US and UK knew that Iraq Didn’t Have WMDs

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The ‘Axis of Liars’

Everyone knew the WMD claims were fake.

For example, Tony Blair – the British Prime Minister – knew that Saddam possessed no WMDs. If America’s closest ally Britain knew, then the White House knew as well.

And the number 2 Democrat in the Senate -who was on the Senate intelligence committee – admitted that the Senate intelligence committee knew before the war started that Bush’s public statements about Iraqi WMDs were false. If the committee knew, then the White House knew as well.

But we don’t even have to use logic to be able to conclude that the White House knew.

Specifically, the former highest-ranking CIA officer in Europe says that Bush, Cheney and Rice were personally informed that Iraq had no WMDs in Fall 2002 (and see this).

Former Treasury Secretary O’Neil – who was a member of the National Security Council – said:

In the 23 months I was there, I never saw anything that I would characterize as evidence of weapons of mass destruction.

The CIA warned the White House that claims about Iraq’s nuclear ambitions (using forged documents) were false, and yet the White House made those claims anyway.

Indeed, a former high-level CIA analyst (who chaired National Intelligence Estimates and personally delivered intelligence briefings to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, their Vice Presidents, Secretaries of State, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many other senior government officials) says that falsified documents which were meant to show that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein regime had been trying to procure yellowcake uranium from Niger can be traced back to Dick Cheney, and that:

CIA Director George Tenet told his “coterie of malleable managers” at the CIA to create a National Intelligence Estimate “to the terms of reference of Dick Cheney’s speech of August 26, 2002, where Dick Cheney said for the first time Saddam Hussein could have a nuclear weapon in a year, he’s got all kinds of chemical, he’s got all kinds of biological weapons.”

Read moreUS and UK knew that Iraq Didn’t Have WMDs

Tony Blair ‘knew Iraq did not have WMD before war started’

How may people have died for nothing (except more profit for the elite)?

And in Afghanistan it’s the same thing:

Former UK ambassador Craig Murray:

Murray alleged that in the late 1990s the Uzbek ambassador to the US met with then-Texas Governor George W. Bush to discuss a pipeline for the region, and out of that meeting came agreements that would see Texas-based Enron gain the rights to Uzbekistan’s natural gas deposits, while oil company Unocal worked on developing the Trans-Afghanistan pipeline.

“The consultant who was organizing this for Unocal was a certain Mr. Karzai, who is now president of Afghanistan,” Murray noted.

“There are designs of this pipeline, and if you look at the deployment of US forces in Afghanistan, as against other NATO country forces in Afghanistan, you’ll see that undoubtedly the US forces are positioned to guard the pipeline route. It’s what it’s about. It’s about money, it’s about oil, it’s not about democracy.”

Former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury Paul Craig Roberts:

Amb. Murray learned too much and was fired when he vomited it all up. He saw the documents that proved that the motivation for US and UK military aggression in Afghanistan had to do with the natural gas deposits in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The Americans wanted a pipeline that bypassed Russia and Iran and went through Afghanistan. To insure this, an invasion was necessary. The idiot American public could be told that the invasion was necessary because of 9/11 and to save them from “terrorism,” and the utter fools would believe the lie.



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Missiles shown by Iraq just before the invasion to rebut claims about its arms

Intelligence that Saddam Hussein did not have access to weapons of mass destruction was received by the Government ten days before Tony Blair ordered the invasion of Iraq, the inquiry into the war was told yesterday.

Inspectors in Iraq had also told the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that they believed that Saddam might not have chemical and biological weapons. But with British and US troops massed on the border, the new intelligence was dismissed.

Sir William Ehrman, the Foreign Office’s director-general of defence and intelligence at the time, told the inquiry that information was receivedjust before the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003. “We did at the very end, I think on March 10, get a report that chemical weapons might have remained disassembled and Saddam hadn’t yet ordered their assembly,” he said. “There was also a suggestion that Iraq might lack warheads capable of effective dispersal of agents.”

Sir William said that it had not made any difference to the case for war. “I don’t think it invalidated the point about the programmes he had,” he said. “It was more about use. From the counter-proliferation point of view it just proved [Saddam] had been lying and that he had prohibited items.”

Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, told the Foreign Office at the end of February 2003 that Saddam might not have weapons of mass destruction, the inquiry was told. Mr Blair continued to say there was a risk to national security from WMD without mentioning the new intelligence.

Read moreTony Blair ‘knew Iraq did not have WMD before war started’

US Mint suspends sales of American Eagle 1oz gold coins

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US Mint suspended sales of its popular American Eagle 1oz bullion coins after demand from retail investors stripped its vaults bare.

Sales of the coins are expected to resume in early December.

Investors have been snapping up American Eagle coins, as well as Krugerrands from South Africa and Canada’s Maple Leaf coins as a hedge against inflation and the falling dollar.

Today 1oz American eagles were selling for $1,232.84 each, up $17.24. The coins have a face value of $50 but are sold by dealers at a premium to the price of gold.

Gold futures hit another record today of $1,188.60 per ounce for February delivery.

The US Mint said that it had depleted its current inventory of 1oz American Eagles after selling 124,000 ounces so far this month, up from 115,000 ounces sold in both September and October.

Read moreUS Mint suspends sales of American Eagle 1oz gold coins

US Treasury Report: Banks Are Cutting Back on Small Business Loans, $10 Billion Evaporates

And here is why: The Federal Reserve Doesn’t Want Banks to Increase Lending, Because of Inflation

And keep the following in mind when reading why the Fed really does not want the banks to lend:

“Difficulties in obtaining credit could hinder the expansion of small and medium-sized businesses and prevent the formation of new businesses,” Bernanke said on Monday. “Because smaller businesses account for a significant portion of net employment gains during recoveries, limited credit could hinder job growth.”


Reports to the Treasury confirm what small business owners have known all year: Banks are cutting back on Main Street lending.

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Treasury Secretary Geithner (Former head of the New York Fed)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Eight months after President Obama began prodding the nation’s banks to increase their small business lending, the loan numbers continue to move in the opposite direction.

