Silver Smack-down... Andrew Schiff on Yahoo front page??? - SilverFuturist

Today’s Window Dressing Fall In Gold

by Jim Sinclair 

My Dear Friends,

Please do not be bothered by today’s intervention. The following news is what creates the absolute need for QE.

It is the thesis of my Formula of 2006 of no major recovery that gives the foundation to my thesis of QE to Infinity.

Treasury Yield Descending Signals Slowdown By John Detrixhe and Daniel Kruger – Feb 29, 2012 8:55 AM MT

The $10 trillion market for US Treasuries is signaling that the economic recovery may be poised to weaken even as consumer confidence rises toward pre-recession levels.

Yields (USGG10YR) on 10-year Treasury notes, the benchmark for everything from mortgage rates to corporate bonds, fell as low as 1.89 percent yesterday, down from this year’s high of 2.09 percent on Jan. 23, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The yield averaged 2.76 percent in 2011 and 3.19 percent in 2010.

OCCUPY LONDON Evicted By Police State Storm-Troopers + Squatting will become illegal

Ron Paul Tells Bernanke He Killed The Dollar, Silver Coin In Hand

Movement "I DON'T PAY" is spreading across Europe (english subs)

How The Patent System Is Rigged To Only Expand What's Patentable

from the keep-turning-the-ratchet dept

When the numbers came out showing that 2011 represented yet another record year for patents granted, it was such a non-surprise that I didn't even bother mentioning it. The number of patents granted just keeps going up. And yes, there were two small dips during the past decade, but they corresponded with the rare situations in which the Supreme Court finally took an interest in some element of patent law and pushed back on the Federal Circuit (the appeals court that handles all patent issues) and the USPTO. We've discussed at length in the past, the problems of having a single appeals court that solely focuses on patent issues, because you lose the diversity of opinions (made worse at times when some of the judges on the panel have been former patent attorneys -- or, most famously, when a judge at the court was the same former patent attorney who wrote the last major update to patent law...).

However, Steve sends over a fascinating Yale Law Journal review article by Jonathan Masur that notes this problem of the Federal Circuit can be explainedstructurally, in that the relationship between the PTO and the Federal Circuit combined with the fact that there's no "adversarial" party contesting a patent grant, means that the patent system is effectively rigged to only expand, even if that goes against the best interests of society:

'Enough is Enough!' Spanish & Greeks unite in austerity rage

It's a day of mass protests across the EU, as people rail against austerity, cuts and economic hardships - which they say are not their fault. Fresh demonstration are brewing across Greece - as the government seeks to implement the drastic austerity measures that came with the latest EU bailout. The demonstrations will be synchronous with those in Spain - where people are angry at their own draconian cuts and bleak prospects.  Source

20 Economic Statistics To Use To Wake Sheeple Up From Their Entertainment-Induced Comas

The Dow has closed above 13,000 for the first time since 2008 and the mainstream media is declaring that a strong economic recovery is underway.  Barack Obama is telling anyone who will listen that his economic policies are a huge success, and U.S. consumers are piling up astounding amounts of new debt.  Unfortunately, this euphoria about the economy will be short-lived.  None of the long-term problems that are destroying the U.S. economy have been solved.  In fact, there are dozens of statistics that can be quoted that prove that the U.S. economy is in far worse shape than it was when the recession supposedly ended.  If dramatic changes are not made very rapidly, our nation is going to smash directly into an economic brick wall.  Sadly, most Americans are so addicted to entertainment that they have no idea what is about to happen.  Most of them are "sheeple" that are content to trust that the "experts" know exactly how to fix our problems as they continue to enjoy their entertainment-induced comas.  After all, it is much easier to turn on "American Idol" or "Dancing With The Stars" than it is to think about debt ratios and monetary policy.  But that doesn't mean that we should not try to wake the sheeple up.  It just means that it will not be easy.

Steve Keen on the transmutation of Zombie Banking into Zombie Government!

