July 2009 – Page 5 – Infinite Unknown

Pope Benedict XVI Calls for NEW FINANCIAL ORDER With ‘Real Teeth’

July 7, 2009 by Infinite

A New World Order … but, but, but that ‘was’ only a conspiracy on the internet. Wake up!

‘Blessed are those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.’

pope_ratzinger_handsign2-20-09

July 7 (Bloomberg) — Pope Benedict XVI called for a new financial order with “real teeth” as Group of Eight leaders prepare to discuss ways out of the worst recession since World War II.

“Profit is useful if it serves as a means toward an end,” he wrote in a letter to Catholic bishops worldwide published today. “Once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty.” The 150-page encyclical, the third of his papacy, is titled “Caritas in Veritate” in Latin, or “charity in truth.”

The pope’s reflections on capitalism were two years in the making and publication was held up when the credit crunch crippled the world economy. Benedict said last month the crisis shows “how the economic and financial paradigms that have been dominant in recent years must be rethought.”

The German-born pontiff touched on many themes that will be discussed by the leaders of the largest economies, including “protection of the environment.” He called for a “reform of the United Nations, economic institutions and international finance so the idea of the family of nations can acquire real teeth.”

Meeting Obama

obama

The pope will have his first meeting with President Barack Obama at the end of the three-day summit, which starts tomorrow in L’Aquila, Italy. He received Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso at the Vatican today, while Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will meet tonight with his Japanese counterpart to discuss the G-8 agenda and the financial crisis.

berlusconi-sign

Benedict, the head of the world’s smallest state, also spoke out in his encyclical on globalization’s benefits and risks.

Ron Paul: If you support the views of the Declaration of Independence today, then you will be put on a subversive list

July 7, 2009 by Infinite

A message from Ron Paul on July 4th, 2009.

Added: July 07, 2009

Goldman Sachs Market Manipulation Dominance at Risk by Theft

July 7, 2009 by Infinite

“The bank has raised the possibility that there is a danger that somebody who knew how to use this program could use it to manipulate markets in unfair ways,”…

… so basically somebody else besides GOLDMAN SACHS can now manipulate the markets.

– Observations On NYSE Program Trading (Zero Hedge):
Goldman’s share has exploded over the past six months: while GS was responsible for around 27% of Principal NYSE stock trading in Q3 and most of Q4, that number has risen to the low 50% range over the past 3 months.

– Bail set at $750000 for ex-Goldman programmer (Reuters)

goldman-sachs
U.S. flags fly outside 85 Broad Street, the headquarters of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News

July 6 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. may lose its investment in a proprietary trading code and millions of dollars from increased competition if software allegedly stolen by a former employee gets into the wrong hands, a prosecutor said.

Sergey Aleynikov, an ex-Goldman Sachs computer programmer, was arrested July 3 after arriving at Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, U.S. officials said. Aleynikov, 39, who has dual American and Russian citizenship, is charged in a criminal complaint with stealing the trading software. Teza Technologies LLC, a Chicago-based firm co-founded by a former Citadel Investment Group LLC trader, said it suspended Aleynikov, who started there on July 2.

At a court appearance July 4 in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Facciponti told a federal judge that Aleynikov’s alleged theft poses a risk to U.S. markets. Aleynikov transferred the code, which is worth millions of dollars, to a computer server in Germany, and others may have had access to it, Facciponti said, adding that New York-based Goldman Sachs may be harmed if the software is disseminated.

“The bank has raised the possibility that there is a danger that somebody who knew how to use this program could use it to manipulate markets in unfair ways,” Facciponti said, according to a recording of the hearing made public today. “The copy in Germany is still out there, and we at this time do not know who else has access to it.”

‘Preposterous’

The prosecutor added, “Once it is out there, anybody will be able to use this, and their market share will be adversely affected.”

The proprietary code lets the firm do “sophisticated, high- speed and high-volume trades on various stock and commodities markets,” prosecutors said in court papers. The trades generate “many millions of dollars” each year.

The Biggest US Banks Don’t Want California’s IOUs

July 7, 2009 by Infinite

Don’t miss:
– Day of Reckoning for California and, ultimately, for all of America:
“Why I Expect a Default on California’s Bonds”

A group of the biggest U.S. banks said they would stop accepting California’s IOUs on Friday, adding pressure on the state to close its $26.3 billion annual budget gap.

