Émission de radio L'Autre Monde

Émission de radio L'Autre Monde

lundi 7 mars 2011

L'Autre Monde 7 mars 2011: Les Mayas et 2012, les métaux précieux en feu et révolution en Lybie

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L'Autre Monde 7 mars 2011: Les Mayas et 2012, les métaux précieux en feu et révolution en Lybie


Pour écouter, ou pour télécharger, simplement cliquer sur le lien ici:

L'Autre Monde 7 mars 2011

120 min / Radio de l'UQAM, CHOQ FM


Diffusion en direct : Lundi à 15:00h
Animation : François Marginean
Réalisation : François Marginean
Chronique : Stéphane Poutoire
Archives d'émission




Au programme cette semaine, 7 mars 2011:


Actualités mondiales, poursuite du dossier économie et des révoltes en Afrique du nord, au Moyen-Orient et jusqu'au Wisconsin, USA.

Soyez de la partie les lundis dès 15h sur les ondes de CHOQ FM, la radio officielle de l'UQÀM, l'alternative à Montréal et dans le monde!




***Hyperliens vers les sources des informations discutées sur l'émission d'aujourd'hui:

Google's email service wipes entire email accounts of 150,000 Gmail users

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1361334/Googles-email-service-wipes-entire-accounts-150-000-Gmail-users.html

About 150,000 Gmail users have had their accounts deleted, including every email, application, contact and calendar information, Google confirmed today.

The problem first arose late yesterday when thousands logged onto their accounts, only to find all their personal information had been erased.

Many found that their accounts had been effectively reset, as they were greeted by the message Google welcomes new users with.

‘Our engineers are working as quickly as possible and we hope to have everything back to normal soon. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience to our customers.’

Initial estimates were that 0.23 per cent of all users were affected, but this was revised down by Google to 0.08 per cent, or around 150,000 users.

Gmail has suffered from outages in the past, but there has never been reported problems of entire accounts being deleted on such a scale.


Ice Lake Found on Mars

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express has snapped an image of a modest ice lake on the Red Planet.

The frozen patch of water ice is tucked away in an unnamed impact crater. The feature is located on Vastitas Borealis, a broad plain that covers much of the far northern latitudes.


Largest earthquake in 35 years hits Arkansas

The activity has garnered national attention and researchers are studying whether there's a possible connection to the region's natural gas drilling industry.


Veteran Suffering From Terminal Cancer After Being Exposed To Depleted Uranium Battles For Pension


Pakistan court rejects Davis' claim about diplomatic immunity

Raymond Davis arrested for a double murder, a Pakistani court today rejected his claim that he has diplomatic immunity and said it would go ahead with his trial.

During the last hearing of the case, 37-year-old Davis, a suspected CIA contractor, had filed an application in which he insisted that he had immunity.


Davis Arrest Throws US Undercover Campaign in Pakistan into Disarray

As I reported earlier, both Pakistani and Indian news organizations are claiming, based upon intelligence sources, that Davis was involved in not just intelligence work, but in orchestrating terrorist activity by both the Pakistani Taliban and the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which has been linked to both the assassination of Benezir Bhutto and the capture and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Multiple calls to members of both groups were found by police on some of the cell phones found on Davis and in his car when he was arrested in Lahore.

Webmaster's Commentary:

No wonder the CIA is desperate to get this guy back!


Pakistan arrests 2nd US security contractor, Aaron Dehaven, as rift with CIA deepens

Peshawar police arrested Aaron DeHaven, a contractor who recently worked for the US embassy in Islamabad, saying that his visa had expired.

Little was known about DeHaven except that his firm, which also has offices in Afghanistan and Dubai, is staffed by retired US military and defence personnel who boast of direct experience in the “global war on terror”.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Translation: Davis has been "persuaded" to talk, and Pakistan is rolling up the US spy network.



BP:


Gulf oil wells 10 miles from Deepwater Horizon site leaking since 2004

While the Deepwater Horizon well has been capped since July, another group of wells about 10 miles away has been leaking oil into the Gulf since 2004, according to federal records.

Citing litigation, federal officials refused last week to answer a series of questions about the ongoing leaks, including how many wells are involved, how much oil has escaped into the Gulf and whether any fines have been issued to Taylor Energy Co, LLC, the company that owns the wells.

Federal officials said a cleanup agreement between the government and Taylor Energy “is the subject of a pending lawsuit concerning the release of details about the decommissioning project.”


Meanwhile, Back In the OTHER Gulf

Washington’s Blog

The Middle East is in the news a lot ... rightfully so.

But - unfortunately - there are still many newsworthy occurrences back in the other Gulf ... the Gulf of Mexico.

Here are some of the stories from the last two weeks courtesy of Florida Oil Spill Law (click through links to original stories):

· 3,000+ foot long mysterious black blob of killer “toxic goo” found near Florida coast — Appears to be GROWING

· Censored: “You can’t say that” White House told reporter — “People will get scared” about amount of oil in Gulf

· Congressman reveals that BP official was allowed to review Feds’ “Oil Budget” before publication — Listed as “independent scientist” by Obama administration

· Local offical: “There was never any nearshore sampling” for submerged oil — BP admits “no one in the local beach cleanup is actually surveying” for it (VIDEO)

· NOAA claims ALL toxic water samples found in Gulf “were NOT from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill” — Blames natural seeps

· Only ONE final payment has been made to oil disaster victims — And it was to a BP business partner

· Feinberg refuses to disclose amount of his additional PERSONAL compensation from BP — “Private information”

· 70 percent of consumers in U.S. are concerned about safety of seafood from Gulf (VIDEO)

· “They’re finding all kind of freakin’ dispersant in the water” says fisherman

· More cleanup workers come forward: “Massive health problems”, constant swelling, fluid in lungs, kidney problems, lumps (VIDEOS)

· There’s an “increase of petroleum product” washing ashore in Florida “hot spots” — “It has something to do with the underwater topography” admits BP

· “Great damage” done to humans by oil disaster says director of NOAA-administered program

· “Very disturbing findings” in chemical tests of Gulf residents — Some “bleeding from the ears” or with “blood in the stool” (VIDEOS)

· 100s of large containers of “discontinued” Corexit 9527A found near Houston (VIDEO)

· Scan of Senator A.G. Crowe’s original letter to Pres. Obama — “Toxicity level may INCREASE with time” (4 PAGES)

· ‘First’ Dispersant Study Funded by Feds: The Corexit “did NOT degrade”… “It didn’t go away” — May not have even broken up the oil

· Chairman of Surfrider chapter in NW Florida “tested positive last month for large quantities of volatile solvents in his blood”

· “Really Alarming”: No baby oysters being found in most productive areas of Louisiana — “Scientists are baffled” (VIDEO)

· “All the fish are dead”: Trout now washing up on beach near Galveston, TX — Even seagulls won’t touch them (VIDEO)

· Cousteau: The oil is at the bottom of the ocean — Disaster’s impact to last for decades (VIDEO)

· Professor contracted by BP criticizes news media — Mentions “conflicting interests”

· BP Vessel of Opportunity worker: If officials keep lying to us, we’re going to die (VIDEO)

· NEW STUDY: Warmer Water + Corexit/Oil = Massive Increase in DNA-Mutating, Cancer-Causing Enzyme

· Alabama Paper: Did anyone really believe the oil just disappeared and that humans wouldn’t be affected?

· Bumble Bee Seafood shuts down processing plant near New Orleans, moves to Thailand — Official blames oil disaster

· Biocide: Corexit prevents microbes from digesting the oil says official

· ALERT: Louisiana Senator concerned that Corexit “is still being used”

· Family describes being sprayed with Corexit (VIDEOS). Mississippi Family Sprayed with Corexit and 11 Year Old Boy Tests Positive for Chemical Poisoning

· Two young boys with “some of the highest blood concentrations of the chemicals” found in BP’s oil — One has already “suffered severe respiratory problems as a result”


Blood Tests Show Chemicals In Gulf Citizens Blood, US Gov Lied About Gulf Seafood

In early September, The Intel Hub and Project Gulf Impact released blood tests that showed toxic chemicals in multiple gulf residents. Not only were these findings ignored, they were “debunked” by BP and government talking heads alike.

Three and a half months later we now know that these tests were indeed valid and ultimately show the need for more testing at a massive level.

KLFY Eyewitness News has conducted news tests on four males who age ranged from 3 to 43. They also tested a 38 year old female. The tests indicated massive exposure to toxic chemicals associated with CRUDE OIL.


ALERT! 100,000 dead fish TODAY February 7 , 2011 - Florida - offical story: NO OXYGEN ?


"Oil Rain" Confirmed: NASA Chief Mission Scientist

[T]hey showed up as if they had almost a millimeter of oil in the cloud. And these hydrocarbon-laden clouds - when they reach land - would in fact rain oil.

Leifer thinks this oil rain is an unprecedented oil spill phenomenon - a combination of the Gulf's high humidity and the columns of thick smoke from burning oil.


Genetically-modified, oil-eating bacteria creating dangerous mutant organisms in the Gulf

Genetically-modified (GM), oil-eating bacteria introduced into the Gulf as part of the oil disaster's remediation efforts is reportedly causing the emergence of various other mutant bacteria, as well as increasingly-severe harm to humans and the environment.

Back in August, NaturalNews covered the story of Tel Aviv University scientists' proposal to use a natural oil-eating bacteria to help clean up the Gulf (http://www.naturalnews.com/029375_o...). But reports have now revealed that both scientists and BP knew of a "super" bacteria that was programmed to eat oil twice as fast as normal and set loose in the Gulf.

Mike Utsler, Chief Operating Officer of BP's Gulf Coast Restoration, publicly told BBC reporters that "[t]here is a new form of microbiology that is attacking this (oil) plume and using it as a food source." Shortly after admitting this on camera, other BP officials abruptly interjected and ended the interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuDO...

J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., founder of Synthetic Genomics Inc., also admitted before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce that such synthetic bacteria "are simply created de novo by chemical synthesis and assembled into entire chromosomes and organisms." He went on to add that the technology "can catalyze a major change in what organisms can be engineered to do."

Though seemingly beneficial in theory, this GM bacteria is now replicating and spawning all sorts of mutated bacteria throughout the Gulf, and is gradually spreading throughout the oceans of the world. And when combined with chemical Corexit and the other toxic applications sprayed all over Gulf waters, it is a recipe for complete disaster that is now coming to fruition in the form of serious harm to humans.

