US Federal Reserve and Morgan Stanley

The Real Housewives of Wall Street
Why is the Federal Reserve forking over $220 million in bailout money to the wives of two Morgan Stanley bigwigs?
America has two national budgets, one official, one unofficial. The official budget is public record and hotly debated: Money comes in as taxes and goes out as jet fighters, DEA agents, wheat subsidies and Medicare, plus pensions and bennies for that great untamed socialist menace called a unionized public-sector workforce that Republicans are always complaining about. According to popular legend, we're broke and in so much debt that 40 years from now our granddaughters will still be hooking on weekends to pay the medical bills of this year's retirees from the IRS, the SEC and the Department of Energy.

Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail?

Most Americans know about that budget. What they don't know is that there is another budget of roughly equal heft, traditionally maintained in complete secrecy. After the financial crash of 2008, it grew to monstrous dimensions, as the government attempted to unfreeze the credit markets by handing out trillions to banks and hedge funds. And thanks to a whole galaxy of obscure, acronym-laden bailout programs, it eventually rivaled the "official" budget in size — a huge roaring river of cash flowing out of the Federal Reserve to destinations neither chosen by the president nor reviewed by Congress, but instead handed out by fiat by unelected Fed officials using a seemingly nonsensical and apparently unknowable methodology.

This article appears in the April 28, 2011 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue will be available on newsstands and in the online archive April 15.

Now, following an act of Congress that has forced the Fed to open its books from the bailout era, this unofficial budget is for the first time becoming at least partially a matter of public record. Staffers in the Senate and the House, whose queries about Fed spending have been rebuffed for nearly a century, are now poring over 21,000 transactions and discovering a host of outrages and lunacies in the "other" budget. It is as though someone sat down and made a list of every individual on earth who actually did not need emergency financial assistance from the United States government, and then handed them the keys to the public treasure. The Fed sent billions in bailout aid to banks in places like Mexico, Bahrain and Bavaria, billions more to a spate of Japanese car companies, more than $2 trillion in loans each to Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, and billions more to a string of lesser millionaires and billionaires with Cayman Islands addresses. "Our jaws are literally dropping as we're reading this," says Warren Gunnels, an aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. "Every one of these transactions is outrageous."

Wall Street's Big Win

But if you want to get a true sense of what the "shadow budget" is all about, all you have to do is look closely at the taxpayer money handed over to a single company that goes by a seemingly innocuous name: Waterfall TALF Opportunity. At first glance, Waterfall's haul doesn't seem all that huge — just nine loans totaling some $220 million, made through a Fed bailout program. That doesn't seem like a whole lot, considering that Goldman Sachs alone received roughly $800 billion in loans from the Fed. But upon closer inspection, Waterfall TALF Opportunity boasts a couple of interesting names among its chief investors: Christy Mack and Susan Karches.

Christy is the wife of John Mack, the chairman of Morgan Stanley. Susan is the widow of Peter Karches, a close friend of the Macks who served as president of Morgan Stanley's investment-banking division. Neither woman appears to have any serious history in business, apart from a few philanthropic experiences. Yet the Federal Reserve handed them both low-interest loans of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars through a complicated bailout program that virtually guaranteed them millions in risk-free income.

RS Politics Daily: Political news and commentary from Rolling Stone writers and editors

The technical name of the program that Mack and Karches took advantage of is TALF, short for Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility. But the federal aid they received actually falls under a broader category of bailout initiatives, designed and perfected by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, called "giving already stinking rich people gobs of money for no fucking reason at all." If you want to learn how the shadow budget works, follow along. This is what welfare for the rich looks like.

In August 2009, John Mack, at the time still the CEO of Morgan Stanley, made an interesting life decision. Despite the fact that he was earning the comparatively low salary of just $800,000, and had refused to give himself a bonus in the midst of the financial crisis, Mack decided to buy himself a gorgeous piece of property — a 107-year-old limestone carriage house on the Upper East Side of New York, complete with an indoor 12-car garage, that had just been sold by the prestigious Mellon family for $13.5 million. Either Mack had plenty of cash on hand to close the deal, or he got some help from his wife, Christy, who apparently bought the house with him.

The Macks make for an interesting couple. John, a Lebanese-American nicknamed "Mack the Knife" for his legendary passion for firing people, has one of the most recognizable faces on Wall Street, physically resembling a crumpled, half-burned baked potato with a pair of overturned furry horseshoes for eyebrows. Christy is thin, blond and rich — a sort of still-awake Sunny von Bulow with hobbies. Her major philanthropic passion is endowments for alternative medicine, and she has attained the level of master at Reiki, the Japanese practice of "palm healing." The only other notable fact on her public résumé is that her sister was married to Charlie Rose.

It's hard to imagine a pair of people you would less want to hand a giant welfare check to — yet that's exactly what the Fed did. Just two months before the Macks bought their fancy carriage house in Manhattan, Christy and her pal Susan launched their investment initiative called Waterfall TALF. Neither seems to have any experience whatsoever in finance, beyond Susan's penchant for dabbling in thoroughbred racehorses. But with an upfront investment of $15 million, they quickly received $220 million in cash from the Fed, most of which they used to purchase student loans and commercial mortgages. The loans were set up so that Christy and Susan would keep 100 percent of any gains on the deals, while the Fed and the Treasury (read: the taxpayer) would eat 90 percent of the losses. Given out as part of a bailout program ostensibly designed to help ordinary people by kick-starting consumer lending, the deals were a classic heads-I-win, tails-you-lose investment.

So how did the government come to address a financial crisis caused by the collapse of a residential-mortgage bubble by giving the wives of a couple of Morgan Stanley bigwigs free money to make essentially risk-free investments in student loans and commercial real estate? The answer is: by degrees. The history of the bailout era reads like one of those awful stories about what happens when a long-dormant criminal compulsion goes unchecked. The Peeping Tom next door stares through a few bathroom windows, doesn't get caught, and decides to break in and steal a pair of panties. Next thing you know, he's upgraded to homemade dungeons, tri-state serial rampages and throwing cheerleaders into a panel truck.

It was the same with the bailouts. They started out small, with the government throwing a few hundred billion in public money to prop up genuinely insolvent firms like Bear Stearns and AIG. Then came TARP and a few other programs that were designed to stave off bank failures and dispose of the toxic mortgage-backed securities that were a root cause of the financial crisis. But before long, the Fed began buying up every distressed investment on Wall Street, even those that were in no danger of widespread defaults: commercial real estate loans, credit- card loans, auto loans, student loans, even loans backed by the Small Business Administration. What started off as a targeted effort to stop the bleeding in a few specific trouble spots became a gigantic feeding frenzy. It was "free money for shit," says Barry Ritholtz, author of Bailout Nation. "It turned into 'Give us your crap that you can't get rid of otherwise.' "

The impetus for this sudden manic expansion of the bailouts was a masterful bluff by Wall Street executives. Once the money started flowing from the Federal Reserve, the executives began moaning to their buddies at the Fed, claiming that they were suddenly afraid of investing in anything — student loans, car notes, you name it — unless their profits were guaranteed by the state. "You ever watch soccer, where the guy rolls six times to get a yellow card?" says William Black, a former federal bank regulator who teaches economics and law at the University of Missouri. "That's what this is. If you have power and connections, they will give you a freebie deal — if you're good at whining."

This is where TALF fits into the bailout picture. Created just after Barack Obama's election in November 2008, the program's ostensible justification was to spur more consumer lending, which had dried up in the midst of the financial crisis. But instead of lending directly to car buyers and credit-card holders and students — that would have been socialism! — the Fed handed out a trillion dollars to banks and hedge funds, almost interest-free. In other words, the government lent taxpayer money to the same assholes who caused the crisis, so that they could then lend that money back out on the market virtually risk-free, at an enormous profit.

Cue your Billy Mays voice, because wait, there's more! A key aspect of TALF is that the Fed doles out the money through what are known as non-recourse loans. Essentially, this means that if you don't pay the Fed back, it's no big deal. The mechanism works like this: Hedge Fund Goon borrows, say, $100 million from the Fed to buy crappy loans, which are then transferred to the Fed as collateral. If Hedge Fund Goon decides not to repay that $100 million, the Fed simply keeps its pile of crappy securities and calls everything even.

This is the deal of a lifetime. Think about it: You borrow millions, buy a bunch of crap securities and stash them on the Fed's books. If the securities lose money, you leave them on the Fed's lap and the public eats the loss. But if they make money, you take them back, cash them in and repay the funds you borrowed from the Fed. "Remember that crazy guy in the commercials who ran around covered in dollar bills shouting, 'The government is giving out free money!' " says Black. "As crazy as he was, this is making it real."

This whole setup — in which millionaires and billionaires gambled on mountains of dangerous securities, with taxpayers providing the stake and assuming almost all of the risk — is the reason that it's insanely premature for Wall Street to claim that the bailouts have actually made money for the government. We simply can't make that determination until the final bill comes in on all the dicey securities we financed during the bailout feeding frenzy.

In the case of Waterfall TALF Opportunity, here's what we know: The company was founded in June 2009 with $14.87 million of investment capital, money that likely came from Christy Mack and Susan Karches. The two Wall Street wives then used the $220 million they got from the Fed to buy up a bunch of securities, including a large pool of commercial mortgages managed by Credit Suisse, a company John Mack once headed. Those securities were valued at $253.6 million, though the Fed refuses to explain how it arrived at that estimate. And here's the kicker: Of the $220 million the two wives got from the Fed, roughly $150 million had not been paid back as of last fall — meaning that you and I are still on the hook for most of whatever the Wall Street spouses bought on their government-funded shopping spree.