The development is the latest twist in California’s struggle to deal with the effects of the recession. After state leaders failed to agree on budget solutions last week, California began issuing IOUs — or “individual registered warrants” — to hundreds of thousands of creditors. State Controller John Chiang said that without IOUs, California would run out of cash by July’s end.

But now, if California continues to issue the IOUs, creditors will be forced to hold on to them until they mature on Oct. 2, or find other banks to honor them. When the IOUs mature, holders will be paid back directly by the state at an annual 3.75% interest rate. Some banks might also work with creditors to come up with an interim solution, such as extending them a line of credit, said Beth Mills, a California Bankers Association spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, on Monday morning, a budget meeting between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders failed to produce a result. Amid the budget deadlock, Fitch Ratings on Monday dropped California’s bond rating to BBB, down from A minus, the latest in a series of ratings downgrades for the state.

The group of banks included Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., among others. The banks had previously committed to accepting state IOUs as payment. California plans to issue more than $3 billion of IOUs in July.

California: Credit Rating Cut Close to Junk After IOUs

July 7, 2009 by Infinite

July 6 (Bloomberg) — California’s credit rating was cut for the second time in as many weeks by Fitch Ratings after a stalemate over how to close a $26 billion budget deficit forced the most-populous U.S. state to pay some bills with IOUs.

Fitch lowered its rating of California’s general obligation bonds by two steps to BBB from A-, placing the debt two ranks above so-called high-yield, high-risk junk ratings, and said the state may be cut further. The credit-rating company last lowered its assessment of California on June 25.

California, the largest issuer of municipal bonds, last week began issuing IOUs for the second time since the Great Depression as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers remained deadlocked over the budget cuts needed to make up for revenue lost because of the recession. California Controller John Chiang said the step was needed to conserve cash.

“The downgrade to ‘BBB’ is based on the state’s continued inability to achieve timely agreement on budgetary and cash flow solutions to its severe fiscal crisis,” Fitch said in a statement.

Day of Reckoning for California and, ultimately, for all of America

July 7, 2009 by Infinite

Why I Expect a Default on California’s Bonds

This is a day of reckoning for California and, ultimately, for all of America.

Will our nation’s largest debtors meet their massive financial obligations? Or will many ultimately default?

In California, the answer given by the state Treasurer’s office was a commitment never to default, seeking to directly refute my forecast issued here 13 days ago under the headline “California Collapsing.”

According to the BusinessJournal:

“The California’s state Treasurer’s office on Monday refuted an analyst’s recommendation last week that investors dump California municipal bonds and that the state is likely to default.

“Analyst Martin Weiss of Weiss Research said in a June 22 report that California’s financial woes create ‘a very high probability’ that California will eventually miss debt service payments.

“Mr. Weiss’ analysis and recommendation, to put it kindly, is misinformed,” responded Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for state Treasurer Bill Lockyer. “Even the credit rating agencies said, in announcing possible downgrades, that the likelihood of default is low.”

Ironically, just two days later …

California Defaulted on Its
Short-Term Debt Obligations

In lieu of cash, California issued i.o.u.’s to meet obligations to vendors and citizens, postponing payments on its current liabilities.

But current liabilities are short-term debts. Ergo, based on this standard definition, California is already defaulting.

It’s not the same as defaulting on its bonds. But for reasons I’ll explain in a moment, I’m now more convinced than ever that a bond default is also coming.

Consider the importance of this week’s events …

If California’s creditors had a say in the issuance of i.o.u.’s, Sacramento officials might be able to deny they’re in default by implying mutual consent. But that’s far from the facts. The creditors had nothing to do with this decision. It was unilateral, a telltale aspect of debt defaults.

If the i.o.u.’s were as good as cash, Sacramento might also deny the D-word. But the sad reality is that, if you’re among those stuck with California i.o.u.’s, you have only two choices: You have to either hold them while you sweat and cross your fingers or you have to sell them at a steep discount – exactly the same choices facing bond investors after a default.

If all major financial institutions accepted California i.o.u.’s, that might also help Sacramento justify a continued denial of default. But the reality is that most banks are not accepting the i.o.u.’s, and no one could argue their reasoning is financially unsound.

Why accept a piece of paper at face value when it’s worth significantly less than face value on the open market? The nation’s largest banks already have enough troubles with toxic mortgages, toxic credit cards and toxic loans on commercial real estate. They’re not exactly anxious to pile on toxic California paper.