"The is like a major bacterial storm," explained a nurse working in the Gulf with Riki Ott, Ph.D., an expert in marine biology and the effects of oil on zooplankton. "It could be the reason we are seeing a variance of symptoms in different individuals. In some people, we see respiratory complications, while in others we see skin or GI (gastrointestinal) symptoms. I think it is due to a multitude of colonized bacteria."


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031090_Gulf_of_Mexico_bacteria.html#ixzz1C4V6Yacs


Study finds massive flux of gas, in addition to liquid oil, at BP well blowout in Gulf

A new University of Georgia study that is the first to examine comprehensively the magnitude of hydrocarbon gases released during the Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil discharge has found that up to 500,000 tons of gaseous hydrocarbons were emitted into the deep ocean. The authors conclude that such a large gas discharge—which generated concentrations 75,000 times the norm—could result in small-scale zones of "extensive and persistent depletion of oxygen" as microbial processes degrade the gaseous hydrocarbons.


Gulf Oil Spill Blood Tests Reveal Alarming Levels Of Toxic Chemicals In Residents

Four of the [twelve] people had unusually high levels of benzene, which, according to the ISS, is a highly toxic chemical from crude oil. It has been linked to many health problems, including anemia, leukemia, irregular menstrual periods and ovarian shrinkage. Those four were all crabbers from the Biloxi area, and consisted of three adults and one 10-year-old boy.

Ethylbenzene was detected in all 12 blood samples from Gulf residents at high levels and 11 of the 12 individuals had relatively high concentrations of xylenes. Ethylbenzene can cause damage to hearing and to the ear, dizziness, kidney damage, and may even cause cancer. Xylene can cause dizziness, headaches, skin irritation, confusion, and a whole slew of other ailments.


Denied, Decieved, Delayed by BP: Gulf Residents "On Their Knees" for Recompense

Attorney Kenneth Feinberg's Washington-based firm, Feinberg Rozen, has been paid $850,000 a month by BP to administer a $20bn compensation fund and claims process for Gulf residents and fishermen affected by the Deepwater Horizon explosion last April.

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), which Feinberg manages, was set up after negotiations between BP and the Obama administration, but over recent months there has been growing concern among the Coast's residents that Feinberg is limiting compensation funds to claimants in order to decrease BP's liability.

Late last month, Feinberg told Bloomberg Television that he anticipates that about half of the $20bn fund should be enough to cover claims for economic losses.


Alarming Evidence of a Leaking Macondo Prospect: The BP Gulf Oil Spill Continues

This letter represents a turning point for the Gulf Oil Spill Remediation Conference in that this International Citizens’ Initiative has decided that overwhelming evidence exists that points to a situation that has not been properly addressed. Therefore, the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico sits in a state of abeyance of sorts. Until the residents who domicile there, and citizens who work there, are transparently apprised of the true state of the blown out well and surrounding area, this conference will not rest.


Goldman-Sachs, BP: Crisis Capitalists Profitting On Disaster

9)Goldman Sachs (GS) officials, likewise, knew the rig was likely to explode when it did. They bet millions of dollars on this event only days before it happened! (Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of GS, directed 44% (4.6 million shares) of BP stock to be dumped three weeks before the explosion.

10) Not surprisingly, Transocean was merged into its current corporate state by Goldman-Sachs (a.k.a., “Government Sachs”) in 2007.

11) David Sidwell, Risk Committee Chairman of UBS, the wealthiest Swiss bank (in the Rothschild “League” or alliance of so-called “competing” banks) and the world’s largest wealth manager, also dumped BP stocks massively (i.e., 99% of the banks holdings, or 2.1 million shares,) as did Wachovia/Wells Fargo.


BP partners ‘manipulating’ oil spill evidence, chemical board says

The federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents has accused two BP partners of "hands-on manipulation" of evidence in the Gulf oil spill.

The US Chemical Safety Board has asked for a halt to testing of the blowout preventer involved in the Deepwater Horizon explosion, saying that employees of Cameron International and Transocean have been permitted "hands-on manipulation" of the device.


The Oil BP Tried To Hide Has Been Discovered, In Thick Layers On the Sea Floor Over An Area of Several Thousand Square Miles

A university scientist and the federal government say they have found persuasive evidence that oil from the massive Gulf of Mexico spill is settling on the ocean floor.

The new findings, from scientists at the University of South Florida and from a broad government effort, mark the latest indication that environmental damage from the blowout of a BP PLC well could be significant where it's hardest to find: deep under the Gulf's surface.


Gulf Activists Harassed By TSA Agents Who Claim Filming Is Illegal

As anger against the TSA has mounted, many have wondered if activists will be specifically targeted in an attempt to scare and intimidate them. No subject has been bigger than the gulf disaster and it looks as one of the groups who exposed the extensive use of Corexit9500 in the gulf have fallen victim to TSA tyranny.

When Matt Smith, Gavin Garrison, and Heather Rally of Project Gulf Impact arrived at Ontario Airport in California Tuesday evening to board a plane headed back to the Gulf of Mexico, all three of them were pulled aside by TSA agents and patted down. Coincidentally, they were the only three people pulled out of the security lines.

“TSA doesn’t want stuff like this to end up on youtube”


Is BP STILL Spraying Corexit? Evidence Shows Spraying Contiues

Is dispersant still being sprayed in the gulf?

Kari Huus writes: This photo and laboratory tests indicating that this foamy substance is dispersed oil have raised questions about the government’s assurances that the toxic chemical was not sprayed after the Deepwater Horizon well was capped.

Kari Huus writes:The use of chemical dispersants in the wake of the massive BP oil spill ended on July 15, when the broken Deepwater Horizon well was capped, with only one exception four days later, according to federal agencies. But photos and chemical lab results obtained by msnbc.com suggest that the controversial chemicals have been sprayed much more recently than that.


US Government to let BP off of the hook.

BP is likely to be cleared of the potentially ruinous charge of gross negligence, according to City analysts, after a powerful US commission blamed "systemic" causes for the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Webmaster's Commentary:

"Systemic?" Is that like the US Government's Minerals Management Service were provided with "sex companions" by the oil companies in exchange for waiving the extra safety equipment that is normal practice in other oil-producing nations; equipment that would have prevented the damage from the Deepwater Horizon disaster? THAT kind of "Systemic?"


Sick Gulf Residents Beg Officials for Help

"I have seen small children with lesions all over their bodies," Foytlin, co-founder of Gulf Change, a community organisation based in Grand Isle, Louisiana, continued.

"We are very, very ill. And dead is dead. So it really doesn't matter if the media comes back… or the president hears us, or… if the oil workers and the fishermen and the crabbers get to feed their babies and maybe have a good Christmas next year… Dead is dead…I know your job is probably already done, but I'd like to hire you if you don't mind. And God knows I can't pay you. But I need your heart. And I need your voice."


Feinberg Says Half of $20 Billion BP Fund Should Cover Claims

Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer paying victims of BP Plc’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said he anticipates about half the $20 billion fund set up by the company should be adequate to cover claims for economic losses.

Feinberg said on Bloomberg Television yesterday that it is too early to project how much of the fund will be needed to pay individuals and businesses. He said $10 billion may be enough to compensate victims.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Oh, really?!?

As reported on 28 June 2010 at:

http://www.thecanaryreport.org/2010/06/28/a-timeline/

There are people whose lives have been absolutely ruined, not to mention the entire physical enviornment of the Gulf itself, though this disaster.

Putting a price on this is difficult; but as long as human beings are still suffering the consequences of exposure to both the oil and Corexit, these compensation funds should not in any way be diminished or capped.

The Corexit BP chose to use as a dispersant is highly toxic.

http://motherjones.com/environment/2010/09/bp-ocean-dispersant-corexit


BP's Clean-Up Phased Out, Deepwater Drilling Quietly Resumes

Meanwhile, here's change you can't believe: the Obama administration has decided to 'grandfather in' 13 companies, allowing them to resume deepwater drilling "because they were in the middle of previously approved projects" when the Deepwater Horizon blew.

The moratorium to deepwater drilling ended in October, after which Reuters leads me to understand that the Obama administration has been under intense pressure from Gulf State leaders, Big Oil, and Republicans in Congress. No word as to pressure from other parties, such as represent the environment or the People of the Gulf.


More Dead Dolphins in the Gulf Raises Questions

Scientists have found four more dead baby dolphins on Horn Island in the Mississippi Gulf of Mexico and another on Ono Island off Orange Beach, Ala., adding to the unusually high number of dead dolphins found in the past two months.


Scientist finds Gulf bottom still oily, dead

Oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a scientist's video and slides that demonstrate the oil isn't degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor.


BP directors take bonuses for year of Gulf of Mexico oil spill

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/8358531/BP-directors-take-bonuses-for-year-of-Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-spill.html

Byron Grote, finance director, and Iain Conn, head of downstream, had their £800,000 and £724,000 salaries and benefits topped up with rewards of £380,000 and £310,500 respectively. The bonuses amounted to 30pc of the full potential payout.

BP’s annual report also revealed that Tony Hayward, the former chief executive who left the company after the worst of the crisis, will get almost £100,000 a year for his work as a non-executive of BP’s Russian joint venture TNK-BP. He left the board in October with £2m in salary and severance payments, plus a £600,000-a-year pension.

According to the report, Mr Dudley denied himself a bonus in what was a “painful year” for BP. In October, Mr Dudley insisted that incentive payments would in future be linked to safety performance.

Despite forgoing his bonus, Mr Dudley is still potentially eligible for up to 581,084 shares, currently worth £2.8m, on top of a £1m salary. The shares will vest according to BP’s performance over the next few years.



Économie:


Pentagon Tries to Blame Financial Crisis on Foreign Financial Terrorists

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/28/financial-terrorism-suspected-in-08-economic-crash/

The Pentagon is paying contractors to claim that it was foreign financial terrorists - instead of fraud by American financial executives - which caused the 2008 financial crisis.

While a Pentagon contractor said, “This is the equivalent of box cutters on an airplane,” Paul Backen - a Yale University professor who has studied economic warfare - said he saw “no convincing evidence that ‘outside forces’ colluded to bring about the 2008 crisis.”

Indeed, the claim that terrorism caused the financial crisis is about as believable as Gaddafi trying to blame the Libyan protests on Osama Bin Laden, or al-Maliki blaming Al Qaeda for the Iraqi protests.

But it's not an isolated incident. In fact, the government is trying in many ways to convince us that financial fraud is isolated, not systemic, and - most of all - not important to rein in.

