Tag Archives: strike
Bilderberg: The Open Conspiracy
(PaulWatson) – Now that the agenda for global government and a centralized world economic system is public and out in the open, the importance of the Bilderberg Group’s annual conference rests on grooming political candidates. The lion’s share of Bilderberg’s 2010 agenda has already been announced by its members weeks before – it will revolve around a potential military strike on Iran as well as the future collapse of the euro.
Trilateral Commission members, who routinely also attend Bilderberg’s annual confab, have let slip that a war on Iran is being seriously debated, while the elite continue to exploit the fallout from the economic crisis to push for centralized financial regulation. Continue reading
Economy
Video: Max Keiser – GLOBAL BREAKDOWN: Gerald Celente’s latest trends – Video Link Here
Video: Schiff & King Discuss Gold & Silver: Panic Gold buying in Germany – Video Link Here
(L.A.City) – Controller Greuel Releases Audit Showing City Can’t Find 45% of Items Purchased with Taxpayer Funds – Read More Here
(Telegraph) – Hedge funds bet big on the falling euro
Hedge funds that made millions from the implosion of America’s subprime market are betting on a similarly dramatic collapse of the euro. Read More Here
(Infowars) – The 750 Billion Euro Bluff
The Germans recently approved their portion of the €750bn European bailout fund, and I think that’s all the money we will see. It’s highly unlikely that the EU has the capital to pull off the entire thing, unless the ECB starts printing money à la full-blown quantative easing. They are just trying to bluff the speculator vultures, so that they won’t start circling Portugal, Ireland and other weak EMU economies. But I think eventually the vultures will smell blood. Read More Here
(ABC) – Video: Clarke and Dawes ask the million dollar questions
John Clarke and Bryan Dawe calculate the cost of the European debt crisis. – Video Link Here
(BusinessInsider) – Will Trichet Let A Deflationary Depression Happen So He Can’t Be Accused Of Bailing Out Greece? – Read More Here
(Telegraph) – City fears of ‘Great Depression Mark II’
Leading City experts have started raising the prospect of “Great Depression II” amid worries that the European economic crisis could trigger a deeper bout of chaos. Read More Here
(EconomicPolicyJournal) – 32 States Have Borrowed from the Federal Government to Make Unemployment Payments; California Has Borrowed $7 Billion
EconomicPolicyJournal.com has learned that 32 states have run out funds to make unemployment benefit payments and that the federal government has been supplying these states with funds so that they can make their payments to the unemployed. In some cases, states have borrowed billions. As of May 20, the total balance outstanding by 32 states (and the Virgin Islands) is $37.8 billion. Read More Here
(SFGate) – Courts quash cuts, add to state’s budget woes
Designated cuts to health and human services that were rejected by federal courts alone have resulted in $4.5 billion in lost savings over the past three years, according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration. Read More Here
(TIME) – Florida Braces for Oil Spill, Impact on Tourism Industry
Like an environmental version of the hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf States in 2005, the epic spill from the Deepwater Horizon rig seems almost certain to foul every coastal corner it can. After paralyzing Louisiana’s commercial fishing industry, it is threatening Florida’s $60 billion tourism business. Read More Here
(WSJ) – AIG Executives Won’t Face Criminal Charges
The decision brings to a close a criminal investigation that, while mostly under wraps, was widely followed. The September 2008 bailout of AIG was one of the biggest and most shocking of the financial crisis, as trading by a noninsurance unit brought down one of the most iconic financial companies world-wide. Read More Here
FLASHBACK – (TIME) – Scandals The Looting of Greece
The plot was an audacious one. To create the pool of crooked money, PASOK leaders had for three years ordered state-managed corporations such as the Post Office, the Organization of Urban Transportation and the State Pharmaceutical Co. to transfer large bank deposits — the country’s money, in effect — out of the big national banks into the Bank of Crete, then the / smallest private bank in the country. There, Koskotas says, he arranged for the government deposits to draw an exceptionally low rate of interest, only 2% or 3%. Bank savings accounts in Greece routinely draw 15% interest. The excess interest earned on the government deposits was siphoned off and went straight to the politicians, he says. In addition, protected and encouraged by Papandreou, Koskotas secretly plowed Bank of Crete funds into his magazines and newspapers. Read More Here
(LewRockwell) – Sell in May and Run Away . . . Fast
Stock markets all over the world are falling. The first market to begin falling was China’s. It peaked in early August of 2009. It struggled back, though not to its August peak, but is now falling. The decline is accelerating. It is down by about 25% in 2010. Read More Here
(MoneyAndMarkets) – Massive Currency and Debt Devaluations Lie Ahead
The run-up in the stock market from March 2009 until last month was sharp and rewarding … for some. But there was one problem, it came with disproportional risk. You see, the stock market rose to an extent that it was pricing in perfection … a V-shaped recovery … a return to normal.
That overly optimistic view on the world can make for an ugly ending Read More Here
(WashingtonsBlog) – The Giant Banks, Federal Reserve and Treasury Have All Blackmailed America
As I wrote last October:
Congressmen Brad Sherman and Paul Kanjorski and Senator James Inhofe all say that the government warned of martial law if Tarp wasn’t passed. And Rahm Emanuel famously said:
Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before.
