Riots

Baltic Riots Spread to Lithuania in the Face of Deteriorating Economic Conditions

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Riot police officers, in front of Lithuania’s Parliament building, confronted about 7,000 demonstrators in Vilnius on Friday. Ints Kalnins/Reuters

MOSCOW – Riots broke out once again in the Baltic states on Friday, this time in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where a group of 7,000 gathered to protest planned economic austerity measures. A smaller group began throwing eggs and stones through the windows of government buildings until the police moved in, using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

The episode was nearly identical to one on Tuesday in Latvia, when a peaceful protest of 10,000 people erupted into violence. And on Wednesday, a gathering of 2,000 in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, began throwing stones and snowballs at the Parliament building, calling for the nation’s leaders to resign.

In all three countries, years of steady economic growth have come to a jarring halt, and citizens are facing layoffs and cuts in wages. In each case, the authorities were left wondering whether they were facing organized activism or just the anger of people whose expectations have been disappointed. “I think this is just the beginning,” said Anders Aslund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “We should expect this to happen in many places.”

Related articles:
– Latvia Is Shaken by Riots Over Its Weak Economy (New York Times)
– Recession sparks riots in Sofia and Riga (Irish Times)
– Protests spread in Europe amid economic crisis (Los Angeles Times)

Like its neighbor, Latvia, Lithuania has enjoyed a reputation as a “Baltic Tiger,” buoyed by foreign investment, a housing boom and annual growth rates of around 8 percent. Although Lithuania is not facing as dire an outlook as Latvia, economists predict a 5 percent drop in gross domestic product there next year, and the newly elected Parliament has announced tough austerity measures: workers in the public sector will see pay cuts of up to 15 percent, pensions will fall and an array of taxes will rise.

Read moreBaltic Riots Spread to Lithuania in the Face of Deteriorating Economic Conditions

Paul Craig Roberts On The U.S. Leadership: “They Are Criminals” – The Potential Here Is Far Worse Than The Great Depression

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Paul Craig Roberts (born April 3, 1939, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an economist and a nationally syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate.

He served as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration earning fame as the “Father of Reaganomics”.

He is a former editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Scripps Howard News Service.

He is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

He was a post-graduate at the University of California, Berkeley, and Oxford University where he was a member of Merton College.

In 1992 he received the Warren Brookes Award for Excellence in Journalism. In 1993 the Forbes Media Guide ranked him as one of the top seven journalists in the United States. (Wikipedia)


Added: January 11, 2009
Source: YouTube

Don’t Miss:

– Willem Buiter warns of massive dollar collapse

– Peter Schiff: The Fed’s Bubble Trouble

– Peter Schiff: We are on the verge of another major crisis

– Ron Paul: ‘The Palestinians Are Virtually In Like A Concentration Camp’
(It is important what Dr. Paul has to say about the dollar, debt etc.)

– Lindsey Williams: The Dollar And The US Will Collapse; Saudi Arabia And Dubai Will Fall; US Will Be Third World Country; The Greatest Depression Is Coming

– Peter Schiff: US Dollar is on the verge of collapse; This is hyperinflation; This is Zimbabwe (12/17/2008)

– Gerald Celente: The Coming Revolt

– The US Government is Going to Default

– China Losing Taste for Debt From the U.S.

The US Government is Going to Default

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Buckle your seat belts. Bob Moriarty, 321gold.com founder, pulls no punches in his latest exclusive interview with The Gold Report. He sees a short-term rally in the stock market but paints a very sobering longer-term picture with “guaranteed hyperinflation.” He believes precious metals and other “things” are the only safety nets.

The Gold Report: Bob, what do you think of the Fed’s latest move-cutting to a flexible zero to a quarter rate? Where do you see us going?

Bob Moriarty: We are to the point where we are about 14 feet from going over the edge of Niagara Falls. We haven’t gone over the edge yet; we haven’t gone to a total collapse. We don’t have riots in the streets; we don’t have a revolution. That’s coming; that’s about two to three months off.