Evidence outlined in a Pentagon contractor report suggests that financial subversion carried out by unknown parties, such as terrorists or hostile nations, contributed to the 2008 economic crash by covertly using vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system.

The unclassified 2009 report “Economic Warfare: Risks and Responses” by financial analyst Kevin D. Freeman, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, states that “a three-phased attack was planned and is in the process against the United States economy.”

While economic analysts and a final report from the federal government's Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission blame the crash on such economic factors as high-risk mortgage lending practices and poor federal regulation and supervision, the Pentagon contractor adds a new element: “outside forces,” a factor the commission did not examine.


PROPAGANDA ALERT - Did China or Jihadists try to bankrupt America? Pentagon report reveals financial terrorists may have triggered economic crash

The report also concludes that untraceable actors undertook a three-tiered attack beginning in 2007, and that 'Phase III [of the attack] may be under way right now.'

Webmaster's Commentary:

"Untraceable actors..... Phase III may be under way right now?" !?!??!?!?!??!Sorry, folks: the Bovine Excrement Meter just sucked a valve on this one, and will have to be replaced immediately!

One has to wonder if the timing of this alleged "report" was engineered to deflect public anger away from the financial rape American citizens have experienced at the hands of the government, Wall Street, and the bankers, or if the timing is to run up some kind of financial scare and blame Al Queada or the Chinese?!?

And why the sam hill would the Chinese want to "bankrupt" the US, in light of all the American debt they hold, and want to have paid back?!?!? Sorry, this doesn't pass the "smell test."

Between "Inside Job" and the articles appearing on the net about the Mortgage-Backed Security Fraud, Americans now understand that the poverty they have suffered through for the last several years, the joblessness, the homelessness, is the direct result of Wall Street CEOs and DC politicos effectively embezzling from the American people to put into their own pockets.

So what does a CEO who is embezzling do when he knows he or she is caught and the auditors are on the way to check the books?

THEY BURN DOWN THEIR OWN COMPANY TO ERASE THE EVIDENCE OF THEIR CRIMES!

Taking a plot line from Tom Clancy's "Debt of Honor", Wall Street and DC might decide (with enough scotch) that their best option is to crash the entire financial system and blame terrorists or China for it, to prevent the American people from finding out what really happened!


THE SUPER SIMPLE CASE FOR $175 OUNCE SILVER


Gold Reaches New Record High – News Barely Reported by Mainstream Media

As seen today, this is clearly not the case at the moment as there continues to be little or no reporting (let alone analysis) about gold and silver – even when they reach record nominal highs.

While the specialist financial press such as Bloomberg, Reuters. Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times did report the record highs; it was unreported in the mainstream press in most western countries.

In the UK and Ireland, none of the main papers (including the Times of London, The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, The Irish Times, the Irish Independent, and the Irish Examiner) reported the record highs.

Webmaster's Commentary:

The suggestion of a "bubble" to explain gold and silver prices is intended to conceal that gold and silver are actually just as valuable as they were before; it is the dollar that is dropping in value compared to gold and silver and that is a situation with no natural reversal as would be the case with a genuine bubble.


Gold to $57,000, Silver Even More? Interview of Adrian Douglas of GATA

At the beginning of this interview, he says he believes most above ground silver is gone and around 2:30 mark he says there haven't been deliveries this month of March. He says cash settlements are going on for contracts not to take delivery. He says there are many signs that there is a significant shortage of silver.

He says those who are investing in it don't want to blow the market up, just so they can keep buying as much as possible.


US Mint Reducing Allotments of Silver American Eagles

Bill Haynes, President of CMI Gold & Silver, one of the largest dealers in the United States informed King World News today that the US Mint is cutting back on allocations of American Silver Eagles and this is resulting in higher premiums. Haynes told KWN in a phone interview, “Today the US Mint notified its eleven authorized purchasers that their allotments are being reduced and as a result the authorized purchasers increased their premiums to the dealers.”


Utah Considers Return to Gold, Silver Coins


FOX News

It's been nearly 80 years since the U.S. stopped using gold coins as legal currency, and nearly 40 since the world abandoned the gold standard, but the precious metal could be making a comeback in the United States -- beginning in Utah...


US Mint Reports Unprecedented Buying Spree Of Physical Silver

Three days ago we noted that in just the first week of January, the US Mint had sold 2,221,000 ounces of silver “a number which if run-rated would be an absolutely all time monthly record,” A quick glance at the tally today, shows that something very scary is going on. In the subsequent three days, the number has surged by 50% and has hit 3,407,000 ounces of silver! In just the first 12 days of the month we have already surpassed the total monthly sales of 9 separate months of 2010.


Massive Silver Withdrawals From The Comex

"And now for the big silver report.

We witnessed a massive withdrawal of silver unprecedented in the history of the comex. First there was a smallish 6507 oz of silver deposited to two customers, one being 497 oz and the other 6010 oz). But just look at the huge withdrawals:

Four customers (not dealers) withdrew a total of 1,019,310 oz from the comex vaults. This is real silver leaving from 4 registered vaults. The individual withdrawals are: 579,081, 30,380, 399,994 and 9855 oz.


Strong Indications of Gold & Silver Shortages

Since reaching new highs at the end of 2010 gold and silver have been sold off, and the selling has been particularly intense in the last few days. The news on the economy is almost exclusively bullish for the precious metals. From the price action one might be falsely led to believe that investment demand for the precious metals is waning. On the contrary the data analysis I will show in this article reveals strong indications of growing shortages and furthermore that the gold and silver markets are approaching “tipping points” that will lead to an acceleration of price appreciation.


Bottleneck or Supply Deficit?

There have been numerous reports of bullion shortages in many parts around the world, along with rising premiums. And the two explanations – we’re running out of gold! and, it’s just a manufacturing bottleneck – are at odds with one another. So, who’s right?
First, the data. The following has been reported since New Year’s eve horn-blowers were put away:

1. Report from China: “…premiums for gold bars jumped to their highest level in two years.”
2. A director at Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong: “I don’t have any gold. Premiums are very high. Some say they have no stocks on hand.”...............


BullionVault.com Runs Out Of Silver In Germany

With the US Mint selling silver at an unprecedented pace, it was only a matter of time before the silver shortage would be spotted across the Atlantic, where distributors ran out of both gold and silver on a daily basis during the first time Europe became insolvent some time in early May 2010. Sure enough, BullionVault.com has announced that it has run out of silver in Germany "due to high demand."


How Much More Demand Can Silver Handle?

The numbers for silver demand are starting to make some market-watchers nervous. The U.S. Mint sold over 6.4 million silver Eagles in January, more than any other month since the coin’s introduction in 1986. China’s net imports of silver quadrupled in 2010, to 122.6 million ounces, roughly 13.7% of global production. Meanwhile, mine production can’t meet worldwide demand; the only way demand gets fulfilled is from scrap supply.
That is some very hungry demand. Which raises the question, how long can this pace continue?
This is important for various reasons, starting with how demand contributes to price. If demand falls off, our investments could, too.


Lead 100 Ounce Silver Bars

In Late September, 2010 we received our first of several reports of some suspicious Engelhard 100oz silver bars. They were underweight, and it at first appeared that they were real Engelhard bars that were shaved (where someone would cut off a small amount from the sides of the bar).

However, upon receiving a sample, it turned out not to be made of silver, and is most likely lead.

Webmaster's Commentary:

I think we may have discovered how COMEX and J. P. Morgan escaped their naked short positions!


Turk - Dollar Ready to Collapse, Silver Squeeze to Continue

“You’ve got civil breaking out in North Africa and you have rebellions happening in the Middle-East. In this kind of geopolitical situation in the past the US dollar would always rally, but this time it can’t even bounce. You know Eric the other side of this coin is that if the dollar falls off the edge of a cliff, precious metals are going to skyrocket.”

With this month’s important options expiry now behind us, I’m looking for higher prices next week. Even though the March/May spread has flattened a little, the backwardation continues to grow to 2015 and has ballooned further to $1.16. The short squeeze is continuing to develop. The shorts are trapped and whether the trap springs this week or in a month or two I don’t know, but we are getting very close.”

When asked about gold specifically Turk remarked, “While silver did get hit in overnight trading, gold hardly moved and then snapped right back. Remember I said last time that the gold chart is beginning to look really strong, that is what the event last night displayed.

Gold is incredibly resilient and looks coiled for an explosive move higher. We started our initial probe of the all-time high this week closing in on $1,430 before backing off. Look for another probe of that $1,430 level very soon. It won’t be long Eric before we take out that all-time high, particularly if the dollar falls off the edge of a cliff.”


Why Silver Is Headed Higher - Arithmetic, Human Nature and Supply & Demand

Silver is headed higher.

PART 1. A LITTLE MATH.

I’m not sure when performing basic arithmetic made you a conspiracy theorist...

JP Morgan is the custodian of the ishares Silver Trust (SLV), which now holds over 350 million ounces of silver, provides sovereign and corporate investors with precious metals solutions (JP’s website), and is the largest short seller of silver in the history of the world. Berkshire Asset Management’s Eric Fry writes:

Based on some of the latest conjecture, Morgan’s short position totals a whopping 3.3 billion ounces. If, therefore, the buzz about J.P. Morgan and silver is even half true, the prestigious investment bank could be cruisin’ for bruisin’.

For perspective, 3.3 billion ounces is roughly equal to:

1) One third of all the world’s known silver deposits;

2) Two times the world’s approximate stockpiles of silver bullion;

3) Four times the annual mined supply of silver;

4) 30 times the inventory of silver at the COMEX.

If you can, forget about the conflict of interest, and ponder the enormity of the explosion.

------------------------

Estimates of total silver production since the dawn of man range from 46 to 53 billion ounces (roughly 11x gold production), but unlike gold, we’ve used pretty much all of it (although squandered might be a better word). It’s in our cemeteries (fillings) and scattered throughout our landfills. There hasn’t been a significant surplus since 1990. Ted Butler and others estimate that there is far less silver bullion in the world than gold bullion and they back up their case with numbers that the paperbugs have never even bothered to refute. So why does gold trade at more than 45 times the price of silver? Because JP Morgan, the US government, and every other psuedo-capitalist parasite wants it that way. But that’s a truth for another day.

--------------------------------

The short answer is: more. If silver were priced based on its occurrence relative to gold, it would be over $125/oz. If it were priced on its availability – somewhere around $2,000.