Last year: Read More Here
(RTTNews) – Massive Demonstration In Romania Protesting Austerity Measures
The demonstration by some 20,000 people, who gathered in front of the government headquarters in capital Bucharest to protest planned government wage-cuts, was one of the largest mass protests that the Eastern European country witnessed since the fall of Communism in 1989. Read More Here
(Examiner) – CAFR: US agencies have billions, trillions in investments while crying budget deficits
Gerald Klatt and Walter Burien are unrecognized heroes. These individuals are national leaders who have communicated how government agencies conceal American taxpayers’ money in surplus accounts that collectively total trillions of our dollars. The data is found in government agencies’ Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs). Read More Here
(SofiaEcho) – Greece prepares for massive new strike
Massive general strikes by the Greek public sector will all but paralyse much of the country as Greek trade unions launch another 24-hour general protest against planned additional austerity measures. Read More Here
(GardenHarvest) – Severe Poverty Growing Rapidly
The percentage of Americans living in severe poverty – with incomes less than half of the federal poverty line – has reached a 32-year peak. A recent analysis of 2005 census data by McClatchy Newspapers found nearly 16 million Americans living in deep or severe poverty, defined as a family of four with income of $9,903 a year or less and an individual living on less than $5,080 a year. Read More Here
Economy
(CSPAN) – Video: Ron Paul – Bailing out foreign governments – View Video Here
(Sky) – Video: Chinese dumping worthless DOLLARS AND EUROS for Gold
(BusinessWeek) – Video: What Good Are Economists Anyway?
Why they failed to predict the global economic crisis—and why their help is still crucial to a recovery Read More Here
(ZeroHedge) – The correction is coming and it will be a bloodbath
The correction, soon to be crash, is here: the market had a bigger relative open to close move today than it did on May 6. We closed at the day’s lows on massive volume, despite definitive central bank intervention, regardless whether it was the SNB, the ECB, or the Fed. The central planners have lost control of the market, and all thanks to the inevitable collapse of hyper capitalist Keynesianism coming out of the formerly most communist country in the world. Read More Here
(LeMonde) – The Greek People are the Victims of a Carefully Engineered Financial Extortion Racket
What is happening in Greece concerns all of us. The people are paying for a crisis and a debt that are not their own. Today it is the Greeks, tomorrow it will be others, for the same causes will produce the same effects if we allow it. Read More Here
(TimesOnline) – Euro in danger: Germans trigger panic over future of single currency – Read More Here
(ZeroHedge) – Pan-European Bank Run Is Now On: Capital Flight From UK To Switzerland, As GBPCHF Intervention Strikes Next – Read More Here
(Reuters) – Wall Street slumps on euro-zone fears
Stocks dropped on Thursday, with all major indexes sliding more than 3 percent on growing fears that the euro zone’s handling of its sovereign debt crisis could jeopardize the global economic recovery. Read More Here
(RussiaToday) – Video: Euro Collapse Looms? Engdahl on Naked Short Selling Ban
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel says the Euro currency is at risk and that Europe faces its greatest challenge since the EU was formed. It comes as stock markets in Europe and Asia tumbled on the surprise news that Berlin was banning types of ’short selling’ where investors profit by betting that shares will drop in value.
Economic Headline Doom News With Links
Financial Reforms ‘Cosmetic’ , Wont Stop More Crisis : Roubini
Report: Increase in Payroll Taxes Needed for Social Security
Home Building Gains Likely to Fade with Tax Credit
Texas Doctors Opting Out of Medicare at Alarming Rate
Oklahoma : $200 Million in Delinquent Taxes Uncollectible
Hawaii Foreclosures Filing Soar 115% in April
Gov. Paterson NY Threatens Cutting 10,000 Jobs
More Store Closing Hit Grand Avenue Downtown Milwaukee Shopping Center
Small Businesses not hiring
Video: The Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor
Oyster Industry Takes Hit From Oil Spill
Why Greece Should Consider Default
Mayor Bell: Announces City of Birmingham 10% Cut in Workers Pay
Yonkers School District NY, Trying to Close $43 Million Deficit
Investors Should Avoid Banks at all Cost: Meredith Whitney
(HousingWire) – FBI Mortgage Fraud Investigations Jump 400% in Five Years
FBI investigations of mortgage fraud increased 400% in 2009, compared with five years earlier, according to an Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) report on fraud and insider abuse (download here). Read More Here
(Bloomberg) – Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Increase as Dismissals Remain Elevated
More Americans unexpectedly filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, showing firings remain elevated even as employment climbs. Read More Here
(Reuters) – Greek strikers march on parliament against austerity
Thousands of striking Greeks marched peacefully to parliament on Thursday in a protest against government austerity measures that was much smaller than a huge rally that led to rioting on May 5. Read More Here
(WebsterTarpley) – Tentative First Steps in Europe’s Self-Defense Against Zombie Bankers and Hedge Fund Hyenas
Germany and Europe have now made some promising initial steps in the direction of their necessary self-defense against the depredations of those zombie banks and hedge fund hyenas who have been organizing a massive speculative attack on Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Italy with a view to destabilizing the euro and perpetuating the world hegemony of the troubled US dollar. Read More Here
(ZeroHedge) – Video: Live Feed From Athens As 100,000 Greeks Go On Strike, Consider Storming Parliament Again
The last time Greeks were shown to be storming their parliament on live TV, we got a 1,000 point drop on the Dow Jones. Today, another 100,000 protesters of austerity are expected to hit the streets as the entire country is essentially shut down. View Live Here
(BusinessInsider) – MARKETS CRUSHED: FLASH CRASH THURSDAY 2.0? – Read More Here
Video: Celente – 2010 Year of the Bubble
Trends forecaster predicts the complete collapse of the dollar. – Video Link Here
(GoldScents) – FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS
I know this is hard to do, especially when one is weathering draw downs. And of course a liberal dose of gloating from the bears during these times doesn’t help either. But let’s not get sidetracked by the little things and let’s face it, the haters are going to show up every time gold corrects. We really should be used to that by now. They’ve been doing it for 10 years. Read More Here
(TheLoomingDoom) – Superhyperinflation Just Around The Corner
The Looming Doom has learned leading experts are advising the Obama Administration that the U.S. is poised to experience the most painful economic cycle of all: the Super-Hyper-Inflation Trauma (SHIT). While there is yet slight division amongst the experts as to whether the U.S. is already in SHIT or not, once the U.S. is fully in deep SHIT, there is no quick fix. Furthermore, if the SHIT is too deep, the economy may never recover. Continue reading
