U.K.

Big Brother UK: CCTV Cameras ‘Help Solve 6 Crimes a Day’

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Britain’s largest force solves six crimes every day by identifying suspects from CCTV, according to a senior officer.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville said Scotland Yard has revolutionised the use of CCTV by treating it like DNA or fingerprints.

The officer, who heads the Met’s identification unit, said the number of suspects identified by his team has risen by a quarter to 2,512.

The majority of suspected villains are named by officers and informants but some are passed on for public appeals.

He said: “The key to our success is that images, unidentified images, are treated as a forensic discipline. They are treated like fingerprints and DNA. When we get them we make sure that every effort is made to identify them.

“It is not the technology, it is more about managing it in a way that produces the best results. That is why we have got police forces from around the world coming to see how we do it. We had officers from Sweden and Holland over in the last week.”

The Met identified 2,512 wanted people in 2010, compared with 1,970 the previous year. The figures included four suspected murderers, 23 rapists and sex attackers and five wanted gunmen.

Read moreBig Brother UK: CCTV Cameras ‘Help Solve 6 Crimes a Day’

Human Rights Group Liberty Sues Scotland Yard Over Violent Tactics Against Teenagers During London Tuition Fees Demonstration

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Related information:

– 1. MET Police May Ban Future Protests in Central London 2. Water Cannons Would Turn London Into A Battle Zone – And, As In Northern Ireland, The Rioters Would Fight Back:

“Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul said he was proud of the professionalism of the 3,000 officers on duty”

Oh, really?:

– UK Student Protester Jody McIntyre Dragged From Wheelchair By Police (Shameful BBC Interview)

– UK: Mounted Police Charge Fees Protesters (Video), Police Investigate Truncheon Attack

See also:

– 15 Year-Old Tells Establishment to Stick-it

Metropolitan Police face legal action for kettling children during tuition fees protest


Police hold protesters back during the demonstration over tuition fees and university funding on 24 November in London. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Scotland Yard is facing legal action over claims that officers “falsely imprisoned” and assaulted schoolchildren during a tuition fees protest in London last month.

In what is believed to be the first lawsuit taken against police in connection with the violence, lawyers from human rights group Liberty have notified the Metropolitan Police of legal action involving minors who suffered “inhuman and degrading treatment” during a protest on 24 November.

The organisation claims the treatment of children amounted to a breach of their human rights after they were “kettled” by officers during the demonstrations for up to nine hours in cold conditions, without food, and were denied medical help despite some of them suffering injuries, including at least two fractures.

The claim is on behalf of three young protesters, one of whom is a 15-year-old whose foot was broken after allegedly being struck by an officer when trying to leave a police kettle and who claims she was subsequently refused medical help. Another is a 17-year-old London student who became so distressed inside the “kettle” that her father said she came away suffering from shock. The third is Rory Evans, 19, whose ankle was broken during a crowd surge among protesters contained between police lines.

Lawyers believe the Met breached the European convention on human rights on at least four counts. The case is believed to be the first of what many observers believe could be a number against police over the protests.

The 15-year-old claimant, a GCSE pupil who was wearing her school uniform, describes how she became anxious while “kettled” and decided to go home. The teenager was climbing a gate to leave when an officer pulled her down and struck her.

A letter to Scotland Yard’s legal team states: “The police officer continued to pull her down, causing her to fall on to the floor. She picked herself back up and the police officer then hit her hard on her foot with a baton. She was then alone in the ‘kettled’ area and barely able to walk unassisted.” “She was extremely cold and frightened and in a great deal of pain,” the letter adds.

The 17-year-old, an A-level student, joined the protest and was kettled within 15 minutes of arriving in Whitehall. For six hours she unsuccessfully asked officers to allow her to leave because she was desperate to go to the toilet. At 6pm, portable toilets were delivered outside the “kettle”, but after the teenager was allowed to use them she was escorted back inside the crowd. She has described seeing a woman pleading to be released because she felt nauseous. Later she was escorted from the kettle, vomited by the side of the road and was taken back into the kettle without receiving any medical attention.

After seven hours police said she could leave when her father turned up.

Read moreHuman Rights Group Liberty Sues Scotland Yard Over Violent Tactics Against Teenagers During London Tuition Fees Demonstration

Britain: Coldest Christmas Day EVER (-18C)

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Cold crossing: A frozen River Severn at Ironbridge near Telford, Shropshire, as the icy December continues

Britons awoke yesterday to the coldest Christmas Day on record.