Jim Rogers: "The World Doesn't Have Enough Trees For Bernanke To Print His Way Out Of The Problem, Gold Could Exceed $2,000" (VIDEO)

Video - Jim Rogers with Maria Bartiromo from last Fall...

Bernanke takedown. Jimmy starts out hot.

"They can't quintuple the national debt, again."


Silver Crosses $34

The first very shy tick above $34 in the last 31 years is in the history books. Will soon be followed by many more. And only $16 more to go to all time nominal highs... and ~$160 to real ones. What is truly hilarious vis-a-vis claims that the dollar is a reserve currency is that in the period in which gold has risen by 2.9%, and silver, 12.3%, the DXY has dropped by 1.45%. It would be quite amusing if Schumer's push to unpeg the CNY came true, only for the US to realize that its currency is now completely irrelevant.


Banksters, Gold, Silver and the Near Future

1. 20% correction in the stock market by Mid-March/Early April.

2. Silver at/near $40 per ounce by early March/Mid-April.

3. Real-estate correction of 40% by August.

4. $60 silver by June.

5. $100 per ounce silver by Mid to late summer

6. Massive stock market collapse by Fall of 2011.

7. Grossly devalued dollar by years end with hyperinflation.

8. Silver at $1,000-$2,000 per ounce within 12-18 months.

9. Massive lay-offs, unemployment and inflation with violent protests by the next winter, culminating in total and complete anarchy.


Max Keiser - $500 For Silver


Insider Report: US Government Will Confiscate Gold When It Touches $2000

We’ve learned from well known metals analyst and commentator Roger Wiegand, in an email to silver analyst David Morgan which was subsequently published in Morgan’s latest Silver Investor newsletter available only to subscribers, that several of Wiegand’s high level inside sources have reported that the puppeteers behind the US government, in order to facilitate a move into a new world currency are considering, or may have already begun moving forward with, a plan to confiscate gold and silver from the American public.


Central Banks are Acquiring Gold, Dumping US Dollars

There is evidence that central banks in several regions of the World are building up their gold reserves. What is published are the official purchases.

A large part of these Central Bank purchases of gold bullion are not disclosed. They are undertaken through third party contracting companies, with utmost discretion.

US dollar holdings and US dollar denominated debt instruments are in effect being traded in for gold, which in turn puts pressure on the US dollar.

In turn, both China and Russia have boosted domestic production of gold, a large share of which is being purchased by their central banks

Webmaster's Commentary:

One has to wonder just how long this trend can continue before the US dollar absolutely loses any financial credibility at all.


Virginia Considers Gold as Alternative Currency for When FED Breaks Down

In what could be the financial shot heard around the world, the state of Virginia is considering the establishment of a joint subcommittee to study whether the Commonwealth should adopt a currency such as gold or silver to serve as an alternative to the currency distributed by the Federal Reserve System in the event of a major breakdown of the Federal Reserve System.


Virginia Creates Subcommittee To Study Monetary Alternatives In Case Of Terminal Fed "Breakdown", Considers Gold As Option

In what may one day be heralded as the formal proposal that proverbially started it all, the Commonwealth of Virginia introduced House Resolution No. 557 to establish a joint subcommittee to "to study whether the Commonwealth should adopt a currency to serve as an alternative to the currency distributed by the Federal Reserve System in the event of a major breakdown of the Federal Reserve System."

Webmaster's Commentary:

Expect to see more legislation of this nature pass in more states fairly quickly.


At Least 10 States Have Introduced Gold Coins-As-Currency Bills

Legislators in at least ten states have introduced bills in the past few years to allow state commerce to be conducted with gold and silver.

As we reported, Georgia state Rep. Bobby Franklin (R) recently reintroduced legislation to force his state to conduct all monetary transactions with U.S. gold or silver coins -- including the payment of taxes.


GATA sues Fed to disclose gold market intervention records

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

GATA today brought suit against the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, seeking a court order for disclosure of the central bank's records of its surreptitious market intervention to suppress the monetary metal's price.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and targets Fed records involving gold swaps, exchanges of gold with foreign financial institutions. In a letter dated September 17 this year to GATA's law firm, William J. Olson P.C. of Vienna, Virginia, (http://www.lawandfreedom.com) Fed Board of Governors member Kevin M. Warsh acknowledged that the Fed has gold swap agreements with foreign banks but insisted that such documents remain secret:

http://www.gata.org/files/GATAFedResponse-09-17-2009.pdf

The lawsuit follows two years of GATA's efforts to obtain from the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury Department a candid accounting of the U.S. government's involvement in the gold market. These efforts parallel those of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who long has been proposing legislation to audit the Fed. The Fed has wrapped in secrecy much of its massive intervention in the markets over the last year, and Paul's legislation recently was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Fed claims that its gold swap records involve "trade secrets" exempt from disclosure under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

While GATA has produced many U.S. government records showing both open and surreptitious intervention in the gold market in recent decades (see http://www.gata.org/node/8052), Fed Governor Warsh's letter is confirmation that the government is surreptitiously operating in the gold market in the present as well. That intervention constitutes a huge deception of financial markets as well as expropriation of precious metals miners and investors particularly. This deception and expropriation are what GATA was established in 1999 to expose and oppose.

Of course GATA's lawsuit against the Fed will take months if not years to resolve. We think we have a good chance of winning it in court. But we can win it outside court, and much sooner, if the suit can gain enough publicity from the financial news media and market analysts and prompt enough inquiry from them and from the public, the mining industry, and members of Congress.

So GATA urges its friends to publicize the suit and to urge journalists, market analysts, mining companies, and members of Congress to join us in seeking disclosure of the Fed's gold market intervention records. If enough clamor is directed at the Fed about these records, the gold price suppression scheme will lose its surreptitiousness and fail.

Unfortunately the World Gold Council, which each year collects tens of millions of dollars in membership fees from mining companies in the name of representing them and gold investors, refuses to question governments about their surreptitious interventions in the gold market. These interventions powerfully influence not only gold's price but the prices of government bonds and currencies, as well as interest rates generally and the value of all capital and labor in the world. There is no more important issue in the world economy than gold price suppression.

So what should have been the World Gold Council's work has fallen to GATA, a non-profit educational and civil rights organization that operates from month to month on donations from people who share its objective -- free and transparent markets in the precious metals and fair dealing among nations generally. As we prosecute our lawsuit against the Fed, we'll be grateful for your support. We promise to do something with it.

For information about supporting GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16

GATA's lawsuit against the Fed is listed in federal court records as civil case No. 09-2436 ESH, the letters being the initials of the district court judge assigned to it, Ellen S. Huvelle.

You can find the lawsuit here:

http://www.gata.org/files/GATALawsuitVs.Fed-12-30-2009.pdf

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

* * *

Join GATA here:

Vancouver Resource Investment Conference
Sunday and Monday, January 17 and 18, 2010
Hyatt and Fairmont Conference Hotels
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
http://www.cambridgeconferences.com/index.php/vancouver-resource-investm...

Phoenix Resource Investment Conference
Thursday and Friday, February 4 and 5, 2010
Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa
Glendale, Arizona
http://www.cambridgeconferences.com/index.php/phoenix-resource-investmen...

* * *

Support GATA by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt:

http://gata.org/tshirts

Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009:

http://www.cartserver.com/sc/cart.cgi

Or a video disc of GATA's 2005 Gold Rush 21 conference in the Yukon:

http://www.goldrush21.com/

* * *

Help keep GATA going

GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16

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Judge orders Fed to deliver gold records for her review

GATA today scored a small but perhaps auspicious victory over the Federal Reserve in our lawsuit seeking access to the Fed's secret gold files. The judge presiding over GATA's federal freedom-of-information lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Ellen Segal Huvelle, granted GATA's motion to order the Fed to produce in complete form for the judge's private review 20 gold-related documents the Fed has sought to keep secret. The judge ordered the Fed to deliver the documents by Friday.


FAKE Silver Coins/Bars/Ingots ARE on the market in U.S.!

I had posted about how Tungsten is up 70% in the last year and inserted a video showing fake gold and a video with David Morgan of Silver-Investor discussing fake gold and silver. Last week during the interview David Morgan did with me, he talked about fake gold and silver possibly being on the market, besides other information about it. He also said in the interview, if there will be any fake silver coins they will fake the old coins and not new ones. WOW - he got that one exactly right!

Gold has been a given in regards to possibly being fake due to the price of it! It is well worth an organization (ie: Fed, govt) to fake besides the price, they are pretending there is much more gold than there really is.

The physical Silver market is tight, all the experts are saying that. So it was simply a matter of time before fake silver began getting on the market.

We did not have to wait too long, Fake Silver is now here!

There is Fake Silver on the market now! The coins are Morgan Silver Dollars dating all the way back to the 1880's and are in pawn shops, besides who knows where else! I would assume it is not just the U.S. that has Fake Silver but also other places in the world too.

The silver has an iron core and so people WILL be able to tell a Fake Silver coin by using a magnet! If a strong magnet is attracted to the coin it is fake! A real silver coin will not attract a magnet but fake ones will! Also a Fake Silver coin will thud when dropped compared to a high pitched ring of a real one, dropped!

Webmaster's Commentary:

Well, now we know how J. P. Morgan got out of that naked short situation!


Gold Game Changer: J.P. Morgan Accepts Bullion as Money

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. announced on February 7, 2011 that it will accept physical gold as collateral for investors that want to make short-term borrowings of cash or securities.

Presenting gold to satisfy demands for performance bond collateral has been allowed on the London CME in a limited way since October 2009. As of November 22, 2010, the Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) has accepted gold bullion as collateral on all credit default swaps and energy transactions.

I don't recall the G-20 declaring gold a new currency. Yet JP Morgan Chase and a couple of financial market exchanges have effectively declared that gold is an alternative currency.

Webmaster's Commentary:

The value of the US dollar cannot possibly hold, under current circumstances, which is why this is happening.


Oil Will Go Over 150/barrel - Jim Rogers on CNN 03/03/11


Bernanke warns on oil price 'threat'

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday warned "sustained rises" in oil prices could potentially threaten US growth and spark dangerous price rises, as he eyed the turmoil in the Middle East...


Venezuela Says Oil Reserves Surpass Saudi Arabia's

Venezuela has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world leader in oil reserves with certified deposits leaping to 297 billion barrels at the end of 2010, President Hugo Chavez's government said Saturday.

Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez told Reuters that the new reserves, which pushed the total 41 percent higher than the previous year, were booked in the South American OPEC member's vast Orinoco extra heavy crude belt.

