Stoking Fear Ahead of London Olympics

Stephen Lendman


London Olympics 2012: Blood donor appeal ahead of Games

America's "war on terror" never ends. Neither does Britain's. After London was named host for this year's summer games, terrorist fears were stoked.

Former Australian/UK British civil servant Peter Ryan performs security consulting services. He's advising the International Olympic Committee on London preparations. His consultancy thrives on hyped threats, real or otherwise.

After the city was named host in 2005, he told organizers to "think the unthinkable." Besides other advice, he said:

"You are not just thinking about football hooligans, getting drunk in a pub and causing trouble." "You are dealing with a different animal, completely new threats - suicide bombers and protecting the critical infrastructure. You cannot have a power station going down and all the lights going out." [He said athletes' food and water supplies must be protected. Check for poisons, he advised.] "Specialist teams" have to "supervise bomb management, hazardous materials, athlete and VIP protection, and aviation security."

Public spaces around venues are most vulnerable, he added. Ryan's well paid for making London sound more like a war zone than host for Olympic sporting events. Terrorist threats are more hype than real. No evidence whatever suggests dangers. Secretary of State for Defense Philip Hammond said "there is no specific threat to the Games."


The Libor Scandal In Full Perspective

Paul Craig Roberts

The article about the Libor scandal, coauthored with Nomi Prins, received much attention, with Internet repostings, foreign translation, and video interviews. To further clarify the situation, this article brings to the forefront implications that might not be obvious to those without insider experience and knowledge.

The price of Treasury bonds is supported by the Federal Reserve’s large purchases. The Federal Reserve’s purchases are often misread as demand arising from a “flight to quality” due to concern about the EU sovereign debt problem and possible failure of the euro.

Another rationale used to explain the demand for Treasuries despite their negative yield is the “flight to safety.” A 2% yield on a Treasury bond is less of a negative interest rate than the yield of a few basis points on a bank CD, and the US government, unlike banks, can use its central bank to print the money to pay off its debts.

It is possible that some investors purchase Treasuries for these reasons. However, the “safety” and “flight to quality” explanations could not exist if interest rates were rising or were expected to rise. The Federal Reserve prevents the rise in interest rates and decline in bond prices, which normally result from continually issuing new debt in enormous quantities at negative interest rates, by announcing that it has a low interest rate policy and will purchase bonds to keep bond prices high. Without this Fed policy, there could be no flight to safety or quality.

It is the prospect of ever lower interest rates that causes investors to purchase bonds that do not pay a real rate of interest. Bond purchasers make up for the negative interest rate by the rise in price in the bonds caused by the next round of low interest rates. As the Federal Reserve and the banks drive down the interest rate, the issued bonds rise in value, and their purchasers enjoy capital gains.

As the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are themselves fixing interest rates at historic lows in order to mask the insolvency of their respective banking systems, they naturally do not object that the banks themselves contribute to the success of this policy by fixing the Libor rate and by selling massive amounts of interest rate swaps, a way of shorting interest rates and driving them down or preventing them from rising.

The lower is Libor, the higher is the price or evaluations of floating-rate debt instruments, such as CDOs, and thus the stronger the banks’ balance sheets appear.


Titanic Banks Hit LIBOR Iceberg: Will Lawsuits Sink the Ship?

Ellen Brown

At one time, calling the large multinational banks a “cartel” branded you as a conspiracy theorist. Today the banking giants are being called that and worse, not just in the major media but in court documents intended to prove the allegations as facts.

Charges include racketeering (organized crime under the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act or RICO), antitrust violations, wire fraud, bid-rigging, and price-fixing. Damning charges have already been proven, and major damages and penalties assessed. Conspiracy theory has become established fact.

In an article in the July 3rd Guardian titled “Private Banks Have Failed – We Need a Public Solution”, Seumas Milne writes of the LIBOR rate-rigging scandal admitted to by Barclays Bank:

It’s already clear that the rate rigging, which depends on collusion, goes far beyond Barclays, and indeed the City of London. This is one of multiple scams that have become endemic in a disastrously deregulated system with inbuilt incentives for cartels to manipulate the core price of finance.