The 22 banks that got the most help from the Treasury’s bailout programs cut their small business loan balances by a collective $10.5 billion over the past six months, according to a government report released Monday.

Three of the 22 banks make no small business loans at all. Of the remaining 19 banks, 15 have reduced their small business loan balance since April, when the Treasury department began requiring the biggest banks receiving Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding to report monthly on their small business lending.

Over the six months that the reporting requirement has been in effect, the banks have cut their collective small business lending by 4%. Their cumulative balance stood at $258.7 billion as of Sept. 30, according to a Treasury Department report.

Read moreUS Treasury Report: Banks Are Cutting Back on Small Business Loans, $10 Billion Evaporates

The Federal Reserve Doesn’t Want Banks to Increase Lending, Because of Inflation

If the Fed policy is not about expanding credit, which is what the Fed tells us that it is all about, then it is all about a hidden tax for Americans, a ‘controlled’ demolition of the US dollar as I have always said.

The Fed fears that the constant devaluation of the dollar and the still ongoing greatest financial collapse in world history will get ‘out of control’ that is all.

All the elite fears is that they are losing control (= power). The elite already has/owns all the money in the world and is now after total power. The middle class gets intentionally wiped out in this process. The Fed and the US government are looting and destroying America.

“When a country embarks on deficit financing (Obamanomics) and inflationism (Fed) you wipe out the middle class and wealth is transferred from the middle class and the poor to the rich.”
– Ron Paul

All the money and power will be even more concentrated in very few hands. And when they will have turned the US into a Third World country, then they will buy it all up for cents on the dollar, as they are already doing with the banking system and then they are planning to rebuilt America again with them as Lords and the people as slaves in the New World Order.

Remember:

McHUGH:
Well, I’m a renegade banker. I have sat in at meetings where the Federal Reserve came in, sat down and “said stop lending, we think there is a recession coming.” The very fact that we were told to stop lending caused a recession. That happened in 1990-1991. Word of that finally hit the mainstream media and one of the first acts Clinton did was that he grabbed the regulators by the throats and said, “why don’t you let the bankers start lending again.” The next time they came in, they told us to start lending.

They have that kind of power. They decide when recessions and depressions happen. They decide when hyperinflation happens.

They can do it through a lot of different tools. The hidden one is the regulatory agencies where they come in and intimidate bankers and tell them what to do. They have a lot of power. They can have the boards of directors of banks thrown in jail. They can have people fired. They use those powers behind the scenes, nobody knows about them. As a banker, I have seen the dark side of the Fed. I have watched them rate good loans as bad loans, and charge off loans when in fact, customers were fine, the loans were fine. We are in a bit of that environment again now. What happens is, the last thing these government agencies want to happen is that they get called on the carpet before Congress. So they become overzealous, overcautious at precisely the wrong times. There is a lot of action by the Fed that messes with the normal business free market cycles that would prevent excesses. A lot of the publicity in today’s market is that there wasn’t enough government intervention, there wasn’t enough regulation and that is true too, they got too far in one extreme, but they create imbalances and create these problems by overacting as well. [emphasis mine]

Source: Whether Or Not We Like It: “We shall have World Government”

More info/quotes on the Fed here: Ron Paul on Glenn Beck: Destruction of the dollar


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Tim Duy – Director of Undergraduate Studies of the Department of Economics at the University of Oregon and the Director of the Oregon Economic Forum – noticed an amazing sentence in the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Fed Open Market Committee:

As has already been widely noted, the minutes of the most recent FOMC meeting reiterated the Fed’s eagerness to reverse, not extend, policy:

Overall, many participants viewed the risks to their inflation outlooks over the next few quarters as being roughly balanced. Some saw the risks as tilted to the downside in the near term, reflecting the quite elevated level of economic slack and the possibility that inflation expectations could begin to decline in response to the low level of actual inflation. But others felt that risks were tilted to the upside over a longer horizon, because of the possibility that inflation expectations could rise as a result of the public’s concerns about extraordinary monetary policy stimulus and large federal budget deficits. Moreover, these participants noted that banks might seek to reduce appreciably their excess reserves as the economy improves by purchasing securities or by easing credit standards and expanding their lending substantially. Such a development, if not offset by Federal Reserve actions, could give additional impetus to spending and, potentially, to actual and expected inflation. To keep inflation expectations anchored, all participants agreed that it was important for policy to be responsive to changes in the economic outlook and for the Federal Reserve to continue to clearly communicate its ability and intent to begin withdrawing monetary policy accommodation at the appropriate time and pace.

Read that carefully and realize this: An apparently not insignificant portion of the FOMC believes that there is a terrible risk that banks loosen their credit standards and increase lending at a time when, even if the economy posts expected gain, unemployment remains at unacceptably high levels. Silly me, I thought increased lending was the whole point of the exercise to lower interest and expand the balance sheet. That whole credit channel thing. If not to expand lending during a credit crunch, then what else are they expecting?

I am in shock that this sentence made it into the minutes. One can only conclude that a significant portion of policymakers are simply clueless. Or, more disconcerting, they have lost all faith in the ability of financial institutions to channel capital into activities with any hope of financial returns. Has the Fed now embraced the view that they manage the economy through little else then fueling and extinguishing bubbles?

Yves Smith has the definitive last word on the issue:

Read moreThe Federal Reserve Doesn’t Want Banks to Increase Lending, Because of Inflation

Climategate: Hacked emails include calls for ‘Earth Government’ as foundation of new world order, splitting of America

Lord Christopher Monckton on Climategate: ‘They Are Criminals’


One of the leaked climate emails was apparently a press release from “Earth Government” Newsletter dated 27 Mar 2003. The document calls for a ‘democratic’ world government that would amalgamate and reform the prevailing global institutions including the United Nations, IMF, World Bank WTO, NAFTA, FTAA and others “for the good of all.”