If, as in past episodes, California’s budget mess were mostly due to a political snafu, it could be argued that the i.o.u.’s are merely a temporary stop-gap. But that’s clearly not the case either.

To the contrary, California’s budget crisis is rooted in an unprecedented economic depression with 11.5 percent unemployment and the greatest concentration of mortgage delinquencies in the nation. Even if the i.o.u.’s are ultimately paid in full, California’s debt troubles are not going away.

Why I Expect a Default on California’s Bonds

Short of an 11th-hour rescue from Washington – where political resistance to bailouts has grown dramatically in the wake of recent federal rescues – it will be extremely difficult for California to avoid a default on its bonds.

Baxter sent out 72 kilos of live bird flu material destined for vaccines confirmed by Austrian Health Minister Alois Stöger

July 6, 2009 by Infinite

More information:
– New Zealand orders 300,000 doses of untested and unapproved swine flu vaccine
– Journalist Files Charges against WHO and UN for Bioterrorism and Intent to Commit Mass Murder
– Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccination and the autism coverup
– Children may get swine flu vaccine shots first this fall; Schools might even be turned into shot clinics
– Dr. Russell Blaylock on 1976 Swine Flu and Current Outbreak
– Vaccines Found to Cause Diabetes in Children
– Vaccine Nation – Director’s Cut
– Vaccines and Medical Experiments on Children, Minorities, Woman and Inmates (1845 – 2007)

About my 2-hour interview with the Austrian anti terrorism unit and the criminal charges filed in Florida

In the meantime, I’ve been for an interview at the

The Security Directorate Vienna
For the Protection of the Constitution
and For Fighting Terrorism

following an invitation, which can be seen at this link.

http://wakenews.net/Austrian_Anti_Terrorism_Unit_Invitation.JPG

I presented more evidence, arguments and facts concerning Baxter and the 72 kilos of live bird flu material, which was sent out to 16 laboratories from its facilities in Austria in February – material which was destined for vaccines in four countries: Slovenia, Czech Republic, Germany and Austria.

The original live bird flu virus came from WHO.

The Austrian Health Minister Alois Stöger confirmed that Baxter sent out 72 kilos in Parliamentary Answers dated May 20th, 2009.

He also revealed he had undertaken no steps to conduct a full in investigation into Baxter’s breach of biosafety level 3 regulations.

http://wakenews.net/Austrian_Parliamentary_Answers_re_Baxter.pdf

He claimed the 72 kilos of live bird flu material had been destroyed, but gave no details of that process; the suspicion has been raised the 72 kilos is still in circulation.

The original parliamentary questions tabled on March 20th (also in German), — which the Health Minister was obliged by law to answer within 8 weeks –, can also be seen on the download-site for all documents on a secure website in Switzerland:

http://wakenews.net/html/jane_burgermeister.html

Under Austria’s Influenza Pandemic Plan of 2005, WHO and the EU are set to take charge of Austria via a special crisis management team (SKKM) to be set up in the Federal Ministery of Interior in the event of a “pandemic” emergency.

Innoculating the entire Austrian population with (Baxter) shots is a declared objective of the SKKM. The injections will contain a mix of “whole virus”, mercury and adjuvants – and so be very toxic.

http://www.bmg.gv.at/cms/site/attachments/3/6/8/CH0742/CMS1126084167391/pp_inetversion12_061.pdf

http://www.bmg.gv.at/cms/site/attachments/3/6/8/CH0742/CMS1126084167391/pp_englisch.pdf

Similar pandemic plans exist in countries all over Europe.

In some countries, such as France, the injections could be mandatory.

This week I will file a new set of criminal charges against the Health Minister, Alois Stöger, the Chancellor Werner Faymann, Dr Dagmar Belakowitsch-Jenewein and others for their role in the cover up of Baxter’s crime here in Austria.

US lurching towards ‘debt explosion’: Former Federal Reserve senior economist

July 6, 2009 by Infinite

The US economy is lurching towards crisis with long-term interest rates on course to double, crippling the country’s ability to pay its debts and potentially plunging it into another recession, according to a study by the US’s own central bank

timothy-geithner
Tim Geithner, the US Treasury Secretary, has faced searching question about the growing US Budget deficit deficit

In a 2003 paper, Thomas Laubach, the US Federal Reserve’s senior economist, calculated the impact on long-term interest rates of rising fiscal deficits and soaring national debt. Applying his assumptions to the recent spike in the US fiscal deficit and national debt, long-term interests rates will double from their current 3.5pc.