Here’s what we’ve got: the Fed has committed to $8.5 trillion of taxpayers’ money to bail out the worst run companies and banks. It hasn’t worked. Now, they’re at a 0% to .25% on the Fed Funds rate for funds for banks, which means if you go down and you pay $100,000 for a T-bill for 90 days, your return is zero, which is to imply that there is zero risk to investing with the government. Anybody who actually believes that is going to be in for a real shock in the first quarter of next year.

GM has lost has lost $80 billion dollars in the last four years. They’re burning through $2 billion a month when everything is going well. Their sales are down 37% in November; the mathematical probability of GM surviving is zero. But we’re going to pour more taxpayer money down that hole. AIG’s also turned into the proverbial black hole. I would think that at $300 billion or $400 billion or $500 billion or $600 billion, somebody’s going to wake up and say, “You know, we’re losing a lot of money here.”

TGR: It’s getting to be real money at that point.

BM: What we have done is guaranteed hyperinflation in the United States. We have guaranteed the destruction of the United States. We will have riots starting in the first quarter of next year; we will default by the summer of 2009.

TGR: Default on how many of the bonds? All? Or just some?

BM: 100%. The US government is going to default. Treasuries, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the whole lot. It’s the end of empire. The United States government will not exist in its current form a year from now.

Read moreThe US Government is Going to Default

Gerald Celente on The Alex Jones Show: The Coming Revolt

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If Nostradamus were alive today, he’d have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente.
– New York Post

When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente.
– CNN Headline News

There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about. – CNBC

Those who take their predictions seriously … consider the Trends Research Institute.
– The Wall Street Journal

A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties.
– The Economist

Alex welcomes back to the show Gerald Celente, the world’s number one trends forecaster, who has predicted a severe depression and riots in the streets.

Part 1 of 7 (Part 1 is not uploaded on YouTube. All the others are there and a must-see.)

Part 2 of 7

December 18, 2008
Source: YouTube

Read moreGerald Celente on The Alex Jones Show: The Coming Revolt

Gerald Celente: The Greatest Depression

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Mr. Celente long ago warned of the economic malaise that is gripping the planet – but he does have some good news.

Gerald Celente

The Greatest Depression *AUDIO*

To download this audio file to your computer, right click this link and select “save”, “save as” or “save file as” (depending upon your browser).

Source: HoweStreet

Economic Collapse of 2009 – Greater than Great Depression of 1929

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Source: YouTube


Source: YouTube

Gerald Celente, and analyst renowned for accuracy on forecasting trends, explains why the impending economic collapse, next escalating to a serious retail and commercial real estate collapse, will be greater than the Great Depression of 1929; speaking on the Lew Rockwell Show.

Hundreds of Greek protesters clash with police

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Riot police clash with demonstrators during riots outside the Athens Polytechnic December 20, 2008. Greek demonstrators threw petrol bombs at finance ministry offices and torched two cars in central Athens on Saturday as anti-government protests entered a third week since police shot dead a teenager.Reuters
Riot police clash with demonstrators during riots outside the Athens Polytechnic December 20, 2008. Greek demonstrators threw petrol bombs at finance ministry offices and torched two cars in central …

ATHENS, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Hundreds of Greek youths fought running battles with police in Athens late on Saturday as anti-government protests entered a third week since police shot dead a teenager.

Students threw stones and petrol bombs at riot police outside university buildings late into the night after a vigil to mark the Dec. 6 killing of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos turned violent.

Police blocked surrounding roads and fired teargas at the youths, who sheltered in the university campus which police are banned from entering. A group of anxious mothers waited outside to escort their children from the building.

“There are more than 600 students and they’re running in and out of the university, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails,” said a police official, who asked not to be named. No injuries were reported.

Across the country, hundreds of schools and several university campuses remain occupied by students. In the northern city of Thessaloniki, demonstrators briefly occupied a radio station and a cinema.

Read moreHundreds of Greek protesters clash with police

Greece’s riots are a sign of the economic times

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“The government has tried hard not to connect what is happening with the problems of young people. The government says one boy died, his friends are angry, they over-reacted then anarchists came to join in the game. But this is not the reality.”