A jubilant Chavez told parliament that Venezuela's reserves now surpassed those of Saudi Arabia.

Webmaster's Commentary:

"INVADE.....INVADE!!!" - official White House Souse.


Crime Without Punishment:: "28% Fraudulent Mortgages And No Wall Street Handcuffs": Financial Crisis Chairman Phil Angelides With Dylan Ratigan

basically you look into the mortgages the banks were selling. you pointed out this in your report, 28% of those mortgages were not conforming to the legal standards required in order to sell these types of mortgages. go on to say that 11% of that was actually sold by banks, deutsche bank, morgan stanley, all the banks.

clayton holdings looked at 911,000 mortgages in 2006, the first half of 2007. they found that 28% of the mortgages being bought by firms like citigroup and goldman and deutsche bank and ubs, they were being packaged and sold to investors, didn’t even meet the crummy underwriting standards of the countrywides, the new centuries, the ameriquests that were selling it to them.


Federal Reserve President Calls For 'Break Up' Of J.P. Morgan, Goldman, Citigroup & Bank Of America

In a report just released today, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig lays it all out in black in white: Dodd-Frank has done absolutely nothing about Too Big To Fail, and for that reason "[w]e must break up the largest banks" (2).

A screenshot from the report:

This isn't the first time Hoenig has suggested breaking up the largest TBTF banks, but his earlier statements were made during the course of interviews. This latest call comes in an official report and carries the imprimatur of the Federal Reserve system. That's a shot across your bow, Jamie Dimon.


Bank of England chief under fire after warning Britain is at risk of another financial crisis - Telegraph

Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, has come under fire from leading economists after warning that Britain risks suffering another financial crisis without reform of the country’s banks.

“We’ve not yet solved the 'too big to fail’ or, as I prefer to call it, the 'too important to fail’ problem.

“The concept of being too important to fail should have no place in a market economy.”

When asked whether there could be a repeat of the financial crisis, Mr King says: “Yes. The problem is still there. The search for yield goes on. Imbalances are beginning to grow again.”


Spain town reintroduces peseta to boost economy

A small town in northern Spain has decided to reintroduce the old Spanish currency - the peseta - alongside the euro to give the local economy a lift.

Webmaster's Commentary:

"Kill them. Now." -- IMF


Ron Paul To Bernanke "I Want A Definition Of Money!"


Bachus: "Washington’s Role Is To Serve The Banks"

Today's House Financial Services hearing is chaired by Spencer Bachus, who infamously said in December that the role of Congress is to serve the banks.

So we thought we would revisit that story.


The Real U.S. National Security Budget: The Figure No One Wants You to See

Normally, in media accounts, you hear about the Pentagon budget and the war-fighting supplementary funds passed by Congress for our conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. That already gets you into a startling price range -- close to $700 billion for 2012 -- but that’s barely more than half of it. If Americans were ever presented with the real bill for the total U.S. national security budget, it would actually add up to more than $1.2 trillion a year.


U.S. Owes 30% MORE To China Than Previously Thought: China's Holdings Of U.S. Debt Revised Up To $1.16T

Video - China Financial News

Secret buying thru U.K. accounts...

China's Holdings Of U.S. Debt Revised Up To $1.16 Trillion

The number is $268 billion higher than Treasury's estimate two weeks ago. This revision should not be a surprise to Bail readers, as we reported the rumors last month that have now proven to be true.

Here are the new numbers from the official source:


China's holdings of US debt larger than reported

China's holdings of US bonds reached $1.16 trillion at the end of December, almost $270 billion more than previously estimated, new data showed Monday.


China “Attacks The Dollar” – Moves To Further Cement Renminbi Reserve Currency Status

In a surprising turn of events, today's biggest piece of news received a mere two paragraph blurb on Reuters, and was thoroughly ignored by the broader media. An announcement appeared shortly after midnight on the website of the People's Bank of China.

The statement, google translated as "Pragmatic and pioneering spirit to promote cross-border renminbi business cum on monitoring and analysis to a new level" is presented below:

Reuters provides a simple translation and summary of the announcement: "China hopes to allow all exporters and importers to settle their cross-border trades in the yuan by this year, the central bank said on Wednesday, as part of plans to grow the currency's international role. In a statement on its website www.pbc.gov.cn, the central bank said it would respond to overseas demand for the yuan to be used as a reserve currency. It added it would also allow the yuan to flow back into China more easily." To all those who claim that China is perfectly happy with the status quo, in which it is willing to peg the Renmibni to the Dollar in perpetuity, this may come as a rather unpleasant surprise, as it indicates that suddenly China is far more vocal about its intention to convert its currency to reserve status, and in the process make the dollar even more insignificant.

International Business Times provides further insight:

This is all part of China’s plan for the internationalization of its currency, which may, in the decades to come, threaten the global ‘market share’ of other currencies like the US dollar.

Previously, China also announced that bilateral trades with Russia and Malaysia will begin to be conducted with the yuan and the ruble and ringgit, respectively.

Other moves on the part of China to internationalize its currency include allowing foreign companies to issue yuan-denominated bonds and relaxing rules for foreign financial institutions to access the yuan.

Aside from the efforts of the Chinese government, fundamentals also point to the increasing international popularity of the Chinese currency.

China is already the leading trade partner with Australia and Japan. It’s also the leading or a large trade partner with many of its smaller neighbors. The purpose of having foreign currencies is to conduct foreign trade and investment, so the yuan is expected to become a more attractive currency for China’s trade partners, espeically as the government continues to relax restrictions.

The reason for this dramatic move may be found in what Stephen Roach wrote a few days ago in Project Syndicate:

In early March, China’s National People’s Congress will approve its 12th Five-Year Plan. This Plan is likely to go down in history as one of China’s boldest strategic initiatives.

In essence, it will change the character of China’s economic model – moving from the export- and investment-led structure of the past 30 years toward a pattern of growth that is driven increasingly by Chinese consumers. This shift will have profound implications for China, the rest of Asia, and the broader global economy.

And confirming that the PBoC announcement is far more serious than the amount of airtime allotted to it by the mainstream media, is the just released article in Spiegel "China Attacked the Dollar" (google translated):

The Chinese central bank surprised with a spectacular announcement: The would-be superpower wants to handle their entire future foreign trade in yuan, not in dollars. Beijing shakes America's claim to represent the key currency - with serious consequences for the U.S..

The announcement was inconspicuous , but it has the potential, to permanently change the balance of power on the world currency market: China strengthens the international role of the yuan. All exporters and importers will, this year, be allowed to settle their business with their foreign partners in Yuan, the central bank said on Wednesday in Beijing.

This will respond to the growing importance of the yuan as a global reserve currency. "The market demand for cross-border use of the yuan rises," said the central bank. The PBoC had previously tested this plan by allowing 67 000 enterprises in 20 provinces to run their business abroad in yuan. The trade volume amounted to the equivalent of €56 billion.

Now the amount of yuan to be extended, it should be handled much more business in Chinese currency - and less in the U.S. Chinese companies trade at present often in dollars, they are thus dependent on the decisions of the U.S. Federal Reserve to pay on it in a rising oil price and will have pay higher transaction fees than necessary. That should change now.


Simon Johnson: "Age Of America Is Over; Chinese Yuan Will Be World's Reserve Currency Within 2 Decades"

"The age of American predominance is over," he told a panel. "The (Chinese) Yuan will be the world's reserve currency within two decades."

"I'm concerned about the excessive power of the largest global banks," he said. "Who are the government-sponsored enterprises now? It's the six biggest bank holding companies."

More inside...


South Africa becomes full member of BRIC

Brazil, Russian Federation, India and China (BRIC) has invited South Africa to join them as a full member. This is seen as an affirmation of the country's status as part of the dynamic evolving world economy and it is expected to boost investment and trade opportunities for the country, as it has done for the other four states comprising the informal grouping. According to the International Monetary Fund, in three year's time the BRICS will account for 61% of global growth.


Chinese Rating Agency Says U.S. Debt Has SAME Credit Rating As Costco Stores, Calculates U.S. ACTUAL GDP At $5 Tillion, Not The Official $14 Trillion

From the WSJ:

"Wait until you see these GDP calculations...


China devalues US buying power by 30%, Protects US Treasury Holdings

The trade imbalance between the US and China, a hot button between the nations for the last decade or so, is finally going to start to stabilize in the summer of 2011. However, it is doing so with a de facto devaluation of the US dollar and its buying power. The average American will see a spike in the price of everything from their favorite jeans and T-shirts, to the cost of some electronics.

The Chinese have decided to devalue the US dollar’s buying power, without devaluing the US Treasury holdings they hold. It is an elegant solution to their issues.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Really? What genius thinks this is a solution? MORE money will now flow out of the US into China to pay for the suddenly more expensive goods, because the USA cannot manufacture competing goods, and probably will not be able to even tool-up the factories to do so for at least a year! So for the next year at least Americans will pay more to get less.

Some deal that is!

The trade imbalance will increase, with no corresponding decrease in US debt to China.

The US Government just robbed you. Given how much of our daily products come from China, the US Government has effectively just stolen 1/3 of whatever wealth you have left over from the Wall Street casino binge!


S&P, Moody's Warn On U.S. Credit Rating

Moody's Investors Service said in a report on Thursday that the U.S. will need to reverse the expansion of its debt if it hopes to keep its "Aaa" rating.

"We have become increasingly clear about the fact that if there are not offsetting measures to reverse the deterioration in negative fundamentals in the U.S., the likelihood of a negative outlook over the next two years will increase," Sarah Carlson, senior analyst at Moody's, said.

Separately, Carol Sirou, head of Standard & Poor's France, told a Paris conference on Thursday that the firm couldn't rule out lowering the outlook for the U.S. rating in the future.

Webmaster's Commentary:

"Given that the American people are already suffering excessive taxation, we are about to embark on a program of drastic cost-cutting, including ending the wars, no more bailouts to crooked Wall Street corporations, shutting down the Federal Reserve, and of course, no more funding to Israel.... Hee hee hee hee hee hee... Oh man I can't even keep a straight face on all this shit any more. Maybe a botox shot would keep me from smiling long enough to pull this off. Is that camera still on? Okay, lemme try again. (Ahem) Given that the American people are already suffering excessive taxation ... aw, who am I kidding. We know we're going to save our credit rating by screwing the people out of their last few pennies and why pretend otherwise? Once we end those silly first and second amendments, and shoot enough malcontents, the rest of the sheep will line up for fleecing because the churches will tell them that is the only way to get into heaven, right? Render unto Caesar and all that crap, right? Tell the Secret Service I wanna go golfing." -- Official White Horse Souse


Could Britain be heading for a crash?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/8259936/Could-Britain-be-heading-for-a-crash.html

We cannot postpone indefinitely the final acceptance that we must live within our means, writes Simon Heffer.