Ireland will reportedly hold a referendum on Europe's new fiscal treaty for stricter budget discipline. The former prime minister is against it, saying a no vote could force ireland out of the euro. We've seen referendums called for before in the Eurozone crisis -- didn't seem to end well last time for democratic self-determination. Will this be yet another case of "the economic crisis sis too much for democracy" theme? A story of "we need technocrats" to navigate this all to volatile world? Is this euroland or zombie land? Are zombie banks feeding on governments, turning them into zombies too?

Anonymous brings down Interpol website in retaliation for 25 arrests

Supporters of the Anonymous hacker group attacked Interpol's main website after the international police agency conducted a number of hacker arrests across the globe.

The website Interpol.int was unreachable for a half hour on Wednesday. Access was later restored, although the loading time remains slow. The attack appears to have been conducted using a botnet. Anonymous Twitter accounts tweeted “interpol.int seems to be #TangoDown. We can’t say that this surprises us much," and "Looks like interpol.int is having some traffic issues. Now who would have expected that?”

The attacks came as Interpol announced the arrests of 25 suspected Anonymous members, aged between 17 and 40, who it alleges planned coordinated cyber-attacks against Colombia’s defense ministry and presidential websites, Chile’s Endesa electricity company and national library, among other targets. The arrests were part of Operation Unmask, during which police in Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Spain seized computers, mobile phones, credit cards and cash at 40 locations in 15 cities.

Alex Jones "Are You Pathetic Scum that Deserves to Die?"

latest documentary shatters the hoax of the terrorism, revealing instead that government is history's greatest killer. Now a 21st century technocratic global corporate tyranny seeks to kill billions with the superweapons it has created under a police state control grid and through the central banking warfare model it brought to life. Source

The Dangers of Water Fluoridation with Whistleblower Jeff Green

Alex also talks with Jeff Green, the national director of Citizens for Safe Drinking Water in San Diego, California. Green is responsible for initiating a congressional investigation on arsenic, radon and fluoride and provided evidence and testimony for a 2006 Nation Research Council Report on Fluoride.

Why are Nigerian politicians allegedly funding unrest in the country? - Africa Today

A former Nigerian military ruler has denied claims he was behind a sect waging a terror campaign that has claimed over 1,000 people in the past year.

THE EXISTENTIAL FINANCIAL PROBLEM OF OUR TIME

by SIMON BLACK


[Editor's note: Tim Price, a frequent Sovereign Man contributor and Director of Investment at PFP Wealth Management in London, is filling in for Simon today.]


In December last year, the poet Alice Oswald withdrew from the TS Eliot poetry prize on the grounds that the prize was being sponsored by an investment company (Aurum, a fund of hedge funds manager).

How you feel about this principled stance may depend on whether you are a UK taxpayer. If you are a UK taxpayer, you will probably feel relieved that your tax pounds are no longer being squandered on the Arts Council’s sponsorship of the prize in question “a tiny victory” but a victory nevertheless against the arrogant dissipations of the state.

Ms Oswald seems to believe that poetry prizes should be funded with everybody else’s money, rather than by a private patron grown-up enough to be responsible for its discretionary expenditure (private patronage being what you might call “traditional” in the arts).

As a graduate in English Language and Literature, this commentator has no animus against poets. But I am not sure we want them in charge of the economy. They are notorious for starving in garrets for a reason.

The Cure to Greek’s Debt Crisis: War with Turkey

by John Galt, February 28, 2012

The nation of Greece is now officially in default according to Standard and Poor’s (click here to read the story in full). The Troika and German expansionist government has declared that they would support the second bailout to preserve the status quo of confusion, deception, and deliberate subjugation of the Greek people. Unfortunately for the Germans, NATO, the European Union, and United States, a wildcard has been thrown into the fire by non other than the Greek Foreign Minister, Stavros Dimas. In an article from The Athens News on February 16th, the Foreign Minister said the following at a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Greece joining NATO:

“Since the mid-1970s, Greece has been facing a standing threat by one of its [Nato] allies, Turkey.

