away. When everything else has been stripped away, it is what remains.''
read more
Private Empire
ExxonMobil and American Power.
By Steve Coll.
''Corruption and Nepotism Haunt Southern Europe''
From Spiegel
''Jobs for your friends, contracts for your relatives, cash handouts for everyone: that's how politics works in Sicily. Now the island is on the verge of bankruptcy. It's an example of the underlying problem plaguing many parts of the southern European countries now struggling to contain the euro crisis.''
read more
''Jobs for your friends, contracts for your relatives, cash handouts for everyone: that's how politics works in Sicily. Now the island is on the verge of bankruptcy. It's an example of the underlying problem plaguing many parts of the southern European countries now struggling to contain the euro crisis.''
read more
Monday, July 30, 2012
''Does the Fed really monetize government debt?''
From GoldSeek
''If monetizing debt is understood to mean printing money to pay for government deficits, then the Fed is guilty.
The basics are quite simple. The federal government issues and the Fed buys interest-bearing debt certificates. The Fed pays for these securities by creating digits on a computer that represent dollars. In this Age of Ron Paul, more people are learning that the digits do not represent savings borrowed from the public. The Fed is not a financial intermediary; it is a money factory. And while factories under capitalism produce for the benefit of the masses, this factory cranks out dollars for the politically-favored, to the detriment of the masses. The Fed is thus an anti-capitalist, anti-free market institution. The 12 members of the FOMC decide how much money they need and create the digits on-the-fly, from nothing. The idea of Bernanke or other Fed chairmen printing money is a metaphor, but an accurate one. It’s simply more convenient for the Fed to create digits than to print money.''
read more
''If monetizing debt is understood to mean printing money to pay for government deficits, then the Fed is guilty.
The basics are quite simple. The federal government issues and the Fed buys interest-bearing debt certificates. The Fed pays for these securities by creating digits on a computer that represent dollars. In this Age of Ron Paul, more people are learning that the digits do not represent savings borrowed from the public. The Fed is not a financial intermediary; it is a money factory. And while factories under capitalism produce for the benefit of the masses, this factory cranks out dollars for the politically-favored, to the detriment of the masses. The Fed is thus an anti-capitalist, anti-free market institution. The 12 members of the FOMC decide how much money they need and create the digits on-the-fly, from nothing. The idea of Bernanke or other Fed chairmen printing money is a metaphor, but an accurate one. It’s simply more convenient for the Fed to create digits than to print money.''
read more
''Vietnam Considers Joining Customs Union''
From Ria Novosti
''Vietnam is considering joining the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang said on Sunday during his visit to Russia.
Asked if Vietnam wanted to join the trade body, Vietnamese leader said that “if there is a political will from our country’s authorities, as well as Belarusian and Kazakh partners, we will soon be able to start this process [joining to the Customs Union].''
read more
''Vietnam is considering joining the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang said on Sunday during his visit to Russia.
Asked if Vietnam wanted to join the trade body, Vietnamese leader said that “if there is a political will from our country’s authorities, as well as Belarusian and Kazakh partners, we will soon be able to start this process [joining to the Customs Union].''
read more
''NATO nations can never escape: even left-wing governments and parties are infiltrated by Atlanticists''
From Strategic Culture
By Wayne Madsen
''France and Greece were the only NATO nations to successfully quit the military structure of the Western «defense» organization. In 1966, President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of NATO’s military command structure and expelled NATO’s headquarters from outside of Paris. France has been a full-fledged member of the military wing of NATO since 2009 when Nicolas Sarkozy, with only verbal grandstanding from the French Socialist Party, reversed de Gaulle’s nearly four-decade old policy. In fact, in 1966, the French Socialist Party moved to censure de Gaulle for pulling France out of NATO’s military structure. Socialist President Francois Hollande has shown no inclination toward re-adopting de Gaulle’s policy and withdraw France from NATO’s military command. Hollande, like Sarkozy and the last Socialist President Francois Mitterand, is a committed Atlanticist.''
read more
By Wayne Madsen
''France and Greece were the only NATO nations to successfully quit the military structure of the Western «defense» organization. In 1966, President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of NATO’s military command structure and expelled NATO’s headquarters from outside of Paris. France has been a full-fledged member of the military wing of NATO since 2009 when Nicolas Sarkozy, with only verbal grandstanding from the French Socialist Party, reversed de Gaulle’s nearly four-decade old policy. In fact, in 1966, the French Socialist Party moved to censure de Gaulle for pulling France out of NATO’s military structure. Socialist President Francois Hollande has shown no inclination toward re-adopting de Gaulle’s policy and withdraw France from NATO’s military command. Hollande, like Sarkozy and the last Socialist President Francois Mitterand, is a committed Atlanticist.''
read more
Robert Fisk: ''Syrian war of lies and hypocrisy''
From The Independent
''Has there ever been a Middle Eastern war of such hypocrisy? A war of such cowardice and such mean morality, of such false rhetoric and such public humiliation? I'm not talking about the physical victims of the Syrian tragedy. I'm referring to the utter lies and mendacity of our masters and our own public opinion – eastern as well as western – in response to the slaughter, a vicious pantomime more worthy of Swiftian satire than Tolstoy or Shakespeare.
While Qatar and Saudi Arabia arm and fund the rebels of Syria to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's Alawite/Shia-Baathist dictatorship, Washington mutters not a word of criticism against them. President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, say they want a democracy in Syria. But Qatar is an autocracy and Saudi Arabia is among the most pernicious of caliphate-kingly-dictatorships in the Arab world. Rulers of both states inherit power from their families – just as Bashar has done – and Saudi Arabia is an ally of the Salafist-Wahabi rebels in Syria, just as it was the most fervent supporter of the medieval Taliban during Afghanistan's dark ages.''
read more
''Has there ever been a Middle Eastern war of such hypocrisy? A war of such cowardice and such mean morality, of such false rhetoric and such public humiliation? I'm not talking about the physical victims of the Syrian tragedy. I'm referring to the utter lies and mendacity of our masters and our own public opinion – eastern as well as western – in response to the slaughter, a vicious pantomime more worthy of Swiftian satire than Tolstoy or Shakespeare.
While Qatar and Saudi Arabia arm and fund the rebels of Syria to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's Alawite/Shia-Baathist dictatorship, Washington mutters not a word of criticism against them. President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, say they want a democracy in Syria. But Qatar is an autocracy and Saudi Arabia is among the most pernicious of caliphate-kingly-dictatorships in the Arab world. Rulers of both states inherit power from their families – just as Bashar has done – and Saudi Arabia is an ally of the Salafist-Wahabi rebels in Syria, just as it was the most fervent supporter of the medieval Taliban during Afghanistan's dark ages.''
read more
''Central Bankers Choice Between Deflationary or Hyperinflationary Depression''
From Market Oracle
By Gary North
''The day will come when the decision-makers on the Federal Open Market Committee will have to fish or cut bait. They will have to decide: mass inflation (20%) or hyperinflation (QEx). They will have to decide: recession or hyperinflation.
Will they see that it's really Great Depression 2 vs. hyperinflation? I don't think so. They have been able to manipulate the economy for over 90 years between recessions and booms. Only once did it become a depression: 1930-40. That depression became deflationary, 1931-34, because the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (1934) did not exist. Depositors took their money out and did not redeposit it. That created monetary deflation through the bankruptcy of banks. The fractional reserve process imploded.''
read more
By Gary North
''The day will come when the decision-makers on the Federal Open Market Committee will have to fish or cut bait. They will have to decide: mass inflation (20%) or hyperinflation (QEx). They will have to decide: recession or hyperinflation.
Will they see that it's really Great Depression 2 vs. hyperinflation? I don't think so. They have been able to manipulate the economy for over 90 years between recessions and booms. Only once did it become a depression: 1930-40. That depression became deflationary, 1931-34, because the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (1934) did not exist. Depositors took their money out and did not redeposit it. That created monetary deflation through the bankruptcy of banks. The fractional reserve process imploded.''
read more
''The neoliberal Games: who are the real winners from London 2012?''
