Vietnam goes nuclear on gold - “Me Love Your Gold Long Time”

By Jan Skoyles

Vietnam is frequently cited as an example of somewhere which acknowledges gold’s role as money; it is a medium of exchange and is used as such every day. Houses come with two prices in Vietnam; the price in dong and the price in gold – gold is most often the favoured form of payment (Thiers’ law in effect).

Up until last week, three forms of money circulated in Vietnam: the dong, the US dollar and gold. However, in an attempt to ‘stabilize’ the economy, the government and the central bank have announced a decree which will continue their mission to restrict the gold market by banning its use as a medium of exchange and issuing 7 ‘solutions’ in regard to bullion related activities.

The idea behind the 7 solutions, or measures, is for the government and central bank to gain more control over the gold market and reduce ‘goldization’, the practice of replacing the dong with gold in transactions. The 7 measures (outlined below) aim to reduce the impact of gold on monetary policies, prevent market speculation and to (apparently) protect the rights of the institutions and individuals involved in the gold market.

Assange show premiere: Time to watch 'The World Tomorrow' +

Julian Assange. The World Tomorrow. Arguably the most anticipated news show of 2012 premieres next week on RT.

Agenda 21 Green Kiss of Death

Ultra-non-grata? Grass compares Israel to Stasi

German poet and Nobel laureate Gunter Grass, who last week was banned from entering Israel after writing a poem critical of the Israeli government, has publicly compared Israeli policies to those of the Stasi.

"Now the interior minister of a democracy, the state of Israel, has punished me with a travel ban and the tone of his justification reminds me of the verdict of Minister Mielke," Grass wrote in a piece that appeared on the Süddeutsche Zeitung's website on Wednesday. Erich Mielke was the head of East Germany's secret police from 1957 until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

"The GDR does not exist anymore," Grass wrote, "But as a nuclear power of unchecked extent, the Israeli government is arbitrary and until now no warning is available."

Meat (sic) The Other Slimes

Submitted by Tyler Durden:

The massive grass roots campaign over the topic of "pink slime" which seemingly came out of nowhere, and led to the bankruptcy of the company producing the substance, shows just why product branding can be such a profitable industry. Had the company taken a hint from the Goldman playbook and dubbed the peculiar substance an "Asymmetric Meat Initiative" all would have been forgotten in days, if not hours. Unfortunately, the mechanical process of "lean finely textured beef", aka pink slime, is just the beginning. As ProPublica shows, after pink slime, there comes Mechanically Separated Meat, aka "White Slime", and then Advanced Meat Recovery. And if recent history is a guide, any entities that have an equity stake in these last two processes should be afraid, very afraid, because the fate that befell the first, is about to visit the other two, in the process making such other 'delicacies" as bologna, hot dogs, taco filling, and meatballs surge in price once the traditional cheap "filler" substance is taken away by the same people who consume said meat byproducts in droves, in the process likely ending the concept of the dollar menu for good as restaurants have no choice but to resort to quality food. Ironically, will fat America itself, terrified by concepts such a colored slime, be responsible for its own weening from some of the worst products on earth, and in the process raise the price of food, and force itself to eat less?

Back to the Future: The Central Banker's Destruction of Time and Space!!

Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen suggested keeping interest rates close to zero until as late as 2015, but what are the costs? Our guest, economist Mike Norman, suggests that when the fed buys bonds and engages in quantitate easing (above and beyond just rate targeting), it is simply chaining the composition of private balance sheets. He says that a dollar is effectively the same as a bond, except that the later comes with duration and yield. This may be true, if you accept that, in practice, the Federal Reserve is not independent of the Federal Government. However, that duration and yield is important, because it connotes an emphasis on time and space.