The impact would be devastating by making it punitively expensive to finance national borrowings and leading to what Tim Congdon, founder of Lombard Street Research, called a “debt explosion”. Mr Laubach’s study has implications for the UK, too, as public debt is soaring. A US crisis would have implications for the rest of the world, in any case.

Using historical examples for his paper, New Evidence on the Interest Rate Effects of Budget Deficits and Debt, Mr Laubach came to the conclusion that “a percentage point increase in the projected deficit-to-GDP ratio raises the 10-year bond rate expected to prevail five years into the future by 20 to 40 basis points, a typical estimate is about 25 basis points”.

The US deficit has blown out from 3pc to 13.5pc in the past year but long-term rates are largely unchanged. Assuming Mr Laubach’s “typical estimate”, long-term rates have to climb 2.5 percentage points.

He added: “Similarly, a percentage point increase in the projected debt-to-GDP ratio raises future interest rates by about 4 to 5 basis points.” Economists are predicting a wide range of ratios but Mr Congdon said it was “not unreasonable” to assume debt doubling to 140pc. At that level, Mr Laubach’s calculations would see long-term rates rise by 3.5 percentage points.

The study is damning because Mr Laubach was the Fed’s economist at the time, going on to become its senior economist between 2005 and 2008, when he stepped down. As a result, the doubling in rates is the US central bank’s own prediction.

Rioting in China: Hundreds Detained After Ethnic Violence Kills 156

July 6, 2009 by Infinite

July 7 (Bloomberg) — China’s government said more than 700 people were detained after ethnic rioting in the capital of Xinjiang province killed 156 people. Overseas Uighur groups were responsible for the violence, the government said.

A traffic blockade remained in effect in Urumqi, capital of the northwestern province, as police in riot gear stood guard in downtown areas, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said today. More than 200 “rioters” trying to gather at Id Kah Mosque, the largest in China, were dispersed by the police last night, Xinhua said.

China Central Television yesterday aired images of smoke billowing from vehicles, crowds overturning police cars and bloodied people slumped on sidewalks in Urumqi. More than 825 people were also injured after rioting broke out in the city late on July 5, and the toll is likely to rise, Xinhua cited Liu Yaohua, the region’s police chief, as saying.

The protest spread yesterday to a second city in the region, Kashgar, the Associated Press reported, citing witnesses, including one man who said there hadn’t been any clashes there.

The government said overseas separatists used the deaths of migrant Uighur workers in a factory brawl in southern China to fuel ethnic divisions. As many as 30 million migrant workers have lost their jobs during the global financial crisis, as demand from the U.S. and Europe vanishes, exacerbating already simmering social tensions.

New Zealand orders 300,000 doses of untested and unapproved swine flu vaccine

July 6, 2009 by Infinite

Wellington – New Zealand has ordered a stock of untested and unapproved swine flu vaccine for health workers, police and other emergency staff but it is not likely to be used until December at the earliest, Prime Minister John Key announced on Monday.

An initial supply of 300,000 doses had been ordered from the international company Baxter Healthcare Limited for delivery within the month, he told a news conference after New Zealand’s first three deaths from the disease were revealed at the weekend.

Related information:
– Baxter: Product contaminated with live H5N1 avian flu virus:
The company that released contaminated flu virus material from a plant in Austria confirmed Friday that the experimental product contained live H5N1 avian flu viruses.
The contamination incident, which is being investigated by the four European countries, came to light when the subcontractor in the Czech Republic inoculated ferrets with the product and they died. Ferrets shouldn’t die from exposure to human H3N2 flu viruses.
– Children may get swine flu vaccine shots first this fall; Schools might even be turned into shot clinics
– Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccination and the autism coverup
– Homeopathy Successfully Treated Flu Epidemic of 1918
– Dr. Russell Blaylock on 1976 Swine Flu and Current Outbreak
– Ron Paul on the Swine Flu Scare

Key said the vaccine would have to be licensed by the government’s Medsafe agency which assesses the safety and efficacy of all medicines.

Health Minister Tony Ryall said clinical trials of the vaccine would be held in Europe and the purchase was strategic given that the H1N1 influenza virus pandemic could last up to two years.

‘We want to be in the position of having the vaccine and not needing it, rather than the other way around,’ he said.

He said that when approved two doses of the vaccine would be offered to 150,000 doctors, nurses, police, firefighters and other frontline health and emergency workers.