From RedPepper
''Welcoming business has meant that the 4,700 medals being given out at the event have been struck from gold, silver and bronze donated by Rio Tinto, mined chiefly from its Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, USA. According to the London Mining Network, Rio Tinto’s mining operation has generated air pollution causing between 300 and 600 deaths in Utah each year.
London 2012’s main ‘sustainability partner’ will be BP, responsible for the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. This saw some 200 million gallons of crude oil released into the Gulf of Mexico, poisoning fishing stocks, endangering birds and other wildlife, and putting tens of thousands of fishermen out of work. BP is also one of the companies involved in extracting tar sands in Canada, a process that destroys forest, wastes untold volumes of fresh water, causes illness in mining areas, and is already responsible for around 10 per cent of all of that country’s carbon emissions, with production set to increase continuously over the next decade.
The companies sponsoring the Games include chocolate firm Cadbury’s. And right in the heart of the athletes’ village, the London organisers have authorised building the world’s largest McDonald’s. Another company hoping to be associated with the health and vigour of the athletes is Coca-Cola, the sponsors of the Olympic torch relay.''
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''Welcoming business has meant that the 4,700 medals being given out at the event have been struck from gold, silver and bronze donated by Rio Tinto, mined chiefly from its Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, USA. According to the London Mining Network, Rio Tinto’s mining operation has generated air pollution causing between 300 and 600 deaths in Utah each year.
London 2012’s main ‘sustainability partner’ will be BP, responsible for the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. This saw some 200 million gallons of crude oil released into the Gulf of Mexico, poisoning fishing stocks, endangering birds and other wildlife, and putting tens of thousands of fishermen out of work. BP is also one of the companies involved in extracting tar sands in Canada, a process that destroys forest, wastes untold volumes of fresh water, causes illness in mining areas, and is already responsible for around 10 per cent of all of that country’s carbon emissions, with production set to increase continuously over the next decade.
The companies sponsoring the Games include chocolate firm Cadbury’s. And right in the heart of the athletes’ village, the London organisers have authorised building the world’s largest McDonald’s. Another company hoping to be associated with the health and vigour of the athletes is Coca-Cola, the sponsors of the Olympic torch relay.''
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''Israel, US Warmongers Bent on Brewing Iran Crisis''
From Global Research.ca
''A report published on Sunday in Ha’aretz reveals that US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon has presented Washington's contingency plans for a possible attack on Iran to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once the nuclear negotiations reach an impasse.
However, the report was immediately denied by a top Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said, “Nothing in the article is correct. Donilon did not meet the prime minister for dinner, he did not meet him one-on-one, nor did he present operational plans to attack Iran.”
A quick justification for this denial could be that such a contingency plan was not supposed to be publicized and should have remained confidential for as long as necessary.
Still, there is no denial that Washington and Israel are the two sides of a coin and it is manifest that they have in their political wheeling and dealing formed a united front against Iran.''
''RealtyTrac CEO on CNBC: The $1.2 Trillion Housing Problem''
From Realty Trac
''But the much bigger pool of distress looming over the market is the 12.3 million loans with negative equity, or underwater, that have not yet started the foreclosure process. RealtyTrac estimates that these underwater loans represent $1.2 trillion in negative equity — an amount that is 26 times the negative equity associated with loans already in the foreclosure process.''
video/text
''But the much bigger pool of distress looming over the market is the 12.3 million loans with negative equity, or underwater, that have not yet started the foreclosure process. RealtyTrac estimates that these underwater loans represent $1.2 trillion in negative equity — an amount that is 26 times the negative equity associated with loans already in the foreclosure process.''
video/text
''The inevitable death of the euro''
From GoldMoney
''On Thursday the European Central Bank’s Mario Draghi was moved to defend the euro, after Spain’s government bond yields rose dramatically through the 7% level. And when Valencia asked the central government for a bailout, followed by indications that other cities and regions have similar problems, it became clear that Spain is in deep trouble. We have got used to the concept of too-big-to-fail; now we have too-big-to-rescue.
We normally talk about Spain and also Italy in terms of government debt and budget deficits, forgetting they are only part of the problem. To these must be added regional and local governments, nationalised and subsidised industries, and off-balance sheet guarantees for other entities. Forget, for the moment, future health and welfare costs, which statistically dwarf everything: they are not the immediate problem. This still leaves us with rescues, without even considering commercial banks, amounting to perhaps between two and four times the headline government debt. People think Spain can be rescued, but when you take everything into account, including the prospect of a policy-induced slump from macro-economic mistakes, it is simply too big.''
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''On Thursday the European Central Bank’s Mario Draghi was moved to defend the euro, after Spain’s government bond yields rose dramatically through the 7% level. And when Valencia asked the central government for a bailout, followed by indications that other cities and regions have similar problems, it became clear that Spain is in deep trouble. We have got used to the concept of too-big-to-fail; now we have too-big-to-rescue.
We normally talk about Spain and also Italy in terms of government debt and budget deficits, forgetting they are only part of the problem. To these must be added regional and local governments, nationalised and subsidised industries, and off-balance sheet guarantees for other entities. Forget, for the moment, future health and welfare costs, which statistically dwarf everything: they are not the immediate problem. This still leaves us with rescues, without even considering commercial banks, amounting to perhaps between two and four times the headline government debt. People think Spain can be rescued, but when you take everything into account, including the prospect of a policy-induced slump from macro-economic mistakes, it is simply too big.''
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''Either we'll save the euro properly or not at all''
From Deutsche Welle
Greece is on the verge of bankruptcy, and Spain is battling unemployment, record interest rates and ailing banks. Hardly a day goes by without more bad news coming from Europe's financial markets.''
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''Seventeen of Europe's top economists have issued a report that details a way out of the eurozone crisis. Saving the euro will very expensive and take more commitment from politicians, they argue.
Greece is on the verge of bankruptcy, and Spain is battling unemployment, record interest rates and ailing banks. Hardly a day goes by without more bad news coming from Europe's financial markets.''
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''The Triumph of Politics''
From Financial Sense
By Detlev Schlichter
''On August 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared that the United States would no longer honour its promise to exchange US dollars held by foreign central banks for gold at a fixed price of $35 an ounce. The innocuous term ‘Nixon closed the gold window’ that is now widely used to describe this act does not quite convey its significance. (Was something to be stopped from going out or from coming in through the window? Can the window be reopened again?)
''What Nixon did was cut the last remaining official link between the world’s leading reserve currency and gold and thus remove the last constraint on fiat money creation.''
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By Detlev Schlichter
''On August 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared that the United States would no longer honour its promise to exchange US dollars held by foreign central banks for gold at a fixed price of $35 an ounce. The innocuous term ‘Nixon closed the gold window’ that is now widely used to describe this act does not quite convey its significance. (Was something to be stopped from going out or from coming in through the window? Can the window be reopened again?)
''What Nixon did was cut the last remaining official link between the world’s leading reserve currency and gold and thus remove the last constraint on fiat money creation.''
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''Al-Qaeda’s Iraq campaign gains momentum''
From Daily News Egypt
''The “Destroying the Walls” campaign pledged last week by Al-Qaeda’s local Iraqi branch is in full swing. Al-Qaeda militants clashed with the country’s security forces on Thursday, leaving at least 12 dead, including five Iraqi policemen and seven militants, and destroying an Iraqi helicopter, the Associated Press reports.
The fighting began Wednesday in the town of Hadid, once a stronghold for rebels and insurgents. It escalated violently through Thursday.''
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''The “Destroying the Walls” campaign pledged last week by Al-Qaeda’s local Iraqi branch is in full swing. Al-Qaeda militants clashed with the country’s security forces on Thursday, leaving at least 12 dead, including five Iraqi policemen and seven militants, and destroying an Iraqi helicopter, the Associated Press reports.
The fighting began Wednesday in the town of Hadid, once a stronghold for rebels and insurgents. It escalated violently through Thursday.''
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''Older Americans lose homes as great recession takes toll''
From SMH
Roy Johnson fell so far behind on his $US1000-per-month mortgage payments that last year he allowed the red brick, three-bedroom ranch he had owned since 1963 to lapse into foreclosure.
''I couldn't pay it any longer,'' he said. ''One day, I woke up and said, 'Hell, I'm through with it. I'm walking away from the house'.''