Video: Democracy Now! – Tariq Ali and Mark Weisbrot Discuss Greece’s Economic Crisis and Popular Uprising
“The People of Greece Are Fighting for the Whole of Europe”
The European Union and the International Monetary Fund have approved a nearly $1 trillion package to stop Greece’s debt crisis from spilling beyond its borders into the rest of the eurozone. Stocks surged in Europe, Asia and the United States Monday after EU leaders agreed to a $960 billion package to contain Greece’s financial troubles. Meanwhile, the austerity measures demanded by the IMF and the European Union as a condition of their loan are continuing to exact their toll. Greece’s two main unions have continued to hold protests against the reforms. In a statement, one of the unions said, “The crisis should be paid by…all those who looted public finances.” Last week nearly 100,000 people participated in a mass demonstration and a twenty-four-hour general strike against the austerity measures. Video Link Here
Video: Greece riots – 100,000 fight against harsh cuts in Athens financial crisis protests
See Also:
(CNN) – Video: Greece Descends Into CHAOS! – Video Link Here
(BusinessInsider) – Pictures Of The Most Violent Greek Riot Yet – Read More Here
(GlobalResearch) – Greece: Poverty and Social Implosion in the Wake of the Financial Bailout
“This is not our debt, but we are being made to pay for it,” said one angry Greek worker, explaining why he like thousands of other Greeks are taking to the streets in protest at their country’s bail-out plan. Read More Here
(KurtNimmo) – Deadly Greek Bank Fire Blamed on Opposition to IMF Austerity
How to discredit growing opposition to “austerity” measures? Kill a few people. It looks like this may be what happened in Greece today. Read More Here
(TimesOnline) – Greeks begin two-day strike as banking system is saved from meltdown
Greek public sector workers today began a 48-hour national strike that is a first test of the Government’s ability to enact new austerity measures agreed with the EU and IMF in return for billions of euros in aid. Read More Here
World War
(PressTV) – 80 Afghan girls allegedly poisoned
Thirteen more Afghan schoolgirls have fallen ill to suspected gas poisoning in Kunduz Province, raising total number of such cases to 80 in the past weekRead More Here.
(CNN) – Iran reportedly tests five new missiles
Iran said Sunday it fired five new types of locally-made coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles in the last stage of its “Great Prophet 5” military maneuvers in the Persian GulfRead More Here.
(Telegraph) – Thailand is close to civil war as its British-born PM rejects deal with angry Red Shirts
Thailand is on the brink of civil war after Abhisit Vejjajiva, its British-born prime minister, rejected a deal with angry Red Shirt protesters. Read More Here
(NYTimes) – 90,000 Protest U.S. Base on Okinawa
More than 90,000 Okinawans rallied Sunday to oppose the relocation of an American air base on their island, adding to the pressure on Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to resolve an issue that has divided Tokyo and Washington. Read More Here
(ElectronicIntifada) – Gaza’s Calm Determination – Norman Finkelstein
To preserve my sense of purpose, and keep the Palestine struggle from becoming a lifeless abstraction, I need periodically to recharge my moral batteries by reconnecting with the actual people living under occupation and by witnessing firsthand the unfolding tragedy. From each trip I invariably carry away a handful of stark images that I fix in my mind’s eye to dispel the occasional hesitations about staying the course. When the memories begin to fade I know it is time to return. Read More Here
(InfoClearingHouse) – Is the CIA behind Mexico’s Bloody Drug War? – Mike Whitney
On Friday, two patrol cars were ambushed by armed gunman in downtown Ciudad Juarez. In the ensuing firefight, seven policemen were killed as well as a 17-year old boy who was caught in the crossfire. All of the assailants escaped uninjured fleeing the crime-scene in three SUVs. The bold attack was executed in broad daylight in one of the busiest areas of the city. According to the Associated Press: Read More Here
(AntiFascistCalling) – Cyberwar, the Internet and the Militarization of Civil Society – Tom Burghardt
Unfailingly, defense industry boosters and corporate media acolytes promote the disturbing hypothesis annunciated by former Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, that the nation is in peril. Read More Here
(AntiFascistCalling) – Cyberwar and Repression: Corporatist Synergy Made in Hell
Unfailingly, defense industry boosters and corporate media acolytes promote the disturbing hypothesis annunciated by former Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, that the nation is in peril. Read More Here
(AntiFascistCalling) – Pentagon’s Cyber Command: Civilian Infrastructure a “Legitimate” Target Read More Here
(WSWS) – The Instruments of Worldwide Domination: Obama Administration Spending Billions on New Global Strike Weapons
The Obama administration is spending billions of dollars to develop new weapons systems, including powerful conventional warhead missiles capable of striking any target in the world within less than an hour. Read More Here
(JewishFastForGaza) – Rabbis Condemn Israel for War Crimes Committed in Gaza: Open Letter to Judge Goldstone – Read More Here
Al-Qaeda Chief In Iraq: Captured, Killed, Never Actually Existed, Re-Captured, Now Killed Again
(SteveWatson) – Ludicrous story of terrorist admitted to be a “fictional character” by U.S. officials Continue reading
America’s Imperial Design. Prompt Global Strike: World Military Superiority Without Nuclear Weapons – Rick Rozoff
(GlobalResearch) – A war can be won without being waged. Victory can be attained when an adversary knows it is vulnerable to an instantaneous and undetectable, overwhelming and devastating attack without the ability to defend itself or retaliate. Continue reading
Video: Obama Changes Nuclear Strike Policy
(MSNBC) – April 05, 2010 – Keith Olbermann Continue reading
World War
(Alternet) – Shocking Admission on Killing Civilians by Top US General Almost Completely Ignored by Corporate Media
“We have shot an amazing number of people, but to my knowledge, none has ever proven to be a threat,” says Afghan commander McChrystal. – Read More Here
(Aletho) – “Reporting” on Iran should seem familiar – Read More Here
(PBS) – Video: MLK – A Call to Conscience
The second episode of Tavis Smiley Reports examines Martin Luther King, Jr.’s stand against the Vietnam War and the influence of his legacy today. Tavis speaks with scholars and friends of King, including Cornel West, Vincent Harding and Susannah Heschel. View Video Here
(InfoClearingHouse) – Our Government Is Planning to Stay at War for the Next 80 Years – Anyone Got a Problem with That? – Read More Here
(FinancialTimes) – Nukes? Now Iran is Threat to World Economy, Says Obama
Barack Obama on Tuesday warned that a conflict in the Middle East set off by Iran’s nuclear programme could destabilise the world economy as he and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, stepped up their push for sanctions on Tehran. Read More Here
