APOCALYPSE 2010: Signs of Bible Prophesies fulfilled in Current Events

The Illusory Economic Recovery

2012-01-31T14:29:00.000-05:00

Blogman's Notes:

A lie told often does not become a truth. So even though the MSM and political / corporate leaders keep parroting the 'Economic Recovery' line, the facts just keep getting in the way of their LIES. There can be no no Economic Recovery until people in America once again have well paying jobs that make it affordable for them to buy houses. I don't need a degree in Economics from Harvard or The London School of Economics to understand that an Economic Recovery cannot result from a housing market. Without high paying jobs, people cannot buy houses, so no matter how many times CNBC or Bloomberg or Obama tell us that the American Economy is recovering, that oft repeated lie will not make it true. So is it any surprise that we keep reading reports of housing prices continuing to drop? An Economic recovery has never resulted from people buying more houses, it has always been a result of people having more and better paying jobs so that they could buy more houses! A JOBLESS RECOVERY! LOL!!!
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REUTERS: Home prices continue to drop; consumers turn Gloomy (when exactly have American consumers been Exuberant these past 5 years?)

(Reuters) - Home prices fell more steeply than expected in November, and consumer confidence soured in January, highlighting the hurdles still facing the economic recovery. (What Economic Recovery?)

The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of single-family home prices in 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, a survey showed on Tuesday, a bigger drop than the 0.5 percent economists expected.

The decrease added on to the 0.7 percent decline seen in October from September.

Separately, a report from The Conference Board said an index of consumer attitudes fell to 61.1 in January from a revised 64.8 the month before, as Americans turned gloomy about the job market and their income prospects.

The data frustrated expectations for an increase after sharp gains in November and December.

"We are braced for a more bumpy picture over the next few months. A lot of expectations probably ran away or got a little too lofty coming into the end of the year," said Sean Incremona, economist at 4Cast Ltd in New York. (These 'Experts' keep telling us that it is only a matter of months before the Economic picture turns rosy again, how many months, it has been 48 months already? What are they talking about, 60 months, 600 months? AN EXPERT IS A PERSON WITH KNOWLEDGE OF EVERYTHING AND UNDERSTANDING OF NOTHING.)

"We are still in a very modest recovery, and we do see consumption slowing this quarter, and data like this supports that picture."

The economy accelerated at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years in the final months of 2011, but early 2012 could see weaker growth. A beleaguered housing market and lackluster consumer spending remain among the biggest challenges for the fragile recovery.

Separate data showed business activity in the U.S. Midwest grew more slowly than expected in January, hurt by a weaker labor market.

Wall Street erased gains following the manufacturing and consumer confidence data, leaving stocks trading flat at mid-morning.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, 17 out of 20 cities racked up monthly home price declines, and average national prices were around levels seen in mid-2003, according to S&P/Case-Shiller.

Prices in the 20 cities also steepened their year-over-year decline, falling 3.7 percent compared to a 3.4 percent decline in October.

Recent data has lead to optimism the housing sector is in the early stages of the healing process, with some economists looking for prices to find a bottom this year. Still, the recovery is expected to be a lengthy one as the market remains hampered by an excess amount of homes for sale in the midst of weak demand.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer slid to 60.2 from 62.2 last month, shy of expectations for 63. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the regional economy.

Highlighting the difficulty facing lawmakers who are aiming to rein in the deficit, congressional forecasters said the United States is on track for a fourth straight year with a $1 trillion-plus budget deficit as a sluggish economy holds down corporate tax revenue.

(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

The Road to World War III passes through Syria and Iran

2012-01-30T16:22:00.001-05:00

From Russia Today - RT.com The military build-up and economic sanctions against Iran are designed to unleash a global war from the Mediterranean to China with unpredictable consequences, warns Michel Chossudovsky, Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization.

RT on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RTnews
RT on Twitter: http://twitter.com/RT_com

GREEN LIGHT TO WW III - US NEEDS HUMAN FACE FOR 'IRAN INVASION'

Shadow of War: Dozens dead in Damascus as army regains control

UN warns of major Food Crisis and increasing worldwide poverty!

2012-01-30T15:32:00.000-05:00

World lacks enough food, fuel as population soars: U.N.

(Reuters) - The world is running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and to avoid sending up to 3 billion people into poverty, a U.N. report warned on Monday.

As the world's population looks set to grow to nearly 9 billion by 2040 from 7 billion now, and the number of middle-class consumers increases by 3 billion over the next 20 years, the demand for resources will rise exponentially.

Even by 2030, the world will need at least 50 percent more food, 45 percent more energy and 30 percent more water, according to U.N. estimates, at a time when a changing environment is creating new limits to supply.

And if the world fails to tackle these problems, it risks condemning up to 3 billion people into poverty, the report said.

Efforts towards sustainable development are neither fast enough nor deep enough, as well as suffering from a lack of political will, the United Nations' high-level panel on global sustainability said.

"The current global development model is unsustainable. To achieve sustainability, a transformation of the global economy is required," the report said.

"Tinkering on the margins will not do the job. The current global economic crisis ... offers an opportunity for significant reforms."

Although the number of people living in absolute poverty has been reduced to 27 percent of world population from 46 percent in 1990 and the global economy has grown 75 percent since 1992, improved lifestyles and changing consumer habits have put natural resources under increasing strain.

There are 20 million more undernourished people now than in 2000; 5.2 million hectares of forest are lost per year - an area the size of Costa Rica; 85 percent of all fish stocks are over-exploited or depleted; and carbon dioxide emissions have risen 38 percent between 1990 and 2009, which heightens the risk of sea level rise and more extreme weather.

The panel, which made 56 recommendations for sustainable development to be included in economic policy as quickly as possible, said a "new political economy" was needed.

"Let's use the upcoming Rio+20 summit to kick off this global transition towards a sustainable growth model for the 21st century that the world so badly needs," EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said in response to the report, referring to a U.N. sustainable development summit this June in Brazil.

ACTION

Among the panel's recommendations, it urged governments to agree on a set of sustainable development goals which would complement the eight Millennium Development Goals to 2015 and create a framework for action after 2015.

They should work with international organizations to create an "evergreen revolution," which would at least double productivity while reducing resource use and avoiding further biodiversity losses, the report said.

Water and marine ecosystems should be managed more efficiently and there should be universal access to affordable sustainable energy by 2030.

To make the economy more sustainable, carbon and natural resource pricing should be established through taxation, regulation or emissions trading schemes by 2020 and fossil fuel subsidies should also be phased out by that time.

National fiscal and credit systems should be reformed to provide long-term incentives for sustainable practices as well as disincentives for unsustainable ones.

Sovereign wealth and public pension funds, as well as development banks and export credit agencies should apply sustainable development criteria to their investment decisions, and governments or stock market watchdogs should revise regulations to encourage their use.

Governments and scientists should also strengthen the relationship between policy and science by regularly examining the science behind environmental thresholds or "tipping points" and the United Nations should consider naming a chief scientific adviser or board to advise the organization, the report said.

The report is available at www.un.org/gsp/

(Reporting by Nina Chestney)

Fitch Rating Agency Warns Of 'Cataclysmic' Euro Collapse

2012-01-30T15:23:00.000-05:00

Fitch Warns Of 'Cataclysmic' Euro Collapse

The European Central Bank should ramp up its buying of troubled euro zone debt to support Italy and prevent a "cataclysmic" collapse of the euro, David Riley, the head of sovereign ratings for Fitch, has warned.

Speaking to investors as part of a European roadshow, Mr Riley said a collapse of the euro would be disastrous for the global economy, and while it is not Fitch's baseline scenario, it could happen if Italy did not find a way out of its debt problems.

"The end of the euro would be cataclysmic. The euro is a reserve currency," Mr Riley said overnight. "What would that do in terms of financial and political stability?"

"It is hard to believe the euro will survive if Italy does not make it through," he said, adding that while many saw Italy as too politically and economically important to be allowed to fail, "one might also argue that it is too big to rescue."

The warning pushed the euro down towards a 16-month low versus the US dollar.

Mr Riley urged the European Central Bank to abandon its current reluctance to scaling up its purchases of troubled euro zone debt such as Italy's and drop its resistance to the bloc's bailout fund, the EFSF, borrowing directly from it.

"Can the euro be saved without more active engagement from the ECB? Quite frankly we think no," Mr Riley said, adding that the bank had plenty of scope to expand its balance sheet without unleashing a wave of inflation across the euro zone.

"Why not have the ECB come out and say 'We are going to cap interest rates', say 'We are not going to allow interest rates to exceed 7 per cent' or whatever level they see is the limit?.. Why not turn the EFSF into a bank so it can borrow from the ECB so it doesn't have to go to the market?"

Greece the joker in the pack

Fitch has warned that the economic outlook for the euro zone has darkened further in recent months and has said there is a high chance it will downgrade Italy, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia and Cyprus by one or two notches by the end of this month.

But unlike larger rival Standard & Poor's, which has all but Greece on a downgrade warning and said France risks a two notch cut, Fitch has said it does not expect to strip Paris of its triple-A status for this year at least.

Still, Mr Riley cautioned the euro zone's second-biggest economy was in a precarious position as the crisis rumbled on.

"France is the weakest AAA country in the euro zone," he said, adding it had the additional burden of being the main country alongside Germany underpinning the euro zone's bailout fund.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, he also said that Germany's robust finances meant it would require a serious escalation of the euro zone's crisis to bring its triple A rating under threat.

Greece, meanwhile, remained a major threat for the euro zone.

Last year's move to force investors to take losses on their Greek bonds had destroyed the pre-crisis assumption that no euro zone country would default, while the current debate on Greece potentially leaving the euro was forcing investors to fundamentally rethink their view of the single currency.

"Arguably Greece leaving the euro could be the beginning of the end for the euro," Mr Riley said. "Greece is still the joker in the pack. It still has the potential to plunge the euro zone into crisis."

But he reiterated that a euro split was not Fitch's current expectation. "We don't think Greece will leave the euro. The cost benefit analysis doesn't add up," Mr Riley said.

Source: www.blacklistednews.com/Fitch_warns_of_%27cataclysmic%27_euro_collapse/17398/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Civil war raging in Syria - Libya part II?

2012-01-29T23:05:00.003-05:00

Blogman's Notes: Though the Western media coverage of the important events occurring inside Syria is muted, it seems that there is a full fledged Civil War ongoing in that important nation; important as far as the delicate Geo-Political balance of that volatile region is concerned. The question is who exactly are the Syrian rebels? Who is financing and arming them to take on the Syrian Army, which is not small by any means. Just as the Libyan army of Gaddafi was neutralized by external powers, it seems that the same external forces are at play in Syria, bringing the country to the precipice of ruin, just as it happened in Libya! There are long standing prophecies regarding Syria and Damascus that have yet to be fulfilled; are we living in the days when these tragic events will transpire?

Isaiah 17:1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

Isaiah 17:2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Isaiah 17:3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria…

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Mariam Karouny

AMMAN/BEIRUT | Sun Jan 29, 2012 3:51pm EST

(Reuters) - Around 2,000 Syrian troops backed by tanks launched an assault to retake Damascus suburbs from rebels on Sunday, activists said, a day after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of worsening violence.

They said 19 civilians and rebel fighters were killed as the soldiers in armoured personnel carriers moved in at dawn, along with at least 50 tanks and other armoured vehicles.

The forces of President Bashar al-Assad pushed into the Ghouta area on the eastern edge of Damascus to take part in an offensive in the suburbs of Saqba, Hammouriya and Kfar Batna.

Tanks advanced into the centre of Saqba and Kfar Batna, the activists said, in a move to flush out fighters who had taken over districts less than eight km (five miles) from Assad's centre of power.

"It's urban war. There are bodies in the street," said one activist, speaking from Kfar Batna. Activists said 14 civilians and five insurgents from the rebel Free Syrian Army were killed there and in other suburbs.

Residents of central Damascus, which has remained relatively calm throughout Syria's 10-month crisis, reported seeing soldiers and police deployed around main squares to prevent unrest spreading into the heart of the capital.

The escalating bloodshed prompted the Arab League to suspend the work of its monitors on Saturday. Arab foreign ministers, who have urged Assad to step down and make way for a government of national unity, will discuss the crisis on February 5.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby left for New York where he will brief representatives of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to seek support for an Arab peace plan that calls on Assad to step aside after months of protests.

He will be joined by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, whose country heads the League's committee charged with overseeing Syria.

Speaking shortly before he left Cairo on Sunday, Elaraby said he hoped to overcome resistance from Beijing and Moscow over endorsing the Arab proposals. "There are contacts with China and Russia on this issue," he said.

A Syrian government official was quoted by state media as saying Damascus was surprised by the Arab League decision to suspend monitoring, which would "put pressure on (Security Council) deliberations with the aim of calling for foreign intervention and encouraging armed groups to increase violence."

Assad blames the violence on foreign-backed militants.

ARMY DEATHS

The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a total of 41 civilian deaths across Syria on Sunday, including 14 in Homs province and 12 in the city of Hama. Thirty-one soldiers and members of the security forces were also killed, most of them in two attacks by army deserters in the northern province of Idlib, it said.

State news agency SANA reported the military funerals of 28 soldiers and police on Saturday and another 23 on Sunday.

