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Saturday 31 January 2015

Greece Is Now a Russia Sanctions Veto. Merkel Is Foaming at the Mouth

Yes, regardless of the "economic" fall out of the new Greek Syriza government, the very fact that Greece is standing and saying "NO!" very loudly to the EU and actually has a veto power is being greatly understated by the western media.  Remember, on Tuesday when all of this was made quite clear in the face of the EU issuing statements against Russia without asking for the opinions of, or voting in favor of by the EU nations that they purportedly represent, Greece wasn't the only one to say "NO": Hungary, Slovakia and Austria ALSO stood up and voiced their disagreement- a fact that was under-reported and completely whitewashed over by the western media mobsters.

Things in Europe are getting very..... interesting.

d
























Greece Is Now a Russia Sanctions Veto. Merkel Is Foaming at the Mouth

Greece is now effectively a veto power when it comes to future Russian sanctions. Merkel will have to find a new country to bully. 
17 hours ago | 3678 26
In recent months, Kotzias wrote on Twitter that sanctions against Russia weren’t in Greece’s interests.
This article originally appeared at Zero Hedge

Two days ago, Zero Hedge first, and shortly thereafter everyone else, pointed out something stunning: the biggest surprise to emerge so far out of the new anti-Troika/austerity Greek government was not so much its intention to proceed with the first test of "Odious Debt" - this was largely known in advance - but its dramatic pivot away from Germany and Europe, and toward Russia.
As we noted before, not only has Greece already blocked all ongoing privatization processes, a clear snub of Merkel and the Troika which demands the piecemeal blue light special sale of Greece to western buyers as part of the "bailout", but is also looking at plans to reinstate public sector employees and announce increased pensions for those on low incomes: further clear breaches of the Troika's austerity terms.
But the most important message that Tsipras is sending to Europe is that (after meeting the Russian ambassador first upon his election) Greece is now effectively a veto power when it comes to future Russian sanctions!
This was first hinted when the Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, who arrives in Brussels today to discuss possible additional sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, said a few days ago that the Greek government disagreed with an EU statement in which President Donald Tusk raised the prospect of “further restrictive measures” on Russia. As Bloomberg observed before, in recent months, Kotzias wrote on Twitter that sanctions against Russia weren’t in Greece’s interests. He said in a blog that a new foreign policy for Greece should be focused on stopping the ongoing transformation of the EU “into an idiosyncratic empire, under the rule of Germany.”
And Europe, shocked that one of its own has dared to question its "unanimous" policy toward Russia, a policy driven by the US foreign state department whose opinion of Europe is best captured by the hacked and intercepted "Fuck the EU" outburst by Victoria Nuland in February 2014, has been forced to backtrack.From DPA:
The European Union denied Wednesday that it ignored Greek objections when it issued a statement raising the prospects of new sanctions against Russia.
The row is the first of several clashes expected between Brussels and Greece's new prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, who was elected Sunday on promises to renegotiate the bailout granted to Greece by its European neighbours and the International Monetary Fund.
Tsipras has in the past also spoken out against sanctions on Russia, rejecting the use of "Cold War language."
The EU has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis, notably economic measures restricting Russian access to European credit markets and European exports. On Tuesday morning, EU leaders in a joint statement tasked their foreign ministers with considering "further restrictive measures" when they meet on Thursday.
But Tsipras complained to Greek media that his country had not been consulted on the statement. "Greece do not consent," a statement by Tsipras' office said on Tuesday evening, adding that the announcement from Brussels violated "proper procedure."
A spokesman for EU President Donald Tusk, who issued the statement on behalf of the leaders, denied that Athens had been sidelined during the preparation of the text.
"We consulted everybody, as we always do, and we didn't ignore or sidestep Greece in any way - quite to the contrary," Preben Aamann told dpa. "We tried to find a special solution that would accommodate them."
Actually what the EU "always does" is to ignore the voices and interest of everyone but the most powerful. And as for "not ignoring" Greece, apparently the EU failed. Only this time Greece, its government no longer a Eurozone lackey, will no longer let it slide: "Greek broadcaster Skai said newly appointed Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias would bring up the issue at Thursday's meeting in Brussels. Tsipras is also expected in the Belgian capital on February 12 for an EU summit that will touch upon the situation in Ukraine."
And here is how Russia just won another completely unexpected victory in Europe: "EU sanctions require unanimity to be implemented, so a Greek veto could block any further measures." And all thanks to the epic blunder by Brussels to allow a European nation to voice its opinion in a democratic fashion.
It wasn't just Zero Hedge who first suggested the Greek Russian pivot: here is RBS' Greg Gibbs who says that there are now "concerns Greek government may threaten to veto further Russian sanctions in exchange for debt relief fuels fear of conflict."
To be sure, Germany, whose theatrical opposition to money printing folded like Boehner's lawn chair last week, as it is now all too clear the preservation of German export dominance (and hence aversion to the DEM) and the sanctity of Deutsche Bank is what it is all about no matter the hyperinflationary concerns of the people, is quite furious that the grand ambitions of Europe's economic powerhouse - which as we reported moments ago has now officially entered deflation - have been crushed by tiny, depression-ridden Greece.
Here is Germany's economy minister Gabriel, who was on the tape earlier, casting fire and brimstone at Greece. From Reuters:
Greece should not burden the rest of Europe with its internal political debates,German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Thursday, adding that Greece's own inequalities were to blame for problems that it tried to blame on its multilateral lenders.
Gabriel told parliament Greece should stay in the euro but the new leftist leader Alexis Tsipras must respect the terms of its bailout. Greece could not blame the "troika" of multilateral lenders for its own unfair distribution of wealth, he said.
"All democratic people must respect the democratic decision of voters and a newly-elected government's right to decide its course - but the rest of Europe's citizens should not have to expect changes in Greek politics to burden them," he said.
Of course, as long as the changes in Greek politics allowed the rest of Europe's citizens to continue to benefit at Greek expense, nobody batted an eyelid. But change the equation and all hell breaks loose.
And the final confirmation that suddenly tiny Greece may have all the leverage in Europe is that moments ago Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that European sanctions on Russia are complicated by the "new Greek government."
The good news for Greece, of course, is that it now has all the optionality: it can use its veto power as a bargaining chip to unblock US foreign policy in Ukraine (because at the end of the day, Europe is merely losing as a result of the Russian sanctions) and demand a debt haircut in exchange for siding with John Kerry on further Russian "punishment." Or he may simply hold the line and hold off for a competing, better offer from Russia and the BRICs, whose leverage may be nominal  now that crude is plummeting, but if and when the last shale junk bond investor blows up and the US shale renaissance is over sending crude soaring right back to $100, then watch as the oil exporters are back with a bang, and dictating geopolitical terms.
And whatever happens, please don't remind Brussels that point 40 of Syriza's 40 Point Manifesto, aka the "nuclear option", is "Closure of all foreign bases in Greece and withdrawal from NATO."
It is so bad that Business New Europe went so far as to ask if the New Greek Government is "Russia's Trojan horse inside the EU?"
In any event, the European balance of power has just shifted and in a way that nobody anticipated:
The biggest winners: if only for now: Greece and Russia (and, while it will never be admitted, all those Europeans who desperately need the Russian import market).
The biggest losers: all the unelected Eurocrats in Brussels who at this moment are scratching their heads how to bring the bad news that there is no longer unanimity on Russian sanctions to John Kerry, and all thanks to a country nobody thought would dare to speak up.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-29/putins-unexpected-victory-germany-furious-greece-now-russian-sanctions-veto


