Month: September 2011

How Goldman Sachs Started The Food Speculation Frenzy

by


The banking sector is lobbying hard to stop regulation of food speculation

– How Goldman Sachs started the food speculation frenzy (Ecologist, Sep. 13, 2011):

US Investment bank Goldman Sachs convinced government officials in the early 1990s to allow it to start gambling on the price of food. Alan Bjerga explains how they did it

In 1991, Goldman Sachs had an idea that changed commodity-trading forever.

J. Aron & Co., Goldman’s commodities trader, wanted to enter into a swap with a pension fund that wanted to add commodities to its portfolio. Raw goods were looking attractive at the moment. Inflation had risen more than 6 per cent the previous year, and the economy was in the recession that, in 1992, would elect Bill Clinton president.

Read moreHow Goldman Sachs Started The Food Speculation Frenzy

Lists On How To Protect And Detoxify Yourself From Radiation

by

Here are two excellent lists on what you can do to protect yourself from radiation:

– How To Decrease Radiation Illness And Protect Yourself From Radiation

– Dr. Rima Laibow Recommends What to Do About Radiation

Related info:

– Prof. Chris Busby: Help Save Children Of Fukushima From Radiation! (Video Exposing The Evil Japanese Government)

Iraq To Buy US Warplanes Worth Around $3 Billion

by

– Iraq to buy US warplanes worth around $3 billion (MSNBC, Sep. 27, 2011):

Country has found itself flush with cash, reaping windfall profits as world oil prices remain above projection.

BAGHDAD — Iraq has signed a contract to buy 18 Lockheed Martin F-16 warplanes to bolster its air force, an adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Monday.

The value of the deal was not immediately known, but a senior U.S. military official said recently the offer on the table for the Iraqi government was valued at “roughly $3 billion.”

Read moreIraq To Buy US Warplanes Worth Around $3 Billion

Wisconsin Judge: ‘No, Plaintiffs To Not Have A Fundamental Right To Own And Use A Dairy Cow Or A Dairy Herd’ – ‘No, Plaintiffs Do Not Have A Fundamental Right To Consume The Milk From Their Own Cow’ – ‘No, Plaintiffs Do Not Have A Fundamental Right To Produce And Consume The Foods Of Their Choice…’

by

– WI Judge to Zinniker, FTCLDF: No “Fundamental Right” to Own a Cow, or Consume Its Milk…Am I Making Myself Clear? (Sep. 15, 2011):

In response to a request from the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, the judge issued a clarification of his decision last week regarding his assessment of the constitutionality of food rights. The judge expanded on his original statement that such constitutional issues are “wholly without merit.”

He explained that the FTCLDF arguments were “extremely underdeveloped.” As an example, he said the plaintiffs’ use of the Roe v Wade abortion rights case as a precedent does “not explain why a woman’s right to have an abortion translates to a right to consume unpasteurized milk…This court is unwilling to declare that there is a fundamental right to consume the food of one’s choice without first being presented with significantly more developed arguments on both sides of the issue.” Gee, I thought they both had to do with the right to decide what to do with your own body.

As if to show how pissed he was at being questioned, he said his decision translates further that “no, Plaintiffs to not have a fundamental right to own and use a dairy cow or a dairy herd;

“no, Plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to consume the milk from their own cow;”

And in a kind of exclamation point, he added this to his list of no-nos: “no, Plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to produce and consume the foods of their choice…”

Michigan: Radioactive Steam Release At Palisades Nuclear Plant

by

– Electrical problems trigger radioactive steam release at Palisades (Sep. 26, 2011):

Entergy’s Palisades nuclear plant near South Haven is venting radioactive steam into the environment as part of an unplanned shutdown triggered by an electrical accident.

This shutdown, which began Sunday evening, came just five days after the plant restarted from a shutdown that was caused by a leak in the plant’s cooling system.