I had a long talk on Tuesday with one of the wisest and cleverest economic thinkers I know, and he was sure of one thing: we are heading for a crash. Is he right?

Webmaster's Commentary:

Any nation that has a private central bank issuing the public currency at interest is headed for a crash and though they might delay it, they cannot escape that eventual fate. The reason is simple. All private central banks are pyramid schemes. As soon as that first printed note goes into circulation, more money is owed to the central bank than actually exists. That is the trap. No matter how much new money is created to fund borrowing, the total aggregate debt continues to exceed total cash in circulation. The system is designed that way! In order to avoid collapse, new generations of borrowers must be found to justify creation of new cash which then circulates through the system to pay the interest on the older loans. If enough new borrowers cannot be found to prop up the pyramid scheme, the scheme collapses. As new borrowers become scarce, the bankers and government work together to force the people into more debt to keep the scheme going, such as when the British Government cut school subsidies to force young students to seek school loans in order to generate new money (and greater total debt) to kite the system along just a wee bit more.

But sooner or later you simply run out of human beings willing to borrow more and enslave themselves more to the bankers. The credit card applications are tossed unopened. People decide that maybe they will wait another year or two for a new car, or stay in the smaller home. When that happens the government will borrow on their behalf (and without their permission) which is what the US Government is doing with all these bailouts, which represent massive loans from the Federal Reserve to the American people, to be handed to the banks in the hopes that the banks will then lend that money back to the American people already on the hook for the initial loan from the Federal Reserve. Yes, it is just as silly as it sounds, which is why it has not worked.

Yes, we are all headed for a crash, as is any nation that allows a private central bank to issue the public currency at interest will crash. The United States has had three of these cancers on our economy, and all three brought us to the edge of economic death. Fortunately, in the first two cases, we had leaders of courage and principle who understood that the problem really was and ended the rule of the private bankers just in time to save this nation.

Where, oh where are such leaders today?

"Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the Eternal God, I will rout you out." -- Andrew Jackson, on his shutting down of the Second Bank of the United States


Huge majority oppose England forest sell-off, poll finds

YouGov poll finds 84% of British public agree that woods and forests should be kept in public ownership for future generations

Webmaster's Commentary:

"Well, then we'll have to pay off the debt for Blair's war by selling your children for medical experiments." -- Number 9 3/4


Minister confronted by protesters as tempers flare over forest sell-off

Mark Harper, the Conservative MP for The Forest of Dean, was attacked by protesters as he exited a public meeting where he had been defending the Government's plans for a forestry sell-off.

Webmaster's Commentary:

The government does not own those forests. The people do. The governments are just hired caretakers and have no more right to sell those forests than a janitor has to sell the building whose floors he is hired to mop.

As is the case in the US, Britain's politicians have vested interests which may be influencing their decisions.


End of Euro? ... Ireland Prints Own Notes

Wait... have I just slipped into a parallel universe? Is this some sort of early April's fools joke? Doesn't this defeat the entire point of a single currency and the ECB? Were the rules changed on the quiet without anyone noticing?

Greece.... Greece are going to go f***ing apesh!t. They were forced to go begging to the IMF.... when the Greek people find out the [Irish] central bank is allowed to just print money, they are going to riot and demand tax cuts and benefits rising and massive spending. The Germans... well the Germans are just going to totally lose it. They've been told they should pay higher taxes to help the PIIGS, now they are being told the PIIGS can prints EUROS at will?


More Icelandic bankers arrested

Iceland’s special prosecutor into the banking crisis has confirmed that raids have taken place today and that arrests have been made. The Central Bank of Iceland is among the institutions under investigation.

Special Prosecutor, Olafur Thor Hauksson told Visir.is that house searches are taking place in at least three places today as part of investigations into the central bank, MP Bank and Straumur Bank.

Stefan Johann Stefansson at the central bank confirmed that agents were in the building conducting searches; and it has also been confirmed that searches are underway at MP Bank and ALMC (formerly Straumur).

An ALMC spokesman said that the premises are indeed being searched and that the bank’s staff members are doing their best to help.

In other news, four people have so far been arrested today in connection with the special prosecutor’s investigation into Landsbanki.

One of the arrested parties is Jon Thorsteinn Oddleifsson, former Landsbanki treasury boss; and it is not yet known who the other three are.

According to Visir.is sources, the arrests concern a brand new section of the wider case against the bank and are not directly connected to searches and arrests made last week.

Webmaster's Commentary:

We need more of that sort of thing right here in the USA!


Food Riots 2011 – Here We Go

The stunningly violent food riots in Tunisia and Algeria show just how quickly things can change. Just a few months ago, these two northern Africa nations were considered to be very stable, very peaceful and without any major problems.

But now protesters are openly squaring off with police in the streets. Many of the protesters are throwing “fire bombs” or are shooting fireworks at the authorities, and the police are responding with a tremendous amount of violence themselves.

In Algeria, several protesters have been killed by police and several others have actually set themselves on fire to protest the economic conditions.


African Food Riots Spread To Persian Gulf As Oman Is Next; Adverse Implications For Oil Prices?

While deadly protests in Africa have been largely ignored, because, well, they are in Africa, and they don't even have iPads there and Kindle WhisperNet coverage is spotty if any, the world may be forced to start paying just a little more attention as food riots get ever closer to the center of the oil extraction infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. From BBC Monitoring, which discusses the latest outbreak of protests sweeping Oman "Most participants in the protest were reluctant to be quoted as they were government employees.


Food Prices SkyRocket! Riots Begin

Is this fear based reporting or are we really looking at social unrest and/or martial law due to rising food prices worldwide?

With globalists such as World Bank President Robert Zoellick pushing for more so called “global stability” in the food market, it is clear that this is a REAL food crisis CREATED by the very people who will eventually pose the solution.

The cause of such alarm? On Wednesday, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported that global food prices had hit a record high and were likely to go on rising, entering what Abdolreza Abbassian, its senior grains economist, called “danger territory”.

Now the Food and Agriculture Organization of 55 food commodities has recorded that global food prices hit an all time record in December.

Natural News

Figures recently released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) index of 55 food commodities indicates that worldwide food prices hit a record high in December. Though the costs of some food commodities like rice, corn and soy actually decreased, oil seeds and sugar jumped significantly due to various factors including erratic weather and droughts, according to reports.

In the past, such ups and downs on the commodity market did not immediately affect actual food costs for consumers, but some experts say that this is no longer the case, and that “food inflation” will occur right alongside the commodity price gains. And rapid food inflation has already taken place in India, for example, with recent reports indicating that the country experienced an overall food inflation rate of 18 percent in 2010.


Food shortages: Creating a crisis to force global food control

A shortage of food is being intentionally staged around the world. Apparently, if we resist the theft and seizure of food production and supply by bio-pirates and facilitated by government puppets, we will be intentionally starved into submission...


Confirmed: Global Food Chain Stretched to the Limit

We have been covering rising food prices extensively for the last two months and it seems the mainstream is catching on. Food inflation and possible food riots are very real. In fact, we are already seeing food riots in the third world.

Mountain House Foods is reportedly running short on most of their food supplies due to an unknown government agency purchasing a huge amount of their product.

Our government is clearly stocking up, are you?


'Explosive' Food Prices the Biggest Risk: Analyst


CNBC

Overheating emerging markets, in China in particular, pose the biggest threat to the market and political situation in 2011 according to Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets...


Riots spread as global food shortage worsens

The food riots began in Algeria more than a week ago, and they are going to spread. During the last global food shortage, in 2008, there was serious rioting in Mexico, Indonesia and Egypt. We may expect to see that again, only more widespread.

Most people in these countries live in a cash economy and a large proportion live in cities. They buy their food, they don't grow it. That makes them vulnerable, because they have to eat almost as much as people in rich countries do but their incomes are much lower.

The poor, urban multitudes in these countries (including China and India) spend up to half of their entire income on food, compared with only about 10 per cent in rich countries.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Logical people in this country are growing what they can, and are learning about preserving what they have grown; they are also, particularly when they go to the "big box" stores, picking up drygoods and staples, rotating their shelves and stock, and making sure that they have enough to sustain them should there be some disruption which interrupts deliveries of food.

This is not being "chicken little"; this is being prudent.


Riots spread as global food shortage worsens

The food riots began in Algeria more than a week ago, and they are going to spread. During the last global food shortage, in 2008, there was serious rioting in Mexico, Indonesia and Egypt. We may expect to see that again, only more widespread.

Webmaster's Commentary:

We have been hit with a double-whammy. As seen by he United States, in which Wall Street bankers chow down on $150 hamburgers while the homeless eat dead birds from the streets, the money-addicts are willing to starve the masses to satisfy their own gluttony. Second, the money addicts in Washington DC, eager to swindle us all out of carbon taxes, created a propaganda impression of mild winters, leaving farmers wholly unprepared for the killing cold even now destroying critical bumper crops.

Thanks a lot, money-addicts. You did a really great job of screwing the planet.


Global Elites Push to Starve the World and Control the Food

The push by global elitists to control the world’s food supply is collecting dangerous and globalist bed buddies. Monsanto, the globalist Agribusiness giant has now bought Blackwater, a huge, well funded and controversial, mercenary group. Blackwater has recently changed its name to Xe to help alleviate some of the heat it has received over the years. You may recall their major mess up in Iraq back on Sept. 16, 2007, when Blackwater contractors were reported to have shot and killed 17 civilians in a crowded area in Baghdad. Food manipulation with gun control. Isn’t that pretty?


Riots rage in Chile as gas price hike fuels flames of anger


Video: Craig R. Smith On Food Riots In Algeria & Tunisia

Global food production expert Craig R. Smith discusses whether we'll see similar food shortages and unrest in the U.S.

Video - Craig Smith with Neil Cavuto discussing the Tunisian riots over food prices and whether America is headed for the same fate. US consumer prices have been surging in recent months and some wonder if we are headed for the biggest spike in inflation in our history. Craig discusses why the tools in our arsenal, traditionally used to fight inflation, will no longer work.

Excellent short clip...



