Month: February 2014

JPMorgan Owns Over 60% Notional Of All Gold Derivatives

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– Market Cornered: JPMorgan Owns Over 60% Notional Of All Gold Derivatives (ZeroHedge, Feb 1, 2014):

Perhaps the only question we have after seeing the attached table, which shows that as of Q3, 2013 JPMorgan owned $65.4 billion, or just over 60% of the total notional ($108.2 billion) of all gold derivatives in the US, is whether the CFTC will pull the “our budget was too small” excuse to justify why it allowed Jamie Dimon to ignore any and all position limits and corner the gold market?

JPM Gold Derivatives

And purely as a reference point, the chart below compares the total value of gold held in JPM’s vault (registered and eligible) as of Friday’s closing price with its reported gold derivative notional holdings.

JPM Gold Physical vs Derivatives

Finally, for the purists out there, we realize that gross is not net… until there is a breach in the derivative counterparty collateral chain, and gross becomes net.

Source: OCC, Comex

Japan Gov’t Adviser On Fukushima: We have ‘much to learn from what’s happening at Chernobyl’ – Engineer: All my co-workers at Chernobyl are now dead, and I had thyroid removed due to cancer

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Related info:

– Prof. Yury Bandazhevsky: Over 50 Bq/Kg In Humans Leads To Irreversible Lesions In Vital Organs – CRIMINAL WHO And IAEA EXPOSED (Video)

– Japanese TV Program In 1993: What Happened to Chernobyl Children 7 Years after the Accident? ‘Truly Terrible Things Emerged Several Years After The Accident’ – THE CRIMINAL IAEA EXPOSED

– Japan Gov’t Adviser on Fukushima: We have “much to learn from what’s happening at Chernobyl” — Engineer: All my co-workers at Chernobyl are now dead, and I had thyroid removed due to cancer (VIDEO) (ENENews, Feb 1, 2014):

NHK Nuclear Watch, Jan. 22, 2014:

NHK: Decommissioning [Chernobyl] could take a century […] This edition of ‘Nuclear Watch’ is looking at how people tied to the cleanup of the Fukushima accident here in Japan are trying to learn lessons from Chernobyl […]

Professor Ryuji Okazaki, adviser to Japanese government on how to protect workers from radiation: “We really want to learn from what you’re doing here in the Ukraine.”

Read moreJapan Gov’t Adviser On Fukushima: We have ‘much to learn from what’s happening at Chernobyl’ – Engineer: All my co-workers at Chernobyl are now dead, and I had thyroid removed due to cancer

Officials: Tons of Fukushima radioactive waste in area beyond Tokyo, 150 miles from reactors – Higher strontium levels there than spot 1 mile from Daiichi plant

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– Officials: Tons of Fukushima radioactive waste in area beyond Tokyo, 150 miles from reactors — Higher strontium levels there than spot 1 mile from Daiichi plant — “Southern wind directions and rainfall explain relatively high activity levels” (ENENews, Feb 1, 2014):

Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 1, 2014: Sludge designated radioactive waste for 1st time in Kanagawa — The Environment Ministry has classified 2.9 tons of sludge from Prefecture as radioactive waste derived from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the first such designation for the prefecture on the southern border of Tokyo. The designation, made in December, means the ministry is responsible for disposing of the radioactive sludge. […]  Yokohama city government officials said the designation covers sludge from rain collection and storage facilities at 17 municipal elementary, junior high and other schools. […] The designation also included sludge collected from roadside ditches and elsewhere […] Waste containing more than 8,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium, spewed from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, per kilogram is eligible for the designation. […]

Concentration of Strontium-90 at Selected Hot Spots in Japan, PLOS ONE (Scientific Journal), March 2013:

Read moreOfficials: Tons of Fukushima radioactive waste in area beyond Tokyo, 150 miles from reactors – Higher strontium levels there than spot 1 mile from Daiichi plant

UC Berkeley Prof. Admits Much Of His Funding Is From Gov’t: If You Don’t Trust Us, Who Is It You Want To Trust? Says Man-Made Cesium-137 Is ‘NATURAL BACKGROUND RADIATION’