The silent war: The rich countries and corporations grab land to grow food from the world’s poor countries

July 5, 2009 by Infinite

• UN sounds warning after 30m hectares bought up
• G8 leaders to discuss ‘neo-colonialism’

The acquisition of farmland from the world’s poor by rich countries and international corporations is accelerating at an alarming rate, with an area half the size of Europe’s farmland targeted in the last six months, reports from UN officials and agriculture experts say.

New reports from the UN and analysts in India, Washington and London estimate that at least 30m hectares is being acquired to grow food for countries such as China and the Gulf states who cannot produce enough for their populations. According to the UN, the trend is accelerating and could severely impair the ability of poor countries to feed themselves.

Today it emerged that world leaders are to discuss what is being described as “land grabbing” or “neo-colonialism” at the G8 meeting next week. A spokesman for Japan’s ministry of foreign affairs confirmed that it would raise the issue: “We feel there should be a code of conduct for investment in farmland that will be a win-win situation for both producing and consuming countries,” he said.

Olivier De Schutter, special envoy for food at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: “[The trend] is accelerating quickly. All countries observe each other and when one sees others buying land it does the same.”

The UN’s food and agricultural organisation and other analysts estimate that nearly 20m hectares (50m acres) of farmland – an area roughly half the size of all arable land in Europe – has been sold or has been negotiated for sale or lease in the last six months. Around 10m hectares was bought last year. The land grab is being blamed on wealthy countries with concerns about food security.

Some of the largest deals include South Korea’s acquisition of 700,000ha in Sudan, and Saudi Arabia’s purchase of 500,000ha in Tanzania. The Democratic Republic of the Congo expects to shortly conclude an 8m-hectare deal with a group of South African businesses to grow maize and soya beans as well as poultry and dairy farming.

India has lent money to 80 companies to buy 350,000ha in Africa. At least six countries are known to have bought large landholdings in Sudan, one of the least food-secure countries in the world.

Other countries that have acquired land in the last year include the Gulf states, Sweden, China and Libya. Those targeted include not only fertile countries such as Brazil, Russia and Ukraine, but also poor countries like Cameroon, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Zambia.

De Schutter said that after the food crisis of 2008, many countries found food imports hit their balance of payments, “so now they want to insure themselves”.

“This is speculation, betting on future prices. What we see now is that countries have lost trust in the international market. We know volatility will increase in the next few years. Land prices will continue to rise. Many deals are even now being negotiated. Not all are complete yet.”

Italy: Anti-G8 demonstrators clash with police over US base

October 22, 2009July 5, 2009 by Infinite

italy-riot-police-protesters
Protesters clash with riot police during a demonstration against a military base used by U.S. paratroopers, in the northern Italian city of Vicenza July 4, 2009.

Watch the video: Here

There have been ugly scenes in Italy as demonstrators denouncing the planned expansion of a US military base clashed with riot police.

Violence erupted as security forces moved to prevent protesters from crossing a bridge and getting nearer to the controversial site.

Youths lit firecrackers and threw stones and bottles at police who replied with tear gas.

The extension plan in the northeastern city of Vicenza has angered environmental campaigners, far left groups and some locals.

The disturbances come just days before Italy hosts the G8 summit.

Russian spacecraft landed on moon hours before NASA’s Apollo 11

July 5, 2009 by Infinite

A previously unheard recording of a Russian spacecraft attempting to beat NASA’s Apollo 11 in 1969’s race to the moon has been released.

space
The recordings from Jodrell’s Lovell radio telescope, which were hidden in archives until researchers found them, show the Russian craft orbited the Moon and crash-landed onto its surface at 15:50 on July 21 ? just a few hours before the Americans lifted Photo: AP

In July 1969, the telescopes at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, in Cheshire, were tracking the Americans’ Eagle Lander carrying astronauts towards the moon’s surface.

Sir Bernard Lovell, the astronomer, was among the team listening to transmissions coming from the area of space and began tracking the unmanned Soviet spacecraft Luna 15, which was trying to collect samples of lunar soil and rock and then return to Earth before the US mission.

The recordings from Jodrell’s Lovell radio telescope, which were hidden in archives until researchers found them, show the Russian craft orbited the Moon and crash-landed onto its surface at 15:50 on July 21 – just a few hours before the Americans lifted off.

In the newly released recordings, which were made over three days, Sir Bernard, the founder of Jodrell Bank, can be heard narrating events with conversation from the Apollo 11 astronauts in the background.

