Greek Debt Talks Break Down - Haircut 100 (billion)

Talks aimed at reaching agreement with creditors to cut Greece's debt burden broke down in Athens on Friday, increasing the likelihood that heavy losses will be forced down the throats of unwilling investors.

The talks are seeking to slice €100 billion ($126.7 billion) from the Greek government's €350 billion in debt without delivering an ultimatum to private bondholders, who together hold more than €200 billion of bonds. At stake is whether the first debt default by a current member of the European Union will occur through an accord in which most investors go along voluntarily or whether losses will be forced on them.

The halt in negotiations between the Greek government and investors led by the Institute of International Finance, a Washington-based lobby group, shows how the small economy at the origin of the euro zone's debt crisis retains the capacity to shake confidence in the entire 17-nation currency bloc.

Government officials fear that an enforced default would be seen in financial markets as increasing the likelihood of similar defaults among other weak economies in the euro area.

After two days of talks, the IIF said in a statement that discussions hadn't "produced a constructive, consolidated response" and had "paused for reflection." No dates were fixed for a resumption of the talks.

The IIF agreed in October that it would negotiate a "voluntary" deal on the basis of a 50% cut in the face value of bonds held by the private sector. The main dispute between the two sides on Friday related to the annual interest payments on new bonds that would be exchanged for old.

The IIF is seeking an annual coupon of 4%-5%, arguing that is the absolute lower limit of any deal that could be described as voluntary, according to people with direct knowledge of the talks. Some euro-zone governments, led by Germany and supported by the International Monetary Fund, have been pushing for an interest rate of well below 4%, these people said.

For Germany and the stronger economies providing aid to Greece, the less Greece has to pay out to bondholders, the less money the rescuers will need to shell out.

The negotiations have been tortuous. After first insisting no default by any euro-zone country would be possible, leaders agreed in July to seek a deal to cut about 10% from the face value of Greece's bonds in private hands. By October, Greece's prospects had deteriorated, and euro-zone governments and the IIF agreed to pursue a deal to cut the face value in half. Since October, Greece's economy, which is entering its fifth year of recession, has weakened further, worsening the state of its government finances. That means a bigger gap in Greece's budget that must be filled either by more debt relief or more new lending from official creditors.

Enlarge Image

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Greek Finance minister Evangelos Venizelos leaves the Greek premier's office Friday after a meeting with the Institute of International Finance.

More

• Heard on the Street: No Finale for Greek Debt Drama
• Markets Bet on Greek Debt Deal
• Brussels Beat: Stakes Rise for Europe
• Banks Overhaul for New, Leaner Era

In an interview Thursday before the talks broke up, IIF Managing Director Charles Dallara expressed frustration about "the lack of a clear process to finalize negotiations."

Negotiators for investors have been frustrated that they have to seal a deal not only with Greece but also with a host of other interested parties including the IMF, European Central Bank and the 16 other members of the euro zone.

The IMF on Friday said it was looking forward to talks resuming but noted it was important the deal ensured the sustainability of Greek debt. European officials say the IMF is skeptical a voluntary accord would reduce Greece's debt enough to avoid another restructuring.

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos on Friday said the country faces acute financial risks until it completes talks on the debt restructuring and a new dose of aid from other euro-zone governments and the IMF.

"We have complete awareness of how crucial the situation is. Only after these issues have successfully closed will we be able to say that the country will step on solid ground," he said.

Frank Vogl, who handles the media affairs for the IIF, said talks could resume next week "but this depends on developments over the next few days."

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on a voluntary deal. Mr. Dallara on Thursday said only a few days remain to complete negotiations because of the complicated legal and other procedures surrounding a bond exchange. On March 20, a €14.5 billion bond matures that Greece won't be able to cover unless others foot the bill. To have a voluntary agreement in time, European leaders would have to sign off at a European Union summit on Jan. 30. Source

"Those Beltway Wankers" Gerald Celente

CNN contributor wants to pee on dead Afghans too

The video of US Marines urinating on dead Afghans has gone viral. Veterans have come forth denouncing the actions of the troops, but on the contrary, many Americans have backed the actions of peeing on the dead. Even members of the media have supported the troops' malevolent actions. Dana Loesch, a CNN contributor, has gone public saying she would join the troops to pee on the dead Afghans. Christopher Chambers, journalism professor at Georgetown University, joins us to analyze whether or not the members of the media are out of line. Source

Angelo: CNN.. Cunt News Network?