Read moreMichigan: Radioactive Steam Release At Palisades Nuclear Plant

Federal Reserve Plans To Identify ‘Key Bloggers’ And Monitor Billions Of Conversations About The Fed On Facebook, Twitter, Forums And Blogs

by

I’ve already posted the article from ZeroHedge…

– Here Comes FIATtackWatch: Ben ‘Big Brother’ Bernanke Goes Watergate, Prepares To Eavesdrop On Everything Mentioning The Fed

… but this issue needs more attention.

– The Federal Reserve Plans To Identify “Key Bloggers” And Monitor Billions Of Conversations About The Fed On Facebook, Twitter, Forums And Blogs (The Economic Collapse, Sep. 25, 2011):

The Federal Reserve wants to know what you are saying about it.  In fact, the Federal Reserve has announced plans to identify “key bloggers” and to monitor “billions of conversations” about the Fed on Facebook, Twitter, forums and blogs.  This is yet another sign that the alternative media is having a dramatic impact.  As first reported on Zero Hedge, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has issued a “Request for Proposal” to suppliers who may be interested in participating in the development of a “Sentiment Analysis And Social Media Monitoring Solution”.  In other words, the Federal Reserve wants to develop a highly sophisticated system that will gather everything that you and I say about the Federal Reserve on the Internet and that will analyze what our feelings about the Fed are.  Obviously, any “positive” feelings about the Fed would not be a problem.  What they really want to do is to gather information on everyone that views the Federal Reserve negatively.  It is unclear how they plan to use this information once they have it, but considering how many alternative media sources have been shut down lately, this is obviously a very troubling sign.

You can read this “Request for Proposal” right here.  Posted below are some of the key quotes from the document (in bold) with some of my own commentary in between the quotes….

“The intent is to establish a fair and equitable partnership with a market leader who will who gather data from various social media outlets and news sources and provide applicable reporting to FRBNY. This Request for Proposal (“RFP”) was created in an effort to support FRBNY’s Social Media Listening Platforms initiative.”

A system like this is not cheap.  Apparently the Federal Reserve Bank of New York believes that gathering all of this information is very important.  In recent years, criticism of the Federal Reserve has become very intense, and most of this criticism has been coming from the Internet.  It has gotten to the point where the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has decided that it had better listen to what is being said and find out who is saying it.

“Social media listening platforms are solutions that gather data from various social media outlets and news sources.  They monitor billions of conversations and generate text analytics based on predefined criteria.  They can also determine the sentiment of a speaker or writer with respect to some topic or document.”

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York intends to listen in on “billions of conversations” and to actually determine the “sentiment” of those that are participating in those conversations.

Of course it will be those conversations that are “negative” about the Federal Reserve that will be setting off the alarm bells.

“Identify and reach out to key bloggers and influencers”

Uh oh.  So they plan to “identify” key bloggers and influencers?

What exactly do they plan to do once they “identify” them?

“The solution must be able to gather data from the primary social media platforms –Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Forums and YouTube.”

Read moreFederal Reserve Plans To Identify ‘Key Bloggers’ And Monitor Billions Of Conversations About The Fed On Facebook, Twitter, Forums And Blogs

NYPD Chief: Police Could Take Down Plane If Needed (AP)

by

– NYPD chief: Police could take down plane if needed (AP, Sep. 26, 2011):

NEW YORK (AP) — The chief of the New York Police Department says city police could take down a plane if necessary.

Commissioner Ray Kelly tells CBS’ “60 Minutes” that after the Sept. 11 attacks, he decided the city couldn’t rely on the federal government alone. He set about creating the NYPD’s own counter-terrorism unit. He says the department is prepared for multiple scenarios and could even take down a plane.

Read moreNYPD Chief: Police Could Take Down Plane If Needed (AP)

‘Kill TV Nights’ … Designed To Boost British Soldiers Morale In Afghanistan

by

– British soldiers in Afghanistan shown ‘war snuff movies’ (Independent, Sep. 25, 2011):

Disturbing footage of Apache attack helicopters killing people in Afghanistan is being shown to frontline British soldiers in “Kill TV nights” designed to boost morale, a television documentary will reveal.

The discovery of the practice comes in the wake of the damning verdict of the Baha Mousa inquiry into the conduct of some in the military. It casts fresh questions over the conduct of soldiers deployed abroad and has provoked a furious response from peace campaigners.