''Once viewed as the most fiscally stable age group, older people are struggling. Last week, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), released what it described as the most comprehensive analysis of why the foreclosure crisis struck so many Americans in their retirement years.''
.......... ''older Americans are losing their homes because of pension cuts, rising medical costs, shrinking stock portfolios and falling property values, according to Debra Whitman, AARP's executive vice-president for policy.''
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Roy Johnson fell so far behind on his $US1000-per-month mortgage payments that last year he allowed the red brick, three-bedroom ranch he had owned since 1963 to lapse into foreclosure.
''I couldn't pay it any longer,'' he said. ''One day, I woke up and said, 'Hell, I'm through with it. I'm walking away from the house'.''
''Once viewed as the most fiscally stable age group, older people are struggling. Last week, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), released what it described as the most comprehensive analysis of why the foreclosure crisis struck so many Americans in their retirement years.''
.......... ''older Americans are losing their homes because of pension cuts, rising medical costs, shrinking stock portfolios and falling property values, according to Debra Whitman, AARP's executive vice-president for policy.''
read more
''Saudis Prepare to Fight Islamists And Move to Shore Up US Ties''
From AL-Monitor
By Samir Karam
''I share the United States’ concern that Saudi Arabia’s turn is coming, whether it be before or after that of other tiny Gulf states.
The US knows, and has confirmed, that organized Islamist groups are first and foremost fighting for power. These are groups which have previously fought in Libya, Syria and Yemen, and waged political battles in Egypt. Their ambitions will not stop at the borders of Saudi Arabia, or anywhere else.''
read more
By Samir Karam
''I share the United States’ concern that Saudi Arabia’s turn is coming, whether it be before or after that of other tiny Gulf states.
The US knows, and has confirmed, that organized Islamist groups are first and foremost fighting for power. These are groups which have previously fought in Libya, Syria and Yemen, and waged political battles in Egypt. Their ambitions will not stop at the borders of Saudi Arabia, or anywhere else.''
read more
Marc Faber: ''US Economy Numbers Are Bogus; Growth Is Actually Negative''
From Marc Faber Blog
''In the US, growth has slowed down and it is insignificant in my opinion. The growth is insignificant.”
“The statistics are published by governments and government agencies. I don’t believe that the US economy is growing much at the present time.''
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''In the US, growth has slowed down and it is insignificant in my opinion. The growth is insignificant.”
“The statistics are published by governments and government agencies. I don’t believe that the US economy is growing much at the present time.''
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''Fidelity Joins BlackRock in Weighing Libor Action Against Banks''
From Bloomberg
''BlackRock Inc. (BLK), Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Group Inc., firms that collectively manage more than $7 trillion, are gauging how their clients have been hurt by Libor manipulation and whether to take legal action as at least a dozen banks are being investigated for rate-rigging.''
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''BlackRock Inc. (BLK), Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Group Inc., firms that collectively manage more than $7 trillion, are gauging how their clients have been hurt by Libor manipulation and whether to take legal action as at least a dozen banks are being investigated for rate-rigging.''
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''An Excerpt From Donald Przebowski's The Rise And Fall of the United States: An Interpretation of History''
From The Excavator
''In his 2009 book called, "The Rise And Fall of the United States: An Interpretation of History," Przebowski writes:
"A man, as a nation, has his moments of glory; his moments of depression. It is during an hour of danger that one reveals one's personal character, it is during a national crisis that a nation reveals its national character, what it stands for when standing for its principles is most difficult. It is our historical moment of depression. The discerning eye sees the symptoms of decay in every part of our culture: the attacks on our Constitution and traditions, the intellectual and moral elitism claimed by politicians, political pundits and the elite media, the arts that distort the beauty of life, the literature that insults literary standards and heroics, and the privileged politicians who rise to power in the Executive, Senate, and the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. dedicated to their own self-interests.''
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''In his 2009 book called, "The Rise And Fall of the United States: An Interpretation of History," Przebowski writes:
"A man, as a nation, has his moments of glory; his moments of depression. It is during an hour of danger that one reveals one's personal character, it is during a national crisis that a nation reveals its national character, what it stands for when standing for its principles is most difficult. It is our historical moment of depression. The discerning eye sees the symptoms of decay in every part of our culture: the attacks on our Constitution and traditions, the intellectual and moral elitism claimed by politicians, political pundits and the elite media, the arts that distort the beauty of life, the literature that insults literary standards and heroics, and the privileged politicians who rise to power in the Executive, Senate, and the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. dedicated to their own self-interests.''
read more
''Open Letter From Chomsky, Shiva, Pilger and more..''
From New Left Project
An Open Message to All Who Seek A New and Better World
''We are members of what is called the the Interim Consultative Committee of the International Organization for a Participatory Society - or IOPS for short.
IOPS is actually an interim entity, pending a future founding convention. IOPS was convened just a few months ago and already has over 2,100 members from 85 countries and a ten language site, despite that it is barely known publicly. IOPS is currently building local chapters, which will unite to form national branches that in turn will compose an international organization.''
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An Open Message to All Who Seek A New and Better World
''We are members of what is called the the Interim Consultative Committee of the International Organization for a Participatory Society - or IOPS for short.
IOPS is actually an interim entity, pending a future founding convention. IOPS was convened just a few months ago and already has over 2,100 members from 85 countries and a ten language site, despite that it is barely known publicly. IOPS is currently building local chapters, which will unite to form national branches that in turn will compose an international organization.''
read more
''97% of Greenland surface ice turns to slush''
From New Scientist
''The surface of Greenland has turned to slush. Satellite data shows that a warm spell earlier this month melted nearly the entire surface of the nation's ice cap. The melt is unusual: normally about half of the ice sheet melts at the surface during summer, mostly at low elevations.
This year the thaw was stunningly swift and widespread, and extended high up the nation's peaks.''
''Why Is Earth So Dry?''
From Space Ref
''With large swaths of oceans, rivers that snake for hundreds of miles, and behemoth glaciers near the north and south poles, Earth doesn't seem to have a water shortage. And yet, less than one percent of our planet's mass is locked up in water, and even that may have been delivered by comets and asteroids after Earth's initial formation.''
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''With large swaths of oceans, rivers that snake for hundreds of miles, and behemoth glaciers near the north and south poles, Earth doesn't seem to have a water shortage. And yet, less than one percent of our planet's mass is locked up in water, and even that may have been delivered by comets and asteroids after Earth's initial formation.''
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Sunday, July 29, 2012
Unofficial: VoltaireNet.org reporting the death of Prince Bandar
if true, this will change everything................From Voltairenet.org
Prince Bandar had just been appointed head of Saudi intelligence on July 22: a promotion which was interpreted as a reward for having organized the attack in Damascus on July 18. The Saudi services, with logistical support from the CIA, had managed to blow up the headquarters of the Syrian National Security during a Crisis Cell meeting: Generals Assef Chaoukat, Daoud Rajha and Hassan Tourkmani were killed instantly. Generals Amin Charabeh and Hicham Ikhtiar died soon after from their wounds. This operation, called "Damascus Volcano" was the signal for the attack on the capital by a swarm of mercenaries, mainly coming from Jordan.''
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''Syria eliminates Bandar bin Sultan in retaliation for Damascus bombing''
''Though not yet announced by the Saudi authorities, the death of Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been confirmed to Voltaire Network unofficially.
Prince Bandar had just been appointed head of Saudi intelligence on July 22: a promotion which was interpreted as a reward for having organized the attack in Damascus on July 18. The Saudi services, with logistical support from the CIA, had managed to blow up the headquarters of the Syrian National Security during a Crisis Cell meeting: Generals Assef Chaoukat, Daoud Rajha and Hassan Tourkmani were killed instantly. Generals Amin Charabeh and Hicham Ikhtiar died soon after from their wounds. This operation, called "Damascus Volcano" was the signal for the attack on the capital by a swarm of mercenaries, mainly coming from Jordan.''
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''Obama budget forecast predicts $8.3 trillion deficit over next decade''
From Daily Caller
''The White House has delivered its 10-year budget forecast to Congress, and it predicts a trillion-dollar deficit for fiscal year 2012.