...It could of course have happened only in a private-dominated financial sector, and makes a nonsense of the bankrupt free-market ideology that still holds sway in public life.

. . . A crucial part of the explanation is the unmuzzled political and economic power of the City...Finance has usurped democracy.


The Meaning of the New World Order

Anonymous

So much has been said of the NWO but the meaning is not clear. Well, here it is in black and white:

NWO is more of the same to the world that befell upon the American Indian Natives, the African Slaves in America and the Indians in India during the Colonial Times aka East India Company. What that means is that the world better be prepared for mass displacement of their peoples to be loosly shunted all over the world for meagre wages. Also, forget your own languages, religions and cultures. They are obsolete and forbidden. They are replaced by English, Western pant-suits and Christianity.

You are owned. Kind of like the Christianized and Westernized South Koreans - who are permanently separated by the West from their long-suffering Northerner brothers who happen to rightfully retain their own original culture intact. The problem, as is everywhere and as usual, is the West. The West wants to dominate, control and conquer the world even if it has to dismember or kill it to "save" it (from itself).


Israel Likely Behind Bulgaria False Flag

Stephen Lendman


Almost immediately after a bus full of Israeli tourists exploded
outside of the airport in Burgas, Bulgaria, both Israel and the
United States began hurling accusations that Iran was behind
the violence. They also immediately claimed a suicide bomber
had done it. They have offered no proof of this. A remotely-
controlled bomb is just as likely. This would have been all in
a day's work for Israel's Mossad.

Israel's history is odious. State terror is policy. It's a dagger pointed at humanity's heart. False flags and targeted assassinations are specialties. Mossad and Shin Bet (Israel's Security Agency) have notorious terrorist histories. Bet on either organization's dirty hands behind the latest Bulgaria attack. Fingers point the wrong way. Israel blames Iran for its own crimes.

Unindicted war criminal Netanyahu said "Israel will respond forcefully to Iranian terror." At issue is a Bulgarian Sarafovo airport bomb attack. It's located in Burgas. It's a popular Black Sea resort destination. Israeli tourists and others were killed.

On July 19, Reuters headlined "Bulgaria says suicide bomber blew up airport bus," saying:

A bus carrying Israeli tourists and others was attacked. Eight deaths were reported. Around 30 others were injured. According to Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov:

established a person who was a suicide bomber in this attack. This person had a fake driving license from the United States."

It wasn't coincidental that the attack came on the anniversary of the 1994 AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) Buenos Aires bombing. It killed 85 and injured hundreds. Argentina has Latin America's largest Jewish population. It numbers around 200,000. Israel falsely blamed Iran.


Russian Spring Cancelled – Nyet* to NGOs

Jonathon Blakeley

Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: Time is ripe to look into NGOs (non-governmental organizations), what they are and who stand behind them. In the following Deliberation piece, Jonathon Blakeley explores recent shift in Russian attitude towards NGOs. I may as well confess that in the last few weeks I have been looking into Palestinian NGOs and their funders. My findings are pretty worrying...

In a wonderfully chess-like move, the Russian Parliament skillfully moved to block attempts to de-stablize Russia by using NGOs to encourage dissent. AlJazeera reported today that a new law had been passed with only one vote against and one abstention. The law would limit the operation of NGOs in Russia. Specifically foreign-funded NGOs would have to declare that they are foreign agents on all their publicity materials.

But what are NGOs exactly?

No one describes the NGOs better than Phyllis Schlafly who has watched them for decades: “The NGOs are energetic lobbyists for dramatic changes in the mission and structure of the UN to achieve global governance. Most NGOs are also members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which originated many of the global environmental polices set forth in the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on Climate Change, and Agenda 21. The most prominent NGOs are the radical environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the feminist and population-control groups such as Planned Parenthood.”