(GeorgianDaily) – Russia Tries to Find ‘Georgia Link’ in the Moscow Metro Blasts – Read More Here
(WorldJewishCongress) – Obama, Sarkozy want new Iran sanctions in place “within weeks” – Read More Here
(Haaretz) – Palestinians: IDF drops leaflets over Gaza warning of imminent attack
The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday denied Palestinian reports that its troops had disseminated notices over a residential area of the Gaza Strip warning of an upcoming military strike. Read More Here
(ABCNews) – EXCLUSIVE: Iran Nuclear Scientist Defects to U.S. In CIA ‘Intelligence Coup’ – Read More Here
(VoiceofRussia) – Behind the Talks: US-NATO Prepare Confrontation in the Arctic
Moscow regards as inadmissible the prospects for a military presence in the Arctic region. It’s no secret at all that in recent years quite a number of states in the West, including the USA, have unveiled their plans to build at least 66 warships to be used for conducting hostilities in the Arctic region. Read More Here
Breaking News: Gaza War
(AlJazeera) – Israel pounds Gaza with missiles
Three children have been reported injured in eastern Gaza City after Israeli aircraft carried out a series of missile strikes across the Palestinian territory. Read More Here
(BBC) – Thirteen Israeli air strikes hit Gaza Strip
Israeli planes have carried out 13 air strikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources have told the BBC. Read More Here
(Reuters) – Israeli planes and helicopters mount Gaza attacks
Israeli planes and helicopters mounted at least seven missile attacks on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Friday, destroying what a military spokesman described as Palestinian munitions sites. Four air strikes blew up two caravans near the town of Khan Younis, witnesses and Hamas officials said. There were no casualties. Read More Here
(PoliticalTheatrics) – Video: Hamas Releases Footage Of ‘Gaza Clashes’ – Video Link Here
Video: Rick Rozoff – US-NATO Military Strike against Iran?
Rick Rozoff says that the US and NATO are tightening the military noose around Iran. The United States has made many moves, including placing land-and sea-based interceptor missiles in the Mediterranean. In addition, NATO has increasingly been deploying its deputy secretary to the United Arab Emirates, possibly to lay the groundwork for a military strike against Iran. Continue reading
World War
(KurtNimmo) – False Flag Imminent?
Infowars received the following forwarded email. It is dated Friday, March 19, 2010: Read More Here
(KurtNimmo) – Video: If Republicans Think Going Into Iraq Was a Mistake, Why Are We Still There?
Reps. Dana Rohrabacher,Tom McClintock and John Duncan, all Republicans, said during a Cato Institute panel that in retrospect invading Iraq was a mistake. They said all of their colleagues in the House Republican Caucus believe invading Iraq was a mistake. Rohrabacher went so far as to say he opposed going into Iraq before the invasion. Read More Here
(Haaretz) – Netanyahu to ask Obama for weapons to strike Iran
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will use a visit to Washington this week to press the U.S. to release advanced weapons needed for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, the Sunday Times reported. Read More Here
(ArutzSheva) – Saudi Arabia Seeks Strike on Iran
The German news magazine Der Spiegel has reported that Saudi Arabia is hoping Israel will strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, and is even prepared to open its skies to Israeli warplanes to allow such an operation to take place. Similar reports were published in 2009, and denied by both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Read More Here
(InformationClearingHouse) – Stumbling About In the Graveyard of Empires
If there was ever a decent justification visible for the American war in Afghanistan, there isn’t now. Read More Here
(PoliticsDaily) – Iraq War Triumphalism Ignores a Key Matter: Dead Civilians
Whenever there’s an election in Iraq, U.S. triumphalism follows. In a recent column, Peter Wehner, my PoliticsDaily.com colleague, touts George W. Bush’s war in Iraq and joins others in the it-hasn’t-turned-out-so-bad chorus. But these pronouncements serve as a reminder that it’s rather easy to be a freedom fighter with somebody else’s blood. Read More Here
(MailOnline) – How Criminals Profit From War – Blair’s Fight to Keep his Oil Cash Secret – Read More Here
(GlobalResearch) – Preparations for a Hit against Iran: Stopping Israel’s Next War
“A new war in the region is inevitable.” This is the pronouncement made by Mohammad Seyyed Selim, political scientist and professor at the universities of Cairo and Kuweit. Prof. Selim delivered his forecast on February 13, in a program on Nile TV’s “Cairo Watch,” in which I also participated. The moderator, Mohamed Abdel-Rahim, started off by asking what crisis situations in the region were most acute; Iran and the Arab-Israeli conflict were the obvious answers. Read More Here
(GlobalResearch) – The Most Barbaric Wars in Human History: The Political Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi
The world over these are apocalyptic times. We are witnessing the financial and economic collapse of regions which historically owed the most to capitalist development and simultaneously the most barbaric wars in human history, to re-colonize and to destroy independent nation states in all continents, to seize every nation’s budget and the entire economic space and markets of countries, directly targeting for elimination or mass displacement the civilian population considered rivals for the consumption and use of resources. Read More Here
(Ind) – British military intelligence ‘ran renegade torture unit in Iraq’
Fresh evidence has emerged that British military intelligence ran a secret operation in Iraq which authorised degrading and unlawful treatment of prisoners. Documents reveal that prisoners were kept hooded for long periods in intense heat and deprived of sleep by defence intelligence officers. They also reveal that officers running the operation claimed to be answerable only “directly to London”. Read More Here
(PressTV) – China won’t turn blind eye to possible US sanctions
The Chinese commerce minister says Beijing will respond to Washington should the US decide to impose sanctions on the Chinese currency, the Yuan. Read More Here
(PoliticalTheatrics) – US Plots Against Iran While Offering Dialogue
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei accused on Sunday the United States of “plotting” against the Islamic republic even as it offers talks. Read More Here
Carbon market chaos strikes again
What a surprise: The free-market-that-is-not-free leaps from one scandal to the next. In a real free market where salesmen sell something real, and buyers buy something they want, people can’t get away with cheating, or not for long. Continue reading
Taboo Inhibits Frank Iran/Israel Talk – Ray McGovern
(InfoClearingHouse) – Participants at an otherwise informative discussion on “Iran at a Crossroads” at the Senate on Wednesday seemed at pains to barricade the doors against the proverbial elephant being admitted into the room — in this case, Israel.
