Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a longtime advocate for reform of the Federal Reserve, is sharply criticizing the Federal Reserve today after Bloomberg news reported that the Federal Reserve secretly committed nearly $8 trillion in support to American and international financial institutions during the 2008 bailout. Kucinich recorded a video for his website before going to the floor of the House of Representatives to call upon Congress to reclaim its Constitution primacy over monetary policy.
Now Do You Understand Occupy Wall Street?
Puppet Masters
© AP
Protesters storm the British embassy in Tehran yesterday
Protesters storm the British embassy in Tehran yesterday
Britain staged a joint invasion of Iran with Soviet forces when the Shah's predecessor got a bit too close to the Nazis in World War Two and then helped the Americans overthrow the democratically elected Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953 after he nationalised Britain's oil possessions in the country.
This was not a myth but a real, down-to-earth conspiracy. The CIA called it Operation Ajax; the Brits wisely kept their ambitions in check by calling it Operation Boot. MI6's agent in Tehran was Colonel Monty Woodhouse, previously our Special Operations Executive man inside German-occupied Greece. I knew "Monty" well - we co-operated together when I investigated the grim wartime career of ex-UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim - and he was a ruthless man. Woodhouse brought weapons into Iran for a still non-existent "resistance" movement and he eagerly supported the CIA's project to fund the "bazaaris" of Tehran to stage demonstrations (in which, of course, hundreds, perhaps thousands, died) to overthrow Mossadegh.
Tehran - Is Israel worth the destruction of the American nation? This is the main question many Americans are asking themselves these days while the US is in the midst of a confrontation with Iran, Syria and many other Muslim nations.
An Israeli official recently said that Zionists' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to persuade his Cabinet to authorize a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities - a discussion that comes as Israel successfully tests a missile believed capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to Iran.
Pakistan, an Islamic country with its own eschatologies, is estimated to have around 100 nuclear warheads. Israel, or better to say the Occupied Palestine a country the size of New Jersey, has, by some estimates, at least 200 nuclear warheads and perhaps as many as 400, some of which are certainly hydrogen (thermonuclear) bombs.
TeaMp0isoN, the hacking group linked to hacktivist collective Anonymous, has posted the log-in details of over 1,000 United Nations employees online in an attempt to highlight what it perceives to be corruption at the organisation.
The details, including email addresses, passwords and log-ins, were posted to Pastebin, and the perpetrators branded the UN a "Senate for Global Corruption".
The details, including email addresses, passwords and log-ins, were posted to Pastebin, and the perpetrators branded the UN a "Senate for Global Corruption".
Researcher says seeing is believing
An Android app developer has published what he says is conclusive proof that millions of smartphones are secretly monitoring the key presses, geographic locations, and received messages of its users.
In a YouTube video posted on Monday, Trevor Eckhart showed how software from a Silicon Valley company known as Carrier IQ recorded in real time the keys he pressed into a stock EVO handset, which he had reset to factory settings just prior to the demonstration. Using a packet sniffer while his device was in airplane mode, he demonstrated how each numeric tap and every received text message is logged by the software.
An Android app developer has published what he says is conclusive proof that millions of smartphones are secretly monitoring the key presses, geographic locations, and received messages of its users.
In a YouTube video posted on Monday, Trevor Eckhart showed how software from a Silicon Valley company known as Carrier IQ recorded in real time the keys he pressed into a stock EVO handset, which he had reset to factory settings just prior to the demonstration. Using a packet sniffer while his device was in airplane mode, he demonstrated how each numeric tap and every received text message is logged by the software.
Fast forward to 2:08: "It is puzzling to some that Major General Zhang Zhaozhong, a professor from the Chinese National Defense University, said China will not hesitate to protect Iran even with a third World War... Professor Xia Ming: "Zhang Zhaozhong said that not hesitating to fight a third world war would be entirely for domestic political needs...." And don't forget Russia, which recently said it is preparing to retaliate against NATO and has put radar stations on combat alert: "Russia is another ally of Iran, with similar policy to that of China. Toward Iran." Watch, and please forward the entire video, for an explanation of how China is approaching the situation not only in Iran, but a perspective of how they view the western "threat", as well as what tensions they face domestically.
© SOTT.net
Justin Raimondo at Antiwar.com points out a probable reason for the U.S. Senate's voting to give the military the power to seize Americans from their homes and detain them indefinitely, without any suspicion or charges brought against them, and based solely on the judgment and whim of U.S. soldiers and other armed agents of government. I addressed this just recently, in my article on martial law and my article on inalienable rights.