Friday 30 January 2015

Transpicuous News Special Financial Report: Unpegging a "Soft Landing"

Tonight on CCN I will be doing a LIVE stream Special Financial Report on Transpicuous News.

News this week has been very.... exciting.  The Financial News hints have been HUGE.  For those of you following the Iraqi Dinar Revaluation, the Global Currency Revaluations etc... you will find the information I have to bring out tonight very interesting, no doubt.

So please tune in tonight on CCN, live at 11pm GMT

And as a little prequel, below are the clips from this past Sunday nights TN report and the Wednesday night Midweek report for you to listen to before the show goes live tonight.  Oh.... and below that, is a little light reading for you to do for your homework.

D

Sunday January 25, 2015- 8 minute segment from the Transpicuous News report.





And Wednesday night on the Midweek Report I also said a few things about the currency peg situation- if you scroll forward to the 42:07 to 43:52 mark you will hear my commentary.



BREAKING NEWS: Holland- gunman threatens news studio- FF set up?

Well here we go my friends.  The Nederland's government has been looking for an excuse to "increase security" and "limit the internet" and perhaps even.... close borders.

Tonight at 7pm GM, a well dressed young man entered the news studios of NOS in Hilversum Holland, and walked into the live studio with a gun and demanded "air time" for 10 minutes..... and says:  "
"The things that are going to be said (pause) those are very large world affairs. We were hired by the security service.""

I have two Dutch friends combing through all the data that has been coming out since the first moment the story broke in Holland.  Here is what we know- according to the media- so far:



Jan. 29, 2015 4:14 PM ET

Gunman who stormed Dutch broadcaster claimed to be hacker

By MIKE CORDER and PETER DEJONG, Associated Press THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES 

  •    
Security forces are seen outside the Media Park in Hilversum, Netherlands, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. A gunman entered the headquarters of Dutch national broadcaster NOS outside Amsterdam on Thursday and demanded airtime on television, before being detained, company officials said. Jan de Jong, director of the NOS, told national radio "Someone got into the building" and added that the man had been taken into custody.(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)



(AP) — A gunman who stormed into the headquarters of Dutch national broadcaster NOS demanding airtime Thursday night claimed to be from a "hackers' collective," according to a reporter who spoke to the man.
NOS was off-air for around an hour. When it came back, it showed recorded footage of the young man, wearing a black suit, white shirt and black tie, and carrying a pistol.
Speaking calmly to a man off-camera, the man said, "We are hired in by intelligence agencies." Shortly after, police arrived with their guns drawn and ordered the man to drop his weapon and put his hands up. At least five police officers then ordered him to turn around and lie down, which he did and he was arrested without a struggle.
Police said in a statement the man demanded airtime and threatened that bombs would go off at several locations around the Netherlands if his demand wasn't met. Special police units were searching the building.
There was no immediate indication that the incident was related to Islamic extremism. Nobody was injured and there were no reports of shots being fired.
NOS reporter Martijn Bink said he spoke to the man after he was arrested and he claimed to be from a hackers' collective. He didn't elaborate.
The broadcaster later reported on its website that the man had a silencer on the pistol and threatened a security guard, forcing him to take him upstairs to the editorial offices.
When the incident was over, NOS director Jan de Jong told the broadcaster that the headquarters had beefed up security in the aftermath of the attack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead in Paris. The media park in Hilversum, home to many Dutch broadcasters, has been tightly guarded for years, since populist Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was gunned down in a parking lot there in 2002.
While the broadcaster was off-air, a screen on the NOS1 channel read "Please be patient" in Dutch. All staff were evacuated from the building as the situation unfolded and remained outside nearly two hours later as police searched the building. NOS resumed broadcasting from a studio in The Hague.
Staff at NOS led the man into a studio near the studio where the 8 p.m. news was to have been broadcast live. In the studio, he spoke to the security guard he had forced to take him into the offices. He never appeared live on television.
Calls to NOS offices in Hilversum, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Amsterdam, went unanswered Thursday night.

http://hosted2.ap.org/ARLID/2e515285f07040df999bd6b670db791c/Article_2015-01-29-EU--Netherlands-Broadcaster%20Raid/id-bd4e2001c87944cba9ef514c0f0facce



Answer me this:  How did a 19 year old young man, carrying a gun with a silencer, get into a studio that is live on the air, and calmly ask for 10 minutes of air time- when supposedly they have super security in place?

I will post the screen shots that I have collected of the various things that the research team have found so far:
































Translation of the note:

When you read this, do not panic. dont go yelling and do not go warn your collegues either. Act like everything is alright. I am heavily armed. when you co-operate nicely, then no harm will come to you. realize that i am not alone. there are 5 + 98 hackers ready to deploy a cyber attack. additionally there are 8 heavy explovies located around the country that contain radioactive material. when you do not bring me to studio 8 to overtake a broadcast, then we will be forced to take action. you do not want to be responsible for that right ? so guide me to studio 8 now, the NOS studio.












































Why does the PRINTED, PRE-PUBLISHED  version of the Television schedule call for NOS Journaal tonight to be 1.5 hours long? The daily 8pm spot is always 25 minutes.
On television, NOS Journaal bulletins can be seen on channels of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting, the Dutch public broadcaster. Its flagship 25-minute bulletin airs at 8:00pm every night on NPO 1, formerly Nederland 1, - the most watched news programme in the Netherlands, with an audience of around 1.5 to two million viewers daily (around a fifth of the market share around that hour).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOS_Journaal


Facebook profile of the supposed "gunman"






































Statements have now been made by the media that the suspect is 19 years old, NOT an Islamic militant, NOT on any watch lists as a Jihadist.  They are stating that he recently lost his parents and social media spirals that he is "mentally unstable".