In parts of the country, the mercury touched minus 18C, chillier than Lapland, and few places saw temperatures rise above freezing.

At 8am in Shawbury, Shropshire, it was minus 15.9C and in Altnaharra, in the Highlands of Scotland, minus 18.2C.

Forecasters predict this December is likely to be the coldest on record. The previous coldest was in 1890, when the average temperature for the whole month for England was minus 0.8C.

Read moreBritain: Coldest Christmas Day EVER (-18C)

UK: December Set To Be Coldest For A Century

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– If this is global warming, I think the species will survive (Telegraph):

It’s not just Britain. Half of Europe has been paralysed by the continuing effects of global warming. Belgian drivers have been advised to stay at home, Germany’s roads are void and inert, Charles de Gaulle airport is barely functioning, the Netherlands is frozen solid.

Dec. 25 — As the icy weather set to continue, the UK could be heading for its coldest December since 1890, forecasters said.

Temperatures were expected to remain below freezing on Boxing Day with spells of rain, sleet and snow in northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of west Wales and far west England, spreading eastwards overnight.

But they added that temperatures could rise as high as 10C (50F) by the middle of next week as a new weather system moves in from the Atlantic.

Those braving the bleak mid-winter to get away for Christmas yesterday faced reduced rail services, icy roads and continuing cancellations and delays to flights.

Read moreUK: December Set To Be Coldest For A Century

UK: Interest Rates ‘Will Have To Rise Sixfold in 2 Years’ to Cope With Rising Inflation

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The Bank of England created all this inflation with QE:

– Quantitative Easing Explained

Just exchange the Fed with the BoE and ‘THE BEN BERNANK’ with ‘THE MERVY KING’.

Quantitative easing =  printing money = creating money out of thin air = increasing the money supply = inflation = hidden tax on monetary assets = theft!

Interest rates will have to rise almost sixfold over the next two years to cope with rising inflation, business leaders have warned.


Interest rates will rise six fold in two years

It will bring financial pain to seven million home owners with floating interest rates who will see a jump of almost £200 on a typical monthly mortgage payment.

Charities have already warned that repossessions are likely to rise next year and the threat of a succession of quick interest rate rises will exacerbate their fears.

The Confederation of British Industry predicts that higher than anticipated rises in the cost of living will push the Bank of England (BoE) to begin increasing interest rates in the spring.

It predicted that the Bank base rate – the interest rate at which the BoE lends to other banks – will rise more than two percentage points by the end of 2012. Mortgage rates are expected to follow closely behind.

“Many households have been benefiting (from the low interest rates) in terms of mortgage payments, but that will start to turn over the next couple of years,” said Lai Wah Co, the CBI’s head of economic analysis.

The organisation predicts that the Consumer Prices Index, the Government’s preferred measure of inflation, will reach 3.8 per cent within the first three months of next year and that it will still be well above the Bank’s 2 per cent target two years from now. It currently stands at 3.3 per cent.

Read moreUK: Interest Rates ‘Will Have To Rise Sixfold in 2 Years’ to Cope With Rising Inflation

UK Government Urges ISPs to Block Porn, ISPs Hit Back At Proposal To Ban Porn

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Government Supports ISP Porn Filter

The government has urged UK Internet service providers to block pornographic websites in order to help protect children.

UK communications minister Ed Vaizey is expected to meet representatives from UK ISPs BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media to discuss the possibility of blocking pornographic websites at homes with children by default.

Under the plans, access to such websites will be blocked unless a person of appropriate age opts-in to regain access to pornographic content on the web.

Vaizey said in a statement: “This is a very serious matter. I think it is very important that it’s the ISPs (Internet service providers) that come up with solutions to protect children. I’m hoping they will get their acts together so we don’t have to legislate, but we are keeping an eye on the situation and we will have a new communications bill in the next couple of years.”

However, the Open Rights group has voiced its concerns over a blacklist being controlled by the government as they fear that it would turn into a front for blocking websites like WikiLeaks.

20 December, 2010

Source:  IT Pro Portal

ISPs Hit Back At British Proposal To Ban Porn


The British government is planning to ask internet service providers (ISP’s) in the U.K. to restrict access to pornographic web sites and protect children from gaining access–but it’ll probably have a hard time getting them to toe the line.

