Global News

200 Tons Of Syrian Chemicals Arrive In UK For … ‘Destruction’

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Sure!

‘For destruction’ …

… like we’ve ‘destroyed’ those tons of cocaine in the past? …

– Coast Guard In Miami Beach Unloads Bales Of Cocaine With A Street Value Of About $350 MILLION

– 200 tons of Syrian chemicals arrive in UK for destruction (RT, July 15, 2014):

Some 200 tons of toxic chemicals have been delivered to the UK from Syria after the battle torn country agreed to the destruction of its stockpile last year.Industrial grade chemicals, intended for the production of chemical weapons, are being unloaded from a ship at Marchwood Port in Hampshire before being transported by road to Ellesmere Port in Cheshire for incineration by Veolia Environmental Services.

Read more200 Tons Of Syrian Chemicals Arrive In UK For … ‘Destruction’

French President Urges His Countrymen: Stop Bashing Your Country, Have Some Confidence

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– French President Urges His Countrymen: Stop Bashing Your Country, Have Some Confidence (ZeroHedge; July 15, 2014):

A few days ago it was that other great egaliatarian president, Barack Obama, who urged Americans to tear free from the shackles of cynicism and to unleash some more of that hopium that got Obama elected in the first place. Now it is the turn of that other just as impressive socialist, France’s own Francois Hollande, who just like Obama has seen his popularity rating crumble to unprecedented levels, come up with his own prescription for how to fix the troubles that ail France. In short: “less lamenting and disparaging, more confidence.”

From Reuters:

In the television interview to mark Bastille Day, when a crowd stormed a Paris prison on July 14, 1789, at the outset of the French Revolution, Hollande said his compatriots were more inclined than some others to put their country down.

Read moreFrench President Urges His Countrymen: Stop Bashing Your Country, Have Some Confidence

US Loses Multi-Billion Dollar Court Sases Against China And India

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– US loses multi-billion dollar court cases against China and India (RT, July 15, 2014):

The World Trade Organization agreed on Monday this week to side with claims against the United States made by both China and India concerning US-imposed tariffs on products exported to America.

In both instances, the WTO ruled against the US and decided in favor of the major BRICs countries, who for two years now have each asked the organization to intervene and weigh in on America’s use of tariffs to tax certain imports dating back to 2007.

Read moreUS Loses Multi-Billion Dollar Court Sases Against China And India

Coldest June Since Measurements Began In Adélie Land, Antarctica

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– Coldest June since measurements began in Adélie Land, Antarctica  (The Watchers, July 14, 2014):

Meteo-France is reporting an unusually cold month of June at their station base Dumont d’Urville located in Adélie Land (Terre Adélie), Antarctica. They recorded an average temperature of -22.4° C throughout June, which is 6.6° C lower than normal temperature for the period from 1981 – 2010.

This makes June 2014 the coldest June since measurements began in 1956, and the second coldest month of all months combined (after September 1958 with -23.5° C).

The daily temperature for June was also beaten with -34.9° C recorded, previous record was -33.4° C.

Read moreColdest June Since Measurements Began In Adélie Land, Antarctica

China Warns US To Stay Out Of South China Sea Dispute

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– China Warns US To Stay Out Of South China Sea Dispute (ZeroHedge, July 15, 2014):

A week ago, China made it very clear to the US that while it is happy to preserve cordial relations and smile on photo ops, it had no problems with taking the US to task, and even the battlefield, financial or conventional, should the US – having lost most of its credibility in recent years – dare to interfere. It said it so clearly only an idiot could have misread it: “A conflict between China and United States will definitely be a disaster for the two countries and the world,” Xi said. “As long as we uphold mutual respect, maintain strategic patience and remain unperturbed by individual incidents and comments, we’ll be able to keep relations on a firm footing despite ups and downs that may come our way.”

China map

Sadly, since these days US foreign policy indeed appears to be run by idiots, instead of staying out of China’s way, the US responded by kicking the tiger in the teeth and escalated even further when it was reported that the US was unleashing even more military forces in China’s back yard, and is developing new military tactics to deter China’s slow but steady territorial advances in the South China Sea, including more aggressive use of surveillance aircraft and naval operations near contested areas.

Read moreChina Warns US To Stay Out Of South China Sea Dispute

Gold Plunges Back Below $1300 As ‘Someone’ Dumps $2.3 BILLION In Futures

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– Gold Plunges Back Below $1300 As “Someone” Dumps $2.3 Billion In Futures (ZeroHedge, July 15, 2014):

With The Fed proclaiming bubbles in some of the most-loved segments of the stock market and explaining that the economy is doing “ok” but they must remain dovish for longer for feasr of “false dawns”… what better time than now to dump $2.3 Billion notional in futures… of course the dump in gold’s anti-status quo price coincided with an odd v-shaped recovery in stocks… Gold remains above its pre-June FOMC levels still.