UPDATE 5-Man wielding pistol arrested at Dutch national broadcaster

Thu Jan 29, 2015 5:43pm EST


* Young man in suit arrested in television studio
* Man threatened security guard, suggested he had accomplices
* TV says man is student who lost parents, not on jihadist list
* Dutch minister says man appears to have acted alone (Adds police identifying man as 19-year-old Dutchman)
By Thomas Escritt and Toby Sterling
AMSTERDAM, Jan 29 (Reuters) - A 19-year-old Dutchman with a pistol forced his way into the studios of the national broadcaster NOS on Thursday demanding to be allowed to go on air, but was quickly arrested, officials said.
Wearing a black suit and tie, the man entered the studio after threatening a guard with a pistol, witnesses said. It was unclear how he passed through security, which was increased after the attacks in Paris earlier this month.
Footage aired on Dutch TV showed the man pacing in the studio with a black pistol behind his back.
He had intended to speak to the country on the most popular evening news broadcast, but was led to an empty studio by a quick-thinking security guard.
"This is taking too long," the man said. Then police stormed into the studio yelling, "Drop it! Drop it! And get on your knees!". He dropped the gun, saying, "I dropped it. It's dropped", and the police put handcuffs on him and took him away.
The man lives in the central Dutch town of Pijnacker, near the university town Delft, officials said, declining to provide details. They refused to comment on media reports that he was a student whose parents had recently died and that he was not on a watchlist of Islamist militants.
He was being questioned and could be charged with kidnapping, possession of a firearm and threatening people with a weapon, prosecutor Johan Bac said at a press conference.
No one was hurt, but the NOS television broadcaster cancelled its two main nightly newscasts.
The man's motive was unclear; the NOS footage showed him saying, "The things that are going to be said (pause) those are very large world affairs. We were hired by the security service."
Police special forces swept the building for explosives and found nothing, police spokesman Christine Scholts said.
"We are currently investigating who this man is and what he wants," she said. The police were looking into claims that he had accomplices around the country with explosives.
"He took the security guard hostage and said he wanted air time. If they didn't give it to him, he said there would be bombs in different places in the Netherlands that would explode if he didn't get time on TV," Scholts said.
The threats were reportedly also contained in a letter that the man took to the studio, a purported copy of which was aired by the RTL news channel.
"Realise that I am not on my own," it said. "Furthermore, eight high explosives have been planted that contain radioactive material. If you don't take me to studio 8 to make my broadcast, we will be forced to step into action."
Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the letter.
Dutch Minister for Security and Justice Ivo Opstelten told the ANP national news agency the man appeared to have acted alone.
Security has been tightened across Europe since jihadist attacks on the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in Paris this month, as well as the killing of two gunmen in Belgium during raids on an Islamist group that authorities said were planning to attack police.
NOS television said the gunman appeared to be a student who had recently lost both parents. It also said he did not figure on security services' lists of suspected Islamist militants.
NOS produces the most widely watched television newscast in the Netherlands and is based in the main national broadcast park in Hilversum.
Security has been tight there since populist politician Pim Fortuyn was shot outside a studio in 2002.
As the gunman entered the studios on Thursday, NOS's main news channel displayed a message that read, "In connection with circumstances, no broadcast is available at this time."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/29/dutch-gunman-tv-idUSL6N0V86V220150129

And of course, there has to be an official response- but isn't it strange that the supposed "gunman" was taken down at 8:12 pm, and by 8:40 they release this:

The Leaders of the opposition parties in parliament are worried that the intelligence service and police don't have enough resources and specialized people?!  Within 30 minutes.... they have already decided that they do not have enough resources?!?




xxxxx





Tomorrow mornings headlines are already written
picture of "Gunman" from TV coverage


Above  are a few more screen shots and below are links to further articles:

Gunman arrested at Dutch news broadcaster NOS
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31051114

Armed man demands airtime News
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&langpair=nl|en&u=http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/23617802/__Gewapende_man_eist_zendtijd_Journaal__.html&sandbox=0&usg=ALkJrhgNYmQ6XjfQt72Z0b0A0pSn6iqRBg

Opposition worried about resources and personnel and police AIVD
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&langpair=nl|en&u=http://www.nu.nl/politiek/3982465/oppositie-ongerust-middelen-en-personeel-aivd-en-politie.html

Gunman who stormed Dutch broadcaster claimed to be hacker
http://hosted2.ap.org/ARLID/2e515285f07040df999bd6b670db791c/Article_2015-01-29-EU--Netherlands-Broadcaster%20Raid/id-bd4e2001c87944cba9ef514c0f0facce

Thursday 29 January 2015

Transpicuous News Midweek Report: Greece & Russia and the Blizzard that wasn't

Welcome to Transpicuous News Midweek Report, Wed January 28th, 2014

The opening few days this week certainly didn't disappoint in the realms of "exciting news".  From Syriza winning in Greece and oh the fun that began from the moment it was announced, to the mystery of the blizzard that wasn't, to Russian maneuvering, Ukrainian conscription, Chinese Pegs, and mysterious manipulation of a couple of interesting stocks in the markets.

Oh the fun I had this week.... even if sleep was lacking.

d

http://transpicuousnews.blogspot.com/2015/01/transpicuous-news-midweek-report-greece.html





China’s complicity in building the Rockefeller New World Order, in their own words…
http://redefininggod.com/2014/11/chinas-complicity-in-building-the-rockefeller-new-world-order-in-their-own-words/

Down-to-earth holy leader: 12 reasons why Pope Francis is cool
http://rt.com/news/225239-pope-francis-cool-list/

Gunmen kidnap Libyan deputy foreign minister
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/01/25/uk-libya-security-idUKKBN0KY0MR20150125

Huge power failure in Pakistan causes blackout leaving 80% of country without electricity
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/huge-power-failure-in-pakistan-causes-blackout-leaving-80-of-country-without-electricity-10001449.html

Get ready for negative interest rates in the US
http://mises.ca/posts/blog/get-ready-for-negative-interest-rates-in-the-us/

Greece election - Live coverage
http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/jan/25/greek-election-syriza-confident-of-victory-live-updates

U.S. Drone Kills 3 Qaeda Operatives in Yemen, Continuing Policy on Strikes
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/world/middleeast/cia-drone-yemen-qaeda.html?_r=0

Facebook, Instagram go down globally, internet freaks out
http://rt.com/news/226535-facebook-instagram-down-websites/