Iranian nuclear scientist's assassination - Comment

George: Another Iranian academic has been murdered in broad daylight in the main street in Tehran. Another Abu Ghraib scandal has broken; pictures have emerged apparently showing four US marines urinating on the dead bodies on what they describe in the news as Taliban. In Bahrain, where the US Fifth Fleet is placed and is home to thousands of US military personnel, the dictator continues to gun down the democracy protesters. Source

Free Thinking Human....or a Programmed Sheeple... David Icke - Alex Jones

LA Sheriff Punches Special Needs Woman In The Face On A Bus

A Metro passenger used his cell phone's video camera to capture a confrontation between a woman and two LA County sheriff's deputies on a bus in Bellflower. The over aggressive sheriff's punch, to a young woman's face wasn't even necessary!!! Damn shame! Then the dirty sheriff, wants to take the cell phone, of the soldier who recorded it!! Just imagine how much other dirt is hidden, and covered up by dirty cops!!! The world will never know!! HERE IS A CLEAR PIC OF THE SHERIFF, WHO PUNCHED THE YOUNG SPECIAL NEEDS WOMAN Source

10 Modern Methods of Mind Control

Nicholas West
Activist Post

The more one researches mind control, the more one will come to the conclusion that there is a coordinated script that has been in place for a very long time with the goal to turn the human race into non-thinking automatons.  For as long as man has pursued power over the masses, mind control has been orchestrated by those who study human behavior in order to bend large populations to the will of a small "elite" group.  Today, we have entered a perilous phase where mind control has taken on a physical, scientific dimension that threatens to become a permanent state if we do not become aware of the tools at the disposal of the technocratic dictatorship unfolding on a worldwide scale.

Modern mind control is both technological and psychological.  Tests show that simply by exposing the methods of mind control, the effects can be reduced or eliminated, at least for mind control advertising and propaganda.  More difficult to counter are the physical intrusions, which the military-industrial complex continues to develop and improve upon.



1. Education -- This is the most obvious, yet still remains the most insidious.  It has always been a would-be dictator's ultimate fantasy to "educate" naturally impressionable children, thus it has been a central component to Communist and Fascist tyrannies throughout history.  No one has been more instrumental in exposing the agenda of modern education than Charlotte Iserbyt -- one can begin research into this area by downloading a free PDF of her book, The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America, which lays bare the role of Globalist foundations in shaping a future intended to produce servile drones lorded over by a fully educated, aware elite class.  

2. Advertising and Propaganda -- Edward Bernays has been cited as the inventor of the consumerist culture that was designed primarily to target people's self-image (or lack thereof) in order to turn a want into a need.  This was initially envisioned for products such as cigarettes, for example.  However, Bernays also noted in his 1928 book, Propaganda, that "propaganda is the executive arm of the invisible government." This can be seen most clearly in the modern police state and the growing citizen snitch culture, wrapped up in the pseudo-patriotic War on Terror.  The increasing consolidation of media has enabled the entire corporate structure to merge with government, which now utilizes the concept of propaganda placement.  Media; print, movies, television, and cable news can now work seamlessly to integrate an overall message which seems to have the ring of truth because it comes from so many sources, simultaneously.  When one becomes attuned to identifying the main "message," one will see this imprinting everywhere.  And this is not even to mention subliminal messaging.
 

3. Predictive Programming -- Many still deny thatpredictive programming is real.  I would invite anyone to examine the range of documentation put together by Alan Watt and come to any other conclusion.  Predictive programming has its origins in predominately elitist Hollywood, where the big screen can offer a big vision of where society is headed.  Just look back at the books and movies which you thought were far-fetched, or "science fiction" and take a close look around at society today.  For a detailed breakdown of specific examples, Vigilant Citizenis a great resource that will probably make you look at "entertainment" in a completely different light.