Andrew Burgin from Stop the War last night described it as the “ultimate degradation of British troops”, comparing it to the desensitisation to death of US soldiers in the final stages of the Vietnam War.

Read more‘Kill TV Nights’ … Designed To Boost British Soldiers Morale In Afghanistan

Facebook Tracks You Even After Logging Out!

by

Flashback:
– Facebook founder called trusting users ‘DUMB FUCKS’

– Facebook tracks you even after logging out (Sydney Morning Herald, Sep. 26, 2011):

An Australian technologist has caused a global stir after discovering Facebook tracks the websites its users visit even when they are logged out of the social networking site.

Separately, Facebook’s new Timeline feature, launched last week, has been inadvertently accessed by users early, revealing a feature that allows people to see who removed them from their friends lists.

Facebook’s changes – which turn profiles into a chronological scrapbook of the user’s life – are designed to let its 800 million members share what they are reading, listening to or watching in real-time. But they have been met with alarm by some who fear over-sharing.

Read moreFacebook Tracks You Even After Logging Out!

Trader On BBC News: ‘Eurozone Market Will Crash’ – ‘Governments Don’t Rule The World, Goldman Sachs Rules The World’ – ‘In Less Than 12 Months The Savings Of Millions Of People Will Vanish’

by

Got PHYSICAL gold and silver?

BTFD!

See also:

– The Multi-Trillion Euro Bailout Plan Has Already FAILED

– Christine Lagarde: IMF May Need A BAILOUT


YouTube Added: 26.09.2011

France Bans Cash Sales Of Gold And Silver Over $600

by

– France Bans Cash Sales of Gold/Silver over $600 (SHFT, Sep. 23, 2011):

A couple of weeks ago our report that some Austrian banks had begun restricting the sale of gold and silver to 15,000 Euro (~$20,000 USD) reportedly because of money laundering issues was met with disbelief by many readers of financial news and information web sites. As we mentioned in that commentary, it is our view that governments, namely in Western nations, are making it more difficult for individuals to make gold purchases, as well as to do so anonymously.

It looks like this trend of restricting the peoples’ ability to acquire assets of real monetary value is expanding. If a recent report from France is accurate, and based on the French governments official web site it looks like it is, then as of September 1, 2011, anyone attempting to sell or purchase ferrous or non-ferrous metals, which includes gold and silver, will be required to pay for their purchase via a credit card or bank wire transfer if it exceeds 450€ (~ $600 USD):

Here is the applicable French law via www.legifrance.gouv.fr and translated into English by Google Translate:

Read moreFrance Bans Cash Sales Of Gold And Silver Over $600

Fukushima Evacuation-Ready Zone To Be Abolished On Sep. 30, 2011

by

– #Radiation in Japan: Evacuation-Ready Zone to Be Abolished on September 30 (EX-SKF, Sep. 25, 2011):

The Japanese government says it will abolish the “evacuation-ready” zone in 5 municipalities that lie between 20 to 30-kilometer radius from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on September 30, all at once. It may be construed as a declaration by the national government that it is now “safe” to return after slightly over 6 months after one of the worst nuclear accidents in history (which many thing is “the” worst).

Yomiuri Shinbun (9/26/2011):

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

The Japanese government will abolish the “evacuation-ready” zone on September 30. The “evacuation-ready” zone was set between 20 to 30-kilometer radius from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant after the accident [where the residents are required to be ready to evacuate on a moment’s notice and where no pregnant women and small children are supposed to be living].

Read moreFukushima Evacuation-Ready Zone To Be Abolished On Sep. 30, 2011

Radioactive Train In Tokyo Metropolitan Area: Over 10 Microsievert/Hour Inside Train (Video)

by

Flashback:

– ‘Severely Contaminated Hotspots’ Found In Tokyo

– Prof. Chris Busby: ‘Very High Level Of Contamination Even As Far South As Tokyo. For Example, We Found One Sample In Tokyo That Had Levels Of Radioactivity Higher Than Levels Inside The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. It’s A Very Serious Matter’

– #Radioactive Train in Tokyo Metropolitan Area? Over 10 Microsievert/Hour Inside the Train (EX-SKF, Sep. 25, 2011):

See for yourself. An expat from California measured the radiation level inside the train to Narita, and found it was extremely high right where he was sitting.