Libye:


Les informations sur l’aviation libyenne bombardant son propre peuple ont rapidement fait le tour du monde. Cependant, les chefs militaires Russes disent qu’ils ont exercé une surveillance depuis l’espace et les images contredisent ces dires.

Selon Al Jazeera et la BBC, le 22 février le gouverment libyen a ordonné des frappes aériennes sur la ville de Benghazi - la plus grande ville du pays - et sur la capitale Tripoli. Cependant, l’armée Russe, qui surveille par satellite les troubles depuis leur commencement, déclare qu’il n’y a eu rien de tel.

A ce stade, l’armée Russe dit que, en ce qui les concerne, les attaques signalées par certains médias n’ont jamais eu lieu. Les mêmes sources indiquent que les militaires russes surveillent la situation autour des puits de pétrole libyens.

traduction le grand soir pour votre plus grand plaisir

Voir le vidéo de la TV russe::

http://tv.globalresearch.ca/2011/03...


Airstrikes in Libya did not take place - Russian military

As bad as Gaddafi is, it seems the U.S., by pushing out talking memos of false intel to the controlled AIPAC/Gates U.S. media, is trying to demonize Gaddafi along the same lines as the false incubator baby PR scam imposed on Saddam to foment hatred and justification for a U.S. led invasion of Iraq.

Webmaster's Commentary:

The US is already caught lying about the situation in Libya to manufacture consent for yet another war for oil and Israel. Therefore, and in light of the costs of similar lies about incubators, weapons of mass destruction, and the economy, assume everything coming from the US government from this point forward is a deception.


Chavez: U.S. distorting situation in Libya 'to justify an invasion'

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claims U.S. criticism of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has a clear aim: military invasion.

"Let's not get carried away by the drums of war, because the United States, I am sure that they are exaggerating and distorting things to justify an invasion," Chavez said Monday, according to Venezuelan state media.


Poll: Most Americans Strongly Oppose U.S. Intervention in Arab Countries

as Rasmussen notes - Americans are strongly opposed to military or other types of intervention:

As with the recent turmoil in Egypt, most Americans (67%) say the United States should leave the situation in the Arab countries alone. Just 17% say the United States should get more directly involved in the political situation there, but another 17% are not sure.


US, UK, French forces land in Libya Several hundred “defence advisors” to support anti-Ghadafi Forces

he United States, Britain and France have sent several hundred “defence advisors” to train and support the anti-Gadhafi forces in oil-rich Eastern Libya where “rebels armed groups” have apparently taken over.

According to an exclusive report confirmed by a Libyan diplomat in the region “the three Western states have landed their “special forces troops in Cyrinacia and are now setting up their bases and training centres” to reinforce the rebel forces who are resisting pro-Qaddafi forces in several adjoining areas.

A Libyan official who requested not to be identified said that the U.S. and British military gurus were sent on February 23 and 24 night through American and French warships and small naval boats off Libyan ports of Benghazi and Tobruk.

Webmaster's Commentary:

The original report comes from the Pakistan Observer.


US warships enter Egypt's Suez Canal

The USS Kearsarge and the Ponce, two US amphibious assault ships, have entered the Suez Canal on their way to Libya as Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi continues his harsh crackdown on anti-government protesters, a canal official says.

Webmaster's Commentary:

It would be best for Libya of Qaddafi is hanging from a gallows before the US ships can get there, in order to deny President Pussy his war on Libya as a distraction from the growing awareness that Wall Street's mortgage-backed securities fraud is the real reason for the economic crash we are all suffering. As mentioned below, Israel is now SUPPORTING Qaddafi, and since President Pussy will never defy Israel, expect those US warships to attack the Libyan people, regardless of what ABCNNBBCBS are telling you.

I might point out that when Iran sent two training ships through the Suez to visit Syria, it was treated as the end of the world in the media, yet when US ships travel the same path with the admitted intent of killing people, nobody raises a fuss.


US INVADES LIBYA!

US Special Forces have reportedly landed in Libya to train anti-Gaddafi rebels as a western-backed coup d’état in the oil-rich nation nears, with British and French “defense advisors” also arriving to set up training bases in the rebel-controlled eastern region of the country.

According to a report in the Pakistan Observer, hundreds of special forces personnel from the US, Britain and France arrived on February 23 and 24 in “American and French warships and small naval boats off Libyan ports of Benghazi and Tobruk.”

The article states that the report was confirmed by a Libyan diplomat in the region, who said that “The three Western states have landed their special forces troops in Cyrinacia and are now setting up their bases and training centres,” in a bid to bolster rebel forces resisting Gaddafi’s militia in the surrounding region.

“The Western forces are reportedly preparing to set-up training bases for local militias set-up by the rebel forces for an effective control of the oil-rich region and counter any push by pro-Qaddafi forces from Tripoli,” states the report.

In addition, efforts to “neutralize” the Libyan Air Force are underway in a bid to stymie Gaddafi’s ability to rule from Tripoli if he manages to remain in power.

The US Navy has also confirmed that the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, which had previously been on pirate-hunting duty off the coast of Somalia, is now steaming towards Libya as tensions rise.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly admitted for the first time yesterday that the United States was preparing to back anti-government rebels, despite Hafiz Ghoga, the spokesman for the newly formed National Libyan Council in the rebel controlled eastern city of Benghazi, warning that any “foreign intervention” would not be welcome.

Webmaster's Commentary:

The people of Libya just ejected one tyrant only to have another move in!
Vietnam started with "advisers", too!


The military option against Libya's Gaddafi - AJ English


US ships, UK planes near Libya amid fears of NATO invasion


US warship headed to Libya: officials

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US warship with hundreds of Marines on board headed towards Libya on Tuesday, defense officials said, as US and European allies sought to pile pressure on embattled leader Moamer Khadafi.

The USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship accompanied by two other naval vessels, was expected to pass through the Suez Canal soon from the Red Sea, two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.


Gadhafi has lost control over oil, gas fields

The European Union says that Libya's strongman Moammar Gadhafi no longer controls most of oil and gas fields in the country.

Webmaster's Commentary:

"We must invade immediately to save those poor helpless oil fields ... I mean Libyans." -- Official White Horse Souse


Gaddafi loses Libya: Tripoli last target of opposition

Webmaster's Commentary:

The US and UK are rattling the sabers; desperate to find a reason to invade Libya and install a new puppet ruler. But the opposition leaders have made it very clear they do not want nor will they accept foreign interference. This is a popular uprising against a tyrant, and they do not intend to allow the US or UK (or Israel) to jump in and simply replace one puppet with another. They have been watching that game for 100 years and know all the tricks.

Qaddafi will probably not last the week. If his sons are stating they will not leave it means they are already considering it. Personally, I hope the Libyan people get their hands on Qaddafi, and send a message to tyrants everywhere that you do NOT point guns at your own people.


As Libyan rebels close in on Gaddafi, US and Europe ramp up intervention

With dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s control over the country ebbing, the United States and its European allies are stepping up their intervention into the Libyan crisis. Their aim is to ensure that any new regime will be equally subservient to their economic and geostrategic interests.

Webmaster's Commentary:

This is exactly what is going on here. The US and UK are going to invade to seize control of Libya and install a new puppet ruler. The Libyan people, of course, are demanding the US and UK star out of their country, because they have the situation under control and Qaddafi will be toast (or at least slowly roasting) by week's end. A successful Libyan revolt without US/UK intervention sends two messages. First, that the global, revolt against a global fascist dictatorship is proceeding rapidly, and second, that the world operates quite well without the constant meddling of former empires still dreaming dreams of faded imperial glory.


We'll use military force to free Libya, vows PM: Cameron plans no-fly zone over country and even threatens to send British troops

David Cameron threatened Colonel Gaddafi with military action last night, promising a no-fly zone and arms shipments to his enemies.

The Prime Minister even suggested he could send British troops into Libya as a peacekeeping force to stop Gaddafi’s henchmen massacring democracy campaigners.


Libya no-fly zone would require bombing raids: US

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya would first require bombing the north African nation's air defense systems, top US commander General James Mattis warned Tuesday.

A no-fly zone would require removing "the air defense capability first," Mattis, the head of Central Command, told a Senate hearing.


Libya: Russia, China join France in opposing military action against Gaddafi

All three countries have veto powers in the Security Council, so their approval is needed for a UN-mandated no-fly zone.

Webmaster's Commentary:

If China, France and Russia veto a no-fly zone in Libya at the UN, expect the US and/or NATO, or EU to impose such a situation unilaterally.


How will America handle the fall of its Middle East empire?

It is too early to chart the future course of events with confidence, but it seems unlikely that these liberated peoples will look to Washington and New York as their political or economic model.

The great question is whether America will take its diminished status gracefully, or whether it will lash out, as empires in trouble are historically prone to do.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Right now, my bet would be that the US will, in fact "lash out", and that processes and steps have already been taken for some kind of multilateral or unilateral action military action inside Libya.

And why?!? Because the US, the UK, and Israel have no one on the ground in Libya to replace Gadaffi and his regime at this point, and are looking to install a government "friendly" to Western financial interests.

As to whether whoever they decide to use to replace Gadaffi will be more friendly to the needs and concerns of Libyan citizens clamoring for Gaddafi to leave, is absolutely of no concern to them, and here is where the collective hubris can get very, very dicey.


'US unable to hijack Middle East uprising'

On Friday, massive Arab Revolutionary demonstrations were held throughout the Middle East, amid Gaddafi's brutal mercenary militia killing more protesters in Libya.

Press TV interviewed International Lawyer, Franklin Lamb from Beirut regarding the uprisings in the Middle East.


Libya: How Gaddafi became a Western-backed dictator

In 1988, I visited Libya as a journalist for the left-wing newspaper Direct Action and visited Gaddafi’s bombed out home. I wrote several articles describing and defending the 1969 Libyan revolution.

However, in the late 1990s secret negotiations for a rapprochement with the US and other Western governments began. First, UN sanctions were lifted in 1999 and by 2006 the US lifted its own sanctions and normalised relations.

European leaders flocked to Libya with greedy businesspeople hanging on to their coat tails and before long several European oil companies were back in business, with banks, airlines and hotel chains following. Former British Labour PM Tony Blair and scandal-plagued, right-wing Italian President Silvio Berlusconi played leading roles in the process.


Gaddafi forces abandon Tripoli neighborhoods

Poor neighborhoods of the Libyan capital Tripoli openly defied Muammar Gaddafi on Saturday as his grip on power after 41 years of rule looked increasingly tenuous in the face of nationwide revolt.