This, despite the fact that the agenda virtually dictated that the elephant be allowed in. The cavernous hearing room also could have accommodated it — however awkward and untidy the atmosphere might have become.
Otherwise, as was entirely predictable, the discussion would be lacking a crucial element. Which it turned out to be. Continue reading
Economy
(WSJ) – Greeks Brace for More Strikes, Protests
Escalating strikes and street protests this week will test the Greek government’s ability to see through its austerity strategy. Despite fears of social unrest, most Greeks appear to accept that severe budget cuts are inevitable in the face of the country’s debt crisis. Read More Here
(PressTV) – UK civil servants plan massive strike
Up to 270,000 civil servants are to strike for 48 hours across the UK, in what will be the biggest industrial action by the sector in two decades. Read More Here
(HuffingtonPost) – Fed To Keep Bank Oversight
The Federal Reserve has won its battle to maintain singular regulatory oversight of America’s major financial institutions, the Financial Times reported Sunday night. Read More Here
(ZeroHedge) – State Tax Revenues Plummet By $87 Billion, Biggest Year Over Year Decline In History; Record State Tax Hikes In Progress
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has released a report “State Tax Changes in Response to the Recession” in which the center notes that “national recession has had such a devastating effect on state finances that states took in $87 billion less in tax revenue from October 2008 through September 2009 than they collected in the previous 12 months. Read More Here
(Gothamist) – NY Soda Tax: Ready to Pop
In NY state, Big Gulps are poised to become the new cigarettes. Health officials say they’re ready to instate a tax on fizzy drinks that contribute to obesity rates; they want to charge an extra cent for every ounce of sugary soda (diet sodas are exempt since they contain no calories). Read More Here
(Bloomberg) – ‘On the Edge’ Banks Face Writedowns on FDIC Auctions (Correct)
A Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plan to auction more than $1 billion in assets seized from failed banks next month, including a loan to build a W Hotel in Atlanta, may trigger writedowns that weaken lenders nationwide. Read More Here
(PressTV) – China ready to say goodbye to dollar
The head of China’s Central Bank has declared that the country is ready to end pegging its currency in dollars, but said that any changes would be gradual. Read More Here
(BusinessInsider) – Indonesian Mob Wants Blood After Treasury Secretary Spends A Fortune Bailing Out Banks
Tensions are high in Indonesia as it appeared that a months-long investigation into the $700 million bailout of Bank
Century will end without prosecution of the country’s finance minister and vice president. Read More Here
(CounterPunch) – The Untouchable Budget – Defense Department, Inc.
President Obama called his $3.8-trillion budget a big step in restoring America’s economic health. Last year he promoted TARP, the Troubled Assets Relief Program to bail out the financial sector at a mere $700 billion. Anyone – even billionaire bankers — can make mistakes that wreak ruin on the rest of us! Read More Here
(Telegraph) – Northern Rock still in red for third year running with £400m losses
Northen Rock made multi-million pound losses for a third year running in 2009, the nationalised lender will reveal this week. Read More Here
(CSMonitor) – Robber barons? Meet robber TARP
The federal government’s TARP program was a cover for a massive income transfer from the productive to the unproductive classes in society. Read More Here
(EpochTimes) – U.S., China In Chess Game Over Debt
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Dept. revealed that China sold a record amount of Treasury bonds last December, raising a question over how China—a top hold of U.S. debt—could potentially alter the fortune of the U.S. economy. Read More Here
(InfoClearingHouse) – To Hell In A Handbasket
I live in New York. To say that the politics of my state are dysfunctional would be like saying that Adolph Hitler could sometimes be not such a nice fellow. It’s all true, of course. It just doesn’t do just justice to the scope of the crimes committed. Read More Here
(BusinessWeek) – Failed Banks May Get Pension-Fund Backing as FDIC Seeks Cash – Read More Here
(RGJ) – Nevada lawmakers’ reliance on temporary fixes creates $3 billion hole – Read More Here
(Freep) – Bleak future predicted for Michigan schools
Michigan public schools will lay off thousands of employees and more than 100 districts could be insolvent if the state doesn’t find a way to plug a $400-per-pupil funding shortfall in funding next year. Read More Here
(EclippTV) – How Goldman Sachs (Rothschild’s) took over the world
Well they are the most powerful firm on Wallstreet but actually they are an outlet of the Rothschild’s who have spread their power under different names into this century and the prior one. They create new entities to hide the web the have created of which the Bilderberger is one and Soros is another. The 30 mil. think tank I wrote about in an earlier post is the brain of the Obama administration and his closest advisers are all from the Rothshild boys from RUBIN, SUMMERS, VOLCKER and second tier next generation breed like Geithner. Emanuel and many more. Read More Here
World War
(TheNational) – Ahmadinejad Expects War Before Summer
The three-party meeting that took place in Damascus on Friday gathering the Syrian president Bashar al Assad, the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was a war council to devise counterattack plans and assign tasks in the event of an Israeli offensive on one or all parties, wrote Abdelbari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab newspaper Al Quds al Arabi. Read More Here
(Haaretz) – Haaretz: Israel Is Preparing To Strike Iran
Netanyahu managed to convince the world that Israel is on the verge of a preemptive war to try to foil Iran’s nuclear program. His speeches on a second Holocaust and Amalek, the acceleration of military preparations, the exercises on the Home Front, the distribution of gas masks and even the stockpiling of dollars by the Bank of Israel all suggest that Israel is preparing to strike Iran, as it did when it attacked the nuclear plants in Iraq and Syria. Read More Here
(AntiWar) – Report: US State Dept. Warns Lebanon It Can’t Stop Israeli Attack