The project, titled the Mid-Session Review, projects $42.6 trillion in spending, and will balloon the federal government’s accumulated debt to $25.4 trillion by 2022, according to an analysis from the office of Sen. Jeff Sessions, the GOP’s budget chief in the Senate. The review was released Friday, reducing the chance it will get much coverage in the media.''
''The White House has delivered its 10-year budget forecast to Congress, and it predicts a trillion-dollar deficit for fiscal year 2012.
The project, titled the Mid-Session Review, projects $42.6 trillion in spending, and will balloon the federal government’s accumulated debt to $25.4 trillion by 2022, according to an analysis from the office of Sen. Jeff Sessions, the GOP’s budget chief in the Senate. The review was released Friday, reducing the chance it will get much coverage in the media.''
''China and the Persian Gulf''
From Foreign Policy in Focus
''China’s rise, according to many analysts, has been the world’s most significant geopolitical and economic development of the 21st century. Central to China’s rise has been the energy it needs to fuel economic growth. Importing over 42 percent of its crude oil from the Persian Gulf, Beijing views the region as vital for this economic development. China's growing influence in the world’s most oil-rich region is the subject of Bryce Wakefield and Susan L. Levenstein’s China and the Persian Gulf: Implications for the United States.''
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''China’s rise, according to many analysts, has been the world’s most significant geopolitical and economic development of the 21st century. Central to China’s rise has been the energy it needs to fuel economic growth. Importing over 42 percent of its crude oil from the Persian Gulf, Beijing views the region as vital for this economic development. China's growing influence in the world’s most oil-rich region is the subject of Bryce Wakefield and Susan L. Levenstein’s China and the Persian Gulf: Implications for the United States.''
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''America's Descent Into Darkness''
From Counter Punch
By Morris Berman
''Strange things are happening in the United States these days, and every day seems to bring additional scary news. The similarity to the erosion of civil liberties in Germany during the 1930s is a bit too close for comfort. Many will regard this statement as hyperbole, and, to some extent, it is. But let’s take a close look at what is going on before we dismiss the comparison out of hand.''
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By Morris Berman
''Strange things are happening in the United States these days, and every day seems to bring additional scary news. The similarity to the erosion of civil liberties in Germany during the 1930s is a bit too close for comfort. Many will regard this statement as hyperbole, and, to some extent, it is. But let’s take a close look at what is going on before we dismiss the comparison out of hand.''
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''At least three banks seen central to Libor rigging''
From Reuters
''New details from court documents and sources close to the Libor scandal investigation suggest that groups of traders working at three major European banks were heavily involved in rigging global benchmark interest rates.
Some of those traders, including one who used to work at Barclays Plc in New York, still have senior positions on Wall Street trading desks.''
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''New details from court documents and sources close to the Libor scandal investigation suggest that groups of traders working at three major European banks were heavily involved in rigging global benchmark interest rates.
Some of those traders, including one who used to work at Barclays Plc in New York, still have senior positions on Wall Street trading desks.''
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''US sees Israel as main spy threat''
From AP via Hurriyet Daily News
''Such meddling underscores what is widely known but rarely discussed outside intelligence circles: Despite inarguable ties between the U.S. and its closest ally in the Middle East and despite statements from U.S. politicians trumpeting the friendship, U.S. national security officials consider Israel to be, at times, a frustrating ally and a genuine counterintelligence threat.
In addition to what the former U.S. officials described as intrusions in homes in the past decade, Israel has been implicated in U.S. criminal espionage cases and disciplinary proceedings against CIA officers and blamed in the presumed death of an important spy in Syria for the CIA during the administration of President George W. Bush.
The CIA considers Israel its No. 1 counterintelligence threat in the agency’s Near East Division, the group that oversees spying across the Middle East, according to current and former officials. Counterintelligence is the art of protecting national secrets from spies. This means the CIA believes that U.S. national secrets are safer from other Middle Eastern governments than from Israel.''
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''Such meddling underscores what is widely known but rarely discussed outside intelligence circles: Despite inarguable ties between the U.S. and its closest ally in the Middle East and despite statements from U.S. politicians trumpeting the friendship, U.S. national security officials consider Israel to be, at times, a frustrating ally and a genuine counterintelligence threat.
In addition to what the former U.S. officials described as intrusions in homes in the past decade, Israel has been implicated in U.S. criminal espionage cases and disciplinary proceedings against CIA officers and blamed in the presumed death of an important spy in Syria for the CIA during the administration of President George W. Bush.
The CIA considers Israel its No. 1 counterintelligence threat in the agency’s Near East Division, the group that oversees spying across the Middle East, according to current and former officials. Counterintelligence is the art of protecting national secrets from spies. This means the CIA believes that U.S. national secrets are safer from other Middle Eastern governments than from Israel.''
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''European network of Chinese banks grows''
From China Daily
''An emerging network of Chinese banks is gradually unfolding across the European continent, with corporate and private clients standing to benefit from the additional services.
While Chinese banks in London, Paris, Frankfurt and other cities in western Europe offer nearly all the services as European banks do, their newly opened branches in Brussels and other cities can only provide limited services.
They are still waiting for signals from local banking regulatory authorities to expand their services, including issuing debit and credit cards.''
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''An emerging network of Chinese banks is gradually unfolding across the European continent, with corporate and private clients standing to benefit from the additional services.
While Chinese banks in London, Paris, Frankfurt and other cities in western Europe offer nearly all the services as European banks do, their newly opened branches in Brussels and other cities can only provide limited services.
They are still waiting for signals from local banking regulatory authorities to expand their services, including issuing debit and credit cards.''
read more
''GCC Union turns reality''
From NewzGlobe
''During April 2012, a queue of thousands of trucks built up at the Al Ghuwaifat border crossing between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, because of a slow customs clearance process. This incident underlined the difficulties faced by the six rich oil exporting countries of the GCC.
Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, is leading moves towards political and economic cooperation, which it believes would give the Gulf States more power to withstand any confrontation with Iran. Closer business ties within the GCC, which consists of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain and has a combined annual output of about $1.4 trillion, could have big repercussions for companies and consumers.
Projects already underway or under study include a customs union, a joint value-added tax and even the introduction of single currency. "They have the deadline of 2014 to finish everything. Distribution of customs revenues is the main thing, said a Gulf official familiar with the process. "It's more about how to solve it, the distribution and rates.''
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''During April 2012, a queue of thousands of trucks built up at the Al Ghuwaifat border crossing between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, because of a slow customs clearance process. This incident underlined the difficulties faced by the six rich oil exporting countries of the GCC.
Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, is leading moves towards political and economic cooperation, which it believes would give the Gulf States more power to withstand any confrontation with Iran. Closer business ties within the GCC, which consists of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain and has a combined annual output of about $1.4 trillion, could have big repercussions for companies and consumers.
Projects already underway or under study include a customs union, a joint value-added tax and even the introduction of single currency. "They have the deadline of 2014 to finish everything. Distribution of customs revenues is the main thing, said a Gulf official familiar with the process. "It's more about how to solve it, the distribution and rates.''
read more
''China's role in global Silver market''
From Bullion Street
''Twenty years ago China accounted for some 3 percent and 5 percent of global silver demand and supply, respectively. In 2011, according to World Silver Survey 2012, those figures climbed to 16 percent and 14 percent, making China the world's second largest consumer and third largest producer of the white metal.''
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''Twenty years ago China accounted for some 3 percent and 5 percent of global silver demand and supply, respectively. In 2011, according to World Silver Survey 2012, those figures climbed to 16 percent and 14 percent, making China the world's second largest consumer and third largest producer of the white metal.''
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''The Matrix of Power''
From Plata
Hugo Salinas Price
''The disappearance of knowledge from human consciousness is a rare phenomenon, but there are recorded instances of knowledge which has evaporated. As a curious example, Pancirollus, writing in the 16th Century mentions that, among many other cases of lost technology, in the time of the Roman Empire a man who had invented flexible glass was presented to Emperor Tiberius. Tiberius condemned the poor man to death and ordered the destruction of all his products, considering that such an invention was detrimental to society.''