The Internet Service Provider Association said today that controls on children’s access to the Internet “should be managed by parents and carers with the tools ISP’s provide, rather than being imposed top-down.”

It comes after U.K. communications minister Ed Vaizey said he would meet with Internet providers like BT, Virgin Media and Talk Talk “in the near future” to discuss the way households access pornography online.

“I’m hoping they will get their acts together so that we don’t have to legislate,” he told The Sunday Times, “but we are keeping an eye on the situation and we will have a new communications bill in the next couple of years.”

Read moreUK Government Urges ISPs to Block Porn, ISPs Hit Back At Proposal To Ban Porn

Winter Blast Brings Britain to a Standstill

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Related articles:

– Britain Could Be Shivering in Temperatures Colder Than Siberia, Snow Storms Could Put 1,000 Firms Out of Business


No traffic on the M61 in Lancashire as heavy snow shuts part of the motorway

Millions of Britons faced travel misery today with planes grounded, rail services cancelled and roads rendered impassable on what is traditionally the busiest weekend before Christmas.

Plunging temperatures and heavy snow saw large swathes of the country grind to a standstill, as London’s Gatwick Airport closed its runway and British Airways cancelled flights at Heathrow.

Overnight blizzards and plummeting temperatures buckled a huge chunk of the nation’s road and rail networks, as the latest blast of wintery weather showed little sign of easing.

This weekend is expected to be the busiest for retailers and commuters in the run-up to December 25 but many are expected to face chaos as the transport network bears the brunt of the big freeze.

Air passengers have already faced disruption at Exeter, London City, Aberdeen and Cardiff airports, while Belfast City was closed last night, with flights expected to resume at 11am.

Southampton Airport was closed until 12pm and flights to certain destinations from Birmingham were also grounded.

Delays and cancellations were expected at Belfast International while a spokesman for Heathrow said the airport was open but would be “challenged” today.

“Heathrow is fully operational but we are expecting more snow and planning for the worst,” he said.

Read moreWinter Blast Brings Britain to a Standstill

Britain Braces For Weeks of Transport Chaos

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Britain is gritting its teeth and its roads today in anticipation of the return of Arctic conditions, with heavy snow and ice storms likely to bring wide-scale disruption. With many parts of the country only just beginning to return to normal after weeks of sub-zero temperatures, the Met Office said up to 25cm of snow was expected to fall in parts of Scotland, North Wales, Northern Ireland and the West Country. Overnight temperatures were likely to plunge to -12C on high ground and to -5C in London over the weekend. Today, the mercury is unlikely to rise much above freezing point even in major cities.

Full article: The Independent

Britain Could Be Shivering in Temperatures Colder Than Siberia, Snow Storms Could Put 1,000 Firms Out of Business

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Experts have warned that Britain could be shivering in temperatures colder than Siberia over the next few days.

Customers relying on home deliveries face an anxious wait, with hauliers warning that thousands of items could still be stuck in warehouses on Christmas morning.

Temperatures are expected to drop to -15C (5F) in the coming days, leaving Britain colder than the North Pole, the Arctic and Alaska.

It is feared that shops which have already been severely hit by freezing conditions in January and November will not be able to cope with a third spell of bad weather. Yesterday Amazon became the latest retailer to bring forward its final order deadline for guaranteed Christmas delivery while the shopping channels QVC and Ideal World said they could not guarantee that orders placed now would arrive in time for Christmas.

Douglas McWilliams, the chief executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said: “As many as 800 or 900 businesses could go bankrupt which otherwise wouldn’t have, because this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

David Greaves, director of the insurance company RSA, added that, with the economy already suffering a £4.8billion loss and businesses fearing a further £8.4billion hit because of the weather, “many smaller businesses may not be in a position to cope”.

Synovate, a retail analyst that counts shoppers electronically at 5,500 British stores, said high streets have already lost a week’s worth of shoppers this winter because of snow and ice.

It said shopper numbers had been down by almost 50 per cent in some areas, with a nationwide 15 per cent fall from Nov 28 to Dec 4, a seven per cent fall from Dec 5 to Dec 11 and a fall of almost five per cent on Sunday compared with the same time last year. The British Retail Consortium said that shoppers would not be put off so easily during this cold snap because it is the last weekend before Christmas. Sarah Cordey, a BRC spokesman, said shops had largely “caught up” with their losses from November but stores were hoping for a bumper weekend to make up the loss they made at the beginning of the month.