It further refers to an “Earth Court of Justice to deal with all aspects of the Governance and Management of the Earth.” The document also makes mention of the “Foundation for the new world order, Earth Government” and “The splitting of America into separate independent states living at peace for the good of all.” Is this a revelation of the true intentions of certain environmental advocates, or just one of many emails in the background of calls to “hide the decline” of global temperatures (despite intense claims of global warming).

It is eerily similar to newly named EU President Herman Von Rompuy’s calls for Copenhagen to establish “global management” of the planet and Queen Elizabeth’s recent declaration during her throne speech at the opening of Parliament that “My government will seek effective global and European collaboration through the G20 and the European Union to sustain economic recovery and to combat climate change, including at the Copenhagen summit next month.”

The bulk of the leaked or hacked climate emails can be found at Wikileaks. If you download the emails and look for email #1048799107.txt you will see it. Thanks to Jonathan at NWObabylon.blogspot.com for the tip.

Below is the email in full:

Read moreClimategate: Hacked emails include calls for ‘Earth Government’ as foundation of new world order, splitting of America

German Prosecutor to Homeschoolers: No Compromise – You are Going to Jail!

As a side note:

Soon after their takeover of power in Germany, the Nazi government resumed talks with the Holy See concerning the establishment of a concordat. Previously, concordats, regulating the relation between the Catholic Church and the state, had been established in Bavaria (1924), Prussia (1929) and Baden (1932), but talks had failed on a federal level for several reasons. The Reichskonkordat was signed on July 20, 1933.
….
In Germany, “to this day religion nominally remains a state affair.”[13] For the large churches in Germany (Catholic and evangelisch) the German government collects the church tax, which is then given to the Churches.

(Source: Wikipedia)

The churches never complained! The government takes away your money for the churches without ever asking you if you want to ‘donate’ your money to the church or not?

That is exactly the behavior that the churches condemn in public to be that of a sect, a cult or a criminal, dictatorial organization!


Juergen and Rosemary Dudek of Archfeldt, Germany, were sentenced to 90 days in prison in July 2008 because they homeschool their children.

Their sentence was overturned by an appeals court because of a legal error, and a new trial was ordered. Their new trial began November 16. German news reports indicate the judge appears disposed to seek a compromise.

But prosecutor Herwig Mueller has vowed to appeal any sentence that does not include jail time for these parents, who have been in the spotlight for years because of their insistence on homeschooling.

This was the same prosecutor who appealed the lower court sentence of only a fine, saying to the family, “You don’t have to worry about the fine because I will send you to jail.”

Armin Eckermann, president of the homeschool organization, Schuzh, was present at the trial. He told HSLDA the judge was seeking a compromise.

“This judge said that he thought a jail sentence was too harsh for the Dudek family under this situation,” said Eckermann. “But the prosecutor took a hard line.”

The new trial was continued to next week after more than seven hours of testimony. This included an outburst by Mr. Mueller when Mr. Dudek asked the local school officials if they knew the current laws that criminalize homeschoolers were based on laws from 1938.

Mr. Mueller loudly protested: “All those Nazi laws have been suspended, and this one is democratic, and you’ve got to accept it, and that’s it.”

Mr. Dudek disagrees.

“The ‘Schulpflicht’—the laws that require school attendance—are on the books in the German states,” he explained, “and have been traced back to the ‘Reichschulpflicht Gesetz’ [federal compulsory attendance laws] which was passed in 1938.

Except for the removal of references to the Nazi party, these laws are identical or substantially the same as the laws passed by Hitler’s government, criminalizing parents who keep their children home for school.”

The Dudeks feel that homeschooling their children is the right thing to do and are determined resist what they consider unjust laws barring them from home education.

“The judge gave me an opportunity to discuss my reasons for homeschooling, for which I am grateful,” said Mr. Dudek. “But he told us that the constitutional court has already ruled on the issue of whether homeschooling is allowed.

Read moreGerman Prosecutor to Homeschoolers: No Compromise – You are Going to Jail!

Pound Falls Broadly on Dubai’s Debt Problems

See also:

Dubai meltdown: Crash hits new low; The emirate can no longer meet its obligations; Celebrities caught out

OECD warning: Britain risks ‘debt spiral’


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The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, the world’s biggest artificial island. Home prices have crashed.

LONDON (Reuters) – Sterling fell on Thursday, with the euro hitting a one-month high against the UK currency, on worries about British banks’ exposure to debt problems in Dubai and concern over UK economic health.

The pound also fell sharply against the dollar, which recovered some of the previous day’s sharp losses, and dropped to a six-week low against a broadly firmer yen.

Traders and analysts said sterling was coming under pressure following Dubai’s move on Wednesday to restructure its biggest corporate debtor, Dubai World, and delay repayment on some of the company’s $59 billion (35.6 billion pounds) of liabilities.

“There are concerns regarding the extent of the exposure of the UK banks to Dubai, hence sterling is coming under pressure,” said Ian Stannard, currency strategist at BNP Paribas.

European bank shares fell more than 3 percent on Thursday on concern about their potential exposure to Dubai debt problems. The fall was led by HSBC , Standard Chartered , Barclays , Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland .

The euro broke above 91 pence for the first time in a month to hit a high of 91.29 pence. It was last at 91.21 pence, up 0.7 percent

Read morePound Falls Broadly on Dubai’s Debt Problems

IMF Sells 10 Tonnes of Gold to Sri Lanka; Gold Hits Fresh Record High Above $1,194

Gold Hits Fresh Record High Above $1,194 (Reuters):

Gold hit a record high above $1,194 on Thursday as the dollar index fell to its lowest in 15 months, raising hopes that central banks would jump in to buy more bullion in their effort to hedge against a falling currency.

The rise took gold price gains to around 15 percent since the beginning of November, with demand fuelled by expectations of further reserve diversification and fears about inflation in 2010.

“Everybody is bullish on gold, and everybody is looking at the signal central banks are sending,” said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus in Hong Kong.

“It’s not just India or China, but most of the central banks, as well as funds, have changed their portfolios to include gold. So, everybody is looking at how much money they will invest in gold,” he said.