YouTube

No, it was not his suitcase. It seems it was that particular seat where he was sitting.

Yes, his personal survey meter could be broken, as he repeatedly wonders in the video, and people just ignore the gaijin telling them the radiation level inside the train is the Fukushima level, while a woman sitting next to him praises his Japanese as native level. Surreal.

This line, Sobu-Yokosuka Line, belongs to JR East, which covers the entire Tohoku, Kanto and about half of Chubu.

More:

– 105,600 Bq/Kg of Radioactive Cesium Found On Apartment Bldg Rooftop in Yokohama City

– BBC Fukushima Propaganda Debunked (Video)

– Japanese Government To Give Radioactive Canned Fish To Developing Countries For Free To Dispel Radiation ‘Rumor’ (NHK – Video)

– Thom Hartmann, RT: Fukushima A Dire Warning To The World – Japan (Video Exposing The Criminal Japanese Government)

– Fairewinds: Safety Problems In All (Mark I) Reactors Designed Like Fukushima – Introducing A Japanese Language Edition

Read moreRadioactive Train In Tokyo Metropolitan Area: Over 10 Microsievert/Hour Inside Train (Video)

Here Comes FIATtackWatch: Ben ‘Big Brother’ Bernanke Goes Watergate, Prepares To Eavesdrop On Everything Mentioning The Fed

by

– Here Comes FIATtackWatch: Ben “Big Brother” Bernanke Goes Watergate, Prepares To Eavesdrop On Everything Mentioning The Fed (ZeroHedge, Sep. 25, 2011):

Two weeks ago, the media’s heart went aflutter when it learned that the president had borrowed a page right out of ole’ Joe McCarthy’s communist witch hunt book with the launch of Attack Watch. The response by everyone, even fans of Obama, was immediate and brutal. Yet where Obama took about 24 hours to crash and burn, someone else has stepped in with a far stealthier method of ferreting out the traitors amongst us: none other than our old friends, the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, which in a Request for Proposals filed to companies that are Fed vendors, is requesting the creation of a “Social Listening Platform” whose function is to “gather data from various social media outlets and news sources.” It will “monitor billions of conversations and generate text analytics based on predefined criteria.” The Fed’s desired product should be able to “determine the sentiment [ED:LOL] of a speaker or writer with respect to some topic or document”… “The solution must be able to gather data from the primary social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Forums and YouTube. It should also be able to aggregate data from various media outlets such as: CNN, WSJ, Factiva etc.” Most importantly, the “Listening Platform” should be able to “Handle crisis situations, Continuously monitor conversations, and Identify and reach out to key bloggers and influencers.“ Said otherwise, the Fed has just entered the counterespionage era and will be monitoring everything written about it anywhere in the world. After all, why ask others to snitch for you and anger everyone as Obama found out the hard way, when you can pay others to create the supreme FIATtack WatchTM using money you yourself can print in unlimited amounts. And once the Internet is completely “transparent”, the Fed will next focus on telephone conversations, and finally will simply bug each and every otherwise “private” location in the world. Because very soon saying that “printing money is treason” will be treason, and such terrorist thoughts must be pre-crimed before they even occur.

All we can say is we welcome our new Chairsatan Voldemort overlord. For it is truly he who must not be named henceforth.

From the key section of the RFP, presented in its entirety below:

Read moreHere Comes FIATtackWatch: Ben ‘Big Brother’ Bernanke Goes Watergate, Prepares To Eavesdrop On Everything Mentioning The Fed

Elite Puppet President Obama Tells Blacks To ‘Stop Complainin’ And Fight

by

No President in the history of the USA has done so much in so little time to destroy the middle class and the poor.

Obama is just another elite puppet like Bush, Clinton etc.