“Because of unemployment, a quarter of those under 25 are below the poverty line,” said Petros Linardos, an economist at the Labour Institute of the Greek trade unions. “That percentage has been increasing for the past 10 years. There is a diffused, widespread feeling that there are no prospects. This is a period when everyone is afraid of the future because of the economic crisis. There is a general feeling that things are going to get worse. And there is no real initiative from the government.”
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Greece’s riots are a sign of the economic times. Other countries should beware, says Peter Popham in Athens


Youths try to break into the Greek Interior Ministry on Thursday night

After firing 4,600 tear-gas canisters in the past week, the Greek police have nearly exhausted their stock. As they seek emergency supplies from Israel and Germany, still the petrol bombs and stones of the protesters rain down, with clashes again outside parliament yesterday.

Bringing together youths in their early twenties struggling to survive amid mass youth unemployment and schoolchildren swotting for highly competitive university exams that may not ultimately help them in a treacherous jobs market, the events of the past week could be called the first credit-crunch riots. There have been smaller-scale sympathy attacks from Moscow to Copenhagen, and economists say countries with similarly high youth unemployment problems such as Spain and Italy should prepare for unrest.

Read moreGreece’s riots are a sign of the economic times

Unrest spreads across Europe

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Protesters throw stones at riot police during clashes in front of the Greek parliament building in Athens, December 10, 2008. (Oleg Popov/Reuters

MADRID, Spain – The unrest that has gripped Greece is spilling over into the rest of Europe, raising concerns the clashes could be a trigger for opponents of globalization, disaffected youth and others outraged by the continent’s economic turmoil and soaring unemployment.

Protesters in Spain, Denmark and Italy smashed shop windows, pelted police with bottles and attacked banks this week, while in France, cars were set ablaze Thursday outside the Greek consulate in Bordeaux, where protesters scrawled graffiti warning about a looming “insurrection.”

At least some of the protests were organized over the Internet, showing how quickly the message of discontent can be spread, particularly among tech-savvy youth. One Web site Greek protesters used to update each other on the locations of clashes asserted there have been sympathy protests in nearly 20 countries.

More demonstrations were set for Friday in Italy, France and Germany.

Still, the clashes have been isolated so far, and nothing like the scope of the chaos in Greece, which was triggered by the police killing of a teenager on Saturday and has ballooned into nightly scenes of burning street barricades, looted stores and overturned cars.

Read moreUnrest spreads across Europe

Greece hit by 5th day of violence, general strike; Clashes outside parliament

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Protesters throw stones at policemen guarding Greece’s parliament in Athens December 10, 2008. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis

ATHENS (Reuters) – Protesters threw fire bombs at police outside parliament on Wednesday during a general strike which paralyzed Greece and piled pressure on a conservative government reeling from the worst riots in decades.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis announced financial support for businesses damaged in five days of rioting. He also pledged to safeguard people from violence, but did not say how.

Government sources have denied rumors emergency measures were being considered.

“Government murderers!” demonstrators shouted, furious at the shooting of a teenager by police on Saturday which sparked riots fueled by simmering public anger at political scandals, rising unemployment and poverty.

Read moreGreece hit by 5th day of violence, general strike; Clashes outside parliament

Explainer: Why is there unrest in Greece?

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(CNN) — Youths have rioted on the streets of Athens and other Greek cities for the past three days. Stores and cars have been torched, barricades erected and rioters have fought running battles with police.


Athens riot police come under attack near the capital’s main police station Sunday.

The unrest came after police shot dead teenager Andreas Grigoropoulos, 15, who they allege was about to throw a fuel-filled device at them as a gang of youths pelted a patrol vehicle.

What has been the political reaction to the unrest?

Read moreExplainer: Why is there unrest in Greece?

Greece rocked by third day of riots

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ATHENS, Greece (CNN) — Violent clashes between police and protesters erupted for a third day in Greece Monday as anger over the fatal police shooting of a teenager continued to rage through major cities.

Youths clash with police near the main police station in Athens on Sunday.
Youths clash with police near the main police station in Athens on Sunday.

Riot police fired tear gas at youths attacking shops and a police station in the port city of Thessaloniki, The Associated Press reported.

Running battles also broke out in Veria, a town 60 kilometers (40 miles) west of Thessaloniki, while violence was reported in the central city of Trikala, AP said.