The public has no way of knowing how much Christy Mack and Susan Karches earned on these transactions, because the Fed has repeatedly declined to provide any information about how it priced the individual securities bought as part of programs like TALF. In the Waterfall deal, for instance, we know the Fed pledged some $14 million against a block of securities called "Credit Suisse Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2007-C2" — but that data is meaningless without knowing how many units were bought. It's like saying the Fed gave Waterfall $14 million to buy cars. Did Waterfall pay $5,000 per car, or $500,000? We have no idea. "There's no way of validating or invalidating the Fed's process in TALF without this pricing information," says Gary Aguirre, a former SEC official who was fired years ago after he tried to interview John Mack in an insider-trading case.

In early April, in an attempt to learn exactly how much Mack and Karches made on the TALF deals, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa wrote a letter to Waterfall asking 21 detailed questions about the transactions. In addition, Sen. Sanders has personally asked Fed chief Bernanke to provide more complete information on the TALF loans given not only to Christy Mack but to gazillionaires like former Miami Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga and hedge-fund shark John Paulson. But Bernanke bluntly refused to provide the information — and the Fed has similarly stonewalled other oversight agencies, including the General Accounting Office and TARP's special inspector general.

Christy Mack and Susan Karches did not respond to requests for comments for this story. But even without more information about the loans they got from the Fed, we know that TALF wasn't the only risk-free money being handed over to Wall Street. During the financial crisis, the Fed routinely made billions of dollars in "emergency" loans to big banks at near-zero interest. Many of the banks then turned around and used the money to buy Treasury bonds at higher interest rates — essentially loaning the money back to the government at an inflated rate. "People talk about how these were loans that were paid back," says a congressional aide who has studied the transactions. "But when the state is lending money at zero percent and the banks are turning around and lending that money back to the state at three percent, how is that different from just handing rich people money?"

Those kinds of deals were the essence of the bailout — and the vast mountains of near-zero government cash turned companies facing bankruptcy into monstrous profit machines. In 2008 and 2009, while Christy Mack was busy getting her little TALF loans for $220 million, her husband's bank hauled in $2 trillion in emergency Fed loans. During the same period, Goldman borrowed nearly $800 billion. Shortly afterward, the two banks reported a combined annual profit of $14.5 billion.

As crazy as it is to lend to banks at near zero percent and borrow back from them at three percent, one could at least argue that the policy may have aided American companies by providing banks more cash to lend. But how do you explain the host of other bailout transactions now being examined by Congress? Like the Fed's massive purchases of securities in foreign automakers, including BMW, Volkswagen, Honda, Mitsubishi and Nissan? Or the nearly $5 billion in cheap credit the Fed extended to Toyota and Mitsubishi? Sure, those companies have factories and dealerships in the U.S. — but does it really make sense to give them free cash at the same time taxpayers were being asked to bail out Chrysler and GM? Seems a little crazy to fund the competition of the very automakers you're trying to rescue.

And then there are the bailout deals that make no sense at all. Republicans go mad over spending on health care and school for Mexican illegals. So why aren't they flipping out over the $9.6 billion in loans the Fed made to the Central Bank of Mexico? How do we explain the $2.2 billion in loans that went to the Korea Development Bank, the biggest state bank of South Korea, whose sole purpose is to promote development in South Korea? And at a time when America is borrowing from the Middle East at interest rates of three percent, why did the Fed extend $35 billion in loans to the Arab Banking Corporation of Bahrain at interest rates as low as one quarter of one point?

Even more disturbing, the major stakeholder in the Bahrain bank is none other than the Central Bank of Libya, which owns 59 percent of the operation. In fact, the Bahrain bank just received a special exemption from the U.S. Treasury to prevent its assets from being frozen in accord with economic sanctions. That's right: Muammar Qaddafi received more than 70 loans from the Federal Reserve, along with the Real Housewives of Wall Street.

Perhaps the most irritating facet of all of these transactions is the fact that hundreds of millions of Fed dollars were given out to hedge funds and other investors with addresses in the Cayman Islands. Many of those addresses belong to companies with American affiliations — including prominent Wall Street names like Pimco, Blackstone and . . . Christy Mack. Yes, even Waterfall TALF Opportunity is an offshore company. It's one thing for the federal government to look the other way when Wall Street hotshots evade U.S. taxes by registering their investment companies in the Cayman Islands. But subsidizing tax evasion? Giving it a federal bailout? What the fuck?

As America girds itself for another round of lunatic political infighting over which barely-respirating social program or urgently necessary federal agency must have their budgets permanently sacrificed to the cause of billionaires being able to keep their third boats in the water, it's important to point out just how scarce money isn't in certain corners of the public-spending universe. In the coming months, when you watch Republican congressional stooges play out the desperate comedy of solving America's deficit problems by making fewer photocopies of proposed bills, or by taking an ax to budgetary shrubberies like NPR or the SEC, remember Christy Mack and her fancy new carriage house. There is no belt-tightening on the other side of the tracks. Just a free lunch that never ends.

Rolling Stone

Japan the Greatest Disaster

For your information - a big read but lots of research

By Gary Vey
Before I wrote that "something" stopped me from writing this story. I suspect it is the same thing that is stopping media giants like CNN, BBC and even al Jazeera from focusing the public's attention on this catastrophe. That "something" is the truth. The current nuclear accident is so huge and deadly that it could easily exceed historic extinction events like the Black Death and Bubonic Plague. Even more frightening is the fact that it seems unstoppable.

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Cancer from Fukushima crisis

Anti-nuclear scientist expects ‘about 400,000 people’ will get cancer from Fukushima crisis
By Stephen C. Webster
Christopher Busby, a scientist and anti-nuclear activist, made a startling prediction this week: he claimed “about 400,000 people” within 200 kilometers of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactors will develop cancerous growths due to the radioactive fallout.

Challenged by the host as to the data he’s based these claims on, Busby said that he’d been in Berlin compiling research about the Chernobyl disaster and the human toll going out years later. He claims to have based his prediction upon historical data from that last major meltdown.

Japanese officials recently raised the severity level of the Fukushima crisis to 7, the same level of Russia’s Chernobyl disaster.

Busby added that should this awful prediction come true, it will be due to the misinformation spread by government and TEPCO officials in the days following the massive quake and tsunami that devastated Japan last month. He called their actions “criminally irresponsible.”

Video at Link

Detox Radiation

19 Foods to Naturally Detox Radiation
When disaster strikes, many rush out and buy the saving grace without exactly knowing its proper use or why they are buying it. We often don’t think of something like radiation exposure until there is a looming threat. But, there are steps we can take all along to minimize and reverse damage from the many forms of radiation we encounter everyday.

The following are some simple food choices that can help your body combat radiation exposure on a regular basis. Some of them aid your body in sweeping out toxins, while others are nutrient-dense in vital minerals. If you’d rather not memorize or print the list, then strive to add more raw, living foods and dark leafy vegetables to your routine, but there are even more useful choices below. You can also go to a website like All Recipes and type some of the ingredients. The site will create a recipe that contains those ingredients.

~Health Freedoms

With radioactive isotopes detected in rainwater in Minnesota and other states, some people are looking into iodine supplements and other ways to protect the long-term health of their families.

While there are a lot of drawbacks to using iodine, there are plenty of foods that naturally protect our bodies from radiation.

Here’s 19 of the best:

Brown rice
Seaweed
Kelp
Miso
Pumpkin
Spirulina
Bee pollen
Wheat grass
Rosemary
Blue-green algae
Beets
Garlic
Ginger
Alfalfa sprouts
Broccoli
Onions
Olive oil
Leafy greens
Apples and other sources of pectin

These foods protect the body from radiation in different ways. For instance, brown rice is high in fiber and phosphorous, which help remove harmful toxins from the body. Sea vegetables contain a polysaccharide that binds to radioactive strontium to help eliminate it from the body, as well as being high in natural iodine. Pectin has also been shown to bind to radioactive residues, and Cysteine (in onions) binds with and deactivates radioactive isotopes. Alfalfa sprouts and greens are high in chlorophyll, which has been shown to help protect against radiation damage, as well.Keep in mind that you should aim for organic and be aware of the sources. For example, fresh sprouted alfalfa sprouts from your windowsill are preferable to those shipped from thousands of miles away (and possibly doused with those isotopes).

For further reading and more suggestions, I recommend this article from Live Well Naturally: Protect Yourself from the Damaging Effects of Radiation and this Facebook list from Heal Thyself with dozens of natural supplements.
Alicia Bayer

Alicia Bayer lives in Westbrook with her husband and four children. She’s passionate about protecting our environment and enjoys organic gardening, all natural cooking, holistic health and living well on less. Follow Alicia on Twitter @magicandmayhem and on Facebook at All Natural Families.

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Libyan Rebels Form Central Bank

Last story on this but think about the implications Goldman Sachs again?

Here's one for the Guinness Book of Records. The Libyan rebels in Benghazi said they have created a new national oil company to replace the corporation controlled by leader Muammar Qaddafi whose assets were frozen by the United Nations Security Council and have formed a central bank!


The Transitional National Council released a statement announcing the decision made at a March 19 meeting to establish the ‘Libyan Oil Company as supervisory authority on oil production and policies in the country, based temporarily in Benghazi, and the appointment of an interim director general" of the company.

The Council also said it "designated the Central Bank of Benghazi as a monetary authority competent in monetary policies in Libya and the appointment of a governor to the Central Bank of Libya, with a temporary headquarters in Benghazi."

This suggests we have a bit more than a rag tag bunch of rebels running around and that there are some pretty sophisticated influences.

I have never before heard of a central bank being created in just a matter of weeks out of a popular uprising.

This buttresses the suspicions in my earlier post where I highlighted an odd U.S. Treasury statement that froze Gaddafi's assets but made clear that if "subsidiaries or facilities come under different ownership and control, Treasury may consider authorizing dealings with such entities."