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– CBS San Francisco: “Widespread distrust” of scientists over Fukushima — Official: “People are worried, people want to know what’s going on” — UC Berkeley professor admits much of his funding is from gov’t: If you don’t trust us, who is it you want to trust? Says man-made cesium-137 is “natural background radiation” (VIDEO) (ENENews, Feb 1, 2014):

CBS San Francisco, Jan. 31, 2014: Concerns about radioactive water now stretch from the activism hotbed of Berkeley to the peaceful sands of Monterey Bay. The town of Fairfax has even appealed to the United Nations for guidance on the matter. […] For an expert opinion, KPIX 5 visited Kai Vetter, a nuclear physics professor at UC Berkeley. […] there are fears about contaminated seafood […] not everyone is convinced by Vetter’s assurance that, for now, Fukushima presents no health threats on the West Coast. There is widespread distrust of scientists that some see as too closely related to the nuclear power industry. Vetter admits he receives much of his funding from the Department of Energy, but he insists he has no reason to misrepresent his findings.Kai Vetter, nuclear physics professor at UC Berkeley

Read moreUC Berkeley Prof. Admits Much Of His Funding Is From Gov’t: If You Don’t Trust Us, Who Is It You Want To Trust? Says Man-Made Cesium-137 Is ‘NATURAL BACKGROUND RADIATION’

Nuclear Engineer: ‘Very huge catastrophe’ for melted fuel to burn into ground – Radioactive material ‘will go all around the world’ once in underground water – Chernobyl made cement barrier below reactor, Fukushima did not

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– Nuclear Engineer: “Very huge catastrophe” for melted fuel to burn into ground — Radioactive material “will go all around the world” once in underground water — Chernobyl made cement barrier below reactor, #Fukushima did not (VIDEO) (ENENews, Feb 1, 2014):

Global Green USA: The Future of Nuclear Energy, Chernobyl and Fukushima:

At 2:00 in

Natalia Manzurova, nuclear engineer called to Chernobyl for 4+ years to study radiation’s effect on the environment and to help cleanup workers:

Read moreNuclear Engineer: ‘Very huge catastrophe’ for melted fuel to burn into ground – Radioactive material ‘will go all around the world’ once in underground water – Chernobyl made cement barrier below reactor, Fukushima did not

Retired Army General To Tea Party Group: I Would Lead A Coup Against The U.S. Government

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FYI.

White-House

– Retired Army General To Tea Party Group: I Would Lead A Coup Against The U.S. Government (Think Progress, Feb 1, 2014):

Tea Party leader, retired Army general and former Fox News contributor Paul Vallely in a recently published video told a Tea Party group that, if given the troops, he would lead a coup against the U.S. government.

Vallely has called made his comments in a discussion with an Arizona-based Tea Party group last December, a recording of which the website Right Wing Watch recently acquired. “I had a call this afternoon from Idaho, the gentleman said, ‘If I give you 250,000 Marines to go to Washington, will you lead them?’” Vallely, who was Fox News’ senior military analyst during the Iraq War, told the group. “I said, ‘Yes, I will, I’ll surround the White House and I’ll surround the Capitol building, but it’s going to take physical presence to do things.”

Read moreRetired Army General To Tea Party Group: I Would Lead A Coup Against The U.S. Government

“The ‘Recovery’ Is A Mirage With As Much Monetary Distortion As In 1929”

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– “The ‘Recovery’ Is A Mirage” Mark Spitznagel Warns, “With As Much Monetary Distortion As In 1929” (ZeroHedge, Feb 1, 2014):

“Today there is a tremendous amount of monetary distortion, on par with the 1929 stock market and certainly the peak of 2007, and many others,” warns Universa’s Mark Spitznagel.

20140201_spitz

At these levels, he suggests (as The Dao of Capital author previously told Maria B, “subsequent large stock market losses and even crashes become perfectly expected events.”