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Calls for New Peace Talks as Invasion Looms Read More Here
(PressTV) – Israel urges US to act alone, as anti-Iran bids fail
As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tours Latin America to recruit support for new international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, Tel Aviv urges Washington to adopt Cuba-like embargos against Tehran. Read More Here
Israeli PM warns of “runaway” Iranian nuclear issue
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday warned that the international community is moving too slowly to follow Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, reported local daily Ha’aretz. Read More Here
(BioPrepWatch) – Israel begins distribution of gas masks
Israel began its distribution of new gas masks to civilians on Sunday, which are meant to protect the nation in the event of a biological or chemical attack. Read More Here
(Haaretz) – Ahmadinejad denounces Israel as ‘origin of all wars, terror’
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continued to deliver incendiary rhetoric against Israel yesterday, the second and final day of a Palestinian solidarity conference in Tehran. Read More Here
World War
(GCN) – Intel Boss McConnell Says U.S. Would Lose Cyberwar
If the United States fought a war in cyberspace today it would lose, the nation’s former top intelligence official has told a Senate Committee. Read More Here
(ZeroHedge) – War Council Convened In Damascus Past Friday To Prepare For Israeli Strike, Iran President Expects War “Between Spring And Summer”
Abu Dhabi Media website The National has disclosed some rather disturbing news about peace “prospects” in the middle east. It appears this past Friday saw a war council convene in Damascus, between Syrian president Bashar al Assad, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to “devise counterattack plans and assign tasks in the event of an Israeli offensive on one or all parties, wrote Abdelbari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab newspaper Al Quds al Arabi.” Read More Here
(PaulWatson) – EU Federal Economic Government Proposal Mirrors Nazi Plan For Fourth Reich
German-French draft proposal to create continental government with financial control over member states apes how top Nazis foresaw preservation of fascist power in the 1940’s Read More Here
(Reuters) – China PLA officer urges challenging U.S. dominance
China should build the world’s strongest military and move swiftly to displace the United States as the global “champion,” a Chinese PLA officer says in a new book reflecting swelling nationalist ambitions. Read More Here
(ITARTASS) – Putin to hold meeting on AF, air defence troops equipping
Equipping of the Air Force and air defence troops of Russia with state-of-the-art samples of armaments and military hardware will be the main issue of a regular meeting on issues related to the development of the national defence industry complex that will be held by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday. Read More Here
(Telegraph) – US steps up diplomatic pressure on Russia over Iran sanctions
The US and its western allies have stepped up a behind-the-scenes campaign to persuade Russia to back tough United Nations sanctions against Iran. Read More Here
(Examiner) – US sponsors terrorists to overthrow Iran’s government again? Evidence suggests it’s true
Abdolmalek Rigi, leader of the assassination/terrorist group, Jundallah, was announced as captured by Iran’s government on February 23, 2010. Iran televised Mr. Rigi making a statement that the US government funds Jundallah, provides weapons, and assists with logistical management. Read More Here
(Haaretz) – Israel must defuse escalating tensions along northern border
If Netanyahu keeps refusing to leave the Golan, it will be no surprise if Syria’s war warnings come true. Read More Here
(Haaretz) – Israel shows China evidence of Iran bomb program
Delegation to Beijing offers Chinese ‘the full intelligence picture available to Israel’. Read More Here
(Todayszaman) – Turkish PM: “Like anti-semitism and racism, Islamophobia is a crime against humanity”
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “like anti-semitism and racism, Islamophobia is a crime against humanity. It is totally wrong to incriminate all Muslim people for a marginal act.” Read More Here
(YNet) – UN passes Goldstone report resolution
General Assembly approves proposal by Arab League calling on Ban Ki-moon to report on probes of Operation Cast Lead in five months; but Israel’s ambassador asks, ‘Who will investigate on Palestinian side?’ Read More Here
(LasVegasSun) – Russia fumes at US missile defense plan
Russia has serious concerns about U.S. plans to deploy missile interceptors in Romania, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Read More Here
(AlethoNews) – Iran reminds IAEA of West’s broken promises
Iran has called on the UN nuclear watchdog to bear in mind the West’s past breaches of atomic fuel exchange deals with Tehran while reviewing Iran’s nuclear program. Read More Here
(JerusalemGiftShop) – Senator Kerry: Israel won’t go alone on Iran – U.S is on same page
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry visiting Jerusalem today said the United States and Israel were “on the same page” regarding Iran’s nuclear program and called on the international community to take a tough stance against Iran’s nuclear program and impose effective sanctions. Read More Here
World War
(PressTV) – ‘Russia not working on Iran sanctions’
A senior Russian diplomat says his country will not support what he called crippling sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. Read More Here
(PressTV) – China puts off military exchanges with US: Pentagon
The Pentagon says that Beijing has put off several high-profile military exchanges with Washington over the US military’s 6.4-billion-dollar arms deal with Taiwan. Read More Here
(PressTV) – Ahmadinejad blasts duplicity in fighting terror
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad censure what he describes as self-proclaimed anti-terror fighters for their double standards in countering terrorists. Read More Here
(Reuters) – Russia warns West against “crippling” Iran sanctions
A senior Russian diplomat warned the West on Wednesday against trying to paralyze Iran by targeting the Islamic Republic’s energy and banking sectors with crippling sanctions. Read More Here