India traders shrug off record gold prices, stock up (Reuters)


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A worker displays gold bars in Mumbai

WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it had sold 10 tonnes of gold to Sri Lanka’s central bank for 375 million dollars, as part of a restructuring of IMF financial resources.

It was the third IMF sale of gold in a month as the Washington-based institution seeks to reduce its dependence on lending revenue and bolster its finances amid the global economic crisis.

“The sale was conducted on the basis of market prices prevailing on” Monday, the IMF said in a statement.

Gold prices had hit a record high that day, topping 1,170 dollars an ounce. Since then, the price of the precious metal has soared higher to new all-time peaks as investors seek a safe haven amid economic uncertainty.

Read moreIMF Sells 10 Tonnes of Gold to Sri Lanka; Gold Hits Fresh Record High Above $1,194

Dubai meltdown: Crash hits new low; The emirate can no longer meet its obligations; Celebrities caught out

Dubai is broke and will become a ghost town.

“Altogether, the Dubai government and its companies have more than $80 billion of debt. The emirate, which has a population of only two million, has been forced twice to approach its oil-rich neighbour in Abu Dhabi for the funds to bail it out.”


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The Atlantis (!) hotel in Dubai

David Beckham and Brad Pitt are believed to be among the celebrities and sportsmen who bought villas in Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, a luxury development that juts out into the Gulf. But when the property bubble burst this year, residents saw the value of their investments collapse. Yesterday their situation worsened as Nakheel, the developer, and its state-owned parent made a request to suspend debt repayments.

The statement rocked credit mar-kets around the world and prompted analysts to question whether Dubai, the most populous of the United Arab Emirates, will be able to meet its obligations. The concern is that Nakheel will be unable to continue developing the Palm and neighbouring projects, leaving Dubai and its coastal waters an ugly, unfinished construction site.

When the 2,000 villas and townhouses on the Palm went on sale in 2002, they sold out in a month. Passing through en route to the World Cup in Japan and Korea were the England football team, and several players stopped off to sign up for £1 million properties on the artificial island, with Michael Owen, David James, Joe Cole, Andy Cole and Kieron Dyer, it was reported, joining Beckham on the beaches. Pitt and Angelina Jolie are also said to have bought homes.

Joe Cole was one of the few who got out in time. The Chelsea player sold his villa for about $3.5 million (£2.1 million) last summer as Dubai’s property bubble approached bursting point.

Nakheel is now in deep trouble and struggling to cover its debts. Dubai World, a government conglomerate that owns the developer, is $60 billion in the red. Yesterday’s announcement by the Dubai government that it wishes to suspend repayment of Dubai World’s debts for six months, including a $4 billion bond held by Nakheel that was due to be repaid next month, is the clearest indication that the emirate can no longer meet its obligations.

Work has stopped on several major projects around the city and companies have had to accept huge cuts in the value of their contracts. More than 400 projects worth more than $300 billion are said to have been cancelled or shut down as a result of the property collapse.

Read moreDubai meltdown: Crash hits new low; The emirate can no longer meet its obligations; Celebrities caught out

Virologist Adrian Gibbs Repeats H1N1 Swine Flu Lab-Escape Claim in Published Study

(Flashback):

CDC to mix avian, human flu viruses in pandemic study (2004):

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will soon launch experiments designed to combine the H5N1 virus and human flu viruses and then see how the resulting hybrids affect animals. The goal is to assess the chances that such a “reassortant” virus will emerge and how dangerous it might be.”

CDC: New H1N1 swine flu a mixture of swine flu, avian flu and human flu viruses from North America, Europe and Asia (Reuters, Apr 23, 2009):

Unusually, the viruses all appear to carry genes from swine flu, avian flu and human flu viruses from North America, Europe and Asia.

STRANGE MIXTURE

Unusually, said the CDC’s Nancy Cox, the viruses all appear to carry genes from swine flu, avian flu and human flu viruses from North America, Europe and Asia.

“We haven’t seen this strain before, but we hadn’t been looking as intensively as we have,” Schuchat said. “It’s very possible that this is something new that hasn’t been happening before.”

What do you make of this? Maybe you are now the guinea pigs!

Remember somebody knew that the H1N1 virus would be unleashed:

Baxter Filed Swine Flu Vaccine Patent a Year Ahead of Outbreak

And of course you remember that:

Baxter sent out 72 kilos of live bird flu material destined for vaccines confirmed by Austrian Health Minister Alois Stöger

Baxter: Product contaminated with live H5N1 avian flu virus

(In case you want to read more about Baxter: )


Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — Adrian Gibbs, the virologist who said in May that swine flu may have escaped from a laboratory, published his findings today, renewing discussion about the origins of the pandemic virus.

The new H1N1 strain, which was discovered in Mexico and the U.S. in April, may be the product of three strains from three continents that swapped genes in a lab or a vaccine-making plant, Gibbs, and fellow Australian scientists wrote in Virology Journal. The authors analyzed the genetic makeup of the virus and found its origin could be more simply explained by human involvement than a coincidence of nature.

Their study, published in a free, online journal reviewed by other scientists, follows debate among researchers six months ago, when Gibbs asked the World Health Organization to consider the hypothesis. After reviewing Gibbs’ initial three-page paper, WHO and other organizations concluded the pandemic strain was a naturally occurring virus and not laboratory-derived.

“It is important that the source of the new virus be found if we wish to avoid future pandemics rather than just trying to minimize the consequences after they have emerged,” Gibbs and colleagues John Armstrong and Jean Downie said in today’s eight- page study.

Gibbs and Armstrong are on the emeritus faculty at the Australian National University in Canberra and Downie is affiliated with the Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital, according to the study.

While the exact source of the new H1N1 strain is a mystery, their research has “raised many new questions,” they said. The authors compared the genetic blueprints of flu strains stored in the free database Genbank and found the pandemic virus’s nearest ancestors circulate in pigs.

‘Simplest Explanation’

While migratory birds may have acted as conduit for their convergence, human involvement in bringing them together is “by far the simplest explanation,” Gibbs said in a telephone interview today.