This continues to look like a major oil and money play, with the true disaffected rebels being used as puppets and cover, as the oil/money transfer takes place.

Source

New Libyan Oil Company

Libyan rebels in Benghazi said they have created a new national oil company to replace the corporation controlled by leader Muammar Qaddafi whose assets were frozen by the United Nations Security Council.

The Transitional National Council released a statement announcing the decision made at a March 19 meeting to establish the “Libyan Oil Company as supervisory authority on oil production and policies in the country, based temporarily in Benghazi, and the appointment of an interim director general” of the company.

The Council also said it “designated the Central Bank of Benghazi as a monetary authority competent in monetary policies in Libya and the appointment of a governor to the Central Bank of Libya, with a temporary headquarters in Benghazi.”

The Security Council adopted a resolution on March 17 that froze the foreign assets of the Libyan National Oil Corp. and the Central Bank of Libya, both described in the text as “a potential source of funding” for Qaddafi’s regime.

Libya holds Africa’s largest oil reserve. Output has fallen to fewer than 400,000 barrels a day, Shokri Ghanem, chairman of the National Oil Corp., said on March 19. The country produced 1.59 million barrels a day in January, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Exports may be halted for “many months” because of sanctions and unrest, the International Energy Agency said.
‘Extended Shutdown’

Brent crude for May settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange fell 0.3 percent to $114.62 as of 8:50 a.m. It surged to a 2 1/2-year high of $119.79 on Feb 24 as geopolitical tensions spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

The European benchmark will average $109 a barrel this year, up from a previous forecast of $98, on expectations of an “extended shutdown” of Libyan oil supplies, Societe Generale SA said in a monthly review dated yesterday.

The statement by the Transitional National Council also said the rebels would “urgently prepare a file on the referral of Qaddafi and his gang and his associates involved in the killing of Libyans to the International Criminal Court.”

The Security Council referred allegations of human rights violations by the Qaddafi regime to the court in a resolution adopted on Feb. 26.

The statement said the council would begin choosing ambassadors to foreign countries.

The UN said yesterday that Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi, who broke with the regime last month and said he was then representing the rebels, was no longer Libya’s accredited ambassador. Ambassador Mohammed Shalgham, who also broke with the regime, similarly lost his accreditation when Qaddafi appointed former UN General Assembly President Abdussalam Treki as envoy to the world body.

Treki hasn’t presented his credentials yet to Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, a prerequisite for officials taking the post.

Source

Radiation Disaster Associated Toxicity

Posting for your information on the Japanese Nuclear Disaster
Health Watch

Source

Combet, Gillard and Brown

Yeah what this guy said - um I think??
Snip "I've got a certain bridge in a city on the harbour to sell you. Newly painted and all.
That a government could be so inept in both political and policy terms is almost beyond belief.
Except it is happening, right out there before your eyes in plain view, personified and projected by Gillard and Combet.
They are starting to make Bob Brown look like the voice of reason and sanity.

Source

and I am inclined to agree with this article also by Baz.
Gillard sets Corporatist agenda in Oz Budget
Australia has never seen anything quite like Julia ‘gargle’ Gillard; we have seen Howard suck Bush, Rudd attempt to create an absurd ‘NATO of the South Pacific’ for Murdoch, Keating surrender our currency/sovereignty to Wall St, Whitlam condemn the Balibo 5 to their deaths and Hawke slobber over Israeli Zionism but Gillard takes the cake for complete, unquestionable, unflinching, OBEDIENCE and servitude to international Corporatists and Bankers.

‘Her’ forthcoming Budget promises to attack the MOST VULNERABLE in society by reducing social services and welfare, gutting vital medical research and scientific development and diminishing a host of government run infrastructure enterprises in order to clear the way for Corporate takeovers. Gillard is squealing like a pig while running errands for Washington, Goldman ‘Carbon Tax’ Sachs AND mining Companies that plunder and rape our nation for TRILLIONS of dollars in profits while refusing to shoulder a fair tax burden.

If Gillard needs money then she should take it from those who have the lion’s share, the TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS pilfering the nation’s FINITE resource wealth! But that’s not how it works when you sell your soul and the Australian people to the Corporations for a cushy placement after being booted out of office; an outcome she is fully expecting, hence pulling all stops on the Corporate/Washington agenda!

So now WE ALL know how it works, put simply it’s called TREASON -- selling out the people and the country to borderless Transnationals and foreign powers in order to secure a nice job after getting trashed at the polls -- let the ‘other puppet’ have a go!

Here it is out of her own mouth in an address she delivered last night at the Sydney Institute:

Government must retreat in order to facilitate greater Corporate expansion; “The time for government to step back is in this budget,” she said echoing the infamous Reagan doctrine; 'government is not the solution but the problem!’

The most absurd political ploy to date is her pledge to return at least 50% of her carbon tax to households, “that means everyone would be better off with the new GOLDMAN SACHS Carbon Tax,” Gillard declares. Give Oz a break with this imbecilic mathematical computation; she takes 100 and gives back 50, so you’re ‘better off’ with the Carbon Tax, ay! (If you're retarded.)

Leave vital research funding and social security/welfare alone, Gillard, at 4.9%, Oz has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the Western World.

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US Budget a big win for Republicans?

No Comment

Playing the Lyre of Budget Madness as the Empire Burns

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Bees - smarter than Humans

Bees 'entomb' pesticide-tainted pollen in effort to protect themselves from extinction
(NaturalNews) A crucial lifeblood to agriculture, bees continue to face threats of extinction by things like pollution and pesticides, both of which are implicated in causing mass bee die-offs, also known as "colony collapse disorder" or CCD (http://www.naturalnews.com/honey_be...). And scientists say that because of this massive onslaught of toxins, bees are actually entombing, or sealing off, their hive cells in an attempt to quarantine polluted pollen and prevent it from destroying the entire colony.

The Guardian writes that scientists began noticing differences among hive cells containing normal pollen, and others containing tainted pollen. The tainted cells were sunken and covered with a waxy layer of propolis, a sticky resin substance with antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. Upon analysis, the propolis-covered cells were found to contain high levels of pesticides and other toxic pollutants, indicating that the bees were purposely covering them in propolis to protect the hive.

"This is a novel finding, and very striking," said Jeff Pettis, an entomologist at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). "The implication is that the bees are sensing [pesticides] and actually sealing it off. They are recognizing that something is wrong with the pollen and encapsulating it. Bees would not normally seal off pollen."

Researchers also noted that while the sealing efforts are a type of emergency reaction by bees to being bombarded with toxins, they are not really all that effective in the end. According to Pettis, most of the colonies with entombed cells ended up dying off anyway.

Though there are likely other factors contributing to CCD, pesticides play a considerably substantial role in the devastating phenomenon. In fact, a document leaked back in late 2010 revealed that a popular pesticide known as clothianidin, which was approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1993, is directly responsible for killing off bees -- and the EPA has known this for a while but has done nothing about it (http://www.naturalnews.com/030921_E...).

Learn more:

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2 Giant Whirlpools in the Atlantic Ocean

US scientists discovered two giant whirlpools in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Guyana and Suriname. It became a sensational discovery because this part of the ocean has been studied thoroughly, and no one expected anything like that to appear in the area. More importantly, no one can understand where the whirlpools came from and what surprises they may bring to people.

According to Brazilian scientist Guilherme Castellane, the two funnels are approximately 400 kilometers in diameter. Until now, these were not known on Earth. The funnels reportedly exert a strong influence on climate changes that have been registered during the recent years.

"Funnels rotate clockwise. They are moving in the ocean like giant frisbees, two discs thrown into the air. Rotation occurs at a rate of one meter per second, the speed is sufficiently large compared to the speed of oceanic currents, on the border hoppers is a wave-step height of 40 cm," Castellane said.

Even during the dry months, when the movement of oceanic currents and the flow of the Amazon River practically comes to a standstill, the funnels do not disappear. Therefore, the nature of the funnels does not depend on the flow of water, which one of the world's biggest rivers brings into the ocean. The natural phenomenon, which creates the whirlpools, is unknown to modern science.

As a matter of fact, the phenomenon of giant whirlpools in the World Ocean is not new to science. In most cases, the craters, or rings, as scientists call them, are formed as a result of so-called vertical currents. The latter, in their turn, appear because of differences in water density which appear because of difference in temperatures of water layers. It is an open secret that cold water is thicker and heavier, so it goes down, underneath the masses of warm water, which is lighter. This is the reason why warm currents in the World Ocean always flow closer to the surface, whereas colder currents flow closer to the bottom.

However, such movement of water may not always depend on the difference of temperatures of the water column. The difference in salinity can also be a reason. The mechanism here is the same. The density of saltier water is higher, this water is heavier and it moves closer to the bottom, pushing less saltier water up. This type of vertical fusion occurs frequently in the tropics because high temperatures lead to the evaporation of water from the surface. The salt does not evaporate with water, though. It stays in the ocean, which raises the level of salinity on the upper layer of water. This layer "drowns" and gives way to less saltier waters of the depth.

Such vertical movements of water create giant whirlpools. The whirlpools, tens and even hundreds of kilometers in diameter, may last for months and even years, scientists say. The vertical movement of waters is a slow process, though. Why do those whirlpools exist for such a long time? This is partially the effect of Earth's magnetic field. In addition, marine water contains many charged ions, Na and Cl for example. To crown it all, water molecules are dipoles that are charged both positively and negatively.

Any dipole starts spinning when moving in the magnetic field. An oceanic ring gathers millions of billions of molecules together. That is why the giant circle movement triggered by the vertical movement of water may last for months and years mechanically. Ions also give more power to the craters. Natrium and Chlorum are charged as well, and their movement in the magnetic field of the Earth also leads to the appearance of the circle movement.

