21 Apr 2013

CRISIS ATHENS: Outside of finance, the past is nearly always a guide to the future

Berlin needs to recognise why we’re all nervous now…and why the Greeks would like their money back


The Slog: Whether Wolfgang Schäuble likes it or not, Germany’s increasingly heavy hand in the Cyprus bailout negotiations left its smaller EU neighbours feeling anxious. Breaking with normal EU Stepford Wife tradition, Luxembourg’s foreign minister this week said that Berlin is “striving for a hegemony which is wrong and un-European”.
Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Reuters that “Germany does not have the right to decide on the business model for other countries in the EU. It must not be the case that countries are quietly choked, while using financially technical issues as a cover”. Unsurprisingly, now that Luxembourg has bleeped onto Berlin’s radar as a suitable case for destruction, Asselborn is breaking ranks. But the Merkel government’s response to such opinion remains rigidly unchanged: it is all a plot to paint Germany black, the Chancellery says, by using “outdated historical cliches”.

Glenn Beck Gives Obama Till Monday to Admit Boston Bombing was an Inside Job +


Beck: Evidence So Damning It Will “Determine the Fate of Our Nation
The Doc: Glenn Beck has given the Obama administration until Monday to come clean on the Boston Bombing, claiming he has damning evidence that it was an inside job, and that the story will become the largest in our nation’s history (larger than 9/11) because of the information he will release Monday unless the Obama administration comes clean.

Jewish Supremacy: The Modern Jew Designed On A Piece Of Paper

Morris: Much daily publicity is given to the Jewish identity, it borders on a psy-op, in fact it denotes an acquiescence to perpetuating all the ills of modern western society. Those that call themselves secular Jews are a contradiction in terms. And they are the majority of Israelis and Jews who form the frontline in achieving Jewish supremacy.

Switzerland Revises 1934 Banking Act to Allow Bankster Bail-in Deposit Confiscations!


The Doc: The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has quietly joined the growing parade of western nations who have quietly re-written banking laws to allow depositor bail-ins upon the next banking crisis.
If Switzerland, the once ultimate safe haven for banking deposits across the world is preparing to confiscate depositors funds, there truly is no protection anywhere other than physical gold and silver in your own possession!

In the event that a bank is failing or where its capitalization is no longer adequate, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”) may take measures to improve such bank’s financial viability rather than liquidating it. “Loss absorption” and “bail-in” are important instruments to support any such measures.

The Swiss document begins by advising that the FINMA now has legal authority to confiscate depositor funds, thanks to a revision of the Banking Act of 1934, completed in 2011, as well as the revision of the Bank Insolvency Ordinance completed Nov 1st 2012:

In the event that a bank is failing or where its capitalization is no longer adequate, the Swiss Financial Market
Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”) may take measures to improve such bank’s financial viability rather than
liquidating it. “Loss absorption” and “bail-in” are important instruments to support any such measures.

U.S. teen arrested for attempting to join Syrian rebels as government pledges millions in military aid

Madison Ruppert: An 18-year-old man attempting to join the Syrian rebels was arrested by the FBI at the Chicago airport for allegedly planning to engage in terrorism in Syria. Meanwhile, the United States government has pledged $123 million in military aid to rebel forces in Syria.
Abdella Ahmad Tounisi tried to join Jabhat al-Nusra after discovering an FBI-created fake recruiting page for the group. As per usual, Tounisi’s only interaction was with an undercover FBI agent, according to AFP.
Given al-Nusra’s now open affiliation with al Qaeda in Iraq, some in the Syrian opposition have made clear attempts to push themselves away from the group.
Free Syrian Army (FSA) chief Salim Idris, for example, told Turkish Hurriyet Daily News, “We don’t give al-Nusra any kind of weapons and we don’t cooperate with al-Nusra.”
This approach is hardly consistent and appears to be largely due to the political problems with openly praising and working with an al Qaeda affiliate.

CRISIS ATHENS: The price of everything, and the value of nothing.


??????????????????? The Slog: One building (left) not as yet for sale in central Athens is that of the left-wing Party led by Alexis Tsipras, Syriza. But across from that square and two blocks down, the People’s Republic of China has bought a building that was once a major department store.
“The Chinese already own half of Piraeus, and they are trying to buy the rest of it,” said a Greek businessman as we drove together Friday night to a restaurant in the outer southern suburbs of Athens.
“Over there – not far from the Syriza building – is an old warehouse bought by the Chinese,” another source told me as we walked about in the warmth of an Athenian early afternoon, “They have four floors in the building blocked off. Nobody knows what happens in there”.
Today, in April 2013, everything in Greece is for sale. Two days ago a small girl – aged no more than ten I would estimate – came up to me, playing her violin in a main market  thoroughfare close to the Acropolis. She wasn’t much of a violinist, but after finishing the piece, she said something to me…and of course, I didn’t understand. A man watching nearby, resigned of expression, said “She is saying she costs very little for your pleasure”.

Apartheid Gulag: 'Israeli forces use Palestinian teen as human shield'

Press TV: The boy, with his hands cuffed and held above his head, is then forced to stand beside the Israeli soldiers, who later start firing on Palestinian protesters. The incident occurred in Abu Dis neighborhood of East al-Quds on Friday. DCI-Palestine says the Israeli soldiers frequently use Palestinian children as human shield. Source

Syphoning Syria's Oil: EU Bankster funded Al-CIA-da Hits Bloody Pay Dirt

WARNING! REUTERS/BANKSTER VOODOO SPIN!
By Justyna Pawlak: The European Union's plan to ease an oil embargo to help Syrian rebels is a "pragmatic experiment" that could lead to further lifting of sanctions to tilt the balance of the conflict against President Bashar al-Assad, a senior EU official said on Friday.
Next week, EU governments will allow purchases of oil from the opposition, as part of a broader effort to help rebels waging a two-year uprising against Assad in which an estimated 70,000 people have died been slaughtered. The conflict is broadly in stalemate.
Hands off Iran and Syria
The rebels have complained to the United Nations bodies, the official said, that sanctions - imposed in response to Assad's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests - are hurting civilians and asked for wide-ranging economic help.
"This is a response to strong criticism that our sanctions are blindly hitting the regime but also the civilian population. This wasn't our intention," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
More sanctions relief would be in store if the easing of the oil embargo is successful, he said. "If it works, we may try to go further. This is a bit of a pragmatic experiment."

Arizona Gold and Silver Bill Ensures Natural Rights

GoldSilver: Over a dozen states are now considering moving from a paper currency to a gold standard as a monetary policy. Arizona is now the closest state in the running to having a “legal tender” bill passed to offer its citizens a legal alternative to dollars: American gold and silver coins. As recently as last week, the Arizona House of Representatives approved a bill that would make gold and silver a legal tender option, and a version of it already was approved by the Senate. That means that "a final Senate vote is necessary before the measure goes to the governor,” Jan Brewer. (If you live in Arizona, and want to tell your representatives to vote yes, go here for the details.)
Lawmakers are aggressively attempting to establish this new monetary standard in response to looming distrust of the Federal Reserve and its “off the charts” printing. These concerns have become so great that these dozen or so states are in the process of attempting to adopt “The Constitutional Tender Act.” Utah is the forerunner, and in 2011 became the first state to pass a law recognizing gold and silver as legal tender. Other states that are considering following Utah’s lead include Minnesota, Idaho, South Carolina, Colorado, Missouri, Maine, Washington, Tennessee, New Hampshire and, of course, Arizona.