Major protests were expected later in five Greek cities, including Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, another central city, and on the island of Corfu.

There were scenes of destruction across the Greek capital after police apologies and the arrest of two officers in connection with the shooting failed to halt unrest on Sunday.

On Sunday night, police fired tear gas as rampaging youths smashed storefronts and burned businesses, leaving shattered glass and burnt debris scattered across major cities. Photo See images of anarchy on Greek streets »

Residents of one apartment building in central Athens were evacuated on Sunday after angry demonstrators torched a car dealership on the basement floor.

Self-styled anarchists barricaded city streets in Athens and Thessaloniki, and hurled petrol bombs as they battled with police, who fought back with tear gas in the second day of rioting. Video Watch youths riot in Greece »

One officer has been charged with manslaughter over the killing of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, another as an accomplice.

The men say they fired warning shots as Grigoropoulos was about to throw a fuel-filled device at them and a gang of youths pelted a patrol vehicle.

Read moreGreece rocked by third day of riots

Mob runs riot as Zimbabwe runs out of water

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Children go to fetch water in Harare
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority turned off the pumps in the capital after it ran out of chemicals needed to to purify supplies (Desmond Kwande/AFP/Getty Images)

Water supplies to residents in Harare were cut by the authorities yesterday as Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic tightened its grip and the city witnessed its worst unrest for a decade.

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority turned off the pumps in the capital after it ran out of purifying chemicals. With cholera cases soaring above 11,000 across the country, and an anthrax outbreak ravaging the the countryside, David Parirenyatwa, the Health Minister, urged Zimbabweans to stop shaking hands to avoid spreading disease.

Companies and government offices, especially those in high-rise buildings, were sending workers home by midday as lavatories became blocked. “My office stinks and the toilet is a disgusting site,” said Mary Sakupwene, a secretary. “I won’t go back until the water’s on again.”

Read moreMob runs riot as Zimbabwe runs out of water

China slashes interest rates as panic spreads

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The People’s Bank of China cut interest rates by more than 1pc point as the economy crumbles and millions of jobs are predicted to go ahead of Christmas.


Factory workers surround a damaged police car during a protest outside Kai Da toy factory in Dongguan, China. Photo:REUTERS

The move came just one day after the World Bank predicted that China would grow by 7.5pc next year. The level of growth may appear robust by Western standards, but it would represent the slowest economic expansion in China for the last two decades.

It is also perilously close to the 7pc minimum level of growth that Chinese economists believe is necessary in order to create enough jobs for the 6m university graduates who will enter the jobs market next year.


Factory workers smash an office during a protest at Kai Da toy factory in Dongguan, China. Photo: REUTERS

It is the fourth interest rate cut from the Chinese central bank in the last ten weeks as the government desperately battles an evident economic collapse. “China is out to save itself here,” said Patrick Bennett, an analyst with Societe Generale in Hong Kong.

The PBOC reduced its main borrowing rate by 1.08pc points to 5.58pc, the biggest one-off cut since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997.

In recent weeks, a series of riots across central and southern China have flowered as disgruntled employees aired their grievances at the downturn.

Read moreChina slashes interest rates as panic spreads

Top official meets rioters as China seeks stability

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Wrecked cars are seen outside a damaged building in Wudu town, Longnan city, Gansu province in this video grab from CCTV footage of November 20 released November 21, 2008. REUTERS/CCTV via Reuters TV

BEIJING (Reuters) – The governor of a Chinese province sat down with protesters after they fought pitched battles with police, a rare concession by a leader and a sign of government concerns about stability as the economy slows.

Xu Shousheng held a meeting with 10 representatives in Wudu in the poverty-stricken northwestern province of Gansu two days after the riot in which dozens were injured, state media said.

Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Yin Weimin said on Thursday stabilizing employment was the top priority for China as he revealed a rise in jobless workers triggered by a weakened export sector.

The protests were sparked by local residents’ worries about a government resettlement plan after the May 12 earthquake killed more than 80,000 people, and in Gansu alone made 1.8 million people homeless.