(StopNato) – South Atlantic: Britain May Provoke New Conflict With Argentina
On February 22 two major developments occurred in the Americas south of the Rio Grande. The two-day Rio Group summit opened in Mexico and Great Britain started drilling for oil 60 miles north of the Falklands Islands, known as Las Malvinas to Argentina. Read More Here
(InformationClearingHouse) – A Report From The Afghanistan Resistance – Marjah Operations are an Exemplary Lesson for the Invaders – Read More Here
(ChinaDaily) – China Circled by Chain of US Anti-Missile Systems
Washington appears determined to surround China with US-built anti-missile systems, military scholars have observed. Read More Here
(Reuters) – U.S. Patriot Missiles in Poland Early April: Report
WARSAW – Poland is set to host a battery of U.S. Patriot missiles and the American troops to man it from the start of April, PAP news agency said Sunday. Read More Here
CNN Poll: Seven in 10 Americans Believe Iran has Nuclear Weapons – Read More Here
(RussiaToday) – Video: Russian Chief of Staff – US Plans to Strike Iran
Economy
(Reuters) – Nearly 20% of US Workers Underemployed in Jan
Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce lacked adequate employment in January and struggled to make ends meet with reduced resources and bleak job prospects, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday. Read More Here
(Reuters) – Regulators report 27 percent jump in problem banks
The number of “problem” U.S. banks jumped 27 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 and a sign the industry’s recovery is still shaky, regulators reported on Tuesday. Read More Here
(Reuters) – US Jan mass layoffs edge up on weak manufacturing
The number of mass layoffs by U.S. employers edged up in January as manufacturers stepped up job cuts, data showed on Tuesday, but probably not enough to alter views that the economy is on the brink of creating jobs. Read More Here
(AP) – Report: States’ tax collections fall again
States again saw sharp declines in tax collections in the last quarter of 2009 — a record fifth straight quarterly drop, according to a new report that predicts more looming spending cuts or tax increases. Read More Here
(TheComingDepression) – Mainstreet in the gutter while wallstreet post 17% bonuses in 2009
Bonuses on Wall Street rose 17 percent last year to $20.3 billion even as the industry faced a public backlash over pay practices. Read More Here
(Telegraph) – Concerns grow over China’s sale of US bonds
Evidence is mounting that Chinese sales of US Treasury bonds over recent months are intended as a warning shot to Washington over escalating political disputes rather than being part of a routine portfolio shift as thought at first. Read More Here
(Bloomberg) – Secret AIG Document Shows Goldman Sachs Minted Most Toxic CDOs
When a congressional panel convened a hearing on the government rescue of American International Group Inc. in January, the public scolding of Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner got the most attention. Read More Here
(Aljazeera) – Spain engulfed by pension protests
Spain’s debt-laden Socialist government has witnessed the first mass protests by unions in its six years in power as anger over a plan to raise the retirement age spilled onto the streets. Read More Here
(247WallSt) – Underwater Mortgages Hit 11.3 Million
There is a reason that 702 American banks, nearly one in ten, were on the FDIC “problem list” as of the end of 2009. A large number of small and mid-sized banks are burdened with home and commercial mortgages that are in default and may even go into foreclosure. Read More Here
(VancouverSun) – U.S. economy is a shambles, with no improvement in sight
President Obama’s claim that a second depression isn’t possible doesn’t square with the relevant numbers Read More Here
(ZeroHedge) – FDIC Hits Record “Default” Level As Deposit Insurance Fund Plunges By $12.7 Billion To NEGATIVE 20.9 Billion
The U.S. banking industry continued to struggle in the fourth quarter, as the number of banks on the brink of failure continued to rise and the government’s fund to protect deposits fell sharply into the red. Read More Here
(EconomicPolicyJournal) – Where Did the Links Go That Point to the Government Forcing Your 401k and IRA Money into Treasury Securities?
Forget about hedging inside your 401k and IRA against inflation. Sooner than you think, you will not be allowed to own gold ETF’s, gold mining stocks or gold related mutual funds in your 401k or IRA. Read More Here
(Bloomberg) – Greek Police, Protesters Clash in Nationwide Strike (Update2)
Greek police fired tear-gas and clashed with demonstrators in central Athens after a march organized by unions to oppose Prime Minister George Papandreou’s drive to cut the European Union’s biggest budget deficit. Read More Here
(ChimpPlanet) – Trillions for War And None For The American People
In 2001, George W. Bush attempted to destroy Social Security by turning the people’s money over to Wall Street. Then, 9/11 happened and Social Security was saved for the time being. Read More Here
(WashingtonsBlog) – Foundation for the Study of Cycles: Gold to $2,000 By Late 2011, While Dollar and Stocks will Sink
I’m agnostic about different cycle systems, but – for what it’s worth – the Foundation for the Study of Cycles is predicting: Read More Here
(ZeroHedge) – The $100 Trillion Problem: Can America Learn From Chile Before It’s Too Late?
Jose Pinera provides an Entitlement State 101 lecture, in which Chile’s former Labor and Social Security Minister demystifies the U.S.’s $100 trillion unfunded benefits problem. Since Pinera is the man who many years ago privatized Chile’s entitlement system, America, and the entire Western system, which for the past century has been relying on unfunded liabilities to provide benefits to the population in the hopes that funding day will never come, may do well to listen to what he has to say. Read More Here
Video: Iran Attack – It’s About Mass Murder, Not Nukes
(KurtNimmo) – John Bolton wants you to think a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities will be surgical and few civilians will die. On the other hand, in the video below, he states that things could, well you know, go wrong. Continue reading
Obama, the war president – Helen Thomas
(TimesUnion) – President Barack Obama does have a foreign policy. It’s called war.