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Hugo Salinas Price
''The disappearance of knowledge from human consciousness is a rare phenomenon, but there are recorded instances of knowledge which has evaporated. As a curious example, Pancirollus, writing in the 16th Century mentions that, among many other cases of lost technology, in the time of the Roman Empire a man who had invented flexible glass was presented to Emperor Tiberius. Tiberius condemned the poor man to death and ordered the destruction of all his products, considering that such an invention was detrimental to society.''
read more
''Impunity Returns to Peru''
From Foreign Policy in Focus
''The Peruvian Supreme Court has handed down a highly controversial sentence in a case involving the members of the Colina Group death squad. According to human rights defenders and the victims in the relevant cases, the sentence is a major step backward in Peru’s tortured quest for truth and justice in cases of egregious human rights violations.''
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''The Peruvian Supreme Court has handed down a highly controversial sentence in a case involving the members of the Colina Group death squad. According to human rights defenders and the victims in the relevant cases, the sentence is a major step backward in Peru’s tortured quest for truth and justice in cases of egregious human rights violations.''
read more
Saturday, July 28, 2012
''Morimoto says Japan may send SDF to disputed islands''
From Japan Today
''Japan’s defense minister on Friday warned Tokyo could send troops to a chain of East China Sea islands at the center of a territorial row with China if the simmering dispute escalated.
Satoshi Morimoto said Tokyo’s position had not changed, but confirmed that it would use force to defend the islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.
“Senkaku or not, defense of islands is principally conducted by the coastguard and police,” Morimoto told reporters in Tokyo.
“However, the law stipulates that Self-Defense Forces troops can act” if local authorities are unable to handle the situation.''
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''Japan’s defense minister on Friday warned Tokyo could send troops to a chain of East China Sea islands at the center of a territorial row with China if the simmering dispute escalated.
Satoshi Morimoto said Tokyo’s position had not changed, but confirmed that it would use force to defend the islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.
“Senkaku or not, defense of islands is principally conducted by the coastguard and police,” Morimoto told reporters in Tokyo.
“However, the law stipulates that Self-Defense Forces troops can act” if local authorities are unable to handle the situation.''
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''Turkey seeks SCO membership''
From Indian Punchline
By MK Bhadrakumar
''During an interview with the popular Istanbul-based news channel 24 TV on Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan inter alia disclosed that Turkey is seeking membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It was only at the recent SCO summit at Beijing in June that Turkey became a ‘Dialogue Partner’. The induction as ‘Dialogue Partner’ was apparently at China’s initiative. In his interview, Erdogan said during his visit to Moscow earlier this month, he solicited support from President Vladimir Putin for the Turkish move.''
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By MK Bhadrakumar
''During an interview with the popular Istanbul-based news channel 24 TV on Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan inter alia disclosed that Turkey is seeking membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It was only at the recent SCO summit at Beijing in June that Turkey became a ‘Dialogue Partner’. The induction as ‘Dialogue Partner’ was apparently at China’s initiative. In his interview, Erdogan said during his visit to Moscow earlier this month, he solicited support from President Vladimir Putin for the Turkish move.''
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''Real Estate's Latest Mess: Big Banks Now Face Foreclosure''
From Forbes
''Take JP Morgan Chase. In April 2010, it foreclosed on and took ownership of a Homestead, Fla. condo after the homeowner defaulted on his loan and a consequent auction yielded no takers. As would be the case for any other condo owner in the development, the bank was legally required to pay monthly maintenance dues to the Homeowners’ Association (HOA), Keys Gate Community Association. But JP Morgan allegedly didn’t. Two years and nearly $20,000 in owed fees later, Keys Gate Community Association is pursuing foreclosure against the bank.''
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''Take JP Morgan Chase. In April 2010, it foreclosed on and took ownership of a Homestead, Fla. condo after the homeowner defaulted on his loan and a consequent auction yielded no takers. As would be the case for any other condo owner in the development, the bank was legally required to pay monthly maintenance dues to the Homeowners’ Association (HOA), Keys Gate Community Association. But JP Morgan allegedly didn’t. Two years and nearly $20,000 in owed fees later, Keys Gate Community Association is pursuing foreclosure against the bank.''
read more
''Saudis Preparing for the Day When the United States and America’s “Islamists” Become Their Enemy''
a great read...........From 'There are no Sunglasses'
''The US knows, and has confirmed, that organized Islamist groups are first and foremost fighting for power. These are groups which have previously fought in Libya, Syria and Yemen, and waged political battles in Egypt. Their ambitions will not stop at the borders of Saudi Arabia, or anywhere else.
The US also knows that the Saudi regime — whose system is similar to that which the Islamist organizations may establish in any Arab country — is not exactly the system they prefer. As these groups extend their sphere of control in the region, their desire to seize power in Saudi Arabia only grows.''
read more
''The US knows, and has confirmed, that organized Islamist groups are first and foremost fighting for power. These are groups which have previously fought in Libya, Syria and Yemen, and waged political battles in Egypt. Their ambitions will not stop at the borders of Saudi Arabia, or anywhere else.
The US also knows that the Saudi regime — whose system is similar to that which the Islamist organizations may establish in any Arab country — is not exactly the system they prefer. As these groups extend their sphere of control in the region, their desire to seize power in Saudi Arabia only grows.''
read more
''TARP Was Even Worse Than You Think: “An Abysmal Failure,” Barofsky Says''
From Yahoo
''While the big banks have paid back their loans, the overall program is now projected to lose somewhere between $32 billion to $70 billion, with $109.1 billion owed as of June 30, according to SIGTARP. Most of those losses are tied to AIG -- Treasury still own 61% of the company -- but more than half of the 325 banks that received TARP aid have missed dividend or interest payments.
"The bottom line is [the government] still expects tens of millions of losses on TARP," Barofsky says. "The losses are a lot less than originally anticipated but this resorting to trickery really shows you they're trying to cover up how badly TARP has failed in its other goals of helping homeowners and increasing lending to the economy."
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''While the big banks have paid back their loans, the overall program is now projected to lose somewhere between $32 billion to $70 billion, with $109.1 billion owed as of June 30, according to SIGTARP. Most of those losses are tied to AIG -- Treasury still own 61% of the company -- but more than half of the 325 banks that received TARP aid have missed dividend or interest payments.
"The bottom line is [the government] still expects tens of millions of losses on TARP," Barofsky says. "The losses are a lot less than originally anticipated but this resorting to trickery really shows you they're trying to cover up how badly TARP has failed in its other goals of helping homeowners and increasing lending to the economy."
read more
''Negative Equity Problem Could Make Foreclosure Crisis Even Worse''
From USNEWS
''Just when you thought the housing market might be on the mend, news that foreclosure activity is on the rise across the country reopens a painful wound.
Almost 60 percent of the nation's largest metropolitan areas saw increased foreclosure activity in the first half of 2012, according to a recent report from foreclosure information website RealtyTrac, with troubled states California and Florida cropping up again as major sources of the country's foreclosure woes.''
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''Just when you thought the housing market might be on the mend, news that foreclosure activity is on the rise across the country reopens a painful wound.
Almost 60 percent of the nation's largest metropolitan areas saw increased foreclosure activity in the first half of 2012, according to a recent report from foreclosure information website RealtyTrac, with troubled states California and Florida cropping up again as major sources of the country's foreclosure woes.''
read more
Pepe Escobar: "Welcome to the Kurdish Spring''
From Asia Times
''Turkish foreign policy, codified by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, used to be known in shorthand as "zero problems with our neighbors". When Turkey started calling for regime change in Syria, it turned into "a major problem with one of our neighbors" (even tough Davutoglu himself admitted on the record the policy change failed).
Now, in yet another twist, it's becoming "all sorts of problems with two of our neighbors". Enter - inevitably - Ankara's ultimate taboo; the Kurdish question.''
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''Turkish foreign policy, codified by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, used to be known in shorthand as "zero problems with our neighbors". When Turkey started calling for regime change in Syria, it turned into "a major problem with one of our neighbors" (even tough Davutoglu himself admitted on the record the policy change failed).
Now, in yet another twist, it's becoming "all sorts of problems with two of our neighbors". Enter - inevitably - Ankara's ultimate taboo; the Kurdish question.''