Read moreTop official meets rioters as China seeks stability

Hindu-Christian riots spread in India

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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) — Three weeks after an apparent misunderstanding sparked a confrontation, deadly Hindu-Christian riots continue unabated in the remote east Indian state of Orissa.


Police officers chase away a protester in Mangalore, India, Monday.


By Tuesday, about 20 deaths had been reported, said Praveen Kumar, the superintendent of police in the worst-affected Kandhamal district.

The latest casualty is a police officer who died after an armed mob of about 400 to 500 mostly Hindus torched a police station in the district on Monday, Orissa state police said.

Read moreHindu-Christian riots spread in India

One Nation Under Siege – Full Theatrical Release

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From documentary filmmaker William Lewis comes a bone chilling documentary on the spying, tracking and control of the American public.

Source: Google Video

Palestinian police get training in riot control

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JERICHO, West Bank (AP) – Palestinian police officers in riot gear trained under the desert sun Tuesday as part of a European Union-sponsored public order course begun after a deadly clash between police and demonstrators last fall.

Palestinian instructors barked commands at a squad of men who stamped their boots and rapped their clubs on their shields as they advanced on an imaginary demonstration – a tactic designed to intimidate without bloodshed.

Next week, the 64 graduates of the 12-day course will report for duty in their hometown of Jenin, an unruly hotbed of militants and heavily armed gangs.

Read morePalestinian police get training in riot control

Surging inflation will stoke riots and conflict between nations, says report

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Riots, protests and political unrest could multiply in the developing world as soaring inflation widens the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots”, an investment bank predicted yesterday.

Economists at Merrill Lynch view inflation as an “accident waiting to happen”. As prices for food and commodities surge, the bank expects global inflation to rise from 3.5% to 4.9% this year. In emerging markets, the average rate is to be 7.3%.

The cost of food and fuel has already been cited as a factor leading to violence in Haiti, protests by Argentinian farmers and riots in sub-Saharan Africa, including attacks on immigrants in South African townships.

Merrill’s chief international economist, Alex Patelis, said this could be the tip of the iceberg, warning of more trouble “between nations and within nations” as people struggle to pay for everyday goods. “Inflation has distributional effects. If everyone’s income moved by the same rate, you wouldn’t care – but it doesn’t,” said Patelis. “You have pensioners on fixed pensions. Some people produce rice that triples in price, while others consume it.”

A report by Merrill urges governments to crack down on inflation, describing the phenomenon as the primary driver of macroeconomic trends. The problem has emerged from poor food harvests, sluggish supplies of energy and soaring demand in rapidly industrialising countries such as China, where wage inflation has reached 18%.

Unless policymakers take action to dampen prices and wages, Merrill says sudden shortages could become more frequent. The bank cited power cuts in South Africa and a run on rice in Californian supermarkets as recent examples.

“You’re going to see tension between nations and within nations,” said Patelis.

The UN recently set up a taskforce to examine food shortages and price rises. It has expressed alarm that its world food programme is struggling to pay for food for those most at need.

Last month, the World Bank’s president, Robert Zoellick, suggested that 33 countries could erupt in social unrest following a rise of as much as 80% in food prices over three years.

Merrill’s report said the credit crunch has contributed to a global re-balancing, drawing to a close an era in which American consumers have been the primary drivers of the world’s economy.

In a gloomy set of forecasts, Merrill said it believes the US is in a recession – and that American house prices, which are among the root causes of the downturn, could fall by 15% over the next 18 months.

Read moreSurging inflation will stoke riots and conflict between nations, says report

China: Police State 2.0 is Ready for Export

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Excerpts from the long but excellent article:

“Over the past two years, some 200,000 surveillance cameras have been installed throughout the city. Many are in public spaces, disguised as lampposts.”

“The security cameras are just one part of a much broader high-tech surveillance and censorship program known in China as “Golden Shield.” The end goal is to use the latest people-tracking technology — thoughtfully supplied by American giants like IBM, Honeywell and General Electric — to create an airtight consumer cocoon:”

“Like everything else assembled in China with American parts, Police State 2.0 is ready for export to a neighborhood near you.”

