Anger burning in Romania 'We want him out'

Romania is in the grip of its worst protests in over a decade. For the second week running, amid outbreaks of violence, demonstrators have taken a stand against a government they say has brought in low wages, cuts and rising corruption.

Mike Maloney "One Root Cause for Occupy Movement" Credit-Based Money, Feudalism, and Financial Enslavement - Capital Account

As the US heads into the presidential primary in south carolina, the most recent republican debate featured Newt Gingrich defending his moral values -- his marriage - , Mitt Romney defending his tax returns, and Rick Santorum defending his sweater vests, is there anyone is is actually making real sense in terms of dollars and cents? Is the lack of concentration and debate on the money issue, and the issue of the federal reserve system, of central banking and of fiat money helping to turn cash into trash? We'll talk to Mike Maloney, founder of www.goldsilver.com about the path the US is now on, and whether or not that path is sustainable.

India Joins Asian Dollar Exclusion Zone, Will Transact With Iran In Rupees

Submitted by Tyler Durden: Two weeks ago we wrote a post that should have made it all too clear that while the US and Europe continue to pretend that all is well, and they are, somehow, solvent, Asia has been smelling the coffee. To wit: "For anyone wondering how the abandonment of the dollar reserve status would look like we have a Hollow Men reference: not with a bang, but a whimper... Or in this case a whole series of bilateral agreements that quietly seeks to remove the US currency as an intermediate. Such as these: "World's Second (China) And Third Largest (Japan) Economies To Bypass Dollar, Engage In Direct Currency Trade", "China, Russia Drop Dollar In Bilateral Trade", "China And Iran To Bypass Dollar, Plan Oil Barter System", "India and Japan sign new $15bn currency swap agreement", and now this: "Iran, Russia Replace Dollar With Rial, Ruble in Trade, Fars Says."" Today we add the latest country to join the Asian dollar exclusion zone: "India and Iran have agreed to settle some of their $12 billion annual oil trade in rupees, a government source said on Friday, resorting to the restricted currency after more than a year of payment problems in the face of fresh, tougher U.S. sanctions." To summarize: Japan, China, Russia, India and Iran: the countries which together account for the bulk of the world's productivity and combined are among the biggest explorers and producers of energy. And now they all have partial bilateral arrangements, and all of which will very likely expand their bilateral arrangements to multilateral, courtesy of Obama's foreign relations stance which by pushing the countries into a corner has forced them to find alternative, USD-exclusive, arrangements. But yes, aside from all of the above, the dollar still is the reserve currency... if only in which to make calculations of how many imaginary money one pays in exchange for imaginary 'developed world' collateral.

On India's induction into the dollar unluck club, from Reuters.

An Indian delegation has been in Tehran this week discussing options for payment and the source said the decision to pay in rupees was made after a meeting there.

"The Central Bank of Iran will open an account with an Indian bank for receiving payment and settling its import," the source, who has direct knowledge of the matter, said, adding the new system will start "soon".

The source did not specify the name of the Indian bank. But other sources have said that Iran could open an account with India's UCO Bank as it does not have any interests in the United States.

Who's this India country anyway?

Nothing personal, just geopolitics: Britain bans Iran-based TV channel

Britain has revoked the press license of Iran-based English language broadcaster Press TV, accusing it of violating press regulations. But some say the decision was really motivated by British geopolitical interests.

The Office of Communications (Ofcom), a government-approved watchdog overseeing broadcasting and telecommunications in the UK, says the channel does not control its content. 

It also says the channel’s license should be held by its office in Tehran, not London, since its editorial control is clearly coming from the Iranian capital.

In addition, Press TV is accused of not paying a fine of £100,000 ($156,000) for airing an interview with an imprisoned journalist in 2009.

Press TV says it's being silenced, calling the withdrawal of the license “a clear act of censorship."

Amazon Kindle - Is Going Digital Modern Book Burning? Free Software Creator Speaks Out

Richard Stallman, founder of the GNU Project to create a free computer operating system, about SOPA, PIPA and copyright issues. Source

Eurozone leaders scramble to save the Euro

Earlier this week Standard & Poor's of France downgraded the credit rating for nine countries in the Eurozone. French President Nicolas Sarkozy claimed that the downgrade "changes nothing."

'Enemy is on Wall Street, not in Iran'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling for the intensification of sanctions against Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program, saying an embargo on Iranian oil must be put in place. But Caleb Maupin of the International Action Center, an anti-war group, say such measures "are just part of a continued repression of the Iranian people." Source

The Global Elite Are Hiding 18 Trillion Dollars In Offshore Banks

In recent days, the fact that Mitt Romney has millions of dollars parked down in the Cayman Islands has made headlines all over the world.  But when it comes to offshore banking, what Mitt Romney is doing is small potatoes.  The truth is that the global elite are hiding an almost unbelievable amount of money in offshore banks.  According to shocking research done by the IMF, the global elite are holding a total of 18 trillion dollars in offshore banks.

MEGAUPLOAD FOUNDER HELD IN N. ZEALAND, HOME RAIDED

New Zealand police seized a treasure trove of luxury goods from the founder of file-sharing site Megaupload.com Friday as four suspected Internet pirates wanted in the United States appeared in court.

Armed officers swooped on an Auckland mansion occupied by "Kim Dotcom", whose website was shut down by US authorities on Thursday accusing it of one of the largest cases of copyright theft ever.

The police seized luxury cars worth NZ$6.0 million ($4.8 million), including a 1959 pink Cadillac and a Rolls Royce Phantom, as well as "a firearm which had the appearance of a shortened shotgun".

NZ$11 million in cash held in New Zealand financial accounts was also frozen pending the outcome of legal proceedings, police said.

Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, a 37-year-old German citizen with New Zealand and Hong Kong residency, was denied bail with three other men on Friday when they appeared in an Auckland district court, police said.

Fidel Castro's Message Against Nuclear War: Calling for World Peace

TRANSCRIPT:

The use of nuclear weapons in a new war would mean the end of humanity. This was candidly foreseen by scientist Albert Einstein who was able to measure their destructive capability to generate millions of degrees of heat, which would vaporize everything within a wide radius of action. This brilliant researcher had promoted the development of this weapon so that it would not become available to the genocidal Nazi regime.
Each and every government in the world has the obligation to respect the right to life of each and every nation and of the totality of all the peoples on the planet.

Police probe cricket fan bashing

Police have defended the way they treated a Sydney cricket fan, after Seven News obtained shocking video, showing the man being punched… Source

Simon Black: HOW TO CONDUCT YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE ON A BANK OR BROKER

January 20, 2012, Santiago, Chile. Greetings once again. It’s another beautiful, sunny day in Chile today, and I’m about off to our farm south of town to spend a wonderful weekend with good food and great friends. Before I sign off for the week, though, there are a few questions I wanted to address: 
First, Louise asks, “Simon, that last edition of SMC really blew me away, I appreciate you serving up such great boots on the ground intelligence for me so conveniently. Tell me, though– you talked a lot about offshore banking. What’s the best way to check out these banks and brokerages to see if they’re safe?” Great question, and thanks for the kind words. We live in a time when you can no longer assume away counterparty risk simply because banks and brokerages are regulated by a government. If you’re depositing money with someone, you should look at them like a financial partner. And, as with any partner, it’s imperative to get to know who you’re dealing with. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to do this. You can’t just Google “Is XYZ Bank safe?” It takes a bit of homework.