Nato’s silence since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus has been deafening. The systematic dispute of Greece’s sovereign rights by Turkey is, and is being treated by the Greek people as, a real and direct threat. In that light, Greece’s participation has not managed to respond to this significant threat,” the foreign minister said.

'Britain on path of bankruptcy'

A prominent professor says UK's economic and financial model is a failure amid Chancellor George Osborne's announcement that the country has run out of money.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Rodney Shakespeare, professor of binary economics, to further discuss the issue. Source

iBubble: Apple's Market Cap Is Now The Same As The Entire Retail Sector, Bigger Than All The Semis

Submitted by Tyler Durden: This is simply stunning: one company, which has two flagship products, has a bigger market cap than the entire Semiconductor space, and is just shy of the entire S&P Retail sector.

'Not for Pub': US drew up secret Assange charges - Stratfor leak

The US prepared a secret “sealed indictment” on Julian Assange over a year ago. That comes from a recent Stratfor mail leak published on a drip-drip basis by WikiLeaks.

The newly-released batch of confidential emails reveals Stratfor's vice-president for intelligence, Fred Burton, warned his colleagues of the “not for pub” indictment.

Last year, media reports suggested the US might not be able to charge Julian Assange with espionage as no direct links had been found between him and his alleged informant, Bradley Manning.

Burton, a former State Deptartment counterterrorism agent, ended the speculation on whether the US could hook the WikiLeaks founder by saying: "We have a sealed indictment on Assange,” also calling for the sensitive information to be "protected."

‘Revenge is a dish best served cold’...

Anyone's a Terrorist: Fear-mongering machine takes over US

Presidential authorisation for the military to detain terror suspects without charge or trial has left Americans wary. Washington says it's beefing up national security as part of the war on terror. But critics say fear-mongering is dividing, not uniting the nation. Source

Turk - Something Big is About to Happen in Gold & Silver

With gold near $1,770 and silver near $35.50, today King World News interviewed James Turk out of Spain.  Turk told King World News the fact that silver is not pulling back is an indication of how strong that market is right now.  Here is what Turk had to say about the situation:  “This is a great start to the week for the precious metals, Eric.  We need to see this kind of strength to make sure both gold and silver follow through in the next few trading days to confirm the big gains from last week where gold climbed 2.9%, while silver soared 6.4%.  It is remarkable to see both metals hold their gains with no profit taking.  Clearly, traders see something big is about to happen, and so do I.”

"Hoodwinked: an economic hit man reveals why the world financial markets imploded... Lazy Thieves" - Epilogue

In this edition of the show we discuss the book; Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded, written by John Perkins.

Goldman: Germany Is Now On The Hook By €1 Trillion (Or 40% Of GDP)

Submitted by Tyler Durden: Earmuffs time for our German readers.

Goldman Sachs, in estimating the impact of tomorrow's LTRO, lets one slip, namely the fact that despite popular German expectations that European bailouts occur at the ECB level, and Germany is fairly isolated from what happens in Greece (which as of today no longer stays at the ECB, but shifts right through to the Bundesbank) thereby reducing the risk of runaway debt inflation, the true price to Germany is substantial to quite substantial. €1 trillion to be precise. Which just happens to be 40% of German GDP...

Occupy London camp destroyed by police in riot gear

The Occupy London camp outside St Paul's Cathedral was destroyed early Tuesday. Hundreds of officers converged on the camp just before midnight local time and began to dismantle what had been home to around 70 activists.

Bailiffs in high-visibility jackets dragged tents and their contents to garbage trucks and dumpsters where they were crushed. Police in riot gear formed cordons to keep protesters and their supporters out of the camp. Activists say the police were met with peaceful resistance.  However, media reports say around 20 protesters have been detained.

