Today Hillary Clinton was at The Hague to advocate for internet freedom. Hillary and other US officials are encouraging governments abroad to embrace internet freedom, but at home are pushing to restrict the same freedom. Obama has said the more freely information flows the stronger a society becomes. But why would these same officials want new regulations that would limit the information in America. Mike Riggs, associate editor for Reason Magazine, helps us understand the internet hypocrisy. Source
9 Dec 2011
Max Keiser: Crazy Cameron suicidal with knife in Euro gunfight!
The Euro's future has been dealt a severe blow at eleventh hour talks in Brussels, as the UK refused to sign up to new EU treaties, leaving the rest of Europe to figure out a different approach. Marathon overnight talks mean the core Eurozone states will now make any further agreements among themselves, while other European countries can still join in to work out budget rules and changes. Max Keiser, financial analyst and the host of the 'Keiser Report' here on RT, says PM Cameron wants the whole world tolerate London as capital of fraud and sponsor it. "Stupid incompetent or all of the above!" Source
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Additional:
Jim Rogers Gives Dire Warning "The End of the World as We Know It"
The Top 30 Global Geopolitical Hot Spots for 2012
Tier I
Tier I are contingencies that directly threaten the U.S. homeland, are likely to trigger U.S. military involvement because of treaty commitments, or threaten the supplies of critical U.S. strategic resources. They include:
- a mass casualty attack on the U.S. homeland or on a treaty ally
- a severe North Korean crisis (e.g., armed provocations, internal political instability, advances in nuclear weapons/ICBM capability)
- a major military incident with China involving U.S. or allied forces
- an Iranian nuclear crisis (e.g., surprise advances in nuclear weapons/delivery capability, Israeli response)
- a highly disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure (e.g., telecommunications, electrical power, gas and oil, water supply, banking and finance, transportation, and emergency services)
- a significant increase in drug trafficking violence in Mexico that spills over into the United States
- severe internal instability in Pakistan, triggered by a civil-military crisis or terror attacks
- political instability in Saudi Arabia that endangers global oil supplies
- a U.S.-Pakistan military confrontation, triggered by a terror attack or U.S. counterterror operations
- intensification of the European sovereign debt crisis that leads to the collapse of the euro, triggering a double-dip U.S. recession and further limiting budgetary resources Source/full story
The price of gold will reach unimaginable levels - Johann Saiger and James Turk
Johann Saiger, Editor of Midas Investment Report, and James Turk, Director of the GoldMoney Foundation, meet in Munich and talk about the price of gold. Johann Saiger explains that he has been very bullish on gold for the past 10 years and remains very bullish. However he warns that the sovereign debt crisis poses deflationary dangers, which could set gold back temporarily. He says that we are walking on a tightrope between deflation and hyperinflation and that after a short deflationary shock central banks will overreact with money printing. They talk about gold and silver being very undervalued, even compared to its previous high in 1980, once it is adjusted for inflation. They also talk about the dow/gold ratio as a way of measuring gold's value.
They talk about the price of gold. James Turk explains how gold woke him up in the 1960s to the fallacies of his economic education. They talk about the history of gold, since the gold coins first minted by King Croesus of Lydia and how that compares to fiat currencies.Johann Saiger explains that the debt burden in Europe has grown past the point of no return: it is mathematically impossible to pay it back. They talk about inflation and how it has grown steadily, and how they expect it to increase even more as money printing intensifies.This interview was recorded on November 4th 2011 in Munich. Source
Additional:Ellis Martin Report with Jim Sinclair
interview with America's preeminent expert on precious metals , commodities and foreign currencies. Jim Sinclair. Source
Additional:Ellis Martin Report with Jim Sinclair
interview with America's preeminent expert on precious metals , commodities and foreign currencies. Jim Sinclair. Source
Goldman Sachs whistleblower threatened with the sack
A solicitor at HM Revenue & Customs who turned whistleblower to disclose that senior managers had quietly let off Goldman Sachs from paying millions of pounds in tax penalties is facing disciplinary procedures and possible prosecution for speaking out.
Osita Mba has worked within the Revenue for at least four years and claimed to have personal knowledge of the deal that allowed the bank to write off a £10m bill.
He told the National Audit Office and two parliamentary committees the bank's settlement had been agreed with a handshake by Dave Hartnett, the permanent secretary for tax at HMRC.
Mba believed the deal might be illegal and told them he was making the disclosure under whistleblowing legislation. His evidence led to Hartnett being accused of lying to parliament over his role in the Goldman Sachs deal, which he denied. But he admitted his organisation had made a mistake by approving the deal.