Gibbs wrote or coauthored more than 250 scientific publications on viruses, mostly pertaining to the plant world, during his 39-year career at the Australian National University, according to biographical information on the university’s Web site.

Read moreVirologist Adrian Gibbs Repeats H1N1 Swine Flu Lab-Escape Claim in Published Study

FDIC insurance fund is now broke, closes quarter $8.2 billion in debt

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As the number of problem U.S. banks swells to the hundreds, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is increasingly hard-pressed to fill in the gaps where institutions have put depositor’s funds at risk.

Unfortunately, a dire prediction made by government officials in early 2009 has come true: the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund is now broke, according to published reports.

“The deposit insurance fund dropped by $18.6 billion during the third quarter of 2009 to negative $8.2 billion, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. set aside $21.7 billion in provisions for additional bank failures,” The Wall Street Journal reported. “This is the second time in the agency’s history that the balance has fallen into negative territory.”

In March the FDIC took steps to stave off the possibility that its insurance fund would run dry, instituting new fees on banks, forcing them to pay to protect consumers.

The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Sheila Bair, wrote to bank leaders declaring that “without these assessments, the deposit insurance fund could become insolvent this year.”

According to the FDIC’s most recent quarterly report, there were 552 “problem” banking institutions in the U.S., the most since the end of 1993.

“In its state of the industry report, the F.D.I.C. reported that banks posted a $2.8 billion gain in the third quarter, after a $4.3 billion loss in the previous period,” The New York Times reported. “The number of bad loans of nearly every stripe – credit cards, mortgages, small business and commercial real estate – continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace.”

BizJournals added: “Fifty institutions failed during the third quarter, bringing the total number of failures in the first nine months of 2009 to 95. As of Nov. 21, 124 banks have failed nationwide.”

Read moreFDIC insurance fund is now broke, closes quarter $8.2 billion in debt

Police arresting innocents in order to get their DNA for Big Brother database: Senior Government advisers

Tories last night attacked reported Government plans to charge innocent people a £200 fee to apply to have their names removed from the national DNA database.

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Innocent: Police are arresting people in order to get their DNA details on the national database

Police are arresting innocent people in order to get their hands on as many DNA samples as possible, senior Government advisers revealed last night.

The Human Genetics Commission said the Big Brother tactic was creating a ‘spiral of suspicion’ among the public.

The panel – which contains some of Britain’s leading scientists and academics – said officers should no longer routinely take samples at the point of arresting a suspect.

They also called for all police – including support staff – to place their own DNA on the national database in a show of solidarity with a public being routinely placed under suspicion.

By law, officers are only allowed to make an arrest if they have ‘ reasonable suspicion’ that a person has committed a crime.

But the HGC, which has carried out a lengthy review of the merits of the database, said evidence had emerged of police arresting people purely so they could take their DNA.

Its chairman, Professor Jonathan Montgomery, said: ‘People are arrested in order to retain DNA information that might not have been arrested in other circumstances.’

The claim, which was backed by evidence from a senior police officer, delivers a significant blow to the Government’s defence of the database – which contains more than 5.6million samples.

Campaigners have long feared officers were carrying out mass sweeps of the population to load their samples on the database, and make future crime fighting easier.

The result is one million entirely innocent people having their genetic details logged by the state.

Read morePolice arresting innocents in order to get their DNA for Big Brother database: Senior Government advisers

Lord Christopher Monckton on Climategate: ‘They Are Criminals’

lord-christopher-monckton

By Christopher Monckton

This is what they did — these climate “scientists” on whose unsupported word the world’s classe politique proposes to set up an unelected global government this December in Copenhagen, with vast and unprecedented powers to control all formerly free markets, to tax wealthy nations and all of their financial transactions, to regulate the economic and environmental affairs of all nations, and to confiscate and extinguish all patent and intellectual property rights.

Must-see:
Lord Christopher Monckton: Is President Obama Poised to Surrender the Constitution and US Sovereignty to World Government?

The tiny, close-knit clique of climate scientists who invented and now drive the “global warming” fraud — for fraud is what we now know it to be — tampered with temperature data so assiduously that, on the recent admission of one of them, land temperatures since 1980 have risen twice as fast as ocean temperatures. One of the thousands of emails recently circulated by a whistleblower at the University of East Anglia, where one of the world’s four global-temperature datasets is compiled, reveals that data were altered so as to prevent a recent decline in temperature from showing in the record. In fact, there has been no statistically significant “global warming” for 15 years — and there has been rapid and significant cooling for nine years.

Worse, these arrogant fraudsters — for fraudsters are what we now know them to be — have refused, for years and years and years, to reveal their data and their computer program listings. Now we know why: As a revealing 15,000-line document from the computer division at the Climate Research Unit shows, the programs and data are a hopeless, tangled mess. In effect, the global temperature trends have simply been made up. Unfortunately, the British researchers have been acting closely in league with their U.S. counterparts who compile the other terrestrial temperature dataset — the GISS/NCDC dataset. That dataset too contains numerous biases intended artificially to inflate the natural warming of the 20th century.

Finally, these huckstering snake-oil salesmen and “global warming” profiteers — for that is what they are — have written to each other encouraging the destruction of data that had been lawfully requested under the Freedom of Information Act in the UK by scientists who wanted to check whether their global temperature record had been properly compiled. And that procurement of data destruction, as they are about to find out to their cost, is a criminal offense. They are not merely bad scientists — they are crooks. And crooks who have perpetrated their crimes at the expense of British and U.S. taxpayers.

I am angry, and so should you be.

What have the mainstream news media said about the Climategate affair? Remarkably little. The few who have brought themselves to comment, through gritted teeth, have said that all of this is a storm in a teacup, and that their friends in the University of East Anglia and elsewhere in the climatological community are good people, really.

No, they’re not. They’re criminals. With Professor Fred Singer, who founded the U.S. Satellite Weather Service, I have reported them to the UK’s Information Commissioner, with a request that he investigate their offenses and, if thought fit, prosecute. But I won’t be holding my breath: In the police state that Britain has now sadly become, with supine news media largely owned and controlled by the government, the establishment tends to look after its own.