4. Sports, Politics, Religion -- Some might take offense at seeing religion, or even politics, put alongside sports as a method of mind control.  The central theme is the same throughout: divide and conquer.  The techniques are quite simple: short circuit the natural tendency of people to cooperate for their survival, and teach them to form teams bent on domination and winning.  Sports has always had a role as a key distraction that corrals tribal tendencies into a non-important event, which in modern America has reached ridiculous proportions where protests will break out over a sport celebrity leaving their city, but essential human issues such as liberty are giggled away as inconsequential.  Political discourse is strictly in a left-right paradigm of easily controlled opposition, while religion is the backdrop of nearly every war throughout history.

5. Food, Water, and Air -- Additives, toxins, and other food poisons literally alter brain chemistry to create docility and apathy.  Fluoride in drinking water has been proven to lower IQ; Aspartame and MSG are excitotoxins which excite brain cells until they die; and easy access to the fast food that contains these poisons generally has created a population that lacks focus and motivation for any type of active lifestyle.  Most of the modern world is perfectly groomed for passive receptiveness -- and acceptance -- of the dictatorial elite.  And if you choose to diligently watch your diet, they are fully prepared to spray the population from the above.

6. Drugs -- This can be any addictive substance, but the mission of mind controllers is to be sure you are addicted to something.  One major arm of the modern mind control agenda is psychiatry, which aims to define all people by their disorders, as opposed to their human potential.  This was foreshadowed in books such as Brave New World.  Today, it has been taken to even further extremes as amedical tyranny has taken hold where nearly everyone has some sort of disorder -- particularly those who question authority.  The use of nerve drugs in the military has led to record numbers of suicides.  Worst of all, the modern drug state now has over 25% of U.S. children on mind-numbing medication.

7. Military testing -- The military has a long history as the testing ground for mind control.  The military mind is perhaps the most malleable, as those who pursue life in the military generally resonate to the structures of hierarchy, control, and the need for unchallenged obedience to a mission.  For the increasing number of military personal questioning their indoctrination, a recent story highlighted DARPA's plans for transcranial mind control helmets that will keep them focused.

8. Electromagnetic spectrum  -- An electromagnetic soup envelops us all, charged by modern devices of convenience which have been shown to have a direct impact on brain function.  In a tacit admission of what is possible, one researcher has been working with a "god helmet" to induce visions by altering the electromagnetic field of the brain.  Our modern soup has us passively bathed by potentially mind-altering waves, while a wide range of possibilities such as cell phone towers is now available to the would-be mind controller for more direct intervention.

9. Television, Computer, and "flicker rate"-- It's bad enough that what is "programmed" on your TV (accessed via remote "control") is engineered; it is all made easier by literally lulling you to sleep, making it a psycho-social weapon.  Flicker rate tests show that alpha brain waves are altered, producing a type of hypnosis -- which doesn't portend well for the latest revelation that lights can transmitcoded Internet data by "flickering faster than the eye can see."  The computer's flicker rate is less, but through video games, social networks, and a basic structure which overloads the brain with information, the rapid pace of modern communication induces an ADHD state.  A study of video games revealed that extended play can result in lower blood flow to the brain, sapping emotional control.  Furthermore, role-playing games of lifelike war and police state scenarios serve to desensitize a connection to reality.  One look at the WikiLeaks video Collateral Murder should be familiar to anyone who has seen a game like Call of Duty.

10. Nanobots -- From science fiction horror, directly to the modern brain; the nanobots are on the way.  Direct brain modification already has been packaged as "neuroengineering." A  Wired articlefrom early 2009 highlighted that direct brain manipulation via fiber optics is a bit messy, but once installed "it could make someone happy with the press of a button."  Nanobots take the process to an automated level, rewiring the brain molecule by molecule.  Worse, these mini droids can self-replicate, forcing one to wonder how this genie would ever get back in the bottle once unleashed. Expected date of arrival?  Early 2020s.