Up to 12ins of snow are predicted to fall in parts of Britain, accompanied by strong winds. Temperatures are likely to struggle to get above freezing over the weekend, dropping at night to between -7C (19.4F) to -15C (5F).

Jonathan Powell, of Positive Weather Solutions, said it was possible that Britain’s record coldest recorded temperature, -27.2C (-16.96F) at Braemar, Scotland, on Feb 11, 1895, and Jan 10, 1982, could be broken.

Read moreBritain Could Be Shivering in Temperatures Colder Than Siberia, Snow Storms Could Put 1,000 Firms Out of Business

UK Student Protester Jody McIntyre Dragged From Wheelchair By Police (Shameful BBC Interview)

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In case you are wondering why protesters got violent watch this:

– UK: Mounted Police Charge Fees Protesters (Video), Police Investigate Truncheon Attack

If police launch a truncheon attack like this one at protesters, which could have injured, even killed people, then I find it very much justified that the protesters defended themselves against it.

And now listen to this BBC ‘interview’…


Added: 13. December 2010

20yr old disabled protester Jody McIntyre was disgracefully dragged from his wheelchair by four MET police officers during student protests against the two tier education system being introduced to the UK.

BBC anchorman Ben Brown begins by badgering the shocked victim who suffers from Cerebal Palsy, for not reporting the incident immediately, but who was he going to call, the police or the Ghost Busters??

Next the BBC man suggests that Mr McIntyre menaced the officers by “wheeling towards them”, only to be told by Jody that he has no physical control of his chair. Jody was then asked if he threw any missiles at police, or shouted any abuse that would have provoked the police reaction. What dreadfully soul destroying words did these officers hear??

This is a shameful use of BBC interview intimidation techniques (IIT) against a victim of disgusting police brutality. Shame on the MET police and shame on the BBC.

The No.1 Trend Forecaster Gerald Celente: Righteous Rage – Wikileaks BS – Class Warfare Has Begun – Bailout Bubble Bursting – The Great War – This Is Not America, It’s Fascism

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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

Rage against the Fed, the Media and all things else

Added:15. December 2010

On Wikileaks:

– Who Is Really Behind Wikileaks?

– Wikileaks: A US Government Con Job

–  Wikileaks: Brought to you by the CIA or Mossad

More with Gerald Celente:

– America – The End of Liberty (Documentary)

– Interview With Gerald Celente: The Gestapo of Food

– Overdose – The Next Financial Crisis (Documentary)

– The No.1 Trend Forecaster Gerald Celente: And Now We’re Headed For The GREATEST Depression

Read moreThe No.1 Trend Forecaster Gerald Celente: Righteous Rage – Wikileaks BS – Class Warfare Has Begun – Bailout Bubble Bursting – The Great War – This Is Not America, It’s Fascism

Forecasters Predict UK Big Freeze Could Last Until Mid-February

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* Temperatures could break record low of -23C
* Hard frost between snowfalls means dangerous weekend conditions


Record: A walker trudges through deep snow during the first round off the Big Freeze in Braemar, Scotland, which could see record low temperatures this winter

Britain is bracing itself for fresh snowfalls tonight as a second bout of the Big Freeze is predicted to stretch its icy grip across the country.

Forecasters are predicting temperatures could fall below the current record low of minus 23C and that the bitter cold will extend into mid-February.

The dramatic change in weather conditions is due to arrive tonight with up to eight inches of snow drifting in on savage Arctic winds.

With severe weather warnings in place for ten regions, the cold is expected to first blow in through the east of Scotland and then push into Northern England overnight, creating icy conditions by rush hour tomorrow morning.

That will be followed by heavy snowfall throughout Thursday morning which will get steadily worse until the weekend.

‘Because we have already had a cold start in December and the first bout of snow, I wouldn’t be surprised if a record is broken this winter,’ said Mr Powell.

‘The lowest temperatures we are predicting at the moment will be -11c in Braemar, near Fort William in Scotland, but with a wind chill of -17, which is how it will actually feel to people there.

‘The record for Scotland is -23 at Braemar in 1919, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that goes this winter.

Read moreForecasters Predict UK Big Freeze Could Last Until Mid-February

Bank of England Survey: British Household Debts Reach A Record High

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And this is the BoE’s advice:

– Bank of England deputy Charles Bean to Brits: Spend, spend, spend!

More than half of households are struggling to repay credit cards and loans, a Bank of England survey suggested today.