DOW Now And Then

Read more“The ‘Recovery’ Is A Mirage With As Much Monetary Distortion As In 1929”

Argentina Scrambles To Raise $10 Billion, Avoid Reserve Collapse; BONARs Bidless

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– Argentina Scrambles To Raise $10 Billion, Avoid Reserve Collapse; BONARs Bidless (ZeroHedge, Feb 1, 2014):

A few days ago, in the aftermath of Argentina’s shocking devaluation announcement, we showed the one most important chart for the future of that country’s economy: the correlation between the value of the Arg Peso and the amount of Central Bank foreign reserves, both crashing. And as we predicted when we, before anyone else, started our countdown of Argentina’s reserves, once the number hits zero it’s game over for the Latin American country. Or rather, game over again, considering the number of times in the past Argentina has defaulted. Unfortunately over the past week, things for the Central Bank have gone from bad to worse and were capped overnight with the following headline:

  • ARGENTINE CENTRAL BANK SAYS RESERVES FELL $170M TO 28.1B TODAY

To summarize: Argentina has now burned through $2 billion in less than two weeks, the fastest outflow since 2006, and a trend which if sustained (and we see no reason why it would change), means it has just over half a year left of reserves projecting a linear decline. However, since the lower the amount of reserves, the faster the withdrawals will come, it is safe to predict that the endgame for Argentina will come far sooner, just as its suddenly crashing bonds seem to have realized.

Read moreArgentina Scrambles To Raise $10 Billion, Avoid Reserve Collapse; BONARs Bidless

Scientists From Around The World Condemn Retraction Of Séralini Rat GMO Maize Study

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See also:

– Séralini Study Retraction Intended To Shut Down Possibility Of Long-Term GMO Tests Forever

– The Truth About The Seralini Rat-Tumor-GMO Study Explodes (!)

– GMO Food Safety – Seralini And Zhu: Double Standards?

– End Double Standards In Evaluating GMO Safety Studies – Say Scientists

– Scientists condemn retraction of Séralini study (End Science Censorship, Jan 29, 2014):

  • 41 scientists and experts demand reinstatement of the study
  • Scientists around the world invited to add their signatures

SCIENTISTS from around the world have united to condemn the retraction[1,2] by the editor of the Elsevier journal Food and Chemical Toxicology (FCT) of the pioneering study on genetically modified (GM) maize and Roundup herbicide, conducted by Prof Gilles-Eric Séralini and his team at the University of Caen, France.

The study found that rats fed the GM maize and/or low levels of Roundup in their diet suffered severe organ damage, particularly to the liver, kidneys and pituitary gland. Additional unexpected observations were higher rates of large tumours and mortality in most treatment groups.[3]

Read moreScientists From Around The World Condemn Retraction Of Séralini Rat GMO Maize Study

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: How Junk Economists Help The Rich Impoverish The Working Class

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See also:

– Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: U.S. Gold Gone (Video)

– Dr. Paul Craig Roberts And Dave Kranzler: The Hows And Whys Of Gold Price Manipulation

Dr. 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.

– How Junk Economists Help The Rich Impoverish The Working Class (Paul Craig Roberts, Jan 28, 2014):

Last week, I explained how economists and policymakers destroyed our economy for the sake of short-term corporate profits from jobs offshoring and financial deregulation.
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/01/25/economists-policymakers-murdered-economy-paul-craig-roberts/

That same week Business Week published an article, “Factory Jobs Are Gone. Get Over It,” by Charles Kenny. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-23/manufacturing-jobs-may-not-be-cure-for-unemployment-inequality Kenny expresses the view of establishment economists, such as Brookings Institute economist Justin Wolfers who wants to know “What’s with the political fetish for manufacturing? Are factories really so awesome?”