The break was precipitated by the sale of over 17,000 contracts (or over $2.3 Billion notional)…

20140715_gold

But for now gold remains above FOMC levels…

Read moreGold Plunges Back Below $1300 As ‘Someone’ Dumps $2.3 BILLION In Futures

9 EU Countries Ready To Block Economic Sanctions Against Russia

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putin smile

– 9 EU countries ready to block economic sanctions against Russia (RT, July 15, 2014):

France, Germany, and Italy are among EU members who don’t want to follow the US lead and impose trade sanctions on Russia. US sanctions are seen as a push to promote its own multibillion free-trade pact with Europe.

“France, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia, and EU President Italy see no reason in the current environment for the introduction of sectorial trade and economic sanctions against Russia and at the summit, will block the measure,” a diplomatic source told ITAR-TASS.

Read more9 EU Countries Ready To Block Economic Sanctions Against Russia

Nestle Continues To Sell Bottled Water Sourced From California Despite Record Drought

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Nestle will just drill deeper and pump it all out, until there is nothing left, which is exactly what Nestle does all around the planet.

Related info:

– Nestlé – Sucking The World Dry – Making A Profit Mark-Up Of 53,908,255% (Video)

– Water Monopoly

– Bottled Life – The Truth About Nestlé’s Business With Water (Documentary Trailer)

– Nestle CEO & Bilderberg Peter Brabeck-Letmathe Seeks To Control The World’s Water Supply

nestle-pure-life

– Nestle continues to sell bottled water sourced from California despite record drought (RT, July 15, 2014):

California is facing one of its most severe droughts on record, which is hurting farmers and recreation alike. But despite water restrictions, Nestle is bottling spring water from the state and selling it, creating controversy alongside profits.

Nestle owns Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water, which has been bottling water from a spring in Millard Canyon, Calif. for more than a decade. The company’s 383,000-square-foot bottling plant, which also packages purified water under the Nestle Pure Life brand, is located on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians reservation.

In January, Gov. Jerry Brown (D-Calif.) declared a drought state of emergency in preparation for water shortages, especially during the summer months. The drought has entered its third year, and water restrictions have increased throughout the Golden State.

But Nestle does not need to heed the emergency measures the state has adopted. Since its plant is on a Native American reservation – considered a sovereign nation by the US government – it is not required to comply with state regulations.

Read moreNestle Continues To Sell Bottled Water Sourced From California Despite Record Drought

Big Corporations Have An OVERWHELMING Amount Of Power Over Our Food Supply

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– Big Corporations Have An OVERWHELMING Amount Of Power Over Our Food Supply (Economic Collapse, July 14, 2014):

From our fields to our forks, huge corporations have an overwhelming amount of power over our food supply every step of the way.  Right now there are more than 313 million people living in the United States, and the job of feeding all of those people is almost entirely in the hands of just a few dozen monolithic companies.  If you do not like how our food is produced or you don’t believe that it is healthy enough, it isn’t very hard to figure out who is to blame.  These mammoth corporations are not in business to look out for the best interests of the American people.  Rather, the purpose of these corporations is to maximize wealth for their shareholders.  So the American people end up eating billions of pounds of extremely unhealthy food that is loaded with chemicals and additives each year, and we just keep getting sicker and sicker as a society.  But these big corporations are raking in big profits, so they don’t really care.

Read moreBig Corporations Have An OVERWHELMING Amount Of Power Over Our Food Supply

The Head Of ‘The Central Bank Of The World’ Warns That Another Great Financial Crisis May Be Coming

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Prepare for collapse.

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– The Head Of ‘The Central Bank Of The World’ Warns That Another Great Financial Crisis May Be Coming (Economic Collapse, July 13, 2014):

Most people have never heard of Jaime Caruana even though he is the head of an immensely powerful organization.  He has been serving as the General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements since 2009, and he will continue in that role until 2017.  The Bank for International Settlements is a rather boring name, and very few people realize that it is at the very core of our centrally-planned global financial system.  So when Jaime Caruana speaks, people should listen.  And the fact that he recently warned that the global financial system is currently “more fragile” in many ways than it was just prior to the collapse of Lehman Brothers should set off all sorts of alarm bells.  Speaking of the financial markets, Caruana ominously declared that “it is hard to avoid the sense of a puzzling disconnect between the markets’ buoyancy and underlying economic developments globally” and he noted that “markets can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent”.  In other words, he is saying what I have been saying for so long.  The behavior of the financial markets has become completely divorced from economic reality, and at some point there is going to be a massive correction.

So why would the head of ‘the central bank of the world’ choose this moment to issue such a chilling warning?