Sir Bernard notes a change in the orbit of Luna 15 to take it closer to the US landing site and later reports a rumour from a “well-informed source in Moscow” that the craft is about to land.

People in Jodrell’s control room can then be heard shouting “it’s landing” and “it’s going down much too fast” as they track Luna 15’s final moments before it crashes.

A voice is later heard saying: “I say, this has really been drama of the highest order.”

Cynthia McKinney Refuses Israel’s Offer of Release from Custody

July 5, 2009 by Infinite

And why should Cynthia McKinney admit guilt to pirates?

cynthia-mckinney

ATLANTA, Ga. — Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who was taken into custody by the Israeli Navy on Tuesday with 20 others while trying to sail through a navy blockade to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza, has refused Israel’s initial offer to release her from custody. According to her supporters in Atlanta, McKinney refused the offer because she would have been required to sign an admission of guilt that she violated Israel’s blockade.

“At issue is the fact that Ms. McKinney was in international waters” when the Israeli Navy stopped the group’s boat, according to a statement from the Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery and the Atlanta-based Coalition for the People’s Agenda.

Related articles:
– Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Paul Craig Roberts: Israel Kidnaps Peace Boat Crew; Pirates of the Mediterranean
– UN expert says Israeli seizure of aid ship a crime (Reuters)

Israel disagrees, insisting that the Palestinian Authority and the rest of the international community long ago agreed to the off-shore blockade to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza.

The office of the Consulate General of Israel in Atlanta issued its own statement Friday, saying, “According to Israeli law Ms. McKinney and her fellow crew members were suggested to sign a form acknowledging their deportation, however since Ms. McKinney has refused to do so, she is expected to appear before an Israeli judge on Sunday, July 5th and afterwards be returned home as soon as possible.”

McKinney did not address any of that in a message of just under three minutes, posted on youtube.com, that she delivered by telephone from Israel.

“The Israelis hijacked us because we wanted to give crayons to the children of Gaza…. We have not committed any crime. We have been detained,” McKinney said.

She said she wants the world to “see how we have been treated just because we wanted to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.”

Soon after Israel seized McKinney and the others and their boat, the government promised to deliver all of the humanitarian supplies that were on the boat, but would deliver them by the ground routes into Gaza that Israel has been permitting international aid groups to use.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has never been right

July 5, 2009 by Infinite

A compilation of Ben Bernanke’s foresight and insight into the economy.

Russia to Open Airspace to US for Afghan War

July 4, 2009 by Infinite

russia-obama
The real President Obama will visit Russia on Monday and Tuesday. On Friday, Russians in downtown Moscow had to settle for a cardboard facsimile. (AP)

MOSCOW – The Russian government has agreed to let American troops and weapons bound for Afghanistan fly over Russian territory, officials on both sides said Friday. The arrangement will provide an important new corridor for the United States military as it escalates efforts to win the eight-year war.

The agreement, to be announced when President Obama visits here on Monday and Tuesday, represents one of the most concrete achievements in the administration’s effort to ease relations with Russia after years of tension. But the two sides failed to make a trade deal or resolve differences over missile defense, and are struggling to draft a preliminary nuclear arms deal.

On the Edge with Max Keiser (07/03/09)

July 4, 2009 by Infinite

Special guest, Paul Craig Roberts.

1 of 4:

Confidential memo between Bush and Blair reveals US plan to provoke an invasion of Iraq

July 4, 2009 by Infinite

A confidential record of a meeting between President Bush and Tony Blair before the invasion of Iraq, outlining their intention to go to war without a second United Nations resolution, will be an explosive issue for the official inquiry into the UK’s role in toppling Saddam Hussein.

The memo, written on 31 January 2003, almost two months before the invasion and seen by the Observer, confirms that as the two men became increasingly aware UN inspectors would fail to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) they had to contemplate alternative scenarios that might trigger a second resolution legitimising military action.

Bush told Blair the US had drawn up a provocative plan “to fly U2 reconnaissance aircraft painted in UN colours over Iraq with fighter cover”. Bush said that if Saddam fired at the planes this would put the Iraqi leader in breach of UN resolutions.

The president expressed hopes that an Iraqi defector would be “brought out” to give a public presentation on Saddam’s WMD or that someone might assassinate the Iraqi leader. However, Bush confirmed even without a second resolution, the US was prepared for military action. The memo said Blair told Bush he was “solidly with the president”.