Giant asteroid that whizzed past Earth has its own moon
http://rt.com/news/226499-asteroid-bl86-earth-moon/

Putin: Ukraine army is NATO legion aimed at restraining Russia
http://rt.com/news/226319-putin-nato-russia-ukraine/

Justice Dept spying on millions of US drivers - report
http://rt.com/usa/226483-justice-department-cars-surveillance/

‘If they can do it in Greece, we can do it here!’ British left stage Greek embassy demo
http://rt.com/uk/226367-greece-anti-austerity-vigil/

‘If they can do it in Greece, we can do it here!’ British left stage Greek embassy demo
http://rt.com/uk/226367-greece-anti-austerity-vigil/

S&P downgrades Russia's credit rating to junk
http://rt.com/business/226435-standard-poors-rating-junk/

Libya gunmen attack Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31001094

The victory of Syriza in Greece 'bad news for Israel'
http://ejpress.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51411&catid=19

Yemen crisis: Houthi rebels release presidential aide
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31009354

At least three killed after U.N. troops in Mali fire at protest
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/27/us-mali-un-protests-idUSKBN0L01FU20150127

4 beheaded in Saudi Arabia less than a week into King Salman's rule
http://rt.com/news/226867-executions-saudi-arabia-king/

Israel launches airstrikes on Syria following rocket attack, ‘red line’ warning from Iran
http://rt.com/news/226871-israel-syria-airstrike-iran/

New Greek govt furious over EU 'unequivocal' anti-Russia statement
http://rt.com/news/226947-greece-russia-statement-ukraine/

U.S., Europe Threaten New Sanctions Against Moscow
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-europe-threaten-new-sanctions-against-moscow-1422210935

UK government threatening charities for criticism’
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/01/28/395057/UK-threatening-charities-for-criticism

Charities told to keep quiet or lose government contracts
http://www.independentaction.net/2015/01/23/charities-told-to-keep-quiet-or-lose-government-contracts/

Gift gaffe: UK minister accidentally hands 'death omen' to Taiwan mayor
http://rt.com/uk/226763-transport-minister-taiwan-death/

Putin: Those who rewrite history attempt to hide own disgrace
http://rt.com/politics/226707-russia-putin-auschwitz-history/

New sanctions against Russia are economic blackmail - Kremlin
http://rt.com/politics/226259-russia-ukraine-dialogue-peskov/

Kiev used barrier squads to prevent troops from retreating – E. Ukraine militia
http://rt.com/news/226831-ukraine-barrier-troops-donetsk/

Probe after 11 die in NATO training jet crash in Spain
http://news.yahoo.com/ninth-french-national-dies-f-16-jet-crash-103247065.html

CNN De La Rue stocks up 512% jan 27
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/europe/
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=DLUEY
http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/DLUEY.PK/tab/2
http://www.delarue.com/investors/our-share-price/share-price-chart.aspx

18 ships and commercial vessels loaded with commercial shipments arrive Iraqi ports
https://www.zawya.com/story/18_ships_and_commercial_vessels_loaded_with_commercial_shipments_arrive_Iraqi_ports-ZAWYA20150127053759/

България подготвя войска за Украйна.27.01.2015 г.
Bulgaria prepares troops for Ukrayna.27.01.2015 on
http://www.ataka.tv/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE/%D0%B1%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B2%D1%8F-%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0-%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B3-c8810.html

Bulgarian Village in Ukraine Kicks out Military Recruiters (Video)
http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/01/28/2859

As Seen On The Streets Of Manhattan Today
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-27/seen-streets-manhattan

U.S. trade official says Treasury taking lead on currency manipulation
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/27/us-usa-trade-currency-idUSKBN0L021W20150127

Greek Stocks Crash, Bonds Plummet, Banks Have Worst Day Ever
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-28/greek-stocks-crash-bonds-plummet-banks-have-worst-day-ever

Thousands protest in Kosovo capital after 'savages' slur
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30972145

€1.1tn European quantitative easing announcement sends Russian stocks, ruble surging
http://www.bne.eu/content/story/eu11tn-european-quantitative-easing-announcement-sends-russian-stocks-ruble-surging

European anti-terror plan wants 42 pieces of data from air travelers
http://rt.com/news/226963-europe-airlines-terrorism-data/

Online army: Ukraine seeks to recruit bloggers for ‘truth-telling’ crusade
http://rt.com/news/226975-ukraine-internet-web-army/

Iran, Russia to create ‘joint bank’ for trade in national currencies – ambassador
http://rt.com/business/226875-russia-iran-currencies-trade/


‘Tehran, Moscow see possible visa-free regime’
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/01/28/395143/Iran

Second FOX News Suicide in Two Months: Employee Shoots Himself in Front of NYC Head Office
http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/01/26/second-fox-news-suicide-in-two-months-employee-shoots-himself-in-front-of-nyc-head-office/

CNN-Bank of Cyprus PCL     25.07     +5471.11%
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/americas/
not found:
http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=BACPY

cnn Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.
http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=CHGCY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chugai_Pharmaceutical_Co.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoffmann-La_Roche
http://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/2015/major-milestone-for-gsknih-candidate-ebola-vaccine-as-first-doses-shipped-to-liberia-for-use-in-phase-iii-clinical-trial/

Russia May Condemn "Annexation" Of East Germany
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-28/russia-may-condemn-annexation-east-germany

Canada Just "Revised" All Of Its 2014 Job Gains 35% Lower
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-28/canada-just-revised-its-2014-job-gains-35-lower

National Weather Service apologizes for blizzard forecast miss
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/national-weather-service-apologizes-for-blizzard-forecast-miss/
















The spreading alchemy of central bank money-printing

"Money for nothing".... my friends, this one of the most important "economic" articles to be published this year.  This is Canadian Main stream media telling the truth to the world:

Money is nothing but a belief that it is worth something, and the printing of money out of thin air has NOT fixed any of the problems it was suppose to fix.  The unemployment rates are still sky high- regardless of the warped numbers given by the various governments who are desperately trying to convince their citizens that their economy has recovered.  The lies of how "Quantitive Easing" will "fix" the economy and make the world all sunshine and rainbows is clearly seen in the fact that this past two years the Richest got Richer, and everyone else got poorer.  As Zero Hedge said about the EU's QE scheme: "just turning Billionaires into Trillionaires".  Unless the money that is being printed out of Unicorn farts actually gets into the pockets of the people living in that country(ies), there is no true economic growth or "recovery".   It is the money in the pockets of the public that shows the economic health of the system.  If the people are poor, then obviously the economy is also poor.  The media might try to tell everyone that the sun is shining out of the ass of the Central Banks..... but that doesn't mean it really is.