A total of 51% of respondents reported that their unsecured debts were a “burden” – a record high for the annual study.

Illustrating the financial pressures faced by millions, one in two households also said they had seen their disposable income fall over the past year.

More than a quarter – or 28% – said their monthly earnings had fallen by more than £100 during that time, with just 14% saying it had gone up.

Read moreBank of England Survey: British Household Debts Reach A Record High

Home Secretary Theresa May: Police Could Use Water Cannon To Disperse Rioters

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Water cannons, because the cavalry attack failed…

– UK: Mounted Police Charge Fees Protesters (Video), Police Investigate Truncheon Attack

… and the people won’t give in:

– 15 Year-Old Tells Establishment to Stick-it

Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has opened the way for water cannon to be used on the British mainland for the first time if future demonstrations escalate into uncontrollable violence.


Police used water cannons on the rioters Photo: AP

Ministers will not stand in the way if senior officers wanted to use it, she said.

And in the wake of last week’s shocking scenes in central London’s West End Mrs May warned that future demonstrations needed to be policed “robustly.”

The sight of an out-of-control mob vandalising parts of Westminster has led to accusations that the Conservatives are weak on law-and-order.

In the UK water cannon has only been deployed in Northern Ireland, at various points throughout the Troubles, and its use has been resisted until now by senior police officers elsewhere in Britain. However, it is widely used as a crowd control tactic abroad.

Read moreHome Secretary Theresa May: Police Could Use Water Cannon To Disperse Rioters

UK: Mounted Police Charge Fees Protesters (Video), Police Investigate Truncheon Attack

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Unbelievable! This video is a must-see!

And what will happen next time?



This is complete madness.

All those police officers should be fired and charged with assault.



The police watchdog launched an independent investigation today after a 20-year-old student was left unconscious with bleeding on the brain after being hit on the head with a police truncheon.

Alfie Meadows, a philosophy student at Middlesex University, was struck as he tried to leave the area outside Westminster Abbey during last night’s tuition fee protests, his mother said.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission launched an investigation, but warned that inquiries were still at an early stage.

After falling unconscious on the way to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Mr Meadows underwent a three-hour operation for bleeding on the brain.

His mother Susan, 55, an English literature lecturer at Roehampton University, said: “He was hit on the head by a police truncheon.

Read moreUK: Mounted Police Charge Fees Protesters (Video), Police Investigate Truncheon Attack

UK Big Freeze to Last at Least Another Month

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Shivering Britain can expect at least another month of bitterly cold temperatures with many parts failing to get much above zero until the middle of January, forecasters have warned.


Heavy snow fell on Scotland and northern England last week Photo: PA By Martin Evans 6:39PM GMT 09 Dec 2010

So far December has seen some of the coldest temperatures and heaviest snowfalls since 1981, but with no let up on the horizon, it could end up being the worst winter since 1910.

Parts of northern England and central Scotland have seen lows of (0F) -18C while the mercury has continued to drop in the south.

But apart from a brief respite over the coming weekend, when temperatures are expected to climb slightly, the cold snap is likely to continue throughout Christmas and well into January.

Drivers are being warned to remain vigilant and cautious as many road surfaces will be icy and treacherous for many weeks to come.

Read moreUK Big Freeze to Last at Least Another Month

Student Riots In London (Video)

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Added: 9. December 2010

Mass demonstrations by thousands of students and trade unionists in central London against an increase in tuition fees, are growing more violent.

It’s the latest and the largest in a string of rallies against sweeping austerity measures and budget cuts across Europe.

What started as a relatively peaceful march later turned into violent clashes with the police, which is largerly outnumbered by the demonstrators.

Traitor And War Criminal Tony Blair Summoned Back to Iraq Inquiry to be Quizzed Over New Evidence

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Traitor …

– Iraq inquiry: UK Government lied, ‘intentionally and substantially’ exaggerated WMD threat (Telegraph)

– Tony Blair Was Warned By All 27 Senior Government Lawyers That Iraq War Was Illegal (Daily Express)

– Tony Blair ‘knew Iraq did not have WMD before war started’ (Times)

– US and UK knew that Iraq Didn’t Have WMDs

– Dutch Inquiry: Iraq War Was Illegal, Had ‘No Basis In International Law’ (Guardian)

… and war criminal (GENOCIDE):

– Iraq: Fallujah Doctors Report Dramatic Rise In Birth Defects (BBC News)

– What Depleted Uranium Does to Children in Iraq: Japanese Journalist

– Depleted Uranium Shells Worse Than Nuclear Weapons:

Inhaled or ingested DU particles are highly toxic, and DU has been classified as an illegal weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.
“More than ten times the amount of radiation released during atmospheric testing [of nuclear bombs] has been released from DU weaponry since 1991,” said Leuren Moret, a U.S. nuclear scientist. “The genetic future of the Iraqi people, for the most part, is destroyed. The environment now is completely radioactive.”
“Because DU has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, the Middle East will, for all practical purposes, be radioactive forever.”

