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Fri, 01 Dec 2023
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Economy, Markets and Finance - December 9th

The markets last week reacted in a deflationary mode, spurred by the stunning loss of a half million jobs in the United States in November. Commodities were down, stocks were down, and US bonds were up (driving yields down) while Japanese bonds dropped on fears of increased government borrowing next year. Oil dropped sharply (23%), gold fell 7.5% and interest rates are falling closer and closer to zero. How close? The yield on the 3-month U.S. Treasury Notes, for example, is now 0.01%. In other words, if prices are going down, you are better off having money rather than things.

It's not looking out in the real economy but it's all roses for the banks as the EU began approving the various European bank bailouts. Hedge Fund news is dire with many, including the once mighty Fortress, stopping or severely limiting investor withdrawals while being reported to be "crumbling".

With the crisis in the auto sector, Ford is looking to sell Volvo the Swedish carmaker it bought ten years ago in a bid to raise cash.

Comment: We have decided to separate the market and financial news section of our analysis from our broader analysis and commentary. This week's continuation of State Sanctioned Theft, State Repression and the Establishment of Capitalism can be found here.

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SOTT Podcast: Toxic World, Toxic Bodies

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In this SOTT.net podcast, we touch on a topic that hasn't received anywhere near the attention that it deserves: improving our health through a program of detoxification. We're joined by Mark Givert of Get Fitt™ Ltd, a UK-based company that provides far infrared saunas and other products to detoxify the body and improve overall health. We discuss the benefits of far infrared, the surprising effects of heavy metal toxicity and candida, and several other illnesses and health-related topics. Mark and Laura also share their personal stories of how the far infrared saunas were a key tool in helping to restore their health and battle toxicity. Even if you have never had any serious illnesses or health issues, this is one podcast you can't afford to miss!

Running Time: 01:10:48

Download: MP3


Compass

Libya accuses Israel of piracy by blocking ship

Libya accused Israel of piracy at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday for preventing a Libyan ship from delivering humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip. The Libyan boat, Al-Marwa, turned back in the face of an Israeli naval blockade on Monday. Libyan and Palestinian officials said it was carrying 3,000 tons of food, medicine and other aid to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Question

Mumbai attack: Seven Questions

After various conjectures, speculations and angry or anguished advice had eaten up miles of footage and reams of newsprint in the wake of the nightmarish Mumbai carnage, a colleague still asked, 'So, what is your conspiracy theory about these horrible happenings?' Conspiracy theory I have none, but I do have a set of seven questions that have elicited no definitive answer in the current chatter and intrigue me no end. Here they are:

Magnify

Mumbai False Flag hatched by Zionists

Mumbai's 26/11 was actually a plan hatched by "Hindu Zionists" and "Western Zionists", including the Mossad, said a Pakistan security expert on a Pakistan news television show.

Coffee

State Sanctioned Theft - When Immorality is Law and Resistance is Crime

World stock indexes rebounded strongly last week. The Dow and the Hang Seng were up nearly 10%, the FTSE and DAX were up 13% and the Brazilian Bovespa was up a whopping 17%. Gold pushed passed $800.

In the U.S. retailers reported a better than feared "Black Friday," with sales rising 3% compared to the previous year, although discounts were deep and profit margins low. Black Friday refers to the Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday. It is both the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season and the day that retailers start to make their profits for the year. In recent years it has become a bigger and bigger thing, with families waiting in line outside big box stores and malls the night before waiting to get let in at five in the morning, lured by steep discounts on a few big ticket items. This year with the bad economy it got completely out of hand as a Walmart employee was trampled to death in Long Island when the crowds were let in.

Document

Official: India received intel on Mumbai attacks

India picked up intelligence in recent months that Pakistan-based terrorists were plotting attacks against Mumbai targets, an official said Tuesday, as the government demanded that Pakistan take "strong action" against those behind the deadly rampage.

Bad Guys

Mossad role in Turkey coup plot revealed

Tuncay Gueny
© Press TV
Tuncay Gueny is suspect of attempts to topple Turkish government.
Israel's national intelligence agency Mossad has been behind a failed coup in Turkey, the Turkish daily newspaper, Milliyet reports.

A secret investigation into detained Ergenekon group members and other studies outside Turkey indicate that Mossad orchestrated the coup plot against the Turkish government, the report says.

The Ergenekon group is a Turkish neo-nationalist organization with alleged links to the military, members of which have been arrested on charges of plotting to foment unrest in the country.

Investigators uncovered evidence that show a Jewish rabbi named Tuncay Guney, who worked for Mossad and fled to Canada in 2004, was a key figure behind attempts to overthrow the Turkish government.

A document uncovered this week by the Sabah daily shows how Guney purposefully infiltrated Ergenekon and another organization known as JITEM, an illegal intelligence unit in the gendarmerie suspected of hundreds of murders and kidnappings .

Vader

Right-Wing Kristol Calls On Bush To Pardon Torturers And Wiretappers, Reward Them With Medal Of Freedom

george bush medal of freedom
In his new Weekly Standard column, right-wing pundit Bill Kristol lays out a to-do list for President Bush before he leaves office. He urges Bush to deliver speeches "reminding Americans of our successes fighting the war on terror." Kristol dreams, "Over time, Bush might even get deserved credit for effective conduct of the war on terror."

After urging Bush to fight the incoming administration's desire to close Guantanamo, Kristol concludes with this:
One last thing: Bush should consider pardoning - and should at least be vociferously praising - everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution. But the idea is this: The CIA agents who waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the NSA officials who listened in on phone calls from Pakistan, should not have to worry about legal bills or public defamation. In fact, Bush might want to give some of these public servants the Medal of Freedom at the same time he bestows the honor on Generals Petraeus and Odierno. They deserve it.
In the Bush era, the Medal of Freedom has come to absurdly represent a reward for those who carried out policy failures at the urging of the Bush administration. By this standard, the implementers of torture and warrantless wiretapping certainly qualify for such a medal.

Bad Guys

Mumbai "terrorists": "Foreign looking, fair skinned" men had blonde hair, punkish hairstyle, drank beer before killing spree

Pappu Mishra was tending to his customers at his glass-walled cafe at the gothic Victorian Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station in Mumbai when he spotted two sprightly young men dressed in black.