At our expense, and at the expense of the truth.

Read moreLord Christopher Monckton on Climategate: ‘They Are Criminals’

Bee pollen superfood boosts immune system function

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Bee collecting pollen

(NaturalNews) There are many superfoods that boost immune function, but few do it with as much potency as bee pollen. Through its unique combination of minerals, vitamins, amino acids and enzymes, bee pollen offers one of the most revitalizing natural superfoods in the world (especially when collected from local bees who are in tune with your local environment).

We’ve put together a collection of research for you here, describing the health benefits of bee pollen. NaturalNews reminds everyone to be mindful when consuming bee products due to the very high stresses already placed on honeybees in North America and Europe. Make sure your source practices organic bee farming and does not expose honeybees to high-fructose corn syrup or other chemicals that may be harmful to bee populations.

Bee pollen and your immune system

Bee pollen has been used throughout history as a superfood to restore energy and recuperative powers to the ailing individual. Bee pollen improves allergies in many individuals, and hence may have a regulating effect on the immune system by helping to dampen unnecessary autoimmune attacks which saves immune warriors for the real cancer battle. There is no toxicity to bee pollen. Other bee products with extraordinary healing properties include royal bee jelly and propolis, which is the antibiotic compound used by bees to disinfect their hives before occupation.
– Beating Cancer with Nutrition, book with CD by Patrick Quillin, PhD,RD,CNS

While the effects are not so dramatic for everyone with arthritis, bee pollen is used by natural healthcare practitioners around the world to help alleviate arthritis symptoms. Energy Boost: Bee pollen is a popular supplement among many athletes, who report that it helps them train hard and recover quickly. Many athletes report that it helps increase stamina. Immune Support: Bee pollen is reported to help strengthen the immune system. People susceptible to reoccurring colds and respiratory tract infections may be helped.
– The Natural Physician’s Healing Therapies: Proven Medical Remedies That Medical Doctors Don’t Know About by Mark Stengler, N.D.

Bee pollen has more amino acids and vitamins than other amino-acid-containing products like beef, eggs, or cheese. Bee pollen is one of the few vegetable sources of vitamin B12 (Scheer 1992). A tablespoonful of bee pollen contains about 45 calories and is 15% lecithin (which is required for normal fat metabolism) by weight (Kamen 1991).
PDR for Herbal Medicines, 4th Edition by Thomson Healthcare, Inc.

Read moreBee pollen superfood boosts immune system function

Vitamin D prevents heart disease (… and 77% of all cancers)

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The sunshine vitamin

(NaturalNews) The fact that vitamin D prevents cancer is now so well known that even some conventional physicians are beginning to recommend it. Vitamin D prevents 77% of all cancers, after all. That’s as close to a “cure” for cancer as you’ll ever get (and it’s free, too, since you can make it yourself!).

But did you also know that vitamin D prevents heart disease? In fact, most people suffering from heart disease are chronically deficient in vitamin D. By correcting their vitamin D levels (through sunlight exposure or by taking vitamin D3 supplements), people can simultaneously halt cancer and prevent heart disease, too.

Here’s a collection of research revealing the amazing power of this “miracle” vitamin to eliminate heart disease. I’d like to add, though, that the previously recommended daily intake of 400 IUs of vitamin D is now considered hazardously low. Most nutritionally-aware doctors and naturopaths are now recommending anywhere from 1,000 – 4000 IUs per day of vitamin D supplementation. Of course, you don’t need any vitamin D supplements if you get sufficient sunlight on your skin on a regular basis.

Vitamin D prevents heart disease

Diabetes, both type-1 and type-2, are profoundly linked to low vitamin D levels. Obesity, heart disease, hypertension and stroke are inversely related to sunlight exposure and vitamin D levels. Psoriasis, eczema, and periodontal disease are lessened by sunlight exposure and high serum vitamin D. Fertility is positively influenced by sunlight exposure and high vitamin D levels. Sunlight enhances immune system function by producing vitamin D. Dozens of disorders other than those mentioned in this summary are related to vitamin D deficiency.
– Solar Power for Optimal Health by Marc Sorenson

Vitamin D supplements are likely to be useful in preventing diabetes in areas where vitamin D deficiency is common. In a 1997 study looking at the links between environmental factors and Type II diabetes, vitamin D levels were assessed in 142 Dutch men aged from 70 to 88 years of age. Thirty-nine per cent were found to have low vitamin D levels and tests showed that low vitamin D levels increased the risk of glucose intolerance. Heart disease: Low vitamin D levels may also increase the risk of atherosclerosis.
– The New Encyclopedia of Vitamins, Minerals, Supplements, and Herbs: How They Are Best Used to Promote Health and Well Being by Nicola Reavley

Read moreVitamin D prevents heart disease (… and 77% of all cancers)

India Plans to Buy More IMF Gold, Gold Hits New Record High, Dollar falls

TOKYO, Nov 25 (Reuters) – Gold struck a record high for a second time this week, rising above $1,178 an ounce on Wednesday, as the dollar slipped and a newspaper reported that India was “open to buying” more gold from the International Monetary Fund.

Gold has jumped nearly 13 percent since the beginning of this month as investors poured money into the precious metal after India’s central bank announced it had bought 200 tonnes of bullion from the IMF.

The central banks of Russia and Sri Lanka have separately said they had bought gold to diversify their assets.

The market gained further on Wednesday after Indian newspaper the Financial Chronicle said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could buy the IMF’s remaining volume of gold, now the subject of negotiations.

Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:05am EST

Source: Reuters


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Gold bars


India is open to buying more gold from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

It bought 200 tonnes for $6.7 billion on November 3. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may well buy IMF’s remaining hoard of 201.3 tonnes on acceptable terms, which are now under negotiation.

A government official said that the additional purchase would depend on the “successful pitching by RBI”. “RBI is an independent body, and the government does not interfere in its affairs. It will get the gold if its bid is successful and at the price it has offered,” said the official.

