From USAGold
''If gold or the prospect of impending hard times plays any role in the current campaign, waged in conditions of unparalleled prosperity, it will likely be that of the ignored elephant in the room. Ignoring the elephant is not always bad policy if the time is used to plot strategies for dealing with the beast. Can this election be won only by losing? Or is there some strategy by which each party might really win by winning? There are gold bugs in both political parties. They know the monetary and economic score. Never have their parties needed them more.''
read more
Friday, August 3, 2012
''Humanitarian Military Intervention in Syria? Who is Behind the Atrocities?''
the neo-cons are still running foreign policy...............From Global Research
By Prof. Michel Chossudovsky
''In the wake of the UN Security Council face-off with Russia and China, a new dangerous phase of the war on Syria is unfolding. The Obama administration, in liaison with London, Paris, Tel Aviv and NATO headquarters in Brussels, is mulling over various military "intervention options", including the conduct of both naval and air operations in support of "opposition" rebel forces on the ground.
The dubious justification for waging a "humanitarian war" on Syria hinges upon the West's "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P) the Syrian people against their own government, which allegedly is involved in the routine killing of civilians.''
''Vacant Detroit becomes dumping ground for the dead''
From AP
''From the street, the two decomposing bodies were nearly invisible, concealed in an overgrown lot alongside worn-out car tires and a moldy sofa. The teenagers had been shot, stripped to their underwear and left on a deserted block.
They were just the latest victims of foul play whose remains went undiscovered for days after being hidden deep inside Detroit's vast urban wilderness - a crumbling wasteland rarely visited by outsiders and infrequently patrolled by police.''
''Four Iranians Sentenced to Death Over $2.3 Bln Bank Fraud''
why cant we be like Iran??..........From Ria Novosti
''Four Iranian citizens charged with defrauding Iranian banks of $2.3 billion have been sentenced to death, the Mehr News Agency reported on Monday citing the Prosecutor General Gholamhossein Mohseni E'jei.
“The convicts will be informed in the nearest future about the court’s decision to sentence the four of them to capital punishment,” Mohseni E'jei told the Mehr Agency, adding that two other people had been sentenced to life in prison and the rest of the accused, 33 Iranians, had received 25-year-long jail terms.''
read more
''Four Iranian citizens charged with defrauding Iranian banks of $2.3 billion have been sentenced to death, the Mehr News Agency reported on Monday citing the Prosecutor General Gholamhossein Mohseni E'jei.
“The convicts will be informed in the nearest future about the court’s decision to sentence the four of them to capital punishment,” Mohseni E'jei told the Mehr Agency, adding that two other people had been sentenced to life in prison and the rest of the accused, 33 Iranians, had received 25-year-long jail terms.''
read more
''American Internal Colonialism''
From Foreign Policy Journal
By Devon Douglas-Bowers
''Colonialism is a word associated with the 19th and 20th centuries, with an outside force (usually European) coming into a country and destroying and uprooting the culture and people, with the main goal being the extraction of resources for the gain of the ‘mother’ country. It is defined as “the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.”[1] Yet this definition of colonialism can be expanded from examining the external to examining the internal. For what may be the first time in US history, internal colonialism is occurring as the very facades of democracy and the economic system begin to fall apart and the elites begin to colonize internally.''
read more
By Devon Douglas-Bowers
''Colonialism is a word associated with the 19th and 20th centuries, with an outside force (usually European) coming into a country and destroying and uprooting the culture and people, with the main goal being the extraction of resources for the gain of the ‘mother’ country. It is defined as “the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.”[1] Yet this definition of colonialism can be expanded from examining the external to examining the internal. For what may be the first time in US history, internal colonialism is occurring as the very facades of democracy and the economic system begin to fall apart and the elites begin to colonize internally.''
read more
Chomsky: ''The Most Powerful Country in History Is Destroying the Earth and Human Rights as We Know Them''
From Alternet
''Down the road only a few generations, the millennium of Magna Carta, one of the great events in the establishment of civil and human rights, will arrive. Whether it will be celebrated, mourned, or ignored is not at all clear.
That should be a matter of serious immediate concern. What we do right now, or fail to do, will determine what kind of world will greet that event. It is not an attractive prospect if present tendencies persist -- not least, because the Great Charter is being shredded before our eyes.''
read more
''Down the road only a few generations, the millennium of Magna Carta, one of the great events in the establishment of civil and human rights, will arrive. Whether it will be celebrated, mourned, or ignored is not at all clear.
That should be a matter of serious immediate concern. What we do right now, or fail to do, will determine what kind of world will greet that event. It is not an attractive prospect if present tendencies persist -- not least, because the Great Charter is being shredded before our eyes.''
read more
''Unwanted but irreplaceable Euro''
From Voice of Russia
''Forecasts have once again said that the prospects for the single currency space in Europe looks gloomy. Professor Nouriel Roubini who predicted the crisis of 2008 has said that the current eurozone will last only six months and afterwards, it will completely or partially collapse.''
''This is not the first time the eurozone and the euro have been buried. However, many experts believe that the euro cannot simply disappear because it has become an alternative to the US dollar, and the world cannot live without it.''
''What is happening on the Turkey-Syria border?''