...That $10 bill is only worth $10 because we all believe it's worth $10.  But when the public doesn't even have that $10 bill in their pocket, it's pretty damn difficult to convince them of anything.

My highlights in blue as usual.



d



The spreading alchemy of central bank money-printing

Money for nothing and recovery for free? U.S.'s economic turnaround pulls EU into the pool

By Neil Macdonald, CBC News Posted: Jan 28, 2015 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 28, 2015 5:01 AM ET


Two years ago, I sat in the hushed fortress of the Bank of England, listening to one of its secretive boffins, a languid fellow named Paul Fisher, explain the creation and meaning of money.
He reached into his wallet and fished out a 10-pound note.
This note is worth 10 pounds, he said, because you and I and all the people walking around on the streets out there believe it's worth 10 pounds.
That's it. That's the only reason it has any value beyond the intrinsic value of the paper and ink itself. It's all about trust and belief.
Forget any notion you might have about every pound, or every dollar, being backed up by that much capital out there in the economy.
The gold standard was a myth, too, by the time it was abandoned in the Seventies. There was never anywhere near enough gold to back up all the American dollars in circulation.
So, money is worth what it is only because we continue to trust it, explained Fisher, and any central bank can print more without debasing it as long as everyone keeps trusting and it's all managed carefully by wise people, to wit the central bankers, who are unelected and make their decisions in secret.
It was a dizzying, counterintuitive lesson.
A few months earlier, the head of Germany's central bank, Jens Weidmann, took another view of money, one much closer to my Protestant sensibilities.
He began the same way Fisher did, asking rhetorically what money is, then answering his own question: "Money is that which serves as money."
GLOBAL-CENBANK/
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Germany's Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann attend a conference of central bankers in November. (Reuters)
He then quoted Goethe's Faust, probably the foremost literary work in the German canon.
In part two of the fable, the emperor is whinging about his constant need for more gold, and Mephistopheles, the devil, advises him that all he really needs to do is sign some paper and call it money and everyone will accept it, and all his problems will be solved.
The venal emperor and his courtiers proceed to do just that, "drowning their desires with love and wine," a Goethe line Weidmann quoted directly.
Eventually, the devil disappears and they realize the currency is worthless. The devil's money, Weidmann told his audience, led to inflation.

Don't stop the presses

Weidmann's lesson: Printing more money does indeed debase the value; it's alchemy, the creation of value from nothing, ignoble and irresponsible.
When I interviewed Fisher, the English central banker was making the case for the Bank of England's quantitative easing program, which eventually involved printing 375 billion pounds from thin air, then using it to buy government bonds already in circulation — an indirect means of lending the government money.
The U.S. Federal Reserve was doing the same thing, but on a much larger scale. It eventually printed $4.5 trillion, an incomprehensible sum, before stopping in October.
The goal was to keep interest rates on government bonds low, thus nudging investors into riskier ventures, thereby accelerating the weak economy into a virtuous circle of lending and spending.
The plan amounted to placing a bet on the limits of public confidence in currency, and it took the U.S. and Britain into unknown territory.
ROMANIA-SWISSFRANC/
Not everyone is pleased by central bank manoeuvres. Romanian home owners, who took out mortgages in Swiss francs, are facing crippling exchange rate losses after a central bank-induced surge in the Swiss franc. (REUTERS)
In Europe, though, Germany's view prevailed, and the European Central Bank refused to follow the American and British examples (until now).
Following the great meltdown of 2008, more Euros were not printed. The German vision of austerity and thrift was instead imposed on the weak peripheral Euro countries: Spain, Italy and Greece were told to cut spending and tighten belts as a means of recovery.
Well, two years later, it's beginning to look as though good old Mephistopheles was on to something.
Here in Washington, even the Republicans, who took a more Germanic view and opposed the Fed's money-printing, are trying to take credit for the remarkable recovery that's now underway.
Unemployment here in the U.S. has dropped to 5.6 per cent. That's nearly full employment. Government revenues are rising, and the federal deficit is shrivelling.
In Great Britain, the same Paul Fisher who instructed me on money's ephemeral nature is happily taking credit for the recovery there.
"Without doubt, things would have been much worse if we hadn't stuck to our guns," Fisher told the Independent newspaper last summer.

Pass the Kool-Aid

The European Union's central bankers, meanwhile, have clearly decided the course they chose only prolonged the misery.
Unemployment is still at nearly 13 per cent in Italy, 25 per cent in Spain, and 26 per cent in Greece.
Worse still, the continent may be heading into deflation — a downward price spiral — something that scares the living daylights out of governments and which defies even the powerful tools of central banks.
So, with Germany's reluctant consent, the European Central Bank has begun operating the printing press day and night; it intends to print a trillion euros within the next year, and lend most of it to governments, virtually interest free.
It's probably a good idea. We shall see.
The final verdict has not yet been written in the U.S. and Britain. Without question, all that money-printing distorted financial markets, forcing investors to do things they otherwise might not have done, driving stock prices, for example, to record highs.
BoC Policy Report 20150121
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz last week unexpectedly cut the central bank's trend-setting rate to three-quarters of a percentage point from one per cent. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
And the central banks must at some point begin to shrink their money supplies, which will raise interest rates, something businesses and consumers, addicted to cheap money, might not be able to cope with for some time to come.
The Bank of Canada, in fact, is so worried about Canada's slowdown that it just cut its benchmark rate further. If that doesn't work, it might have to consider a round of money-printing, too.
But I still can't get that lesson from Paul Fisher out of my head. Waving around a banknote, and saying it's only worth something as long as everyone agrees it is.
It's a confidence game, in other words. What wealth you think you have may or may not be there tomorrow, depending on bets placed by the unelected, albeit very smart people in charge of creating our money.
It's all real, unless it's not. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Money has value, or it doesn't. I don't think I ever want a definitive answer.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/the-spreading-alchemy-of-central-bank-money-printing-1.2933964

Tuesday 27 January 2015

Transpicuous News Sun Jan 25th: Good cop,Bad cop- Same police force

Good afternoon everyone- sorry for the delay!  Here is the recording of Transpicuous News Report from Sunday January 25, 2015, and all the links to the various stories I was following.