Read moreDr. Paul Craig Roberts: How Junk Economists Help The Rich Impoverish The Working Class

Dr. Timothy Mousseau: ‘Chernobyl, Fukushima, And Other Hot Places: Biological Implications’ (Video)

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YouTube Added: May 5, 2013

Description:

“Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Other Hot Places: Biological Implications”
HD, 35 min 4 sec, in English

Dr. Timothy Mousseau
Department of Biological Sciences
University of South Carolina

Read moreDr. Timothy Mousseau: ‘Chernobyl, Fukushima, And Other Hot Places: Biological Implications’ (Video)

Keiser Report: Round Tripping Financial Crisis – Obama ‘Is The Biggest Liar’ (Video)

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YouTube Added: Feb 1, 2014

Description:

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss accounting fraud as the new opium for China and how it is that we keep roundtripping to financial crisis because every time we get to tomorrow we’ve already spent it yesterday. The also discuss raining the marmite of fraud on a ten foot tall Janet Yellen. In the second half, Max interviews Mitch Feierstein of PlanetPonzi.com about the unintended consequences of money printing, the China mirage where the GDP statistics are for ‘reference purposes only’ and about later this year when Greece will also ’roundtrip’ its way to a 3% GDP growth mirage.

How Edward Snowden Went From Loyal NSA Contractor To Whistleblower

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FYI.


– How Edward Snowden went from loyal NSA contractor to whistleblower (Guardian, Feb 1, 2014):

He was politically conservative, a gun owner, a geek – and the man behind the biggest intelligence leak in history. In this exclusive extract from his new book, Luke Harding looks at Edward Snowden’s journey from patriot to America’s most wanted

TheTrueHOOHA wanted to set up his own web server. It was a Saturday morning, a little after 11am. He posted: “It’s my first time. Be gentle. Here’s my dilemma: I want to be my own host. What do I need?”

Soon, regular users were piling in with helpful suggestions. TheTrueHOOHA replied: “Ah, the vast treasury of geek knowledge that is Ars.” He would become a prolific contributor; over the next eight years, he authored nearly 800 comments. He described himself variously as “unemployed”, a failed soldier, a “systems editor”, and someone who had US State Department security clearance.

Read moreHow Edward Snowden Went From Loyal NSA Contractor To Whistleblower

Watch Guardian Editors Destroying Snowden Hard Drives Under The Watchful Eye Of GCHQ (Video)

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– Footage released of Guardian editors destroying Snowden hard drives (Guardian, Jan 31, 2014):

GCHQ technicians watched as journalists took angle grinders and drills to computers after weeks of tense negotiations

New video footage has been released for the first time of the moment Guardian editors destroyed computers used to store top-secret documents leaked by the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Under the watchful gaze of two technicians from the British government spy agency GCHQ, the journalists took angle-grinders and drills to the internal components, rendering them useless and the information on them obliterated.

Read moreWatch Guardian Editors Destroying Snowden Hard Drives Under The Watchful Eye Of GCHQ (Video)

Italy Unveils Most Bizarre Bank Bailout Yet

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italy bailout_0

– Italy Unveils Most Bizarre Bank Bailout Yet (ZeroHedge, Feb 1, 2014):

The biggest problem facing European banks – one we highlighted most recently yesterday when we showed the latest 20% surge in Spanish Banco Popular Non-Performing Loans to a fresh record – and one we have been covering since 2010, which as of 2012 amounted to some $4.5 trillion that needs to be “remedied” – is the staggering amount of bad debt on the books of Europe’s numerous banks, the bulk of which especially in the periphery are cojoined with their sovereign host in an unbreakable bond which despite Europe’s theatrical attempts to sever, only keeps getting stronger.

Read moreItaly Unveils Most Bizarre Bank Bailout Yet

Indonesia: Major Volcanic Eruption Kills At Least 14

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Major Volcanic Eruption Kills at Least 14 in Indonesia

– Major Volcanic Eruption Kills at Least 14 in Indonesia (New York Times, Feb 1, 2014):

MOUNT SINABUNG, Indonesia — An Indonesian volcano that has been rumbling for months unleashed a major eruption on Saturday, killing 14 people just a day after the authorities allowed thousands of villagers who had been evacuated to return to its slopes, saying that activity was decreasing, officials said.