US Cities Going Bankrupt

Stephen Lendman

Photo: Riverdale, Ill. has run operational deficits for a number of consecutive years, driven primarily by a reduction in the amount the village relies on debt financing. “The village funded itself by borrowing money from its sewer and water funds, and now carries an operating fund balance of -52.1 percent of revenues.” The city, like many others on this list, is extremely small, with a population of just over 14,000. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

In past decades, many US municipalities declared bankruptcy. Since 1981, 42 cases were filed. Ten came in the past four years. Given hard times getting harder, what's happening now is unprecedented since the Great Depression. Cities occasionally declare bankruptcy. In America, they're coming more often. Others in dire financial straits may follow.

San Bernardino, CA is the latest. On July 11, The New York Times headlined "Third City In California Votes to Seek Bankruptcy," saying:

Officials have no choice. They can't meet payroll obligations through summer. "Faced with a budget shortfall of $45 million and city coffers that have already been drained, the San Bernardino City Council voted on Tuesday to file for bankruptcy."

Interim city manager Andrea Travis-Miller said:

"I am concerned about our ability to make payroll, not only in the next 30 days but also in the next 60 to 90 days. A major restructuring of this organization is needed."

California cities have two Chapter 9 bankruptcy options. They can either hire a third-party mediator to negotiate with unions and creditors or declare a fiscal emergency. San Bernardino chose the latter way. Depression conditions ravage the city. Many others face similar problems. Stockton and Mammoth Lakes declared bankruptcy earlier. Other financially strapped cities and towns around the state and country may follow. It's hard keeping up with many troubled municipalities, counties, school systems, and other public services potentially facing bankruptcy.


Obama vs. Romney: Two Shades of Nay

Philip Giraldi

Many Americans will cast their ballots in November based on their reckoning of which candidate would be less dangerous. Unfortunately, the disappearance of Rep. Ron Paul from the campaign will inevitably mean that the two contenders will not discuss foreign policy in any meaningful way, instead preferring to boast of how tough they would be on America’s enemies.

Given the fact that there will be no actual debate on substantive issues, thoughtful Americans who realize that it is precisely the foreign and security policy nightmare that has evolved over the past 10 years that has fueled the domestic crisis might want to consider which of the two candidates will actually make the situation worse. Based on what the candidates are saying and have actually been doing, it is possible to get some idea of what might await us in 2013.

Mitt Romney is more easily categorized. He knows nothing about foreign policy, is almost willfully ignorant, and is completely dependent on his advisers, most of whom are neoconservatives who held positions in the administration of George W. Bush. There are reports of dissent among his advisers on some key issues, but Romney has invariably personally opted to take positions that might be regarded as more extreme in that they choose to rely on military might and confrontation rather than negotiation and accommodation.

Romney was unique among the gaggle of Republican presidential candidates in calling for increasing the size of the military budget and the armed forces in order to confront America’s enemies, including Iran, Russia, and China. He also joined some other Republicans in emphasizing American exceptionalism, which confers on the United States the role of world leader together with the apparently God-given authority to act unilaterally. It is significant that Romney was recently the recipient of largess derived from a fundraiser organized by Dick Cheney.


ICRC Supports Imperialism for Profit

Stephen Lendman


ICRC hasn't been doing all that much for the Palestinians either...

Progressive News Hour regular James Petras once said most NGOs skim 90% of donations for themselves. They're predators, not humanitarians. They serve political agendas for profit. They avoid denouncing governmental patrons providing financing. They don't link neoliberal exploitation and human rights violations to imperial agendas. They support wrong over right. They prey on the world's vulnerable. They commit flagrant abuses for self-enrichment and close ties to top government officials. ICRC is no exception. More on it below.

On July 18, Security Council members again vote on a Western resolution. Russia and China vetoed two earlier ones. They reject one-sided proposals. They advance the ball for war. This one includes UN Charter Chapter VII provisions. They range from economic sanctions to blockades or military intervention if other measures fail. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejects Chapter VII authorization. [He said]:

We will vote against the U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria if it is not based on the Geneva agreements.