I am currently scrambling to get TN ready for tomorrow nights midweek report- all hell is breaking loose, once again.  Please tune in tomorrow night- Wed Jan 28th at 11pm GMT for the LIVE stream of the midweek Transpicuous News report.


http://transpicuousnews.blogspot.com/2015/01/transpicuous-news-sun-jan-25th-good.html




S&P Suspended and Fined $80 Million in SEC, State Mortgage Bond Cases
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-21/s-p-agrees-to-pay-20-million-to-resolve-states-cmbs-claims.html

Sierra Leone lifts Ebola quarantine measures amid progress
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/sierra-leone-lifts-ebola-quarantine-measures-amid-progress-1484859

Mortar Shell Strikes Tram Stop in Donetsk Leaving 13 Dead, Dozens Injured
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150122/1017213358.html

Covert team in Tram stop shelling?
http://rt.com/news/225007-ukraine-tram-station-killed/

How Did American Weapons End Up at Donetsk Airport?
http://policy.dfns.net/2015/01/19/how-did-american-weapons-end-up-at-donetsk-airport/

"U.S. made weapons found at Kiev airport positions," announce DNR/DPR
http://www.zie.nl/profile/Ruptly/overige/U.S.-made-weapons-found-at-Kiev-airport-positions-announce-DNRDPR/3s6zlq9fev31

"Thank You for Your Service!" Says Chief of US Army in Europe While Awarding Medals to Maimed Ukrainian Soldiers
http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/01/22/2644

Ex-Czech President Václav Klaus: Crimea Has Always Belonged to Russia
http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/01/22/2636

Ukraine Stiffs China for Billions Owed
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/01/ukraine-stiffs-china-billions-owes.html

Yemeni Government Collapses as President and Prime Minister Resign
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/world/middleeast/yemen-houthi-crisis-sana.html?_r=0

U.S. pulls more staff from Yemen embassy amid deepening crisis
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/23/us-yemen-security-usa-embassy-exclusive-idUSKBN0KW00120150123
Yemen crisis: Thousands rally in Sanaa amid power vacuum
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30950437

Dozen former French soldiers, including elite troops, join ISIS - reports
http://rt.com/news/224983-french-military-become-jihadists/

Ukrainian armed forces chief of staff to visit NATO HQ on Jan 21-22
http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/245839.html

Ex-Czech President Václav Klaus: Crimea Has Always Belonged to Russia
http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/01/22/2636

Military-clad English-speakers caught on camera in Mariupol shelling aftermath
http://rt.com/news/226079-ukraine-foreign-military-mariupol/

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz dies
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30945324
Saudi King Abdullah Has Died; Crude Prices Jump
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-22/crude-prices-jump-after-death-saudi-king-abdullah
World leaders pay respects to late Saudi King Abdullah
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30962740

King of Saudi Arabia 'Clinically Dead'- Nov 28, 2012
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162618#.VMUA6S7PjIV

Israeli Mossad Goes Rogue, Warns U.S. on Iran Sanctions
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-01-22/netanyahu-mossad-split-divides-u-s-congress-on-iran-sanctions
Report: Obama Leaked Mossad Report to Embarrass Netanyahu
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/01/22/report-obama-leaked-mossad-report-to-embarrass-netanyahu/


It’s Official: If You Question Authority, You Are Mentally Ill
http://www.acting-man.com/?p=35319
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/oppositional-defiant-disorder/basics/symptoms/con-20024559

CIA Advisor: 25-Year depression is about to strike America. Keep your eyes on China, India, Brazil and Russia they’re all purchasing record amounts of gold.
Read more at http://investmentwatchblog.com/cia-advisor-25-year-depression-is-about-to-strike-america-keep-your-eyes-on-china-india-brazil-and-russia-theyre-all-purchasing-record-amounts-of-gold/#XtRcaQTH6ecy8VPe.99

The Shadow of Tomorrow
http://philosophyofmetrics.com/2015/01/22/the-shadow-of-/tomorrow

Ebola crisis: Experimental vaccine 'shipped to Liberia'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30943377

EU passes controversial GMO food law
http://www.dw.de/eu-passes-controversial-gmo-food-law/a-18188282

MONSANTO IN A SPOT OF TROUBLE - Monsanto earnings fall 34% after a year of global protests. The Company that has come under fire for its genetically modified seeds said its earnings fell 34% in its first fiscal. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/07/monsanto-earnings-fall-corn-south-america-genetically-modified-food

Chuck Norris Calls Out Monsanto For Killing Food Supply
http://humansarefree.com/2015/01/chuck-norris-calls-out-monsanto-for.html#more

Monsanto agrochemicals cause genetic damage in soybean workers – study
http://endthelie.com/2015/01/22/monsanto-agrochemicals-cause-genetic-damage-in-soybean-workers-study/

 New York State Assembly Speaker Silver Arrested on Corruption Charges
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/sheldon-silver-arrested-new/2015/01/22/id/620016/

The Euro Crashes To 12 Year Lows And Now The US Commerce Secretary Starts To Grumble About A Strong Dollar
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-22/euro-crashes-12-year-lows-and-now-us-commerce-secretary-starts-grumble-about-strong-

ECBs Mirage to Recovery: Last desperate gasp of "Whatever it takes"
http://transpicuousnews.blogspot.com/2015/01/ecbs-mirage-to-recovery-last-desperate.html

Mario Draghi: Charlatan Of The Apparatchiks
http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/mario-draghi-charlatan-of-the-apparatchiks/

‘Isolated’? The Irony Behind New Russia and Iran Defense Deal
http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/01/21/isolated-russia-and-iran-sign-defense-deal/

Thai legislature votes to impeach Yingluck; ex PM faces criminal charges
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/1/22/thai-ex-premier-yingluck-impeached-faces-criminal-charges.html

For French Muslims, citizenship is conditional
http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/1/For-French-Muslims-citizenship-is-conditional.html

FBI: NY Assembly speaker arrested on corruption charges
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/22/new-york-state-assembly-speaker-reportedly-to-be-arrested-on-corruption-charges/

Facebook Wants To Remove ‘FAKE’ News
http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/01/21/facebook-wants-to-remove-fake-news/

17,600 Canadian employees ready to eat former Target exec alive over severance pay
http://rt.com/news/225423-target-ceo-severance-pay/
 Keiser Report: US vs China. Battle for Latin America
http://www.maxkeiser.com/#GQxDFz1x5Wyg8qWP.99https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84503534&v=zUpeo9cRyFg&x-yt-ts=1421914688
Man who broke the Bank of England calls it a day as George Soros retires
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/davos/article4332085.ece

Thousands rally for Greek anti-austerity party promising end to ‘humiliation’
http://rt.com/news/225459-syriza-rally-election-austerity/