It is not ruled out that the reason for the appearance of the whirlpools off the coast of South America is the same as in other parts of the World Ocean. Scientists are currently studying the influence of those giant funnels on the climate of Latin America and Africa. Such whirlpools show influence on the atmosphere and form cyclonical air mass. They can also affect the movement of air mass formed in other places. For the time being, scientists do not know how the newly discovered water craters can affect the climate of Central and South Americas.

Anton Yevseyev
Pravda.Ru

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War on Rupert Murdoch in the House of Lords

Rupert Murdoch is about to be ambushed by a cross-party group of peers determined to stop the total takeover of BSkyB by News Corp, the Mole can reveal.

While MPs were packing their holiday shorts for the beach and a long holiday until April 26, protests were raised in the House of Lords by former Times journalist and Tory peer Lord Fowler about the latest developments in the telephone hacking saga - the arrests this week of chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, 50, and former news editor Ian Edmondson, 42, on suspicion of having unlawfully intercepted voicemail messages.

Fowler called for a public inquiry into the stop-start police investigation and the extent of telephone hacking following evidence that it is far more extensive than admitted previously by Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News International.

As the Mole predicted when the latest arrests were made, Lord Prescott, who has been told by the Met Police his name was on the list of politicians and celebs whose phones were hacked by the NoW, has now weighed in.

Prescott called on Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, to suspend the move by News Corp to take over BSkyB because of the 'criminal' activity at News Corp papers. "It would be totally unacceptable for a company ... committing criminal acts to take total control of BSkyB," thundered the old bruiser, once nicknamed Thumper.

Murdoch may regard Prescott as a spent force, and ignore his remarks as nothing more than bluster, but the Mole hears that other, more forensic peers in the House of Lords are focusing on tax avoidance by News Corp.

The former Tory MP, now a Lib Dem peer, Lord Dykes is quietly working behind the scenes with allies to stop News Corp enhancing its media holdings in Britain until Murdoch's business empire pays more taxes in Britain.

The group includes the former Treasury minister, Lib Dem peer Lord Oakeshott.

Murdoch would be wise to treat Oakeshott with kid gloves. He has been involved in exposing the 'cash for honours' scandal under Tony Blair, the imposition of more taxes on non-doms, and policing the requirement by the Lords vetting committee that Lord Ashcroft should be taxed in Britain before taking up his peerage. He's not someone Murdoch should have as an enemy.

Many MPs believe Jeremy Hunt is also beginning to live up to James Naughtie’s famous slip of the tongue on the Today programme before Christmas. Hunt outraged many Labour MPs last month when he recommended regulatory approval for News Corp’s full takeover of BSkyB after Murdoch's promise to sell Sky News to reduce its media dominance.

With every new revelation in the hacking scandal, that decision looks more questionable and Hunt is beginning to look like the c*** Naughtie mistakenly called him. Hunt should enjoy his break. He’s promised his final verdict on the takeover when Parliament returns on April 26. If he gives his approval, he’s in for a long, hot summer.

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Phone-hacking saga

No they didn't lie surely not!!!

The distant sound of champagne corks popping may have been heard near the House of Lords today after Lord Prescott of Hull learned that the former head of news and current chief reporter of the News of the World have been arrested on suspicion of phone hacking.

Prescott is one of the politicians and celebrities whose names appeared on a list obtained by the Met of those whose mobile phones had been hacked by NoW snoopers. He has been campaigning for the police to accept that hacking was not just the activity of a "one rogue journalist", as the News of the World claimed four years ago when its royal correspondent Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed.

The paper’s former news editor Ian Edmondson, 42, and chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, 50, were held by Scotland Yard detectives when they attended separate police stations in south-west London by appointment this morning. The pair were questioned on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages, though neither was charged with any offence.

In January, the force launched a fresh investigation, codenamed Operation Weeting, after receiving "significant new information" from the paper's publisher, News International. Edmondson was subsequently sacked from his NoW post.

However, the truth is the Met were forced to reheat their inquiries because of the mounting pressure on them from the victims of hacking, such as Prescott and Sienna Miller who yesterday obtained a court ruling ordering Vodafone to disclose data relating to other users. Certain celebrities and Max Clifford, the PR consultant, have accepted up to £1 million from the NoW with gagging orders in compensation for having their messages hacked into and listened to.

Underlining the lamentable performance of the Met in the inquiry, Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, today appeared to contradict John Yates, acting deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, about the limitations on the inquiry when he spoke to MPs on the Commons select committee on home affairs.

Yates had previously told the home affairs committee that laws limited the scope of their inquiry to only a small number of victims. He said the legal advice was that the police would have to prove that messages had been "intercepted and also listened to before being heard by the recipient" before they could proceed with criminal inquiries. Starmer told the MPs that the advice from CPS lawyers to detectives "did not limit the scope and extent of the criminal investigation".

Scotland Yard refused to give any more information about the inquiry, saying: "The Operation Weeting team is conducting the new investigation into phone hacking. It would be inappropriate to discuss any further details regarding this case at this time."

Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson resigned as Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications in January after admitting that the drip-drip of claims about illegal eavesdropping under his command was making his job impossible.

The Met is in the dock with the NoW. There are claims that the police were too close to the tabloid paper’s editors, and chose not to delve too deep to avoid upsetting their media friends. So far, the top executives from the NoW have escaped having their collars felt, but MPs and peers like Prescott are wondering how long it will be before the likes of Rebekah Wade, the chief executive of News International, assist the police with their inquiries.

The former editor of the Sun, who started as a secretary at the NoW, wrote to the Commons select committee on media culture and sport in 2009 saying that the company would "refute allegations that illegal phone tapping was a widespread practice". Really?
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Tsunami debris floating in the Ocean

Wow with this and the plastic bag island floating around no wonder they are worried about the shipping lanes, The size is staggering

TOKYO - Floating islands almost 70 miles long of bodies and debris after the Japanese tsunami are causing chaos in Pacific shipping lanes.

Cars, tractors, boats and entire houses have been seen floating towards Canada and the U.S. after the March 11 earthquake.

The largest "island" of debris is 69 miles long and covers more than 2.2-million sq ft, according to the US Navy's 7th Fleet, which is monitoring the floating rubbish.

"It is very large and it's a maritime hazard," said Lieutenant Anthony Falvo, the deputy public affairs officer for the US Navy's 7th Fleet. "It can do anything from piercing the hull of a ship to leaving dents or getting wrapped up in propulsion systems."

Experts say it could take up to two years for the debris to reach Hawaii and another year to hit North America's west coast.

The US Navy is working with Japanese building companies to start breaking up the islands.

As Japan struggles to recover from the tsunami, a 7.4 magnitude aftershock hit the same north-east region.

Four people were killed and a further 100 were injured after the tremor shook the Miyagi prefecture late on Thursday night.

The quake caused widespread blackouts, motorway closures and swaying buildings as far away as Tokyo. A tsunami warning was later lifted.

Damage was reported at the Onagawa nuclear power plant but radiation levels remained steady. The strong tremor also briefly halted work to restore control at the still stricken Fukushima Daiichi power plant but caused no further damage.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

To lighten the mood

Have a look at some of the nature pics here to clear the mind :-)

www.earth-touch.com/

World War III Scenario?

Not sure if I can understand the why or this but we should be open to all scenarios of what is or could be happening - eyes open

The War on Libya, the US- NATO Agenda and the Next Great War
by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
In the 1930s the US, Great Britain, and the Netherlands set a course for World War II in the Pacific by conspiring against Japan. The three governments seized Japan’s bank accounts in their countries that Japan used to pay for imports and cut Japan off from oil, rubber, tin, iron and other vital materials. Was Pearl Harbor, Japan’s response?

Now Washington and its NATO puppets are employing the same strategy against China.

Protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, and Yemen arose from the people protesting against Washington’s tyrannical puppet governments. However, the protests against Gaddafi, who is not a Western puppet, appear to have been organized by the CIA in the eastern part of Libya where the oil is and where China has substantial energy investments.

Eighty percent of Libya’s oil reserves are believed to be in the Sirte Basin in eastern Libya now controlled by rebels supported by Washington. As seventy percent of Libya’s GDP is produced by oil, a successful partitioning of Libya would leave Gaddafi’s Tripoli-based regime impoverished. http://www.energyinsights.net

The People’s Daily Online (March 23) reported that China has 50 large-scale projects in Libya. The outbreak of hostilities has halted these projects and resulted in 30,000 Chinese workers being evacuated from Libya. Chinese companies report that they expect to lose hundreds of millions of yuan.

China is relying on Africa, principally Libya, Angola, and Nigeria, for future energy needs. In response to China’s economic engagement with Africa, Washington is engaging the continent militarily with the US African Command (AFRICOM) created by President George W. Bush in 2007. Forty-nine African countries agreed to participate with Washington in AFRICOM, but Gaddafi refused, thus creating a second reason for Washington to target Libya for takeover.

A third reason for targeting Libya is that Libya and Syria are the only two countries with Mediterranean sea coasts that are not under the control or influence of Washington. Suggestively, protests also have broken out in Syria. Whatever Syrians might think of their government, after watching Iraq’s fate and now Libya’s it is unlikely that Syrians would set themselves up for US military intervention. Both the CIA and Mossad are known to use social networking sites to foment protests and to spread disinformation. These intelligence services are the likely conspirators that the Syrian and Libyan governments blame for the protests.

Caught off guard by protests in Tunisia and Egypt, Washington realized that protests could be used to remove Gaddafi and Assad. The humanitarian excuse for intervening in Libya is not credible considering Washington’s go-ahead to the Saudi military to crush the protests in Bahrain, the home base for the US Fifth Fleet.

If Washington succeeds in overthrowing the Assad government in Syria, Russia would lose its Mediterranean naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus. Thus, Washington has much to gain if it can use the cloak of popular rebellion to eject both China and Russia from the Mediterranean. Rome’s mare nostrum (“our sea”) would become Washington’s mare nostrum.