Geneva language left much to be desired. It agreed on

"facilitat(ing) a Syrian led political process," but overstepped at the same time. Contrary to international law, it accepted "agreed guidelines and principles for a political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people."

Syrians had their say earlier. They overwhelmingly adopted a new constitution by national referendum. First time ever parliamentary elections were held. Turnout was high. Voting went smoothly. Independent monitors judged the process open, free and fair. Why repeat what's already accomplished? Most important is that international law prohibits interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. Doing so in Geneva or elsewhere lacks legitimacy.


Dozens of Genetically Modified Babies Already Born - How Will They Alter Human Species?

Joseph Mercola

When I first read that genetically modified humans have already been born, I could hardly believe it. However, further research into this story featured in the UK's Daily Mail proved it to be true. They've really done it... they've created humans that nature could never allow for, and it's anyone's guess as to what will happen next.

Even more shocking was the discovery that this is actually old news!

The Daily Mail article was not dated, and upon investigation, the experiments cited actually took place over a decade ago; the study announcing their successful birth was published in 2001[.pdf].

While I typically comment on recent findings and health related news, in this case I will make an exception, because I think many of you may be as surprised by this information as I was. I do not propose to have any answers here as this is out of my scope of expertise.

At best, I hope I can stir you to ponder the implications of this type of genetic engineering, and I invite you to share your perspective in the vital votes' comment section here.


Olympiad Readiness: Militarized London Total Policing

Stephen Lendman



This type militarism is unheard of in peacetime. It reflects readiness for war, not public security.

Olympism today differs vastly from its Athens roots. A previous article explained it's more about profiteering, exploitation, and cynicism than sport. Militarized London reflects something more.

A 2011 "Total Policing" brochure explained. In September 2011, Bernard Hogan-Howe became Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. Straightaway he announced a "total policing" policy. Effectively it means anything goes. He said it's "about total war on suspects and total victim care." Take the latter concern with a grain of salt.

An 11-page brochure said police intend to use Section 60 of the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. It gives them "the right to search people in a defined area at a specific time." It also "provides powers to require the removal of disguises at public order events." Essentially it gives cops and other security forces carte blanche to enforce police state authority. Increasingly they're taking full advantage.

From July 27 - August 12, London will host the Games of the XXX Olympiad. The city is militarized and ready.


Syria: Russia Rejects Western Blackmail

Moon of Alabama

Tremseh "Massacre" Was A Legitimate Military Operation

The false reporting on the Tremseh "massacre" was supposed to put pressure on Russia and China to agree to a Chapter 7 UN Security Council resolution. Chapter 7 [of the UN Charter] allows the use of force and such a resolution could be used as an excuse for armed intervention. Kofi Annan took that position when, after Tremseh, he urged the UNSC to threaten Syria with "consequences" for not retreating from cities and villages. Annan and Ban Ki Moon were dispatched to Russia and China to further press the issue.

But the Tremseh information operation fell apart when the UN observers confirmed the Syrian government version of the story. Writes the Wall Street Journal:

New evidence on last week's killings in a village in central Syria suggests the bloodshed followed a raid by government forces to arrest male rebels, rather than a deliberate massacre of around 200 civilians as some Syrian opposition leaders and their Western allies first reported.

The findings could ease the pressure on Russia and China to back tougher measures against Bashar al-Assad's government, underscoring how competing narratives and interpretations of events in Syria continue to divide world powers over how to end a conflict now recognized by most as a civil war.

The Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to meet with Kofi Annan tomorrow. He just held a press conference in which he laid out the Russian and Chinese position.


War On All Fronts

Paul Craig Roberts

The Russian government has finally caught on that its political opposition is being financed by the US taxpayer-funded National Endowment for Democracy and other CIA/State Department fronts in an attempt to subvert the Russian government and install an American puppet state in the geographically largest country on earth, the one country with a nuclear arsenal sufficient to deter Washington’s aggression.