From Voice of Russia
"Given the latest events in Syria and the seizure of some border towns, the Turkish Armed Forces began to pull military equipment to the border. In Şanlıurfa and the regions of Ceylanpınar and Akchekara Turkish military forces are also being built up."
read more
"Given the latest events in Syria and the seizure of some border towns, the Turkish Armed Forces began to pull military equipment to the border. In Şanlıurfa and the regions of Ceylanpınar and Akchekara Turkish military forces are also being built up."
read more
Thursday, August 2, 2012
''Jim Willie: Conflicts & Pressure Points''
Jim Willie's latest.....................From Silver Doctors
''-The Euro Central Bank has problems with margin calls against the collateral it holds
''-The Euro Central Bank has problems with margin calls against the collateral it holds
-The LIBOR bank victims are aligned to seek justice, much like Lilliputians
-Bankers from the three zones of USA, London, and Europe are pitted in a war against each other
-The USFed must contend with constant demands and pleas for intervention to rescue faltering financial markets
-The JPMorgan derivative operators are in a struggle to keep the Interest Rate Swap machinery in place
-The JPMorgan gold office gamers are losing their game, reliant upon naked shorts and GLD inventory raids
-The USGovt propaganda artisans are fighting a futile battle in promoting the story of USEconomic recovery''
read more
''Full Spectrum Dominance and Iran''
F William Engdahl..................From 2009 and Real News Network
''Have You Overlooked This Piece of the US Economic Puzzle?''
From The Gold Report
By David Galland
''The point is that the economic model that allowed the United States to rise out of abject poverty at its inception to become the most powerful economy the world has ever seen has been tossed aside in favor of a model that has proven time and again to be fundamentally flawed and always doomed to fail.
That the central-planning model, here and around the world, has been advanced by a fiat global reserve currency is undeniable. However, as the two charts clearly show, the consequences of having central planners controlling monetary and fiscal policy have created a ticking time bomb set to explode.''
read more/see charts
By David Galland
''The point is that the economic model that allowed the United States to rise out of abject poverty at its inception to become the most powerful economy the world has ever seen has been tossed aside in favor of a model that has proven time and again to be fundamentally flawed and always doomed to fail.
That the central-planning model, here and around the world, has been advanced by a fiat global reserve currency is undeniable. However, as the two charts clearly show, the consequences of having central planners controlling monetary and fiscal policy have created a ticking time bomb set to explode.''
read more/see charts
''US adding strategic bombers and submarines for Pacific defense''
must.expand.EMPIRE..................From ABS CBN News via Phantom Report
''Pentagon planners will consider adding bombers and attack submarines as part of a growing U.S. focus on security challenges in the Asia-Pacific, a senior Defense Department official said on Wednesday.
“We will take another look” at sending more such muscle to the strategic hub of Guam in the western Pacific, now that this has been recommended by an independent review of U.S. regional military plans, Robert Scher, deputy assistant secretary of defense for plans, told lawmakers.''
read more
''Pentagon planners will consider adding bombers and attack submarines as part of a growing U.S. focus on security challenges in the Asia-Pacific, a senior Defense Department official said on Wednesday.
“We will take another look” at sending more such muscle to the strategic hub of Guam in the western Pacific, now that this has been recommended by an independent review of U.S. regional military plans, Robert Scher, deputy assistant secretary of defense for plans, told lawmakers.''
read more
''Chinese imports come with food safety price''
From Western Farm Press
''The trends are stark and unmistakable: over the last 10 years fruit and vegetable imports from other countries to the United States have increased sharply with no letup in sight, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
As of 2010, almost half of the fresh fruit and one-fourth of the vegetables consumed in the U.S. were imported, according to Dr. Luis Ribera, an agricultural economist at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco.''
read more
''The trends are stark and unmistakable: over the last 10 years fruit and vegetable imports from other countries to the United States have increased sharply with no letup in sight, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
As of 2010, almost half of the fresh fruit and one-fourth of the vegetables consumed in the U.S. were imported, according to Dr. Luis Ribera, an agricultural economist at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco.''
read more
''Hillary Clinton Embarks on Neo-Colonial Tour of Africa''
From 'Stop NATO' Blog
By Rick Rozoff
''America’s top diplomat, Hillary Clinton, arrived in Senegal on July 31 to begin an eleven-day, six-nation tour of the world’s second most populous continent, the target of the Pentagon’s first post-Cold War overseas multi-service military command, Africa Command.
After Senegal she will travel to South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa. With the exception of Malawi, a stopover point on the way to South Africa, and South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, the countries on her itinerary are major regional powers on the continent. Kenya, Senegal and Uganda are key U.S. military allies and South Africa is an intended one.''
read more
By Rick Rozoff
''America’s top diplomat, Hillary Clinton, arrived in Senegal on July 31 to begin an eleven-day, six-nation tour of the world’s second most populous continent, the target of the Pentagon’s first post-Cold War overseas multi-service military command, Africa Command.
After Senegal she will travel to South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa. With the exception of Malawi, a stopover point on the way to South Africa, and South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, the countries on her itinerary are major regional powers on the continent. Kenya, Senegal and Uganda are key U.S. military allies and South Africa is an intended one.''
read more
''Tehran reaches out to Egypt’s Morsi''
From Indian Punchline
By MK Bhadrakumar
''This is a development that holds the potential to shake up Middle Eastern politics — Iranian vice-president visiting Cairo. The two countries pulled down the shutters following the Iranian revolution in 1979 and a dark period continued right till the end of the Hosni Mubarak era. The revolution on Tahrir Square one year ago heralded a thaw, the first sign of which was the permission granted to an Iranian warship to cross the Suez Canal to visit Syria.''
read more
By MK Bhadrakumar
''This is a development that holds the potential to shake up Middle Eastern politics — Iranian vice-president visiting Cairo. The two countries pulled down the shutters following the Iranian revolution in 1979 and a dark period continued right till the end of the Hosni Mubarak era. The revolution on Tahrir Square one year ago heralded a thaw, the first sign of which was the permission granted to an Iranian warship to cross the Suez Canal to visit Syria.''
read more
Paul Craig Roberts: ''The Neoconservative War Criminals In Our Midst''
From Paul Craig Roberts Via InfoWars
''What the State Department needs is an office that rounds up American war criminals.