State Dept disagrees with head of US state media over equation of RT with ISIS
http://rt.com/news/225751-psaki-rt-isis-bbg

Mystery radio waves from deep space captured LIVE, sender unknown
http://rt.com/news/225367-radio-waves-deep-space/

Slow-moving daylight fireball recorded over Houston, US
http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2015/01/21/slow-moving-fireball-captured-over-houston-skies/

Scientists slow the speed of light
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-30944584

UK should stay in EU, Goldman Sachs president says
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30964500
DR Congo senate amends census law to allow 2016 election
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30947880
Boko Haram crisis: UN 'not needed against Nigerian militants'
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30950628

U.S. Increasingly Concerned Over Nigerian Election
http://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00035110.html

Iran Joins Growing List of Countries to Ditch Dollar in Foreign Trade
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150124/1017299147.html

As big as five football fields: Massive asteroid to be visible from Earth in just a day
http://rt.com/news/225959-asteroid-closest-approach-earth/

Sarah Palin and Donald Trump both interested in 2016 runs
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/24/politics/sarah-palin-2016/index.html

Cuban diplomats slam U.S. on human rights
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/23/politics/cuba-us-human-rights/index.html

Harvard professors warn 'privacy is dead' and predict mosquito-sized robots that steal samples of your DNA

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2921758/Privacy-dead-Harvard-professors-tell-Davos-forum.html#ixzz3PmqwESpq

China’s complicity in building the Rockefeller New World Order, in their own words…
http://redefininggod.com/2014/11/chinas-complicity-in-building-the-rockefeller-new-world-order-in-their-own-words/

Down-to-earth holy leader: 12 reasons why Pope Francis is cool
http://rt.com/news/225239-pope-francis-cool-list/

Gunmen kidnap Libyan deputy foreign minister
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/01/25/uk-libya-security-idUKKBN0KY0MR20150125

Huge power failure in Pakistan causes blackout leaving 80% of country without electricity
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/huge-power-failure-in-pakistan-causes-blackout-leaving-80-of-country-without-electricity-10001449.html

Get ready for negative interest rates in the US
http://mises.ca/posts/blog/get-ready-for-negative-interest-rates-in-the-us/

Greece election - Live coverage
http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/jan/25/greek-election-syriza-confident-of-victory-live-updates









Monday 26 January 2015

Greece: Victory for the people or a test?

I have talked about "testing the waters", about the fact that we see the small(ish) moves that are the indicator of bigger moves to come.  The Icelandic revolution was a prime example of how the testing is done. 

Yesterday the Greek people voted in what was a legendary election to free themselves from the slavery of the European Union.  Already a coalition majority government has been formed and the smoke hasn't even cleared yet from the parties of last night's victory.  While the newly formed Greek government has to deal with the "EU Situation", Tsipras has already been very clear that Greece will NOT deal with the terror troika of the IMF, ECB and European Union.  This is moment of truth.

Will Greece exit the Eurozone?  Will they tell their slavers to drop dead and just walk away?  More importantly though is the question:  What does this mean for other ailing EU nations that have long been under the heel of the Eurozone's Bandit Barrons and their crushing "austerity" economic warfare against the people?  As this article below points out, while the Western Media whores want to talk trash about Greece and their entry into the EU verging on fraud to begin with (which in itself is bullshit as it was Goldman Sachs that created the false numbers and deceived the Greek people into believing that their economy was stable and could sustain becoming an EU state), the example of Spain disproves this spin-doctored rhetoric.

And so we will watch very closely.  Greece is the "test".

Spain and Portugal are themselves in just as serious a situation financially as Greece is, and Spain already has a very strong movement in their population to separate from the Eurozone. ....


Testing, testing...1....2....3.....


d



   January 25, 2015  Posted by at 11:31 am

 