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''Kurdish worries drag Turkey deeper into Syria war''
From Reuters
''Turkey may be some way from acting on Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's threat to strike Kurdish separatists in Syria, but week by week it finds itself sucked ever further into its neighbor's worsening war.
The shooting down of a Turkish reconnaissance jet last month was seen by many as a turning point, prompting Ankara to join Saudi Arabia at Qatar in semi-covert support for the Free Syrian Army fighting against President Bashar al-Assad.''
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''Turkey may be some way from acting on Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's threat to strike Kurdish separatists in Syria, but week by week it finds itself sucked ever further into its neighbor's worsening war.
The shooting down of a Turkish reconnaissance jet last month was seen by many as a turning point, prompting Ankara to join Saudi Arabia at Qatar in semi-covert support for the Free Syrian Army fighting against President Bashar al-Assad.''
read more
'Chalmers Johnson: The Guns of August'
From OB RAG
''Let me begin by asking: What harm would befall the United States if we actually decided, against all odds, to close those hundreds and hundreds of bases, large and small, that we garrison around the world? What if we actually dismantled our empire, and came home? Would Genghis Khan-like hordes descend on us? Not likely. Neither a land nor a sea invasion of the U.S. is even conceivable.
Would 9/11-type attacks accelerate? It seems far likelier to me that, as our overseas profile shrank, the possibility of such attacks would shrink with it.''
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''Let me begin by asking: What harm would befall the United States if we actually decided, against all odds, to close those hundreds and hundreds of bases, large and small, that we garrison around the world? What if we actually dismantled our empire, and came home? Would Genghis Khan-like hordes descend on us? Not likely. Neither a land nor a sea invasion of the U.S. is even conceivable.
Would 9/11-type attacks accelerate? It seems far likelier to me that, as our overseas profile shrank, the possibility of such attacks would shrink with it.''
read more
Friday, July 27, 2012
''Clouded Titles: The Foreclosure Crisis Exposed with Author Dave Krieger''
From InfoWars
http://www.cloudedtitles.com/
''The aftermath of the 2008 housing bust is only now starting to surface. It may take a century of litigation and legislation to straighten out the mess caused in slightly more than a decade of chicanery. This book reveals the truth about the foreclosure crisis and outlines the reasons why millions of property owners across America may be forced to file a quiet title suit just to be able to convey clear title to their properties.
The book covers the issues that borrowers and property owners are now facing as a result of this corporate corruption. It also guides homeowners with suggestions and ideas for seeking remedy in state courts, the only place in America with any saving grace. The author delves into the quiet title action and what it means to property owners with clouded titles. Clouded Titles will inform readers about foreclosure defense, strategic default, quiet title actions and county land record functions. It includes a detailed Index and Table of Case Citations and comes highly regarded by attorneys.''
and from Revolution Radio..........
''Doctor John Waterman with guest investgative journalist and paralegal Dave Krieger - discussing clouded titles
[10:22:00 AM] Neo: author of the book "Clouded Titles" talks about MERS and how it has corrupted millions of titles on homes making a disaster of the country's county recorder's office and their ability to know who owns the properties that are being foreclossed on all over America''
[10:22:00 AM] Neo: author of the book "Clouded Titles" talks about MERS and how it has corrupted millions of titles on homes making a disaster of the country's county recorder's office and their ability to know who owns the properties that are being foreclossed on all over America''
''Vietnam Ready to Host Russian Maritime Base''
From 'There are no Sunglasses'
''Vietnam will allow Russia to set up a ship maintenance base at its port of Cam Ranh, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang said on Friday.
Sang, speaking to the Voice of Russia radio station ahead of a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, stressed that the port would not be a Russian military base. But he also said that Cam Ranh would be used to help develop “military co-operation” between the two former Cold War allies.''
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''Vietnam will allow Russia to set up a ship maintenance base at its port of Cam Ranh, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang said on Friday.
Sang, speaking to the Voice of Russia radio station ahead of a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, stressed that the port would not be a Russian military base. But he also said that Cam Ranh would be used to help develop “military co-operation” between the two former Cold War allies.''
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''Russia wants naval bases abroad''
From Reuters via Phantom Report
''Russia hopes to establish its first naval base abroad since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and is looking at Cuba, Vietnam and the Seychelles as possible locations, state-run RIA news agency quoted the navy chief as saying on Friday.
Russia has been increasing the reach of its navy in recent years, sending warships further afield as part of an effort to restore pride project power in a world dominated by the U.S. military.
“It’s true that we are continuing work on providing the navy with basing outside the Russian Federation,” RIA quoted Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov as saying in an interview.''
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''Russia hopes to establish its first naval base abroad since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and is looking at Cuba, Vietnam and the Seychelles as possible locations, state-run RIA news agency quoted the navy chief as saying on Friday.
Russia has been increasing the reach of its navy in recent years, sending warships further afield as part of an effort to restore pride project power in a world dominated by the U.S. military.
“It’s true that we are continuing work on providing the navy with basing outside the Russian Federation,” RIA quoted Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov as saying in an interview.''
read more
''Fiat Currencies from Nullifying to Negative Nominal Interest Rates''
From Market Oracle
''The once unthinkable might become policy: negative nominal interest rates. Investors should care as they may be increasingly punished for not taking risks. Yet masochistic investors believe they may be the prudent ones given the risks lurking in the markets. What are investors to do, and what are the implications for the U.S. dollar and currencies?''
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''The once unthinkable might become policy: negative nominal interest rates. Investors should care as they may be increasingly punished for not taking risks. Yet masochistic investors believe they may be the prudent ones given the risks lurking in the markets. What are investors to do, and what are the implications for the U.S. dollar and currencies?''
read more
''Study suggests link between housing woes and child abuse''
From Philly.com
''Rising home foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies have contributed to an increase in child abuse, a Children's Hospital of Philadelphia PolicyLab study suggests.
The study, the subject of a July 16 article in the journal Pediatrics, used data submitted from 38 of 45 pediatric medical centers around the country.
The data, which covered 2000 through 2009, show that every 1 percent increase in 90-day mortgage delinquencies over a one-year period was associated with a 3 percent increase in children's hospital admissions for physical abuse and a 5 percent increase in children's hospital admissions for traumatic brain injuries suspected to be caused by child abuse.''
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''Rising home foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies have contributed to an increase in child abuse, a Children's Hospital of Philadelphia PolicyLab study suggests.
The study, the subject of a July 16 article in the journal Pediatrics, used data submitted from 38 of 45 pediatric medical centers around the country.
The data, which covered 2000 through 2009, show that every 1 percent increase in 90-day mortgage delinquencies over a one-year period was associated with a 3 percent increase in children's hospital admissions for physical abuse and a 5 percent increase in children's hospital admissions for traumatic brain injuries suspected to be caused by child abuse.''
read more
''Foreclosures surge in first half of 2012''
From CBS News
''Even with the U.S. housing market showing signs of stabilizing, foreclosures around the country are surging.
Foreclosure activity increased in the first six months of 2012 in 125 of the nation's 212 metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more, according to the latest data from market researcher RealtyTrac. Despite the increases from the second half of 2011, 129 of the metro areas still posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity.''
read more
''Even with the U.S. housing market showing signs of stabilizing, foreclosures around the country are surging.
Foreclosure activity increased in the first six months of 2012 in 125 of the nation's 212 metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more, according to the latest data from market researcher RealtyTrac. Despite the increases from the second half of 2011, 129 of the metro areas still posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity.''
read more
''South China Sea: Why India cannot afford to be silent''
From Rediff
''As was expected there was no movement on the contentious South China Sea dispute at the ASEAN summit held in Phnom Penh a few days back. But what was striking was the fact that the looming shadow of China prevented the meeting from even issuing a joint statement for the first time in the organisation's 45-year history.
China succeeded in playing divide and rule politics, thereby ensuring that the dispute remains a bilateral matter between Beijing [ Images ] and individual rival claimants. As a consequence, the waters of the South China Sea will not be calm any time soon.''
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''As was expected there was no movement on the contentious South China Sea dispute at the ASEAN summit held in Phnom Penh a few days back. But what was striking was the fact that the looming shadow of China prevented the meeting from even issuing a joint statement for the first time in the organisation's 45-year history.