“When a country embarks on deficit financing (Obamanomics) and inflationism (Quantitative easing) you wipe out the middle class and wealth is transferred from the middle class and the poor to the rich.“
– Ron Paul

“Deficits mean future tax increases, pure and simple. Deficit spending should be viewed as a tax on future generations, and politicians who create deficits should be exposed as tax hikers.”
– Ron Paul

George Carlin sums it up best:

– George Carlin: The American Dream (Video)

– Obama tells blacks to ‘stop complainin’ and fight (Guardian, Sep. 25, 2011):

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a fiery summons to an important voting bloc, President Barack Obama told blacks on Saturday to quit crying and complaining and “put on your marching shoes” to follow him into battle for jobs and opportunity.

And though he didn’t say it directly, for a second term, too.

Obama’s speech to the annual awards dinner of the Congressional Black Caucus was his answer to increasingly vocal griping from black leaders that he’s been giving away too much in talks with Republicans — and not doing enough to fight black unemployment, which is nearly double the national average at 16.7 percent.

“It gets folks discouraged. I know. I listen to some of y’all,” Obama told an audience of some 3,000 in a darkened Washington convention center.

But he said blacks need to have faith in the future — and understand that the fight won’t be won if they don’t rally to his side.

“I need your help,” Obama said.

Read moreElite Puppet President Obama Tells Blacks To ‘Stop Complainin’ And Fight

Christine Lagarde: IMF May Need A BAILOUT

by

ROFL!

– Christine Lagarde: IMF may need billions in extra funding (Telegraph, Sep. 25, 2011):

The head of the IMF has warned that its $384bn (£248bn) war chest designed as an emergency bail-out fund is inadequate to deliver the scale of the support required by troubled states.

In a document distributed to the IMF steering committee at the weekend, Ms Lagarde said: “The fund’s credibility, and hence effectiveness, rests on its perceived capacity to cope with worst-casescenarios. Our lending capacity of almost $400bn looks comfortable today, but pales in comparison with the potential financing needs of vulnerable countries and crisis bystanders.”

Read moreChristine Lagarde: IMF May Need A BAILOUT

Peter Schiff: Gold And Silver Plunge Mirrors 2008 – What’s Next?

by

BTFD!

– Peter Schiff – Gold & Silver Plunge Mirrors 2008, What’s Next? (King World News, Sep. 24, 2011):

With gold and silver prices declining along with global stock markets, today King World News interviewed Peter Schiff, CEO of Europacific Capital. When asked if the downdraft in the metals reminded him of 2008, Schiff replied, “Yeah it does, it is definitely reminiscent of that time period, lots of selling. I think emotional or forced selling is probably what’s driving it. It’s a sale as far as I’m concerned for people who want to buy, but it does show the dangers of using leverage.”

“Anyone who bought silver on leverage last week probably already has a margin call, so that’s difficult. But for the cash buyer who is buying to preserve their wealth from inflation, yesterday was a great day. Days like that are opportunities.

I know for some people they are thinking, ‘Oh no, my gold has lost value.‘ Your gold is still your gold, your silver is still your silver. Yes, if you had to sell it today you couldn’t get as many dollars or euros for your gold, but we’re not selling it today so what difference does it make?

Read morePeter Schiff: Gold And Silver Plunge Mirrors 2008 – What’s Next?

The Multi-Trillion Euro Bailout Plan Has Already FAILED

by

Related info:

– EU Given 6 Weeks To Protect Itself Against ‘Inevitable Greek Default’ – IMF Tells Eurozone EFSF May Need To Be Boosted Five-Fold To £1.7 TRILLION

– Multi-Trillion Euro Bailout Plan Allegedly in the Works; Plan Has Failed Already (Global Economic Analysis, Sep. 24, 2011):

The rumor mills are flying this Saturday regarding a Multi-trillion plan to save the eurozone.

Telegraph: European officials are working on a grand plan to restore confidence in the single currency area that would involve a massive bank recapitalisation, giving the bail-out fund several trillion euros of firepower, and a possible Greek default.

German and French authorities have begun work on a three-pronged strategy behind the scenes amid escalating fears that the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis is spiralling out of control.

