Oxfam released a report detailing the tragedy of the blockade on the
Gaza Strip that has left so many families lives destroyed. For five
years, the 1.6 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been living
under a blockade imposed on security grounds by the government of Israel
in violation of international law. The situation is particularly
precarious for Gaza's children, who make up around half of the enclave's
population and for whom particular public health threats from unsafe (chemically poisoned)
water have been identified. Palestinians are imprisoned and being slowly exterminated.
19 Aug 2012
Bahrain, Mitt Romney & Starbucks - Afshin Rattansi with Joshua Castellino
Julian Assange's speech today 'stand for justice'
In a speech delivered from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy, Julian
Assange has called on the United States to "end its witch hunt" against
the WikiLeaks organisation.
Lord Rothschild takes £130m bet against the euro
Lord Rothschild has taken a near-£130m bet against the euro as fears continue to grow that the single currency will break up.
By
James Quinn: The member of the banking dynasty has taken the position through RIT Capital
Partners, the £1.9bn investment trust of which he is executive chairman.
The fact that the former investment banker, a senior member of the Rothschild
family, has taken such a view will be seen as a further negative for the
currency.
The latest omen follows news in The Daily Telegraph late last week that
the government of Finland
is already preparing for the euro’s break-up.
RIT, which Lord Rothschild has led since 1988, had a -7pc net short position
in terms of principal currency exposures on the euro at the end of July, up
from -3pc at the end of January. Given a net asset value of £1.836bn at the
end of July, the position is worth £128m.
Sources close to RIT suggested that the position was not a dogmatic negative
view on the euro as a currency, but rather a realistic approach on a
currency that remains relatively weak.
Angry Greeks attack tax inspectors
Athens
- From anger at the taxman applied inhabitants of the Greek island of
Hydra have besieged in the early hours of Saturday, a police station.
The reason: the taxman had previously arrested the owner of one of the
most famous taverns in front of Athens located in the Aegean island,
because he and his mother issues no receipts. The tax inspectors were attacked on the way to the police station.
On Saturday afternoon, riot police arrived from the port city of Piraeus to the island around 2700 inhabitants , to rid the tax inspectors, it said. How Eyewitnesses said the shopkeeper threw before the tax investigators, "to want to make ready" them with their checks. "We have hardly any work, and take us to be laid," said one bar owner.
The US money markets and the price of gold - Martin Sibileau
There are currently three potential policy measures that would have a relevant impact in the commodities markets
What do USD money markets have to do with gold? Money market funds
invest in short-term highly rated securities, like US Treasury bills
(sovereign risk) and commercial paper (corporate credit). But who
supplies such securities to these funds? For the purpose of our
discussion, participants in the futures markets, who look for secured
funding. They sell their US Treasury bills, under repurchase agreements,
to money market funds. These repurchase transactions, of course, take
place in the so-called repo market.
The repo market supplies money market
funds with the securities they invest in. Now…what do participants in
the futures markets do, with the cash obtained against T-bills? They,
for instance, fund the margins to obtain leverage and invest in the
commodity futures markets.
In summary: There are people (and
companies) who exchange their cash for units in money market funds.
These funds use that cash to buy –under repurchase agreements- US
Treasury bills from players in the futures markets. And the players in
the futures markets use that cash to fund the margins, obtain leverage,
and buy positions. What if these positions (financed with the cash
provided by the money market funds) are short positions in gold (or
other commodities)? Now, we can see what USD money markets have to do
with gold!
Hate Crime: men's rights are not human rights + What is 'misandry' and what is 'anti-misandry'?
In the MRM a poster campaign is not just a poster campaign. It is a
social experiment that tells us a lot about our culture. In a recent
campaign in Vancouver,B.C. it told us that the MRM will need to be here
for a long, long time... Feminists across the seas in Vancouver, Canada, resorted to physically
lashing out against a safety officer after he told them the AVfM poster
campaign was legal. As is to be expected of members of the feminist
community, once the police were called out the feminists burst in to
fits of tears and portrayed themselves as victims despite their violent
& unprovoked attacks against men.
Free Pussy Riot - WilliamBanzai7
A more interesting diversion than Obamny or Cleggaron.
Less important than the World Bankster takeover.
You will cream in your jeans when you see "Orthodox
School Girls In Trouble.".... But seriously, government child abduction in the UK should end, fathers should have equality and Pussy Riot and the
great heroes Bradley Manning and Mordechai Vanunu should be free... Come the evolution.
Fathers on the edge - A tragic custody case draws the attention of groups convinced family courts are biased
NOTE: A correction is appended to this story.
MONTREAL - The comments made by the fathers and other men that populate the chat rooms of Antimisandry.com
are angry. Misandry is the hatred of men by women and there are dozens
of websites like this one in what sometimes gets called the
"manosphere," dedicated to the idea that men's civil rights - often
fathers' rights - are under attack by feminists and the courts.
The
topics of discussion on these sites vary; anything from the latest news
reports of women killing or abusing their children, to women who
complain about sexual harassment in the workplace (such as the recent
class-action lawsuit filed by former and current female RCMP members)
and how false rape accusations are an "industry." One recent message
thread discusses how the Elizabeth Fry Society, an organization that
offers services to female offenders in the correctional system, receives
funding from the federal government; the writer wrongly assumes that
the male equivalent John Howard Society does not. Feminists and
ex-spouses are referred to as "bitches," and the men who support them
are routinely disparaged.
Lately, some of these chat rooms have
turned their attention to the deaths of Jocelyn Marcoux, 47 - who had
been locked in a bitter custody battle with his partner - and his two
children, Lindsey, 13, and Karen, 11. The three bodies were found in the
burnt-out shell of a garage behind the family home in Warwick, 150
kilometres from Montreal, on July 10, in what police suspect was a
double homicide and suicide. Autopsy results have not been released and
officials are waiting on the coroner's final report.
Since the
deaths, angry reaction on the message boards has not been directed at
Marcoux for the most part, but at the family courts.
"Funny, how
the system constantly backs men into a corner. And then acts shocked
when one loses his grip on reality and good judgment," writes Raven01 in
one message thread. "Had this man felt he had even a reasonable chance
of being dealt with honestly and fairly in a family court what are the
chances he would have even considered this irrational act?"