They are in abundance and not hard to find. Indeed, recently 56 of them made themselves public by signing a letter to President Obama demanding that he send in the US Army to complete the destruction of Syria and its people that Washington has begun.''
You can learn the identity of many of those who are driving the world into World War Three, while their policies result in the murder of large numbers of Arabs and Muslims in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon, by perusing the signatures to the contrived letter to Obama from the neoconsevatives calling on Obama to invade Syria in order to “rescue” the Syrian people from their government.
According the the letter signed by 56 neoconservatives, only the Syrian government is responsible for deaths in Syria. The Washington sponsored and armed “rebels” are merely protecting the Syrian people from the Assad government. According to the letter signers, the only way the Syrian people can be saved is if Washington overthrows the Syrian government and installs a puppet state attentive to the needs of Israel and Washington.''
read more
''What the State Department needs is an office that rounds up American war criminals.
They are in abundance and not hard to find. Indeed, recently 56 of them made themselves public by signing a letter to President Obama demanding that he send in the US Army to complete the destruction of Syria and its people that Washington has begun.''
You can learn the identity of many of those who are driving the world into World War Three, while their policies result in the murder of large numbers of Arabs and Muslims in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon, by perusing the signatures to the contrived letter to Obama from the neoconsevatives calling on Obama to invade Syria in order to “rescue” the Syrian people from their government.
According the the letter signed by 56 neoconservatives, only the Syrian government is responsible for deaths in Syria. The Washington sponsored and armed “rebels” are merely protecting the Syrian people from the Assad government. According to the letter signers, the only way the Syrian people can be saved is if Washington overthrows the Syrian government and installs a puppet state attentive to the needs of Israel and Washington.''
read more
''Under Pressure, Biggest Banks Rely on 3 Myths''
From NYTimes
By Simon Johnson
''As I wrote here last week, Sarah Bloom Raskin, a governor of the Federal Reserve, has emerged as an important voice calling for rethinking crucial aspects of big banks, including why they should have implicit government backing for their securities and trading operations. Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, and Jon Huntsman, the former Republican presidential candidate, have also expressed articulate and well-informed proposals for making big banks less dangerous – primarily by forcing them to become smaller.
In this context, you should read Neil Barofsky’s new book, “Bailout,” a compelling critique of how the bailout was handled, including the treatment afforded to banks and the relative lack of effort that went into directly addressing problems with mortgages.
The pushback from the Obama administration is that Mr. Barofsky is some form of populist, in contrast to the supposedly responsible professionals of the Treasury Department (many of whom were previously or have subsequently become employees of large financial companies).''
read more
By Simon Johnson
''As I wrote here last week, Sarah Bloom Raskin, a governor of the Federal Reserve, has emerged as an important voice calling for rethinking crucial aspects of big banks, including why they should have implicit government backing for their securities and trading operations. Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, and Jon Huntsman, the former Republican presidential candidate, have also expressed articulate and well-informed proposals for making big banks less dangerous – primarily by forcing them to become smaller.
In this context, you should read Neil Barofsky’s new book, “Bailout,” a compelling critique of how the bailout was handled, including the treatment afforded to banks and the relative lack of effort that went into directly addressing problems with mortgages.
The pushback from the Obama administration is that Mr. Barofsky is some form of populist, in contrast to the supposedly responsible professionals of the Treasury Department (many of whom were previously or have subsequently become employees of large financial companies).''
read more
''Death of the dollar: John Butler talks to Alasdair Macleod''
Podcast From GoldMoney
''Butler argues that though the eurozone’s debt crisis is a serious problem that should not be taken lightly, not enough attention is being paid to the severity of the debt and deficit issues facing America. He argues that the US is in worse shape than Europe on this score, and that the dollar’s status as a reserve currency actually makes it far more vulnerable than the euro to a currency crisis. Gold and silver will continue to benefit – the latter likely dramatically – from the increasing flight from the greenback.''
or listen here
''Butler argues that though the eurozone’s debt crisis is a serious problem that should not be taken lightly, not enough attention is being paid to the severity of the debt and deficit issues facing America. He argues that the US is in worse shape than Europe on this score, and that the dollar’s status as a reserve currency actually makes it far more vulnerable than the euro to a currency crisis. Gold and silver will continue to benefit – the latter likely dramatically – from the increasing flight from the greenback.''
or listen here
''The $15 Trillion Adjustable Rate Loan: Who Will Bailout Governments?''
From The Future Tense
''We are only in inning 2 or 3 of the sovereign debt crisis and it will pick up in size and magnitude as we move forward through Japan, the UK, and the United States.
All eyes are on the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) over the next 48 hours to see what their announcements will be. The truth is that easing is going to come continuously from every major central bank around the world during the next three years. There is no other source of money available to refinance $15 trillion in sovereign debt, which does not even include new additional debt (borrowed through deficit spending) during 2012 - 2015 that will be incurred as these economies slow down. The US alone will add at least $3 trillion in new debt issuance during 2012 - 2015 and most likely much more.''
read more
''We are only in inning 2 or 3 of the sovereign debt crisis and it will pick up in size and magnitude as we move forward through Japan, the UK, and the United States.