With The Greek election in full motion, and first results perhaps 12 hours away, It would seem useful, no matter how the Greeks vote, to lay to rest a few misconceptions, and to expose a few ‘conceptions’ that have – largely – remained buried to date.
The first misconception is that the Greeks borrowed like crazy and therefore deserve to be thrown into a pit of suffering and misery. It is simply nonsense, a mere political narrative. Besides, most of what was borrowed went to the utterly corrupt ‘oligarch system’, not to the people in the street. Something the EU was certainly aware of when it accepted Greece as a member. But corrupt regimes can be of great use.
A few days back, in Bunch Of Criminals!, I made the point that the EU, and its members, have no right to do to a fellow member country what they did to Greece – and want to continue doing -.
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said this week that he will not negotiate with the Troika, but directly with EU officials. And there is a very solid reason for that. In today’s Observer, Helena Smith interviews Greek sociologist Constantine Tsoukalas, who understands what has been happening to his country, and – rightfully – frames it in terms of Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine.
What has happened to Greece is what Klein describes was done to South America and – later – Eastern Europe. Disaster capitalism. Bringing entire countries to their knees by enforcing predatory economic policies, and then using the ensuing chaos and smouldering ruins to take full control over their political, economic and social systems. Helena Smith:
For Professor Constantine Tsoukalas, Greece’s pre-eminent sociologist, there is no question that, come Monday, Europe will have reached a watershed. I first met Tsoukalas in January 2009, in his lofty, book-lined apartment in Kolonaki. For several weeks Athens had been shaken by riots triggered by the police shooting of a teenage boy. The violence was tumultuous and prolonged.
Looking back, it is clear that this was the start of the crisis – a cry for help by a dislocated youth robbed of hope as a result of surging unemployment and enraged by a system that, corrupt and inefficient, favoured the few. Tsoukalas knew that this was “the beginning of something” although he could not tell what. But with great prescience he spoke of the degeneration of politics – both inside and outside Greece – the rise of moral indignation, and the emptiness of a globalised market “that was supposed to put an end to ideology but, in crisis, has instead created this moment of great ideological tension”.
Six years later, following the longest recession on record, he is in little doubt that anger has fuelled the rise of Syriza. On the back of rage over austerity, the leftists have seen their popularity soar from 5% before the crisis to as high as 35% – more than the combined total of New Democracy and left-leaning Pasok, the two parties that have alternated in power since the restoration of democracy in 1974.
The European policy towards Greece, to a large extent, has been determined by the will to experiment with the feasibility of shock therapies,” says Tsoukalas. “It worked, but the reaction is going to be a leftwing government. Europe cannot survive as it is. The rise of fascism … should be sufficient [evidence] to everyone that it has to change.”
If Greece’s rebellion was to occur in a coherent way, Tsoukalas, who is being fielded by Syriza as an honorary candidate, believes it would be only a matter of time before it was replicated in other parts of the continent. “These elections are important because they are a reminder to the people of Europe that there is another way out,” he insists. “That neoliberal orthodoxy is not an immovable problem.”
[..] at 28 Veikou Street, Syriza runs the Solidarity Club – initially set up as a food bank in March 2013 when stories began to surface of malnourished children fainting in schools. In recent months, its staff have focused on providing medicines. “That’s the big problem now because so many are uninsured, without any access to the health system,” says volunteer Panaghiota Mourtidou. “People don’t have the money to go to doctors. If they have a toothache, they get terrified, because how the hell are they going to pay for a visit to the dentist?”
With its Che Guevara posters, Italian Euro-communist flags, chaos of boxes and tins, and makeshift furniture, there is something of a field-camp feeling about Veikou Street. But its army of volunteers are tireless. This, they say, is a battle to be won, a huge victory for the left that Greece will set in motion. “We are conscious that we have managed to unite in a way that the left elsewhere has failed to do,” says Angeliki Kassola, a theatre director. “I’ve met lots of once-strident New Democracy supporters who say they will be voting for us because they are attracted to Syriza’s vision of democracy, justice, dignity – all the things that have been taken from us in the crisis.”
There will be plenty who don’t agree with an analysis like this. Just as there will be plenty who insist that the Greeks brought it all upon themselves. They should take a look at what my friend Steve Keen, presently “Professor of Economics and Head of the School of Economics, Politics and History at Kingston University London”, wrote this week in Forbes Magazine. That should cure a few lost souls of their foolish fantasies. And then they should take their new found insights and ask themselves: wait a minute, what is going on here? Why is Greece being squeezed the way it is? Deep down, you already know, don’t you? Steve:
I fully expect most commentators to take a line like that in my title. After all, it’s common knowledge that the Greeks lied about their levels of public debt to appear to qualify for the EU’s entry criteria, which include that aggregate public debt should be below 60% of GDP. Though there’s an argument that Goldman Sachs, many of whose ex-staff are now leading Central Bankers, helped the Greeks make this alleged lie, the responsibility for it will be shafted home to the Greeks, and that in turn will be used to argue that the Greeks deserve to suffer.
The story, in other words, will be that the Greeks were architects of their own dilemma, and that therefore they should pay for it, rather than making the rest of the world suffer through a write-down of their debts. Emotion will rule the debate rather than logic. So to cast a logical eye over this forthcoming debate, I’m going to consider who is really to blame for the Greek dilemma by considering another country entirely: Spain. Today, Greece and Spain are in very similar situations, with unemployment rates of well over 25%—higher than the worst the USA recorded during the Great Depression (see Figure 1). But unlike Greece, Spain before the crisis was doing everything right, according to the EU.
More importantly still, Spain’s government debt when the EU imposed its austerity regime (mid-2010) was still well below America’s, even though both had risen substantially since the crisis. Spain’s government debt ratio was 65% of GDP then, versus 78% for the USA. The whole purpose of the EU’s austerity program was to reduce government debt levels. Reducing government debt was the political topic du jour in America as well from 2010 on, but the various attempts to impose austerity came to naught: instead, after shooting up because of deliberate policy at the time of the crisis America’s budget deficit merely responded to the state of the economy.
Politically paralyzed Washington talked austerity, but never actually imposed it. So who was more successful: the deliberate, policy-driven EU attempt to reduce government debt, or the “muddle through” USA? Figure 2 shows that muddle through was a hands-down winner: the USA’s government debt to GDP ratio has stabilized at 90% of GDP, while Spain’s has sailed past 100%. The USA’s macroeconomic performance has also been far better than Spain’s under the EU’s policy of austerity. Comparing the USA’s unemployment rate to Spain’s has to account for the fact that it was higher before the crisis—at 8.5%, Spain’s unemployment was 1.75 times the USA’s when the crisis began. It is now about 4 times the USA’s.
So simply on the data, the prima facie case is that all of Spain’s problems—and by inference, most of Greece’s—are due to austerity, rather than Spain’s (or Greece’s) own failings. On the data alone, the EU should “Cry Uncle”, concede Greece’s point, stop imposing austerity, and talk debt-writeoffs—especially since the Greeks can argue that at least part of its excessive public debt ratio is due to the failure of the EU’s austerity policies to reduce it.
But I know that data isn’t enough to sway the public opinion—let alone the bureaucrats in Brussels. So we need to know the why: why did austerity in Europe fail to reduce the government debt ratio, while muddle-through has stabilized it in the USA? Here I return to my hobby-horse: the key factor that I consider and mainstream economists ignore—the level and rate of change of private debt. The first clue this gives us is that the EU’s pre-crisis poster-boy, Spain, had the greatest growth in private debt of the three—far exceeding the USA’s. Its peak debt level was also much higher—225% of GDP in mid-2010 versus 170% of GDP for the USA in 2009 (see Figure 4).
The second clue comes from the change in debt data: the factor that Greece and Spain have in common is that the private sector is reducing its debt level drastically—in Spain’s case by over 20% per year. The USA, on the other hand, ended its private sector deleveraging way back in 2012. Today, Americans are increasing their private debt levels at a rate of about 5% of GDP per year—well below the peak levels prior to the crisis, but roughly in line with the rate of growth of nominal GDP.
The third clue? I’ll leave that for my next post—this one is long enough already. But the conclusion is that Greece’s crisis is the EU’s fault, and the EU should “pay” via the debt write-offs that Syriza wants – and then some.
Read more …

Austerity is something that doesn’t work, but it does fit in great with the will to experiment with the feasibility of shock therapies. Austerity, in the way it’s been applied to Greece, is a tool to gain greater power over people and their social structures. It is economic warfare, plain and simple. That is to say, the EU has become a ‘union’ where the people in weaker member states can be strangled, and ‘economically conquered’, with impunity.
If you live in a EU country, and you don’t like that these things are carried out in your name, this is the time to make your discontent known. Because now you know. Don’t let the Greeks fight this battle on their own. I don’t care what you say, but you’re not innocent if you let it happen. If they lose, it’ll be on your conscience.
Oh, and if they win, heed Helena Smith’s words: “if Greece’s rebellion was to occur in a coherent way, [..] it would be only a matter of time before it was replicated in other parts of the continent.” But don’t think ‘they’ will let it happen peacefully. They’ll organize huge social unrest, inject violence, and then try to use it to clamp down on the population and reinforce their grip on power. This won’t remain confined to Greece.

http://www.theautomaticearth.com/is-this-the-day-europe-gets-its-future-back/