Faced with mass demonstrations against his rule, Assad launched a military crackdown to subdue the protests. Growing numbers of army deserters and gunmen have joined the demonstrators, increasing instability in the country of 23 million people at the heart of the Middle East.

The insurgency has been gradually approaching the capital, whose suburbs, a series of mainly conservative Sunni Muslim towns bordering old gardens and farmland, known as the al-Ghouta, are home to the bulk of Damascus's population.

One activist reported heavy shelling in the suburb of Saqba, and said the army was facing stiff opposition from rebels.

Another, who identified himself as Raid, said mosques had been turned into field hospitals and were appealing for blood supplies. "They cut off the electricity. Petrol stations are empty and the army is preventing people from leaving to get fuel for generators or heating," he said.

The Damascus suburbs have seen large demonstrations demanding the removal of Assad, a member of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that has dominated the mostly Sunni Muslim country for the last five decades.

TOWN BESIEGED

In Rankous, 30 km (20 miles) north of Damascus by the Lebanese border, Assad's forces have killed at least 33 people in recent days in an attack to dislodge army defectors and insurgents, activists and residents said on Sunday.

Rankous, a mountain town of 25,000 people, has been under tank fire since Wednesday, when several thousand troops laid siege to it, they said.

France, which has been leading calls for stronger international action on Syria, said the Arab League decision highlighted the need to act.

"France vigorously condemns the dramatic escalation of violence in Syria, which has led the Arab League to suspend its observers' mission in Syria," the Foreign Ministry said.

"Dozens of Syrian civilians have been killed in the past days by the savage repression taken by the Syrian regime ... Those responsible for these barbarous acts must answer to their crimes," it said.

The Arab League mission was sent in at the end of last year to observe Syria's implementation of the peace plan, which failed to end the fighting. Gulf states withdrew monitors last week, saying the team could not stop the violence.

The United Nations said in December more than 5,000 people had been killed in the protests and crackdown. Syria says more than 2,000 security force members have been killed by militants.

On Friday, the U.N. Security Council discussed a European-Arab draft resolution aimed at halting the bloodshed. Britain and France said they hoped to put it to a vote next week.

Russia joined China in vetoing a previous Western draft resolution in October, and has said it wants a Syrian-led political process, not "an Arab League-imposed outcome" or Libyan-style "regime change."

Another swine Flu Outbreak in Mexico - repeat of 2009

2012-01-29T18:06:00.000-05:00

By BNO News
MEXICO CITY (BNO NEWS) -- An ongoing swine flu outbreak in Mexico has left at least 29 people dead and nearly 1,500 others infected, health officials confirmed on Saturday. Thousands more are also ill as the country faces several types of flu this season.
Since the start of the ongoing winter season, at least 7,069 people have reported suffering from symptoms similar to those of swine flu. Lab tests are still underway and have so far confirmed 1,456 cases of the disease, which is officially known as A/H1N1.
According to Mexico's Health Ministry (SSA), at least twenty-nine people have died of swine flu so far this season. While no health emergency has been declared, officials expect the death toll will rise in the coming weeks as Mexico also faces A/H3N2 and B influenza.
The H1N1 influenza virus emerged in the Mexican state of Veracruz in April 2009 and quickly spread around the world, causing the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global flu pandemic in June 2009. At least 18,000 people have died of the disease since, although the actual number is believed to be far higher.
In August 2010, the WHO declared that the swine flu pandemic was over. "In the post-pandemic period, influenza disease activity will have returned to levels normally seen for seasonal influenza," the WHO said at the time. "It is expected that the pandemic virus will behave as a seasonal influenza A virus."
(Copyright 2012 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

Hasta La Vista Baby! / The Terminator goes to the Pentagon

2012-01-28T15:40:00.002-05:00

Blogman's Notes: The book of Revelation and other scriptures in the Bible gives detailed information about robots, drones, Super soldiers, Terminator type creatures (machines?) that truly appeared to be something out of Science Fiction movies not too long ago. But as has been happening more and more rapidly, life has begun to imitate art, or is it the other way around? So Terminators, Transformers and other Hollywood Sci-Fi creations will be part of our world in a big way, and some already are, though the slumbering majority has no idea of these technologies that will transform life on Earth in ways never seen before in recorded history. Spy drones such as depicted in the movie, 'They Live' and the TV series, 'Dark Angel' are not fiction, they are fact and have been for some time. So is it any surprise that the Super Soldiers of of Joel 2 and the un-human 'Locust' army of Revelation 9 will be Sci-Fi like beings, more machine than man yet not machines as we think of machines, they will be Organic machines like the Cylons of Battlestar Galactica. The world is in for a very rude awakening and the wizards at the Pentagon are busy bringing us this futuristic technology, except the future is already here! Get ready for the most surveilled society in the history of modern man; nothing Orwell could have visualized can compare to the real Star Wars technologies that we are becoming aware of today, not because they have been recently invented but beause they are now being openly deployed. Why would the Pentagon need human soldiers when they have far superior and perfectly obedient machines now available to do their bidding. So when Terminator like living machines falls out of the sky or rise up out of the Earth or even the seas, yours truly will not be the least bit surprised, I would be surprised if these 'things' did not make an appearance as prophesied so long ago. Does the fact that the appearance of Science-Fiction type creatures and Start Wars type events were written about in the Bible 2000 years ago or even earlier, and these things written are now coming to pass not prove the authenticity of Biblical prophecy?

The book of Joel written over 2500 years ago speaks of Super soldiers:

Joel 2:7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:

Joel 2:8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

How can mere men fall upon the sword and not be wounded? These are obviously corporeal beings but they are not ordinary men - Super Soldiers?

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Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Revelation 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Revelation 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Revelation 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Revelation 9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Revelation 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Revelation 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

These 'Locusts' of Revelation 9 are anything but human or any animal that we are aware of; beyond doubt these are some type of Terminator machines, though they are organic, this is what is in store for mankind: warfare waged upon them not by other men but by Terminators and Transformers!

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From Wired.com: Humans Lose, Robots Win in New Defense Budget

The big loser in the Pentagon’s new budget? Ordinary human beings.

About 80,000 Army soldiers and 20,000 Marines are getting downsized. Half of the Army’s conventional combat presence in Europe is packing up and ending its post-Cold War staycation. Replacing them, according to the $613 billion budget previewed by the Pentagon on Thursday: unconventional special-operations forces; new bombers; new spy tools; new missiles for subs; and a veritable Cylon army of drones.

This is the first of the Pentagon’s new, smaller “austerity” budgets: it’s asking Congress for $525 billion (plus $88.4 billion for the Afghanistan war), compared to a $553 billion request (plus $117 billion in war cash) last year. Only the Pentagon is emphasizing (.pdf) what the military is keeping, not what it’s cutting. That’s because congressional Republicans don’t like swallowing these cuts — and really don’t want to acquiesce to a currently-scheduled law that could tack on another $600 billion-plus to the already-scheduled, decade-long $487 billion in cuts. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is preempting the objections, promising a force that’s “smaller and leaner, but agile, flexible, ready and technologically advanced.”

Read full report:

Waging war on Iran through oil barrels and gun barrels

2012-01-27T13:30:00.001-05:00

EU Iran Oil Embargo Sanctions 'Unprecedented'

BRUSSELS — The European Union and Iran raised the stakes Monday in their test of wills over the Islamic republic's nuclear program, with the bloc banning the purchase of Iranian oil and Iran threatening to retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude is transported.

The escalating confrontation is fraught with risks – of rising energy prices, global financial instability, and potential military activity to keep the strait open.

The EU's 27 foreign ministers, meeting Monday in Brussels, imposed an oil embargo against Iran and froze the assets of its central bank, ramping up sanctions designed to pressure Iranian officials into resuming talks on the country's nuclear program.

EU officials say the tighter sanctions are part of a carrot-and-stick approach, an effort to increase pressure while at the same time emphasizing their willingness to talk.

In Washington, Department of State Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Department of the Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner welcomed the EU decision, calling it "another strong step in the international effort to dramatically increase the pressure on Iran." In their joint statement, they said the EU sanctions, combined with earlier ones imposed by the U.S. and the international community, `will sharpen the choice for Iran's leaders and increase their cost of defiance of basic international obligations."

But the initial response out of Tehran, the Iranian capital, was harsh.

Ramin Mehmanparast, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, called the economic sanctions "illogical and unfair" saying: "It is only understandable in the framework of propaganda and psychological war."

Mehmanparast was quoted by website of state broadcasting company as saying, "Pressure and sanctions against a nation that has a strong logic and reason for its policy is a failed method."

He said due to the world's long-term need for energy, "It is not possible to impose sanctions on Iran," which has huge resources of oil and gas.

And two Iranian lawmakers threatened that their country would close the strait in retaliation for the EU embargo.

Lawmaker Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, deputy head of Iran's influential committee on national security, said Monday the strait "would definitely be closed if the sale of Iranian oil is violated in any way."

The strait – just 34 miles (54 kilometers) wide at its narrowest point – runs alongside Iran and is the only way to get from the Persian Gulf to the open sea. Tensions over the potential impact its closure would have on global oil supplies and the price of crude have weighed heavily on consumers and traders. The U.S. and Britain both have warned Iran not to disrupt the world's oil supply.

After news of the EU move, benchmark crude for March delivery rose 90 cents on the day to $99.23 a barrel in early morning European time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude was down 35 cents at $109.51 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London.

Many analysts doubt that Iran would maintain a blockade for long, but any supply shortages would cause world oil supplies to tighten temporarily. But Kowsari said that, in case of the strait's closure, the U.S. and its allies would not be able to reopen the route, and warned America not to attempt any "military adventurism."

An American aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln entered the Gulf on Sunday without incident to conduct scheduled maritime security operations, and U.S. warships frequently operate in the Gulf. But when the carrier USS John Stennis departed the Gulf in late December, Iranian officials warned the U.S. not to return. The British Ministry of Defense said British and French warships joined the U.S. carrier group transiting through the Strait of Hormuz "to underline the unwavering international commitment to maintaining rights of passage under international law."

Russia's Foreign Ministry said the sanctions are a severe mistake likely to worsen tensions. "It's apparent that in this case there is open pressure and diktat, aimed at 'punishing' Iran for uncooperative behavior. This is a deeply mistaken policy, as we have told our European partners more than once," the ministry said in a statement. "Under pressure of this sort, Iran will not make any concessions or any corrections to its policies," it said.

The EU sanctions include an include an immediate embargo on new contracts for crude oil and petroleum products. Existing contracts with Iran will be allowed to run until July.

Last month, the U.S. enacted new sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and its ability to sell petroleum abroad, but it has delayed implementing the sanctions for at least six months, worried about sending the price of oil higher at a time when the global economy is struggling.

Other countries are steering clear of such measures altogether. China also does not support an embargo, and Japan's finance minister, Jun Azumi, has expressed concern about the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions on Iran – not to mention their potential impact on Japanese banks.

Some 80 percent of Iran's foreign revenue comes from oil exports and any sanctions that affect its ability to export oil would hit its economy hard. With about 4 million barrels per day, Iran is the second largest producer in OPEC.

"It means that we will paralyze, bit by bit, Iran's economic activity and keep the country from using a major part of its resources," said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe. "You can be skeptical, but it is better than making war."

At the heart of the dispute is international unease about Iran's nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but the United States and other nations suspect it is trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran is now under several rounds of U.N. sanctions for not being more forthcoming about its nuclear program.

Late Monday, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a joint statement urging Iran to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities.

"Our message is clear," the statement said. "We have no quarrel with the Iranian people. But the Iranian leadership has failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program. We will not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon."

Iran's denials of military intent have utterly failed to convince EU officials.

"The recent start of operations of enrichment of uranium to a level of up to 20 percent in the deeply buried underground facility in Fordo near Qom further aggravates concerns about the possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," the foreign ministers said in a statement Monday.

That accelerated enrichment is in violation of six U.N. Security Council resolutions and 11 resolutions by the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, "and contributes to rising tensions in the region," the statement said.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the embargo part of "an unprecedented set of sanctions."

"I think this shows the resolve of the European Union on this issue," Hague said.

The EU also decided to freeze the assets of the Iranian central bank. Together, the two measures are intended not only to pressure Iran to agree to talks but also to choke off funding for its nuclear activities.

Before Monday's decision, negotiators worked hard to try to ensure that the embargo would punish only Iran – and not EU member Greece, which is in dire financial trouble and relies heavily on low-priced Iranian oil.

The foreign ministers agreed to a review of the effects of the sanctions, to be completed by May 1. And they agreed in principle to make up the costs Greece incurs as a result of the embargo.

___

Raf Casert in Brussels, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Matthew Pennington in Washington, and Gregory Katz in London contributed to this report.

The US dollar the world's Reserve Currency No More?

2012-01-27T00:24:00.001-05:00

From Zerohedge.com

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

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?

India, the world's fourth-largest oil consumer, relies on Iran for about 12 percent of its imports or 350,000-400,000 barrels per day (bpd) and is Tehran's second-biggest oil client after China. But Washington has snapped tighter financial sanctions on Iran and wants Asia, Tehran's biggest oil market, to cut imports in a bid to pressure the Islamic nation to rein in its nuclear ambitions, which it suspects are aimed at making weapons.

And, oh yes, we forgot Turkey -the (lately very pissed off) gateway to Europe.