“Gaddafi must go,” declared Obama. How long before we also hear, “Assad must go?”

The American captive press is at work demonizing both Gaddafi and Assad, an eye doctor who returned to Syria from London to head the government after his father’s death.

The hypocrisy passes unremarked when Obama calls Gaddafi and Assad dictators. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the American president has been a Caesar. Based on nothing more than a Justice Department memo, George W. Bush was declared to be above US statutory law, international law, and the power of Congress as long as he was acting in his role as commander-in-chief in the “war on terror.”

Caesar Obama has done Bush one step better. Caesar Obama has taken the US to war against Libya without even the pretense of asking Congress for authorization. This is an impeachable offense, but an impotent Congress is unable to protect its power. By accepting the claims of executive authority, Congress has acquiesced to Caesarism. The American people have no more control over their government than do people in countries ruled by dictators.

Washington’s quest for world hegemony is driving the world toward World War III. China is no less proud than was Japan in the 1930s and is unlikely to submit to being bullied and governed by what China regards as the decadent West. Russia’s resentment to its military encirclement is rising. Washington’s hubris can lead to fatal miscalculation.

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US WEST COAST RED ALERT!

Tap water has radiation 18,100 % higher than allowed by EPA



The following are results for rain water samples taken on the roof of Etcheverry Hall on UC Berkeley campus beginning on 3/17/2011.

In the table below the plots, we are providing two numbers for each of the isotopes. The first is a standard concentration unit of Becquerel per liter (Bq/L) which describes the number of particles decaying over the period of one second. For the general public, we have converted this number to an exposure dose per liter consumed. The number in parentheses is the number of liters of water that one would need to consume to equal the radiation exposure of a single round trip flight from San Francisco to Washington D.C. (0.05 mSv). For more information on how this equivalent dose is calculated, the details are here: How Effective Dose is Calculated

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Coverup! Radiation

California, Northwest, B.C. Canada under radiation as high as Japan
Independent scientist Leuren Moret, MA, PhD (ABT) has stated in exclusive April 4, 2011 interviews with reporter Alfred Lambremont Webre that the effects of the tectonic nuclear war against the populations and breadbaskets of North America (Canada, United States, Hawaii, and Mexico) are being intentionally covered up by the administrations of Barack Obama in the United States and Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Canada.

The radiation effect of this false flag global radiation war intensified this week as radiation maps produced by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) now confirm that the Midwest of the United States, all of California, theNorthwest including the states of Oregon and Washington and the western part of Canada are under a radiation threat with radiation levels as high as that in Japan in areas adjacent to the six units of the Fukushima nuclear power plant that started in melt-down on March 11, 2011.

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Lawsuit seeks to invalidate Monsanto’s GMO patents

A landmark lawsuit filed on March 29 in US federal court seeks to invalidate Monsanto’s patents on genetically modified seeds and to prohibit the company from suing those whose crops become genetically contaminated.

The Public Patent Foundation filed suit on behalf of 270,000 people from sixty organic and sustainable businesses and trade associations, including thousands of certified-organic farmers. In Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, et al. v. Monsanto, et al. (U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, Case No. 11 CIV 2163), PUBPAT details the invalidity of any patent that poisons people and the environment, and that is not useful to society, two hallmarks of US patent law.

"As Justice Story wrote in 1817, to be patentable, an invention must not be 'injurious to the well being, good policy, or sound morals of society,'” notes the complaint in its opening paragraphs, citing Lowell v. Lewis.

The suit points to studies citing harm caused by Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, including human placental damage, lymphoma, myeloma, animal miscarriages, and other impacts on human health.

Plaintiffs condemn Monsanto for prohibiting independent research on its transgenic seeds and for its successful lobby efforts to ban GM food labeling. Many raise the specter of allergic reaction to GM foods, proof of which is hidden by lack of labeling.

The suit also confronts the propaganda that transgenic seeds improve yield and reduce pesticide use, citing reports on failure to yield and increased pesticide use. The complaint mentions a 2010 lawsuit by West Virginia after several studies contradicted yield results claimed in Monsanto’s ads. And, it notes the growth in glyphosate-resistant superweeds.

“Thus, since the harm of transgenic seed is known, and the promises of transgenic seed’s benefits are false, transgenic seed is not useful for society.”

This means, should the court agree, that all transgenic seeds fail the test of patent law. The suit has the potential to reverse patent approval on all biotech seeds, impacting BASF, Bayer, DuPont, Dow, and Syngenta, and others. Genetic contamination of natural plants occurs where GM seeds are grown, no matter who developed them. Ingesting food which has had its DNA mucked with is dangerous, regardless of who does the mucking.

What makes Monsanto different is its US seed monopoly. Well documented by market authorities, Plaintiffs point out that, “Over 85-90% of all soybeans, corn, cotton, sugar beets and canola grown in the U.S. contains Monsanto’s patented genes.”

Through its monopoly, Monsanto has spiked the cost of seeds. In the past decade, corn seed prices increased 135% and soybean prices 108%, the suit asserts. As recently as 1997, soybean farmers spent only 4-8% of their income on seeds, “while in 2009, farmers who planted transgenic soybeans spent 16.4 percent of their income on seeds.”

Monsanto has also used its dominant position to limit competition from other herbicide producers, as well, the suit alleges.

Listing 23 US patents by Monsanto, Plaintiffs also accuse the firm of “double patenting” thus strengthening its monopoly over the entire field of transgenic seeds:

“Although the United States patent system allows improvements on existing inventions, it does not permit a party to extend its monopoly over a field of invention by receiving a patent that expires later than and is not patentably distinct from a patent it already owns….

“Monsanto began applying for patents on glyphosate tolerance in the mid 1980s. Its first patents on the trait were granted in 1990 and are now expired. After pursuing its earliest patents on glyphosate resistance, Monsanto continued to seek and receive patents on Roundup Ready technology for over two decades….

“In acquiring the transgenic seed patents, Monsanto unjustly extended its period of patent exclusivity by duplicating its ownership of a field of invention already covered by other Monsanto patents.”

The suit then concludes, “Monsanto’s transgenic seed patents are thus invalid for violating the prohibition against double patenting.”

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What is Plutonium?

For our information
Following is a factfile on plutonium, which Japan says has been found at very low levels at five locations at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant:

WHAT IS IT?

Plutonium is a highly radioactive silvery metal that is used in nuclear bombs and nuclear power. It is a heavy and essentially man-made element, derived from the transformation of uranium through fission. Traces of two of its atomic variants, or isotopes, exist naturally.
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HISTORY

Plutonium was found by US scientists in 1940. The new element was named after Pluto, the god of the Roman underworld, and assigned the abbreviation of Pu in the periodic table. It is one of the most complex elements, for it is a metal yet does not conduct heat or electricity well. Only a slight rise in temperature makes it switch from solid state similar to cast iron to plastic malleability.

FISSILE MATERIAL

Plutonium's military potential was swiftly recognised. It provided the material for the first nuclear device, detonated at Los Alamos in July 1945, and for the second nuclear bomb, "Fat Man," which was dropped on Nagasaki the following month. The first nuclear bomb, dropped on Hiroshima, used uranium. Not until after World War II were the discoverers of plutonium allowed to publish their findings. Plutonium's very high energy density also brought it into use in civilian nuclear power, especially after the 1970s oil shocks.

ISOTOPES

Plutonium has 15 isotopes. The longest-lived is plutonium 244, which takes 80.8 million years to decay to half its level of radioactivity. The most commonly-used isotopes -- and those found at Fukushima -- are plutonium 238, with a half life of 88 years; plutonium 239, with a half life of 24,000 years; and plutonium 240, with a half life of 6,500 years.

AIRBORNE HAZARD

Plutonium 238, 239 and 240 are highly radioactive but their radiation is in alpha particles, which only travels very short distances and cannot penetrate human skin. Where they are highly dangerous is if they are inhaled. Their radiation causes DNA damage in tissue, which then boosts the risk of cancer. The bone marrow and liver, where plutonium is transported through a blood protein called transferring, are especially vulnerable. Just a dozen milligrams of plutonium are lethal for a human, according to tests on lab animals cited by France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN).

INGESTION PERIL

Other dangers, but for which there is less data, come from exposure to plutonium through ingestion or through an open wound. Plutonium is only eliminated from the body very slowly, though excretion. It takes around 50 years for plutonium to be biologically removed from the skeleton and about 20 years for it be eliminated from the liver, says the IRSN.

PLUTONIUM LEVELS AT FUKUSHIMA

According to plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), soil at five sites at the Fukushima plant was found to have plutonium. At least two of these sites had isotopes where there was a "high possibility" of a connection to the accident. But no sample was of a level of contamination that was hazardous for health, it said. France's Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) described the data as being in the same category as "background levels" that are a legacy of atmospheric nuclear bomb tests. Around four tonnes of plutonium were released into the global environment before atmospheric testing ended.

SOURCE OF FUKUSHIMA PLUTONIUM

This is unclear. Experts at France's Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) say it could have come from the No. 3 reactor, which uses mixed oxide, or MOX, which comprises plutonium and uranium that has been extracted from spent nuclear fuel and reprocessed. Alternatively, it could have come as a fissile byproduct from burning uranium in the No. 1 and 2 reactors.

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Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei: Deleted from the internet

The Chinese government in the midst of the worst crackdown on free speech in at least a decade, has just detained China’s most well-known artist, the activist Ai Weiwei. Afraid that any mention of the “Jasmine Revolutions” sweeping the Middle East right now might lead to similar protests in China, Chinese authorities are cracking down hard. In the past month, dozens of Chinese bloggersand dissidents have been detained “disappeared”, and in less than 24 hours after his arrest, Ai’s name has been virtually erased from the Chinese internet.