Just as earlier this year Egypt expelled hundreds of people associated with foreign-funded “non-governmental organizations” (NGOs) for “instilling dissent and meddling in domestic policies,” the Russian Duma (parliament) has just passed a law that Putin is expected to sign that requires political organizations that receive foreign funding to register as foreign agents. The law is based on the US law requiring the registration of foreign agents.

Much of the Russian political opposition consists of foreign-paid agents, and once the law passes leading elements of the Russian political opposition will have to sign in with the Russian Ministry of Justice as foreign agents of Washington. The Itar-Tass News Agency reported on July 3 that there are about 1,000 organizations in Russia that are funded from abroad and engaged in political activity. Try to imagine the outcry if the Russians were funding 1,000 organizations in the US engaged in an effort to turn America into a Russian puppet state. (In the US the Russians would find a lot of competition from Israel.)

The Washington-funded Russian political opposition masquerades behind “human rights” and says it works to “open Russia.” What the disloyal and treasonous Washington-funded Russian “political opposition” means by “open Russia” is to open Russia for brainwashing by Western propaganda, to open Russia to economic plunder by the West, and to open Russia to having its domestic and foreign policies determined by Washington.


The (what about) China syndrome

Tom Suarez

Democracy makes us responsible for what is done in our name.

It’s probably a good sign that Israel’s apologists are increasingly resorting to a sideways defense: What’s with you and Israel? I don’t hear you complaining about China or Syria or North Korea. Implicit in this mantra is an admission that any coherent defense of Israel is in short supply—the only “defense” left is to question why this particular bully is targeted from among the various nefarious bullies on the block. It’s a desperate line that is wielded effectively only because of its insinuation of some dark motive, innuendos that the other bullies cannot exploit. I’ve been doused with it by people as diverse as security agents at Ben Gurion airport to the music critic Norman Lebrecht.

Its absurdity is self-evident. If injustice can be shielded on the grounds that there is other injustice, everyone is silenced. We would disparage those fighting China’s savagery in Tibet on the grounds that they are not active against Sudan’s repression of its lgbt citizens. Those who struggled against Indonesian/US atrocities in East Timor would have been mocked because they were not active in the fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa. At best, only criticism of the single worst injustice (according to whatever chosen criteria) could be permitted: all others simply need point downward.


Nothing Civil about Washington's War on Syria

Stephen Lendman

Insurgents are Washington proxies. Key NATO partners, rogue Arab League states, and Israel are very much involved. The same dirty game repeats. Independent states are targeted for regime change. All options are used. They include full-scale war, mass killing, and turning nations into charnel houses on the pretext of liberating them. American-style freedom is slavery. Mainstream discourse doesn't explain. It repeats long ago discredited notions about humanitarian intervention and responsibility to protect (R2P). Protracted violence and bloodshed hardly reflect it.

Washington-led Western generated violence ravages Syria. On Sunday, The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) declared ongoing conflict a civil war. It's not civil when mostly imported proxies are used. Most Syrians deplore violence and oppose internal and external groups committing it. According to ICRC, Syria is involved in a

"non-international armed conflict." Previous statements said violence occurred only in certain hotspots. "Hostilities have spread to other areas of the country," [said ICRC.] "International humanitarian law applies to all areas where hostilities are taking place."

War rages in Syria. The laws of war apply. ICRC's statement changes nothing. In times of war, international law and international humanitarian law apply. Gertrude Stein's most famous quote is relevant. "A rose is a rose is a rose," she said. She meant "things are what they are." A war crime is a war crime is a war crime. So are crimes against humanity.


<< Previous :: Next >>

Health topic page on womens health Womens health our team of physicians Womens health breast cancer lumps heart disease Womens health information covers breast Cancer heart pregnancy womens cosmetic concerns Sexual health and mature women related conditions Facts on womens health female anatomy Womens general health and wellness The female reproductive system female hormones Diseases more common in women The mature woman post menopause Womens health dedicated to the best healthcare
buy viagra online