Weed Out Wall St. Crooks! - Max Keiser

'no wrongdoing' settlements, defrauding school children and a morbidly obese, bedridden Volcker Rule. In the second half of the show, Max talks to Karl Denninger of the Market-Ticker.org about rigging Libor, ruining Volcker and shorting Facebook. Source

Defending Victims of Vaccine Poison - Attorney Patricia Finn Harassed by NYS Ninth Judicial

Mike Adams interviews Patricia Finn, a New York attorney under fire by the NYS Ninth Judicial District Grievance Committee for the crime of representing victims and their families who have had severe adverse reactions following vaccination.

Bankers, corruption & Saudi arm deals - DBS - Afshin Rattansi

Oil wars on Somalia and Greece as the cradle of European democracy burns in the Euro crisis. The head of News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch has reportedly died from consumption of a metal named after a Greek goddess Athena.We also talk to the biographer of the former head of Royal Bank of Scotland owned mostly by UK taxpayers about corruption, Saudi Arabian arms deals and Syria’s fraud. These and much more are all reviewed in this edition of Double Standards with Afshin Rattansi. Source

New evidence, Lockerbie case a Sham!

The conviction of a Libyan man for blowing up a passenger jet over Scotland in 1988 could be seriously undermined by new evidence. Source

Capital Flight From Italy, Greece, Portugal Accelerates; Two Trillion Fantasy; Merkel Weaker Every Week; Crude and Geopolitical Risks

Via Email, here is a nice summary of European events from Steen Jakobsen at Saxo Bank in Denmark. Topics include the G20 Summit, Extend-and-Pretend Dogma, Capital Flight , and Geopolitical Risks.

Steen Writes ...  Two Trillion Fantasy

This week-end's G-20 came and went without any real new information. Yes, the policy makers wants us to believe ultimately IMF will have 2 trillion US dollars at its disposal.

No, the US, UK and rest of non-Europe is not really interested before we all get more clarification on how Europe will ring fence the debt crisis.

This is more and more Wall Street vs. Main Street: Underfunded banks buys underfunded government bonds and underfunded governments guarantees underfunded banks.

The real loser being the unemployed - Edward Heath put it more elegantly: Unemployment is of vital importance, particularly to the unemployed.

Buy Gold...schlager: Booze Inflation Highest In 20 Years

Submitted by Tyler Durden: Americans can handle soaring rent, gas, and even food prices (all those thing that the Fed conveniently ignores) with the stoic patience of a Greek who welcomes 160 German tax collectors on his rehypothecated front porch. But if there is one thing that is sure to kindle the revolutionary spirits it is the soaring price of booze. As it just so happens, ships are parked in the Boston harbor with crates of Grey Goose prepped for tossage overboard as we speak. 

As the following chart of alcoholic beverage inflation indicates, courtesy of John Lohman, January saw the biggest month over month spike in booze inflation in 20 years. In other words, about 90% of all traders alive today have never seen a bigger jump in liquor inflation in their lives.

Ron Paul in Michigan: Big Crowds, Huge Enthusiasm, Consistent Message

Is the "Demographic Carry-trade" putting Human Capital at Risk of Flight in Europe?

German Parliament today voted to back the Greek bailout package...do you have Greek bailout burnout? Well, if you do, you are lucky, because we will be talking about the Emerald Isle today, that's right...Ireland, remember them? Today, the executive board of the IMF discussed whether or not to approve the latest tranche of bailout money for Ireland.

Israel Supremacists will Attack Iran without warning US Fascists - intelligence source

Israeli supremacists say if they decide to launch a pre-emptive attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, they will do so without the prior consent or knowledge of the US, according to an AP report citing leaked US intelligence.

The message was conveyed by the supremacist Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Attack Minister Ehud Barak to a number of senior US officials visiting the country, the news agency said, citing a US intelligence source. The official spoke about the sensitive strategic negotiations on condition of anonymity. Both the US and Israel declined to make any official comment.