The UK, Germany, France, and America have already called for Ai’s release, now it’s time for the world’s internet users to stand with him and the countless other Chinese that have been unlawfully detained. Sign the urgent petition to the Chinese government below.

Dear Hu Jintao and the Chinese government,
We call upon you to immediately release Ai Weiwei and all other Chinese citizens who have been similarly detained. We further call upon you to restore online access to their names and works. Stability and security comes from addressing the underlying causes of dissent, not silencing it.

Sign the petition here

Japan radiation 7.5mn times legal limit

Radioactive readings found in Japan seawater has reached millions of times higher than the legal limit, the operator of Fukushima's damaged nuclear plant says.


According to the findings, seawater samples taken from the water near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant's No. 2 reactor several days ago were contaminated with radioactive iodine-131, seven and a half million times the legal limit, AP reported.

More recent findings, however, indicated that the reading has dropped to five million as of Monday.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano confirmed on Monday that they had no other choice but to release water with low radioactive contamination used to cool down the plant's damaged reactors into the Pacific Ocean.

He went on to say that the water is no threat to health as the radioactive substances will disperse as they enter the ocean. Many experts, on the other hand, say exposure to high levels of radioactive substances, found near the Fukushima plant, will pose immediate health concerns.

Even though the Japanese government has said that the country's fish is safe, reports point out the contamination of some food products in towns near the epicenter of the nuclear crisis.

Many countries such as the neighboring South Korea have banned the import of foods especially fish from the Japanese prefectures in fear of contamination.

On March 11, an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, off the northeast coast of Japan's main island, unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours.

The March 11 quake is now considered Japan's deadliest natural disaster since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed more than 142,000 people.

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Impossible People

Most people with personality disorders have what is sometimes referred to as "disorders of the self," because they often don’t believe that there is anything wrong with them. They think, “This is me,” or “This is the way I have always been,” and self-preservation makes them want to stay that way. Personality disordered people are the ones who usually come to mind when we think of the term, “toxic person.” Here are some insights and steps for dealing with these highly difficult - even, impossible - people. Note: These don't apply to all personality disorders.

1. Recognize that impossible people exist; you will eventually encounter them. There isn't a thing you can do about it. The first step is all about facing reality: If you think you might be dealing with an impossible person, you're probably right. When in doubt, proceed as instructed below. The headaches you save will be your own.

2 Do not call them out because it will frustrate them. They could become more difficult, but just stand your ground and be confident.

3
Be aware that some people simply aren't compatible. Sometimes, a person who gets along with everybody else quite well is an impossible person for you personally. Most relationships between people contain many shades of gray, but some people simply mix as well as oil and water. It is common to hear your impossible person proclaim that "Everyone else likes me." This is an attempt to shift the blame to you, so don't buy it. It doesn't matter how this person interacts with others. The fact is, the way the two of you interact together is terrible. Remember that blame never changes the facts.

4
Understand that it's not you, it's them. This can be surprisingly difficult, considering that impossible people have complete mastery of blaming skills. If you're dealing with an impossible person, you're probably being told on a regular basis that every conceivable thing is your fault. It isn't. As the saying goes, "It takes two to tango." Chances are, the more often they blame you, the more they themselves are actually at fault. Keep in mind that this is not to be used as a way to blame them. Blaming is what impossible people do, and they do it well. Instead, you are only facing the facts, for your own sake. That being said, here's a simple way to tell: If you accept responsibility for your own faults and resolve to improve yourself, it's probably not you. Remember, impossible people "can do no wrong."

5
Defuse them. Stay calm, and don't spit angry words at them, whatever you do don't cry - this will only stimulate them to do more of the difficult behavior. Try ignoring them. Try looking away or starting another conversation, with a totally different topic. Find something you can agree with or praise them for. Do not, under any circumstances, join them in bashing, blaming or complaining. Do not bad talk to their face or to anyone else because then you are sinking down to their level. Add something positive. Redirect by focusing on something, anything, positive in the situation or in the conversation. Whatever you do just stay calm!

6
Realize that you cannot deal with impossible people the same way you deal with everyone else. In some ways, they need to be treated like children. Give up all hope of engaging these folks in any kind of reasonable conversation. It will never happen, at least with you. Remember what happened the last fifty times you tried to have a civilized discussion about the status of your relationship with this person. Chances are, every such attempt ended in you being blamed for everything. Decide now to quit banging your head against a brick wall.

7
Protect your self-esteem. If you have regular dealings with someone who tries to portray you as the source of all evil, you need to take active steps to maintain a positive self-image. Remind yourself that this person's opinion is not necessarily the truth. Understand that oftentimes, impossible people are particularly "fact-challenged." If the attacks have little basis in raw fact, dismiss them. You can't possibly be as bad as this person would like you to believe you are. Do not defend yourself out loud, however. It will only provoke the impossible person into another tirade.

8
Guard against anger. If it helps, consider the fact that your anger is actually a precious gift to the impossible person. Anything you do or say while angry will be used against you over and over again. Impossible people tend to have amazing memories, and they will not hesitate to use a nearly endless laundry list of complaints from the past against you. Five years from now, you could be hearing about the angry remark you made today (which you didn't even mean in the first place). Impossible people will seize anything that provides them the opportunity to lay blame like it was gold.

9
Give up self-defense. Understand very clearly that you cannot beat these kinds of people; they're called "impossible" for a reason. In their minds, you are the source of all wrongdoing, and nothing you can say is going to make them consider your side of the story. Your opinion is of no consequence, because you are already guilty, no matter what.

10
Understand that eventually, you and the impossible person will have to part ways. Whether they are a friend, a boss, a parent, even a spouse, the time to leave will eventually manifest. Maintaining a relationship with an impossible person is, literally, impossible. If you can't (or won't) make a physical departure immediately, make a mental one. In your mind, you've already left the relationship. The only thing left to do is wait for physical reality to reflect that fact.

11
Avoid letting the impossible person make you into a "clone" of them. If you aren't careful, you could find yourself adopting much of the offender's own behavior, even if you aren't voluntarily trying. Eschew blame entirely by understanding that this is just the way the other person is. These things define the impossible person's actions, and nothing you do can change any part of their past.

12
Be a manager. Until it is over, your task in the relationship is to manage the impossible person, so that he or she deals less damage to you. As a manager, your best resources are silence (it really is golden in some cases such as this), humoring the other, and abandoning all hope of "fixing" the impossible person. Impossible people do not listen to reason. They can't (and even if they could, they wouldn't). You can't convince them that they have any responsibility for the problems between you. They don't recognize (or if they did, wouldn't try to improve) their flaws for a very logical reason; they don't have any flaws. You must understand and manage this mindset without casting blame and without giving in to anger. It's far easier said than done, and you will slip from time to time, but as time goes on, you'll become a better manager.

13
Realize that impossible people engage in projection. Understand that you are going to be accused of much (or all) of this behavior yourself. If your impossible person gets a look at this text, to them it will look like a page about you. Prepare yourself for the fact that the impossible person's flaws and failings will always be attributed to you. Remember, in their minds, you are at fault for everything! They will have an endless supply of arguments to support this, and if you make the mistake of encouraging them, they will be more than happy to tell you why you are the impossible person, and how ironic it is that you are under the mistaken impression that it is them.

14
Be the opposite of them: a possible person. Live as an example of tolerance, patience, humility, and even some kindness (as difficult as that may be)--because these are all the things that the impossible person is not or not very good at. We are all influenced by the people in our environment--they don't have to be perfect all the time and neither do you. Give respect because you are human. If you don't receive respect, that's -sadly- their problem. Give understanding, and you get understanding. Ultimately this sort of behavior is probably the only thing that might possibly get through to them. They may not change in everything, but you can safely expect a change.


* Important: If you care about the people in question and have longstanding relationships with them, try to get them to seek help.
* Don't become a martyr. Before you attempt to deal with impossible people yourself, you may have to learn how to control your own emotions. If you are simply unable to avoid an impossible person due to work, family, or other reasons, it is especially important to find other interests, join a support group, and seek therapy or religious counseling if necessary.
* Don't let them be the martyr that brings you down either. It is a real source of frustration to have a difficult person "play the martyr" around you to arouse your feelings of guilt and confusion. Beware this tactic and stand aside from them as they serve as their own martyr without you cementing their choice by fawning over them or conceding to their behavior.
* Be aware that all of us exhibit some of these personality "disorders" to some degree. It's just a question of how you define "normal".
* The following list is a capsule description of the ten major personality disorders which have been identified by the American Psychiatric Association. It is not intended to teach you how to become a diagnostician, but merely how to become aware of how the traits of the various personality disorders clump together. (But just because a person may happen to have some of these traits, it doesn't necessarily mean that they have the personality disorder itself.)