All eyes are on the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) over the next 48 hours to see what their announcements will be. The truth is that easing is going to come continuously from every major central bank around the world during the next three years. There is no other source of money available to refinance $15 trillion in sovereign debt, which does not even include new additional debt (borrowed through deficit spending) during 2012 - 2015 that will be incurred as these economies slow down. The US alone will add at least $3 trillion in new debt issuance during 2012 - 2015 and most likely much more.''
read more
''Britain and Bahrain: mutual interests and the politics of protection''
From New Left Project
"For over a year protesters in Bahrain have demonstrated for democratic reforms, in the face of often brutal repression by the regime. British arms transfers to Bahrain continued throughout that period. This should not surprise. For nearly two centuries, Britain has been the guarantor of Bahrain’s ruling Al-Khalifa dynasty, and for much of the past century its security backbone. Time and again, British support has enabled the Al-Khalifa regime to withstand local agitation for greater political freedoms and human rights. Britain’s protectorate relations with Bahrain may have formally ended on 15 August 1971, but they live on through informal channels and personal relationships in the royal, military, and commercial spheres. These have facilitated the upholding of authoritarian misrule, and they expose the hypocrisy at the heart of British policy in the wake of the Arab Spring.''
read more
"For over a year protesters in Bahrain have demonstrated for democratic reforms, in the face of often brutal repression by the regime. British arms transfers to Bahrain continued throughout that period. This should not surprise. For nearly two centuries, Britain has been the guarantor of Bahrain’s ruling Al-Khalifa dynasty, and for much of the past century its security backbone. Time and again, British support has enabled the Al-Khalifa regime to withstand local agitation for greater political freedoms and human rights. Britain’s protectorate relations with Bahrain may have formally ended on 15 August 1971, but they live on through informal channels and personal relationships in the royal, military, and commercial spheres. These have facilitated the upholding of authoritarian misrule, and they expose the hypocrisy at the heart of British policy in the wake of the Arab Spring.''
read more
''China Official Says Gold Reserves Should Be Increased''
From Deutsche Borse
''China should increase its gold reserves as part of the broader strategy of encouraging the yuan's use in the international system, the head of the government's biggest gold producer said.
"Increasing gold reserves should be the core of our country's gold strategy for the purpose of ensuring economic safety and speeding up the process of yuan internationalization," said Sun Zhaoxue, general manager of China National Gold Group, in an article published by Qiushi, the Communist Party's leading magazine.''
read more
''China should increase its gold reserves as part of the broader strategy of encouraging the yuan's use in the international system, the head of the government's biggest gold producer said.
"Increasing gold reserves should be the core of our country's gold strategy for the purpose of ensuring economic safety and speeding up the process of yuan internationalization," said Sun Zhaoxue, general manager of China National Gold Group, in an article published by Qiushi, the Communist Party's leading magazine.''
read more
''On the Road to Freedom From Fiat Money Economics''
From Market Oracle
By Gary North
''Mises saw before anyone else the threat that Friedman's methodological mentor offered to liberty: the fiat money economics of Irving Fisher. Mises confronted Fisher in 1912 in The Theory of Money and Credit. Friedman did more than anyone else to revive academic interest in Fisher's central bank-based fiat money economy. He called Fisher the greatest American economist. Fisher was a catastrophe. He was the economist who, in September 1929, said that the stock market was at a permanent high plateau. He died penniless, having lost his own fortune and his sister-in-law's.
By Gary North
''Mises saw before anyone else the threat that Friedman's methodological mentor offered to liberty: the fiat money economics of Irving Fisher. Mises confronted Fisher in 1912 in The Theory of Money and Credit. Friedman did more than anyone else to revive academic interest in Fisher's central bank-based fiat money economy. He called Fisher the greatest American economist. Fisher was a catastrophe. He was the economist who, in September 1929, said that the stock market was at a permanent high plateau. He died penniless, having lost his own fortune and his sister-in-law's.
Equally illogical is the superstition that government can create prosperity by having Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke print more dollars. In the very short term, Friedman proved, excess money fools people with an illusion of prosperity. But the market quickly catches on, and there is no boost in output, just higher prices.''read more
''Is Bolivia’s Anti-US Rhetoric Harming its Diplomatic Relations?''
From ISN Blog
''In the last decade the balance of power has changed in South America. The US hegemony exerted in the second part of the 20th century has been challenged, primarily by the solid emergence of Brazil but also by political initiatives led by left-wing governments like Bolivia.
Despite its relatively small size the landlocked country at the heart of South America, has championed anti-US initiatives since 2006, when President Evo Morales, a left-wing indigenous leader and coca-growers’ unionist, was democratically elected.''
read more
''In the last decade the balance of power has changed in South America. The US hegemony exerted in the second part of the 20th century has been challenged, primarily by the solid emergence of Brazil but also by political initiatives led by left-wing governments like Bolivia.
Despite its relatively small size the landlocked country at the heart of South America, has championed anti-US initiatives since 2006, when President Evo Morales, a left-wing indigenous leader and coca-growers’ unionist, was democratically elected.''
read more
Turk - ''Gold To Explode Higher As US Debt To Be Downgraded ''
From King World News
''On the heels of the Fed decision and continued volatility in gold and silver, today King World News interviewed James Turk out of Europe. Turk stunned KWN by saying that US debt is about to be downgraded once again. Turk also warned, “The reality is the Fed is losing control,” and the Fed is now being “overwhelmed.” He went on to say that all of this means right now we are going to see an “upside explosion” in both gold and silver.''
read more
''On the heels of the Fed decision and continued volatility in gold and silver, today King World News interviewed James Turk out of Europe. Turk stunned KWN by saying that US debt is about to be downgraded once again. Turk also warned, “The reality is the Fed is losing control,” and the Fed is now being “overwhelmed.” He went on to say that all of this means right now we are going to see an “upside explosion” in both gold and silver.''
read more
''The Monetization of Everything''
From Goldseek
By Gary North
''What the Federal Reserve System can do and what it will do are two different things.