A concerted effort is underway to manage and predict human behavior so that the social scientists and the dictatorial elite can control the masses and protect themselves from the fallout of a fully awake free humanity. Only by waking up to their attempts to put us to sleep do we stand a chance of preserving our free will. Source

Santorum says there's a US program to kill Iranian scientists and dead ones are a wonderful thing

US Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has callously described the assassination of Iranian scientists as "wonderful," threatening that those who work for Iran's nuclear program "are not safe."

"On occasion, scientists working on the nuclear program in Iran turn up dead. I think that's a wonderful thing, candidly," said Rick Santorum addressing an election campaign in Greenville, South Carolina.

He added that, "I think we should send a very clear message that if you are a scientist from Russia, North Korea, or from Iran and you are going to work on a nuclear program to develop a bomb for Iran, you are not safe."

Santorum claimed that while Iran is "in the process of developing a nuclear weapon, it appears obvious to me that the [US] administration is doing little to nothing."

"We have done it; we have done it for American citizens. We are concerned when someone is producing a nuclear bomb that can be dropped on the state of Israel or provides a nuclear shield for a country which spreads terrorism with impunity and changes the face of the world," he said. Source

Agloves use silver for touch-screen friendly winter gloves

At ShowStoppers during CES 2012, Matt Hamblen chats with Agloves about their new silver-based winter gloves that allow touch-screen users (phones, tablets, etc.) to use their phones without taking off their gloves.

Marc faber: Most Europe, US Ratings Should Be Lower

Most of the European countries should be rated triple-C and the U.S. "should not be a "triple-A-minus but a triple-B or junk bond when you really analyze the unfunded liabilities that will come due in future," investor Marc Faber told CNBC Friday.

The editor of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report said France is not a very good credit risk, and Standard & Poor's one-notch downgrade announced by the French finance minister Friday was "insufficient." France had been rated at triple-A and now, like theU.S., is double-A-plus.

Germany, the strongest of the euro-zone members, "is ok," Faber said, "but Germany also has large, unfunded liabilities." He said he is "not interested in sovereign bonds except as a trade but longer term you’ll lose money in sovereign bonds."

He said he wouldn't buy French government bonds "and I wouldn't buy any U.S. bonds either."

He predicts the S&P downgrades in Europe will have little effect on the world's stock markets, just as S&P's one-notch downgrade of the U.S. credit rating had little effect.

"Much of any downgrades has [already] been priced in," he said of Europe.

Where they will have an effect will be on the value of the euro. "I think the euro is in a downtrend," said the man nicknamed Dr. Doom. The European corporate sector has a lot of  U.S. dollar-denominated debt and a lower euro "makes it more expensive to service these debts."

What could move the stock markets "is if some country would say, 'We’ve had enough, we’ll exit the euro,'" he said. "IfGreece does that it's not going to be a disaster. But if Greece, Portugal,Spain, Italy do it, then it would have a huge impact" on the derivatives market.

He said European stock markets underperformed the U.S. market, but at some point that will change. When that happens, he said, companies likeNovartis [NVS  55.80    -0.93  (-1.64%)   ], Nestle [NSRGY  56.10    -0.42  (-0.74%)  ]and Total [TOT  49.63    -0.54  (-1.08%)   ] are "reasonably good value" although "not compelling values." Sectors in which he would invest include commodities, real estate and precious metals. Source

OfCom's pressure on Press TV-News Analsis

If you're not aware by now, OfCom has decided to remove the Iranian English-language news channel Press TV from the Sky platform under the pretext that Press TV made administrative errors in its application for a license in 2007.  It has also fined Press TV Limited in London a hundred thousand pounds. At the same time, Ofcom has made moves to revoke the license of Press TV Limited in the UK for what it calls Press TV Ltd's lack of control over the channel's broadcast.However, media observers say these charges are merely a pretext to remove the satellite channel off the air, as indicated in the WikiLeaks revelations. We will examine Ofcom's case and actions against Press TV in this edition of the Press TV News Analysis. Source

Thawing The Cold War: Russia Found To Be Supplying Syria With Weapons, US Not Amused