Read moreThe Head Of ‘The Central Bank Of The World’ Warns That Another Great Financial Crisis May Be Coming

The Next Domino: Espirito Santo Holding Company Preparing To File Bankruptcy

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– The Next Domino: Espirito Santo Holding Company Preparing To File Bankruptcy (ZeroHedge, July 15, 2014):

While Banco Espirito Santo continues to exist on fumes and life support (that last ditch equity injection by Baupost a week ago may not have been Seth Klarman’s wisest investment), a key link in the Espirito Santo Holding Company structure is preparing to default. According to Reuters:

  • ESPÍRITO SANTO GROUPS HOLDING COMPANY RIOFORTE PREPARING TO FILE FOR CREDITOR PROTECTION IN LUXEMBOURG – SOURCES

For those confused, “creditor protection” =  bankruptcy.

Which one is RioForte again? We showed this handy org chart a few days ago, here it is again.

Read moreThe Next Domino: Espirito Santo Holding Company Preparing To File Bankruptcy

Meanwhile In Europe: Juncker Approved, Hague Out, Lord Hill To Brussels: What Does It Mean?

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– Juncker approved, Hague out, Lord Hill to Brussels: what does it mean? (Open Europe, July 15, 2014):

This morning and last night saw three developments with importance for the UK’s Europe debate:

  • William Hague resigned as Foreign Secretary, replaced by Phillip Hammond, with the Cabinet becoming more Eurosceptic overall,
  • In nominating Lord Hill – the current leader of House of Lords – as the UK’s European Commissioner, Number 10 prioritised a ‘fixer’ and avoiding by-election over sending a heavy-hitter,
  • MEPs approved Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission President by 422 votes to 250, marking the starting point of a more politicised European Commission.

What does this mean?

…

Phoenix Housing Market Hit By Unprecedented Plunge In Demand

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Flashback:

– Inflation, Hyperinflation and Real Estate (Price Collaps)

– Phoenix Housing Market Hit By Unprecedented Plunge In Demand (ZeroHedge, July 14, 2014):

The Phoenix housing market has a special place in the heart of housing bubble watchers: together with Las Vegas and various California MSAs, this is the place where the last housing bubble was born and subsequently died a gruesome death which nearly brought down the entire financial system. Which is why the monthly WP Carey report on the Greater Phoenix Housing Market is of peculiar interest for those who want to catch a leading glimpse into the overall state of the bubble US housing market. As hoped, this month’s letter does not disappoint. What we find is that while equilibrium prices have been largely flat month over month, and are up 6% on an average square foot basis from a year ago, something very bad is happening with a key component of the pricing calculation: demand has fallen off a cliff.

Some of the disturbing findings from the report:

Read morePhoenix Housing Market Hit By Unprecedented Plunge In Demand

Russia Bans Purchases of Foreign-Made Cars By Government

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Russia Bans Purchases of Foreign-Made Cars By Government

– Russia Bans Purchases of Foreign-Made Cars By Government (The Moscow Times, July 14, 2014):

Federal and municipal governments were prohibited from buying foreign-made cars by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who said he hoped the decision would “help preserve necessary balance on the market.”

The state spends huge sums buying equipment, and “of course it is better if they go to domestic companies, not foreign producers,” Interfax quoted Medvedev as saying at a meeting with deputy prime ministers on Monday.

Read moreRussia Bans Purchases of Foreign-Made Cars By Government

Israeli Interior Minister: ‘The Goal Of The Operation Is To Send Gaza Back To The Middle Ages’, ‘Destroying All The Infrastructure Including Roads And Water’

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– Israeli Interior Minister: “The Goal of the Operation Is to Send Gaza Back to the Middle Ages”, “Destroying All the Infrastructure Including Roads and Water” (Washington’s Blog, July 14, 2014):

Is Israel Trying to Bomb Gaza Back to the Dark Ages?

We noted Friday that Israel is bombing Gaza back to the stone age to get Hamas … But ISIS – NOT HAMAS – claims credit for attacks against Israel.

In response, several commenters accused us of exaggerating the brutality of Israel’s bombing campaign.

But as we noted in 2012, during the last major attack by Israel on Gaza:

Read moreIsraeli Interior Minister: ‘The Goal Of The Operation Is To Send Gaza Back To The Middle Ages’, ‘Destroying All The Infrastructure Including Roads And Water’

2,000 Nuclear Bombs A Year? Japan’s Plan To Reopen Nuclear Reprocessing Plant Stirs Concern

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– 2,000 bombs a year? Japan’s plan to reopen nuclear reprocessing plant stirs concern  (RT, July 14, 2014):

Reactivating a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant could provide Japan with enough plutonium to produce up to 2,000 atomic bombs a year, a US expert has warned. The “reckless” move could destabilize the region, as Japan’s neighbors rush to compete.