Turkey and Iran said on Thursday they want to increase financial transfers and that work is underway to strengthen banking ties.

When the dollar fails, and currency are devalued, barter begins:

India Trade Secretary Rahul Khullar said this week that the Indian delegation to Iran would work around the U.S. sanctions to protect oil supplies and promote Indian exports.

The government source said Iran has agreed to step up imports from India which added up to some $2.7 billion in 2010/11 and including oilmeal, rice and tea.

"This will cushion them (Iran) to some extent from exchange rate volatility," the source said.

Ironically, and as has been stated here many times before, by enacting the proposed sanctions and embargo, the US, but mostly Europe is doing nothing but shooting itself in the foot, as it opens up a brand new pathway of not only outright defiance, and thus political brownie points domestically for the likes of China, of the US, but it will allow the "Asian dollar exclusion zone" to buy even more crude, at cheaper prices, while in the process it is forced to build closer monetary relations with its neighboring countries, relations that rely less and less on the world's increasingly less relevant reserve currency.

Asian support for U.S. sanctions is vital since the region buys more than half of Iran's daily crude exports. The European Union has agreed in principle to halting Iranian crude imports and could finalise the ban on Jan. 23.

China, Iran's biggest crude customer, has rejected the U.S. sanctions as overstepping the mark and defended its extensive imports from the second-biggest oil producer in OPEC.

Necessity may be the mother of all dollar-exclusive invention, but Obama is surely the father of necessity.

The Rich Get Richer while the rest get a smaller and smaller share of the pie

2012-01-26T08:22:00.001-05:00

Blogman's Notes: It is an undeniable fact that the wealthiest 1% or 2% of the world's population have become 'Filthy Rich' in the last thirty years. Most people consider this to be some sort of historical aberration whereas it has been the historical 'Norm'. Through most of modern man's history, there have been only two classes of people, the wealthy and the poor, the lords and the peasants, the rulers and the serfs. The ruling class, throughout history, has for the most part consisted of megalomaniacal self-serving, self-loving, greedy and ruthless tyrants. We equate tyrants with the Caesars of Rome or Genghis Khan or a Stalin or a Hitler but in fact, most rulers have been tyrants, just not quite as evil as the aforementioned members of this group. Tyranny runs in their blood, in their soul, in their spirit, in the very core of their being. They derive their power from Satan, who is the god of this world who is the ultimate Tyrant, and he gives wealth and power to those who worship him by shedding blood and doing such evil deeds that most of us cannot even imagine. So it is no surprise that the ruling classes always revert to mean, that is, they always finds ways to enrich themselves and to impoverish those below them. This is what is being done by design in America, in which was created one of the few egalitarian societies that has ever existed throughout history. The American Middle became an example for the whole world, and the idea of equal opportunity brought prosperity to a vast number of people that would otherwise have remained serfs, not just in America but in Europe and the rest of the world. However this historical aberration was not something that the ancient ruling class, based mostly in Europe could tolerate. So they have worked tirelessly for over 200 years to destroy the American Middle class, which in turn will destroy the Global Middle Class and things will have reverted back to the historical norm of only two classes, the Rulers and the Serfs. So we should not be surprised by reports such as the one cited below that more and more of the American Middle Class is falling into poverty; it is not accidental, it is being done by design.

Luke 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

Luke 4:6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

Luke 4:7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Throughout history the elite and ruling classes have indulged in Satanic activities; this is a documented fact that cannot be denied. Yet people continue deny that God exists or Satan exists. But those study who history and the evidence of history are not at all surprised that the rulers of this world are Satanists for they derive their power from Satan, who is the god of this world; who requires that all who desire power in this world must worship him as written in the above scriptures. Like their father, the devil, the human rulers of this world are nothing less than devils in bodies of flesh and blood. Their talks and their deeds are diametrically opposed, they pretend to be philanthropists (lovers of Mankind) but in reality they are blood-sucking vampires for their god like Dracula demands blood in payment for the wealth and power that he gives to them in this world. This is why war and poverty and hunger and destitution and misery will not end in this world no matter how many promises of sharing the wealth are made by the wealthy, their nature is such that they would take the last piece of bread from a starving child even when they themselves have warehouses full of food.

So it is no surprise that the Middle Class has become an endangered species. However I blame not the elite or the ruling class, and not even Satan, for it is the apathy of the Middle Class that has been so busy chasing worthless material goods that they have themselves joined the elite in doing homage to the god of greed, who is Satan. Since Satan devours his own children like Saturn, it is no surprise that the Middle Class is being devoured at a fantastic rate, and will soon become extinct like the Dodo bird.

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The One Percent is better off than ever

The wallets of the one percent are getting fatter as the inequality gap between the rich and the poor in America widens more and more.
According to the latest data from the Congressional Budget Office, the richest one percent of Americans saw their income, adjusted for inflation, balloon up by 275 percent between in 1979 and 2007. Meanwhile, however, the bottom 20 percent of the United States saw their income increase by only a staggering 18 percent.

While the inequality between classes is obviously most evident between the two extremes, across the board a skewed distribution of wealth is evident in America. According to the report, the top 20 percent of earners constituted for more of the national income than the entire rest of the population—all 80 percent — put together.

Excluding the top and bottom of the stack, the three-fifths of Americans in the middle of the income scale saw a growth in income over the nearly three decade span by 40 percent, just a fraction of the surge that the wealthiest residents saw.

In their report, the CBO themselves seem baffled by in unequal surge in wealth among classes, noting “The precise reasons for the rapid growth in income at the top are not well understood.” The report continues to reveal that“Researchers have offered several potential rationales, including technical innovations that have changed the labor market for superstars (such as actors, athletes and musicians), changes in the governance and structure of executive compensation, increases in firms’ size and complexity, and the increasing scale of financial-sector activities.”

Even if the meaning behind the inequality isn’t obvious, many can agree that it isn’t exactly a surprise.

"This report confirms what the American people already know," Representative Sander Levin tells Reuters."The rules have been changed by the unfair tax policies of the last decade and our tax code is doing less to level the playing field than it was in the past."

Economist John Bowler adds to ABC News that technological advances in the 30 year span have created opportunities for the highly-skilled, meanwhile those without an education — those that cannot afford an education — are forced into routine tasks.

"They don't feel any ability to move up. They feel stuck and don't feel there's a lottery ticket to take them to a higher class," former George W Bush strategist Matthew Dowd adds to ABC about Middle America’s frustrations. "They watch Wall Street, government bailouts and feel like the rich play by different rules," he says. "They think, 'Here I am, trying to make payments on my house with my own small business, trying to make ends meet, but if I need help, no one will help me.'"

As that frustration mounts, it is becoming more and more obvious in the polls. Statistics from a CBS News / New York Times survey that RT reported on earlier today revealed that 46 of Americans reflect their own views and concerns. Demonstrators have been gathering for over a month now to protest the very inequality, among other things, made evident in the CBO’s latest report.

George Soros predicts riots, police state and class war for America

2012-01-25T08:06:00.002-05:00

Blogman's Notes: Class warfare in America is a foregone conclusion as it descends into Economic oblivion brought on by the corrupt political - corporate leadership whose policies have transformed America from a Republic to a Fascist State, or she is in the process of being transformed into such a State. As the HAVES have more and more, and the HAVE-LESS become HAVE-NOTS, there is no possible way a second American revolution will not be be the result. The revolutionaries this time will be the poor and former Middle Classes but I doubt that they will be successful in their revolution. The Middle Classes had their chance to be vigilant and guard their freedom by holding their political and corporate leaders responsible for their actions. However they have wholly abrogated this responsibility as they have gorged on mindless Entertainment and Sports while shunning all civic and social responsibilities. The Middle Classes of America, and of the world have been asleep at the wheel; by the time they wake up, it will be too late.

The United States of America may not be united for much longer; it will shock most people at the apocalyptic transformation that is in store for the US of A.
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From Russia Today:

George Soros predicts riots, police state and class war for America

George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management (AFP Photo / Brendan SMIALOWSKI)

TAGS: EU, Crisis, USA, Employment, Finance

Billionaire investor George Soros has a new prediction for America. While it might be as dire as it gets for the financial wiz, this bet concerns more than just the value of the buck. According to Soros, there's about to be an all-out class war.

Soros, 81, previously bet against the British pound in the early 90s and made $1 billion off its collapse. In the years since, he’s remained active in investing, but also in advocacy. He’s helped keep Wikipedia afloat thanks to impressive contributions and through donations to the Tides Center, has indirectly funded Adbusters, the Canadian anti-capitalist magazine that put Occupy Wall Street on the map. Speaking to Newsweek recently, Soros neglected to acknowledge his past successes, but instead offered a word of warning: a period of “evil” is coming to the western world.

“I am not here to cheer you up. The situation is about as serious and difficult as I’ve experienced in my career,” Soros tells Newsweek. “We are facing an extremely difficult time, comparable in many ways to the 1930s, the Great Depression. We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world, which threatens to put us in a decade of more stagnation, or worse. The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment. The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.”

Soros goes on to compare the current state of the western world with what the Soviet Union was facing as communism crumbled. Although he would think that history would have taught the globe a thing or two about noticing trends, Soros says that, despite past events providing a perfect example of what is to come, the end of an empire seems imminent.

“The collapse of the Soviet system was a pretty extraordinary event, and we are currently experiencing something similar in the developed world, without fully realizing what’s happening,” adds Soros.

Soros goes on to say that as the crisis in the Eurozone only worsens, the American financial system will continue to be hit hard. On the way to a full-blown collapse, he cautions, Americans should expect society to alter accordingly. Riots will hit the streets, says Soros, and as a result, “It will be an excuse for cracking down and using strong-arm tactics to maintain law and order, which, carried to an extreme, could bring about a repressive political system, a society where individual liberty is much more constrained, which would be a break with the tradition of the United States.”

The recent adoption of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 and the proposed Enemy Expatriation Act, if approved, have already very well paved the way for such a society. Under the NDAA, the US government is allowed to indefinitely detain and torture American citizens suspected of terror crimes without ever bringing them to trial. Should lawmakers Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Charles Dent (R-PA) get their Enemy Expatriation Act through Congress, the US will also be able to simply revoke citizenship without trial, essentially removing constitutional rights from anyone deemed a threat.

Others have cautioned that, as inequality becomes more rampant in America, the country’s citizens are becoming increasingly agitated with those on the other side of the extreme. In a recent survey released by the Pew Research Center, 66 percent of the adults studied believe that either “very strong” or “strong” conflicts exist between America’s elite and the impoverished, a statistic that has skyrocketed in recent years. Between 2009 and 20011, the proportion of those that sense conflicts exist as such between the class groups grew by 19 percentage points. While less than half of Americans fearing a fight brewing at the dawn of the Obama administration, today two-out-of-three Americans feel that there is a strong conflict between both extremes of society.

Addressing the issue of inequality, Soros tells Newsweek that the main issue that will make or break a reelection for US President Barack Obama will be whether or not the rich end up being taxed more. Among the current frontrunners in the Republic Party’s race for the GOP nomination, wealth and taxes have been of the biggest concern of party rivals. The top candidates have made millions off of investments, and at a time of immense inequality, represent what 99 percent of Americans don’t. Taxing the rich to a bigger degree might finally bring a chance, and Soros says, “It shouldn’t be a difficult argument for Obama to make.”

Soros adds that if the US manages to make it through the troubled times to come, it come allow the nation to enter another golden era. “In the crisis period, the impossible becomes possible. The European Union could regain its luster. I’m hopeful that the United States, as a political entity, will pass a very severe test and actually strengthen the institution,”he tells Newsweek.

With almost seven percent of Americans living below half of the poverty line, four unemployed Americans for each job, ashrinking middle class and an increasingly overzealous police state, it could very well be a tough road to get there, though.

Age of Anarchy: From Syria to Mexico, nations facing growing violence

2012-01-24T08:20:00.001-05:00

Blogman's Notes: Many people take issue when I quote the Bible in my articles or videos but the fact of the matter is that it in only fools that can believe that there is no Higher Power in this infinite Universe, and that man, who cannot so much as control his own breath, is in control of his own destiny! I believe Biblical prophecy because I believe in the Omnipotent God from whom all prophecy originates, and because I have seen enough evidence in history of Biblical prophecies having being fulfilled exactly as prophesied. So if it was prophesied that Christ would come the first time, and He did, that He would fulfill all the things that were written so very long ago, and He did, that He would be killed but death would not be able to hold Him, that He would rise from the dead, and He did, so it is no stretch for me to believe that He will come the second time as He promised, and that the signs that would herald His Second Coming would be unmistakable, then I would be the fool if I did not look for those signs. One of the major signs of course is the disappearance of peace from the whole Earth and the rise of Anarchy on a Global scale. As the following article from the excellent website ExtinctionProtocol.com proves, Anarchy is a indeed rapidly growing on a Global level, and as bigger 'Natural' disasters overtake the world, and as severe food shortages develop, and as major wars break out, a state of ANARCHY will indeed reign that will scorch the planet from pole to pole. From the ashes of the ruins of the present world will arise the Antichrist that will promise peace and prosperity - now where have we heard that before?

Revelation 6:4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

From: http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/

Age of Anarchy: From Syria to Mexico, nations facing growing violence and tensions that could tear them apart

Posted on January 24, 2012

January 24, 2012 – RUSSIA – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, warning ethnic tensions could tear Russia apart, said on Monday he would toughen migration rules and keep a tight rein on Russia’s regions to prevent it following the Soviet Union into oblivion. In a newspaper article and an address in southern Russia, Putin used the danger of ethnic discord to call for limits on electoral reforms. “With the collapse of the country (the Soviet Union), we were on the edge — and in some regions over the edge — of civil war,” Putin wrote in Nezavisimaya Gazeta. “With great effort, with great sacrifice we were able to douse these fires. But that doesn’t mean that the problem is gone,” he wrote in the second of a series of articles promoting his leadership goals ahead of a March 4 presidential election. Putin, in power since 2000 and favored to win a six-year presidential term in March, described a Soviet-style vision of a country in which the rights of ethnic minorities would be respected but Russian language and culture would dominate. “The Russian people, the Russian culture is the glue holding together the unique fabric of this civilization,” Putin wrote. Putin is steering a fine line between Orthodox Christian ethnic Russians, some of whom fear labor migration and higher birth rates among Russia’s Muslims, and ethnic tensions which could challenge his vision of a centralized, united, Russia. Thousands of nationalists have protested in Moscow over migration and state subsidies to the mostly Muslim North Caucasus, where an Islamist insurgency rooted in the Chechen wars persists. Comparing nationalism to a disease, Putin took aim at ethnic Russian nationalists, who have been among the 59-year-old prime minister’s most vociferous critics. -Reuters

Nigeria unraveling in violence: Fresh attacks blamed on Islamist separatists in northern Nigeria on Sunday killed nine people and damaged two churches as doctors warned as the death toll from earlier multiple bombs could rise to 250. Explosions rocked two churches in Bauchi state before dawn, destroying one and causing extensive damage to another, residents said. Both churches were empty at the time and there were no reports of casualties. In a separate attack in Bauchi state, which has been the scene of several sectarian attacks by Islamists in recent weeks, 11 people were killed and 12 injured during a raid by unknown gunmen. Bukata Zhyadi, traditional elder of a Christian ethnic group, said the victims had been found at dawn on Sunday in the town of Tafawa Balewa. “We are going around the town checking [for more],” he said. Twelve people were wounded, he said, adding that witnesses blamed the attack on a Muslim ethnic group. -Telegraph

Drug violence Mexico: Mexican officials said recently almost 13,000 people died in drug violence in the first nine months of 2011, pushing the toll since the start of a five-year military crackdown above 47,000. Drug-related killings in 2011 were up 11% compared with the same period in 2010, the federal attorney general’s office said, noting it was a slower rise than in previous years. Drug-related killings rose 70 percent in 2009-2010, 63% in 2008-9 and 110% in 2007-8, a statement said. The Attorney General’s Office said 12,903 people were killed between January and September 2011, including 1,206 in the violent border city of Ciudad Juarez and almost 800 in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco. –National Post

Tensions turning Iraq into police state: Violence and political instability have escalated across Iraq since the withdrawal of American forces, as political and sectarian factions have fought for power and influence in a struggle that, within weeks, has threatened to undo the stability that allowed the pullout in the first place. The most recent turbulence came over the weekend when a Shiite governor threatened to blockade an important commercial arterial road from Baghdad to the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north if Kurdish officials did not hand over Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi to government authorities. The Shiite-led national government has accused Mr. Hashimi, a Sunni, of running a sectarian death squad. On Sunday, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch said the Americans had left behind a “budding police state,” with the country’s Shiite leadership increasingly ruling by force and fear. Insurgent attacks have surged across the country, and as security forces loyal to the Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a Shiite, have pressed a campaign against Sunni politicians, arresting several in the past week. –NY Times

Economic war with Iran has begun - how long before military war?

2012-01-23T14:05:00.003-05:00

Blogman's Notes: If man was not an evil warmongering creature and peace reigned in man's heart, mankind would always be able to resolve their differences peaceably. So although many reasons will be provided for a war with Iran and Syria, such as their supposed Nuclear Weapons program, or lack of democracy in Syria, the fact of the matter is that man needs no reasons for war only some high sounding excuses. So whether war with Iran or Syria or Pakistan or North Korea or any number of nations comes this week or next year or next decade matters not. Millions will die and billions will be left even more destitute than they already are; so we need not look for real reasons why there may be a war soon with Iran, for there are no real reasons for such a conflagration, just the same old excuses!

REUTERS: EU bans Iranian oil, Tehran responds with threats

By Justyna Pawlak and Hossein Jaseb

BRUSSELS/TEHRAN | Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:25pm EST

(Reuters) - The European Union banned imports of oil from Iran on Monday and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at deflecting Tehran's nuclear development program.

In Iran, one politician responded by renewing a threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, an oil export route vital to the global economy, and another said Tehran should cut off crude shipments to the EU immediately.

That might hurt Greece, Italy and other ailing economies which depend heavily on Iranian oil and, as a result, won as part of the EU agreement a grace period until July 1 before the embargo takes full effect. Angry words on either side helped nudge benchmark Brent oil futures above $110 a barrel on Monday.

A day after a U.S. aircraft carrier, accompanied by a flotilla that included French and British warships, made a symbolically loaded voyage into the Gulf in defiance of Iranian hostility, the widely expected EU sanctions move is likely to set off yet more bellicose rhetoric in an already tense region.

Some analysts say Iran, which denies accusations that it is seeking nuclear weapons, could be in a position to make them next year. So, with Israel warning it could use force to prevent that happening, the row over Tehran's plans is an increasingly pressing challenge for world leaders, not least U.S. President Barack Obama as he campaigns for re-election in November.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has voiced skepticism about the chances of Iran being persuaded by non-military tactics, called the EU sanctions a "step in the right direction" but said Iran was still developing atomic weapons.

Israel, assumed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, views the Iranian nuclear program as a threat to its survival.

Meeting in Brussels, foreign ministers from the 27-state EU, which as a bloc is Iran's second biggest customer for crude after China, agreed to an immediate ban on all new contracts to import, purchase or transport Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. However, EU countries with existing contracts to buy oil and petroleum products can honor them up to July 1.

EU officials said they also agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank and ban trade in gold and other precious metals with the bank and state bodies.

Along with U.S. sanctions imposed by Obama on December 31, the Western powers hope that choking exports and hence revenue can force Iran's leaders to agree to curbs on a nuclear program the West says is intended to yield weapons.

EU SEEKS TALKS

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed plans for a visit next week by senior inspectors to try and clear up suspicions raised about the purpose of Iran's nuclear activities. Tehran is banned by international treaty from developing nuclear weaponry.

"The Agency team is going to Iran in a constructive spirit, and we trust that Iran will work with us in that same spirit," IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said in a statement announcing the December 29-31 visit. "The overall objective of the IAEA is to resolve all outstanding substantive issues."

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said of the new sanctions: "I want the pressure of these sanctions to result in negotiations ... I want to see Iran come back to the table and either pick up all the ideas that we left on the table ... last year ... or to come forward with its own ideas."

Iran has said lately that it is willing to hold talks with Western powers, though there have been mixed signals on whether conditions imposed by either side make new negotiations likely.

The Islamic Republic insists it is enriching uranium only for electricity and other civilian uses.

It has powerful defenders against the Western action in the form of Russia and China, which argue that the new sanctions are unnecessary, and can also probably count on China and other Asian countries to go on buying much of its oil, despite U.S. and European efforts to dissuade them.

Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, classifying the EU embargo among "aggravating factors," said Moscow believed there was a good chance that talks between the six global powers and Iran could resume soon and that Russia would try to steer both Iran and the West away from further confrontation.

A member of Iran's influential Assembly of Experts, former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, said Tehran should respond to the delayed-action EU sanctions by stopping sales to the bloc immediately, denying the Europeans time to arrange alternative supplies and damaging their economies with higher oil prices.

"The best way is to stop exporting oil ourselves before the end of this six months and before the implementation of the plan," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted him as saying.

He reiterated that Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel between the Gulf and open sea through which a third of all oil tanker traffic passes to importers around the world.

Washington has said it will not tolerate any closure, a position underlined by Sunday's passage through the strait of a U.S. flotilla around the carrier Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by two European frigates, Britain's Argyll and France's La Motte-Picquet.

HORMUZ THREAT

While Iran's Revolutionary Guards, possibly aware of the warships' impending arrival, had backed away on Saturday from a threat made by a vice president last month to prevent "even one drop of oil" passing through the strait if the West embargoed Iran's crude, a senior member of parliament said on Monday that the closure remained an option if exports were disrupted.

"If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed," Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of parliament's foreign affairs and national security committee, told Fars.

Going further, he referred to previous U.S. warnings that it would use force to break any Iranian blockade of the channel and threatened wider violence against Washington's global interests.

"If America seeks adventures after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will make the world unsafe for Americans in the shortest possible time," Kossari said.

"It is in America's interests to accept a powerful Iran and not seek military adventures."

While the Western powers were at pains to describe their naval movement through the strait as routine, a view echoed by the Revolutionary Guards, they also stressed its symbolism.

"On this occasion HMS Argyll and a French vessel joined a U.S. carrier group transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, to underline the unwavering international commitment to maintaining rights of passage under international law," Britain's defense ministry said in a statement.

In Paris, spokesman Thierry Burkhard said: "It's a sign to Iran if they want to consider it like that."

Iran, the world's No. 5 oil exporter and also rich in natural gas, says it is refining uranium and developing other nuclear technologies to meet rising energy needs. But the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency reported in November that it had evidence suggesting Iran had worked on designing an atomic bomb.

The unprecedented effort to take Iran's 2.6 million barrels of oil per day off international markets has kept global prices high, pushed down Iran's rial currency and caused a surge in the cost of basic goods for Iranians. [nL5E8CN0M9]

(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy and Mitra Amiri in Tehran, David Brunnstrom in Brussels,Adrian Croft in London, John Irish in Paris, Alexei Anishchuk in Sochi, Ari Rabinovitch and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

US Rebounds? Prosperity Around the Corner? - Great article on Daily Bell

2012-01-23T13:53:00.000-05:00

US Rebounds? Prosperity Around the Corner?

Monday, January 23, 2012 – by Staff Report

America overcomes the debt crisis as Britain sinks deeper into the swamp ... Britain has sunk deeper into debt. Three years after bubble burst, the UK has barely begun to tackle the crushing burden left by Gordon Brown. The contrast with the United States is frankly shocking ... The latest report on "Debt and Deleveraging" by the McKinsey Global Institute shows that total public and private debt in the UK is still hovering at an all-time high. It has risen from 487pc to 507pc of GDP since the crisis began ... The ordeal of belt-tightening will be grim, dragging out for a generation if Japan is any guide. The Japanese at least began their post-bubble debacle as the world's top creditor nation with a trade super-surplus and a savings rate of 17pc. Britain has no such buffers. It is a very different picture in the US where light is emerging at the end of the tunnel. American banks, firms, and households have been chipping away at their debts, more than offsetting Washington's double-digit deficits. The total burden has dropped to 279pc, down from 295pc at the peak of the boom. Households have purged roughly a third of the excess, roughly tracking the historic pattern of post-bubble deleveraging. – UK Telegraph
Dominant Social Theme: The US is really doing well. It only appeared to be doing badly. And President Barack Obama is doing better and better ...
Free-Market Analysis: Every now and then our favorite mainstream journo, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, runs off the tracks. Evans-Pritchard makes the case (see excerpt above) that Britain is not recovering from the 2008 financial crisis but that the US is on the way up.
Say what? As a publication that covers dominant social themes of the power elite – the fear-based promotions that frighten middle classes into giving up power and wealth to globalist constructions – we would point to this sort of article as a good example of power elite rhetoric.

We are not accusing Evans-Pritchard of purposefully writing an article that buttresses Anglosphere power-elite themes. In fact, he's an acute observer of the economic scene and has written a steady stream of great articles about the increasingly hopeless position of the euro and even the European Union itself. But in this case, whether or not he is aware of the larger promotional picture, he certainly has written an article that fits into a trend we are observing.
Taken at its broadest brush, we tend to believe the powers-that-be want US President Barack Obama re-elected. This is because evidently and obviousy he is "their" man. They've put a lot of time and energy into making him seem presidential in our view. They've awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize (!); they've ensured massive, positive coverage of him and his positions in the West's bought-and-paid-for mainstream press. Something funny is going on with this fellow. Once he's re-elected, if he is, we may soon know more ...
And they do seem to be moving on the re-election front. We became aware of it at least three months ago when more and more reports of the US "recovery" began to be issued. These reports featured a dropping jobless rate along with increased economic activity.
Now Evans-Pritchard has discovered a McKinsey Global Institute report that apparently contrasts the UK unfavorably with the US. Evans-Pritchard seems suddenly convinced that the US is handling its "recovery" a lot better than the UK. Here's some more:
Tim Congdon from International Monetary Research said US banks were never as damaged as claimed and now have the highest capital ratios in over thirty years. The rate of loan write-offs has dropped from 3.2pc to 1.9pc, a faster improvement than after the financial crisis of the early 1990s.
In hindsight, the US property boom was was remarkable modest compared to what happened in Spain, or what is happening now in China now where the house price to income ratio in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen is near 18. America's ratio peaked at 5.1 and is already back to its modern era average of three.
Personally, I am coming to the conclusion that the US crisis in 2008-2009 was largely a case of botched monetary policy and could easily have been avoided. The growth of M3 money -- which the Fed stopped tracking thanks to a young Ben Bernanke -- was allowed to balloon in the bubble, then collapse in 2008.
Europe's crisis is more intractable, with far greater levels of bank leverage and vast intra-EMU trade imbalances. But botched monetary policy is a big part of the story there too. The ECB let M3 growth overheat, then let it crash in 2008, then crash again late last year, dooming Club Med to Sisyphean torture and certain asphyxiation.
Where to start? The capital ratios that Evans-Pritchard speaks of are electronic digits and have no applicability to the traditional backing of "honest money" – precious metals. If one is comforted by the idea that banks have accumulated electronic fiat digits under force of law, then one will think US banks have made "progress." But one could make the opposite argument as well.
He claims the US property boom was actually remarkably "modest" – but we remember that at one point the US Fed had to drop tens of trillions into the US and the world's economy because the entire banking system was freezing up. Tens of TRILLIONS.
We've estimated central banks – especially the US Fed – have probably backstopped the world's financial system with funds in excess of US$50 trillion by now. That doesn't sound like a modest crisis to us. It wasn't a real-estate crisis, either, but a crisis of central banking fiat money. It was ultimately a crisis of the dollar reserve system.
And we've long maintained the dollar reserve system basically died in the past three years. It is no more. When you have to prop up your financial system with a US$50 trillion injection of money-from-nothing, you don't really HAVE a financial system anymore.
In any case, the Internet has played its part as well. As we've pointed out for years, the moral authority of central banking has eroded, especially in the US where millions, even tens of millions, are aware of the trillions that the US Fed has spent propping up the world's financial system.
When the elites cannot make a moral argument for their actions then the system itself begins to look despotic. That's what is happening now. Someone who's lost his home, job and family will not easily accept an explanation that the banking system receives its trillions for the sake "stability."
Add to this, in the US anyway, sociopolitical guarantees – according to economists – of something in the area of US$200 trillion and you have a system that is nothing like Evans-Pritchard's characterization. It is NOT a stable system at this point. Certainly, the US is NOT facing a "remarkably modest" crisis.
The symptoms of instability go beyond the economic, however. There is a good deal of social unrest in the US – as there is increasingly in other larger states, especially China. And while the US of late does not have a cultural affinity for violent revolution, there are evident and obvious forces at work destabilizing the current "empire."
The forces, of course, are being generated by the country's inherent support for its one-time republican form of government. Various freedom-oriented movements such as the Tea Party movement and a massive coalition supporting libertarian-republican presidential candidate Ron Paul are radically shifting the cultural conversation.
The current US empire is in a sense both socialist and fascist, from what we can tell. Its million-plus intelligence employees are mostly concerned with spying on US citizens. The Anglosphere power elite that wants to run the world has always looked on the US as its primary problem.
This handful of elite families that control central banks around the world have used their trillions to build a shadow government in the US and elsewhere that mimics traditional government but has entirely different goals. In the 21st century, however, this shadow system of burgeoning global governance has been found out by those who have created websites and blog sites on the Internet with the purpose of reporting on their societies and economic situations.
What has emerged is far different than the story that the mainstream media explained to Western populations in the 20th century. Bereft of its controlled media, the elites have not been able to counteract a flow of real news and information.
Over time, the elites' shadow system of governance has become a more palpable reality. In the US alone, sophisticated blog-observers such as Catherine Austin Fitts have pointed out an up-to-US$1.5 trillion black budget of unreported and diverted funds that are going to various unacknowledged projects probably of military or military-intelligence import.
The US has perhaps 1,000 overseas military bases and is fighting probably a dozen covert or public wars and threatening more of them. Internet reporting increasingly shows us that financial statistics presented by the US government, especially the federal government, have little or no applicability to reality.
The US is not just an empire – it is apparently an empire in the service of the Anglosphere one-world conspiracy. The wars that the "US" is fighting now are the capstone of the New World Order. The electorate has little idea of why they are being fought or why they are taking so long and maiming so many.
The US and the West itself is not actually run by its citizens anymore and probably hasn't been (at least in the case of the US) for about 100 years. Small-bore elections and small-bore economic and the entrepreneurial activity have little impact on the larger power structure, which is animated by huge corporate, banking and military enterprises run out of the City of London, Washington DC, Tel Aviv and apparently the Vatican.
To indicate that the US economy is "bouncing back" is to make a statement that is devoid of reality, in our view. The unemployment rate in the US is probably 20 percent or greater, price inflation is far greater than is generally stated and whole cities (Detroit) are being torn down as US industry continues to move abroad, thanks to such malicious managed trade treaties as CAFTA and NAFTA.
Here's what's going on – and Evans-Pritchard is not, in our view, reporting on it, for some reason, not this time anyway. The powers-that-be apparently want to re-elect Barack Obama – and from now until election day US citizens may be exposed to a steady diet of "economic recovery" news.
But after the re-election of Barack Obama – who is not what he appears to be – the globalization of the West and especially the US will continue apace. We shall discover the "recovery" is not quite so substantial as it has been said to be.
Instead, there will be a continued effort by the elites to hollow the US's and the West's economy in order to bring the economies of the developing world and the US into rough parity. This is all part of a larger process inherent in creating an equitable new world order – from the point of view of the elites, at least.
Conclusion: US "recovery" has little to do with it and is, in fact, beside the point.

Making the world safe for democracy: Exhibit A: LIBYA

2012-01-22T10:59:00.001-05:00

Blogman's Notes: We were told that Colonel Gaddafi was a ruthless monster, that the Libyan people hated him, that they were an oppressed people that longed for democracy. Democracy, at least US-NATO styled democracy has arrived in Libya. Do you think the Libyan people are as ecstatic as the Western Powers are with their perceived success in bring them 'Democracy'. Let's not forget that the Democracy has come through great sacrifices on the part of NATO. They achieved this laudable goal by flying over 10,000 sorties and bombing Libya back to the stone age in order to bring the Democracy so valued by the Libyan people! After delivering such wonderful results in Libya, is it any wonder that US-NATO have turned their attention to not too distant Syria, to bring them Democracy too? However, in reality, the results may not have been as wonderful as portrayed on CNN; the Mission may not have been accomplished as announced by Western leaders. As the following Reuters report proves, Libya has become a hell-hole, not a peaceful democratic country. So are the real reasons to liberate Iraq, Libya, and soon Syria, to bring Democracy and free the people of these nations or is there another agenda at work? Could the real reason be to keep the War-Machine humming? After all if there are no wars, how can the war machine be kept operational? Julius Caesar has been quoted as having said, 'Beware the leaders that bang the drums of war'! In all my year on this Earth, the leaders that have sounded the bells of Peace have been few and far between but the leaders that bang the Drums of War come around all too frequently. I cry for the people of nations such as Syria, Iran, Pakistan and others that are slated for Liberation by the Western War Machine.

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Libya: Tripoli before and after the NATO invasion - war crimes

REUTERS: Deputy head of Libya's NTC quits after protests

By Oliver Holmes

BENGHAZI, Libya | Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:19am EST

(Reuters) - The deputy head of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Sunday he was resigning after a series of protests against the new government which the country's leader warned could drag Libya into a "bottomless pit."

Late on Saturday, a crowd demanding the government's resignation smashed windows and forced their way into the NTC's local headquarters in Benghazi, in the most serious show of anger at the new authorities since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted. Read More

The Chinese Economic juggernaut grinds to a halt in the year of the dragon

2012-01-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

Blogman's Notes: As noted several times in the past, both in articles and videos, the Chinese 'Miracle' Economy is more of an illusion than it it reality. No doubt that China has become an Economic powerhouse over the past 20 years but the miracle is once again the product of ever increasing debt levels at all levels of society, individually, corporately, and on a governmental level. China may be the manufacturing engine of the world but the credit that is needed by Western consumers to keep buying Chinese goods is fast drying up. And as much as the talking heads on CNBC etc. would have us believe that Chinese consumers can pick up the slack, this is just not possible. Due to high inflation, the majority of Chinese are not getting richer, they are struggling to put food on the table. The following well written article provides evidence that China will self-destruct in the future due to rot from within, and probably in the not too distant future.

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China Failing, as Predicted?

Thursday, January 19, 2012 – by Staff Report

U.S. ambassador: Political situation in China "very, very delicate" ... The Chinese people are increasingly frustrated with the Chinese Communist Party and the political situation in China is "very, very delicate," U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke said on Wednesday. "I do believe that there is a power of the people, and there is a growing frustration among the people over the operations of government, corruption, lack of transparency, and issues that affect the Chinese people on a daily basis that they feel are being neglected," Locke told NPR's Steve Inskeep during a Wednesday interview, part of a media blitz Locke is conducting during his visit to Washington. – Foreign Policy

Dominant Social Theme: China is delicate? Well ... it seems like a success to us!
Free-Market Analysis: After writing many articles in the past few years – long before it was fashionable even among alternative news services – explaining that the ChiComs were on the proverbial thin ice with their huge 1.4 billion population, we find this weird article explaining that China is about to tip over into outright rebellion.

Even stranger, it appears on the Drudge Report, which is read by millions. Foreign Policy magazine is an elite mouthpiece and the Drudge Report, as good as it is, would not be tolerated (given its size) by US intel if it did not toe SOME line or other. You won't find a lot of articles on Drudge questioning the "official" story of 9/11, for instance.
So perhaps the powers-that-be are coming to the conclusion that the Chinese Miracle is indeed an unsustainable one. And that people ought to know about it. It doesn't add much to the credibility of an already maligned mainstream press to be blindsided by the collapse of the world's biggest country, after all.

And China will collapse, no doubt. Whether there is an economic collapse, a political collapse or simply a general deflation of its power centers, the Chinese people are surely on the brink of a new era. Of course, we also have to note that "brink" is a fungible term. Collapse could come tomorrow or a decade from now or even longer.
But the reason we've been predicting a collapse of some sort or other is because the ChiComs cannot justify their rule anymore. They cannot justify it on moral, economic or military grounds. They are in power because of a kind of unspoken deal. And when the economy becomes shaky, as it has now started to become, the deal is called into question, too.

It was a desperate gambit to begin with, the idea that the ChiComs would keep power based on moving their model toward capitalism. It struck at the heart of the reason for ChiCom power. With the seeming success of the capitalist model, there is no justification for ChiCom rule. They must have known that. But they did what they needed to retain power.

We've reported on THAT too, of course. We have explained the three-strikes-yer-out rule on numerous occasions. First there was the great leap forward that outright starved 50 million Chinese. Then there was Tiananmen Square that showed quite clearly the determination of the old men of the Party to hold onto power.
Finally, there was the ongoing "Chinese Miracle." Gradually, and then with increasing fervency, the lower reaches of the Chinese economy were released from the iron grip of wage and price control. Over time other parts of the economy were reconfigured as well.

China became synonymous with "free markets" of a sort. China, we were told, was leading the way to prosperity and freedom and would be the driving force of the 21st century. The West learned that the driving force of Chinese success, its combination of authoritarianism and commerce, was far more powerful than the West's model of outright freedom.

Of course, the West wasn't free and the ChiCom "model" was based on central banking stimulation that has rocketed the country into the stratosphere. The entire nation is so juiced on money-from-nothing that entire EMPTY cities are dotting the landscape.

Meanwhile, the oppression goes on. The Chinese are so desperate to invest their mirage-like wealth into something that they have taken to buying two or three empty properties in increasingly mold-ridden vacant cities. This occurs even as the Chinese government shuts down gold bourses to make sure that money cannot flow into silver or gold.
Stand back and look at the Chinese economy objectively and you see an environment where the government itself is evidently in charge of most if not all of the big banking and industrial establishments behind the scenes. It's really not much different, in some ways, than the old Soviet Union.

What difference there is, in our view, has to do with central banking. The Anglosphere power elite evidently and obviously planned on using China as an example of how to run a successful authoritarian economy. They apparently prevailed on the old men of the Party to open the monetary taps.

This has certainly worked, but the hitch is that sooner or later monetary stimulation doesn't work. It's an iron law. You don't get something for nothing. You want free money? Well, be prepared to experience a high degree of price inflation.

And that's what the average Chinaman got stuck with. Real estate prices have pushed up 40 percent or more and food prices as well. That's just what's being reported. The reality is probably a lot worse. As is the corruption. The Communist Party remains in charge of a huge, even red-hot, economy.

The abuses, payoffs and other kinds of chicanery going on now must be evident at every level to average Chinese. Increasingly, as prices go up, as rates are raised, choking off employment, as factories close because of lack of Western demand, the "deal" is coming undone. Here's some more from the article:

"Do you think that the situation is fundamentally stable in China right now?" "I think, very delicate -- very, very delicate," Locke responded. "But there were calls earlier this year for a Jasmine Revolution and nothing came of it. I think it would take something very significant, internal to China, to cause any type of major upheaval."
Locke said that since he took over the ambassadorship from former GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, he has become aware of public demonstrations large and small throughout China that ordinary people were using to pressure the government to address their grievances. He singled out a recent protest in the southern Chinese city of Wukan over the confiscation of land without reasonable compensation.

"[The people] basically prevented anybody from the outside from coming in and brought the city to a halt and forced the Chinese government communist leaders to send people to address their grievances," Locke said. The discord inside China is partly a result of the income and wealth disparity between China's growing middle class and the masses of poor, rural residents, Locke said. He also said the Chinese government's human rights record was worsening ...

Asked for comment at today's State Department press briefing, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland backed up Locke's comments on human rights and the rule of law in China. "[Locke] obviously speaks for the administration in expressing continued concern that we seem to have an increasing trend of crackdowns, forced disappearances, extralegal detentions, arrests and convictions of human rights activists, lawyers, religious leaders, ethnic minorities in China," she said.

This is a nuanced article, in a sense. Our ears perk up over talk of a jasmine revolution and the idea that the US State Department is allowing one of its ambassadors to make highly incendiary comments. We are aware that most of the current "color" revolutions in the Middle East and Africa are in a sense phony ones and so we wonder if the US State Department isn't setting up China for the same sort of treatment.

Through its AYM program, the US State Department has evidently and obviously helped destabilize a slew of secular regimes in the Middle East. Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Libya have all received the "treatment." It always begins with the idea that the "people" are rebelling.

In this case, they probably are. But we wouldn't put it past the Anglosphere power elite to take advantage of the current Chinese unrest to build it into something more. Does the power elite banking axis of the City of London, Washington DC, the Vatican and Tel Aviv have the chutzpah to foment outright rebellion in China? Well ... they've done it before.

Countries, people, civilizations ... These are mere playthings to the small group of central banking families that we call the Anglosphere elite. For centuries, so far as we can tell, they've straddled the world and attempted to impose their vision upon it as best they can.

It's no different now, though what we call the Internet Reformation has increasingly exposed their plans and the way they do things. It is, in fact, this Internet Reformation, in our view, that has made the powers-that-be increasingly desperate and caused them to try to erect their New World Order even more quickly than they had planned.
One can see the rising desperation in the way that the elites are maneuvering to pass authoritarian measures in legislatures around the world, adding "security" layers to international travel and fomenting "wars on terror" with the least provocation.

The elites and the ChiComs are closely allied at this point. The ChiComs own trillions in Western debt and the trade between Europe, America and China keeps the world running. But the Anglosphere elites in our view are also wedded to creating a massive, worldwide depression in order to usher in true world government.

So this is the question we need to resolve. Will an almost inevitable Chinese economic debacle usher in a new wave of freedom in that country or will it merely exacerbate the authoritarian trends now taking place? Will the Anglosphere be able to control a "new" Chinese revolution – or will it spin out of control as it appears to be doing in Europe, and eventually (we believe) in the US?

Like the Gutenberg Press before it, the Internet is causing great changes in the way people look at the world and relate to each other. The elite's dominant social themes – the fear-based promotions that they used to control middle classes with in the 20th century – are no longer working so well.

The elites evidently and obviously have turned to more authoritarian and military measures to hold onto power and to realize global government. But if one looks at the chaotic times post-Gutenberg, one is struck by the freedoms that flowered and the partial obliteration of the old order.

The elites of the day turned to numerous false-flag gambits to hold onto power and to influence regimes but it was not seemingly until the 20th century that their grip was secured again. And now once more it seems to be coming undone.

We don't know what will happen in China. But we do know the "Chinese Miracle" is an unstable one and that the Internet itself in China, as elsewhere, is apparently helping to destabilize the regime by making (truthful) information available that would not otherwise be accessible. This is doubtless happening despite the ChiComs' best efforts to stop it.

If the US State Department itself has determined that China's instability is irreparable and that the best that can be hoped for is to encourage a revolution and get ahead of it, then the world is surely in for a bumpy ride.

We would also offer the hypothesis that no matter what the powers-that-be do now, they will have a hard time ameliorating the effects of the Internet Reformation. So far, they've apparently utilized the destabilization creatively but over time that is a dangerous game. If China goes, we wonder if in some sense the US will be next.

The Internet, after all, is a process not an episode. And the elites, despite their many false-flag gambits, wars and torrents of legislation, have not been able to slow it down very much, if at all, in our view.

At the heart of the Internet Reformation is increased knowledge about the Way the World Really Works. This cannot be legislated away. It cannot be wiped away by wars. It cannot even be much reduced by the deliberate implementation of poverty.
Conclusion: The human hive mind has apparently gone to work, using a new technology, as humans are prone to do. It is instinct that is driving the outcome. And instinct is something even the power elite have not yet figured out how to circumvent.

When the money no longer flows, the Economy no longer grows

2012-01-19T08:16:00.000-05:00

Blogman's notes: Austerity literally means a stoppage in the flow of money. It is the equivalent of building a dam upriver to cut off water flow from fertile plains, which then become parched deserts. This is what is happening in Europe and to a lesser extent in America and the rest of the world. The dam of cutting off credit to Sovereigns (governments), and businesses, and individuals has not yet been fully built but once it is, life for the majority of the populations of the developed and developing world will become unlivable. This Austerity plan is being imposed form the bottom up; first individuals are being cut off from credit, next businesses and finally it will be the Sovereigns (in the case of some nations like Greece, Sovereigns are already under assault as their funding is being choked off.) This proves that in the modern world of Voodoo Economics, prosperity is a product of CREDIT or DEBT, not of sound money or sound business practices. So long as there is an ever increasing expansion of DEBT in the system, the System experiences a Boom, and when there is a contraction in Credit or Debt, meaning new loans are not being issued constantly, the System recedes or goes in to Recession and eventually a Depression.

What is happening in Greece, Ireland, and even China and India will soon be repeated worldwide, a Credit contraction, the likes of which the world has never seen since the world has never experienced a Credit expansion of the size that has been added to the System since the 1980's and at ever accelerating pace since then.

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Insight: EU banks shrink; Irish farmers, Qatari bosses flinch

(Reuters) - From his idyllic farm in Ireland's lush Wicklow Hills, Colin Hadden hatched a plan to supply his lean, grass-fed specialty lamb to some of Dublin's finest restaurants.

Over the last two years, his small business boomed, taking on 15 people and opening a butcher shop and food hall. That was before his bank halved his overdraft facility to 50,000 euros.

"They are literally making life impossible," said Hadden, who has been forced to ask suppliers for loans and provide credit to his restaurant customers, who are also suffering as EU banks shrink and the debt crisis bites.

"They are acting as debt collectors rather than banks. They are squeezing the life out of my business," Hadden told Reuters.

Hadden thinks his business, Ballyshonog Farm Foods, will survive the next year but is less confident about the future. "If you don't have credit you don't have a business," he said.

The pattern of banks withdrawing lines of credit, or "deleveraging" in banking terms, is being repeated across Ireland and Europe as well as further afield.

And it's not just the small firms that are scrambling.

Ballyshonog's hill farming may be a far cry from ship building in the yards of Denmark or pumping gas in the deserts of Qatar but small businesses and industrial conglomerates alike are all feeling the pain as European banks cut off loans.

Danish shipping group Torm is in talks to avert takeover as it struggles to reschedule $1.8 billion of bank debt.

One week before Christmas a $10-billion Qatari gas project had to find new lenders after big French banks that have worked with Qatar for years turned their backs on the deal.

Such is the reality of a huge pullback around the world in lending by Europe's banks in reaction to the debt crisis.

Deleveraging is wrenching the corporate world, threatening auto, aviation and shipping industries, hurting trade and project finance, and shaking up the financing landscape.

LENDING BINGE

The crisis has revealed the extent of the banks' decade-long lending binge and exposed eye-watering levels of debt, as well as a startlingly creaky financial system.

As a result, regulators are now insisting on tougher rules and have demanded that banks hold more capital to protect their balance sheets if things get worse.

The new rules have forced lenders to re-assess their clients more rigorously and either tear up lending agreements completely or attach higher costs to loans and funding.

Europe's banks are preparing to ditch up to 3 trillion euros of loans in the next couple of years as they "deleverage" their balance sheets, roughly 5-7 percent of those banks' assets.

As a result businesses must pay more to borrow money, leaving some firms scrambling to stay afloat and increasing the cost of their goods to consumers.

This is hitting Europe's economy hard, but may also derail growth in Asia and recovery in the United States.

"At this point it looks like being very disruptive in the short term ... the credit squeeze could be quite violent," said Nicolas Veron, a senior fellow at Brussels think-tank Bruegel.

That squeeze means banks will retrench to their home markets and fewer, safer clients at the expense of global trade. But it also marks an opportunity for Japanese, U.S., Canadian and Asia-focused banks to profit by picking up the slack.

FRENCH RETREAT

Those banks in worst trouble have been scaling back lending for the last three years.

Troubled Royal Bank of Scotland has shed 600 billion pounds of assets and scaled back its investment bank after over-ambitious acquisitions left it close to collapse.

The retreat from lending was accelerated by France's big banks -- some of whom had been the most aggressive lenders.

In the past six months BNP Paribas and Societe Generale have scaled back many loan deals, disappointing those trying to nurture or expand their business out of recession, or seeking to tap into Asian growth.

In order to cut the demands on them to hold more capital, these banks are cutting their risk-weighted assets -- a measure of their real-world exposure to potential losses.

BNP and SocGen, Deutsche Bank and Barclays, and Credit Suisse and UBS have all said they plan to shed tens of billions of euros of assets to deal with the financial chaos, and most of their peers are on a similar path.

"Banks are retrenching in terms of where they are writing business and where they are sourcing their funds," said James Longsdon, co-head of EMEA financial institutions at credit ratings agency Fitch.

He estimated European banks had shrunk their risk-weighted assets by 2-3 percent last year. "That could certainly accelerate," he said.

With no clear resolution in sight for the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, and a record 725 billion euros of debt due to mature this year, Europe's banks are likely to keep a strict risk-free hold-down on funding requests.

Big banks must also meet tougher regulations from the European Banking Authority by the end of June.

The EBA wants banks to hold a minimum 9 percent in core capital, a measure of a bank's financial strength which consists mainly of common stock and retained earnings. But with an eye on the murky economic weather, investors want banks to stash more protective capital than is strictly required.

If Europe's top banks were to aim for core capital of 10 percent, they would need to raise 180 billion euros, or cut their risk-weighted assets by 1.5 trillion euros, according to Reuters estimates. Based on an average risk-weighting of 50 percent per bank, that would mean 3 trillion euros being cut.

Lenders have several options at their disposal, including raising equity, cutting dividends or pay, or selling assets.

RBS this week sold its aircraft leasing business for $7.3 billion to Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and has also offloaded a $6 billion portfolio of project finance loans to Mitsubishi UFJ.

Many assets are proving hard to dispose of in an environment where entrepreneurs are loathe to invest. Banks cannot afford to sell at a loss so most are taking the option of shedding loans.

"The low hanging fruit has been plucked, now it's the harder stuff," said one senior loans banker, explaining that banks are now cutting the number of firms they will lend to, or scaling back on loans, even to firms they have worked with for years.

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For a graphic on deleveraging: r.reuters.com/wag55s

Graphics package on EU banks: link.reuters.com/qux33s

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EVERYBODY HURTS

Big French banks have in the past been known for bankrolling project financing in the Middle East. But in late 2011 they were not among the more than 20 firms who provided a $7.2 billion loan for Qatar Petroleum's Barzan gas project.

A warning came in August that year when BNP and Commerzbank refused to join 10 banks providing a $12-billion loan to SABMiller, despite having a relationship with one of the world's leading brewers, which operates on six continents.

More recently, Qatar Airways failed to attract its usual European bankers to finance its purchase of two Boeing aircraft. HSBC stepped in to complete its first financing deal with the airline for five years.

Projects backed by wealthy Qatar or loans for investment grade companies are finding other banks willing to step in, keen to get a foothold with a potentially lucrative client for when economic times improve.

But it will be increasingly hard for less stellar borrowers.

"Where a corporate has had a rocky couple of years and the outlook still isn't that strong, those guys could struggle to get refinancing," one banker in the Middle East said.

Banks are most keen to cut loose from projects denominated in U.S. dollars, which have become much more expensive for them to fund after American money market funds alarmed by the growing European debt crisis severely cut back their lending.

This has serious implications for areas such as trade and project finance and aviation and shipping, where European banks like Deutsche Bank, BNP, UniCredit, Credit Agricole, Commerzbank, ING and SocGen rank among the top lenders, according to Thomson Reuters data.

There are also worries about the knock-on impact of the banks shrinking their lending on other industries.

Some banks could quit auto financing completely. With three-quarters of EU car sales dependent on bank credit, that could leave carmakers needing to plug the funding gap themselves or prepare for lower sales, analysts warn.

Indeed, Morgan Stanley analysts estimate auto demand suffers badly in deleveraging markets, with demand for cars taking at least 5-7 years to recover from pre-crisis levels.

ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE

The lending void left by European banks will not stay empty for long, however. Stronger global banks and local lenders are already stepping up to take advantage of the opportunity to grab market share and set advantageous lending rates.

Data from Thomson Reuters LPC shows seismic shifts in the ranks of global loan providers already.

Japan's megabanks on average have already trebled their lending in 2011 as they sought growth outside a stagnant domestic market and benefited from domestic economic conditions to fund themselves relatively cheaply.

Mizuho Financial Group jumped to fifth spot from 11th in the global loans table and was joined by SMFG and Mitsubishi UFJ in the top ten.

Lending by U.S. banks also jumped, and the top three spots were filled by JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.

All the European banks in the top 20 slipped down the rankings, with the exception of Asia-focused HSBC.

Richard Meddings, finance director of Standard Chartered, told Reuters last month he expected to win market share and reprice business at a higher level as a result of aggressive deleveraging by Western banks.

But the stronger banks will be choosy and deploy capital where it gets them a new area or client, and bosses want to see hard evidence it will create a lucrative new relationship.

Japanese banks stepped in to lend to Russia's Gazprom when French lenders recently retreated, bankers said. Japan is dependent on Russian LNG exports and has an eye on potential projects in Russia's Pacific regions where project financing may be needed.

Indian, Chinese and Korean banks are not aggressively chasing deals, but are stepping in on loans where they have a trading link to the company or country.

Others capital providers could also step in, such as private equity firms which are cash-rich and have more than $700 billion to deploy, according to data provider Preqin.

Companies are also expected to turn more to bond markets for their cash, shifting closer to the U.S. market model where companies rely more on raising debt and less on bank loans.

Demonstrating the search for alternatives, Italian power company Edipower said two days before Christmas that it would go to its shareholders to refinance a 1 billion euro loan, after failing to renew the loan with banks on attractive terms.

EIGHT YEARS OF PAIN?

How widespread the impact of deleveraging on the recovery of the industrialized world will be, and how long it will last, draws contrasting views.

Politicians are talking tough about limiting the pain of emerging from recession by telling banks to slow the process of deleveraging, but their influence may just limit how far banks reduce domestic lending and not their overseas retreat.

Germany's Commerzbank has already said it will only lend in its home market and Poland.

Politicians and governments will also be caught in the squeeze, as banks sell their sovereign debt, hardly helping confidence in the euro zone's economic stability.

Banks cut their net exposure to the sovereign debt of Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain by 50 billion euros in the first nine months of last year, according to bank disclosures.

And there are warnings that the process has only just begun and will be more severe than past credit crunches -- such as in the United States, Sweden, Hong Kong and Japan -- which have typically led to a 6-7 year decline in lending.

The problem for Europe is that banks, governments and households are all cutting back at the same time, after a jump in public and private indebtedness since the mid-1980s.

"It will be long and drawn out ... it looks like being an eight year process at least," said Andrew Lim, analyst at Espirito Santo.

(Additional reporting by Conor Humphries in Dublin, Melissa Akin in Moscow and Tessa Walsh, Sarah White, Alasdair Reilly, Jonathan Saul, David French and Rod Morrison in London; Editing by Sophie Walker and Peter Millership)

(Illusion ) of Recovery at risk as Americans raid savings

2012-01-18T08:31:00.001-05:00

Blogman's Notes: There is no recovery, how can there be when jobs and income are not growing. The only way a consumer society can function is by continuing to consume more and more. When people no longer have the income to consume on a level they have become accustomed to, then the only way left to keep on consuming is by going into more debt. All these 'Experts' pretend they don't understand why these debt levels are rising when the answer is staring them in the face. Instead of a recovery, what America and the world are facing is a Debt Armageddon that has already begun in Europe. When its all over, the world will lie in ruins, there is no way around it!

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Reuters / Insight: Recovery at risk as Americans raid savings

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MEDIA DISINFO: events on the ground in Syria completely contrary to media depictions

2012-01-17T14:04:00.000-05:00

Blogman's Notes: Honest journalism is missing in the modern world. So it is not surprising that the following report paints a completely different picture of what is happening inside Syria than what we have been reading and watching on MSM in the West. Is the true picture of Syria? I cannot say for sure because I am not there; however Syrians are neighbors to Iraq and Libya, two nations that have experienced all the benefits that Western Democracy brings. Therefore it is more than likely that the average Syrian dreads the thought of Western intervention in their country. Is a 'liberation' force still going to be sent to Syria? I believe the probability is very high that Syria will be 'liberated' at some point in time just as Iraq and Libya have been democratized but that outcome I'm sure is not desired by majority of Syrians who are showing great support for the current regime even as the majority of Libyan showed support of Col. Gaddafi!

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From Globalresearch.ca MEDIA DISINFO: British journalist: Image of events on the ground in Syria is completely contrary to media depictions

The British journalist Lizzie Phelan said the image of events on ground in Syria is completely contrary to what some media try to depict and present to the public opinion.

Phelan, who is now on a visit to Syria, said that she was surprised upon her arrival in Damascus as a journalist 6 days ago to see the situation as it is, as she had thought, based on the image presented by media, that Syria is not safe where chaos is prevailing, the army deployed in the streets and the anti-government protests are being held daily and everywhere.

She stressed in an interview with the Syrian TV that what she has seen during her visit is that life is normal and that people go to their businesses and schools in spite of some problems.

She asserted that the city of Damascus is very safe as she has been moving in it alone in the late hours of the night and has not been faced with any problem or seen any big anti-government protests.

Phelan pointed out that she saw the huge pro-government rally in the Umayyad Square and was surprised with the reality of the situation in Syria, which she said is completely different from what is being conveyed to the West, the US and other countries.

The British journalist considered that President Bashar al-Assad's coming out to the Umayyad Square and his direct talk to the people was "very interesting" for her since the media such as the BBC and al-Jazeera TV channels claim that the Syrian people are not with President al-Assad, noting that the tens of thousands of people who gathered in the Square were very glad to see him and expressed their love and support for him.

European Economic woes in the news but problems are everywhere

2012-01-15T23:50:00.001-05:00

From Russia Today TV: Eurozone downgrade: Is collapse imminent?

European leaders are rushing to contain the fallout after S&P downgraded nine of the seventeen eurozone members. But while many across Europe promise further reforms, is a eurozone breakup a done deal?

Speaking with reporters and analysts after the cuts, Standard & Poor's predicted a eurozone recession, saying that GDP could contract by 1.5 per cent in 2012.

France, the eurozone’s second largest economy, was downgraded from its AAA credit rating to AA+ and could face further cuts unless it manages to curb inflationary pressure on its debt and budget deficit.

In response, the French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Saturday that his country would push ahead with cost-cutting measures in reaction to the S&P cut.

Apart from France, Austria, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia were also downgraded one notch, while Cyprus, Italy, Spain and Portugal suffered double-notch declines.

Austria, which lost its AAA rating, viewed the downgrade as a wake-up call to curb its debt and get its financial house in order.

However, other European nations strongly criticized Friday’s deluge of downgrades, arguing the move could hamper already embattled countries’ ability to borrow money, reduce debts, and avoid a deepening of the crisis.

But while German Chancellor Angela Merkel hoped the downgrade would spur the signing of a “financial compact” between member states that could help save the single currency, John Laughland, director of studies at the Institute for Democracy and Cooperation, told RT that Friday’s downgrade would go down as the beginning of the end for the euro.

“I think when the euro finally collapses as it will do surely, probably within the next year, we will see this day, this announcement, the downgrading of France, as having been one of the decisive moments, because it really is a sign that the markets are losing confidence in the eurozone and the euro-project as a whole, and in the core countries in Europe,” he said.

Laughland further argues that despite promises reign in debt, the euro itself is ultimately to blame for the deepening economic crisis.

“Apart from the inherit contradictions of the euro itself, this debt issue is not something that the euro has failed to control, it has actually been caused by the euro. The reason why we have a debt problem in the eurozone is that the countries, particularly in southern Europe, who have run up enormous debts, have been able to do so without feeling the consequences in terms of exchange rates. In a normal situation, if they had had national currencies, their currencies would have lost value. It is precisely because they have a shared currency that they have the impression that they could have a sort of free lunch for so long. And that’s what’s got us into the situation that we’re in.”

America: A House Divided - Gap between rich and the rest growing wider..

2012-01-14T09:16:00.002-05:00

Blogman's Notes: HAVES and HAVE-NOTS; that is how human society has been divided since civilization began anew after the flood of Noah, and the Tower of Babylon. The Tower of Babel as it is more commonly known, was a milestone event in man's history. Not only did mankind become divided, because all of a sudden, their common pure language had been changed, rather corrupted into scores of different languages, but they were scattered abroad the face of the whole Earth into various geographical regions that were separated by oceans, deserts, and mountains making interaction difficult between inhabitants of various regions. In these geographically separated regions, various cultures arose based on environment and language. Thus the world was divided into nations and peoples for the first time in man's history. Although these cultures were very distinct in many respects, all cultures acquired one thing in common, separation into classes based primarily on the Economic status of a person but also on the physical appearance. The HAVES began to classify themselves as Royalty while the HAVE-NOTS were degraded to the status of serfs and slaves. What made America stand out in contrast to the rest of the world, even to the Latin American New World was the fact that people were not divided on the basis of class. This led to the rise of the most Egalitarian society the world has seen since the days of the Judges in ancient Israel. America, however is no longer an Equal Opportunity Land; by design the HAVES are depriving the HAVE-NOT-AS-MUCH to becoming the HAVE-NOTS as is the case in most of the rest of the world.

This means that the American Middle Class is becoming the American Serf class by design. There is too much evidence, such as presented in the report below to suggest otherwise.

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Rising Share of Americans See Conflict Between Rich and Poor

by Rich Morin

The Occupy Wall Street movement no longer occupies Wall Street, but the issue of class conflict has captured a growing share of the national consciousness. A new Pew Research Center survey of 2,048 adults finds that about two-thirds of the public (66%) believes there are “very strong” or “strong” conflicts between the rich and the poor—an increase of 19 percentage points since 2009.

Not only have perceptions of class conflict grown more prevalent; so, too, has the belief that these disputes are intense. According to the new survey, three-in-ten Americans (30%) say there are “very strong conflicts” between poor people and rich people. That is double the proportion that offered a similar view in July 2009 and the largest share expressing this opinion since the question was first asked in 1987.

As a result, in the public’s evaluations of divisions within American society, conflicts between rich and poor now rank ahead of three other potential sources of group tension—between immigrants and the native born; between blacks and whites; and between young and old. Back in 2009, more survey respondents said there were strong conflicts between immigrants and the native born than said the same about the rich and the poor.¹

Virtually all major demographic groups now perceive significantly more class conflict than two years ago. However, the survey found that younger adults, women, Democrats and African Americans are somewhat more likely than older people, men, Republicans, whites or Hispanics to say there are strong disagreements between rich and poor.

While blacks are still more likely than whites see serious class conflicts, the share of whites who hold this view has increased by 22 percentage points, to 65%, since 2009. At the same time, the proportion of blacks (74%) and Hispanics (61%) sharing this judgment has grown by single digits (8 and 6 points, respectively).

The biggest increases in perceptions of class conflicts occurred among political liberals and Americans who say they are not affiliated with either major party. In each group the proportion who say there are major disagreements between rich and poor Americans increased by more than 20 percentage points since 2009.

These changes in attitudes over a relatively short period of time may reflect the income and wealth inequality message conveyed by Occupy Wall Street protesters across the country in late 2011 that led to a spike in media attention to the topic. But the changes also may also reflect a growing public awareness of underlying shifts in the distribution of wealth in American society.² According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, the proportion of overall wealth—a measure that includes home equity, stocks and bonds and the value of jewelry, furniture and other possessions—held by the top 10% of the population increased from 49% in 2005 to 56% in 2009.

Perceptions of the Wealthy

While the survey results show a significant shift in public perceptions of class conflict in American life, they do not necessarily signal an increase in grievances toward the wealthy. It is possible that individuals who see more conflict between the classes think that anger toward the rich is misdirected. Nor do these data suggest growing support for government measures to reduce income inequality.

In fact, other questions in the survey show that some key attitudes toward the wealthy have remained largely unchanged. For example, there has been no change in views about whether the rich became wealthy through personal effort or because they were fortunate enough to be from wealthy families or have the right connections.

A 46% plurality believes that most rich people “are wealthy mainly because they know the right people or were born into wealthy families.” But nearly as many have a more favorable view of the rich: 43% say wealthy people became rich “mainly because of their own hard work, ambition or education,” largely unchanged from a Pew survey in 2008.

About the Survey

This report is based on findings from a Pew Research Center telephone survey conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,048 adults ages 18 and older living in the continental United States, including an oversample of 808 adults ages 18 to 34. A total of 769 interviews were completed with respondents contacted by landline telephone and 1,279 with those contacted on their cellular phone. The data are weighted to produce a final sample that is representative of the general population of adults in the continental United States. Survey interviews were conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International, in English and Spanish.

• Interviews conducted December 6-19, 2011
• 2,048 interviews
• Margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points for results based on the total sample and 4.4 percentage points for adults ages 18 to 34 at the 95% confidence level.

Moreover, a recent Gallup survey found that a smaller share of the public believes that income inequality is a problem “that needs to be fixed” today than held that view in 1998 (45% vs. 52%). And when asked to rate the importance of various alternative federal policies, fewer than half (46%) say “reduc[ing] the income and wealth gap between the rich and the poor” is “extremely” or “very” important. In contrast, more than eight-in-ten (82%) say policies that encourage economic growth should be high priorities.

Social Conflict in American Life

About two-thirds of the public say there are strong conflicts between the rich and the poor, and nearly half of these (30%) say these conflicts are “very strong.” An additional 36% say these differences are “strong,” while 23% view them as “not very strong.” Only 7% say there are no conflicts between rich and poor Americans, while the remainder does not offer an opinion.

Three other historic social divisions are viewed as less pervasive or contentious. About six-in-ten (62%) say there are strong conflicts between immigrants and the native born, including 24% who characterize these disagreements as “very strong.”

That represents a major change from the Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2009. At that time, a larger share of Americans believed that there were more strong conflicts between immigrants and the native born than between rich and poor people (55% vs. 47%). Today, even though perceptions of disagreements between immigrants and the native born have increased by 7 percentage points in the past two years, this social divide now ranks behind rich-poor conflicts in the public’s hierarchy of social flashpoints.

Two other social divides are viewed as less pervasive or intense. Fewer than four-in-ten (38%) say there are serious conflicts between blacks and whites, including 10% who see these conflicts as being “very strong.” About a third say there are similar disagreements between the young and old (34%, a 9-point increase since 2009).

Income and Perceptions of Class Conflict

The perception that strong and growing conflicts exist between the economic classes is broadly held. Not only do those at the bottom rungs of the income scale agree that there are serious disagreements between the economic classes, but even those who are relatively well-off hold that belief.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of all adults with family incomes of less than $20,000 a year report serious conflicts between the rich and poor—a view shared by 67% of those earning $75,000 a year or more.

Moreover, the perceptions of class conflicts have grown in virtual lock step across all income groups since 2009, rising by 17 percentage points among those earning less than $20,000 and by 18 points among those making $75,000 or more.

The increase is slightly larger among middle-income Americans earning between $40,000 and $75,000. Among this group, the share who say there are strong class conflicts increased by 24 points, from 47% in 2009 to 71% in the latest survey.

Other Demographic Differences

Young people ages 18 to 34—the demographic group most closely associated with the Occupy movement—is more likely than those 35 or older to see “strong” conflicts between the rich and poor. According to the survey, more than seven-in-ten (71%) of these young adults say there are major disagreements between the most and least affluent, a 17 percentage point increase since 2o09.

Baby Boomers ages 50 to 64—the mothers and fathers of the Occupy generation—are nearly as likely to say there are serious conflicts between the upper and lower classes; fully two-thirds (67%) say this, a 22-point increase in the past two years. Among those ages 35 to 49, more than six-in-ten (64%) see serious class conflicts.

While older adults are the least likely to see serious disagreements between the classes, the proportion who express this view increased from 36% two years ago to 55% in the current survey.

Women are more likely than men to say there are serious disagreements between the rich and poor (71% vs. 60%). In 2009, about half of all women (51%) and 43% of men said there was strong conflict between the classes.

Perceptions of Class Conflict Surge among Whites

In the past two years, the proportion of whites who say there are strong conflicts between the rich and the poor has grown by 22 percentage points to 65%. That is more than triple the increase among blacks or Hispanics. The result is that the “perceptions gap” between blacks and whites on class conflict has been cut in half, while among Hispanics the difference has disappeared and may have reversed.

In the latest survey, the difference in the share of blacks and whites who say there are strong conflicts between rich and poor stands at 9 percentage points (74% for blacks vs. 65% for whites). In 2009 the black-white divide on this question stood at 23 percentage points (66% vs. 43%).

Among Hispanics, the gap has closed and may have reversed: In 20o9, the share of Hispanics who said there were serious conflicts between the economic classes was 12 points larger than the share of whites (55% vs. 43%). Today, the proportion of whites who say there are serious
disagreements is 4 percentage points greater than the share of Hispanics who hold the same view (65% for whites vs. 61% for Hispanics), though this difference is not statistically significant.

The Politics of Class Conflict

Democrats and political liberals are far more likely than Republicans or conservatives to say there are major conflicts between rich people and poor people.

At the same time, in just two years the perceptions of class conflict have increased significantly among members of both political parties as well as among self-described independents, conservatives, liberals and moderates.

The result is that majorities of each political party and ideological point of view now agree that serious disputes exist between Americans on the top and bottom of the income ladder.

Nearly three-quarters of self-described Democrats (73%) say there are serious class conflicts, an 18 percentage point increase over those who said that in 2009. The increase among Republicans was about as large (17 percentage points); currently a majority of GOP partisans see serious conflicts between rich and poor.

Views of class conflicts increased the most among political independents, swelling by 23 percentage points to 68% in the current survey. Two years ago, fewer than half of all independents said there were major disagreements between the classes.

Similarly, perceptions of class conflict among ideological liberals increased by 23 percentage points to 79% in the past two years while rising less quickly among conservatives (15 points) or moderates (18 points).

How the Rich Got Wealthy

Americans divide nearly evenly when they are asked if the rich became wealthy mostly due to their own hard work or mainly because they were born into a wealthy family or had connections.

A narrow plurality (46%) believes the rich are wealthy because they were born into money or “know the right people.” But nearly as many (43%) say the rich got that way because of their own “hard work, ambition or education.”

The latest result is virtually identical to the findings of a 2008 Pew survey. It found that 46% of the public believed that riches are mostly the result of having the right connections or being born into the right family, while 42% say hard work and individual characteristics are the main reason the rich are wealthy.³

These competing explanations of wealth are cited by roughly equal shares of all income groups. According to the latest Pew survey, 46% of those with family incomes of less than $20,000 a year believe that luck and connections explain most wealth, a view shared by 47% of those with family incomes of $100,000 or more.

In contrast, attitudes of Republicans and Democrats on this issue are mirror opposites of each other. Nearly six-in-ten Democrats (58%) say wealth is mainly due to family money or knowing the right people. An identical proportion of Republicans say wealth is mainly a consequence of hard work, ambition or having the necessary education to get ahead. Political independents fall in between: slightly less than half (45%) credit personal effort, while an equal share believe family circumstances or connections is the most likely explanation.

African Americans (54%) are more likely than non-Hispanic whites (44%) to see wealth as a consequence of family money or connections, a view shared by 51% of Hispanics. Women in the survey are slightly more likely than men to say wealth is the result of family or connections but these differences are not statistically significant.

Young people are significantly more likely than older adults to believe most wealth is due to family money or connections (51% for those ages 18-34 but 37% for adults 65 or older). However, the views of the “younger young”—those 18 to 25—differ significantly from those who are just a few years older.

According to the survey, less than half (47%) of those 18 to 25 say the rich are wealthy because of reasons other than personal effort or drive, or about equal to the proportion of those 35 or older who share this view. In contrast, a majority (55%) of those 26 to 34 say being born into a wealthy family or personal connections are the main reasons that people are rich.

Views on Wealth, Class Conflict

Attitudes toward the wealthy—specifically, how the rich got that way—are somewhat correlated with views on class conflict.

According to the survey, those who believe the rich acquired their fortunes mainly through their own efforts are significantly less likely than those who hold the contrary view to say there are strong conflicts between the classes (60% vs. 72%).

See Pew Social & Demographic Trends, “Forty Years After Woodstock, A Gentler Generation Gap,” August 12, 2009 (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2009/08/12/forty-years-after-woodstockbra-gentler-generation-gap/). ↩
For a detailed look at one aspect of the wealth gap, see The Rising Age Gap in Economic Well-Being, by Richard Fry et al., Pew Research Center, Nov. 11, 2011 (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/11/07/the-rising-age-gap-in-economic-well-being/). ↩
See Pew Social & Demographic Trends, “Inside the Middle Class: Bad Times Hit the Good life,” April 9, 2008 (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2008/04/09/inside-the-middle-class-bad-times-hit-the-good-life/). ↩

Pestilences in Diverse Places: Pandemic warnings from several sources

2012-01-12T10:41:00.001-05:00

Blogman's Notes: In my first video of the year titled 2012 Predictions, I speculated that the unmistakable sign that would confirm that the days of Sorrows that were prophesied by Jesus to come before the world ends will have arrived will be the outbreak of the deadliest Pandemic in recorded history. There have many many reports of novel viruses and other diseases, most of the flu type that are spring up around the world in the first few days of 2012. I expect that the days of the outbreak of a deadly contagious disease that will kill millions may be upon the horizon in 2012; this is not something I wish for but it is inevitable in my belief.

Matthew 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Matthew 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
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From: TheExtinctionProtocol.com: Pestilence Watch: Bird Flu outbreak concerns rattle nerves across the globe

Posted on January 12, 2012

January 12, 2012 – INDIANA - The days of medical masks at airports and widespread panic may be coming back—that’s because at least 12 humans are believed to have been infected with a new strain of swine flu that’s not covered by this season’s vaccine. The new swine flu strain, H3N2v, has shown at least some potential for human-to-human transmission in those 12 individuals, which makes it especially dangerous. Between 2009 and mid-2010, more than 17,000 people died worldwide from the highly contagious H1N1 swine flu strain, leading the World Health Organization to call the strain a pandemic. The 12 people with the new swine flu strain live in Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Officials for the Centers for Disease Control say the sample size of H3N2 infections is too small to know whether it will pose a threat to the population at large. “It’s a very small sample and it’s geographically spread, which makes it more difficult to get a handle on it,” says Jeffrey Dimond, a CDC spokesman. “Most of the cases have come through direct contact with the animals, through the 4H Club and that sort of thing.” In order to have a true threat of causing an epidemic or pandemic, Dimond says the virus needs to spread easily between humans. “If you’re in close contact with someone who’s ill, that’s one thing,” he says. “To make it like the pandemic flu of a few years ago, it has to be highly contagious from human to human.” H3N2v or another new flu strain could disrupt what CDC officials expected to be a relatively quiet flu season. Each year’s flu vaccine protects against specific strains of the virus that researchers expect to circulate. In October, Joe Bresee, chief of CDC’s influenza epidemiology and prevention branch, said he was confident this year’s vaccine would protect against the most dangerous flu strains. –U.S. News

Indonesia tallies 3^rd victim of H5N1 in 90 days: Jakarta, Indonesia – A 24-year-old man has died from the bird flu in Jakarta, becoming the third Indonesian victim of the virus in three months. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, head of the Health Ministry’s communicable diseases department, confirmed the death and said tests showed that the man was infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus from birds living around his house. “We have taken samples from birds around his home and are waiting for lab results to determine if they were infected with the virus,” he said. The World Health Organization reports that Indonesia experienced 150 deaths from bird flu between 2003 and 2011. –Gant Daily

H5N1 bird outbreak declared in district of India: Meghalaya government Wednesday confirmed that the samples of dead birds sent to Bhopal tested positive of bird-flu. “The government sent samples of birds died on the government-run farm at Williamnagar, to the Bhopal-High Security Animal Disease Laboratory have tested positive of H5N1,” Prashant Naik, principal secretary of Animal and Husbandry department told Nagaland Post. As soon as the laboratory informed about the reports, Wednesday evening, Meghalaya government alerted all district authorities. More than 3,000 poultry birds have died in the past few weeks on a farm in Williamnagar, the district headquarters of East Garo Hills district. We have asked the district administration to monitor health of all the birds and the movement of birds from the affected area has also been stopped,” Naik said. District administrations in the western part of Meghalaya, meanwhile, have imposed Section 144 CrPC banning movement and selling of poultry and poultry products after the confirmation of bird flu. “It has been decided to immediately commence the culling of birds and destruction of eggs and feed material to control further spread of the disease. The virus has been contained in the affected area,” Praveen Bakshi, district magistrate of East Garo Hills said. “The culling will start from tomorrow (Thursday) within a radius of three kilometres of the infected area,” Bakshi said, adding that movement of farm personnel, restricting access to wild and stray birds and stopping access to infected premises has been banned. In addition, surveillance has been ordered in surrounding areas up to 10 km. –Nagaland Post

APOCALYPSE 2010: Signs of Bible Prophesies fulfilled in Current Events

The Illusory Economic Recovery

The Road to World War III passes through Syria and Iran

UN warns of major Food Crisis and increasing worldwide poverty!

Fitch Rating Agency Warns Of 'Cataclysmic' Euro Collapse

Civil war raging in Syria - Libya part II?

Another swine Flu Outbreak in Mexico - repeat of 2009

Hasta La Vista Baby! / The Terminator goes to the Pentagon

Waging war on Iran through oil barrels and gun barrels

The US dollar the world's Reserve Currency No More?

The Rich Get Richer while the rest get a smaller and smaller share of the pie

George Soros predicts riots, police state and class war for America

Age of Anarchy: From Syria to Mexico, nations facing growing violence

From: http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/

Posted on January 24, 2012

Economic war with Iran has begun - how long before military war?

US Rebounds? Prosperity Around the Corner? - Great article on Daily Bell

Making the world safe for democracy: Exhibit A: LIBYA

REUTERS: Deputy head of Libya's NTC quits after protests

The Chinese Economic juggernaut grinds to a halt in the year of the dragon

When the money no longer flows, the Economy no longer grows

(Illusion ) of Recovery at risk as Americans raid savings

Reuters / Insight: Recovery at risk as Americans raid savings

Related News

Analysis & Opinion

Related Topics

MEDIA DISINFO: events on the ground in Syria completely contrary to media depictions

European Economic woes in the news but problems are everywhere

America: A House Divided - Gap between rich and the rest growing wider..

Perceptions of the Wealthy

About the Survey

Social Conflict in American Life

Income and Perceptions of Class Conflict

Other Demographic Differences

Perceptions of Class Conflict Surge among Whites

The Politics of Class Conflict

How the Rich Got Wealthy

Views on Wealth, Class Conflict

Pestilences in Diverse Places: Pandemic warnings from several sources