China succeeded in playing divide and rule politics, thereby ensuring that the dispute remains a bilateral matter between Beijing [ Images ] and individual rival claimants. As a consequence, the waters of the South China Sea will not be calm any time soon.''
read more
''The History of the ''Money Changers''
From ''I Am The Witness''
''Economists continually try and sell the public the idea that recessions or depressions are a natural part of what they call the “business cycle”.
This timeline below will prove that is simply not the case. Recessions and depressions only occur because the Central Bankers manipulate the money supply, to ensure more and more is in their hands and less and less is in the hands of the people.
Central Bankers developed out of money changers and it is with these people we pick the story up in 48 B.C. below.''
''ECB may take losses in second Greek debt restructuring''
From Ekathimerini
''European policymakers are working on «last chance» options to bring Greece's debts down and keep it in the eurozone, with the ECB and national central banks looking at taking significant losses on the value of their bond holdings, officials said.
Private creditors have already suffered big writedowns on their Greek bonds under a second bailout for Athens sealed in February, but this was not enough to put the country back on the path to solvency and a further restructuring is on the cards.''
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''European policymakers are working on «last chance» options to bring Greece's debts down and keep it in the eurozone, with the ECB and national central banks looking at taking significant losses on the value of their bond holdings, officials said.
Private creditors have already suffered big writedowns on their Greek bonds under a second bailout for Athens sealed in February, but this was not enough to put the country back on the path to solvency and a further restructuring is on the cards.''
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Australia: ''No escape from currency wars''
From AFR
''There is a war raging across global financial markets, which Australia has – so far at least – tried to avoid participating in. But the sounds of battle are growing and we may soon have no choice but to deploy our own weaponry. If so, it would be good news for our hard-pressed trade-exposed sectors such as mining and tourism, and potentially even homeowners and small businesses nursing large debts.
The battle is, of course, the global currency wars.
Desperate to breathe life into their moribund economies, central banks in Europe, Japan and the United States have cut interest rates to the bone and cranked up their monetary printing presses, which indirectly has helped weaken their currencies. Even China has recently started to allow its currency to fall against the US dollar, and it has also fallen against the Australian dollar.''
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''There is a war raging across global financial markets, which Australia has – so far at least – tried to avoid participating in. But the sounds of battle are growing and we may soon have no choice but to deploy our own weaponry. If so, it would be good news for our hard-pressed trade-exposed sectors such as mining and tourism, and potentially even homeowners and small businesses nursing large debts.
The battle is, of course, the global currency wars.
Desperate to breathe life into their moribund economies, central banks in Europe, Japan and the United States have cut interest rates to the bone and cranked up their monetary printing presses, which indirectly has helped weaken their currencies. Even China has recently started to allow its currency to fall against the US dollar, and it has also fallen against the Australian dollar.''
read more
''How did Bank of America Borrow $69 Billion at Zero Percent on the Backs of the Taxpayers?''
From Economic Policy Journal
By Bob English
''The FDIC just released "Issuer Reported Debt Details" for the Debt Guarantee Program (DGP) of its Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP)--meaning a detailed list of which banks borrowed on the backs of the taxpayer during the financial panic and how juicy the terms were. A total of $618 billion was guaranteed by the FDIC over an approximate one year period.''
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By Bob English
''The FDIC just released "Issuer Reported Debt Details" for the Debt Guarantee Program (DGP) of its Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP)--meaning a detailed list of which banks borrowed on the backs of the taxpayer during the financial panic and how juicy the terms were. A total of $618 billion was guaranteed by the FDIC over an approximate one year period.''
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''Tomgram: U.S. Africa Command Debates TomDispatch''
a must read..............From TomDispatch
''On July 12th, TomDispatch posted the latest piece in Nick Turse’s “changing face of empire" series: “Obama’s Scramble for Africa.” It laid out in some detail the way in which the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has, in recent years, spread its influence across that continent, establishing bases and outposts, sending in special operations forces and drones, funding proxy forces on the continent, and so on. As last week ended, TomDispatch received a “letter to the editor” from Colonel Tom Davis, director of the U.S. Africa Command Office of Public Affairs, disputing in some detail a number of Turse’s points. (Colonel Davis also sent a copy of the letter to the Nation Institute, which supports this website.)''
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''On July 12th, TomDispatch posted the latest piece in Nick Turse’s “changing face of empire" series: “Obama’s Scramble for Africa.” It laid out in some detail the way in which the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has, in recent years, spread its influence across that continent, establishing bases and outposts, sending in special operations forces and drones, funding proxy forces on the continent, and so on. As last week ended, TomDispatch received a “letter to the editor” from Colonel Tom Davis, director of the U.S. Africa Command Office of Public Affairs, disputing in some detail a number of Turse’s points. (Colonel Davis also sent a copy of the letter to the Nation Institute, which supports this website.)''
read more
''Huge Physical Gold Shortage Looms''
From CoinWeek
''A number of so-called experts are proclaiming that gold’s price is in a bubble that has burst. However, actual market activity signals that demand for physical gold is draining available supplies.
In the first five months of 2012, at least 315 tons (10.1 million ounces) of gold had been imported into China. This quantity exceeds one-third of all global newly mined supplies during that time. The actual quantity is almost certainly higher as the Chinese government has a habit of not reporting all of the gold it adds to its reserves until several years later.
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''A number of so-called experts are proclaiming that gold’s price is in a bubble that has burst. However, actual market activity signals that demand for physical gold is draining available supplies.
In the first five months of 2012, at least 315 tons (10.1 million ounces) of gold had been imported into China. This quantity exceeds one-third of all global newly mined supplies during that time. The actual quantity is almost certainly higher as the Chinese government has a habit of not reporting all of the gold it adds to its reserves until several years later.
read more
''ICG Says South China Sea Primed for Armed Conflict''
From Asia Security Watch
''In a sobering report released on Tuesday, the International Crisis Group said “tensions in the South China Sea can easily spill over into armed conflict.”
The South China Sea dispute between China and Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei has reached an impasse, said the report, with increasingly assertive positions among claimants pushing regional tensions to new heights.
“All of the trends are in the wrong direction, and prospects of resolution are diminishing,” according to ICG.''
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''In a sobering report released on Tuesday, the International Crisis Group said “tensions in the South China Sea can easily spill over into armed conflict.”
The South China Sea dispute between China and Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei has reached an impasse, said the report, with increasingly assertive positions among claimants pushing regional tensions to new heights.
“All of the trends are in the wrong direction, and prospects of resolution are diminishing,” according to ICG.''
read more
''Dubai's top cop warns of Brotherhood, Iran threat''
From Arabian Business
"There's an international plot against Gulf states in particular and Arab countries in general... This is preplanned to take over our fortunes," Khalfan told reporters at a gathering late on Wednesday marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"The bigger our sovereign wealth funds and the more money we put in the banks of Western countries, the bigger the plot to take over our countries...The brothers and their governments in Damascus and North Africa have to know that the Gulf is a red line, not only for Iran but also for the Brothers as well."
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"There's an international plot against Gulf states in particular and Arab countries in general... This is preplanned to take over our fortunes," Khalfan told reporters at a gathering late on Wednesday marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"The bigger our sovereign wealth funds and the more money we put in the banks of Western countries, the bigger the plot to take over our countries...The brothers and their governments in Damascus and North Africa have to know that the Gulf is a red line, not only for Iran but also for the Brothers as well."
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'Keiser Report: Jellyfish Rat-Heart Robot Bankers' (E319)
From RT.com ''In this episode, Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, discuss the jellyfish robot with a rat heart, aka The Perfect Banker. They also welcome the audience to the world of banking 2012 and introduce the silver dosimeter that signals exposure to toxic financial products and bad economic policies. In the second half of the show, Max talks to Mark O'Byrne of Goldcore.com about silver, gold, manipulation and the crooks put in charge of cleaning up Ireland.''
''Ron Hera The End of Cheap Everything''
From USA Watchdog ''Ron Hera says taxpayers, savers and workers are going to pick up the tab for the Libor rate rigging fraud. He thinks, "They will ultimately print the money to paper over the problems." Count on inflation. Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with Ron Hera.''