Supremacists in Tel Aviv insists its strategy is necessary in order to protect Washington from being blamed for failing to stop an Israeli attack, should it take place. But it may also signify their frustration over America’s position on the conflict.

Why are the British Always Rioting?

A Short History of the British Rioting.

Restoring Our Renegade Government with Attorney Jonathan Emord - USA

Jonathan W. Emord was born on January 16, 1961 in Brockton, Massachusetts. He has been practicing constitutional and administrative law before the federal courts and agencies since 1985. Having begun his career as an attorney in the Federal Communications Commission during the administration of President Ronald Reagan, Emord has maintained an abiding conviction to achieve full First Amendment protection for the freedoms of speech and press.

Gas Prices Signal Tsunami of Inflation

Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com: A good friend of mine, who has family living abroad, called me this weekend. One of the first things out of his mouth was about his sister in London and how she was dealing with “terrible inflation.” No doubt he was talking about the spike in gasoline prices that have risen to more than $8 a gallon. (The official inflation rate in the UK is around 3.6%, but I’m sure the numbers over there are as reliable as the inflation numbers in the U.S. where fuel and food are not counted in the so-called “core” inflation.)  Part of this price spike is due to Iran cutting off crude oil shipments to the EU recently, but part of it is the fact the UK has been engaging in quantitative easing (QE), or money printing, to help its ailing economy and insolvent banks. Just in the last few weeks, it announced another $50 billion in QE. The UK is not alone as most Western countries are engaging in QE to prop up an insolvent system bloated on bad debt.

“Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.” This famous quote from Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman really says it all about what is happening to fuel prices and inflation.

China: Gold's Biggest Producer and Soon, Its BIggest Consumer

By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times: China, the world's largest producer of gold, will soon be the biggest buyer of it. Its spree is fueled partly by the government as it boosts its reserves but mostly by consumers seeking a hedge against inflation or to show off their wealth.

Reporting from Beijing— 

A bit player only a decade ago, China has emerged as one of the most important forces in the global gold market, helping fuel the rising value of the precious metal.

Already the world's largest producer — it overtook South Africa in 2007 — China is now bedecking itself in bling. It's on track to become the globe's largest consumer of gold as early as this year, knocking off India — whose elaborate wedding dowries kept it on top for years.
Some of China's gold is going to its central bank as the government quietly boosts reserves. But the biggest driver is Chinese consumers. They're snapping up jewelry, coins and bars as a hedge against inflation and to flaunt their rising wealth.

To witness the frenzy firsthand, head to Beijing's Caishikou Department Store, a four-story gold emporium that rang up sales of $1.5 billion last year. Visitors be warned: sharpen your elbows and be ready to push.

Anonymous joins forces with OWS against NDAA-supporting politicians

America’s most powerful protest groups are joining forces to warn elected officials that they will be held accountable for their actions. The campaign is called Our Polls and its being launched with help from both Anonymous and the Occupy movement.

The AnonOps Communications website revealed details early Monday this week regarding the hacktivist collective’s latest campaign. Along with the nation-wide Occupy Wall Street movement, Anonymous says they are going after the politicians in America that supported legislation that both entities have largely advocated against.

“Elected officials serve one purpose — to represent their constituents, the people who voted them into office,” reads a statement posted to the website. “Last year, many of our elected officials let us down by giving in to deep-pocketed lobbyists and passing laws meant to boost corporate profits at the expense of individual liberty.”

Engdahl: 'Greek bailout terms remind of Hitler epoch'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging her lawmakers to support the new rescue package for Greece. This despite worries that Athens will need even more cash in the future, and suggestions from Germany's Interior Minister that it's time Greece left the Eurozone altogether.

Democide? - Killer Bird-Flu Blueprint Released!

In a move equivalent to releasing the plans for an atomic bomb, scientist are set to publish how the bird flu and designed it to cross over to humans more easily. In the above video I break down that this is part of a larger program to take already deadly pathogens and supercharge them all in the name of defense.