The Federal Reserve System can monetize anything. It can create digital money and buy any asset it chooses to buy. There are no legal restrictions on what it is allowed to monetize.
If it were to do this, and it continued to do this, the dollar would fall to zero value. This would produce hyperinflation. The result would be the destruction of all dollar-based creditors. Debtors could pay off their loans with the sale of an egg or a pack of cigarettes. This is what farmers did in 1923 in Germany and Austria.''
read more
By Gary North
''What the Federal Reserve System can do and what it will do are two different things.
The Federal Reserve System can monetize anything. It can create digital money and buy any asset it chooses to buy. There are no legal restrictions on what it is allowed to monetize.
If it were to do this, and it continued to do this, the dollar would fall to zero value. This would produce hyperinflation. The result would be the destruction of all dollar-based creditors. Debtors could pay off their loans with the sale of an egg or a pack of cigarettes. This is what farmers did in 1923 in Germany and Austria.''
read more
Janet Tavakoli: ''Crime and Mayhem in the USA''
From Huffington Post
''Despite widespread crime of various types across all classes of society, most Americans polled were comfortable trusting their own "moral compass." Let's see how we did with that in July.''
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''Despite widespread crime of various types across all classes of society, most Americans polled were comfortable trusting their own "moral compass." Let's see how we did with that in July.''
read more
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
''San Bernardino, California, files for bankruptcy with over $1 billion in debts''
From Reuters
''San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday citing more than $1 billion of debts and making it the third California city to seek protection from creditors.''
read more
''San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday citing more than $1 billion of debts and making it the third California city to seek protection from creditors.''
read more
''Rand Paul Tries to Intimidate & Harass Journalist After A Youtube Video''
From We Are Change
''Luke Rudkowski talks with Abby Martin of MediaRoots.org and RT about
U.S. Senator Rand Paul's attempt to get her arrested and stripped of
her press credentials for asking him tough questions in the Capitol
building. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtO5INu-VY4 A week after our video with Abby Martin came out on YouTube,
the RT office, where Abby works, got an ominous phone call from the
Senate Media Relations Committee. The Committee was acting on behalf
of Rand Paul and threatened both Abby and the entire RT news
organization. The threats included ambiguous "charges" for violating
the rules of the Committee floor, Abby's possible arrest and the
termination of her and the entire office's press credentials.
After a month of meetings and deliberation, the Senate Media Relations
office backed down and did not make good on any of their threats.''
the RT office, where Abby works, got an ominous phone call from the
Senate Media Relations Committee. The Committee was acting on behalf
of Rand Paul and threatened both Abby and the entire RT news
organization. The threats included ambiguous "charges" for violating
the rules of the Committee floor, Abby's possible arrest and the
termination of her and the entire office's press credentials.
After a month of meetings and deliberation, the Senate Media Relations
office backed down and did not make good on any of their threats.''
''Second Israeli dies in self-immolation welfare protest''
if you cant take care of your VETS, don't start wars..............From Reuters
''An Israeli who set himself on fire in protest at economic difficulties has died of his injuries, the hospital treating him said on Wednesday, the second such death in a few days.
Akiva Mafi, a 45-year-old, wheelchair-bound army veteran, doused his body in petrol and lit it at a bus station on July 22, after what friends described as a debilitating battle for welfare benefits.''
read more
''An Israeli who set himself on fire in protest at economic difficulties has died of his injuries, the hospital treating him said on Wednesday, the second such death in a few days.
Akiva Mafi, a 45-year-old, wheelchair-bound army veteran, doused his body in petrol and lit it at a bus station on July 22, after what friends described as a debilitating battle for welfare benefits.''
read more
''Geologists to gather data for Danish North Pole claim''
From New Scientist
''Does the North Pole belong to Greenland and by extension to Denmark, to which it is politically linked? That's the question Danish geologists heading for the Arctic this week will be trying to answer.
They hope the seismic data they collect between now and mid-September will support the claim of Denmark and Greenland to 150,000 square kilometres of extra territory extending north from Greenland into the oil and gas-rich Arctic sea floor.''
''US and Turkey oil companies bypassing the central government of Iraq''
From Modern Tokyo Times
''Two oil giants from America have now followed Turkey by bypassing the central government of Iraq by signing deals with the Kurdistan regional government. Of course, the agreements could be purely economic rather than aimed at the central government of Iraq. However, it is clear that the government of Iraq is displeased with meddling in Syria and these contracts could be linked to containing the power of Baghdad.
The Kurds are “in limbo” given the size of the Kurdish population throughout parts of the Middle East. Historically, they have suffered at the hands of several governments and this most notably applies to Iraq under Saddam Hussein and under several Turkish governments. Their plight is known in other countries like Iran therefore the “Kurdish Question” is very real.''
''Total signs oil deal in Kurdistan region of Iraq''
From Al Arabiya
''French oil company Total has bought a 35 percent stake in two exploration blocks in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, risking the wrath of the Iraqi government which has tried to bar companies from dealing directly with the sem--autonomous region.