Former prime minister recalled to face Chilcot panel over revelations of warnings he was given before Iraq invasion


Tony Blair giving evidence to the Chilcot inquiry in January of this year. He will face the panel again early next year. Photograph: PA

Tony Blair is to be summoned back to the official inquiry into the Iraq invasion in light of damaging and conflicting evidence revealed since he appeared as a witness earlier this year.

Blair will give evidence between 18 January and 4 February next year along with Admiral Lord Boyce, the former chief of the defence staff, and Jack Straw, the former foreign secretary. Three successive cabinet secretaries who operated at the heart of Whitehall will also be called.

Members of the Chilcot panel are believed to be concerned about the revelation in documents released in June that the former prime minister was warned by his government’s chief law officer that an invasion of Iraq would be illegal the day before he privately assured George Bush he would support US-led military action.

The documents gave an unprecedented insight into how the then attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, repeatedly warned Blair of the consequences of invading Iraq without fresh UN authority, much to the prime minister’s irritation.

Read moreTraitor And War Criminal Tony Blair Summoned Back to Iraq Inquiry to be Quizzed Over New Evidence

Max Keiser: The IMF Is Bankrupt – The Fed And The Banksters – Iceland Report – And More

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Must-see!


Added: 7. December 2010

This time, Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, challenge French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, to play football against Manchester United if she can’t keep French banks from running to the U.S. Federal Reserve for emergency cash.

– Meet The 35 Foreign Banks That Got Bailed Out By The Fed (And This Is Just The CPFF Banks) (ZeroHedge):

One may be forgiven to believe that via its FX liquidity swap lines the Fed only bailed out foreign Central Banks, which in turn took the money and funded their own banks. It turns out that is only half the story: we now know the Fed also acted in a secondary bail out capacity, providing over $350 billion in short term funding exclusively to 35 foreign banks, of which the biggest beneficiaries were UBS, Dexia and BNP. Since the funding provided was in the form of ultra-short maturity commercial paper it was essentially equivalent to cash funding. In other words, between October 27, 2008 and August 6, 2009, the Fed spent $350 billion in taxpayer funds to save 35 foreign banks. And here people are wondering if the Fed will ever allow stocks to drop: it is now more than obvious that with all banks leveraging the equity exposure to the point where a market decline would likely start a Lehman-type domino, there is no way that the Brian Sack-led team of traders will allow stocks to drop ever… Until such time nature reasserts itself, the market collapses without GETCO or the PPT being able to catch it, and the Fed is finally wiped out in one way or another.


(Click on image to enlarge.)

The 35 companies in question:

UBS
Dexia SA
BNP Paribas
Barclays PLC
Royal Bank of Scotland Group
Commerzbank AG
Danske Bank A/S
ING Groep NV
WestLB
Handelsbanken
Deutsche Post AG
Erste Group Bank AG
NordLB
Free State of Bavaria
KBC
HSH Nordbank AG
Unicredit
HSBC Holdings PLC
DZ Bank AG
Republic of Korea
Rabobank
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Banco Espirito Santo SA
Bank of Nova Scotia
Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd.
Syngenta AG
Mitsui & Co Ltd
Bank of Montreal
Caixa Geral de Depósitos
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd
Mitsubishi Corp
Aegon NV
Royal Bank of Canada
Sumitomo Corp

A History of Gold

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… and a short history of fiat currencies:

And soon one dollar will be completely worthless.

From 3600 BC to the present day, from deep underground to outer space, gold has been a major factor in the world’s development and economy.


Franklin Roosevelt, pictured with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin, suspended US dollar convertibility to gold in 1933

3600 BC – First smelting of gold

Egyptian goldsmiths carry out the first melting or fusing of ores in order to separate the metals inside. They use blowpipes made from fire-resistant clay to heat the smelting furnace.