The five-page document, written by Blair’s foreign policy adviser, Sir David Manning, and copied to Sir Jeremy Greenstock, the UK ambassador to the UN, Jonathan Powell, Blair’s chief of staff, the chief of the defence staff, Admiral Lord Boyce, and the UK’s ambassador to Washington, Sir Christopher Meyer, outlines how Bush told Blair he had decided on a start date for the war.

Paraphrasing Bush’s comments at the meeting, Manning, noted: “The start date for the military campaign was now pencilled in for 10 March. This was when the bombing would begin.”

Indian Prime Minister urged to diversify US dollar forex reserves

July 4, 2009 by Infinite

India Joins Russia, China in Questioning U.S. Dollar Dominance

July 3 (Bloomberg) — Suresh Tendulkar, an economic adviser to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said he is urging the government to diversify its $264.6 billion foreign-exchange reserves and hold fewer dollars.

“The major part of Indian reserves are in dollars — that is something that’s a problem for us,” Tendulkar, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, said in an interview today in Aix-en-Provence, France, where he was attending an economic conference.

Singh is preparing to join leaders from the Group of Eight industrialized nations — the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Russia — at a summit in Italy next week which is due to tackle the global economy. China and Brazil will also send representative to the G-8 summit.

As the talks have neared, China and Russia have stepped up calls for a rethink of how global currency reserves are composed and managed, underlining a power shift to emerging markets from the developed nations that spawned the financial crisis.

US Declaration of Independence in Congress July 4, 1776

July 4, 2009 by Infinite

Click on image to enlarge

Barack Obama at AIPAC (Flashback)

July 4, 2009 by Infinite

On June 4, 2008, Barack Obama spoke to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, DC.

U.S.-Mexico Border: Plans to Spray Agent Orange-Like Chemical to Kill All Plant Life

July 3, 2009 by Infinite

(NaturalNews) The Border Patrol has temporarily postponed — but refused to cancel — plans to use helicopters to spray herbicide along the banks of the Rio Grande between the cities of Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, in order to kill a fast-growing river cane that provides cover for undocumented migrants, smugglers and other border crossers.

The controversial plan has drawn fire for its similarities to the U.S. government’s defoliation strategy during the Vietnam War, in which the government sprayed more than 21 million gallons of “Agent Orange” and other herbicides in order to eliminate hiding places for Vietnamese guerillas. An estimated 4.8 million Vietnamese citizens and thousands of U.S. soldiers were exposed to the dioxin-based chemical, resulting in more than 500,000 birth defects and 400,000 deaths and disabilities among adults.

The Border Patrol proposed to begin by defoliating 1.1 miles of the river, possibly eventually expanding the program to 130 miles and perhaps even to other parts of the border.

Local citizens and environmentalists on both sides of the border have widely criticized the plan. The Mexican government has objected that there is insufficient scientific data over the health risks of imazapyr, the herbicide to be used, and that it wants to conduct its own assessment. The Border Patrol has postponed the plan, but has not promised to await the results of further studies.

Paul Craig Roberts: Israel Kidnaps Peace Boat Crew; Pirates of the Mediterranean

July 3, 2009 by Infinite

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

Paul Craig Roberts

On June 30, the government of Israel committed an act of piracy when the Israeli Navy in international waters illegally boarded the “Spirit of Humanity,” kidnapped its 21-person crew from 11 countries, including former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Nobel Laureate Mairead MaGuire, and confiscated the cargo of medical supplies, olive trees, reconstruction materials, and children’s toys that were on the way to the Mediterranean coast of Gaza. The “Spirit of Humanity,” along with the kidnapped 21 persons, is being towed to Israel as I write.

Gaza has been described as the “world’s largest concentration camp.” It is home to 1.5 million Palestinians who were driven by force of American-supplied Israeli arms out of their homes, off their farms, and out of their villages so that Israel could steal their land and make the Palestinian land available to Israeli settlers.

What we have been witnessing for 60 years is a replay in modern times, despite the United Nations and laws strictly preventing Israel’s theft of Palestine, of the 17th, 18th, and 19th century theft of American Indian lands by US settlers. An Israeli government spokesman recently rebuked the President of the United States, a country, the Israeli said, who stole all of its land from Indians, for complaining about Israel’s theft of Palestine.