o People with schizoid personality disorders are the hermits among us. They don’t want or enjoy close relationships – even including being part of a family. They have little interest in sex, and take pleasure in few, if any, activities, and generally appear as emotionally cold and distant.
o People with schizotypal personality disorders aren’t really crazy – they just look and act that way. They may belong to cults or other groups which in this society would be regarded by people around them as very, very strange indeed – or they may be a “cult of one,” without any apparent outside support for their odd or eccentric patterns of thought and behavior.
o People with anti-social personality disorders lack the capacity for a conscience and thus have no sense of right and wrong except for how to get what they want. But they are not always to be found in prisons. They are often very charming people, and make great salespersons -- or politicians. Some of them can be very good at it, and they just might end up as elected officials or the CEOs of major corporations. Often times they are also exceptionally intelligent.
o People with histrionic personality disorders, regardless of whether they happen to be male or female, are often referred to as “drama queens.” They live for attention, and will frequently go to great lengths in order to get it. They have to drive the right car, live in the right neighborhood, wear the right clothes, and send their kids to the right schools. If they become celebrities, their motto may become, “I don’t care what you print about me, just be sure you spell my name right.”
o People with obsessive-compulsive personality disorders handle their anxieties by getting so bogged down in detail that the essential point of the activity is lost. They may spend a great time each day repeating rituals such as washing their hands over and over, or endlessly cleaning their house, washing their car, or caring for their lawn, so that they don’t have time to be concerned about the big problems in life that they are simply too frightened to deal with. Note that this is NOT the same as the neurological disorder called OCD.
o People with dependent personality disorders usually have very low self-esteem. They don’t like to take risks and strike out on their own. They don't care much how they are treated, and are willing to put up with a lot, as long as they are able to feel secure. Sometimes, for these people, the "devil they know" is better than the one they don't - in other words, they may realize they are in a bad relationship, but they feel safe because they understand that relationship. It's better and easier to stay there than face a possibly worse relationship, or no relationship at all.
o People with borderline personality disorders generally have very weak sense of self and weak interpersonal boundaries, and often have very intense, passionate, and very short relationships, because they are “in love with love itself,” and not with any particular person. When the relationship begins to cool off, they are ready to move on. They often cannot talk to someone of the opposite sex (or the same sex, if they’re so inclined), without acting and feeling like they are falling in love with that person. They are often recklessly impulsive, self-destructive, and emotionally unstable with frequent outbursts.
o People with avoidant personality disorders are extremely shy, and most of what they do is motivated by the need to avoid situations in which they feel like there is a possibility that they might embarrass themselves.
o People with paranoid personality disorders are primarily motivated by the need to ward off risks the most of us routinely accept because they are so unlikely to happen. They include the “conspiracy theorists,” who want to blame all the world’s ills on a small group of evil people who are scheming to control the rest of us. For example, if a person with a paranoid personality disorder happens to notice that the American Psychiatric Association keeps adding more and more diagnoses to their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual with each edition, they might think, "When everyone has a diagnosis, psychiatrists will rule the world!"
o Passive-aggressive personality disorder was removed from the list in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, but it is being included for the purposes of this discussion, because passive-aggressive behavior does exist regardless of whether or not there is enough evidence to make it a separate category of personality disorder. Passive-aggressive people express their hostilities indirectly by pushing other people’s buttons without appearing to do so -- like the dinner guest who exclaims innocently, "Wonderful meal, folks. I had no idea how delicious the cheaper cuts of meat could be!" or the sneaky "Don't worry about me, I'm fine," when you know perfectly well that if you say, "Okay," and go on with whatever you were doing, there are going to be problems to deal with later because he/she is most definitely not fine, and you should have known that.
* If nothing else helps, resolve to treat your experiences with impossible people as valuable life lessons. Realize that after dealing with them for a while, getting along with everyone else will be easier. You are getting a free education about how to deal with the most difficult people. Although it is unpleasant now, the lessons you learn are going to be valuable later in life.
* It may also help to call a spade a spade and realize that you are dealing with an emotional abuser. More helpful information can be found in literature on that topic.

o Be kind and friendly even though they may act like a jerk to receive negative attention. If they are lonely but don't know how to get attention, then they will appreciate what you are doing and change. If they are just natural jerks who love to make others mad, then what you are doing will enrage them because they can't figure out how to make you mad, and eventually they will leave you alone. Love is crucial, even if it is insanely difficult to perform in various situations.
* That being said, be careful about using kindness. You don't want to end up rewarding someone who is abusive towards you, or it will encourage more abuse. For example, they may yell at you to do something that is their job, and you decide to be kind and do it. Then this person now feels that they can get their way with you by bullying you.
* Some impossible people will see your kindness as a willingness to do any favor they ask. When this happens, kindly and regretfully decline. Do not lie; it is better not to explain, but simply to decline, or if pressed hard, to be vague about your reasons. Lying, if discovered, will exacerbate your problems with this person (since, as stated above, they can simply pull out your lie years later as more "evidence" for "blame" on you).
* Don't disagree with them; find ways to be agreeable even if they are wrong. When they tell you that you donated the money for attention or whatever else, you can say that they might be right. Agreeing with impossible people sidetracks their steam as they continually look for arguments. You could even smile a bit as you agree with them, thus maintaining your good humor and away from falling back into anger.
* Note that the most healthy way to deal with an impossible person is to remove that person from your environment. Do not torture yourself by exposing yourself to a destructive person. Do not put up with it. You are worth more than that. Remember that you cannot "fix" this person.
* When someone is abusing or slandering you, other people will start to show sympathy towards you. You don't need to do anything to make your opponent look bad; she/he just digs his/her grave with no help from you. If s/he is angering you, others are also likely to be annoyed.
* Try to focus on the positive, even if you can't seem to think of anything. Something as simple as "God loves him/her" can keep you under control, even if you don't love them yourself.
* Cavaiola and Lavender's Toxic Co-Workers (2000) is an excellent source of advice for dealing with toxic people, which can be applied not only in work situations but wherever you happen to find them. They have inspired a host of imitators; but unlike most of the others, they use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (1994) for their source material.
* Ignore them. How better to undermine someone who wants to rant and rave in order to seek attention than to not give them the attention they want? If they cannot get your attention they will move on to someone else who will give them the attention they crave. Don't let it be you.

edit Warnings

* Make sure you do not make impossible people angry; although they usually (of course) "have no temper" and are "reasonable to everybody," the fact is that if you enrage them, they will blow their stack like you can't believe. Your own moments of frustration with them will pale in comparison. Don't give them a reason. Instead, think of their outbursts in the same way you would a child's tantrum, but do it subtly (in such a way that they can't lash out at you for being "condescending"). This takes practice, but it is a social skill worth developing. It might help to think of this person as having a health problem: this person needs help, needs constant management, and you may not be able to do it alone.
* If for some reason, you are able to convince impossible people with irrefutable evidence that they (and they alone) are at fault, then there is a possibility that they will completely "crash" in the other direction, expressing the belief that if they can't be right in this one situation, then they must be 100% wrong all the time in every situation. This is a coping mechanism of theirs which attempts to encourage others around them to feel sympathy for them and build them back up.
* Never tell others how you feel about this person. If you confess the impossible behavior of this impossible person, and the person you tell shares the same views as you have, then it is quite possible that this person might spread the chat you had with him/her. Then, when it reaches the ears of the impossible person in this case, regardless of the means by which this knowledge reaches him, s/he will make every possible attempt to degrade your image, because then s/he will know who started it.
* On the other hand, if this person is unavoidable, you may find it useful to manage the situation with someone else, in sort of a tag team. One may make themselves available to give the needed attention, while the other takes a break.
* Protect your privacy! Impossible people will use any information on your personal life however small as a trump card against you. They can spin stories about you to other people (especially those close to you both) on a simple comment you made over lunch. Since they are specialists in manipulation, they are very good at making you talk. Impossible people are good at seeming normal, and unless you are very convinced of who you are and where you stand in relation to the slight madness of this person, there will be times where you think "hey, she's not so bad after all. I guess I could tell her what I am going through these days...." BIG MISTAKE. It will come back to you when you least expect it, in the most dirty and manipulative way. Things shared in confidence late night at the office between the two of you can be used in an ice cold analysis in front of the whole company in a moment where the impossible person needs to get on top of you. He/she will spare no information to prove to others how well they know you, and such know what the best way to "handle" you is.
* NEVER confront an impossible person with the fact that they are the chief source of the problem. You will unleash a flood of denial and blame in failing to keep it to yourself (or you can tell it to others, as stated above—perhaps a blog under an online alias can help, for example).
* Be careful with non-verbal gestures, as they may bring about misconceptions.
* Be careful in making any physical contact with the person; a mere pat on the back may aggravate even the most mild-mannered impossible person.
* Don't show this page (or any other similar advice) to impossible people in an attempt to convince them of how difficult they are. Again (and it bears repeating), you can't convince them of diddly-squat. Any attempt whatsoever to do so will only result in you getting blasted with another tirade, which will create more resentment against you and compound the problem.*Remember:You're not the impossible one.
* Make sure you are not being impossible before attempting the above steps and tips. You may injure yourself.
* Know when to say goodbye. If this relationship has worn you down, or if you feel this person is impulsive enough to be dangerous to you, even if only in terms of continual emotional battery, let them go. Cut off the relationship as soon as it's practical and possible, and refuse any further contact. The impossible person will attempt to make contact, perhaps a number of times - if you decline, they will bait you, insult you, talk to your friends about you, take any bit of gossip they hear about you and run with it, etc. You must resist the temptation to engage this person - ever again. If you have a mutual friend who wants to share info on the impossible person, say, "You know what, I think I'd rather not hear about her/him. I've moved on."
* While we, the authors, hope this article is informative, please do not use it as a substitute for professional therapy or counseling. Because of the nature of WikiHow, some suggestions may be contradictory or even harmful. Do diligent and careful research in many places (online AND offline) to really understand people issues. Don't expect to read for 5 minutes and become an expert on analysis.

Source

Message from the Hopi Nation about Japan

This is a historic moment for our planet to hear them speak. The Hopi Elder have come forward with a message to the world in response to the tsunami and earthquake disaster in Japan.

They give humanity a simple message for our future and how to overcome these difficult times.

Hopi original letter:

The Hopi are praying the people of Japan and for the people around the world as we face crisis in our world out of balance.
We are all in a time of great change upon mother earth and these events have been foretold by our Elders.

Through our Prophecies and our Ceremonies the sacred land of this earth is now crying. And our children are looking to Hopi to balance life for their future.

Our Elders have given us guidance for how to move through these changes. Humanity is now choosing the path upon which all life will follow and we have known this time would
come.

As Hopi, we ask you to join us in prayer to balance mother earth and all life. We believe that, through our prayers and that if we pray with good hearts as told by our Elders, we can lessen the impact of these events.