2600 BC – Early gold jewellery

Goldsmiths of ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) craft one of the earliest pieces of gold jewellery, a burial headdress of lapis and carnelian beads with willow leaf-shaped gold pendants.

1223 BC – Creation of Tutankhamun’s funeral mask

Instantly recognised the world over, the funeral mask of Tutankhamun is a triumph of gold craftsmanship from the ancient world.

Read moreA History of Gold

UK: Food shelves empty and petrol running out as icy roads make deliveries impossible…

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And ATM’s are running out of cash:

– Cash machines are running out of money due to snow (Telegraph):

Cash machines are running out of money ahead of what is traditionally one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

The heaviest snowfall for 20 years means security vans carrying cash are being prevented from making deliveries to their regular destinations.

High street bank HSBC confirmed yesterday that snow was causing problems for some of its drivers.

It reported that 7 per cent of its cash machines were closed yesterday and that if levels dropped any further, it would be reach “unacceptable levels”.

* Two pensioners die after collapsing in their gardens
* Milder temperatures expected tomorrow but falling again on Sunday
* Short-haul flights from Gatwick cancelled until 5pm
* Petrol forecourts run dry as deliveries are held up
* Rail networks cancel services for the third day running

Petrol forecourts were today running dry and food stores were struggling to replenish their shelves as icy conditions halted deliveries.

‘Critical’ shortages of petrol have been reported by the RMI Petrol Retailers Association, with remote areas being particularly badly affected.

Some fuel stations have also been accused of ‘cashing in’ on the crisis by increasing their prices – with one garage in Surrey putting up the cost of diesel per litre from £1.24 to £1.28 within the past four days.

The news came as snowfalls eased but temperatures plummeted even further, dropping -20.1C in Scotland and -7C in London and Birmingham overnight.

Read moreUK: Food shelves empty and petrol running out as icy roads make deliveries impossible…

UK Cold Weather Budget Already Overspent

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See also:

– UK: Food shelves empty and petrol running out as icy roads make deliveries impossible…

£100m cold weather payments ‘put hole in DWP budget’

The early bout of arctic weather has already triggered £100 million of extra benefits spending, more than the sum ministers had budgeted for the entire winter.


Around four million old and vulnerable people this week received the first cold weather payments of the year.

But the early arrival of wintry weather threatens to punch a hole in the budget of the Department of Work and Pensions, which makes the payments.

Low temperatures this week triggered extra payments to pensioners and other welfare recipients, who get £25 for each seven day period of extremely cold weather between 1 November and 31 March.

Payments are triggered when temperatures are recorded as falling to freezing point over seven consecutive days.

The first payments arrived in recipients’ accounts on Wednesday.

The DWP said it has spent £103 million on the payments this week.

However, the Treasury projection for cold weather payments this year had been only £76 million.

The Treasury said its projection is based on long-term averages for British winter temperatures.

Read moreUK Cold Weather Budget Already Overspent

UK Banks Borrowed More Than $1 Trillion From US Federal Reserve

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Related articles:

– Federal Reserve Withholds Collateral Data for $885 Billion in Financial-Crisis Loans

– Federal Reserve Made $9 Trillion In Emergency Overnight Loans

– Has the Federal Reserve become the central bank of the world?

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British banks borrowed more than $1 trillion (£640bn) from the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis, led by Barclays following its swoop on the US business of Lehman Brothers.


The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act forced the Federal Reserve to reveal which banks and companies it lent money to

The disclosures came because the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act forced the Fed to reveal which banks and companies it lent money to in an effort to shore up the financial system from the end of December 2007 onwards.

It released the details of more than 21,000 individual transactions on its website on Wednesday, which showed that British banks represented more than a third – about $1.5 trillion – of the $3,300bn lent by the US authorities to prop up the financial sector.

Barclays borrowed $863bn from the Fed, with almost half coming in overnight loans through the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, a programme established by the central bank to help those banks that deal in US Treasuries.

Barclays has since repaid all its loans and said that much of its then borrowing was down to its purchase of Lehman’s US business.

Royal Bank of Scotland borrowed $446bn, Bank of Scotland $181bn, Abbey National $19bn and HSBC borrowed less than $10bn.

The figures for the banks represent the total amount they borrowed and not the total outstanding borrowing at any one point.

Read moreUK Banks Borrowed More Than $1 Trillion From US Federal Reserve