Carl Herman ■ Consensus among leading organizations is that ending poverty would require an investment from developed nations of just 0.7% of their GNI (gross national income), with a total 10-year cost of between $1 trillion and $3 trillion. Current US wars since 9/11 have a long-term cost now between $4 trillion and $6 trillion. This means that the US alone could have ended global poverty just since 9/11 for half the cost for their wars (also for perspective, 11 days of ongoing war cost would pay all tuition for US public college students). The .01% hide $21 trillion to $32 trillion in offshore tax havens, with the top seven US banks hiding over $10 trillion. These hidden hoards would end poverty on ~10 to 42 Earths.

Paul Craig Roberts ■ Poverty Report Contradicts GDP Claims || Washington has been conducting needless wars abroad for 93 percent of the 21st century at a cost of trillions of dollars. More trillions have been wasted bailing out banks that deregulation permitted to become “too big to fail.” During the past seven years, millions of Americans have lost their jobs and their homes, and food stamp rolls have reached record numbers. These hurting Americans have been ignored by policy-makers in Washington. Clearly, government in America is focused on something different from a healthy economy and the well being of citizens. We call it democracy, but it’s not.

Daniel Patrick Welch/PressTV: US is not a democracy, but a ‘firmly entrenched oligarchy’
Washington Post: The middle class is poorer today than it was in 1989

In a word association game, If I said Switzerland, you might say cheese or chocolate or maybe the alps. ● But another common item everyone associates with the Swiss is their money. Their banks. Their currency. Soon, that currency could change in a big way. This November, a Swiss Gold Referendum is going to a vote, and the repercussions, one way or the other, could cast a shadow of uncertainty on the US dollar. Nearly one-third of the Swiss Franc used to be guaranteed by gold reserves, not it’s less than 8 percent. If this vote goes through, the Swiss will be forced to raise the gold reserve back up to 20 percent. ● Joining us today is radio host Charles Goyette. He and Congressman Ron Paul have talked about central banks at great length on his radio show. Today, we’d like to get HIS input on the Swiss Gold Referendum. [Hat Tip: The People's Voice]

The following six photographs confirm that a favorite “moderate rebel” leader, Abdel Jabbar al-Okaidi, is allied with ISIL. The first photograph is from Spring 2013 and shows Okaidi with the American who has been the principal coordinator of US policy on Syria. The last two photographs are from a meeting days ago when Congressmen Adam Kinzinger (Rep Illinois) and George Holding (Rep. North Carolina) met with Okaidi and other “moderate rebels” in Turkey. Other photos show Okaidi with ISIL fighters and being interviewed about his relationship with ISIL. The photographs are from videos identified at bottom.

Peter Certo ■ Here’s Everything Wrong with the White House’s War on the Islamic State

Patrick Martin ■ The US military has deployed a quick-reaction force of 2,300 Marines to the Middle East, the Pentagon revealed Wednesday, the latest step in a carefully planned escalation of American military power in the region. || The announcement of the Marine deployment came at the end of the second week of US bombing of Syria, nominally directed at the ISIS, the Islamic fundamentalist group that overran much of western and northern Iraq during the summer. The ultimate goal of the US intervention, as Obama administration spokesmen have repeatedly declared, is the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is allied to Iran and Russia, the two main targets of American imperialism in the region. While the Obama administration has sought to use the crimes of ISIS, such as the beheading of prisoners and the slaughter of minority religious groups, to sway public opinion in the United States, US allies like Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf despotisms have made it clear that they are mainly concerned with overthrowing Assad. The latest recruit to the US-led “coalition,” the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was even more explicit about this goal, as the Turkish parliament voted Thursday for a measure to allow Turkish troops to enter Iraq and Syria and to permit foreign troops to use Turkish territory.

The Australian: Turkey approves military incursions against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq
Antiwar.com: Turkish Parliament Authorizes Iraq, Syria Conflicts

Twitter users compare Israel to ISIL, renaming it the 'Jewish State of Israel in the Levant'. ● The Jewish State of Israel in the Levant: that’s what a group of pro-Palestine activists are now calling Israel, in a play on words on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The hashtag #JSIL(link is external) has been tweeted more than 5,200(link is external) times as Twitter users protest Israel's actions. Activist Max Blumenthal(link is external) first made the comparison(link is external) between ISIL and Israel during the Russell Tribunal on Palestine.

Israeli occupation military officer said that "the upcoming war on Gaza will be greater, and will down more victims," Israeli sources say. Eyal Eizenberg, Israeli Occupation Army Home Front Command, in a lecture in The Institute for National Security Studies (Tel Aviv University), said that "the recent assault on Gaza is not at all similar to the upcoming war that the Israeli army is preparing for." Eizenberg added that "the future war will require stronger abilities and more sacrifices to pay a bigger price." Finally he added that "the main lesson we got from the Gaza assault was represented in the necessity of readiness of the home front, and the ability to provide services to the people in cases of emergency."