We as the Hopi join our prayers with those of the Dalai Lama along with people from around the world to send healing to Japan, the earth and all life.

In this time of change, we ask all the people of the world to return to a more balanced way of life.

Hopi say there is a path to follow that allows for us to move through this time of change.

Walk gently upon our earth with respect for her and all life.

A return to connecting our heart with the heart of the path to the future.

Join your hearts to Hopi in honoring our Mother Earth by planting gardens, respecting our Sacred life giving waters and all life for future generations of our children.

"Kwak wha, Lolmani"
(Thank you, may there be good things in the future.)

Kikmongwi (Village Chief)
Lee Wayne Lomayestewa of the Village of Sungopavi
Hopi Nation

Contact: traditionalhopi@gmail.com

Rolling Stone Why is the Fed Bailing Out Qaddafi?

Barack Obama recently issued an executive order imposing a wave of sanctions against Libya, not only freezing Libyan assets, but barring Americans from having business dealings with Libyan banks.

So raise your hand if you knew that the United States has been extending billions of dollars in aid to Qaddafi and to the Central Bank of Libya, through a Libyan-owned subsidiary bank operating out of Bahrain. And raise your hand if you knew that, just a week or so after Obama’s executive order, the U.S. Treasury Department quietly issued an order exempting this and other Libyan-owned banks to continue operating without sanction.

I came across the curious case of the Arab Banking Corporation, better known as ABC, while researching a story about the results of the audit of the Federal Reserve. That story, which will be coming out in Rolling Stone in two weeks, will examine in detail some of the many lunacies uncovered by Senate investigators amid the recently-released list of bailout and emergency aid recipients – a list that includes many extremely shocking names, from foreign industrial competitors to hedge funds in tax-haven nations to various Wall Street figures of note (and some of their relatives). You will want to see this amazing list when it comes out, so please make sure to check the newsstands in two weeks’ time.

This list became public as a result of an amendment added to the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that was sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The amendment forced the Federal Reserve to open its books for the first time and make public the names of those individuals and corporations who received emergency loans and bailout monies during the roughly two year period between the crash of 2008 and the passage of the Dodd-Frank bill.

As Bernie’s staff was going through this list, it found, among other things, some $26 billion in extremely cheap loans (as low as one quarter of one percent!) extended to this ABC bank over a period of years, beginning in December of 2007 and continuing through as recently as February of 2010. The senator sent a letter to Ben Bernanke over the winter demanding more information about this loan (among others) but the response he got was completely unhelpful.

When I first started working on this story, one of Sanders’s aides was careful to point out the ABC loans. Later, I took a closer look at the company and found that it was 59% owned by the Central Bank of Libya, which I found very odd, even by the generally insane standards of the bailout era. Why, I wondered, would the Federal Reserve be giving Muammar Qaddafi $26 billion in near-zero interest loans? Exactly how does that address America’s financial problems? What bailout plan could that possibly be part of?

It gets weirder from there. Sanders’s office subsequently found out that ABC is not only exempt from Obama’s sanctions, it has two functioning branches here in New York City. In a letter he sent yesterday evening to Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency chief John Walsh (the banking regulator with purview over the New York branches), Sanders put it this way:

Why would the U.S. government allow a bank that is predominantly owned by the Central Bank of Libya – an institution on which the U.S. has imposed strict economic sanctions – to operate two banking branches within our own borders?

Neither the Fed nor Treasury so far has offered explanations for these loans; the Treasury has so far only explained why ABC was not subject to sanctions and pointed to the March 4th order when I contacted them.

The ABC loans are just one example of the Fed’s bailout madness. Again, there are 21,000 transactions on the Fed’s list of released names, and “every one of these... is outrageous,” as one Sanders aide put it. You will be shocked, for sure, to find out who else is on that list. We’ll have a lot more on those other loans in the next issue of Rolling Stone.

Source

Koussa UK, US double agent

Nothing of a surprise here

Former Libyan foreign minister Moussa Koussa, who defected to Britain last week was acting as a double agent for the MI6 and the CIA for a decade, it was revealed.


Libya's former intelligence chief, who is also known as 'torturer-in-chief', has been offered asylum in the UK in return for his help to topple Muammar Qaddafi and his regime.

Koussa had met, John Scarlett, the former head of the UK foreign intelligence agency MI6 in 2001 in London, where he promised to help track down Al-Qaeda activities in North Africa.

The former minister also provided the ground for a British agent to carry out espionage act inside Tripoli.

The UK services and ministry of defense interrogation teams were questioning Koussa at a house in Surrey, according to reports.

He had been made a secret offer to seek refuge in Britain while he was still in Tripoli, but any promise of special protection has provoked anger among those who are seeking Koussa's prosecution as a war criminal.

“This man should not be granted asylum or any other special treatment; the only proper outcome is to bring him to justice”, said MP Ben Wallace, parliamentary aide to Justice Secretary Ken Clarke.

“Britain needs to make up its mind quickly. There will be no shortage of courts that will readily seek his extradition. The last thing the UK wants is for Koussa to languish, at taxpayers' expense, in legal no-man's-land”, said Wallace.

Koussa has also been linked with the Lockerbie bombing and the killing of WPC Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan Embassy in London, in the first few days after the UN-sanctioned attacks on Qaddafi's military machine on March 19.

Koussa fled Tripoli last Monday night after telling colleagues that he was seeking medical help in Tunisia.

The convoy of official vehicles crossed the Tunisian border and went on to Tunis's Djerba-Zaris airport. From there, MI6 officers helped charter a private Gulfstream G200 from TAG Aviation to take him to Farnborough, Hampshire in the UK.

Source

"Prepare For Serious Inflation"

Wal-Mart US CEO To America
To those who think that buying food in the corner deli is becoming a luxury, we have five words: you ain't seen nuthin' yet. U.S. consumers face "serious" inflation in the months ahead for clothing, food and other products, the head of Wal-Mart's U.S. operations warned Wednesday talking to USA Today [1]. And if Wal-Mart which is at the very bottom of commoditized consumer retail, and at the very peak of avoiding reexporting of US inflation by way of China is concerned, it may be time to panic, or at least cancel those plane tickets to Zimbabwe, which is soon coming to us.

More at Source

Nasa hacker Gary McKinnon

Nasa hacker Gary McKinnon is undergoing 'psychological torture' over an impasse surrounding extradition proceedings to the US, according to an Ulster Unionist peer.

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass introduced a debate in the House of Lords on Wednesday around the predicament of McKinnon, who is currently caught in legal limbo while his lawyers and the Home Office discuss a medical evaluation. McKinnon has already been evaluated by a number of autism experts for risk of suicide should he be extradited.

More at Source

This is unconfirmed:

A last-ditch appeal to prevent a computer hacker from being extradited
to the United States has been dismissed by the Home Secretary.

Gary McKinnon and his family were told yesterday that Alan Johnson is
to allow the extradition to go ahead after refusing to block it on
medical grounds.

Mr McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, is accused by the US
authorities of breaking into military and Nasa computers. He has
admitted hacking but maintains he was looking only for evidence of
UFOs

He was told in a letter from the Home Secretary that the extradition
would now "proceed forthwith" after finding that there was "nothing
incompatible" between extradition and Mr McKinnon's human rights.

The family said last night that Mr McKinnon, who could be sentenced to
up to 60 years in prison in the US, was "at risk of suicide" after being
told there will be no 11th hour reprieve. His mother, Janis Sharp, was
"extremely worried" about her son's mental state and said the
Government and Mr Johnson should "hang their heads in shame" for
caving in to American pressure.

She said: "This is a cruel and miserable decision. To force a peaceful,
vulnerable, misguided UFO fanatic like Gary thousands of miles away
from his much-needed support network is barbaric. If the severity of
Gary's medical condition isn't sufficient to prevent his extradition, I
can't imagine what is."

She added: "This government is terrified of speaking up to America, and
now they are allowing vulnerable people to be pursued for non-violent
crime when they should be going after terrorists. Why are they doing
this?"

Karen Todner, the hacker's solicitor, said there was still hope. "It's a
devastating blow but we are not going to give up. We are going to issue
judicial review proceedings. We normally have three months to do this
but have now been given seven days to issue."

In July Mr McKinnon went to the High Court in an attempt to get the
extradition order overturned but was told being sent for trial in the US
was "a lawful and proportionate response" to his actions. A month ago
he was refused permission to take his case to the Supreme Court when
judges decided he had "no real prospect" of success.

The case has highlighted concerns about the Extradition Act 2003
which critics maintain erodes the rights of individuals in Britain without
a similar concession being given in the US. They argue that Britons can
be extradited without any assessment of the evidence against them and
on cases so weak that they would never reach court at home.

The US authorities only have to produce an arrest warrant to show that
the person is wanted. In contrast, if British prosecutors want to
extradite someone from the US they have to demonstrate likely guilt.

The Home Secretary has been given assurances by the US authorities
that Mr McKinnon's medical needs will be met. Mr Johnson said he had
considered carefully the case but rejected it. "I am clear that the
information is not materially different from that placed before the High
Court earlier this year and does not demonstrate that sending Mr
McKinnon to the United States would breach his human rights," he said.

"It is also clear from the proceedings to date that Mr McKinnon will not,
if convicted, serve any of his sentence in a supermax prison. Finally,
should Mr McKinnon be extradited, charged and convicted in the US
and seek repatriation to the UK to serve a custodial sentence, the
Government will of course progress his application at the very earliest
opportunity."

Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, described
the extradition treaty as unfair and Mr Johnson's decision as
"shameful".

Mr McKinnon is said by the US authorities to have been responsible for
"the biggest military hack of all time". He is said to have caused
$700,000 worth of damage and forced the US Army's entire network to
be shut down for 24 hours.