Now Revenue & Customs managers have launched an inquiry into Mba's conduct that could lead to his being sacked or face prosecution for disclosing sensitive information.
He has been told not to enter the Revenue's building in Westminster without a personal escort from his line manager and has been summoned to a meeting, according to documents sent to the Commons public accounts committee.
Mba's treatment has angered MPs who say that his disclosures have been of enormous service to Parliament and the public. Margaret Hodge, Labour chair of the committee – which uncovered the deal using Mba's evidence – said: "Whistleblowers play such an important role that the previous government brought in legislation to protect them.
"Mr Mba's evidence has been crucial in uncovering not just specific but systemic problems in HMRC's secretive relationship with big corporations."
"This is harassment and is completely unacceptable."
Stephen Barclay, a Conservative MP on the committee, said it would ask further questions about HMRC's approach to whistleblowers. "We have already seen how whistleblowers from the health world have been stopped from disclosing information by their managers. It appears that a similar obstructive approach may now be being followed by Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs.
"The committee will be making further inquiries to establish the facts to ensure that the will of parliament is being followed," he said.
Hartnett reached an agreement with Goldman a year ago whereby it did not have to pay back about £10m interest on tax it had avoided.
The bank was found to have employed London-based workers in the British Virgin Islands where they did not have to pay tax on bonuses.
Mba, who trained as a barrister in Nigeria and completed his master's degree at Oxford, worked in the personal tax litigation team from February 2007 until November last year.
He wrote to Amyas Morse, the auditor general of the National Audit Office, in March, outlining his concerns over the deal. The subsequent NAO report did not name Goldman Sachs.
Hartnett discussed the NAO report with the Treasury select committee in September and said the Goldman settlement was properly reached.
Hartnett denied any personal involvement in the settlement.When asked by Jesse Norman, a Conservative member of the committee, whether he had ever received corporate hospitality from Goldman Sachs, Hartnett responded: "I have been to a supper with Goldman Sachs … I knew nothing of Goldman's tax affairs when I was at that supper. I do not deal with Goldman's tax affairs."
In October, Mba sent a detailed submission to Hodge and Andrew Tyrie, the chairman of the Treasury committee, claiming that Hartnett had misled the committee over his role in the Goldman Sachs deal.
The public accounts committee accused Hartnett and senior members of staff of misleading them, and hiding behind "client confidentiality" to avoid telling the truth about the Goldman tax deal.
Mba's identity was revealed on Thursday in evidence released by the committee.
A senior judge is to be brought in by the National Audit Office to investigate such highly controversial tax deals. The NAO is considering whether to examine the tax affairs of other big companies such as Vodafone to establish whether HMRC officials routinely signed off deals that underestimated the true liabilities of the companies.
An HMRC spokesman said it had begun an inquiry into Mba and confirmed that this could lead to his dismissal and prosecution.
Insiders say that section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2004 states that information held by the organisation must be held purely for the business of the organisation.
"It is essential that we establish the full facts in order to decide what action to take," the HMRC spokesman said.
"To this end we are carrying out a preliminary leak inquiry following the disclosure, including on the Guardian website, of internal departmental documents which may constitute a serious breach of confidential information.
"This is the first time we have had an opportunity to see the documents and we will give careful consideration to this material." Source
NDAA Bill is A Move Back to The Dark Ages - JACL Director Floyd Mori
Alex talks with the Japanese American Citizens League's National Executive Director Floyd Mori about the National Defense Authorization Act and the possibility of rounding up Americans for internment. Source
Cameron Wishes Euro Nations Well as U.K. Negotiates Separation
Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain refused to sacrifice sovereignty to save the euro, remaining outside an agreement by European nations to tighten budget rules.
Cameron broke ranks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel after he failed to secure safeguards that would have stopped European Union plans to police financial services in London, Europe’s trading hub. The U.K and possibly Hungary, Sweden and the Czech Republic will remain outside the new rules.
What Cameron will present as a victory to euro-skeptic lawmakers in the Conservative Party at home leaves the U.K. increasingly isolated in Brussels. Cameron failed to win assurances that the institutions representing all 27 nations will work in their interest, not just those using the euro.
Cameron is battling opposition from members of his own party who want Britain to hold a referendum, potentially to decide whether it should remain part of the EU. The negotiations today amounted to lost “sovereignty” for those who signed up to the plan, he said.