89% vote in favor of new Syrian Constitution

Syria’s Interior Minister has announced that 89 per cent of those who took part in the referendum have voted in favor of a new constitution. The new law puts an end to five decades of one-party rule among other reforms put forward by President Assad.
Interior Minister Ibrahim al-Shaar announced the results of the referendum at a press conference on Monday.­

According to the minister, out of 14,580,000 Syrians eligible to vote some 8,376,000, or about 57 per cent, actually came to the polling stations and voted,

Language Imperialism - Dr. Thorsten Pattberg on GRTV

As China, Russia, and the other so-called BRICS nations rise in economic and geopolitical power, interest in these countries' language and culture is increasing in the West. Dr. Thorsten Pattberg of Peking University examines the ways that translation of certain key concepts misrepresents history and culture. Source

Mountain Of Worry Shifts From Olympus To Zagros - "Perhaps Greece wasn't so bad after all."

Submitted by Tyler Durden: Like sands through the hour-glass, these are the fears of our lives. Just as we noted last week, the focus of risk is shifting from Greece (where while 'tail-risk' has perhaps receded for now, it is all-but certain that the insolvency predicament will resurface as a source of political, policy, and market tension in the not-too-distant future) to other foot-holds on the growing wall-of-worry. As UBS' Larry Hatheway notes this week, several candidates may replace Greece in the risk headlines, among them rising bond yields, French elections, or a Chinese hard landing. But his sense, and ours, is that oil prices will become the next risk item for market participants. Partly this is because oil prices are already approaching levels where worries have occurred in the past (and the velocity of the move is also empirically troublesome) and partly as the remedy for all global-ills (that of central bank printing) is implicitly impacting this 'risk' in a vicious circle. With global growth expectations already low, the 0.2ppt drop in Global GDP for each $10/bbl rise in oil will do nothing for Europe and US hope - and leaves Central Banks in that dangerous position of reinflating their low core inflation data while all around them is inflating rapidly. With modest schadenfreude, we remind readers of our comments from last week: "Alas, as noted previously, the central bank tsunami is only just starting. Watch for inflation, and concerns thereof, to slowly seep into everything". Given oil's potential 'real' impact, as SocGen notes: "Perhaps Greece wasn't so bad after all."

G20 Lines Up Second Global Bailout Worth $2 Trillion

The world's leading economies worked on Sunday to line up a deal in April on a second global rescue package worth nearly $2 trillion to stop the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis from spreading and putting at risk the tentative recovery. (What tentative recovery? (AA))

Germany said it would make a decision some time in March on strengthening Europe's bailout fund, a move other Group of 20 countries say is essential to clear the way for throwing extra funds into the International Monetary Fund.

The twin proposals would build up massive international resources by the end of April - when the G20 group next meets - and convince financial markets they can stem the euro-zone's deep problems.

It would mark their boldest effort since 2009, when the G20 mustered $1 trillion to help rescue the world economy.

British finance minister George Osborne said there would be no additional resources committed to the IMF until euro zone countries bolstered their own efforts to stop contagion.

"We are prepared to consider IMF resources but only once we see the colour of the euro zone money and we have not seen the colour of the euro zone money,"

How to Survive Financial Armageddon

About the author: JS Kim is the Chief Investment Strategist & Founder of SmartKnowledgeU, a fiercely independent investment research & consulting firm dedicated to exposing the fraud of Wall Street and the best ways to invest in gold and silver.

UK court sets deadline for St. Paul campers - The Real Deal

Occupy protesters in Britain have been camping out on the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral for the last four months but during the week they lost what seemed to be their last court case and they now face eviction. 

Meanwhile, the Royal bank of Scotland has been bailed out by the British government in the largest bank rescue for £45 billion which is over $70 billion with British government owning 82 percent of RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland).