Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency has issued German passports for Israel's Mossad secret service, the daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger quoted a former high-ranking BND member as saying on Saturday.
According to the official, Mossad agents are using German passports during their covert operations in Middle Eastern countries.
Reacting to the news report, an unidentified BND spokesman said, "Of course we also have a cooperation with Mossad." The number of issued German passports for Mossad operatives has reportedly increased dramatically since September 11, 2001.
Mossad used also passports from Canada and New Zealand in the 1990s.
Puppet Masters
Gold continued its rise, closing at 556.90 dollars an ounce on Friday, up 2.7% from $542.20 the Friday before. The dollar closed at 0.8236 euros on Friday, virtually unchanged from 0.8239 the week before. The euro, in turn, closed at 1.2142 compared to 1.2137 the week before. Gold in euros would be 458.66 euros an ounce up 2.7% from 446.73 at the previous week's close. Oil closed at 63.92 dollars an ounce, down 0.6% from $64.31 the week before. Oil in euros would be 52.64 euros a barrel, down 0.7% from 52.99 at the end of the previous week. The gold/oil ratio closed at 8.71, up 3.3% from 8.43 the Friday before. In the U.S. stock market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10,959.87, virtually unchanged from 10,959.31 the week before. The NASDAQ closed at 2,317.04 up 0.5% from 2,305.62 at the close of the previous week. The yield on the ten-year U.S. Treasury note was 4.35 at Friday's close, down two basis points from 4.37 the week before.
Besides gold, everything in the numbers looks pretty normal. Gold, however, has risen 10% since Christmas. The economic crisis is here. So why is the stock market doing so well? Steven Lagavulin of the Deconsumption blog points out that the U.S. Federal Reserve Board has pumped more money into the system than they have since September 11, 2001:
Besides gold, everything in the numbers looks pretty normal. Gold, however, has risen 10% since Christmas. The economic crisis is here. So why is the stock market doing so well? Steven Lagavulin of the Deconsumption blog points out that the U.S. Federal Reserve Board has pumped more money into the system than they have since September 11, 2001:
Fed FloodMichael Nystrom confronts the high stock price question and also concludes that it is due to the massive increase in the M3 money supply:
I've been watching this handy thumbnail graph of Federal open market actions for some time now and thought it might be of interest to pass along. It basically reflects the daily liquidity that's being created--measuring the power of the proverbial printing presses. And frankly, they've been kicked into high gear for the past couple weeks. I assumed this was just to give a quick boost to the stock market going into year's end, but I gotta tell ya.....yesterday's action was massive...I mean the kind of liquidity you wouldn't see unless there was real Fear at the Fed.
To give you some perspective you might eyeball the bottom black lines on this longer-term chart....and note that the last time we saw 60 billion was in the second week of Sept. 2001....
Running Time: 00:30:44
Download: MP3
Running Time: 00:30:44
Download: MP3
According to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition, the definition of a civil war is a "war between political factions or regions within the same country." That is exactly what is going on in Iraq, not a global war on terrorism, as the President continues to portray it.
WASHINGTON, DC -- Just a few days before Iran announced it was removing U.N. seals on its uranium enrichment equipment and resuming nuclear research, Israel's Chief of General Staff Lt.Gen. Dan Halutz said Iran's nuclear program 'can be destroyed.' He made the comments during a conference at Tel Aviv University, Israeli Army Radio reported.
Halutz, however, stated Iran's continued nuclear program 'it is not only Israel's problem,' but said the ball was in Iran's court.
'There is no doubt the Iranians are taking this to the brink,' he said.
Halutz, however, stated Iran's continued nuclear program 'it is not only Israel's problem,' but said the ball was in Iran's court.
'There is no doubt the Iranians are taking this to the brink,' he said.
Billionaire investor George Soros said on Monday he thinks the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary tightening could tip the economy into recession in 2007 and he expects a sharp dollar decline.
Soros said he expects the federal funds rate, now at 4.25 percent, to peak at 4.75 percent and that the Fed would try to achieve a soft landing for the economy.
Nevertheless, the Fed could overshoot, he told a seminar in Singapore.
"If housing continues to cool while rates are slowing then it could turn into a hard landing," Soros said.
"That's why I expect a recession to happen in 2007, not 2006."
Soros said he expects the federal funds rate, now at 4.25 percent, to peak at 4.75 percent and that the Fed would try to achieve a soft landing for the economy.
Nevertheless, the Fed could overshoot, he told a seminar in Singapore.
"If housing continues to cool while rates are slowing then it could turn into a hard landing," Soros said.
"That's why I expect a recession to happen in 2007, not 2006."
Gold closed at 542.20 dollars an ounce on Friday, up 4.3% (and more than 7% for the past two weeks) from $519.70 at the end of the week before. The dollar closed at 0.8239 euros on Friday, down 2.4% from 0.8440 the week before. That puts the euro at 1.2137, compared to 1.1849 at the previous Friday's close. Gold in euros would be 446.73 euros an ounce, up 1.9% from the previous week's 438.60. Oil closed at 64.31 dollars a barrel on Friday, up 5.4% from $61.04 the week before. Oil in euros would be 52.99 euros a barrel, up 3.0% from 51.43 for the week. The gold/oil ratio was 8.43 down 1.0% from 8.51 the week before. In the U.S. stock market, the Dow closed at 10,959.31, up 2.3% from 10,717.50 the week before (down when denominated in gold and oil, though). The NASDAQ closed at 2,305.62 on Friday, up 4.5% from 2,205.32 at the previous week's close. The yield on the ten-year U.S. Treasury note was 4.37%, down two basis points from 4.39 the week before.
Another odd week where the Mainstream Media in the U.S. are trying to push their rosy economic scenario while gold and oil are up sharply, and the U.S. seems to be careening from two disastrous and expensive military defeats while planning several more. Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba? Which will it be? And it is doing this planning with a major constitutional crisis looming (that is, if there is any constitution left to have a crisis).
Speaking of Iraq, lost in the bad news for the U.S. on the battlefield was the news that the International Monetary Fund's prescription for Iraq is working like a charm in producing the classic "IMF Riot":
Another odd week where the Mainstream Media in the U.S. are trying to push their rosy economic scenario while gold and oil are up sharply, and the U.S. seems to be careening from two disastrous and expensive military defeats while planning several more. Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba? Which will it be? And it is doing this planning with a major constitutional crisis looming (that is, if there is any constitution left to have a crisis).
Speaking of Iraq, lost in the bad news for the U.S. on the battlefield was the news that the International Monetary Fund's prescription for Iraq is working like a charm in producing the classic "IMF Riot":
Running Time: 00:47:06
Download: MP3
Item: Sharon is in the midst of a career-ending scandal when he is struck down by a life-threatening blood clot in his brain.
Item: A live Sharon will have to face prosecution for the Kern-Schlaff bribes, even in Israel's thoroughly corrupt legal system. A dead Sharon will not have to face prosecution. And that would be just fine for the creme de la creme of the country's political leadership.
Item: The prognosis is a living, or real, death.
Item: A live Sharon will have to face prosecution for the Kern-Schlaff bribes, even in Israel's thoroughly corrupt legal system. A dead Sharon will not have to face prosecution. And that would be just fine for the creme de la creme of the country's political leadership.
Item: The prognosis is a living, or real, death.