Submitted by Tyler Durden: Remember the cold war: evil Empire, 5 year plans, Lada cars, etc? It may very well be back, this time over the simple matter of a few million barrels of crude per day, after Russia was found to be quietly supplying an embargoed Syria with ammunition, in violation of a weapons embargo. Reuters reports: "A Russian-operated ship carrying a cargo of ammunition has reached conflict-torn Syria after being temporarily halted during a refuelling stop in Cyprus, sources in Russia and Cyprus said on Friday. A source in Cyprus, where the ship made an unscheduled stop for refuelling late on Tuesday, said the ship had given written assurances to authorities its destination would not be Syria but Turkey. It was allowed to sail a day later, whereupon it dropped off conventional tracking systems, switched course and reached Syria on Thursday. "It had bullets. There were four containers on board," a Cypriot official told Reuters." And here the plot thickens: we now have some war mongering deepthroat somewhere in Leningrad, pardon, St. Petersburg: "The ship was carrying a dangerous cargo," the source at St. Petersburg-based Westberg Ltd. said by telephone on condition of anonymity. "It reached Syria on Jan. 11th." Needless to say, the US is not very happy that Russia is doing precisely what it warned a few months ago it would do: namely protect its sphere of influence especially in light of the ever-encroaching NATO aspirations (yes, provocations go both ways as Ron Paul has long been warning): "The United States said on Friday it had raised concerns with Moscow over a Russian-operated ship that has arrived in Syria and which sources said contained a cargo of bullets. "With regard to the ship we have raised our concerns about this both with Russia and with Cyprus, which was the last port of call for the ship, and we are continuing to seek clarification as to what went down here," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said." Looks like the escalation in the Straits of Hormuz is about to shift to the backburner as we finally go back to where the real tension is and always has been: between West and East.

More from Reuters:

Russia has long been a major arms supplier to Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad has been trying to crush a 10-month-old wave of unrest by lethal armed force, raising an international outcry and triggering Western and Arab sanctions against Damascus that Moscow has refused to join.

In Russia, a source at the vessel's St. Petersburg-based firm said the ship Chariot had reached Syria, but declined to comment on reports the ship was carrying cargo from Russia's state weapons exporter Rosoboronexport.

The Chariot sailed from St. Petersburg on Dec. 9.

Rosoboronexport spokesman Vyacheslav Davidenko said on Friday the arms exporter would neither confirm nor deny the report. "We do not comment on where our deliveries go, when they leave port or how."

A Turkish foreign ministry official on Friday confirmed the ship had reached Syria.

"As of 10:15 a.m. (0815 GMT) yesterday the Turkish navy checked and confirmed that the ship in question was docked at the Syrian port of Tartus," ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said.

Russia has voiced strong opposition to arms embargoes and has repeatedly promised to uphold arms contracts with Damascus, one of its top weapons customers, despite increasing international pressure.

Cyprus, an EU member with traditionally close ties to Russia, has maintained it was obliged to allow the vessel to go.

"Since it had changed destination, and (if) we would not have allowed it to go, the company could cite illegal detention of a ship," the Cypriot official said.

The island has bitter experience in dealing with confiscated arms destined from one sanction-hit country to another.

An unnamed military source was quoted as saying in December that Russia had delivered anti-ship Yakhont missiles to Syria.

Syria accounted for 7 percent of Russia's total of $10 billion in arms deliveries abroad in 2010, according to the Russian defence think tank CAST.

Why Syria?

The European Union said on Friday it was aware of the case and national authorities were responsible for making sure an EU arms embargo is upheld.

"We are instrumental in putting these measures in place but it's up to the national authorities to make sure they are implemented and as far as I'm aware the authorities in this case are confident that the embargo has not been broken," said Michael Mann, spokesman for Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs.

The Westberg official said the company had done nothing wrong as no Russian law prevented the delivery from being made at Syria's Tartus port, where Russia maintains a naval base.

"The ship went to Syria as there was nothing illegal in reaching its originally intended destination," he said.

In October, Russia and China vetoed a western European-led resolution on Syria that threatened sanctions for the bloodshed the U.N. says has killed 5,000 people, Russia tabled a new draft resolution last month.

And should the age old tensions between Russia and the US flare up again, take a wild guess on whose side China will be. The only question is the European wildcard which for now relies so very much on Fed bailouts. Yet one wonders: what happens when Russia shuts down the gas?