Related articles:
India open to buy more IMF gold: Report (Economic Times)

Gold at Record From New York to Shanghai as India May Buy More (Bloomberg)

India may buy more IMF gold (Commodity Online)

RBI did not respond to Financial Chronicle questions if it was bidding for the remaining IMF gold. The purchase of the first lot of 200 tonnes, RBI had said at the time, was a part of its foreign exchange reserves management operations.

Responding to query from FC, an IMF spokesperson said the gold sale process was still under way and “there is no fixed timetable for completing the sale”. Its spokesperson further said that “the fund does not wish to comment on discussions with individual members.”

RBI has good reasons to further enrich its gold reserves. In just three weeks it has been able to benefit by as much as $800 million on the investment of $6.7 billion it made in buying 200 tonnes from IMF.

Read moreIndia Plans to Buy More IMF Gold, Gold Hits New Record High, Dollar falls

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine depicts the destruction of New York & Wall Street as described in the Book of Revelation

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine

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The Symbols

The impressive exterior of the cathedral provokes a humbling sensation at whom gazes at it. But what are you humbling yourself to? We’ll examine the details of the artwork.

The Apocalyptic Pillar

On the western facade of the building, stonemasons have sculpted numerous scenes that seem oddly out of place for a Cathedral. The most striking one is the chilling depiction of the destruction of New York city and its landmarks.

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(Not only the) Twin towers collapsing.

The scene above was done in 1997, four years before the destruction of the Twin Towers.  Other recognizable skyscrapers are the Chrysler Building and the Citigroup center.

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Apocalyptic New York

The scene above might be unsettling for New York residents. We see the Brooklyn bridge crumbling with cars and buses falling into agitated waters. At the right is the Statue of Liberty, which seems to be sinking in the water. Beneath this horrifying prophecy is the New York Stock Exchange, with people trading goods around it.

st-john-the-divine-cathedral-the-destruction-of-wall-street-nysenyse

So, what is the purpose of this weird carving? Well, the first thing that needs to be mentioned is the actual St. John the Divine is credited for writing the Book of Revelation in the Bible, which describes in symbolic imagery the events of the apocalypse. Occultists believe that the Book of Revelation has been hermetically coded to reveal its true meaning to the initiates of esoteric teachings. This scene, carved on the west entrance of the cathedral, depicts New York as being “Babylon the Great”, the city who gets completely destroyed by the wrath of God. The Book of Revelation mentions:

“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!

She has become a home for demons

and a haunt for every evil spirit,

a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.

For all the nations have drunk

the maddening wine of her adulteries.

The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,

and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

-Book of Revelation 18

 

The artists might be on to something because there is indeed numerous similarities between the actual New York city and the description of Babylon the Great in the Bible.  The Book of Revelation mentions:

 

  1. A “Great Prostitute” who sits on many waters – peoples, multitudes, nations and languages – holding a golden cup. She rules over the kings of the Earth. = The Statue of Liberty
  2. Merchants of the Earth who grew rich of her “excessive luxuries”, weeping because nobody buys their goods anymore = New York Stock Exchange

“The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn and cry out:

” ‘Woe! Woe, O great city,

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,

and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!

In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’

– Book of Revelation, 18

 

Knowing that, still today, over 70% of the world’s capital goes through the NYSE, we understand why the building was depicted on the apocalyptic pillar. It represents the “financial” aspect of the Book of Revelation, where it repeatedly refers to rich merchants and trading goods.

So, a landmark of NYC, the St. John the Divine Cathedral, predicts in vivid detail the destruction of its home city. Pretty unusual. Under the rendering of the NYSE, we a skeleton and strange creatures, who seem to represent death and destruction. Is this some sort of prophecy?

………………..

Background and History of the Cathedral

This unfinished building has been claimed as being the world’s largest cathedral. It is realistic to maintain such high aspirations when your sources of funding include tycoons like JP Morgan and prominent figures like the Grand Master of the Masons of the state of New York. The completion of the cathedral was such a prized accomplishment for the Freemasons that it was featured on the front page of “Masonic World” of March 1925.

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The article states:

“It is particularly fitting that the Masons, who were the principal builders of cathedrals and churches during the greatest cathedral-building period, should now have a prominent part in the movement to build America’s greatest cathedral (…) Little need be added to the story of Freemasonry during the cathedral-building period; its monuments are its best history, alike of its genius, its faith and its symbols.”

The article openly admits that masonic cathedrals represent the best legacy of the Brotherhood and the symbolism is prominently showcased. The masses are however too ignorant to recognize the meanings behind the art, so they just stare at them, thinking “it’s pretty nice”.

illuminati-pyramid-and-all-seeing-eye-on-the-cathedral-02

Illuminati Pyramid and All-Seeing Eye on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine

illuminati-pyramid-and-all-seeing-eye-on-the-cathedral

Illuminati Pyramid and All-Seeing Eye

Read moreThe Cathedral of St. John the Divine depicts the destruction of New York & Wall Street as described in the Book of Revelation

Philippines: State of Emergency Declared As Massacre Toll Hits 46

philippines-political-massacre
Map of the Philippines showing Maguindanao province, now under a state of emergency

SANIAG, Philippines — The Philippines declared a state of emergency in parts of the volatile south on Tuesday as anger spiralled over a savage political massacre that left at least 46 people dead.

Police on Mindanao island pulled bullet-riddled bodies from shallow graves after gunmen allegedly hired by a local political chief abducted then shot dead a group of politicians from a rival clan and accompanying journalists.

As thousands of troops fanned out across the ultra-tense Maguindanao province on Mindanao, President Gloria Arroyo declared a state of emergency for the area that would allow curfews and road checkpoints to be imposed.

“No effort will be spared to bring justice to the victims and hold the perpetrators accountable to the full limit of the law,” Arroyo said on national television.

National police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina told reporters in Manila that 24 bodies had been recovered on Tuesday, on top of 22 that had been found on Monday.

Read morePhilippines: State of Emergency Declared As Massacre Toll Hits 46

President Obama to announce surge of at least 25,000 new US troops to Afghanistan next week

Obama: ‘I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am President, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank.’