The President has not defined any real difference between his hawkish approach to international issues and that of his predecessor, former President George W. Bush.
Where’s the change we can believe in? Continue reading
CIA Has Program to Assassinate U.S. Citizens
(TheNewAmerican) – The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has maintained an assassination list of U.S. citizens for the last eight year and has actually assassinated Americans, according to January 27 Washington Post story. Continue reading
Report: Iran to launch counterattack if Israel strikes
(YNet) – Lebanon’s al-Nahar reported Tuesday that Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani warned Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak against an Israeli attack on his country. Continue reading
MSM: Obama told China – I can’t stop Israel strike on Iran indefinitely
(Haaretz) – U.S. President Barack Obama has warned his Chinese counterpart that the United States would not be able to keep Israel from attacking Iranian nuclear installations for much longer, senior officials in Jerusalem told Haaretz. Continue reading
International Law: The First Casualty of America’s Drone War
ABSTRACT. This report utilizes well-established principles of both treaty and customary international law as a measuring stick for attempting to determine the legal and moral legitimacy of the covert U.S. policy of using drones to attack targets in Pakistan. This analysis is unique in that it uses both broad assessments as well as pertinent individual case studies with the purpose of chronicling the details of several drone attacks over a period of 45 months in the interest of legal evaluation. Drawing from a vast collection of reliable press reports, independent human rights testimonies, and the most prominent, mainstream studies, this report is quite possibly the most comprehensive analysis on the topic to date and likely the first of its kind to appear in the wake of the US-Pakistan drone controversy. Continue reading
Video: Singaporean Air Force being trained in the United States
(AlexAnsary) – 80 miles west of Twin Falls- Idaho, something strange is happening. Mountain Home Air Force Base is now the home of The Republic of Singapore’s newest air force base and their training is being combined with that of the US Air Force. This marks another example of foreign troops being trained within the borders of the United States. Only this time, the men being trained come from a dictatorship that enjoys close ties to China. Continue reading
Video: Bolton – Iran will never give up nukes
(RussiaToday) – As Iran weighs its response to the latest offer from the international community over its nuclear program, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton says that diplomacy has failed and it’s time to look at other options – including a pre-emptive strike by Israel. Continue reading
MSM: Israeli military strike more likely after Iran misses nuclear deadline
(Telegraph) – The deal put forward in Vienna would not have ended Iran’s nuclear programme, even if Tehran had given a prompt “yes”. Continue reading
Russia Prepares for “Large-scale Conflicts”
(PressTV) – Secretary of Russia’s National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev says the country should be ready for “large-scale conflicts”. Continue reading
A Postal Strike In Britain Is The War At Home – John Pilger
The postal workers’ struggle is as vital for democracy as any national event in recent years. The campaign against them is part of a historic shift from the last vestiges of political democracy in Britain to a corporate world of insecurity and war. If the privateers running the Post Office are allowed to win, the regression that now touches all lives bar the wealthy will quicken its pace. A third of British children now live in low-income or impoverished families. One in five young people is denied hope of a decent job or education. Continue reading
Iranian Nuclear Threat Hyped – ElBaradei
Mohamed ElBaradei, outgoing chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, maintains that the danger posed by Iran’s nuclear program is being exaggerated, and that the only way to resolve issues with Teheran is through talks. Negotiations should also eventually lead to the Middle East being a nuclear-free zone, he believes, thus ending the “imbalance” resulting from the fact that Israel is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Continue reading
Biggest strike in recent years on elite Guards
Sixty people were killed or wounded in an attack on the elite Revolutionary Guards in the south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan Iran, including two senior commanders, an Iranian news agency reported on Sunday Continue reading
Russia Retains Option of Preemptive Nuclear Strike
(AntiWar) – According to the secretary if the Russian Security Council, the Russian government’s new review of its nuclear weapons policy retains and even expands the nation’s long-standing option to pre-emptively use nuclear weapons in warfare. Continue reading
Former Israeli Deputy Defense Minister: Iran Strike by Christmas
Former Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh stated in an interview with the UK’s Sunday Times that if sanctions against Iran are not in place by Christmas, Israel may attack Iran on its own. “If no crippling sanctions are introduced by Christmas, Israel will strike,” he said. “If we are left alone, we will act alone. Continue reading
65,000 vs. 100
According to National Security Advisor James Jones:
- Al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan number fewer than 100
- Most are making small bombs, and
- not able to attack the West
September ‘Surprise’ – Iranian nuke facility revelation: countdown to war begins…
What did the U.S. government know about the “secret” Iranian nuclear research facility at Qom and when did it know it? That’s the question that isn’t on everyone’s lips, as the chatter about Iranian “intransigence” on nuclear issues reaches a crescendo in the run-up to Oct. 1, the date negotiations with Tehran are scheduled to start. Continue reading
MSM: Iran – Attacking us will expedite Israel’s last breath
(Haaretz) – Iran’s defense minister warned Israel again on Monday against launching any attack on the Islamic Republic, shortly after Iran test fired missiles reportedly capable of hitting Israel. Continue reading
Brzezinski: Shoot Down Israeli Planes If They Attack Iran
(JTA) – Zbigniew Brzezinski said the United States should make clear that it will attack Israeli jets if they fly over Iraq on their way to attack Iran. Continue reading
MSM: Report – IDF, U.S. military to simulate Iran missile strike on Israel
(Haaretz) – The Israel Defense Forces and the U.S. military will soon hold a training exercise in which they will simulate missile attacks on Israel from Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported Sunday. Continue reading
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