Their aim is to build a “firebreak” around Greece, Portugal and Ireland to prevent the crisis spreading to Italy and Spain, countries considered “too big to bail”.

Mish: If that’s the plan it, it has failed already. The crisis has already spread to Spain and Italy. In fact, one look at European bank stocks says it has spread to France and Germany as well.

Telegraph: Sources said the plan would have to be released as a whole, as the elements would not work in isolation.

Mish: Lovely. In a typical bicycle wheel if one spoke gets broken the wheel still works fine. In the proposed wheel, if a spoke breaks, the bicycle crashes.

Read moreThe Multi-Trillion Euro Bailout Plan Has Already FAILED

Tony Blair’s Six Secret Meetings With Muammar Gaddafi

by

– Tony Blair’s six secret visits to Col Gaddafi (Telegraph, Sep. 24, 2011):

Tony Blair’s close relationship to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has come under fresh scrutiny after it emerged he had six private meetings with the dictator in the three years after he left Downing Street.

Five of those meetings took place in a 14-month period before the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber.

Mr Blair is coming under increasing pressure to make public details of all his meetings and discussions with Gaddafi. It follows the disclosure in The Sunday Telegraph last week that on at least two occasions Mr Blair flew to Tripoli on a private jet paid for by the Libyan regime.

Read moreTony Blair’s Six Secret Meetings With Muammar Gaddafi

EU Given 6 Weeks To Protect Itself Against ‘Inevitable Greek Default’ – IMF Tells Eurozone EFSF May Need To Be Boosted Five-Fold To £1.7 TRILLION

by

– EU given six weeks to protect itself against ‘inevitable Greek default’ (Telegraph, Sep. 24, 2011):

IMF tells eurozone EFSF may need to be boosted five-fold to £1.7tn to convince markets that default could be contained

European Union governments will spend the next six weeks building a financial firewall to protect their fragile banking systems against what is now seen as an inevitable Greek default.

G20 sources said that up to 50% was likely to be wiped from the face value of Greece’s €350bn debt – but not until Europe had put into place a war chest to prevent the contagion spreading.

More money will be disbursed by the International Monetary Fund and the EU next month to keep the Greek government afloat, but this is seen as a short-term fix while Europe’s leaders beef up the eurozone bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.

Read moreEU Given 6 Weeks To Protect Itself Against ‘Inevitable Greek Default’ – IMF Tells Eurozone EFSF May Need To Be Boosted Five-Fold To £1.7 TRILLION

Free Speech Alert: California City Threatens To Fine Couple Up To $500 Every Time They Hold A Bible Study With Their Friends In Their Own Home!

by

– Freedom to gather freely annulled: City threatens to fine couple up to $500 every time friends come over for Bible study (NaturalNews, Sep. 25, 2011):

Chuck and Stephanie Fromm of San Juan Capistrano, Cal., have long enjoyed having their friends over for weekly dinner, fellowship, and a time of studying the Bible together. But according to a recent report from CBS 2 in Los Angeles, the city is not so pleased, as it considers such gatherings to be illegal.

Since more than three people typically come over to the Fromms house every week, the city claims the couple is violating a local ordinance, and must obtain a conditional use permit if it wishes to continue having guests on the property. But to obtain such a permit, the Fromms would have to jump through all the same regulatory hoops as a local business or church would have to, including conducting extensive traffic and environmental impact reports, making their home accessible to wheelchairs, and paying additional fees.

“We’re just gathering and enjoying each other’s company and fellowship. And we enjoy studying God’s Word,” said Stephanie Fromm to CBS 2, emphasizing the fact that she and her husband have done everything possible to make sure that the gatherings and presence of their guests are not a nuisance to nearby neighbors.

The city has already fined the Fromms twice for their weekly gatherings, however, having never even notified them prior to the first citation that they were in violation. The combined total of the two fines is $300, but if the couple continues to hold meetings without getting a conditional use permit, the fines could escalate to as high as $500 an incident.

Read moreFree Speech Alert: California City Threatens To Fine Couple Up To $500 Every Time They Hold A Bible Study With Their Friends In Their Own Home!