Leung Chun-ying asks his top civil servant to meet student leaders as he refuses to quit, backed by Beijing’s full support. ● Hong Kong’s mass pro-democracy protests ebbed on Friday morning after the chief executive offered talks to student representatives minutes before their midnight deadline for his resignation. But hundreds remained around government offices in the city’s downtown, prompting the complex’s closure, angered by Leung Chun-ying’s refusal to quit and deeply sceptical that dialogue will win any changes to Beijing’s plans for elections in the region. Torrential rain drenched the remaining participants in the “umbrella revolution” or “umbrella movement” as a thunderstorm hit Hong Kong, with some insisting they would stay until there was evidence the government would really address their concerns.

Tony Cartalucci ■ Hong Kong: US Now Admits it is Funding "Occupy Central"

Norway is the best country in which to grow old, according to new research – while Britain does not make it into the top ten. ● It is a country famed for its long dark winter nights and high cost of living – but Norway should also, thanks to a new survey, be recognised as the best place in which to grow old. Its citizens benefit from decades-old policies designed to provide financial security in old age, plus an efficient public transport system, a strong sense of security and a high level of employment among senior citizens. “It’s a combination of good management of natural resources coupled with planning ahead,” said Gustavo Toshiaki, an economist and global ageing specialist based in Norway. “They have identified the issues and are dealing with them.” Research from HelpAge International, released on Wednesday to coincide with the UN International Day of Older Persons, showed that Norway had the highest global level of well-being for people over 60. The London-based charity created its second annual index of 96 countries, and ranked countries on economic security, health, access to public transport and societal inclusion. Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and Germany completed the top five – while Britain was 11th. The UK performed well in the social environment category, being ranked third overall. But it was positioned only 23rd for education and employment – behind Bolivia, Estonia and the Philippines. Britain also performed badly in the health category, placed at 27th – two places behind the US. Japan was the best country for elderly health care, while Costa Rica, Chile, Greece and Colombia also performed better than the UK. Of all the nations in the index, Afghanistan ranked last – and the bottom ten countries were all in Sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East.

Oslo pulled its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics after the Norwegian government balked at the estimated $5.4 billion cost on Wednesday. ● That leaves Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, as the only countries bidding for the games. In the months before Oslo pulled out, potential host cities in democratic nations across Europe — Poland, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland — also retracted their bids. It's a debacle for the International Olympic Committee. Oslo was the clear front-runner to win the 2022 games, at least based on the IOC's assessment of the competing bid applications.

Whether or not Ebola is transmissible through the air, which is the subject of much debate and great speculation, we do know that close physical contact with an infected person is a sure fire way to put one's self at risk of contracting the virus. After yesterday's bombshell admission that an Ebola patient is being treated in Dallas, a second potential victim is now being monitored. This person evidently had close physical contact with "patient zero."

We look at the incredible story of how a 16-year-old high school sophomore from the Bronx ended up spending nearly three years locked up at the Rikers jail in New York City after he says he was falsely accused of stealing a backpack. Kalief Browder never pleaded guilty and was never convicted. Browder maintained his innocence and requested a trial, but was only offered plea deals while the trial was repeatedly delayed. Near the end of his time in jail, the judge offered to sentence him to time served if he entered a guilty plea, and warned him he could face 15 years in prison if he was convicted. But Browder still refused to accept the deal, and was only released when the case was dismissed. During this time, Browder spent nearly 800 days in solitary confinement, a juvenile imprisonment practice that the New York Department of Corrections has now banned.

The real reason Russia and Syria are being targeted right now. || Contrary to popular belief, the conduct of nations on the international stage is almost never driven by moral considerations, but rather by a shadowy cocktail of money and geopolitics. As such, when you see the mouthpieces of the ruling class begin to demonize a foreign country, the first question in your mind should always be "what is actually at stake here?"
● For some time now Russia, China, Iran, and Syria have been in the cross hairs. Once you understand why, the events unfolding in the world right now will make much more sense. The U.S. dollar is a unique currency. In fact its current design and its relationship to geopolitics is unlike any other in history. Though it has been the world reserve currency since 1944, this is not what makes it unique. Many currencies have held the reserve status off and on over the centuries, but what makes the dollar unique is the fact that since the early 1970s it has been, with a few notable exceptions, the only currency used to buy and sell oil on the global market.
● Prior to 1971 the U.S. dollar was bound to the gold standard, at least officially. According to the IMF, by 1966, foreign central banks held $14 billion U.S. dollars, however the United States had only $3.2 billion in gold allocated to cover foreign holdings. Translation: the Federal Reserve was printing more money than it could actually back. The result was rampant inflation and a general flight from the dollar.
● In 1971 in what later came to be called the "Nixon Shock" President Nixon removed the dollar from the gold standard completely. At this point the dollar became a pure debt based currency. With debt based currencies money is literally loaned into existence. Approximately 70% of the money in circulation is created by ordinary banks which are allowed to loan out more than they actually have in their accounts. The rest is created by the Federal Reserve which loans money that they don't have, mostly to government. Kind of like writing hot checks, except it's legal, for banks. This practice which is referred to as fractional reserve banking is supposedly regulated by the Federal Reserve, an institution which just happens to be owned and controlled by a conglomerate of banks, and no agency or branch of government regulates the Federal Reserve.