Total, which is following U.S. rivals into the area, said it bought stakes in the Harir and Safen blocks from U.S. peer Marathon Oil, ignoring an earlier veiled warning from Iraq to refrain from deals with the region in the north of the country without the approval of central government in Baghdad.''
read more
''French oil company Total has bought a 35 percent stake in two exploration blocks in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, risking the wrath of the Iraqi government which has tried to bar companies from dealing directly with the sem--autonomous region.
Total, which is following U.S. rivals into the area, said it bought stakes in the Harir and Safen blocks from U.S. peer Marathon Oil, ignoring an earlier veiled warning from Iraq to refrain from deals with the region in the north of the country without the approval of central government in Baghdad.''
read more
''Balochistan’s Deepening Crisis''
From Eurasia Review
''Abduction and extrajudicial killing has become order of the day in the Province. The disappearances and killings are widely believed to be orchestrated by Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies, particularly including the FC and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), or by their proxies, particularly including the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Aman Balochistan (TNAB, Movement for the Restoration of Peace, Balochistan). Indeed, CJ Choudhary, on July 9, 2012, had noted that every third missing person in Balochistan had been picked up by the FC. The head of the rights group, Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VFBMP), Nasrullah Baloch, stated, on July 11, 2012, that “every day Frontier Corps and secret agencies kidnap political workers in broad daylight and keep them in their illegal torture cells, and then we receive their bullet-riddled, mutilated dead bodies.''
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''Abduction and extrajudicial killing has become order of the day in the Province. The disappearances and killings are widely believed to be orchestrated by Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies, particularly including the FC and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), or by their proxies, particularly including the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Aman Balochistan (TNAB, Movement for the Restoration of Peace, Balochistan). Indeed, CJ Choudhary, on July 9, 2012, had noted that every third missing person in Balochistan had been picked up by the FC. The head of the rights group, Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VFBMP), Nasrullah Baloch, stated, on July 11, 2012, that “every day Frontier Corps and secret agencies kidnap political workers in broad daylight and keep them in their illegal torture cells, and then we receive their bullet-riddled, mutilated dead bodies.''
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''China objects to India’s containment strategy''
From Indian Punchline
By MK Bhadrakumar
''The Oil and Natural Gas Commission is apparently going back to the troubled waters of the South China Sea prospecting for oil. According to Chinese media reports, this is a “complete about-turn in India’s policy on the issue.” The reports didn’t say whether China had been given any assurances in this regard, howsoever informally, by the Indian side from which New Delhi is retracting. ''
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By MK Bhadrakumar
''The Oil and Natural Gas Commission is apparently going back to the troubled waters of the South China Sea prospecting for oil. According to Chinese media reports, this is a “complete about-turn in India’s policy on the issue.” The reports didn’t say whether China had been given any assurances in this regard, howsoever informally, by the Indian side from which New Delhi is retracting. ''
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''China flexing more muscle in Pacific''
From Japan Times
''The white paper says China is continuing to boost its military spending, which has expanded about 30-fold over the last 24 years. Defense topped the $100 billion mark for the first time in the 2012 budget, but the paper also notes that such figures provided by Beijing could be way underestimated.
The spending has made the global community nervous. The U.S., for instance, has shifted its defense strategy to focus more on Asia, though it will cut its overall military outlays by about $487 billion over the next decade.''
''US bid for multibillion-dollar nuclear aircraft carrier strike group in Perth''
who's going to pay for this????............From The Age
''A report for the US military contains a recommendation to expand America's defence presence in Australia by massively expanding a base in Perth for a US aircraft carrier and supporting fleet.''
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''A report for the US military contains a recommendation to expand America's defence presence in Australia by massively expanding a base in Perth for a US aircraft carrier and supporting fleet.''
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''To resolve the Libor scandal, we must decide. Do we want to save banks, or our societies?''
From Ian Fraser Blog
''There is no segment of private industry that has grabbed more power than the banking industry… Banks will offer up individual traders as lambs for the sacrificial chopping block, and lawmakers will declare that justice has been done. The traders can protest as much as they want that they were not operating in a vacuum, and that their superiors were very much aware of their machinations, if not outright demanding them, but it will make no difference. Bob Diamond was thrown to the wolves so Mervyn King could stay where he is. King himself made sure of it …
The underlying idea for Libor was always: “by the bankers, for the bankers”. And if anyone involved in setting up Libor back in 1985 now wishes to claim that they had no idea that allowing banks to make up the rates at which they borrowed out of thin air created scope for manipulation, that would insult everyone’s intelligence including yours and mine. The problem is that in today’s climate, this doesn’t keep them from making precisely such claims. And that is very much part of a trend. It has increasingly become acceptable for bankers and politicians alike to deny anything flat out and see what happens, knowing their friends have their backs.''
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''There is no segment of private industry that has grabbed more power than the banking industry… Banks will offer up individual traders as lambs for the sacrificial chopping block, and lawmakers will declare that justice has been done. The traders can protest as much as they want that they were not operating in a vacuum, and that their superiors were very much aware of their machinations, if not outright demanding them, but it will make no difference. Bob Diamond was thrown to the wolves so Mervyn King could stay where he is. King himself made sure of it …
The underlying idea for Libor was always: “by the bankers, for the bankers”. And if anyone involved in setting up Libor back in 1985 now wishes to claim that they had no idea that allowing banks to make up the rates at which they borrowed out of thin air created scope for manipulation, that would insult everyone’s intelligence including yours and mine. The problem is that in today’s climate, this doesn’t keep them from making precisely such claims. And that is very much part of a trend. It has increasingly become acceptable for bankers and politicians alike to deny anything flat out and see what happens, knowing their friends have their backs.''