''The New York Times Admits That Virtually Every Major News Organization Allows The News To Be Censored By Government Officials''
From 'End of the American Dream'
''In one of the most shocking articles that the New York Times has ever put out, a New York Times reporter has openly admitted that virtually every major mainstream news organization allows government bureaucrats and campaign officials to censor their stories. For example, almost every major news organization in the country has agreed to submit virtually all quotes from anyone involved in the Obama campaign or the Romney campaign to gatekeepers for "quote approval" before they will be published. ''
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''In one of the most shocking articles that the New York Times has ever put out, a New York Times reporter has openly admitted that virtually every major mainstream news organization allows government bureaucrats and campaign officials to censor their stories. For example, almost every major news organization in the country has agreed to submit virtually all quotes from anyone involved in the Obama campaign or the Romney campaign to gatekeepers for "quote approval" before they will be published. ''
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''Protests reflect deep divisions in Anaheim''
From LATimes
''In a city best known for Disneyland, the Angels and the Ducks, the fatal police shootings of two Latino men over the weekend have uncorked days of furious, sometimes violent protests.
The unrest has exposed long-simmering divisions in Anaheim between the glitz of Disney and professional sports and the struggles in some of the less prosperous Latino neighborhoods in Orange County's largest city.''
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''In a city best known for Disneyland, the Angels and the Ducks, the fatal police shootings of two Latino men over the weekend have uncorked days of furious, sometimes violent protests.
The unrest has exposed long-simmering divisions in Anaheim between the glitz of Disney and professional sports and the struggles in some of the less prosperous Latino neighborhoods in Orange County's largest city.''
read more
Thursday, July 26, 2012
''US Military and Local Police Working Together on American Streets''
From Occupy Corporatism
''The US military is being used to protect civilian events, like the 2012 Democratic and Republican Party National Conventions in Tampa, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina.
USNORTHCOM and Leon Panetta, US Secretary of Defense, has readily admitted that US armed forces will collaborate with local law enforcement “if called upon”.
In fact, more than 20,000 troops were brought home and readied for deployment within the US to assist in “civil unrest and crowd control”.''
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''The US military is being used to protect civilian events, like the 2012 Democratic and Republican Party National Conventions in Tampa, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina.
USNORTHCOM and Leon Panetta, US Secretary of Defense, has readily admitted that US armed forces will collaborate with local law enforcement “if called upon”.
In fact, more than 20,000 troops were brought home and readied for deployment within the US to assist in “civil unrest and crowd control”.''
read more
''Is Global Trade About To Collapse? Where are Oil Prices Headed? A Chat with Mish''
''The re-militarisation of South Africa’s borders''
From Open Democracy
''Border control and the consequent proliferation of militarised checkpoints, fences, deportation centres and surveillance systems is a central preoccupation of both politicians and the security industry throughout the world. In the case of South Africa the country’s extensive land, aerial and maritime borders are becoming a site of gradual, but sustained, military build-up.''
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''Border control and the consequent proliferation of militarised checkpoints, fences, deportation centres and surveillance systems is a central preoccupation of both politicians and the security industry throughout the world. In the case of South Africa the country’s extensive land, aerial and maritime borders are becoming a site of gradual, but sustained, military build-up.''
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''Obama and the Bank Protection Racket''
From URUKNet.........read more
''Wall Street knows, with great intimacy, that it is perched on the lip of the abyss, that the next crash can come from any number of directions, that all its faults are active and all its contradictions, acute. Global capital and its servants in government are haunted by the memory of their own near-death experience: the meltdown four years ago, when they were compelled by cascading events to share with the public the specter of financial Armageddon. The fascist cat has been out of the bag from the moment in September, 2008, when Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson issued not-so-veiled threats of martial law, should the Congress not accede to the bankers’ demands for a blank check.''
"The banksters must also be allowed to continue looting and rigging the system, since they cannot survive, otherwise."
''The Rise of the Police State and the Absence of Mass Opposition''
From The People's Voice
''One of the most significant political developments in recent US history has been the virtually unchallenged rise of the police state. Despite the vast expansion of the police powers of the Executive Branch of government, the extraordinary growth of an entire panoply of repressive agencies, with hundreds of thousands of personnel, and enormous public and secret budgets and the vast scope of police state surveillance, including the acknowledged monitoring of over 40 million US citizens and residents, no mass pro-democracy movement has emerged to confront the powers and prerogatives or even protest the investigations of the police state.''
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''One of the most significant political developments in recent US history has been the virtually unchallenged rise of the police state. Despite the vast expansion of the police powers of the Executive Branch of government, the extraordinary growth of an entire panoply of repressive agencies, with hundreds of thousands of personnel, and enormous public and secret budgets and the vast scope of police state surveillance, including the acknowledged monitoring of over 40 million US citizens and residents, no mass pro-democracy movement has emerged to confront the powers and prerogatives or even protest the investigations of the police state.''
read more
''Meet the financiers hosting Mitt Romney's London fundraiser''
From efinancialnews
''A cabal of senior American financiers will tonight host a $25,000-a-plate fundraising dinner in London for presumptive US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.''
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''A cabal of senior American financiers will tonight host a $25,000-a-plate fundraising dinner in London for presumptive US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.''
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''America rots from the inside, while overreacting to threats from outside''
From The Guardian
''Last Thursday, James Holmes killed 12 people and wounded 59 others in one of the worst mass shootings in American history. This is a depressingly familiar tale of modern American life – the massacre of innocent people with guns and ammunition legally acquired with relative ease. Unfortunately while such mass killings are all too prevalent, so too is the muted response of policymakers.
The Aurora shooting bleakly follows this pattern: liberals call for more gun control measures; conservatives argue that we need more not less armed Americans to keep us safe. In the end, some of the weakest gun control laws in the developed world remain.''
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''Last Thursday, James Holmes killed 12 people and wounded 59 others in one of the worst mass shootings in American history. This is a depressingly familiar tale of modern American life – the massacre of innocent people with guns and ammunition legally acquired with relative ease. Unfortunately while such mass killings are all too prevalent, so too is the muted response of policymakers.
The Aurora shooting bleakly follows this pattern: liberals call for more gun control measures; conservatives argue that we need more not less armed Americans to keep us safe. In the end, some of the weakest gun control laws in the developed world remain.''
read more
''Greece Must Go Bankrupt For The Sixth Time In 150 Years'' - Austrian Economist
From Die Welt via eFX News
"Greece must go bankrupt for the sixth time in 150 years. Then Europe needs to gradually get back to the old currencies while its citizens get economically trained. Then, serious savings models in Sweden or Switzerland would automatically replace the populist dreaming Keynesianism one day." Michael Hoerl, an Austrian economist and author of "The Welfare Trap"
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"Greece must go bankrupt for the sixth time in 150 years. Then Europe needs to gradually get back to the old currencies while its citizens get economically trained. Then, serious savings models in Sweden or Switzerland would automatically replace the populist dreaming Keynesianism one day." Michael Hoerl, an Austrian economist and author of "The Welfare Trap"
read more
Book Review: "The Bubble and Beyond''
From Michael Hudson
''Michael Hudson’s new book The Bubble & Beyond is vital for those vying to make sense of the economic quicksand global policy makers find themselves in. Buy it now. He ties a thread between the big issues of our times – underwater housing, money market manipulations and lifetime debt – concerns that appear too difficult for the world’s big name economists.
Hudson does this by looking at the systemic causes of inequality, complexity and economic despair.
The book traces how industrial capitalism has turned into finance capitalism. The finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) sector has emerged to create “balance sheet wealth” not by new tangible investment and employment, but financially in the form of debt leveraging and rent-extraction.''
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''Michael Hudson’s new book The Bubble & Beyond is vital for those vying to make sense of the economic quicksand global policy makers find themselves in. Buy it now. He ties a thread between the big issues of our times – underwater housing, money market manipulations and lifetime debt – concerns that appear too difficult for the world’s big name economists.
Hudson does this by looking at the systemic causes of inequality, complexity and economic despair.
The book traces how industrial capitalism has turned into finance capitalism. The finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) sector has emerged to create “balance sheet wealth” not by new tangible investment and employment, but financially in the form of debt leveraging and rent-extraction.''
read more
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