I knew the “Spirit of Humanity” would fall to Israeli piracy the minute I received on June 25 from an official of an Israeli peace organization a “public advisory” that the government of Cyprus had withheld permission for the “Spirit of Humanity” to leave for Gaza. The US State Department had advised that “The Israeli Foreign Ministry informed U.S. officials at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv that Israel still considers Gaza an area of conflict and that any boats attempting to sail to Gaza will not be permitted to reach its destination.” The “Spirit of Humanity” obtained permission to leave Cyprus when all aboard signed a waiver absolving Cyprus of all responsibility for the crew’s safety at the hands of the Israelis.

Related article: UN expert says Israeli seizure of aid ship a crime (Reuters):
GENEVA, July 2 (Reuters) – A U.N. human rights investigator on Thursday called Israel’s seizure of a ship carrying relief aid for the Gaza Strip “unlawful” and said its blockade of the territory constituted a “continuing crime against humanity”.

As President Obama has called for humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza, and as the International Red Cross has damned the inhumanity of Israel’s blockade of Gaza, the question that immediately comes to mind is why did not the United States send sufficient US Navy escort to see the “Spirit of Humanity” safely through international waters to Gaza? We send ships against Somalian pirates, why not against Israeli ones?

UK economy shrinks at 1930s rates

July 3, 2009 by Infinite

The recession is now on a par with the very worst year of the Great Depression.

the-great-depression

The dire state the UK is in emerged on Tuesday as revised figures uncovered the full extent of the country’s economic contraction.

The economy shrank by 4.9pc in the year to the first quarter of 2009, the Office for National Statistics said. The fall in gross domestic product was significantly greater than had previously been calculated, as Government statisticians became aware of the full scale of the fall in company activity.

“Clearly this is now the worst peacetime recession since the 1930s,” said Michael Saunders, chief UK economist at Citigroup. “The worst contraction then was a year of around -5pc; this year will not be hugely different.”

The contraction in GDP during the first quarter alone was 2.4pc, compared with previous estimates of 1.9pc, according to the ONS. This was the biggest one-quarter fall in 35 years.

Moreover, the 4.9pc annual fall was the biggest since Government records began. According to statistics compiled by economic historian Angus Maddison, the contraction was the worst since 1931 – worse than any year during the Second World War and the demobilisation that followed.

The Height of Stupidity: Sweden Cuts Deposit Rate to NEGATIVE .25%

July 3, 2009 by Infinite

“…, punishing savers with negative deposit rates is the height of stupidity.”

“It would be fitting if there was an immediate run on deposits. And if that happens what will Sweden do? Halt deposits? Sweden risks (and deserves) a currency collapse and bank runs for this insane effort. Look for capital flight in Sweden.”

There has been a lot of ludicrous recommendations recently to combat deflation by making deposit rates negative. I did not think any central bank would be dumb enough to try it. I thought wrong.

Today, Riksbank, Sweeden’s central bank cut the deposit rate to -0.25% effectively charging savers interest on deposited money.

DATE 2/07/2009
The weak development of the economy requires a somewhat more expansionary monetary policy. The Executive Board of the Riksbank has therefore decided to cut the repo rate by 0.25 of a percentage point to 0.25 per cent.

Deep economic downturn

Economic activity abroad is very weak and this hits Sweden hard. Exports have fallen substantially and the situation on the labour market is continuing to deteriorate rapidly. The information received in recent months points to the economic downturn in 2009 being somewhat deeper than the Riksbank forecast in April.

Deposit Rate

The decision on the repo rate will apply with effect from Wednesday, 8 July. The deposit rate is at the same time cut to -0.25 per cent and the lending rate to 0.75 per cent.

Sweden Attempts To Boost Lending

Please consider Sweden cuts rates to new low, offers banks loans.

Sweden’s Riksbank cut interest rates to a fresh record low on Thursday and offered banks 100 billion crowns ($13.2 billion) to boost lending as it strives to reverse the country’s worst recession since the 1940s.

The central bank lowered its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.25 percent in a surprise move, putting official rates at their lowest since records began in 1907, and said it expected rates to remain at that level until late 2010.

“It’s a double whammy, or even a triple whammy,” said Roger Josefsson at Danske Markets.

“The deposit rates are actually negative now. In some sense they are creating a money machine for banks. You can lend all you want, but don’t put that back into the central bank.”

Sweden was plunged into recession late last year as the global financial crisis pulled the plug on market demand, leaving firms such as world number two truck firm Volvo scrambling to cut costs and shed jobs.

The central bank forecast the economy will contract 5.4 percent this year and return to tepid growth of 1.4 percent next year.

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