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''The Tajikistan conundrum Part I: The Pamirs on the boil''
From Strategic Culture
By MK Bhadrakumar
By MK Bhadrakumar
''As it happened, the eruption of violence in Tajikistan’s remote Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, the mountainous region along the Afghan border straddling China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region became world-class news for strategic pundits. The events are, prima facie, “local” news; but a ring of regional politics surrounds them and embellish them and they possibly signify also an emerging vector of a much larger canvas of the “great game” involving big powers competing for influence in the Eurasian heartland.
In a way, the events appear like a dress rehearsal of a play that one would instinctively suspect to have many engrossing sub-plots while the main plot itself is yet unclear and can only be scripted as the play progresses. ''
Pat Buchanan: ''Is Mitt Being Neoconned Into War?''
From Pat Buchanan
"What does “stand with” Israel, if she launches a surprise attack on Iran, mean? Does it mean the United
States will guide Israeli planes to their targets and provide bases on their return? Does it mean U.S. air cover while Israeli planes strike Iran?
This would make America complicit in a pre-emptive strike and a co-belligerent in the war to follow.
What Senor said comes close to being a U.S. war guarantee for Israel, while leaving the decision as to when the war begins to them.
This country has never done that before."
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"What does “stand with” Israel, if she launches a surprise attack on Iran, mean? Does it mean the United
States will guide Israeli planes to their targets and provide bases on their return? Does it mean U.S. air cover while Israeli planes strike Iran?
This would make America complicit in a pre-emptive strike and a co-belligerent in the war to follow.
What Senor said comes close to being a U.S. war guarantee for Israel, while leaving the decision as to when the war begins to them.
This country has never done that before."
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''Decade of US state-building in region have failed''
From Daily News Egypt
''Two US government reports released on Monday raise serious concerns about the effectiveness of US taxpayer money in infrastructure projects in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), US government agencies that conduct audits and investigations and provide policy recommendations reported that if the agency’s recommendations on government spending had been taken into account, the potential savings in the past year alone could have reached $387 million.''
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''Two US government reports released on Monday raise serious concerns about the effectiveness of US taxpayer money in infrastructure projects in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), US government agencies that conduct audits and investigations and provide policy recommendations reported that if the agency’s recommendations on government spending had been taken into account, the potential savings in the past year alone could have reached $387 million.''
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Syria: ''Washington’s Latest War Crime''
From Global Research
By Paul Craig Roberts
By Paul Craig Roberts
''The fact that the “rebels” are armed is an indication of interference from outside. There have been reports that Washington has ordered its Saudi and Bahrain puppet governments to supply the “rebels” with military weaponry. Some suspect that the explosion that killed the Syrian Defense Minister and the head of the government’s crisis operations was not the work of a suicide bomber but the work of a US drone or missile reminiscent of Washington’s failed attempts to murder Saddam Hussein. Regardless, Washington regarded the terror attack as a success, declaring that it showed the rebels were gaining “real momentum” and called on the Syrian government to respond to the attack by resigning. (reuters.com)''
''India's mid-summer nightmare''
From Hindustan Times
''Just two years ago, India had its worst drought in three decades, resulting in high food prices.
A patchy monsoon trims food output and hits farm income, which supports two-thirds of the Indian population, or about 800 million people. Rural spending on most items — from television sets to gold — goes up with adequate rains and farm output. This aids economic growth, keeps jobs and investment going. A sharp rise in rural consumer spending explains why India's rural markets are important. For instance, rural buyers account for close to 40% of India's total motorcycle sales.
"We are more concerned about the impact of a weaker summer crop on primary food inflation (the whole price index)," said Chetan Ahya of Morgan Stanley Asia.''
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''Just two years ago, India had its worst drought in three decades, resulting in high food prices.
A patchy monsoon trims food output and hits farm income, which supports two-thirds of the Indian population, or about 800 million people. Rural spending on most items — from television sets to gold — goes up with adequate rains and farm output. This aids economic growth, keeps jobs and investment going. A sharp rise in rural consumer spending explains why India's rural markets are important. For instance, rural buyers account for close to 40% of India's total motorcycle sales.
"We are more concerned about the impact of a weaker summer crop on primary food inflation (the whole price index)," said Chetan Ahya of Morgan Stanley Asia.''
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Pepe Escobar: "Where is Prince Bandar?''
From Asia Times
''Was Prince Bandar "Bush", 63, son of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz (perennial Saudi Defense Minister,1963-2001), semi-perennial ambassador to Washington (1983-2005), and secretive jihad financier, killed by a Syrian intelligence death squad?
Thunderous silence prevails on Syrian, Iranian and Arab media (most of it controlled by the Saudis). The same applies for al-Jazeera. This is DEBKA's somewhat fanciful take.''
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''Was Prince Bandar "Bush", 63, son of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz (perennial Saudi Defense Minister,1963-2001), semi-perennial ambassador to Washington (1983-2005), and secretive jihad financier, killed by a Syrian intelligence death squad?
Thunderous silence prevails on Syrian, Iranian and Arab media (most of it controlled by the Saudis). The same applies for al-Jazeera. This is DEBKA's somewhat fanciful take.''