Change!


us-marines
General Stanley McChrystal asked for 40,000 more troops in August
(John Moore/Getty Images)

President Obama will next week announce a surge of at least 25,000 new US troops to Afghanistan in a speech to the nation, according to US officials today.

Mr Obama will make the announcement in an address on Tuesday, December 1, after weeks of deliberations over his Afghan strategy and a tenth session with his war council in the White House on Monday night.

The final session was dominated by an issue that has been the focus of Mr Obama’s thinking in recent weeks: how to get US troops out of Afghanistan.

The exit strategy for the US military has been as important an element of the strategy review as how many additional troops to send. “It’s not just how we get people there, but what’s the strategy for getting them out,” said Robert Gibbs, Mr Obama’s spokesman.

Mr Obama was presented with a request for at least 40,000 additional troops in August by his ground commander, General Stanley McChrystal, and has been accused of “dithering” by Republican critics because of the amount of time he has taken to come to a decision.

The exact number of new troops he will send remains unclear, although a final decision will be made by Mr Obama over the Thanksgiving holiday this week. Some military officials said they expected him to settle on a middle-ground option of between 32,000 and 35,000 US forces. Others put the figure at 25,000.

The speech will be a critical first step in Mr Obama’s effort to persuade an increasingly sceptical US public that the war is still worth fighting. Opinion polls show that a majority of Americans do not support sending more troops.

Read morePresident Obama to announce surge of at least 25,000 new US troops to Afghanistan next week

IMF: Second bailout would ‘threaten democracy’

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Dominique Strauss-Kahn

The public will not bail out the financial services sector for a second time if another global crisis blows up in four or five years time, the managing-director of the International Monetary Fund warned this morning.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn told the CBI annual conference of business leaders that another huge call on public finances by the financial services sector would not be tolerated by the “man in the street” and could even threaten democracy.

“Most advanced economies will not accept any more [bailouts]…The political reaction will be very strong, putting some democracies at risk,” he told delegates.

“I do believe that the financial sector needs to contribute both to the costs of the financial crisis and to reduce recourse to public funds in the future,” he said.

Mr Strauss-Kahn said that imposing high capital ratio requirements on banks was one price the financial services sector must pay to prevent the threat of further multi-billion dollar bailouts.

Read moreIMF: Second bailout would ‘threaten democracy’

Climategate: George Monbiot – aka the Great Moonbat – makes it all suddenly OK through medium of satire

First the good news. George Monbiot – aka the Great Moonbat – has issued a personal apology for the shabby behaviour of his climate-fear-promoting scientist chums in the Climategate scandal.

It’s no use pretending that this isn’t a major blow. The emails extracted by a hacker from the climatic research unit at the University of East Anglia could scarcely be more damaging(1). I am now convinced that they are genuine, and I’m dismayed and deeply shaken by them.

Yes, the messages were obtained illegally. Yes, all of us say things in emails that would be excruciating if made public. Yes, some of the comments have been taken out of context. But there are some messages that require no spin to make them look bad. There appears to be evidence here of attempts to prevent scientific data from being released(2,3), and even to destroy material that was subject to a freedom of information request(4).

Now the not-so-good-news. He’s trying to limit the damage by pinning the blame on one (admittedly very deserving, but there are others, Lord knows there are others) man.

Worse still, some of the emails suggest efforts to prevent the publication of work by climate sceptics(5,6), or to keep it out of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(7). I believe that the head of the unit, Phil Jones, should now resign. Some of the data discussed in the emails should be re-analysed.

Now for the bit where it gets unpleasant. So seriously unpleasant that I’m not sure I should be posting such things in a family newspaper. You ready? I’m warning you, it’s not pretty. The Moonbat makes a brave but not – I fear – wholly successful foray into the unfamiliar terrain of humour and satire. Here goes:

Read moreClimategate: George Monbiot – aka the Great Moonbat – makes it all suddenly OK through medium of satire

Hedge fund manager John Paulson to invest $250m in new gold fund

billionaire-paulson
Billionaire John Paulson


Hedge fund manager John Paulson plans to invest as much as $250m (£149m) of his $6bn personal fortune in a new gold fund he is in the process of establishing.

Mr Paulson, best known for making $3.7bn from bets on the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market, is believed to have told investors that the new fund, to be run by Paulson & Co, will invest not just in gold miners but also in other investments related to the precious metal.

Related articles:
World’s top hedge fund manager has a gold position of at least $5.5bn
Paulson group buys into AngloGold

Although not Paulson & Co’s first foray into gold, given approximately 10pc of the $30bn it has under management is in gold-related investments, it would be the firm’s first pure-play gold fund.

Read moreHedge fund manager John Paulson to invest $250m in new gold fund

US Government Is Facing Wave of Debt Payments

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“Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren,” Obama said in a 2006 floor speech that preceded a Senate vote to extend the debt limit. “America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.”

– Barack Obama

Now even the New York Times is writing about the exploding US debt and its consequences…….



WASHINGTON — The United States government is financing its more than trillion-dollar-a-year borrowing with i.o.u.’s on terms that seem too good to be true.

But that happy situation, aided by ultralow interest rates, may not last much longer.

See: The Debt Buildup

Treasury officials now face a trifecta of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a balloon of short-term borrowings that come due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are sure to climb back to normal as soon as the Federal Reserve decides that the emergency has passed.

Even as Treasury officials are racing to lock in today’s low rates by exchanging short-term borrowings for long-term bonds, the government faces a payment shock similar to those that sent legions of overstretched homeowners into default on their mortgages.

With the national debt now topping $12 trillion, the White House estimates that the government’s tab for servicing the debt will exceed $700 billion a year in 2019, up from $202 billion this year, even if annual budget deficits shrink drastically. Other forecasters say the figure could be much higher.

In concrete terms, an additional $500 billion a year in interest expense would total more than the combined federal budgets this year for education, energy, homeland security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The potential for rapidly escalating interest payouts is just one of the wrenching challenges facing the United States after decades of living beyond its means.

Read moreUS Government Is Facing Wave of Debt Payments