The reason we have rules for government officials to follow is to protect innocent civilians from being wrongfully arrested and detained. There needs to be actual suspicion and there need to be actual charges brought against someone - otherwise these agents of the State are obligated by law, and by adherence to the American principles of presumption of innocence and inalienable rights, to leave people alone.
Paul Joseph Watson at Infowars.com writes about Sen. Rand Paul as stating that this bill could cause any American to be sent to Guantanamo prison without charges, without trial. Now, shouldn't we worry about this in light of DHS Sec. Janet Napolitano's campaign, "If You See Something, Say Something"? Such a campaign urges Americans to snitch on their neighbors, but based on something that could be entirely innocent, only perceived by the snitchers as something criminal or "terrorist" in nature - and the snitchee will have no chance to defend oneself when being arrested and detained. No evidence, only the word of the ignorant snitcher, and no due process. And with this bill, it is especially worrisome, given the indefinite nature of the detention.
© icanhascheezburger.com
How's that trickle down working out for you?
How's that trickle down working out for you?
The Top 0.1% Of The Nation Earn Half Of All Capital Gains
Capital gains are the key ingredient of income disparity in the US - and the force behind the winner takes all mantra of our economic system. If you want even out earning power in the U.S, you have to raise the 15% capital gains tax.
Income and wealth disparities become even more absurd if we look at the top 0.1% of the nation's earners - rather than the more common 1%. The top 0.1% - about 315,000 individuals out of 315 million - are making about half of all capital gains on the sale of shares or property after 1 year; and these capital gains make up 60% of the income made by the Forbes 400.
It's crystal clear that the Bush tax reduction on capital gains and dividend income in 2003 was the cutting edge policy that has created the immense increase in net worth of corporate executives, Wall St. professionals and other entrepreneurs.
The reduction in the tax from 20% to 15% continued the step-by-step tradition of cutting this tax to create more wealth. It had first been reduced from 35% in 1978 at a time of stock market and economic stagnation to 28% . Again 1981, at the start of the Reagan era, it was reduced again to 20% - raised back to 28% in 1987, on the eve of the October 19 th - 23% crash in the market. In 1997 Clinton agreed to reduce it back to 20%, which move was an inducement for the explosion of hedge funds and private equity firms - the most "rapidly rising cohort within the top 1 per cent."
Well, now they have done it. On Tuesday a bipartisan total of 61 Senators voted for and only 37 voted against provisions in latest Defense Authorization Act that would authorize the President of the United States to arrest and detain indefinitely, without charges or trial, people suspected of being enemies, or linked to enemies of the United States.
Most Democrats voted against the provisions but only two Republicans voted nay - despite the fact that it is the Republicans more than the Democrats who talk about the importance of abiding by the Constitution. The two Republican Senators who have both read and respected the Constitution of the United States and therefore voted against the travesty were Mark Kirk of Illinois and Rand Paul of Kentucky.
The vote is such a blatant thumbing of senatorial noses at the Constitution of the United States that it might even be called revolutionary - or counterrevolutionary, meaning that it is an attempt to at least partially overthrow the revolution against the tyranny of the British crown beginning with the Declaration of Independence in 1776. When former Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) was criticized by some of his Senate colleagues for following a line of reasoning that is "pre-911," the Senator, who cast the lone Senate vote against the controversial Patriot Act, replied that his critics were exhibiting a manner of reasoning that might be called "pre-1776."
© Reuters
Iranian protesters stormed two British Embassy compounds in Tehran on Tuesday
Iranian protesters stormed two British Embassy compounds in Tehran on Tuesday
"The Iranian charge [d'affaires] in London is being informed now that we require the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London and that all Iranian diplomatic staff must leave the United Kingdom within the next 48 hours," British Foreign Minister William Hague told parliament on Wednesday.
"We have now closed the British embassy in Tehran. We have decided to evacuate all our staff and as of the last few minutes, the last of our UK-based staff have now left Iran."
Hague also announced that Iranian ambassadors had been summoned in countries across Europe to receive strong protests over the storming of the embassy.
The move is a signficant one, Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons reported from London, that amounts to a "firm warning" to Tehran.
Comment: Do you recall what happened yesterday? Central banks move to shore up financial system. "Joining in the move were: the Fed, The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank, the Fed said."
More money, world wide, being printed out of thin air?