10 Jun 2012
Counterfeit Con: UK collectors in flap over fake art flood
Outrage over detention without trial of Palestinians by Israel - Remember Palestine
On the Edge with Warren Pollock "Crisis in Integrity"
Syria: the Houla Massacre - UK BANNED Double Standards
The war is on, the Western media are clamoring for an aerial bombardment of Damascus and the US, NATO and al-Qaeda units are ready for a wider war, and this edition of the show examines the Syrian crisis. Goldman Sachs ramps up its opportunity to create jobs in the White House, the Irish debate the pros and cons of the European Union's austerity measures; and Syria's developments are the major issues reviewed by Afshin Rattansi. Afshin also interviews Haitham Alsibahi from the Syrian Social Club to talk about the rapidly deteriorating situation in Syria. He will also comment on the recent massacre in Houla. 2012 Bilderberg Conference in Virginia, the US drone attacks killing innocent people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, the conspiracy against Julian Assnage's Wikileaks, Tony Blair at the Levenson Enquiry
Australian Pirate Party Sets Course for Parliament
Submitted by Myles Peterson:
Since its founding half-a-decade ago, the influence of the Pirate Party has been felt across the globe. Now the file-sharing movement has touched down downunder and while it fights for recognition and acceptance, Australia’s capital city presents the party with a unique opportunity to gain seats in a parliament election.
In a mere six years, Sweden’s nascent Pirate Party (Piratpartiet) has grown from fringe group into a potent global political force.
Some libertarian movements echo aspects of the Pirate Party’s agenda, mainly its advocacy of free speech and open government. Other political groups, such as the European founded Greens, touch on elements of the party’s progressive thinking.
But the Pirate Party stands alone in driving a holistic vision of an information-based society, governed by principles of transparency in business and government while protecting the privacy of individuals.
Filmmaker Compares Copyleft Supporters To Anti-Gay-Marriage Advocates
From the then-i-get-to-compare-film-makers-to-blue-cheese dept
by Timothy Geigner: Oh, where to begin with this one. Once upon a time, in an internet far, far away, there was a Facebook page and a blog (that barely anyone paid attention to) masquerading as some kind of grass roots upheaval in favor of the copyright cartels. It was called Creative America, and man was it terrible. But, as does occasionally happen, this silly land of false statistics and incomprehensible logic bred some interesting discussions between folks on either side of the copyright argument. One of the participants in favor of copyright was filmmaker David Newhoff, someone who I generally thought represented his ideas and opinions with sincerity and class.
Well, to hell with sincerity and class. Apparently you damned pirates and copyleft people are just like homophobic anti-gay-marriage zealots...or something.
Well, to hell with sincerity and class. Apparently you damned pirates and copyleft people are just like homophobic anti-gay-marriage zealots...or something.
Philosophers Stone: Japanese scientists pave way to everlasting life
Japan, which already tops the world’s life expectancy list, now has another tool to cement its leading position. The country’s scientists say they have discovered a protein responsible for ageing and learnt to control it.
Here They Come: Ireland Demands Renegotiation Of Its Bailout Terms To Match Spain
Steve Keen: Why 2012 Is Shaping Up To Be A Particularly Ugly Year
Submitted by Chris Martenson
At the high level, our global economic plight is quite simple to understand says noted Australian deflationist Steve Keen.
Banks began lending money at a faster rate than the global economy grew, and we're now at the turning point where we simply have run out of new borrowers for the ever-growing debt the system has become addicted to.
Once borrowers start eschewing rather than seeking debt, asset prices begin to fall -- which in turn makes these same people want to liquidate their holdings, which puts further downward pressure on asset prices:
UK hires "Pro Apartheid" human rights abusers to protect Olympics
"There is now a financial incentive to incarcerate poor people for private profit." The British government is up for questioning from Parliament over why it has handed over the Olympic Games' security to a company accused of human rights abuses in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. The UK-based G4S, which describes itself as the "world's leading international security solutions group," was selected as the "official provider of security and cash services for the Olympics."
The banking shell game sponsored by your bailout dollars
How banks lure working and middle class Americans into losing hard earned money. $29.5 billion in overdraft fees charged last year.
Banks really have a wonderful structure in place at least when it comes to US banking. The Federal Reserve and US Treasury have given an open ended response in terms of bailing out the banking system should any additional financial crisis should arise. Even at the moment no real changes have occurred and this is troubling given the headwinds that are approaching. In the US the largest banks, the too big to fail variety, charged Americans over $29.5 billion in overdraft fees last year. This ludicrous figure was released in a recent Pew Research study showing that banks have no desire in consumer protection and would rather operate like a loan shark. If you calculate the annual percentage based on these short-term “loans” you would understand that the overdraft piece of the pie is too lucrative to banks but provides no real service. Banks would argue that they are helping the public access money when they need it. If we did a survey, I think most would opt out of paying $35 for a burger or for a cup of coffee. Yet this is part of the larger banking shell game still going on.
Tear up your paper money - Jim Jubak
Modern currency is nothing without trust that governments that use it will back it. And if the once-strong euro can break, what is safe?
So what is it about money that the leaders of the eurozone don't get?
Money has been around for a while, and it's not terribly complicated.
The key element is trust. That was true when money was a piece of metal that you could bite or bounce. Now that money is just a piece of paper, it's even truer. Today's money is nothing but trust.
That's why the euro crisis is so bizarre. The euro is, in theory, one of the world's great currencies. And yet, as this crisis has demonstrated, nobody actually stands behind it. There is no lender of last resort. There is no "full faith and credit." There's nobody on the other end of the promise.
And it's as if the leaders of the eurozone wanted to go out of their way to prove it. They've taken us up to the velvet curtain and then themselves, with a self-satisfied smile, pulled it aside to show us that there is no Great Oz.
And in the process they've done major, and perhaps irretrievable, damage to their own currency and to the very idea of money in our time. If you can't trust the euro, what paper can you trust?
Spain IS Greece After All: Here Are The Main Outstanding Items Following The Spanish Bailout
1. Where will the money come from?
De Guindos, Schauble and the Eurogroup, all announced that the sole source of cash would be the ESM and/or the EFSF. The problem with this is that the ESM has yet to be ratified by Germany, whose parliament said previously it is sternly against allowing the ESM to fund a direct bank bailout, something which just happened. Thus, the successful German ESM ratification vote, whenever it comes, and which previously was taken for granted, now appears to be far more questionable.
Which leaves the EFSF. The problem with the EFSF is that there is about €200 billion in dry powder. And this includes the Spanish quota of €93 billion, which we can only assume is now officially scrapped.