Security forces had abandoned the working-class Tajoura district after five days of anti-government demonstrations, residents told foreign correspondents who visited the area.


Libya Protests: Rebel Troops Prepare For Violent Stand-Off Against Gaddafi Forces

Hundreds of armed anti-government forces backed by rebel troops who control the city closest to the capital Tripoli prepared Sunday to repel an expected offensive by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi surrounding Zawiya.

An Associated Press reporter who reached Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, confirmed the anti-government rebels are in control of the center of the city of 200,000. They have army tanks and anti-aircraft guns mounted on pickup trucks deployed. But on the outskirts, they are surrounded by pro-Gaddafi forces, also backed by tanks and anti-aircraft guns.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Gaddafi has decided that civil war is the preferable option to stepping down; and it appears that is precisely what he is going to get.


Obama declares national state of emergency over Libya

President Obama issued an executive order Friday evening that imposes immediate sanctions on Libyan ruler Muammar al Qaddafi, his sons and his accomplices in the slaughter of civilians. In a letter accompanying the order, Obama declared a national emergency over the situation.

"I have determined that the actions of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, his government, and close associates, including extreme measures against the people of Libya, constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Translation: "I have determined that the actions of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, his government, and close associates, including extreme measures against the people of Libya, constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of Israel, so kiss your kids goodbye; we're cranking up another war for them to die in!" -- Official White Horse Souse


: US 'reaching out' to Libyan opposition groups

Secretary of state heads to Geneva to consult with allies on next step to end crisis in country; Italian FM says friendship treaty with Libya is canceled and the end of Gaddafi's rule is "inevitable."

Webmaster's Commentary:

Translation: the US is working as hard as it can to find a figurehead leader for Libya with which it can replace Kadaffi which is amenable to the US, the West, and Israel.


US neo-cons urge Libya intervention

The appeal, which came in the form of a letter signed by 40 policy analysts, including more than a dozen former senior officials who served under President George W. Bush, was organised and released by the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI), a two-year-old neo-conservative group that is widely seen as the successor to the more-famous – or infamous – Project for the New American Century (PNAC).

Webmaster's Commentary:

If these people truly feel that war with Libya is necessary, they should be willing to personally lead their own children into the invasion. Sadly, we are out of the camouflage uniforms in their sizes, but we do have some day-glo orange prison jumpsuits I am sure would be equally comfortable as they charge the shores of Tripoli!


US urges support for Libya mercenaries and preemptive excuses for killing libyan civillians post invasion

http://presstv.com/detail/167663.html

The request is for the UN Security Council to word the resolution in a way that no one from an outside country that is not a member of the International Criminal Court could be prosecuted by the Court for their actions in Libya.

Ann Wright, a former US diplomat, compared US officials with the foreign mercenaries in Libya and accused them of killing civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen, in an interview with Press TV's US Desk.

“US officials have done the same things in their massacres of people in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Yemen, where the United States officials from the highest level of our government have authorized attacks on innocent civilians," she said.

She described the Obama Administration as “very duplicitous - like the Bush Administration - trying to protect its own illegal actions which really do amount to war crimes in many cases.”

The resolution, which was adopted on February 26, referred Libya to the International Criminal Court, signaling that the international community will not tolerate nationwide brutality by mercenaries in Libya under the rule of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Anti-government protests in Libya that began early February have been viciously crushed by the ruling government, leaving an estimate of 2,000 people dead so far.


Israel provides henchmen for Gaddafi

http://presstv.com/detail/167814.html

Israeli arms distribution company Global CST has reportedly, under the authorization of Tel Aviv, provided Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi with African mercenaries to clampdown on anti-government protesters.

Egyptian sources have revealed that the Israeli company has so far provided Gaddafi's regime with 50,000 African mercenaries to attack the civilian anti-government protesters in Libya.

Gaddafi regime pays $2000 per day for each mercenary. The mercenaries receive $100 per day and the remaining goes to Global CST, the report says.


Media lies: Spate of headlines tying Libya and Venezuela together

As the wave of popular uprisings has spread across the Arab world, a flurry of articles have appeared suggesting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez could be the next “dictator” to be overthrown.

Such arguments follow a pattern in the corporate media of slandering the Chavez government and the revolutionary process it leads.

They aim to conceal the real threat that haunts imperialism: that the Arab world may follow the example of Venezuela and other countries in Latin America — and break away from Western hegemony.


Libya removes itself from the net

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12653078

As fighting inside the country intensifies, Libya's links to the net appear to have been completely severed.

Net monitoring and security firms are reporting that no net traffic is entering or leaving Libyan net space.

Renesys said the outage was more than just a "blip" as many sites have been unreachable for more than 12 hours.


This Is What Dictators Are Really Scared About

Ahmadinejad, Qaddafi, Chaves, Mugabe and Kim Jong-Il. All the same dogs with different collar, scared about the same thing.

It seems that the internet is indeed making people believe, at last, that they “should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” [ISHR - Thanks Karl!]


Gaddafi Strikes Back: Dozens reported killed in new offensive while media war rages on


Israel provides henchmen for Gaddafi

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/167814.html

Israeli arms distribution company Global CST has reportedly, under the authorization of Tel Aviv, provided Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi with African mercenaries to clamp down on anti-government protesters.

Egyptian sources have revealed that the Israeli company has so far provided Gaddafi's regime with 50,000 African mercenaries to attack the civilian anti-government protesters in Libya.

The arms company was previously convicted in an African country over illegal deals, News-Israel website reported.

Sources say Global CST had obtained the permission for providing the mercenaries to Gaddafi from the Israeli officials in advance.


Libya’s Hidden Wealth May Be Next Battle

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/business/global/04sovereign.html?_r=1&src=busln

LONDON — As the battle for Libya rages on, the struggle over control of the country’s sovereign wealth fund and its $70 billion in assets has just begun.

With a sizable pot of ready cash and stakes in a few elite European companies — including the British publisher Pearson and the Italian soccer club Juventus — the fund served as an emphatic calling card for its founder, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, a son of the Libyan ruler who was once regarded as the reformer in the family.

Established in 2006, the fund was used by Mr. Qaddafi in an effort to make the case that Libya was ready to open itself to the West. It helped draw into Mr. Qaddafi’s orbit a range of powerful figures, including the Rothschild family, Prince Andrew of Britain, the former European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson, the cream of corporate society in Italy and the American private equity investors Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone and David M. Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group.

The United States said it intended to freeze any Libyan Investment Authority’s assets controlled by American institutions, though no specific bank or asset had been publicly identified. In Britain, officials say the fund will be prevented from selling and repatriating its assets, which include, in addition to its Pearson stake, a small portfolio of commercial real estate holdings in London.

But what remains unclear is to what extent the $50 billion or so of cash and liquid securities in the fund, which operated under the indirect control of Mr. Qaddafi, is accessible to the regime of his father, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.


Virtually unknown in the West: Libya's water resources

We still wonder how on earth did Gaddafi manage to stay in power for forty years? Did no one notice his madness until now?

Did no one notice that he built a HUGE FRESH WATER PIPELINE to the Benghazi region, that lunatic?

Were they waiting for him to finish?

The 1st of September marks the anniversary of the opening of the major stage of Libya's Great Man-Made River Project. This incredibly huge and successful water scheme is virtually unknown in the West, yet it rivals and even surpasses all our greatest development projects. The leader of the so-called advanced countries, the United States of America cannot bring itself to acknowledge Libya's Great Man-Made River. The West refuses to recognize that a small country, with a population no more than four million, can construct anything so large without borrowing a single cent from the international banks.

...In the 1960s during oil exploration deep in the southern Libyan desert, vast reservoirs of high quality water were discovered in the form of aquifers. ...

The Great Man-Made River, as the largest water transport project ever undertaken, has been described as the "eighth wonder of the world". It carries more than five million cubic metres of water per day across the desert to coastal areas, vastly increasing the amount of arable land. The total cost of the huge project is expected to exceed $25 billion (US).

Consisting of a network of pipes buried underground to eliminate evaporation, four meters in diameter, the project extends for four thousand kilometres far deep into the desert. All material is locally engineered and manufactured. Underground water is pumped from 270 wells hundreds of meters deep into reservoirs that feed the network. The cost of one cubic meter of water equals 35 cents. The cubic meter of desalinized water is $3.75. Scientists estimate the amount of water to be equivalent to the flow of 200 years of water in the Nile River.

The goal of the Libyan Arab people, embodied in the Great Man-Made River project, is to make Libya a source of agricultural abundance, capable of producing adequate food and water to supply its own needs and to share with neighboring countries. In short, the River is literally Libya's 'meal ticket' to self-sufficiency.


Self-sufficiency?!? Absolutely Not Allowed. Banksters don't like that sort of thing one bit.


Obama: U.S. To "Act Rapidly Against Libya

http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/obama-u-s-must-be-ready-to-act-quickly-on-libya-1.346980

In some of his most specific comments yet, Barack Obama insisted that the deployment of a growing number of US forces around the Libyan border was to allow the US to ‘act rapidly’ if he decided to launch an attack.

Obama also said that the military aircraft deployed to the region would be used to move refugees around, with the US forces being used to transfer Egyptian refugees who fled into Tunisia back to Egypt.

Though the early threats to invade have been somewhat backed off of, the continued deployment of US military forces to the area has increased concerns that a full on invasion is in the offing.


US examining 'full range of options' on Libya

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama has said he is examining the "full range" of military options, including a no-fly zone, if the revolt in Libya turns into a bloody stalemate and humanitarian disaster...


UN Postpones Praising Gadhafi’s Human Rights Record

Basic reason scored something of a victory today as the UN Human Rights Council announced that it was postponing the vote to affirm a report praising Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s regime for its human rights record.

The report (PDF) said that the Gadhafi regime protected “not only political rights, but also economic, social and cultural rights,” praised it for the nation’s treatment of religious minorities, and the “human rights training” received by security forces. It was to be approved at a vote later this month.

Webmaster's Commentary:

Ghaddafi was going to be awarded this honor because he privatized hundreds of public assets and invited giant oil companies to do business to Libya at below market prices, just as the Shah of Iran and Batista and Marcos etc. etc. etc. had done for the US. Far from supporting human rights, such activities, while profitable to corporations, resulted in devastating poverty for the people ... just like we see being done to the United States itself. The heaping of such empty honors on the leaders who sell out their people is a propaganda device to silence complaints. Example: "How dare you complain about the wars! Didn't your President win the Nobel Peace Prize?!?"


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