“This is how this Golden Shield will work: Chinese citizens will be watched around the clock through networked CCTV cameras and remote monitoring of computers. They will be listened to on their phone calls, monitored by digital voice-recognition technologies. Their Internet access will be aggressively limited through the country’s notorious system of online controls known as the “Great Firewall.” Their movements will be tracked through national ID cards with scannable computer chips and photos that are instantly uploaded to police databases and linked to their holder’s personal data. This is the most important element of all: linking all these tools together in a massive, searchable database of names, photos, residency information, work history and biometric data. When Golden Shield is finished, there will be a photo in those databases for every person in China: 1.3 billion faces.”

“Here is a small sample of what the company (L-1) does: produces passports and passport cards for American citizens; takes finger scans of visitors to the U.S. under the Department of Homeland Security’s massive U.S.-Visit program; equips U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan with “mobile iris and multimodal devices” so they can collect biometric data in the field; maintains the State Department’s “largest facial-recognition database system”; and produces driver’s licenses in Illinois, Montana and North Carolina. In addition, L-1 has an even more secretive intelligence unit called SpecTal. Asked by a Wall Street analyst to discuss, in “extremely general” terms, what the division was doing with contracts worth roughly $100 million, the company’s CEO would only say, “Stay tuned.””

“It is L-1’s deep integration with multiple U.S. government agencies that makes its dealings in China so interesting: It isn’t just L-1 that is potentially helping the Chinese police to nab political dissidents, it’s U.S. taxpayers. The technology that Yao purchased for just a few thousand dollars is the result of Defense Department research grants and contracts going as far back as 1994, when a young academic named Joseph Atick (the research director Fordyce consulted on L-1’s China dealings) taught a computer at Rockefeller University to recognize his face.”
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Thirty years ago, the city of Shenzhen didn’t exist. Back in those days, it was a string of small fishing villages and collectively run rice paddies, a place of rutted dirt roads and traditional temples. That was before the Communist Party chose it – thanks to its location close to Hong Kong’s port – to be China’s first “special economic zone,” one of only four areas where capitalism would be permitted on a trial basis.

The theory behind the experiment was that the “real” China would keep its socialist soul intact while profiting from the private-sector jobs and industrial development created in Shenzhen. The result was a city of pure commerce, undiluted by history or rooted culture – the crack cocaine of capitalism. It was a force so addictive to investors that the Shenzhen experiment quickly expanded, swallowing not just the surrounding Pearl River Delta, which now houses roughly 100,000 factories, but much of the rest of the country as well.

Read moreChina: Police State 2.0 is Ready for Export

Town Halls should map race and religion to identify ‘tension hotspots’, says Hazel Blears

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More than 10 million people are to have their everyday disputes, their politics and their business lives checked by new “tension monitoring” committees.

The committees are to be set up to try to cut the risk of riots or disturbances in the aftermath of terrorist outrages or outbreaks of local racial trouble.

They will ask for and file reports on named troublemakers whose political activities are considered to be raising community tensions.

Reports on the behaviour and attitudes of local residents will be collected by community workers, neighbourhood wardens, local councillors and provided by voluntary organisations, according to a paper published by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears today.


Mrs. Umbridge or Mrs. Stasi ?

It will then be considered by the monitoring committees run by town halls.

A sample “tension monitoring form” for use in checking on the likelihood of local racial or religious trouble asks for details of individuals considered to be making political trouble.

The monitoring committees will ask for information on those identified as troublemakers with includes “age, gender, ethnicity and faith” of those being reported on.

Read moreTown Halls should map race and religion to identify ‘tension hotspots’, says Hazel Blears

‘Peel and Stick’ Tasers Electrify Riot Control

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Pretty soon, cops won’t just be packing stun guns. They’ll be carrying electrically-charged riot shields, zapping their unruly without unholstering their weapons. That is, if the folks at Taser International have their way.

The company just introduced the “Taser Shield Conversion Kit featuring the Taser Repel Laminate Film Technology.”

The kit “features a peel and stick perforated [f]ilm, power supply and necessary conversion equipment. This laminate becomes electrified providing a powerful deterrent to protect officers and keep suspects or rioters at bay.” What could possibly go wrong?