Henry Sokolski, executive director at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, urged the House Foreign Affairs committee to hinder the reopening of the nuclear reprocessing facility in Rokkasho, North Japan.

Read more2,000 Nuclear Bombs A Year? Japan’s Plan To Reopen Nuclear Reprocessing Plant Stirs Concern

Snowden Files: Manipulating Polls, Netting From LinkedIn And YouTube In GCHQ’s Bag Of Tricks

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– Snowden files: Manipulating polls, netting from LinkedIn and YouTube in GCHQ’s bag of tricks (RT, July 14, 2014):

The UK’s spy agency has developed a number of crafty tools to monitor and comb the web, planting false information when necessary, Glenn Greenwald said while disclosing a fresh batch of Snowden’s files.

The tools were created by the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG) within the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), according to the leaked documents.

Previous files have already detailed JTRIG’s use of “fake victim blog posts” and “false flag operations,” as well as “honey traps” and various forms of psychological manipulation of online activists.

But the newly released GCHQ document, titled ‘JTRIG Tools and Techniques,’ gives a more comprehensive view of the scale of the operations, including how invasive they can be and how much online havoc can be caused.

Read moreSnowden Files: Manipulating Polls, Netting From LinkedIn And YouTube In GCHQ’s Bag Of Tricks

3 Israelis Say They Killed Palestinian Teen ‘In Revenge’

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– 3 Israelis say they killed Palestinian teen ‘in revenge’ (RT, July 14, 2014):

Three Israeli Jews who were arrested for the murder of a Palestinian teenager have confessed to kidnapping him and then burning him alive, officials stated. They said it was revenge for the killing of three Jewish youths last month.

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Did Anyone Live In Palestine Prior To The Formation Of Israel?

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– Did Anyone Live In Palestine Prior to the Formation of Israel? (Washington’s Blog, July 14, 2014):

There Were People In Palestine

Many claim that no one lived in Palestine prior to the formation of the state of Israel. Indeed, Israel was sited in Palestine under the slogan:

“A land without a people for a people without a land” ….

But the history of Palestine is much more complicated:

The claim that no one lived in Palestine is undercut by this video footage shot in 1896:

Read moreDid Anyone Live In Palestine Prior To The Formation Of Israel?

Japan Nuclear Prof.: Fukushima plant now a ‘swamp of radioactive material’ — Can’t stop pumping in more water because they don’t know where melted fuel went

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– Japan Nuclear Prof.: Fukushima plant now a ‘swamp of radioactive material’ — Can’t stop pumping in more water because they don’t know where melted fuel went — Build roof over entire site? — Asahi: Continued presence of water threatens construction of ice wall around reactors (ENENews, July 13, 2014):

Interview with Professor Hiroaki Koide, Kyoto University Reactor Research Institute, translated by Fukushima Diary, July 13, 2014: Fukushima plant is now like a swamp of radioactive material due to the contaminated water […] Tepco should quit cooling with water since one year ago. However from Tepco’s assumption, it is impossible to shift to air cooling because they can’t identify the exact locations of molten fuel.

More from interview with Professor Koide, translated by Google: I think of that accident of Fukushima […] the human race has been encountered for the first time […] Rather than the cooling in the water, should switch as soon as possible to the cooling method of another I think. […] I thought the most part rain is falling on the site […] so, I cut off the rain. In other words, it is such as paving the entire site. I think I think in some cases, that I would build a roof on the entire site […] in the premises of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, but is in a state such as the swamp of radioactivity […]

Read moreJapan Nuclear Prof.: Fukushima plant now a ‘swamp of radioactive material’ — Can’t stop pumping in more water because they don’t know where melted fuel went

Given US/UK/Israel wars and lust for more, what do two ‘supreme Law’ treaties say about lawful and unlawful war?

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– Given US/UK/Israel wars and lust for more, what do two ‘supreme Law’ treaties say about lawful and unlawful war? (Washington’s Blog, July 13, 2014):

The short answer is war is lawful only in self-defense from armed attack by another nation’s government, and lawful response is to arrest US/UK/Israel leaderships for unlawful Wars of Aggression.

Background history: It’s easy to document the US as a neocolonial empire; offspring of Europe’s lust for material wealth that spawned two world wars in the century within which all current adults were born.

All of our families sacrificed through those wars. Please take a moment to feel what they went through. Please take a moment to experience the cumulative costs inflicted by “developed” nations’ imperialism and wars, including Israel’s escalating unlawful War of Aggression on Palestine that make Gaza the world’s largest concentration camp.

Read moreGiven US/UK/Israel wars and lust for more, what do two ‘supreme Law’ treaties say about lawful and unlawful war?