Pepe Escobar

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (L), Emir of Qatar, key backer
of Syrian opposition, shakes hands with United Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki-Moon before their meeting on September 25 dur-
ing the General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York.

[Article originally published on Sep. 28, 2012]

Make no mistake - the Emir of Qatar is on a roll

What an entrance at the UN General Assembly in New York; Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani called for an Arab coalition of the willing-style invasion of Syria, no less. [1]

In the words of the Emir, "It is better for the Arab countries themselves to interfere out of their national, humanitarian, political and military duties, and to do what is necessary to stop the bloodshed in Syria." He stressed Arab countries had a "military duty" to invade.

What he means by "Arab countries" is the petromonarchies of the Gulf Counter-Revolution Club (GCC), previously known as Gulf Cooperation Council - with implicit help from Turkey, with which the GCC has a wide-ranging strategic agreement. Every shisha house in the Middle East knows that Doha, Riyadh and Ankara have been weaponizing/financing/providing logistical help to the various strands of the armed Syrian opposition engaged in regime change.

The Emir even quoted a "similar precedent" for an invasion, when "Arab forces intervened in Lebanon" in the 1970s. By the way, during a great deal of the 1970s the Emir himself was engaged in more mundane interventions, such as letting his hair down alongside other Gulf royals in select Club Med destinations.

So is the Emir now preaching an Arab version of the R2P ("responsibility to protect") doctrine advanced by The Three Graces of Humanitarian Intervention (Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice and Samantha Power)?

This is certainly bound to go down well in Washington - not to mention Ankara and even Paris, considering French president Francois Hollande has just called for UN protection of "liberated zones" in Syria.

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Paul Craig Roberts

Yen firms, investors dump gold and crude. Cash gold and U.S.
gold futures plunged to their weakest in over two years, pulling
silver lower and dragging Tokyo gold futures down almost 10 %.

Paul Craig Roberts: Assault On Gold - Update
Paul Craig Roberts: The Assault On Gold

■ Tuesday, April 16. The orchestrated attack on bullion in the paper gold market took the spot prices of gold and silver down on Friday and Monday, but actual physical purchases rose during this period. The sales were of paper claims, not of real metal.

■ The demand for physical possession of bullion rose so strongly that large wholesalers such as www.tulving.com and large retailers such as Gainesville Coins reported sold out items. Also, dealers raised the premiums above the spot price that is charged for coins. From Friday to Monday the premium on Silver Eagles at the large online retailer, Gainesville Coins, rose from $3.75 to $5.99 above the spot price of silver. The percentage increase in premium was larger than the percentage decline in the silver price. Thus, the price of a silver one Troy ounce coin did not drop despite the drop in the spot price. Today (April 16) the price of a silver eagle purchased with a credit card from retailer Gainesville Coins is $30.36. You would never know that the market had fallen out.

■ Today (Tuesday, April 16) Tulving reported 29% of its bar and coin bullion categories sold out and had almost no silver coin stock. The premium over spot on new gold eagles was $63.95. At large online retailers the premium was $71. Gainesville Coins has no silver Buffalos and lists shipment of orders to commence when coins are available, estimated to be May 10.

What I am reporting are facts, not a theory. We have just had two days of massive sales of paper claims on bullion, but during these days when the price of gold and silver collapsed under short sales, it was difficult to get your hands on the metal itself. On telephone orders you wait in long queues to place an order and are told that delivery awaits availability.

Listening to the media and to academic economists such as Paul Krugman, you would think no one any longer wants gold and silver. But try getting your hands on some.

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Stephen Lendman

On April 17, major media reported Obama and Senator Roger Wicker (R. MI) receiving letters containing suspicious substances. Both letters had similar markings. A separate report said Senator Richard Shelby (R. AL) received a suspicious package. Parts of Senate office buildings were cleared. FBI testing continues. Initial evaluations confirmed ricin. A subsequent statement reported "inconsistent results." Further analysis is being conducted. Ricin is poisonous if inhaled, injected or ingested. It's deadliest if inhaled. It's potentially lethal. It's not contagious. There's no antidote.

Around midday April 17, the FBI's National Press Office headlined "FBI Response to Reports of Suspicious Letters Received at Mail Facilities," saying:

"A second letter containing a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin was received at an offsite mail screening facility." "The envelope, addressed to the President, was immediately quarantined by US Secret Service personnel, and a coordinated investigation with the FBI was initiated." "It is important to note that operations at the White House have not been affected as a result of the investigation." "Additionally, filters at a second government mail screening facility preliminarily tested positive for ricin this morning. Mail from that facility is being tested." "Any time suspicious powder is located in a mail facility, field tests are conducted. The field and other preliminary tests can produce inconsistent results." " Any time field tests indicate the possibility of a biological agent, the material is sent to an accredited laboratory for further analysis." "Only a full analysis performed at an accredited laboratory can determine the presence of a biological agent such as ricin. Those tests are currently being conducted and generally take 24 to 48 hours." "The investigation into these letters remains ongoing, and more letters may still be received. There is no indication of a connection to the attack in Boston."

Investigations remain ongoing. Senator Claire McCaskill (D. MO) said police have a suspect. "The person that is a suspect writes a lot of letters to members," she said. Reports now say an arrest was made. Another one contradicted it. Perhaps one is imminent.

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