Read moreIndonesia: Major Volcanic Eruption Kills At Least 14

The EU May Mandate A ‘Remote Stopping Device’ In All Cars For Police Use

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– The EU May Mandate a “Remote Stopping Device” in All Cars for Police Use (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Jan 31, 2014):

Well this sounds like one of the worst ideas I have heard of in a long time. Naturally, it would emerge from the EU, the sorriest excuse for a fake government the world has ever seen.

While I have reported previously on regulatory efforts to put all sorts of invasive mandatory devices in U.S. automobiles (see my piece from October of last year Big Brother is Coming to Your Car), this idea from the EU take things to a whole other level of insanity.

From the BBC:

A device that would enable police to stop vehicles remotely is being considered by an EU-wide official working group, it has emerged.

Read moreThe EU May Mandate A ‘Remote Stopping Device’ In All Cars For Police Use

May The Farce Be With You – Janet Yellen Compares Bernanke To Obi-Wan Kenobi

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Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi Bernanke

– May The Farce Be With You – Janet Yellen Compares Bernanke to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Jan 31, 2014):

Just in case you had any lingering doubt about how hopelessly screwed the world’s monetary and financial system really is, all you have to do is learn that in a series of ceremonies (because that is so appropriate with a record number Americans on food stamps) celebrating Ben Bernanke in recent days incoming Fed head Janet Yellen likened Bernanke to Obi-Wan Kenobi, the wise, experienced Jedi Knight mentor to his protégé Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars” movies.

There’s nothing that makes you feel more warm and fuzzy inside than the recognition that the soon to be most powerful person in the world thinks that printing trillions of dollars and giving it to criminals at zero interest qualifies as attributes of a intergalactic Jedi Master.

Read moreMay The Farce Be With You – Janet Yellen Compares Bernanke To Obi-Wan Kenobi

Lunches Seized And Tossed In Trash At Salt Lake City Elementary School For Kids With Unpaid Balances

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– Lunches Seized and Tossed in Trash at Salt Lake City Elementary School for Kids with Unpaid Balances (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Jan 30, 2014):

While I understand the need for parents to pay for their children’s lunches, what do you think the appropriate response should be by adults running an elementary school upon realizing that some young children with unpaid balances had already been served a full hot meal?

Personally, I would assume that any reasonable human being would allow the children to eat the lunches while at the same time calling up their parents to sort out the problem. However, that’s not the action deemed appropriate by the “child-nutrition manager” that visited Uintah Elementary in Salt Lake City this past Tuesday. Nope, this person decided that the best course of action was to seize already served lunches and throw them in the trash in front of the victim’s classmates. Mind you, this person is called a “child-nutrition manager.” So someone in charge of “child nutrition” thinks he or she is doing their job by ensuring malnourishment due to unpaid balances.

Next stop for these kids, debtors prison, which are making a comeback in the U.S. by the way. Disgraceful.

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Up to 40 kids at Uintah Elementary in Salt Lake City picked up their lunches Tuesday, then watched as the meals were taken and thrown away because of outstanding balances on their accounts — a move that shocked and angered parents.

Read moreLunches Seized And Tossed In Trash At Salt Lake City Elementary School For Kids With Unpaid Balances

AND NOW: Fully Autonomous U.S. Army Convoys

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– Driverless Trucks Will Keep Army Safe From IEDs (Wired, Jan 31, 2014):

U.S. Army convoys will soon be able to roll into even the roughest of unfriendly foreign urban areas and combat zones without the worry of loss of life, thanks to new technology that will make large vehicles fully autonomous.

In demonstrations earlier this month at Fort Hood, Texas, the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and Lockheed Martin demonstrated the ability of the Autonomous Mobility Appliqué System (AMAS), which gives full autonomy to convoys to operate in urban environments. In tests, driverless tactical vehicles were able to navigate hazards and obstacles including pedestrians, oncoming traffic, road intersections, traffic circles and stalled and passing vehicles.

Read moreAND NOW: Fully Autonomous U.S. Army Convoys