Taser is demoing all kinds of gear this week — from shock-inducing shotgun rounds to “area denial” zappers that can fry groups of people at once. It’s all part of the Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization’s Mock Prison Riot, a showcase for new police and correctional tech, held annually at on the grounds of the former West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville. (David Axe covered the so-called “Rage in the Cage” for DANGER ROOM last year.)

The peel-and-stick zapping film will be available towards the end of the year, the company says. Our buddy Lew Page, over at El Reg, wonders, “Whatever’s next? Electrified body-armour suits? Gauntlets? Truly, the day of the electric cop would seem to be upon us.”

And we can think of lots of other things one might do with this sort of Taser-on-a-roll technology. Troublesome dogs or drunks relieving themselves against your wall? People keep touching your car? Borrowing your stuff? Cover it in peel-and-stick zappercoat (with a car-key-style remote disarm as required), plug it in and watch the fun (and lawsuits) begin.

By Noah Shachtman
13, 2008 | 10:29:00 AM

Source: Wired

THE FOUR HORSEMEN APPROACH – FAMINE IS IN THE AIR

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“Police agencies and military units are training around the clock every day of every week across the land in preparation for riots, confiscations and detentions on a scale never before contemplated. Communications will be controlled, then severed, as the government and the military begin a “black-out” that will erase the final “freedom” that Americans have enjoyed through the use of cell phones and the internet. This will be so they can implement their battle plans without your knowing of it or being able to sound the alarm.”

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Hyperbole is not something I engage in for shock value alone and it is definitely not something I enjoy contemplating while discussing our national state of affairs. However, it is becoming more and more commonplace in discussions that deal with the United States and its immediate future.

If, as casual readers of current events, you have become aware of the escalating sense of urgency, with the impending multiple world crises, then you are most likely comprehending the current history making events as they unfold. Wars and rumors of war, pestilence, mysterious shakings in the heavens, earthquakes, AND now the ravages of world-wide famine are occurring around us at this very moment. Does this announce the Biblical introduction of the “end times?” I cannot answer that. I am not qualified to assess those prophesized events from a theological perspective. I can tell you from a military frame of mind, a common sense evaluation and a law enforcement point of view, that these days are like riding on a wild cat’s ass, and you ain’t seen nothing yet.

I have been sounding the call for your total commitment and preparation as one crises leads to another. I have laid out before you the need to store food, water, natural medicines, weapons, rugged winter clothing, extra tools and hardware. I have suggested geographical locations and travel routes to many of you who just couldn’t quite figure it out. Further, I have warned you of shortages of fuels, bulk foods and ammunition. The message has been loud and clear. I know also that it has been easier to shove all this aside and get on with other, simpler things. Simple times are over.

Read moreTHE FOUR HORSEMEN APPROACH – FAMINE IS IN THE AIR

The World According to Monsanto – A documentary that Americans won’t ever see.

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On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television (ARTE – French-German cultural TV channel) by French journalist and filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin, The World According to Monsanto – A documentary that Americans won’t ever see. The gigantic biotech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years.

I highly recommend this video. This is so important.

A Weekend to Start Fixing the World

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As Finance Ministers Convene Here, Multiple Crises Test Their Ability to Cope

Financial markets are tumbling. The world economy is starting to sputter. Food prices have shot up so far, so fast, that there are riots in the streets of many poor nations.

It’s a hard time to be one of the masters of the global economy.

Those leaders — finance ministers from all over the world — are gathering in Washington this weekend to sort out their reactions to the most profound global economic crises in at least a decade. The situation could reveal the limitations that international economic institutions face in dealing with the risks inherent to global capitalism.

“There’s got to be something coming out of the weekend, a way to visibly assume public responsibility for trying to limit the damage that financial markets can do to our society,” said Colin Bradford, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “The pressure is on politicians this weekend to come up with an answer. . . . What is the power structure going to do about this?”

The Group of Seven finance ministers of major industrialized countries meet today, and the governing boards of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank will meet tomorrow and Sunday. Their agendas: in the case of the G-7 and IMF, countering the breakdown in financial markets; in the case of the World Bank, food inflation that threatens to drive more of the world’s poorest people into starvation.

Read moreA Weekend to Start Fixing the World