European leaders added 200 billion euros ($267 billion) to their crisis-fighting warchest and tightened anti-deficit rules, seeking to lure the European Central Bank into stepping up its rescue operations.
‘Fiscal Compact’
In an accord hailed by ECB President Mario Draghi, the leaders outlined a “fiscal compact” to prevent future debt runups, accelerated the start of a planned 500 billion-euro rescue fund and dropped bondholder loss-sharing provisions.
Sarkozy criticized Cameron’s “unacceptable demands” for “opt-outs” on financial regulation and accused Britain of creating a two-speed Europe.
Cameron is facing growing pressure to recover powers ceded to the EU after more than a quarter of his Conservative Party lawmakers voted in favor of a referendum on British membership of the bloc in October. In an interview with the Spectator magazine, Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson said a U.K. referendum is “inevitable” if members of the single currency draw closer together to end the sovereign-debt crisis.
Cameron has warned that if the euro region goes into recession the U.K. may follow and today he said the key aim of the summit of European leaders this week is to resolve the crisis that is “freezing” the British economy.
By Gonzalo Vina and Rebecca ChristieEditors: James Hertling, Patrick Henry Source
Additional:
The Euro's future has been dealt a severe blow at eleventh hour talks in Brussels, as the UK and Hungary refused to sign up to new EU treaties. Marathon overnight talks left the core Eurozone states making further agreements, while other European countries join in to work out budget rules and changes. Source
Iran releases video of downed U.S. spy drone intact
"Violating a sovereign states air space is an act of war that can be referred to the united nations security council."
Right to Rally: Putin Defends Protests, Slams Clinton
Vladimir Putin has called for the opposition to open dialogue saying they have every right to hold rallies - if they are held within the law. But the Prime Minister also pointed to signs of foreign influence in Russia's political life - calling that unacceptable. Source
Watch Corzine Lie - Former Goldman Sachs CEO + MF Global
This is a MUST WATCH for every American. The man is a former US Senator and a former Governor. He is also the former CEO of Goldman Sachs.
The United States government has become an overt enemy of the people. Just wait until you hear a Senator call him... God. Well, why not. He can steal $1.2 billion and get away with it... In broad daylight. -- MCR Source
Additional, InfoWars:
Former Goldman Sachs CEO, New Jersey governor and MF Global boss John Corzine faces a congressional committee over the role he played in the disappearance of $1.2 billion from supposedly segregated customer accounts. During Corzine's testimony today, C-Span's video feed mysteriously went dead. Source
Angelo: Are our accounts in the UK secure?
The Global Crisis Reaches China: Unrest Spreads as Growth Stalls
...Whether in Dongguan or Shanghai, cracks seem to be forming everywhere in Chinese society. As long as the one-party dictatorship kept growth in the double digits, most people accepted their lack of freedom. Now, though, Beijing is facing a dilemma. Tough police crackdowns will hardly get the consequences of the stagnating economy under control in the long term. But nor are government subsidies enough to stimulate the economy. It seems neither money nor force will help.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao recently announced a "fine-tuning" of his economic policy: Banks should grant more generous loans, especially to small and medium-sized export companies, he said.
The economic situation now is far more complicated than it was after the 2008 global financial crisis, says economist Lin Jiang. In 2008, Chinese exports collapsed and roughly 25 million migrant workers had to return from factories to their home provinces.
Back in Dongguan, authorities have no cause at the moment to fear any further protest from Liu, the factory worker. He's too busy looking for a new place to stay. When he lost his job, he also lost his spot in one of the electronics factory's residences. Source/full story
Pictured above: Chinese homeowner Mr. Jiang poses in the windowsill of his apartment in the Xin Cheng Shang Shang Cheng project in Anting, Shanghai, in November. He is angry about the recent fall in apartment prices.William K. Black: Justice Department is the Dog that has Refused to Bark for a Decade
From Goldman Sachs to governor to grilling, Jon Corzine former CEO of the now bankrupt MF Global testifies on Capitol Hill. He claims he is clueless about how and where the possible $1.2 billion dollars of his client's money is that is missing. How has all of this happened three years after the financial crisis when Wall Street was supposed to be reined in? And can we expect anything o change? We speak to William K. Black, a former regulator who during the Savings and Loan crisis oversaw more than 10,000 criminal referrals, 1,000 felony convictions, and where hundreds of bankers went to prison. He says Corzine doesn't have a viable defense of being not involved in the firm's day to day activities with this much money at stake, but that the Justice Department has been the dog that "refuses to bark" when it comes to prosecuting financial executives. Source