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''China Set To Play The Northern TAPI Card–The Card Unocal Discarded''
From 'There are no Sunglasses'
''The US- and ADB-sponsored Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project is as much about the political stability of Afghanistan as it is about energy security for the partner countries. Yet, it continues to evoke scepticism among analysts. Much of this scepticism hinged on finding financiers to underwrite a project which would transit the turbulent regions of Herat and Kandahar in Afghanistan as well as Balochistan (Quetta) and Multan in Pakistan. Now, another factor has emerged which has the potential to further jeopardise the beleaguered project. Recent reports of a rival pipeline project being negotiated between China, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan have emerged. This project proposes to carry Turkmen gas to China through northern Afghanistan and Tajikistan, raising concerns that it may render TAPI a non-starter, akin to the manner in which TAPI played spoiler to the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline project.''
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''The US- and ADB-sponsored Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project is as much about the political stability of Afghanistan as it is about energy security for the partner countries. Yet, it continues to evoke scepticism among analysts. Much of this scepticism hinged on finding financiers to underwrite a project which would transit the turbulent regions of Herat and Kandahar in Afghanistan as well as Balochistan (Quetta) and Multan in Pakistan. Now, another factor has emerged which has the potential to further jeopardise the beleaguered project. Recent reports of a rival pipeline project being negotiated between China, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan have emerged. This project proposes to carry Turkmen gas to China through northern Afghanistan and Tajikistan, raising concerns that it may render TAPI a non-starter, akin to the manner in which TAPI played spoiler to the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline project.''
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''Grand Forks, North Dakota, to become a Predator hotbed for drone-fired lasers''
From The Aviationist
''The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has finally given the go ahead for the use of remotely-piloted Predator drones in the airspace above 10,000 acres in North Dakota.
According to an article published on RT.com, Starting in October Grand Forks will see a domestic training facility for military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with the trainee pilots flying the drones several times a week using lasers to paint ground targets.''
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''The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has finally given the go ahead for the use of remotely-piloted Predator drones in the airspace above 10,000 acres in North Dakota.
According to an article published on RT.com, Starting in October Grand Forks will see a domestic training facility for military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with the trainee pilots flying the drones several times a week using lasers to paint ground targets.''
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''Merkley refi plan could reach 75% of private underwater mortgages''
From Housing Wire
''Roughly 75% of underwater mortgages securitized into private-label bonds could be eligible for a refinance under the new plan from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., according to analysts at JPMorgan Chase ($36.00 -0.14%).
The proposal would allow a Rebuilding American Homeownership Trust buy underwater mortgages with revenue from government bonds. The trust would be assembled either in the Federal Housing Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks system or the Federal Reserve.''
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''Roughly 75% of underwater mortgages securitized into private-label bonds could be eligible for a refinance under the new plan from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., according to analysts at JPMorgan Chase ($36.00 -0.14%).
The proposal would allow a Rebuilding American Homeownership Trust buy underwater mortgages with revenue from government bonds. The trust would be assembled either in the Federal Housing Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks system or the Federal Reserve.''
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''Monoline End Games: String of Legal Wins Will Snowball Until Settlement''
From 'The Subprime Shakout'
By Issac Gradman
''Last week, I wrote about a few developments that should boost RMBS litigation recoveries, especially for bond insurers – Judge Crotty’s summary judgment decision in Syncora v. EMC (JPMorgan) and Syncora’s subsequent settlement with BofA, resolving all of the parties’ ongoing relationships. It appears I’m not the only one who has concluded that banks may need to reassess their potential payouts as a result of recent legal setbacks.''
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By Issac Gradman
''Last week, I wrote about a few developments that should boost RMBS litigation recoveries, especially for bond insurers – Judge Crotty’s summary judgment decision in Syncora v. EMC (JPMorgan) and Syncora’s subsequent settlement with BofA, resolving all of the parties’ ongoing relationships. It appears I’m not the only one who has concluded that banks may need to reassess their potential payouts as a result of recent legal setbacks.''
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"Ukraine turns to Chinese cash''
From Asia Times
''China has preliminarily agreed to lend more than US$7 billion to Ukraine. In addition, an agreement has been signed between the two countries’ central banks on a currency swap worth $2.4 billion.
Although it is likely to take months of talks to agree on the details of the projects to be financed by China, this can be roughly compared in scale to the volume of loans that Ukraine received from international financial institutions in 2008-2010, which helped the country survive the global financial crisis.''
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''China has preliminarily agreed to lend more than US$7 billion to Ukraine. In addition, an agreement has been signed between the two countries’ central banks on a currency swap worth $2.4 billion.
Although it is likely to take months of talks to agree on the details of the projects to be financed by China, this can be roughly compared in scale to the volume of loans that Ukraine received from international financial institutions in 2008-2010, which helped the country survive the global financial crisis.''
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''Goldman to pay $26.6 mln in mortgage debt class-action''
From Thomson Reuters
''Goldman Sachs Group Inc has agreed to pay $26.6 million to settle a lawsuit by investors who claimed they were misled into buying securities backed by risky loans from the now-defunct subprime mortgage lender New century Financial Corp.
Investors led by the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi claimed that Goldman's boilerplate disclosures for the $698 million GSAMP Trust 2006-S2 were false and misleading by failing to reveal how New Century had ignored its own underwriting standards and used inflated appraisals.''
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''Goldman Sachs Group Inc has agreed to pay $26.6 million to settle a lawsuit by investors who claimed they were misled into buying securities backed by risky loans from the now-defunct subprime mortgage lender New century Financial Corp.
Investors led by the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi claimed that Goldman's boilerplate disclosures for the $698 million GSAMP Trust 2006-S2 were false and misleading by failing to reveal how New Century had ignored its own underwriting standards and used inflated appraisals.''
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