Fraudulent Prime Minster starts up “The Big Society Fund” – Part 3 – Giant Fraud

By Peter Eyre:

You know what they say you can “Smell a Rat”.
This should be renamed the “Big Ponzi Capital".
It was only a matter of time before Gordon and I realised that we had indeed opened up a hornets nest when we started investigating “The Big Society Rip Off” and it just simply kept opening up more and more doors to massive fraud and corruption that has crippled this country and its economy and believe it or not the bastards are so arrogant they are still at it.

Prime Minister, David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg and leader of the opposition, Ed Miliband all form part of the problem in that they are all  either involved or all are aware of the extortionate rape of this country and the associated tax  evasion and do absolutely nothing about it!!

In Guns We Trust - Somali Style! - The Maxorcist and Constantin Gurdgiev

Debt fondue and Central Banks. They also talk about Somalia's stable shilling and the lesson it holds for Europe. In the second half of the show Max talks to professor and economist, Constantin Gurdgiev about the new book of essays he's edited - What if Ireland defaults? They discuss the good cop, bad cop routine by the Troika in Ireland and what lessons can be drawn from the Russian default of the late 90's. Source

Gerald Celente: The Empire is Collapsing

"if things are not fixed and quick : "The cities are going to look like Dodge City. They're going to be uncontrollable. You're going to have gangs in control, motorcycle marauders. You're not going to have enough police or federalis, just like Mexico, to control the situation. New York City looks like Mexico City. If you have money or they think you're going to have money, you're going to be a target for a kidnapping.

Goldman Busted For "Asymmetric Service Initiative" Aka Leaking Inside Information To Whales

Submitted by Tyler Durden: 

Back in August 2009 we asked a very simple question: "Is Goldman's Selective Trading Disclosure A Legal Way For Preferred Clients To Front Run The Market?" Today, nearly three years later, the SEC answers our question. The answer - a resounding yes.

As a reminder, "Zero Hedge has long been discussing the impact of selective informational disclosure, be it in the context of trading or research asymmetries, which promote a two-tiered market, where privileged accounts of major broker dealers receive "tips" ahead of "everyone else." The quid's pro quo is that these "privileged" few end up executing the bulk of their trades with the broker-dealer, thus ramping up riskless agency revenues. In essence the clients' capital risk is mitigated, while the return to the "perpetrator" is augmented by collecting a disproportionate share of the bid/offer spread in the given security. Whether this tiering mechanism occurs via Flash orders, SLP provisioning, actionable IOIs, advance selective notice of a large flow order, a phone call, a limited Bloomberg blast, or an Instant Message, the ethics of the practice are undoubtedly shady, and potentially borderline criminal. But no one is the wiser, as both sender and receiver of information know to keep their mouth shut. Until today, when the WSJ blows one aspect of this practice out of the water, by focusing on Goldman's selective informational disclosure to preferred clients, and is likely to create much more headache for Goldman's PR department and its staunchest CNBC-based prosecutor-turned-supporter and soon to be Sellout author."

United 'Police' State purchased 750,000,000 rounds of deadly hollow point bullets - News Analysis

In the United States, DHS (the Department of Home and Security) has purchase 750,000,000 rounds of deadly bullets.

Banks ("the greatest ponzi scheme ever") versus the economy - Steve Keen with Paul Mason

"If we keep the parasitic banking sector alive, the economy dies," warns radical economist Steve Keen.

For BBC Radio 4's Analysis programme, Paul Mason interviews Professor Steve Keen about his diagnosis and proposed treatment for our current economic problems.

A follower of the late Hyman Minsky, Professor Keen has an unconventional proposal for dealing with the financial crisis: a "Modern Debt Jubilee" that reduces private debt without disadvantaging savers, but which drastically reduces the income and power of the financial sector.

Professor Keen has also argued that though it professes to praise capitalism, mainstream "Neoclassical" economics poses a greater danger to capitalism than any number of left-wing revolutionaries. "Its naive, money-less, equilibrium theory of capitalism provided the unwitting cover for the greatest Ponzi Schemes in human history," claims Professor Keen.  He argues that it's in the interests not just of "Occupy LSX" to overthrow this theory, but the business sector as well.